Focusing on Consistency- Part 1 The Agenda

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Abby and Eme- the consistency of a platz

*Note- this will be the first of many posts in a series dedicated to the consistency that must be displayed while performing obedience training with our dogs.

I have a lot of clients who just want to obedience train their dogs. Most just want a friend or a well behaved pet and some want to move on to trials and competitions. Whatever the eventual goal is a few factors should always remain the same.

~Always train on the dogs agenda, not ours.

Just because WE want him to learn how to lay down in the next ten minutes with the cherrios we have in our hand doesn’t mean HE is capable of learning that fast, and even likes the way cherrios taste!!!!!! My point is, would you be able to write a 10 page purposal on a new bussiness adventure in 15 minutes for the left over pocket change i have totaling 58 cents? NO and nor would you want to!!! The first key in a successful training relationship is to work on his agenda. This is not “giving him power” or making him “a dominant dog” that is a bunch of bull and is blown way out of context (sorry, off my soapbox now)

As a responsible dog owner, our dogs partner and trainer we have to take into consideration him as

A. An animal

B. A sub species of animal AKA Canis Familiaris

C. A breed of sub species example being Pug, or German Shepherd

Only once we fully grasp this concept can we adequately acknowledge the training needs of our friend. We have to work with what we have, and each dog is different. This is one of the reasons we do not have an one method for our training, its impossible to if you want to have a good positive working relationship with your canine. It’s easy to just be a bully and say “It’s my way or the highway” like many trainers do but why, this is your partner, your friend, and you brought him into your world and choose this job for him. The least you can do is do it on his agenda!

We train with our dogs so that we can build a better relationship with them, i particularly focus on communication, consistency, and respect. These words can be defined a number of ways but the way we define and apply them is what gives you and your dog the ultimate relationship. Our work needs to be clear and consistent, we must do the repetitions the same every time and we must communicate it to the dog in the language they understand. This combination is what leads to the mutual respect that is demanded in the training relationship.

While we strictly train on the DOGS agenda, we must have a PLAN as the trainer. Our next part will  be focusing on the plan.

Target stick- like giving candy to a baby………for some dogs anyway

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I’m always looking for something new to teach the dogs.

A. because i’m bored

B. because they are bored

C. because the students at the school get bored

D.  because i love to spend my money ( that one isn’t true but i DO end up spending all my money on my dogs, wouldn’t have it any other way!!!!!!)

So last week i purchased a target stick from amazon.  I gotta admit its pretty fun! My dogs have a “touch” and “target” command but shaping the behavior to target the end of the stick is amusing. We worked with both Abby and Raina for about 10 minutes each. Raina has intense focus on me, we worked a lot on eye contact when she was younger and it is one of the reasons she has stellar obedience in almost any setting. This is wonderful, its the way our training relationship is and i love it but boy it makes it hard to get her to notice the target stick or even care about it! I cannot complain, i cannot get frustrated, dogs are perfect at being themselves and this is who she is!! So our 10 minute sessions  are very different with each dog. Abby will now target the purple ball on the end of the stick within a few seconds of presenting it to her at any reasonable height around her, I or objects she is familiar with. We have not moved it to enough locations to generalize the behavior nor have we put it on cue yet to take her to more distracting environments.

Raina is another story, her focus on me has lead me to  have to try alternate “attention getters” for her to find positive association with the target stick. Coating the end in peanut butter of course 🙂    For Raina we will break this down into very short training sessions with clicking as she touches her nose to the peanut butter covered ball on the end of the target stick. 3 minutes 4 times a day, as well as a few sessions with her sister Abby so she can gain some social learning (watching Abby, seeing what she does and what she gets rewarded for)

Abby and her 2nd session

Raina and her 3rd session.

Much less progress if compared to Abby but what you must remember is they are 2 totally different dogs (even though genetically they are exactly the same, 2 litters, Raina was a repeat breeding of Abby’s litter.) As a handler of multiple dogs you must always make sure you do not compare them to each other or their progress. Each dog learns differently and thats what makes training multiple dogs so much fun!

Terrific Tip Tuesday

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This weeks tip- How to get your dog to acknoweldge your existence in public.

Do you love walking your dog at the park, or taking him to your friends house to swim in their lake, or want a more peaceful trip to the pet store or vet office?

Contrary to popular belief you actually have to “train” your dog to realize that YOU are important anywhere he goes, and that he should not just “default” to the environment. The  best way to do this is work on a good “look” or “eyes” command. Start someplace easy where you always have your dogs attention like your kitchen before he eats dinner. As soon as he looks up at you and makes eye contact mark the behavior (say yes or click) and give him his food. (For more about marker training or clicker training visit our website http://www.EliteInstinctCanine.com or email me EliteInstinctCanine@gmail.com)

Repeat this exercise every time you feed him and intermittently in all places you go (with just a food tidbit) so he will generalize looking at you is good! Once he is reliably offering you the behavior you can put it on command. We use “eyes” because it is not a word commonly used in conversation around our dogs.

Good luck, keep training and check back next week for another tip!! If there is something you would like to see please email me EliteInstinctCanine@gmail.com

Raina performing “eyes” in a park in the finger lakes.

The importance of a solid relationship

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Raina and I working her in drive with the photography class getting some action shots.

The single most important part of training with your dog is the relationship. What is the whole reason you got a dog in the first place? Most people its for a companion, a friend, someone who can experience life with them. Why wouldn’t you want the ultimate relationship with your best friend?

Part of having the best relationship is that if done correctly it builds in the respect factor, which is a two way street. In order for your dog to respect you as both his friend and trusted pack leader you must respect him as a dog. Anthropomorphism or the act of treating a dog like a human being has gone wildly out of control in the last few decades. People do not understand the implications of doing this, which can range greatly depending on the dog and where the relationship stands. My advice is to only use intense emotion with your dog while you guys are training or having a play session. You can take the necessary emotional release and put it to use! Praise, energy, and body posture are three big secondary reinforces (for more on this please see our website for a list of recommended reading.) that we use when training our dogs. Not only does it benefit our training session but it also allows us as humans to provide some of that never ending emotional release we like to inflict (smother) on our dogs.

For more information or to sign up for our obedience classes and begin the journey of achieving the ultimate relationship with your canines visit http://www.EliteInstinctCanine.com

Why dogs are as slick as butter

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Canine manipulation at its best. “You will throw the toy, you will throw the toy………..”

 

Many people would like at that statement and go WHAT???!!!!!!!?????

But lets think about it rationally.

-They like to eat butter off the table

-They like to lick butter off your hands

-They like to squish their way into your heart and melt it…….. Ok so its a bit of a stretch but eh the title sounded good!

Today Raina woke up and stared at me for 45 minutes until it was breakfast time. Then after we got home from running our errands she stared at me again for another 2 hours till we went out and did obedience training. Yea shes real slick………….stare at mom enough and through osmosis she will provide for you exactly what you wish. In fact as i sit on the couch and write this she lays 4 feet away chewing on a bone, periodically staring at me in case she misses the flinch of body language that would mean we were doing something fun.

Slicker than your average

An obedient adventure

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Raina in a platz

I’m a dog trainer, but i’ve never been a dog trainer who really LOVED teaching obedience. I usually took on the behavioral cases the more challenging canines because i liked the adventure it took me on and i loved watching the dog transform. Now, my dogs have obedience training and all the dogs i teach must have a good foundation of obedience but i never thought i would really enjoy teaching strict competition level obedience.

WELL THAT CHANGED!!!!!!!!

A. It’s necessary fact of life, my dogs already have great obedience why not prove it a bit?

B. It’s wonderful to teach more then just fun tricks and real life skills, obedience routines are an amazing area to perfect a relationship.

C. I like to stay busy?????? ( Please excuse the question marks, sometimes i think i’m nuts)

D. It is FUN!!!!!

I never had anything against competition obedience, i just seemed to focus my training in other venues. This summer however my goal is to get both Abby and Raina obedience titled. This means major focus on their heal, finish, and drop out of motion obedience commands. The commands are less used in everyday life (hence the reason i never really focused on them) but do complete the obedience routine nicely. Both will compete for their BH (Begleithund)  which is the precursor for all Schutzhund work. Neither will compete in schutzhund, as they are both SAR certified already and i personally do not wish to mix the two but i figure why not expand my training in knowledge into yet another area?? That is what good dog trainers DO!!!!!!

Keep an eye out for more posts on their training and success during this adventure.

Swimming and other athletic activites

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Raina mid dock dive

One of the favorite summer time activities is swimming. Dock diving, chasing water toys, or getting just plane soaked. Swimming is not only a great way to cool off but also a great way to exercise the dogs in a low stress sort of way on the body. The girls are used to running 8-15 miles a week with me as my therapeutic medicine. Of course this mileage doesn’t count their weekly search problems, hikes, walks, or ball playing. I would estimate they do between 15-25 miles a week most times.

Now please do not just go start running your dog excessive amounts after reading this post, my girls have been conditioned over time to keep up this stamina. When they are puppies you must be VERY careful not to over exercise them or you can permanently damage their joints and bones. No dog is run on pavement until 14-18 months old, once growth plates are fully formed. Then each dog is worked according to his or her training plan which not only encompasses the mental growth and training of the pup or dog but also its physique and what its body is capable of. When we go out on a search i expect my dogs to work 6-8 hour shifts and cover between 2-10 miles depending on the terrain, weather, and search strategy. Everything is carefully planned out from the time we bring the dog or puppy home up through his or her eventual certification process and maturation.

BUT I DIGRESS 🙂

Anywho so back to the fun stuff, swimming is GREAT!!!!! Eme is not the most confident dog in new situations and water was one of them. From the time she was a pup i had her in and out of marshes, ponds and puddles but she never had a great role model canine to follow into the water. Social learning is an amazing thing!!!!!!! Once Raina hit the water as a puppy she turned into a floppy eared shepherd 😉 This summer between the other dogs and the kids Eme decided what her sister did looked like fun……..

Eme dock diving

 

Abby brushed up on her swimming skills as well, having never willingly swam into deep enough water she couldn’t touch she is now much more happy and confident jumping in after her toy.

Abby swimming like a pro

 

Moral of the post, get your dog swimming this summer for both his body and his mind!!!