Vacation!
We have Foundation and Nosework classes tomorrow and Agility Handling Thursday evening this week. Then Friday I leave for Vacation and will be away from the office until May 30th. So this is a good time to get caught up on classes and get ready for a refresher! I have a fun training challenge coming up for June!!!
Looking for tips on how to get started back up again if you stopped classes or are struggling with motivation? Choose 1 of 3 paths:
1) Head to the recorded zooms and watch some recorded classes
2) Head to the previous blog posts and work on the suggested exercises
3) Use one of the subject specific modules like Ultimate recall and dive into the suggested exercises.
The June training challenge with work for all levels so even if you are just starting out with a new puppy or are working on more advanced exercises, stay tuned for more details when I return from Vacation!
Foundation classes this week we are going to be working on Proofing our foundation exercises, so have ready
treats
toys
place (mat, bed, whatever you use)
leash
In Nosework class we will be looking at container searches, how to clean handle scent sources.
In Agility handling we are going to be looking at how to find ideal lines and where to set up your crosses, as well as talking about handling 180’s
COME!!!!!!!!
Recall/Come Commands Tips and Suggestions
Don’t call to make negative Outcomes more convenient for you!
If you need to do something your dog doesn’t like (bath, getting in a crate, leaving the dog park, toenail trims, etc) go to them, put a leash on or wait for them to opt in. Don’t use a precious come command to ask them to volunteer for something you know they don’t like.
See this face? Do not associate a “come” cue with this outcome!
Don’t use a Come Cue to Manage behavior before it is appropriately trained!!!
It takes time to teach a solid understanding of the “come” cue. If you rely on it before a dog truly understands it, you can bring inconsistency and hesitancy into the response to your cue.
It is normal for young puppies to run to you when you call them! It is also normal for those same puppies as they age and become more confident to ignore you and choose exploring their environment over responding to you calling them. This is not them being disobedient. This is them not actually understanding what the word “come” means, and hearing you say words but feeling comfortable to keep doing what they are doing. Personally I do not consider my recall cues trained for at least 6 months to a year of training. My dog has to move through all his developmental periods and experience recall training through those phases to fully understand. So even though Leo had a GREAT recall at 5 months old, I was fully well aware during adolescence it would be challenged all over again.
Use long lines, fenced areas, safe areas to manage the environment during training so you don’t have to rely on a come command before it’s trained!
DO use high value reinforcement and build as many reinforcers as you can
A dog that enjoys playing with you that finds many things you have to offer reinforcing is much easier to train a reliable fast happy recall to. If they don’t play with toys, use things that hold food you can play with to build some engagement. You reinforcement with food only lasts as long as it takes to swallow the food, with things they have to engage with you increase the duration of the reinforcement!
And when it comes to dogs, a big reason a recall is needed is to call them away from something they want to chase or engage with, so being able to provide that yourself can more easily counter and redirect away from those distractions.
Emergency recalls & Whistles
It’s a good idea to create a recall cue your dog can hear at distance or during windy or harder to hear conditions. Whistles are a great recall tool! Treat it like conditioning a clicker! Be sure to practice your recall cues with many different tones and volumes of your voice! It will change under stress.
Calling my dogs on upwind on a windy day on the beach. 🤣
The Nose Knows
Who is ready to do some Nose Work with their dogs???
Imprinting odor:
If you have a scent work kit we will start the process of pairing target odor with reinforcement. If you are interested in the sport there are odors you can buy that are essential oils that are used to simulate drug/bomb detection training. But you can use any novel odor (an odor your dog does not encounter as part of their normal day) . If you do not have a target odor we can start the training using their toys & treats so you can still participate in the other exercises if you don’t have a target scent. Commonly used target odors: essential oils- Birch, clove, anise, lemongrass, as well as truffles, sheds, etc.
***It is important to note that many of the essential oils used in Nosework are actually toxic to dogs so when using these scents it is important that you know how to keep the oils safely stored away from your dog and to know you are only using cotton swabs with a tiny amount of the diluted oils so I suggest you get your target scent oils from folks who put them together for canine scent work. If you have a dog that is one that likes to ingest things you need to be sure they do not have access to your scent kits!
Indications:
We will work on teaching our dogs to hold their noses on a target, which we will then transfer to holding their noses at target odor source.
Starting the search game:
We will begin with some basic interior searches. If you do not have target odors, and do not wish to get them you can do these games using their treats and/or toys! So even if you have no interest in competing in the sport you can do the training for fun!
If you have an anxious or reactive dog I STRONGLY encourage you to try the Nosework Classes!
Nosework is one of the best ways to help a dog decompress and can build a lot of confidence!
Classes this week
What’s on tap for this week in our live zooms?
Thursday Afternoon:
Cooperative Care Continues
For this session we will be working together on advancing the exercises we have worked on so far: Chin rests, start buttons & the bucket game. There will be no new exercises this week, just a continuation as we build duration and continue to create our positive patterns.
Thursday Evening Cooperative Care
Time: Apr 27, 2023 04:30 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87899392109?pwd=eHRQOWI5QzBEbzQ5cC9EQkd2Nmx2Zz09
Meeting ID: 878 9939 2109
Passcode: 850110
Agility Handling
We have *just enough folks to go for this, so if you can’t make it please let me know! This is more of a workshop style class where I show you exercises to work on and we discuss handling techniques for you to work on when and where you have appropriate space. We will talk through working on side change techniques and building your dog’s confidence in their skills. You can then use FB or email me videos of you working on the exercises if you have any trouble and need help.
Agility Handling Foundations
Time: Apr 27, 2023 06:00 PM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81207961376?pwd=cFlEM2VZci81Umc0T0NCQ01vV0FoUT09
Meeting ID: 812 0796 1376
Passcode: 894114
Saturday Morning:
Fit Dog continues
We will work on the exercises for the 4th & 5th weeks in Level 1:
Fold Back Down
Cavalettis
Pivoting on a pedestal
Fit Dog Level 1
Time: Apr 29, 2023 08:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86905083082?pwd=RWZ0VTFyZGNmVThiVjVjWXNUT2duUT09
Meeting ID: 869 0508 3082
Passcode: 754969
Next week we have Nosework starting up, more Foundation classes and a Recall Workshop!
If you have struggled getting going and are looking for inspiration to get going again, come to the recall workshop!!! Summer is just around the corner and now is a great time to get those recalls polished up so you can enjoy those summer adventures!!!
Book Club
On the FB group there was interest in starting a Book Club for dog training/behavior books. So we are starting one up!
The first book we choose is:
You do not have to use the links above to purchase, you can certainly buy the book wherever works best for you. You can check your library or local bookstores. But if you decide to purchase I do get a small kickback if you use the links 🙂
The discussions about the book will take place on the Academy FB group, but if you are interested in participating and are not on FB let me know and I can provide a review of our discussions on the blog here for those reading on their own.
Next round of Cooperative Care and Fit Dog Classes continue later this week!
Introducing the bucket Game for cooperative Care
The idea with the bucket game is we teach our dogs to focus on a dish containing treats, and once we finish the task, we let our dogs eat the treats from the bucket.
What makes the Bucket Game different that simply distracting with food, is that the food becomes reinforcement for the task, rather than becoming a possible cue to a behavior they don’t want. I know of many dogs who instantly shut down and worry when they see a spoon of peanut butter because they have learned that if they lick it, something they don’t like will happen. So instead we want the dog aware of what is happening before we proceed and offer food and we want the task to equal food instead of the food equaling task. So essentially it’s a timing thing that makes all the difference to the dog being in control of the situation and feeling a sense of agency vs feeling snuck up on and learning not to trust food.
For class have ready:
Treats, Medium to High value
A small dish your dog can eat from
A step stool or something you can place the food on that elevates it around chest high for your dog (we want it easy to see and easy to reach)
If you have an easy worrier - practice first letting your dog eat treats from that dish on the ground and then on the raised surface so during class you know they are ok eating from it.
Here is an example of using the Bucket Game to help Leo get comfortable with Dremeling his nails
His watching the Bucket is my signal to proceed
If he looks away I stop
You will see lead up videos in class on how to start teaching this, you can head to the Cooperative Care modules to see more videos on using the Bucket Game.
Have you been following along with our Fit Dog Classes? If you are on the FB group we also have a group of folks helping each other to get and stay motivated to exercise with our dogs with monthly virtual events! If you didn’t attend the first Fit Dog class, you can still join in if you head to the recorded zooms and catch up with the first class.
This week we will be looking at the Kick Back Stand, Spins, Cookie Stretches and more. Visit Week 2 & 3 on the Fit Dog modules for more details on exercises we will work on together. Remember Fit Dog classes are for normal healthy dogs looking to get more fit and confidence with their bodies, this is not a rehab class or designed for dogs recovering from injuries. If you are not sure if your dog is healthy for the class be sure to consult with your Veterinarian.
Here comes Peter Cottontail...
We only have one class this week, a foundation class tomorrow where we will work on fun behavior loops to strengthen come command foundations.
Recall Exercises:
Touch loop-
Toss treat
When dog returns, cue a hand touch
When the dog touches, reward by tossing a treat to reset the loop.
Sit in front loop-
Toss treat
When dog returns, cue a sit in front
Reward by tossing a treat to reset game
Combine the touch & front sit
Toss treat
When dog returns cue a sit
When dog sits cue a hand touch
Toss treat to reward and reset game.
Delayed Reward Recall
Don’t have any rewards on you, but place them nearby
Call dog
Cue a sit in front
Ask dog to wait/stay
Go to get the reward
Come back to dog and reward them with a jackpot (jackpot= Give multiple high value rewards)
Recall past distractions
Have your dog sit and wait
Place distractions on both sides
Call dog through the middle of the distractions, can have dog on leash
Reward with a high value reward for reaching you
Recall through a chute of distractions
Same as above but adding more distractions on each side
Can work to taking leash off, increasing level of distractions and can tighten chute in
Call away from a tossed distraction
Hold dog on leash - don’t give all leash slack and don’t throw distraction far as we don’t want to have our dogs running hard or fast and meeting the leash jolting themselves
Toss a distraction (start with lower value for your dog- if they prefer toys, start with some treats in a bag, if they prefer food start with a toy)
When your dog looks at the distraction or moves to it, call their name
Have them “touch” your hand
When they touch cue them to run to the distraction for reward
Recall off tossed toy
Same as above but using a toy
When tossing a toy, be sure to hold your dog’s collar to start so they don’t lunge
Reward for them just looking at you
Cooperative Care & Fit Dog Fun
This weekend we start up some new classes! I’m not going to give you a lot of leading homework as I want us to work on most of these things together. But I will give you a couple things you can get a head start on for our cooperative care classes.
Exercise 1: chin rest
Chin rest is a key cooperative care element and one you want to work on with your dogs! You can visit the Cooperative Care module for more details on getting the chin rest started.
Start Buttons:
We are diving into start button training. You can visit the Cooperative Care Modules. page down below chin rests to the first Start Button pairing exercise.
We will be working on the first exercise from the animal husbandry section on the Cooperative Care Modules.
If you are attending the Fit Dog Classes this weekend be sure to check out the Fit Dog Level 1 Week 1 & 2 Modules as the exercises we will work on are in those modules. You don’t have to have the fitness equipment, see the event calendar for what things you might find useful for the class.
What's happening this week?
Reactivity
This week’s focus in the Reactivity Class will be all about decompression and building our dog’s confidence at home, so none on the exercises require training ahead of time! So you can use this week to keep practicing the previous week’s exercises.
Things to have ready if you are attending the Friday Evening Workshop
Cardboard box (sides should be lower than your dog’s elbows- can cut down in needed)
Random recycling you save up, for example: empty paper towel/tp rolls, empty plastic bottles, newspaper or packing paper, small empty paper/cardboard boxes (like pasta boxes, etc).
Kibbles or small bite sized treats (will be using a bit, so if you feed kibble you can just save a 1/2 cup or so of their meal)
A older towel (hand or small bath towel- a towel you don’t mind your dog messing up)
we have a webinar (so talking not working) on what comes next with our reactivity training, we will talk about how to set your training session working around triggers for success. Diving into the importance of understanding thresholds, how to read your dog, and what to focus on when you head out to work on reactivity.
Foundations
Tuesday Morning we will meet with a group of young puppies (around 6 months and under) and we will be seeing where all these puppies are at so there is no exercises you need to work on ahead of time.
For those who have been participating in foundations so far, keep practicing the exercises from the previous classes! As you look at the calendar for upcoming classes the foundations continue, but we start to break into categories to take our focus, so Cooperative Care is going to be all about using some of our shaping games we started working on like the box game, and taking that style of training to help our dogs get more comfortable with things they might not like (toe nail trimming, brushing, etc) The engagement classes are about taking our foundations and using play & engagement to start taking our training to work around distractions!
The Friday evening agility handling currently only has one person RSVP’d so that class is likely to be canceled for now.
Fit Dog Class: Just a reminder, you do NOT need to have all the fancy equipment to take the class!!! You can do all of the exercises we work on together on the ground, and I will be giving you pointers and suggestions on what things you can use you might already have to add to the exercises. If you really get into it and want to buy stuff you see in class what I use, but you can do all the exercises without them to start!
Recalls, stays, leash walking and leave its!
There is a lot going on this week as we move on with our foundations in all the classes! Here are some of the next exercises we will be working on in classes this week. Remember we are working on these together in the group classes and this is just to give you a head start to get familiar with what we are doing in class, so it’s ok if you don’t get to all of these before classes! And the Foundation exercises are split between two classes 🙂.
Foundations:
Puppy Recall Game:
Show your puppy a piece of food
Give it a toss for your pup to chase
After they eat the treat give your clear recall cue “come” (or whatever you choose)
When they get to you, feed them a treat, giving them affection and praise as you do
Then toss another piece of food
Repeat the loop 4-6 times
If they offer a sit when they get to you that’s great, but it’s not required!
Stays:
First we work on staying right by us until we get our reward & release in
Once our puppy can stay at our side for 20 seconds then we start working on movement
Start with 1 Step away at a time, always leading the outside foot! (foot furthest away from dog)
Once you can step away one step laterally, work in every direction, one step ahead, one step behind, one step in front, etc
Adding some movement to a stay
adding some trainer movement forward on a stay
adding lateral steps in all directions on a stay
Leave it:
Have treats in both hands (use the same treats in each hand)
Present one treat in an open hand
BEFORE dog has a chance to reach for the food, present food from your other hand right at dog’s nose
Keep repeating until dog starts to anticipate that food will make treats come from the other hand so they stop moving towards the food in the open hand.
Add your “leave it” cue AS you give the treat, this will pair “leave it” with getting food from another source and create a head turn away from the food when they hear it.
Repeat the above steps but with putting food on the ground.
Be sure to put food on ground where you can easily get food to their mouth before they reach for the food on the floor.
If they go for the food on the ground don’t fight it, just let them win, then go back to having it in your open hand. You don’t want to create a game of who is faster (spoiler alert- they are 😂)
Leave it in your open hand
Adding your leave it cue
bringing food to the ground
Heeling:
Even if you don’t want to teach formal heeling, to work on loose leash walking we will start by teaching the basics of heeling to get the focus we want for nice walking
Have treats in your hand, show dog what you have and work to try and hold their eyes on you as you take just ONE step, if they step with you, reward
Hold hands up, not in a lure in front of their face, hold the treats sort of near your belly button.
When you give the treat do so with the hand closest to dog
increase your steps! But start inside the house where there are few distractions
moving one step with focus!
Moving around the house together
Reactivity
Parkour: (this is also a good exercise for any bed guarding dogs)
Having your dog know how to and enjoy jumping up onto things can be a great way to manage reactive situations! Many times I have had Nick sit on a bench behind me as I have intercepted loose dogs.
Start with something low and easy, like putting their front paws up on a stool, an ottoman, upside down bucket, etc
Once they can confidently put their front feet on move to trying to get all four feet up, make sure the spot is big enough to support them.
When they will hop on something you indicate like a deck, ottoman, chair, add your cue (up, get on, hop up, etc)
Then also work on the cue for getting off, you can start when they still only have their front feet on, just say “off” (or whatever cue you wish- don’t use your release cue) and toss a treat for them to go get off and on the ground.
teaching getting on and off a bench on a walk
Tuck & Treat
This one is basically our magnet hand but stationary instead of moving
Pick an object to be your imaginary trigger (in the video you will see me using Em as mine decoy)
Practice stepping between the trigger and your dog’s head and using your treat delivery to hold them in that spot
This is fantastic for things like being stuck in a tight space with triggers, like a waiting area, waiting for the elevator to open, waiting as something walks past you in a tighter passage
Tucking my dog to a magnet hand, using my body as a visual shield
Positions: Middle & Side
Being able to guide your dog to specific positions allows you to better use your body to cut off visual triggers
Being able to guide your dog to specific positions allows you to more easily handle stressful situations
Middle:
Have treats
Toss a treat behind you
As soon as the dog finishes that treat reach down between your legs and show them a treat in your hand for them to come get.
If they are worried about coming through your legs at first, just drop some treats closer behind you so they are getting rewarded for coming a little closer.
Some dogs have space issues and might take some time to get comfortable coming into that space, for those dogs we can also work on a spin and back into the middle.
teaching middle
Breaking it down to smaller steps for a dog nervous about coming through your legs
Doing middle from front
Side:
Treats in the hand of the side you want to bring dog to
Step back with the foot on the side you are bringing them to
Use your treat to pull them as far back behind you as you can
Once they are back at your hand as far back as it goes, step that foot back forward as you draw the dog up to your side
Work BOTH sides!
This weeks exercises!
If you are following along the classroom blog for either foundations and/or reactivity here is what we will work on this week!
Foundations:
More on Marker work! So last week we talked about using a clicker to play the box game. This week we are going to talk about using Reinforcement Markers and what that means!
Above you see the examples of using a clicker or a word as a marker.
A marker is not the same as praise. Praise is what comes after the marker as a type of reinforcement.
A marker is to pin point behaviors! So if for example you asked your dog to lay down, and they lay down but before you can get their cookie to them, they pop up, they might actually be learning to believe the game is to quickly pop up after a down, when what we actually want is to reinforce the down. So a marker allows us to catch that moment with that sound before they have a chance to move.
Remember for a marker to work, it must first be conditioned!
In these examples you see me: cue a position, mark with either a click or a “yes” then reward and praise.
Here is an exercise we are going to work on together in class. Doing our “puppy push ups”: sits, downs & stands. Focusing on marking and rewarding each position.
We will be working more on bringing play into our training as both a reward and a tool to use to work while our dog is excited! So keep playing with those toys and have a few ready for using in class! If your dog doesn’t play with toys see what you could use that could hold some food. Maybe a little cloth toiletry bag, sunglasses case, small plastic container.
Puppy Push ups:
If your pup does not yet know sit, down & stand here is a video demo showing me Luring Leo into each position.
Notice my hands:
They stay in contact with his nose the whole time
The move slowly and fluidly so he can keep contact with my hand
For the sit the hand raised up above his nose
For the down the hand lowers to the ground where his front paws will need to be to lay down, note my palm rotates so the palm is towards the ground so his nose is pushing under my hand which helps his head tuck more.
For the stand my fingers curl up as I raise my hand so he is pushing his nose over my hand, this arches his neck creating the stand. if that doesn’t work you can also move your hand up and away so they need to walk to follow it.
If you struggle with the down be sure to visit the Foundation modules for more details. This video might also help as it shows many different ways to get a dog down:
Reactivity:
We will be focusing on teaching our dogs the management skill of flow feeding (continuous reinforcement, magnet hand) for when we need to redirect our dog away from a trigger.
Use a handful of small easy to dole out treats. Kibbles work great. Small round is the easiest shape to feed out your fingers.
The goal is to keep your dog’s nose in contact with the hand the whole time, if they pull away be sure to give treats more quickly.
Practice until you can walk around your house inside without losing contact with their nose and then add in a verbal cue to stick to your hand.
It seems simple, but it actually takes some practice to sort out how to do it without dropping all of your treats or having the dogs eat them all at once.
We will also be talking about different ways to help you the reactive dog handers decompress and get centered!
Training Journals and Motivation
I’ve talked about it in the welcome zoom Q & A’s and there has been some chat on the FB group about using a training journal and I’ve been asked to share a bit more about that so I thought I will post about creating a journal.
First of all picking your style of journaling is important and I’d like to share a few reasons why I prefer a physical paper journal to a digital one.
The biggest reason I prefer it, is that it is harder for me to ignore 😂. I have it sitting on my desk next to my computer and it stares at me whispering “hey, you need to train to have things to add to me” 😂. A digital journal which I have played with many times perfecting, well I have to go to them and open them, they are very easy to ignore or just simply forget about.
There is also just something that hits different when you take pen to paper, the thought it takes writing something out can often help you work through thoughts more clearly.
So what do you put in your journal???
My journal is basically a big checklist format because I have a LOT of goals and this is the easiest way for me to track.
I suggest you think about your training goals for the year.
Think about: your big goals and also those little ones along the way. And then write those goals down.
I want you to start your journal by listing the top 3 reasons you don’t train when you want to (too tired, forgot, work too much, didn't know what to do, frustrated by process, etc)
Then I want you to write down 3 reasons why you want to work on your goals (what motivates you? What do you want out of this? Be as specific as you can)
Some people struggle with setting goals because they feel badly or like failing when those goals go un met. So if this is you I want you to reframe what a training goal is. It is a direction you want to head, a way to identify areas where you feel like your dog’s behavior affects your life in ways you wish it wouldn’t, it is a method to identify the specific things you can and want to change in your relationship with you, but it’s not a “to accomplish list”. It is a where can we improve list.
If you are someone who really struggles with goal setting then don’t set goals, just journal your process, write down where you are now, and every week add a short summary of how the week went.
Why is this SO IMPORTANT???
Because your mind lies to you. The critic inside your head is not a valid source of Information, for that we need solid data! If you write down what your goal are, what areas you struggle with your dog and want to improve or if you simply journal your process, I guarantee you when you look back on it later you will discover how in so many ways your dog’s behavior has improved and so has your training.
The bigger your goals are, the more detailed you make your plans and the more you track your training sessions the better your training will become. Again, data is reliable our perceptions often are not reliable.
I keep track of each training session with quick notes. I don’t remember to do so every time, but it really helps me to look back and see the progress we are making, it motivates me to keep going! Again, the bigger the goals the more you track the better you will get.
Do you plan your training sessions??? This is another way to help you stay organized and motivated! I’m gonna share something silly and simple but for me it really works!!
I LOVE checking boxes, it’s a little dopamine hit for me to check an empty box. For real, it is an actual reinforcement for ME, it makes me super happy. I make packing lists just so I can check boxes. 😂. Simple satisfaction.
So before I head out to train I use my phone notes and jot down what I want to work on, and I plan my training so I know what I want to accomplish with that session. And I use the checkbox option so later I can check those boxes!
You can definitely do it all digitally if that works for you! There are many habit apps that allow you to track things, you can use spreadsheets and word processing to journal. It really is what works best for you and what most motivates you! If you do go digital make sure you have some kind of reminder system that prompts you to log in!!!
If you wanna really dog geek out you can get a giant white board like me so your goals are in your face everyday.
What's on tap for this week?!
You all ready to get started with some live zoom training classes???
Here’s what is happening this week:
Friday evening 5pm pacific time: Foundations for adolescent dogs
In this class we will look at the foundation behaviors: Place, play behaviors and have a look at where you are with the basic positional cues: sit & down. What makes this class different from the other foundation classes? We will talk about how to engage the teenage mind, how to set you expectations and I will do my best to help you understand how this developmental period affects your dog’s learning. So the what we work on is not different, but the way we work on it can be!
Have ready: Treats: a couple different values, toys- if you have a couple of the same kind that would be great, like two tennis balls, two tug toys. A dog bed or mat your dog can lay on.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87616246698?pwd=RTlqbzlmaGw2eUFKa1dsQTQ1dWdadz09
Meeting ID: 876 1624 6698
Passcode: 301495
Saturday Morning 8am Pacific time: Foundations all ages
In this class we will work on many of the same exercises as in the Friday evening group but any age dogs can join in. In this class we will look more at clicker training/shaping (you don’t have to have a clicker) before working on place. So we will look at: play, basic positions: sit & down and play the box game.
Have ready: Treats, toys, including a tennis ball, clicker (if you don’t have one that’s ok) cardboard box big enough your dog could fit all 4 feet in it, if you don’t have a box we can use a mat or small rug as your box for now.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/81529512171?pwd=UHdZMnZuenY1TVdSbXVmRURRc255Zz09
Meeting ID: 815 2951 2171
Passcode: 344911
Saturday Morning 9am Pacific Time: Reactivity
What is reactivity? Reactivity is when your dog predictably loses control of their emotional state when they experience specific triggers: dogs that bark when they see other dogs or people, dogs that bark when they hear another dog barking. Not all reactivity is loud, some dogs express their loss of emotions by freezing or panicking, shaking, trembling. Not all reactivity is a negative emotion, many dogs are reactive because they are over excited and become frustrated. So if your dog struggles to listen, if you struggle to control them in certain situations they might be reactive, if you are in doubt there is no down side to taking the class. All of the skills we work on are also just great things to teach even if your dog is not reactive!!!
Topics covered: Hand Touch, whiplash turn, Look at that
What to have available: treats, toys, small bowl your dog could eat treats from, random small object you can hold with one hand (small pillow, stuffed toy, etc)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83629380019?pwd=SGdPdU03VmRZM0xWYzJvVkVDbUNwQT09
Meeting ID: 836 2938 0019
Passcode: 985286
For all of the live zoom classes:
Think about where you can train with the camera showing me you and your dog. Usually setting your computer up so you can see the room behind you works well.
All of the exercises are designed so you can do them inside your house as long as you have an open area big enough for you and your dog to be able to move around a few steps together.
You will be muted automatically, if you unmute for any reason be sure to mute yourself again as soon as you are done speaking, we operate most questions via the chat box, this is faster and also being a dog class, if your dog starts barking the whole class might join in 😂 I apologize in advance if Leo decides he needs to cohost with me with his squeaky toy 🙈
If you have questions use the chat box to ask, if you are struggling to do that, use the little “raised hand” icon so I see you have a question.
The class is recorded, if you don’t want to show yourself you can keep your screen off, just know I can’t help you if I can’t see you.
I try to keep the class flowing so if we get a lot of questions I might table some of them to answer via the blog so we can keep working!
For all of the exercises I will show you the video demos first, and then will offer feedback as you work on those exercises as a group. I scan the boxes of you all working to see if I can see anyone struggling, if I do I will give feedback. If I miss seeing you then again, use the little raised hand icon and I will find you.
If you have a younger dog that gets bored easily, during the parts where you are watching demos or asking questions it can help to have a chewy or toy you give them so they stay somewhat engaged and don’t wander off. Or you can have them on a leash so they don’t leave between exercises.
Saturday Morning 10:15am Webinar on Resource Guarding
This is a lecture style chat to go over Resource Guarding in dogs for those who struggle with dogs that show aggression trying to protect certain things: dogs that guard food bowls, toys, beds, people, bones, chews, etc. Dogs can RG in very specific situations like: only guard around other dogs, only guard with kids, only guard certain kinds of chews, etc. The webinar will be recorded for those who cannot attend live!
Again this is lecture style with time for Q & A on the subject of resource guarding.
Topic: That's MINE! Resource Guarding
Time: Mar 4, 2023 10:15 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86324699954?pwd=VWljd3I1QmVxUTRXbTR2cFZsdFFOdz09
Meeting ID: 863 2469 9954
Passcode: 964570
Can you see the early signals of guarding here?
Can you see the difference between these dog’s holding a chew? The top one, you can see the whites of the dog’s eyes and can see the eyes show worry vs the soft relaxed eyes of this dog. See how the top dog has tight facial and head muscles vs the bottom one, note how the top one, the tension creates little skin wrinkles around it’s eyes. Dogs “say” a lot long before they start growing and snapping!
Let's GO!
I’ll start this post with a bit just for the Bark Commanders, then will include the details of what the main academy flow of classes will entail as we get rolling.
Private Zooms
I've met with most of you, with a few left for this week, if you haven’t scheduled yet, be sure to get something in before the month ends! Remember the appointments don’t roll over. It’s been great checking in with everyone and getting to know those of you new this year. Be sure to reach out to me if you are trying to schedule and can’t find something!!!
Classroom Blog exercises- (remember as a Bark Commander you might have your own plan, these are incase you want to follow the academy program through the year as well)
The following are the exercises we will be working on in the upcoming live group sessions. You can get started practicing so that when we meet in class we can work on them together and I can help you with any trouble you might be having. They are broken into two sections- Foundations and Reactivity so you can look at the exercises that go along with the classes you plan on attending.
Foundations:
Play
personal play:
getting engagement without any toys or treats
just experiment and have fun
if your puppy is under 5 months and has sharp baby teeth you can use a toy
Keep all personal play short with a lot of breaks if your dog is young and easily aroused or over excited
Two toy play:
a good game for possessive dogs or dogs that lose interest in play quickly
Take two toys as close to the same as possible.
Toss one, or start playing tug with one, when your dog is in possession of the first toy, shift your focus to the second toy.
See if you can entice your dog into wanting to engage with your second toy.
Food as a toy:
bring your food to life!
Make it fun to chase
Make it fun to catch
see if you can get their tails wagging and eyes sparkling with food!
* If your dog resource guards food you can skip this game if it feels too sketchy.
Place:
Using a bed or mat we are going to start rewarding our dog for going to their place so we can build in a stay there.
hold your dog’s collar as you toss a treat onto their bed from a very short distance
let go as you cue “place” or whatever word you want to use.
when they get the treat, follow them and once they are on the bed use another treat to help them lay down or sit
* you can also see the video for shaping place using a clicker!
Clicker Training:
Condition your clicker/or load up your reward marker word
Try the box game
Reactivity:
Hand touch:
stand facing your dog
present one hand a few inches away from their nose, open, palm facing dog and when they investigate it, when their nose touches your hand mark and reward
repeat 4-6 times
Whiplash Turn:
have a handful of treats
place a treat or two at your dog’s feet
while they are eating go behind their tail
give your emergency turn cue
when they turn put their reward at your feet
repeat the pattern 5-6 times
if they are fast eaters like Leo put down several treats and call when you see they have finished the last one
Look at that Game:
have your dog sit or lay down facing you
have an object small enough to easily hold and move, big enough for your dog to easily see
have treats in your other hand and put both hands behind you
present the object to your side and look towards it
when your dog looks at it, mark and reward
as you reward put the object behind your back
repeat 5-6 times
it’s simple but the trick is it’s like that pat your head rub your tummy thing where your hands have to be independently thinking so you don’t move your treat hand until after they look and you say yes. 😉
If you struggle with any of the exercises we will be practicing these together as a group in classes starting next week, or if you don’t want to wait you can go to the Facebook group and ask questions or post homework videos.
Registration Closes this week!
Hi Everyone!
The Academy Registration closes this week, we have another Live Welcome Q & A Thursday evening for those that could not make the first one since folks are still signing up. So next week we will officially get rolling!!!
IF YOU HAVE NOT YET, CHECK OUT THE LAST BLOG WHERE I GAVE YOU THE FIRST ASSIGNMENT FOR THOSE WHO WILL BE FOLLOWING ALONG WITH THE CLASSROOM BLOG CURRICULUM.
If you are seeing that your dog is recognizing their reinforcement markers let’s add it to a Name Recognition game! So this week, BEFORE you click or say your marker word, say their name. The moment their head turns and their eyes meet yours hit that reward marker (click or your “yes) and then immediately reward. If they are a few steps from you, you can toss their reward to them!
So, your pup is laying on their bed, or walking by you, say “(their name)”, they look at you, you click or say “yes” (or whatever your conditioned marker word is) and then toss them the treat, or give it to them if they have run to you expecting a reward. Be sure you start when it is easy and they are not distracted!!! As they catch on you can wait until they are mildly distracted to say their name.
Don’t worry if you just joined in and have not yet started the first exercise building your reward markers! It is a very easy quick process, so head to the previous blog and check that out.
If you haven’t set up your first private zoom session be sure you get a meeting on the books before we run out of the month!! You can also set up March’s session now too! After I meet with everyone the first time and get folks plugged in that want a set monthly schedule I will then set up the schedule so you can schedule 3-4 months out to make planning easier for you.
First Homework Assignment
Hi Everyone! Welcome to the 2023 Program
Whether you want to follow along the yearly guided Academy program or focus on your own things, this exercise is wonderful for everyone, no matter your experience level and should be routinely revisited!!!
TEST OUT AND PRIME UP YOUR REINFORCEMENT MARKERS!
What is a reinforcement marker? It can be as detailed as a clicker or as simple as your "yes" or "good dog". It's the thing you do that tells your dog *I am happy and I am going to pay you for that. If you always pay without marking, it can be a really big challenge to get results without it being clear you intend to pay. Markers become our bridges that say "hey do this now, and then I will pay you, which adds in time, which allows you to build behaviors that sustain even if it takes you a moment to figure out how to pay them.
How do you test it? Say it out of context. Wait until your dog is maybe laying down, or looking at something, or maybe in the other room. Then either click your clicker or say that word, and do nothing else. If you dog doesn't immediately come to see what's up, it's not a strongly associated marker.
Whether the result is positive or shows room for improvement, or is met with crickets, let's charge it up!!!
How do you charge it? Like your test, only make sure you are close enough to your dog to get a reinforcement to them within 2-3 seconds of your marker. MAKE SURE you mark before you make ANY move to reinforce. So don't grab a treat and then click, don't reach into your pocket and then click, don't open the cookie jar and then say "yes". You need to mark BEFORE you do any of these things, or that action is what is actually being charged. I've lost count of the numbers of dogs I know whose reward marker is their owner's hand going into a pocket.
The easiest way to make this possible is to have stashes of rewards on the ready. You can put some random air tight containers stashed in various rooms in your house, wait until you happen to be near one and mark then reward.
At this stage do not ask the dog to do anything for that reward, we only want to pair the word/sound with the reward.
If you are brand new to training and have never conditioned a marker you can watch the video on conditioning a clicker in the foundation or trick modules! Even if you don't have a clicker, use a short happy word like "yes" or "Yay" or a quick little sound like that. Some people even use a little clicking sound with their tongue. It just has to be the SAME sound/word marker (for now).
***IF YOU ARE LATE TO SIGNING UP DON’T STRESS ABOUT CATCHING UP!
This is an exercise that yields powerful results quickly!!
IF YOU ARE A RETURNING ACADEMY MEMBER DO THIS HOMEWORK TOO!
You can NEVER have a marker too charged! In fact routinely priming them up is a great way to keep our dog’s motivation levels higher!!!
Notice I said “reward” not treat, treats are great and if your dog is food motivated they should be used, but if your dog prefers toys you can just as easily use play to prime those markers! Using just affection at this stage of the game is not what we want our markers paired with. We will absolutely be working on making affection a powerful motivation. But for a marker we are looking to make a specific association. We all love it when our boss says “good work” but what we really want is to get paid, get a raise or get a bonus!
SO WHEN WE START A RELATIONSHIP WITH TRAINING, AND WANT TO CREATE A STRONG INTEREST IN WORKING, WE NEED TO SHOW OUR DOGS WHAT THEIR COMPENSATION PACKAGE WILL INCLUDE.
Otherwise they might choose to accept at position at Squirrels incorporated. 🐿️
Welcome 2023 Bark Commanders New & Returning!
Please Know that I am still working on the site as to be able to open it right up the next day that means somethings will still be under construction.
For those of you who are new be sure to check out the calendar to see about the Welcome Zoom Q & A where we will go over all the workings of the program, which mostly has to do with the different private coaching options using the FB groups and your one on one zoom lessons.
Returning members, things will stay pretty much the same for you as far as setting up your appointments and using the FB guides. I have the new FB group set up and as I see you rejoining I will build your personalized guide and when we talk about yearly goals we can set up the guides how you want them.
A few general Academy changes:
I added the new fit dog class, I am still working on loading in the demo videos so since I let y’all in early know that it’s not completely sorted yet, the first 3 weeks I think are mostly complete.
There will be also a level 2 coming, and probably level 3 a bit later (still need to finish my certification for that level)
I am going to be adding in Hiker Pup Academy Certificates you can earn by sending in videos of your dog’s completing certain sets of exercises for the various modules. Stay tuned for how to do that if you are interested.
Advancing modules:
As I work on advancing Leo’s agility, Nosework and Obedience I will be adding in advancing levels to those classes.
When you look at the calendar, know that I will be adding to it once I get a better sense of who all comes back and who is new so I can set what classes should happen when.
I suggest you take this first week to think about your training goals for the year and how I can best help you with that so when we meet the first time this month we can form a plan. Think about: your big goals and also those little ones along the way.
If you struggled last year to stay on track there are a couple things we can do to help with that!
First one, get yourself a journal, like an old fashioned paper journal.
I want you to start your journal by listing the top 3 reasons you didn’t train when you wanted to (too tired, forgot, work too much, didn't know what to do, frustrated by process, etc)
Then I want you to write down 3 reasons why you want to work on your goals (what motivates you? What do you want out of this? Be as specific as you can)
You can use an online journal, but there is something that connects in a different way when you take pen to paper and then it’s there staring at you each time you open up the book.
Be sure to book your first private zoom! We can talk then about whether you want to have a set monthly day and time we meet or if you want to schedule month to month!