ENGAGEMENT TRAINING
Why do it? The reason that you need to have some form of engagement in your training is because without it, your dog has checked out, is no longer listening to you and therefore your communication line is down! Without engagement it is very difficult to communicate effectively with your dog.
Engagement can take many forms, this is just one example of the kind of things you can do with your dog whilst out on walks to maintain engagement.
I play this game with Skye whenever we are on a hard surface. Each time she checks in with me I throw a piece of food for her to chase. I use some of her allocation of food to do this on walks. I end the game with the command ‘FINISHED’. Try it on your walks every day for a month and let us know the difference it makes to your communication and how attentive your dog is towards you.
For more top dog training tips, please like and follow our page and if you need some help on a 1 to 1 basis, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
PLACE COMMAND
The place command is a very functional exercise that can be used in a variety of useful settings once taught.
For example, I put my own dog in ‘Place’ before going for walks. She has to lie down and stay down in her place whilst I put my shoes and jacket on and get myself prepared for our walk.
I also put her in place when she has a poo on our walks. That way, I don’t have to keep an eye on her, whilst I sort out my plastic bag and pick up the poo. So, it is a very functional command.
It can also be used when you go to the Pub or a Cafe.
You can teach your dog to be completely bombproof, if you consistently make it worth their while to remain in place, regardless of your distance away, the time you’re away for, whether they can see you or not and through any and every distraction. It takes time and effort, as well as a lot of practice but if you want it, you can have it. We’ll show you how.
If you would like help to build a solid place or any other obedience command, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-obedience-training
POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT
Positive reinforcement is a very powerful method of dog training. It is the primary method for training or shaping new behaviours. However, what isn’t as well known is that it has its limitations and is not the be all and end all of training, as some would have you believe.
When it comes to dealing with unwanted behaviours, particularly the ones that are self rewarding, positive reinforcement is not going to help you at all.
So if you’re still trying to fix your dogs behaviour problems by distracting them with food or toys. It’s time to accept that it’s probably never going to work. Time to call a behaviour expert.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
DOG TRAINING IS A JOURNEY NOT A DESTINATION!
What do we mean by that? If you’re solely focused on getting a result and don’t enjoy the process of getting there, you’re always going to struggle with dog training.
You really do need to enjoy dog training, for you to get anywhere with your dogs behaviours.
No matter what you achieve with your dog in the way of training unless you maintain it with regular practice then it will fade over time. So, focusing all of your efforts in achieving a certain goal and then stopping isn’t a strategy that is going to help you over the long term.
When you book a session with us, we encourage you to take a real interest in dog training. We can show you where to find reliable information that will help you to develop as a dog trainer. We Train You To Train Your Dog.
If you would like more information about our services, get in touch and ask for more details.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
MARKERS IN DOG TRAINING
Markers are a very important part of any communication system that you have with your dog. If you’re not using markers then you are missing out on a deeper connection with your dog(s).
The first step to using markers in training is to charge that mark. Without charging the mark, it doesn’t mean anything to the dog, it’s just a sound. The sound has to have meaning, so we associate it with food.
In this case we are using the word CHIP as a marker and each time I say CHIP I pay with food. Thus building an association CHIP = Food! This is a brand new marker for Skye, she has never heard this word before.
Notice at the start of the process, it’s quite clear Skye doesn’t know what this sound means but progressively she gains understanding of CHIP = Food. This continues to progressively get stronger over time and more practice.
We can turn it into a game for the dog, so that although we are doing important work which will help in future training, it’s also fun for the dog.
If you would like to learn how to use markers in your training as an important part of your communication system, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-obedience-training
LOOSE LEAD WALKING - WHY ITS SO IMPORTANT FOR REACTIVE DOGS
Apart from the fact it is a lot more enjoyable to walk a dog who doesn’t pull. A dog that is paying attention to you and is able react to the speed and direction you are walking in without putting pressure on the lead, is far less likely to react. Why?
It’s because they are paying close attention to you, the speed you are walking at and the direction you are moving, not to mention making it worthwhile to remain engaged through food rewards. This, rather than scanning the road ahead, looking for dogs makes the dog far less likely to be reactive. It’s what’s commonly known as a win, win! Stop pulling = less reactive. It’s not the end goal but it’s a step in the right direction.
If you have a reactive dog or just a dog that pulls and you would like some help to resolve it, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
“MY DOG WILL DO IT UNTIL THERE IS A DISTRACTION”.
We hear this frequently and the problem is that most people don’t take their dog through a training phase with distractions. They just expect their dog to perform when there are distractions present.
Distractions have to be introduced progressively, starting with mild distractions and working up to more and more distracting environments, as the dog becomes more competent.
If you would like help to teach your dog to ignore distractions, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-obedience-training
YOUR DOG - LIVING THEIR BEST LIFE
Most people don’t want their dog to have fancy competition style heel work or a robotic dog that only does what it’s told, when it’s told and we understand that.
We have competed in dog sports in the past but nowadays, Skye is our family pet. We want her to have the best life possible. In order to be able to give her the best life, we need some things from her.
Skye’s obedience is what we call functional. It’s not fancy, we don’t need that but it is reliable and because it’s reliable, we have the confidence to take her anywhere (that’s allowed) off lead.
It’s a two way partnership. She gets the life she wants and we get the reliability we need, to be able to give that to her.
If you need help to give your dog their best life possible, get in touch.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-obedience-training
OFF LEAD FREEDOM
Every dog, ideally, should have off lead freedom on a regular basis to satisfy their physical and mental needs.
However, way too many dogs get too much freedom too early in their dog training journey and before they are truly ready for it.
Before giving a dog off lead freedom you should have a level of training so that you can control that dog. As a minimum, your dog should be able to carry out the following exercises in a distracting environment.
STAY
WALK TO HEEL OFF LEAD
RECALL
If you have this level of control with your dog, then you probably feel very comfortable allowing your dog lots of off lead freedom. However, if you don’t have this level of control and you want to be able to meet your dogs needs both physically and mentally, get in touch.
Let us show you how to achieve this level of control.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-obedience-training
HOW DO I FIX MY DOGS REACTIVITY?
Reactivity is the most common problem that people come to us for help with. It’s super common! To fix your dogs reactivity we need to understand your dog and where this behaviour is coming from as there are different kinds of reactivity.
This dog is a 3 year old Pug/Collie mix that is super prey driven. This high level of prey drive is common in Collie’s and Collie crosses.
The cars driving past provoke the natural prey drive in the dog. The dog wants to give chase but is prevented from doing so by the lead, which in turn builds frustration. The behaviours of barking, lunging and spinning are the result of frustration. The dog is also enjoying this activity, so it is self rewarding.
We have a tried and tested system that we have had a lot of success with. It differs each time depending on the dog and the type of reactivity.
If you would like to get more information about our reactive dog programme, get in touch and ask for details.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/training/dog-behaviour-modification
RELIABILITY IN TRAINING
We hear a lot of people say that their dog can do, this, that and the other, until there are distractions present. This is a common problem and is caused because the dog has missed out on an important part of training that gives you reliability.
Most people know how to teach a dog a behaviour using a reward (motivational training). That is one step in the process but it won’t give you reliability. Your dog CAN do it, as long as there isn’t something better to do, in the way of a distraction. We call this phenomenon, competing motivations and in order to overcome it, your dog has to learn that he MUST do it.
In order to get reliability you have to teach the dog both, that they CAN do it (this is the motivation) but also, that they MUST do it (this is the obligation).
If you would like to learn how to implement motivation and obligation into your training in order to get reliability, get in touch and ask for details about our services.
https://www.forbesdogtraining.co.uk/about-us
Behaviour modification & dog training experts!
