STAR PUPPY CLASS TONIGHT

STAR PUPPY Class tonight 
After class we worked on new obstacles which will count towards not only her LEVEL 3 CONTACT and THROUGH for Dog Scouts but are great body awareness exercises.   We tried the teeter as well but she showed me we need to go back to some rear end awareness exercises for her as she had no clue where her butt was or that she could put her back feet on the object.  She just walked it sideways for the most part.    She hadn't worked on any of these before tonight and after just a few reps - she had it!  Good girl!

LUNA MEETS KIKI THE GOAT

This is why I ❤️ my local Tractor Supply. When one of the staff said she had her goat at work, I asked if I could bring Luna down. She said yes and we got to do some awesome training.

FIRST GROUP CLASS TRAINING SESSION - TRAINING LEVELS - COME GAME BEGINNINGS

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tpptraininglevelsgroup/

One of the first 5 behaviors taught in SUE AILSBY'S TRAINING LEVELS is the COME GAME which basically gets a dog coming quickly and enthusiastically between at least 2 people.

This is a great game for Luna's family to play while she is on her overnights with them and we will be adding all kinds of extra bits to make it more challenging for her.   This teaches her not only to come to each of them, but in the event there was ever an accident or she was hurt, frightened or lost - I would rather her go to someone willingly than run.

I know so many handlers that don't want their dogs to go to other people for various reasons, but I would rather my dog willingly go to someone and be safe than run the streets or worse, get hit by a car because they were never taught this simple game.

Luka is a good example.  He has been with me for years now but came to me as an unadoptable rescue.  He was the last of 6 siblings the rescue was trying to place, had no people skills and did not want to interact in any way, stayed to himself and if he got out - you weren't going to get him back without MAJOR effort on your part. 

He was 7 months old in this picture and already a jaded soul.  It took us a very long time to create a positive people response in him but it is still weak in regards to other people outside of his close inner circle.

This was tested one day when he and 3 of our other dogs managed to find a weak spot in the fence and escape.  They happily gallivanted for much of the day before we were able to locate and grab them.

But Luka, my dear sweet medical misfit who was already going blind and partially deaf, was having none of the catching him business.  He ran from the ACO, the police, the people trying to cajole him into coming.  He was in the woods, crossing rivers, clearing fences like a gazelle and all in the wrong direction.  The more people tried to reach him - the further and faster he went - he wasn't having any of that catch me business.

I finally was able to get him when he realized it was me calling and came to the edge of the woods, stopping long enough to realize a familiar voice but even then it took him about 10 minutes to trust it was me.

He is a prime example of why this early training is so important.  He has come so far with me and my close family and he continues to improve - but to be honest as his eyesight has gone and he has little hearing left - he is more content to just hang out.  He gets around really well for a dog with as many issues as he has (you'll see him in the occasional video cameo) but for the most part - he is an old man at 5yrs old.

We work on his recall passively and it is pretty good if he hears you (and there isn't a deer running in front of him) but it could be better.  Most dogs recalls could.  But that is why this is in the top 5 first things to teach this little lady.  COME saves doggie lives.  I will be adding a whistle cue to her training from this week as well.  I look forward to her progress with this!

FIRST GROUP CLASS TRAINING SESSION - BODY POSITIONS AND REAR END AWARENESS

Body positions form the basis of many more complex behaviors and tell the dog where you want their feet and body to be.  There are 3 base positions - SIT, DOWN & STAND.  As they progress we add criteria to sharpen the behavior.

• DURATION (how long you want them to stay like that)
• DISTANCE (how far away you want them to do it)
• DISTRACTION (yes, still do it even though this exciting thing is happening over here)
• DIVERSITY (that they can do it on a mat, near a hat, with a cat or beside a rat...anywhere)
• FLUID CHANGES (they can go from DOWN to SIT without standing in between or STAND straight to DOWN without sitting
• SPEED (how quickly they respond)
• SIGNAL (hand/foot signal only, verbal only, handlers back turned)

But before we can do any of the more complex things - we have to teach the base behavior.  I really enjoy using Sue Ailsby's TRAINING LEVELS as a structured order of teaching things and have used it for years.  I actually run a free FaceBook training group teaching this for anyone interested in anything from increasing their pets skills to dog sports to service dog work.  

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tpptraininglevelsgroup/

In the beginning of this video is Luna working on understanding her base body positions and basic impulse control around high value food and other dogs.  Several of the exercises she has had no previous exposure to at all (STAND and TWIST/SHOUT). 

I start adding snippets of other criteria from above like Duration and there is obviously Distraction and as she becomes more solid in each aspect, I will separate and build on each part.

Towards the end, you will see I introduced a completely new concept with the spin circles.  It seems weird to think that a dog is not aware of their body, but puppies especially don't seem to know that their hind end does more than wag and follow along. 

When you are going to be teaching things that involve the dog moving their back end like swinging into HEEL position, or backing up into a tight space or from under a chair or even something as fun and simple as a BOW - they need to know they have a back end to be aware of.

There are several exercises you can use to teach this which Luna will learn and tonight we worked on the first which is simply to lure her into a circle and flex her body both to the left and right.  Because she was just trying to back up, a put my hand behind her to stop that and get her to just follow through with the curl.  This will quickly be faded out as she learns it. 

There are many ways to teach this behavior - this one was lured meaning she was following a treat but as she learns targeting this week, I will be changing to following a target instead of a lure. 

We also worked on PASSIVE MANNERS skills at the end - PUPPY ZEN - where we are teaching that to get what we want, we don't mug the hand but SIT instead.  This week we are introducing another two skills - LEAVE IT and TARGET and refining the ones ones she is already working on.

FIRST GROUP CLASS TRAINING SESSION - POSITIVE PUPPY PLAY AND SOCIALIZATION

Learning appropriate play response to a variety of other dog sizes, breeds, play styles, reactivity responses and learning to share space and resources is crucial to any pup.

But owners of giant breeds need to be sure that they expose their pups to small breeds early on in my opinion so they develop a gentleness and don't decide that Whack-A-Mole is a great way to interact.

Luna has met and interracted with a variety of dogs ranging from the Mastiffs Qui and Hoodoo, to Rebecca's little ones Izzy, Lilo and Laney (Boston Terrier, Frenchie and Frenchton) and of course she has my guys - a Collie, a Giant Schnuazer mix and the Scruffermutt Fizz. 

She is pretty well versed in every size, shape, hair type, infirmity, age and play style by now but it is important to keep building those skills.

Tonight she attended my group class with Dusty, a 9wk old Collie pup and Luna, a 1yr German Shepherd.

Here is a clip from the social interaction and play portion as well as a bit of the GO FIND game.

NEW EXPERIENCE - CELERY - LOL

When I was prepping dinner the other night, I gave the girls the celery ends to see what they thought.

Luna doesn't mind, good to shred, good teething toy for later but not overly impressed...