SitStayLearn

It can be so overwhelming when you are trying to train a puppy or dog. Try to keep it simple. 1) choose one or two easy behaviours to focus on for a week. It could be every time the dog looks in your direction or every time the dog sits or every time the leash is slack or every time the dog goes to his bed or crate. It's up to you to decide. 2) make sure to have a jar of kibble/treats within reach or on your body at all times. 3)pay attention to your dog and notice when he d...oes what you like. After one week of consistently being reinforced for that particular behaviour, you should see it being offered more and more. Continue to add new, different behaviour each week while remembering to reinforce the previous ones as well. You cannot "build"(for lack of a better word) a well mannered dog overnight. It takes time. The most important thing is to pay attention to your dog. Notice when he's calm and relaxed. Too often the opportunity to reinforce wanted behaviour is missed because the human wasn't watching or waited too long or expected more than the dog could offer. The dog always has 4 paws on the floor before they end up on the counter :) Timing is everything.

Life With Louie: I took him in for a bath today. He came out a puffball . #barbet #barbetsofinstagram #puffball #groom #groomingday #blackdog #nomorecurls #lifewithlouie #blackdogsrule #dogsarefamily

Life With Louie: Patience pays. Practice pays. Consistency pays. Reward placement pays. I am getting more and more voluntary, unprompted loose leash walking when Louie's leash is clipped to the back of his harness. Remember, when clipped to the back he's allowed to pull and be quite a bit ahead of me. When clipped to the front, leash walking rules apply and I am usually in training mode. The fact that he is voluntarily hanging by my side when he has the option not to is good... progress and tells me my training is working. If I was coordinated, I'd have a video to show you :) See more

Left to wander unimpeded your dog would joyously follow his nose from scent to scent. Which is fine with me for the most part. But there are times when I do need to change directions on a walk for various reasons. Instead of unexpectedly turning around and pulling on the dog's leash to move him I prefer to give my dog a heads up that we are changing directions. I try to keep the leash as loose as possible. When first teaching it, I do use steady pressure as I turn around but ...I immediately release the tension as the dog catches up. The order of events is important. Give the cue "this way" (keeping the leash loose), pause for a second, then turn and go. Do not chant the cue over and over. Say it once, pause, turn and go. Be consistent. Every time you cue "this way" change your direction. Avoid cuing it and waiting for the dog to stop sniffing. Immediately praise and reward your dog when he catches up. The foundation of this should be practiced out of context. Your dog is simply trotting along beside you, not sniffing or distracted, cue "this way" and change direction. You can even back up instead of turning around at first. Remember not to drag your dog along behind you. At first, you might need to do a physical prompt such as a thigh slap or "pup,pup" to get his attention. Make sure to still reinforce with praise and food when the pup catches up. If you find you need to use the leash to get the dog moving make sure to do so correctly. 1) Have your hand holding the leash against your belly. You might even cover one hand with the other as a reminder to keep it close. Not out in front of or beside your body. 2) Use the steady pressure of your body to move your dog. Hands remain held against your body as you move. This position helps to prevent the uncomfortable jerking of the leash. See more

Hand targeting and wait are two of the most useful behaviours I teach my dogs. I use "wait" in many situations including getting in and out of cars, at the front door, waiting for traffic or people to pass, picking up poop, going up or down stairs (don't want to get bowled over), approaching a blind corner, as well as when off leash or the leash is dragging and the dog is getting a bit too far ahead of me. As with learning any new skills, there are criteria to remember when ...training: duration, distance, distraction and difficulty. Only one is worked on at a time. Currently, we are working on distance (he is further away from me) - I am doing this in a quiet environment with few to no distractions (although it's tough to not bump into a squirrel right now). When I introduce distractions, (whether animal, car, person, etc.,) I will eliminate the criteria of distance. He will be much closer to me when I cue "wait". What I am looking for is some self-control and to stop moving forward. He can come back to me if he chooses but it's not necessary. Sometimes on walks, I cue "wait' simply to give me a chance to catch up if he's ahead of me. Then it's "let's go" and the walk continues. See more

Life With Louie: he doesn’t usually like to sleep in a dog bed, preferring the floor. This is the 3rd time tonight he’s cuddled up in this new one. Fingers crossed he uses it more often. I’d like for him to have a safe comfy place. #barbet #barbetsofinstagram #dogbed #safespace #naptime #lifewithdogs #dogsofinstagram #doggo #pupper #mustlovedogs #petsarefamily

I'm not the most graceful but Louie and I are having fun! This is our second round of agility at Drop The Leash just for fun. I have no intentions of competing. You can see why :)

It's National Black Dog Day!! Show me your black dog pics

Life With Louie: A Study In Recall Practice. This is the first time Louie practiced recalls in this environment, surrounded by new smells, a ridiculous number of squirrels and chipmunks, assorted novel sounds, and sights. He burned off some energy bouncing around in the water first, trying to channel his waterdog self (Video of that later). I was so proud of his responses, in general, on this trip. He was much more responsive and would turn from scents a bit sooner then he d...id on the previous visit. If this was a video you would hear me praising loudly and enthusiastically with every head turn in my direction :) Solid recalls are made over time. He is only 9 months old. A solid, more reliable recall is still quite a ways off. I am always very realistic in my expectations with any responses. I don't assume he "knows" how to respond in every situation. Even today, I did some practicing of two basic cues: sit as well as touch. Often times people get frustrated when their dog doesn't respond. I cannot stress enough how important it is to practice even the most basic of cues -including the dog's name - in many different environments, taking care to gradually increase the level of difficulty. Assuming your dog "knows" is a sure way to lead to failure. When you don't get the desired response, ask yourself if you trained the dog to respond to that level of difficulty before thinking he doesn't know it or is being defiant.

Life With Louie: We are heading out to an area with lots of different scents and scenery. In order to compete with natural reinforcers, I prepared something Louie has had only once and loved. It's important to remember what you use to reinforce your dog will change depending on the environment. When in the house a boring cookie will be fine. Have you noticed when you are in the neighbourhood park or in a more interesting environment, the cookies he usually loves simply don'...t interest him? The more difficult the job, the better the reinforcer needs to be. If I am going to ask Louie to do a more difficult job such as turn away from wildlife or new scenting opportunities, I had better make it worth his while.

Trust your dog. Pay attention to your dog. Look where your dog is looking........and you just might avoid walking straight towards a skunk. Thank you Louie Trust your dog. Pay attention to your dog. Look where your dog is looking........and you just might avoid walking straight towards a skunk. Thank you Louie

This is what I did with Louie to have fun and give him a challenge (who am I kidding. The challenge was mine). He (and I) had a blast. I have no intention of competing. This class was the perfect opportunity to have fun.

Life With Louie: This is the first time I’ve given Louie a raw chicken neck. Because it’s the first time, I am staying close by to supervise and take note of how he eats it. I don’t want him inhaling it and risk choking. He seems to be taking his time and thoroughly enjoying it. #barbet #barbetsofinstagram #rawfeeding #enrichment #novelty #dogtraining #rawfeedingcommunity #helikesit

Life With Louie: It’s so easy to get frustrated when you don’t see the results you are hoping to have. Reliable responses in a variety of circumstances take time. Your dog won’t get it right every single time. Reliability will increase with practice but expect mistakes. Louie is 9 months old. I have been associating food with squirrels and birds since he arrived. Remember, he’s a bird dog by nature.... Today is the first time I saw an improved response to a squirrel in the distance (about 15’). Not a perfect response. An improved one. Instead of yanking my arm off to chase, he stopped and stared and eventually disengaged without the chase. Ideally, he would look at me after seeing it. What he did do was take food (directly to his mouth) in a highly distracting situation and after a number of repetitions was then able to look down when cued get it. In the past he wouldn't always take food delivered to the mouth. At first, food was dropped right under his nose. Because I had 4 successful repetitions of that I began to toss slightly away to get him moving. The goal was to get him to disengage from the squirrel and follow me. I call this event a big success for him.