A few months ago, I saw a discussion on Facebook between a few dog training folks that essentially blamed people who wear bait bags for ruining the reputation of positive reinforcement trainers. Personally, I disagree, but I wanted to open up the debate.
Despite the germs (which linger, I’m sorry to say), I took Lilly on a little outing down into town last weekend.We went for a short walk. Lilly scaled rocks and walls. She even practiced a little shopping etiquette. Here is how it went.
Years after we tackled the Relaxation Protocol ourselves (both the one by Dr. Karen Overall and the one our own behaviorist prescribed), it remains one of the top reasons people come to Champion of My Heart. Pretty neat, huh? So, I decided to revisit a couple of the common questions I get about our Relaxation…
Dear Sam (and others who are longing for dog training news), I wish, wish, wish I had the time/energy to work on new things with Lilly, but I just don’t with all the family medical dramas that have been brewing non-stop since summer 2009. We have high hopes for spring 2011, though. So, don’t give up on us yet. While I called it an update, it’s more like a wish list.
Being such purveyors of praise around here, we go through a LOT of dog treats … very few of which are store bought. I came up with this particular “snack mix” when I needed something to put in food delivery toys that was low-cal. Clearly, the Cheerios work better for that than the Rice Chex, but this mixture has more of a party-planning, holiday flavor. Plus, it does NOT take long to make … so if you are short on time and have dog friends who need a little gift … it’s perfect.
One of the things I love so much about positive reinforcement dog training, and clicker training specifically, is how dogs learn to love learning and how brave they become in trying something … anything … new in hopes of finding success. Imagine your life, if you could find that same spirit.
At first, we blamed Ginko’s early-morning wake-up calls on knee pain. Then, we had that whole excessive thirst and urination thing going on. Now, we’re not sure if he’s just hungry on the new turkey/sweet potato food or merely a pain in the neck. So, we’ve been experimenting with some things, and for now … it seems to be working.
In week 5 of the 2010 Never Shock a Puppy dog blog campaign, we offer a few ideas on how to get your dog to COME when you call. The main post started to get REALLY long, so I’m continuing one idea here. And, it is this: Playing FETCH is a great way to practice recalls every single day. We even made a little how-to video (see below).
A while back I delivered a full-on rant about the (insert strongly-worded editorial comment here) FedEx guy. So, what’s a girl to do when one of many UPS guys feeds barking dogs treats?
Once upon a time, I got Lilly to put down a baby bunny. She grabbed it on the hill to the west. The only sound I heard? A sort of muffled scream, almost like a bird. From the middle pasture, I hollered DROP IT. And, Lilly did. It remains our best-ever long-distance DROP IT.
