Whistler Olympic Park has a trail you can enjoy with your pooch. My partner took Keegan out for a couple hours while I worked. When you take the time to teach your dog polite social skills, you can take them anywhere.
The more you enjoy doing with your dog, the deeper the bond you build, and the more they're eager to follow your lead...so they don't miss out on the fun. I'm so proud of Keegan, he did a great job meet n greeting other dogs, ignoring some and listening to my partner tell him it's time to get a move on, "Lets go".
Keegan is 2yrs old and still works for off leash privileges. He earns his off leash time, in short stints. I'm always testing his recalls and check in's with new distractions, to ensure we're connected intuitively. There's an art to building a solid recall.
We have fun with recalls and he gets jackpots for checking in with me all on his own. Building a solid foundation of us being aware of eachothers needs, means there's little possibility of him blowing me off.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
STOP!
Distance work pays off out here when we're bombing out around on the trails. Actually, even in the city, when at parks, I've had more than one occasion where I've been relieved to be able to tell my dogs to "STOP" when I see a ball hog dog racing after our ball. Most dogs who hog another's ball in my experience have been possessive of them, and it's not worth it to me to have my dogs injured in a dogfight because another person hasn't trained their dog. Mind you if anyone would like to teach their dog how to share, or "STOP" and recall back to you instead of bugging another dog/person...feel free to give me a shout :P
I've used "STOP" when on trails and we've encounter motorcyles, ATV's, bikes, joggers, other hikers/dogs or even knowing there's cliff up ahead, being able to tell them to put on the brakes for safety reasons gives me a piece of mind.
DISTANCE work...besides STOP, SIT and DOWN have also come in handy. Distance work comes naturally when they understand stay's are part of a cue and you've done a ton of duration and distraction work when close by. Handsignals, more like arm movements, also help them out. Start off close then ping/pong the distance, next start adding distractions. I always reward in position at first so they find value in staying put.
*Remember that dogs don't have the greatest eye sight when it comes to picking something specific out in the distance. They are more perceptive to movement hence using your arm and exaggerated motion.
I've used "STOP" when on trails and we've encounter motorcyles, ATV's, bikes, joggers, other hikers/dogs or even knowing there's cliff up ahead, being able to tell them to put on the brakes for safety reasons gives me a piece of mind.
DISTANCE work...besides STOP, SIT and DOWN have also come in handy. Distance work comes naturally when they understand stay's are part of a cue and you've done a ton of duration and distraction work when close by. Handsignals, more like arm movements, also help them out. Start off close then ping/pong the distance, next start adding distractions. I always reward in position at first so they find value in staying put.
*Remember that dogs don't have the greatest eye sight when it comes to picking something specific out in the distance. They are more perceptive to movement hence using your arm and exaggerated motion.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Insanity
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein :P
There's lots of times when this quote comes to mind. I can think of dozens of occasions where it even comes up in dog training.
These two scenarios are really tough for me to watch unfold. They are easily avoidable without the drama of you working yourself from frustration to anger to lashing out at your dog.
1-Repeating your cue over and over again, and expecting the dog to sit, come, leave something...whatever..the FIRST time you asked.
If you have to repeat your cue, your puppy/dog:
a/TRULY doesn't have a clear understanding of the cue or what was being asked in the first place.
b/IS emotionally or physically incapable of performing the cue. Fear or anxiety can get the best of us all and debilitate us from doing what may be otherwise a non-issue. On the flipside, if your dog is arthritic, or has another medical ailment, please consider this when asking them to do something for you...ie. a stand stay for an arthritic dog may be more comfortable than a down stay.
c/HAS NOT practiced and generalized the cue in enough new situations and environments, with enough distractions so that the cue has had a long history of being rewarded PROFUSELY the very FIRST time you asked for it. Practice makes perfect!
2-Being dictatorial and expecting your puppy/dog to be obedient just "because" you said so. Not seeing results, but rather just creative thinking on your puppy/dog's part to ramp themselves up and be as unruly UNTIL the warnings turn to punishment.
That's not a fun place to be in, for either party. It's not fun having to be grumpy, and it sure doesn't help enrich your relationship with your dog/pup.
Humans and dogs LEARN so much through play!
Just think about all the social skills you learn playing sports, or joining those of like mind for hobbies. Polite social skills, work as a team, everyone doing their share so things don't fall apart...if you're honest, have a good sense of humour, respectful, benevolent, chances are you'll attract more people in a social situation than someone who is a bully, dictatorial and uses physical means to control your every move.
If you're a bully, eventually you're kicked out or ignored, until you change YOUR behaviour.
Same applies to dog training and building a relationship with your pooch. If they had a choice...which home do you think they'd be racing towards?
a/DOGS LOVE to play and have fun. Use all of your puppy/dogs FAVOURITE things in life as training opportunities.
b/MANAGING their environment so they can't make a mistake in the first place, redirect them to do something incompatible rather than what is annoying you, and take the time to teach them polite behaviours using handsignal then adding verbal cues once they understand, can predict and commit to performing a behaviour which you find appropriate for the situation.
Take the time to teach your furry pal using what they love most in life as motivators for choosing to work with you to learn polite social skills. I promise it will not only enrich your life, but it will change the way you relate to others.
Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Albert Einstein :P
There's lots of times when this quote comes to mind. I can think of dozens of occasions where it even comes up in dog training.
These two scenarios are really tough for me to watch unfold. They are easily avoidable without the drama of you working yourself from frustration to anger to lashing out at your dog.
1-Repeating your cue over and over again, and expecting the dog to sit, come, leave something...whatever..the FIRST time you asked.
If you have to repeat your cue, your puppy/dog:
a/TRULY doesn't have a clear understanding of the cue or what was being asked in the first place.
b/IS emotionally or physically incapable of performing the cue. Fear or anxiety can get the best of us all and debilitate us from doing what may be otherwise a non-issue. On the flipside, if your dog is arthritic, or has another medical ailment, please consider this when asking them to do something for you...ie. a stand stay for an arthritic dog may be more comfortable than a down stay.
c/HAS NOT practiced and generalized the cue in enough new situations and environments, with enough distractions so that the cue has had a long history of being rewarded PROFUSELY the very FIRST time you asked for it. Practice makes perfect!
2-Being dictatorial and expecting your puppy/dog to be obedient just "because" you said so. Not seeing results, but rather just creative thinking on your puppy/dog's part to ramp themselves up and be as unruly UNTIL the warnings turn to punishment.
That's not a fun place to be in, for either party. It's not fun having to be grumpy, and it sure doesn't help enrich your relationship with your dog/pup.
Humans and dogs LEARN so much through play!
Just think about all the social skills you learn playing sports, or joining those of like mind for hobbies. Polite social skills, work as a team, everyone doing their share so things don't fall apart...if you're honest, have a good sense of humour, respectful, benevolent, chances are you'll attract more people in a social situation than someone who is a bully, dictatorial and uses physical means to control your every move.
If you're a bully, eventually you're kicked out or ignored, until you change YOUR behaviour.
Same applies to dog training and building a relationship with your pooch. If they had a choice...which home do you think they'd be racing towards?
a/DOGS LOVE to play and have fun. Use all of your puppy/dogs FAVOURITE things in life as training opportunities.
b/MANAGING their environment so they can't make a mistake in the first place, redirect them to do something incompatible rather than what is annoying you, and take the time to teach them polite behaviours using handsignal then adding verbal cues once they understand, can predict and commit to performing a behaviour which you find appropriate for the situation.
Take the time to teach your furry pal using what they love most in life as motivators for choosing to work with you to learn polite social skills. I promise it will not only enrich your life, but it will change the way you relate to others.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Canine Good Neighbor CGN
My Aussie, Keegan (2yrs old, just growing out of his adolescence) and I trained for the (CGN) Canine Good Neighbor test held at DOGSMART.ca and passed with 100%. It's a super 12 step test where judges look for the bond between you and your dog, and how you both negotiate challenging social situations and basic obedience commands. NO TREATS allowed :)
What I LOVED most about the Prep class I took at Dogsmart is that you get to fine tune your handling skills and work on challenges with those around you who cheer you on and set you up for success.
Keegan and I worked as a team, and while he wasn't especially pleased with me creating a little more structure and more training of polite social skills into our everyday lives...we reap the rewards big time now as I can take him pretty much anywhere and he knows the drill and acts appropriately.
Ie.instead of lunging and dragging me over to say hello to someone...he is happy to hang out by me and wait for the okay.
Training should be FUN, and together no matter what you do, being a benevolent leader is rewarded tenfold in the relationship you build with your pup.
Here are pictures that Shelley took! A fantastic reminder that all our efforts paid off!
On our way back into the crowd of people
The swarm of coughing, tripping, arms flailing people...they had no problem providing a challenging test for me and Kee :)
Meet and Greet w/ stranger and their dog, shake hands and Kee's job was to just chill by my side.
Reward for sticking to me like crazy glue! Kee LOVES to jump into my arms, so that's his "thanks" for a job well done. No treats are allowed, but we're allowed to play and cuddle and praise our dogs for being superstars!
Mr. Keegan, Mikatura's Jokers Wyld, CGN is his title now. I'm sure he was just chuckling to himself that we humans do some funny stuff....
Me and my Boo...Daizy my beagle is up next round in January!!!
What I LOVED most about the Prep class I took at Dogsmart is that you get to fine tune your handling skills and work on challenges with those around you who cheer you on and set you up for success.
Keegan and I worked as a team, and while he wasn't especially pleased with me creating a little more structure and more training of polite social skills into our everyday lives...we reap the rewards big time now as I can take him pretty much anywhere and he knows the drill and acts appropriately.
Ie.instead of lunging and dragging me over to say hello to someone...he is happy to hang out by me and wait for the okay.
Training should be FUN, and together no matter what you do, being a benevolent leader is rewarded tenfold in the relationship you build with your pup.
Here are pictures that Shelley took! A fantastic reminder that all our efforts paid off!
On our way back into the crowd of people
Meet and Greet w/ stranger and their dog, shake hands and Kee's job was to just chill by my side.
Reward for sticking to me like crazy glue! Kee LOVES to jump into my arms, so that's his "thanks" for a job well done. No treats are allowed, but we're allowed to play and cuddle and praise our dogs for being superstars!
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