We had a great Loose Leash Walking session with Monte. We first taught him Heel so he learned to focus on us a bit more. We then clicked and treated (reinforced) any behavior that we appreciated, like looking at us or walking next to us. Good job, Monte! Today we taught Athena how to Wait and Stay. She loves her food, so the wait took several repetitions until she learned not to get up until given the ok. Stay, however, she learned very quickly and didn't move, even when we went into another room. TIP #1: CAPTURE AND REWARD A good rule of thumb is to reward your dog whenever he naturally does something you are working on teaching him. For example, if you find your dog lying down, tell him, “Good down” and treat or pet him. That will also make your dog more likely to add lying around quietly to his list of hobbies. TIP #2: LET YOUR DOG DECIDE Remember that every trainee gets to define what reinforcement is best, so we can't say which is more effective for your dog - toys or food. Toys have the advantage of overwhelming nervousness with positive emotions that are associated with relaxation and comfort, but chicken is the way to many a dog's heart. - excerpted from Feisty Fido TIP #1: GRADUAL PROGRESSION When training anything, start with the basics and improve from there. Keep distance and distractions low and gradually progress. If you do too much too soon, you will crash and burn. Slow and steady will win the race in any obedience training. TIP #2: WATCH FOR CALM Right now your dog barks, lunges, or reacts problematically when she sees other dogs, but what if she had a different response? What if, when she saw another dog, she immediately turned her head and looked at you, wagging her tail in happy anticipation? We call this exercise "Watch" and for a seemingly simple exercise, it has a long list of advantages. First of all, your dog can't bark and lunge toward another dog when her attention is directed to your face. Teaching an incompatible behavior is a time-honored and elegant solution to a lot of behavioral problems, and it works wonderfully with fidos who are a bit too feisty on leash walks. Additionally, by teaching your dog to look at your face when she sees another dog, you're teaching her what you want her to do, rather than hoping she'll figure it out herself. - excerpted from Feisty Fido By playing recall games like Puppy Ping Pong, Rocket Recall, and Hide-N-Seek, Stefan learned how to Come When Called. He was having a blast racing to each person as we called him back and forth. |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
April 2024
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