Katherine and I were so excited today to find some dried up horse pooh! Not toooo fresh to be overly tempting (to the dogs) -- but not so old that there was no good smell left to it either!

Why would we be so excited to find dried up equine dung? It was a great training opportunity! That's why! A chance to train our dogs to focus on something and to reinforce the "SNIFF" cue!

If a dog is sniffing then they aren't ________ (fill in the blank: eating, running away, rolling in it, etc.)

The chance to sniff something wonderful can also be used as a life reward. Wuffie come! Good come -- sniff this! Yay! If you are the finder of the good sniff substance then your dog will think they better keep a closer eye on you on the trails 'cause you are the finder of amazing discoveries. Share the experience! (well, okay -- maybe just the excitement of the experience)



Normal dog/dog greeting behaviour is usually initiated by the dogs sniffing each other. For some dogs that need help learning appropriate social skills with other dogs, reiforcing a sniff cue can help the process.



In our STEP ONE workshop we teach how to put sniff on cue. Join us at least once and give us a chance to show you how this seemingly crazy concept can help you and your dog!

http://pawinhand.blogspot.com/p/step-one.html

No harsh commands, no leash yanking, no choke chains....

Just attention, default behaviour, self control, life rewards, positive reinforcement...

Watch Kooper from the moment I open the front door and greet him -- all the way to the van for doggie field trip time! Like an excited child at the amusement park ... using Grandma's Law to get the behaviours we want ... or in dog training we us the Premack principle.

Get rid of collar and leash corrections. No more yelling commands. Join a STEP ONE Training Workshop to see what it's all about.
http://pawinhand.blogspot.com/p/step-one.html

Definition: (noun) A dog lover or fancier

ie: A good many cynophilists are willing to spend hundreds of dollars a year on their canine friends.


How about dogs that spend hundreds of dollars on themselves???





Why do we give so much for our dogs?

A dog is the only thing on this earth that loves you more than he loves himself.

Josh Billings (Henry Wheeler Shaw)

I have found that when you are deeply troubled, there are things you get from the silent devoted companionship of a dog that you can get from no other source.

Doris Day

Agreeable friends — they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms.

George Eliot

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.

Anatole France

I can't think of anything that brings me closer to tears than when my old dog — completely exhausted after a hard day in the field — limps away from her nice spot in front of the fire and comes over to where I'm sitting and puts her head in my lap, a paw over my knee, and closes her eyes, and goes back to sleep. I don't know what I've done to deserve that kind of friend.

Gene Hill

No one can fully understand the meaning of love unless he's owned a dog. A dog can show you more honest affection with a flick of his tail than a man can gather through a lifetime of handshakes.

Gene Hill

Guest poster Katherine (happy-houndz.blogspot.com) here!

Shadow handling comes from the agility world but works wonders for us too!

When it comes to off or on leash "HEELING" a few of my mentors are; Silvia Ttrkman, Susan Garrett and even Greg Darrett...I ABSOLUTELY can not tell you HOW much FUN it is for the dog and human to play shadow handling games. BONUS is you end up with a rock solid velcro dog, who LOVES to be close JUST because it's FUN and really rewarding!

Come to think of it, for those who never can find time to carve out for exercise...it's a great way to exercise! Race around, burn calories and SPEND TIME building a bond with your dog. I have yet to meet a dog that doesn't LOVE this game! You'd be surprised that even the aloof ones get in on the fun.

You don't need to be goofy all the time, just sneak it in on your walks from time to time and they'll walk politely while keep their one eye on you for the slightest indication that you'll start the fun. Works with the Premack principle as well...walk politely without tension on the leash and...we'll play a few shadow handling games on our walk!

You can sneak this "training' in any time...ANYWHERE...and if you time it right...you can use the environment as a "THANKS" for sticking to me like crazy glue :)

I'll update the steps and take video with my guys sometime this week, but for now...here's a perfecto example from Sylvia Trkman's new puppy vid!

1- following you in the water (how much fun is that on a hot day!)
2- coming to you means cuddles or jumping up into your arms!
3- coming to you means we get to play games and learn tricks w/treats!
4-coming to you means to down in front of you then scoot in beside you
5-start your heeling exercises, rewarding them for backing up, beside you, circles through your legs, tugging playing with their favourite toy as a 'thanks" for sticking so close
6-more tricks! Sneak on your belly, go to your mat
7- play with me! race with me! Then race with other dogs then come back for more fun with me!

All this builds VALUE (Susan Garrett term) for paying attention to you and provides you with the opportunity to be "in tune" with eachother. The end result is there can be other dogs, people, noise, action going on in the distance but FOCUS for you is much more FUN.

SAY goodbye to those problem behaviours of chasing, barking, lunging...the environment becomes white noise...and YOU the APPLE of their eyes. In the end, they don't want to miss out on the fun with you. It gives dogs who worry about other dogs, people, leaves falling, cars, bikes a job to do. Leslie McDevitt also covers this in her work as well!

There are body language cues that help the dog figure out which side to stick close to, how to move around into different positions which keep things interesting for the dog.

I've been doing "shadow handling " for years without knowing that there is a method to it which kicks things up a notch and makes it even more fun for the dog after attending a Susan Garrett Foundation Skills workshop.

I love this video, as you can see Susan's body cues clearly. You should see how amazing her dogs are on an agility course. In person they are a riot.

It's a way to keep your dog focused and learning...and provides mental stimulation! If you watch them play amongst themselves they often play this game as well!

Bonus is it's exhausting to concentrate on a task, we do it all the time. Ever feel tired after reading or when you're learning something new? You'll find it's an ideal way to burn off some steam and take the edge off, when your dog is looking for something to do and racing around is not an option.