It’s going nicely in practice, but in the meantime, what should we do when we’re actually walking our dog?
Waiting for the food dish....is it really teaching anything?
This is an exercise everyone seems to agree is a good thing to teach our dogs. But besides being a cute party trick, is it really teaching anything useful?
So many people think their dog knows how to stay, as evidenced when they do this exercise. And then they are disappointed when the dog cannot stay while visitors arrive, while cooking or eating meals, or during whatever temptation is rearing it’s ugly head.
This exercise in it’s most simple form is no more useful than a party trick.
It is just the tip of the iceberg to teaching humans to teach dogs basic impulse control. If you want to really teach your dog to stay in the face of distractions, try adding these layers of difficulty to the basic exercise:
For ALL exercises:
Easy version: ask puppy to sit.
Hard version: wait for puppy to sit voluntarily.
Super hard version: refrain from saying say stay/wait. Voluntary behavior teaches more self-control.
If bowl gets to the ground with a politely-sitting puppy/dog:
Easy: say “free!” and let puppy eat
Medium: count to 20, then say “free!” and let puppy eat
Hard: count to 40, then say “free!” and let puppy eat
Super difficult: count to 20, ask for down, then say “free!” and let puppy eat.
Whoa, impressive: count to 20, ask for sit/down/sit/touch, then say “free!” and let puppy eat.
PHD level: step behind dog and ask for a touch, then say “free!” and let puppy eat.
Now we’re REALLY talking self-control: apply exercise to exiting crates, cars, or any place where patience is preferred.
happy training! <3 from Jenn, Terra & Ringo
East Coast Private Lessons: August 26th & 27th!
That’s right!
I am coming back for another weekend of in-home private lessons! Can’t wait to check in with all my favorite people and pups.
Sign ups are filling fast, so secure yours asap! I’m super excited!
Camp Unleashed Friends & Family Event!
Camp Unleashed is right around the corner and Ringo and I are itching to get there. It will be such a great weekend.
I’m going to be teaching some new classes at camp: Puppy Pilates, Understanding Dog Emotions, and Truly Useful Dog Tricks.
The REALLY good news is that we are having a friends and family Event!
And guess what? You are my friend! So if you want to sign up, just add my name to your registration form and you’ll get $50 off this year’s camp! Wohoo! And if you refer a friend to come to this year’s camp, you’ll get $50 off next year’s camp too. Who can resist that?!
Camp Unleashed!
Flyball. Dock diving. Scentwork. Parkour. Hiking. Swimming. Agility….
Don’t hesitate to send me an email if you need help registering. Can’t wait to see you all there!!
<3 from Jenn, Terra and Ringo :)
East Coast Private Lessons! June 5th & 6th!
That’s right!
I am coming back for another weekend of in-home private lessons! Can’t wait to check in with all my favorite people and pups.
Sign ups are filling fast, so secure yours asap! I’m super excited!
Closing in on our goal...
Terra and I are happy to report that we have moved into the Elite Advanced division of Rally Freestyle Elements Musical Freestyle and just earned our first qualifying score with a newly-debuted routine! We are working toward RFE’s first Elite Grand Champion title, and I have choreographed a new routine to allow her to show off her talents while being physically less taxing on her body. She still absolutely loves to play and train with me, so it is very important to me that I honor the joy she gets from training and performing.
Terra is hanging out while I read, but she wants to go for a walk…
“Hey mom! Stop reading!”
Our new routine scored 95/100 with extremely valuable and wonderful comments like “Lovely storytelling!” “Super clever prop use!” and “Creative interpretation of the music” . This routine was a skit-style routine, very different from our usual heel/dance style of freestyle, so it was a creative stretch for me that presented lots of training challenges. The sheer duration of a few of her behaviors took time to build, as well as the independence to work further from me than she would prefer. Anyone who has seen her sidepass with me knows how she loves to GLOM and SHOVE into me! lol
This routine has also been challenging in the prop department: lots of them and some that even change throughout the routine! Oy!
She’s got a better idea!
Going for a walk… Now the fun really starts!
I have been resting her for a couple weeks, hoping to perform again in the Dogs Gone Dancing Bandstand show April 27-28. I’ve practiced, but made her rest her body. We’ll feel the need to sneak in one more practice this week, play around with some bits during the Friday fun match and then see how she feels.
Stay tuned as we continue to work toward our goal with this new routine! Enjoy the video stills! :)
Attention: build it, value it
Why train it?
Because getting your dog’s focus with a single effort is very useful. You can distract him from enticing trash in the street, for example, or keep his eyes on you when walking past another dog. You can more easily get your dog to come when called if you can get his attention. Plus, dogs that are rewarded for paying attention do it more. And attentive dogs are easier to train.
A gateway to self-control
Exercises 1-4 progress from most simple (for dog and human) to most difficult. The more difficult exercises install more self control in your dog. Depending on the difficulty of a given environment, you might decide to gather your dog’s attention in different ways. Work on each exercise in five different locations to make sure your dog can respond to his attention cues in new places and with new distractions.
How to teach it:
Exercise 1. Watch Me: Start with a treat held right at your dog’s nostrils, then draw it to your face, holding it between your eyes. If your dog looks at your face, click and treat. Progress to adding the verbal cue, “Watch Me” when you can make the movement without food in your hand.
Exercise 2. Helper Sound: Use an interesting noise to cause your dog to look at you. Click and treat.
Exercise 3. Name Recognition: When your dog is looking at the environment, say her name cheerfully only once. Click and treat when she looks at you. If she doesn’t, use a helper sound, then click and treat.
Exercise 4. Voluntary Check-In: In a low-distraction area, stand still and quiet. Wait for your dog to voluntarily look up at your face. Click and treat. To add difficulty, add distractions or movement, or play the game in different positions (sit/down/left heel/right heel).
Important Tips:
You will need to teach all humans around your dog to minimize over-use of her name. You really, truly CAN wear out a dog’s name! We are teaching her that her name has value, so using it unnecessarily often undermines this process.
Balance the value of your treat against the value of the nearby distractions. Use simple dog food if no one’s around, and high-stakes cheese or liver in the face of squirrels or other dogs!
Distractions can help or harm this process. Always start at a distance from your dog’s distractions. It should take less than 3-5 seconds to gather her attention. If it takes longer, move further from the distractions and try again. If she’s staring incessantly at you, work closer to the distractions.
Sea & Shore Camp Registration Open!
It is here!!! Sea and Shore Registration is ready and trust me it was worth the wait! We have expanded and improved our training and camp activity offerings from last year, to give you even more awesome opportunities to play, train, swim and relax!
This camp is in Pennsylvania at Camp Westmont May 31st - June 3rd.
Come Swim, Learn, Play, and Relax with us!
We are super excited to introduce the skills we are offering at this camp with four AMAZING instructors:
Erica Etchason - Sea Skills Jenn Michaelis- Shore Skills
Sherrie Wilkes - Agility Skills Jessica Schulte - Scent Skills
Visit the website to register and read about the instructors and the classes we will be offering. Of course the camp atmosphere you have come to enjoy from Camp Unleashed is part of the experience, but we have added more structure to this camp for campers that want to dive into our most popular activities and go beyond foundation skills. We want you to be able to take it up a notch when you go home!
During the registration process you will pick five classes a day to attend. Only 12 campers per class so if you have your heart set on an activity, register early before the class fills.
East Coast private lessons! March 22-24!
That’s right!
I am coming back for another weekend of in-home private lessons! Can’t wait to check in with all my favorite people and pups.
Sign ups are filling fast, so secure yours asap! I’m super excited!
Time to Visit! NY/CT Private Lessons Dec 7-8th!
That’s right! We are coming back for a weekend of in-home private lessons! We can’t wait to check in with all our favorite people and pups. Sign ups are filling fast, so secure yours asap!
