Solving dog training problems... positively.
Che’s Blog
I’m sad Che. Every time I come inside the house, I’m expecting to see your smiling face from the dog bed. Though it’s actually been more like “sound asleep” face lately. Sometimes I even had to check if you were breathing. Huh? I was never sound asleep. I was resting...
Tracking: Problem Solving-Part 1-identifying the challenges
I've been experimenting with teaching my young dog, Talic, how to track Schutzhund (footstep to footstep) style without using food in every footstep. Traditionally, I was taught to teach tracking with food in every footstep and then you gradually take the food away,...
Collar Gives! (formally known as Collar Grabs…)
I’m going to steal the term “COLLAR GIVES” from my colleague Sarah Stremming because I think it better describes the skill of teaching the dog to push their neck into your hand on cue. That’s what I’m searching for as the end result, a dog that flies into my outstretched hand, with speed and confidence.
Updated list of Podcasts/camps!
Amy Cook, Sarah Stremming and I got together to talk to Melissa Breau about training! https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/blog/e107-r-2-0-with-amy-cook-phd-sarah-stremming-and-shade-whitesel We're also teaching mini camp, hosted by Megan Foster of...
Are you Ready to work?
Ready to work?
I like to ask these questions of my dog:
Will you eat food?
Can you hear your food reinforcement marker cues?
Can you execute simple behavior skills?
Can you do simple sequencing?
Reiki: lessons from the Quiet Place
Last May 2018, my GSD Reiki went from walking semi normally, to barely moving, both hind feet knuckling over, low in the rear, you name it. I was away at the time, and Dave, my partner, called me frantically, hoping he could hang on until I got home. Lots of...
Fixing a piece of One’s retrieve
In preparation for my upcoming IPO 3 trial with Ones (no date set but you know eventually I’ll get around to it….perhaps more about that in a future blog entry), I was going through his obedience video of his IPO 2, and figuring out what I had to re train, what held...
The Power of Eye Contact in Dog Training
The very first thing I teach is focus on me (eye contact) AWAY from something the dog wants. That “want” can be a treat, to greet another person or dog, a toy, access to outside, etc… I teach this the first or second day I get a pup home before I even teach the dog his name, recall, or anything else. In future blog topics, I’ll be talking more about how behaviors, reinforcement and what I’ve termed a “reset” fit together, but for now let’s concentrate on teaching the dog that focus on you is the gateway to getting what he wants.
What is reinforcement in dog training?
I’m all about the reinforcement these days.
Mine, my dogs, the people we surround ourselves with.
What is reinforcement?
Anything the dog likes. This could be swimming, sniffing, eating, tugging, chasing, access to the front yard, you name it.
Reinforcement could also be release of pressure, since relief from punishment can be very likable to the learner receiving the punishment. But I’m not talking about that in this blog post, so let’s stick to positive reinforcement for now. Social greetings, movement, control over one’s environment, those also can be considered reinforcement.
Some of it you get for free. Most dogs like food, and the type of dogs I have tend to like chasing, tugging, and just doing stuff.
But some of it you have to build…
Featured on Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast!
I’ve had the chance to chat with Melissa Breau on the Fenzi Dog Sports Podcast twice now — the first time on my background and the second time specifically on training with toys.