Some distance work with Dot this morning.
The objective of this exercise was that I could send her to a seen retrieve ( a retrieve that she saw me put down )
I then stop her on top of the seen retrieve ( do she doesn’t retrieve this one ) and send her to a blind retrieve ( a retrieve that she hasn’t seen me put down )
On the first repetition she got this wrong and although she stopped she still retrieved the seen retrieve instead of following my direction.
Because Dot has a lot of experience with reward based training, the simple fact that she didn’t get a reward gave her the information that wasn’t what I wanted.
On repetition 2 I made it a bit easier and stopped her a little further from the seen retrieve and she was successful.
Giving our dogs clear information on setting them up for success is the best way to make progression in your training 😀🐶
Wick was supposed to be doing a sit / stay… the remote launcher was too exciting 🤣🤣
Well what a glorious day for playing out !
I’ve been teaching my guys to go in here when I ask, it’s a little area that I can use when training them individually, Wick had already decided it was a bit rubbish as she has massive fomo when I’m doing stuff with the others so decided I needed to make it a cool place to be !
It’s basically crate training but on a larger scale 🤣
The Cockers are a bit wired this morning on our usual walk !
Spring is here ( for now ) and along with Spring come lots of exciting wildlife scents which are likely to excite your hunting dog !
Obviously we can’t smell this so we don’t see any difference, but the spring countryside environment can be a whole different picture for your spaniel and trigger the deeply ingrained hunting desires .. so if you are seeing a sudden difference in your spaniel behaviour it’s quite likely to be all the new exciting smells appearing !
Puppy Taggy learning that’s it’s okay to be near your human with things of value.
Resource guarding is one of the common behaviour problems we see in dogs.
This is when a dog becomes defensive over items they perceive as valuable, such as food, toys, bones, or even people and spaces.
This behaviour can begin with just creating distance from you when they have something they perceive as valuable, hiding under things or playing keep away.
This can quickly develop to stiffening and growling to severe snapping and biting if dealt with incorrectly.
Causes of Resource Guarding
Genetics … Some dogs have a natural tendency to guard.
Past Experiences…A history of competition for resources in a litter can also tigger resource guarding.
I have often identified potential resource guarders as early as 8 weeks old at an initial puppy visit !!
Early learning …Constantly chasing after and taking items from a puppy’s mouth when they steal things is a big trigger for resource guarding.
Prevention of resource guarding is something we cover in puppy classes and 1-1 puppy visits and is super important 😀🐶
A bit of Millie air time ❤️
Once of a day I did some precision heelwork stuff with her, we haven’t done it for ages so thought I’d give it a go this morning on our walk.. just to do something with her on her own.. a bit rusty but straight back into it .. just love her ❤️❤️
Come on a sunny walk with us !!
I twitter on about how these drivey Gundogs need more than just a walk so this is what we get up to when we go on one of our long walks.
We never just walk .. we are always doing gundog specific stuff, they need it and they love it !!
It makes walks much more fun for all of us too 😀🐶
Thanks for the lovely comments on my post yesterday about how well behaved my dogs are …. Here you go … 🤣🤣
Boundary training / impulse control.
✅ Not going past a certain area outside the house.
✅ Not diving out of the car.
✅ Not charging through gates.
All of these things have been taught using food.
Outside the house they have been fed a lot on the top step !
Their default behaviour is now to stop at that step, no food is required now, they have learnt to wait there ( it’s become a very valuable place ) .. I do however feed them now and again on that step just to maintain the behaviour.
Not jumping out of the car .. they were initially fed lots for remaining in the car when it was opened .. I no longer need to use food for this as it is now a learnt behaviour, staying in the car has become valuable to them, but I do maintain it every now and using treats.
Not running through gates … They have been fed lots of treats for staying at that side of the gate until I release them through, I no longer need to use treats. The behaviour is learnt but as above I do maintain the behaviour by feeding treats every now again.
They are choosing to do all these behaviours because they have learnt they are reinforcing !
Used correctly, treats are really powerful .. don’t let anybody tell you otherwise !!
Catch up with lovely Betsy today, I haven’t seen her for a while, her mum just wanted to make sure she was on the right track with her .. she’s doing an absolutely fabulous job 👏👏
We looked at some hunting and the autosit to movement and they showed me what she remembered from her previous sessions with her stop whistle, she’s so much fun 😀🐶
We then looked at a bit of heelwork with Murphy the lab x spaniel ❤️
This morning we took a little chill out time to appreciate the 13 degree heatwave 💨💨🤣
Atleast I wasn’t cold for a change 🤣
Reward Based Dog Training and Pet Gundog Training
