TIP #1: PRACTICE WHEN IT'S EASY Don’t always call the dog when he is doing something that we find is less than desirable or something fun (like playing with other dogs or chasing a squirrel). Call the dog when he is doing nothing at all, too. The more often recall is practiced when it is easy, the quicker the dog will build muscle memory. Muscle memory will make it so that when distractions are tough the dog will quickly leave whatever is exciting and come back to you without thinking at all. TIP #2: TAKE IT ON THE ROAD A useful exercise involves teaching your dog to go to a specific place, like a mat, to lie down and relax. This can be a fixed location in your home (in front of the fireplace, by the toy box, etc.), but it can be more valuable to use a portable carpet square, mat, or dog bed of some sort. This gives you the flexibility to send your dog to her spot wherever you are; you just have to take her mat along with you. This behavior is very useful for a dog who tends to "bug" you (or your guests) for attention. - Whole Dog Journal This morning I shared on Facebook an article about expectations and how they can affect our training. When one owns or trains a deaf dog one might expect that the dog can't succeed, and that can lead to us giving up. Teaching Ozzy Leave It was a quite a challenge. but with patience, perseverance, and the expectation that he could do it, he slowly began to understand what we were trying to communicate to him and he ended up doing very well. Oakland already has a very good automatic sit - she does it all the time - so today we taught her how to do it with a hand signal. We also taught her how to Down, which she did very well on carpet but struggles with a bit on a slippery surface, so that will take more practice. Once again, Georgia aced her socialization outing. She met many people and didn't jump up once, nor did she ever flinch at any loud or different noise. She's one confident pup. TIP #1: COME WHEN CALLED JACKPOT! Find an extra yummy treat your dog has never had before but you think he will go crazy for (baby food, Cheez Whiz, liver paste) and hide it around the house. Once or twice a day when your dog is not expecting to be called, call him and reward him with the extra special treat. TIP #2: DOES GIVING FOOD TO AGGRESSIVE OR SCARED DOGS MAKES THEM WORSE? Many people think if you give treats when a dog is barking or growling out of fear or other aggressive reasons, you will reward aggressive behavior. Actually, if you change the underlying emotional state you’ll change the outward behavior. - Dr. Sophia Yin Olive and Walley are 18-week old Great Pyrenees siblings. They will eventually be doing what they have traditionally been bred to do: guard livestock. But first we will be teaching them their basic manners. After working with 15-week old Diamond the Great Dane in the morning, I got to meet 10-week old Monte the Great Dane in the afternoon. Monte is a bit shy so we will be helping with his socialization as well as teaching him his basic manners. |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
April 2024
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