Tag: dog training

Weather isn’t so delightful!

weather
 
Weather is not always ideal for outdoors training.
 
In fact, it is sometimes downright harsh and inconvenient!
When cruel weather hits, or circumstances make it difficult to risk going outside for training, don’t despair!
There are training activities that you can enjoy with your dog right in the comfort of your warm dry home.
 
Does your dog want to do something?   Bugging you to train?

Here are a few suggestions to keep you and your dog from going stir-crazy when the weather traps you both indoors.

NoseWork – Scent work with hidden treats
The new sport of NoseWork is quickly catching on. Dogs just love it as it uses their natural ability to find scents with their acute sense of smell. Teaching your dog to discover odors using only his nose is a great game for his body and mind.

To start, set up a few (4-5) boxes or containers (I use plastic containers with holes punched into the bottom). No peeking! With your dog in a different room, place a few treats in one container. Then place all the containers upside-down and about 1 foot apart from each other.

Next, go get your dog. Enter the “scent room” and holding your dog back away from the containers, speak excitedly to your dog and let him go while encouraging him to smell the containers. As he as he pauses at the one with the treats, enthusiastically praise him on his discovery. Open the container and let him eat the treats. Soon, your dog will know what’s expected during this game. Keep adding more containers, space them at farther apart or add different objects other than treats such as your dog’s favorite toy or bone, to increase the challenge as your dog’s scent work improves.

Agility – Rev Settle – focus and foundations
Doing agility with your dog is great fun. Anyone that does the sport will attest to how quickly the basic foundations can be lost. Being trapped inside is a great time to refresh and revisit basic foundation skills as well as build focus and drive on the stationary skills your dog needs to be successful when showing. My favorite game for start line stays, table or 2o2o are the Ready Set GO! Games.

This is actually a combination of various games and placement of reinforcement. When training for agility, make use of them when leaving your dog for the first obstacle, during a stay on the table or a stop on contacts.

So, what can we do to improve and keep our dog’s stays?  Reinforce, reward, and test your dog for good behaviors during practice.    I have four ways to reward and work on start line stays. Always start close to your dog thus it is great to work on inside.

  • Throw back – The “throw back” is simply throwing back a toy or visible treat to my dog. This can be done at anytime and any distance from your dog. I do accompany the throw back with a “get it” release.
  • Go Back – The “go back” is where I go back and reinforce my dog by either feeding him treats (not letting my dog move until verbally released) or releasing for a game of tug. DO be careful your dog doesn’t release as you are pulling out your toy or treat!
  • Send Back – The “send back” is to a toy that I pre-placed behind my dog. To start teaching this game, I stop and turn towards my dog as i am leaving him and simply tell him to “get it”. This is a common way of releasing a dog to a toy or treat.
  • Release forward – “Releasing forward” to the obstacles can quickly become a reward of the highest value. I take special care to reward the stay a lot to balance the value of both staying and driving forward.

Obedience/Rally – sit/get/down/get and doodling
Two of the best ways to hone your dog’s skills and refresh his foundations are with fun active games.

The sit/get/sit/down game is very easy to play. Start with your dog in an active state. IE moving and engaged with you. You can be playing a game of tug or letting your dog chase a cookie that you are moving around in your hand. Ask your dog to sit. The second his rear hits the ground, break into another game. Revv your dog again and go back into an engaging game. Quickly have your dog down. The second he is down, break into another game. Your goal is to create the desire for your dog to sit or drop fast.

Doodling is another fun activity you can do inside on a cold or rainy day. Doodling consists of your dog in heel position and moving with you when you move. I use it to sharpen up pivots, fronts, finishes and so on. It is important to remember to break off often and engage with play and interaction.

Household chores – Teaching him to clean up
skiClean-up can be a lot of fun when your dog knows how to put things away! This game is easy. Scatter a few toys on the floor. Staying close to your dog, encourage him to pick up a toy and bring it to you. Reward every time a toy is delivered. Find each one and put it away in a basket to earn a reward. Start adding different objects to the floor like your dog’s food bowl for him to bring to you. After he has learned the bowl trick he can bring you his bowl after meals.

Another alternative is teaching your dog to put toys in a basket. Once your dog is bringing the toys back, teach him to drop it in a basket. Start as you did before and add a basket big enough for your dog to easily come to you and drop the toy. Once he is coming to you and dropping the toy add a command such as “Clean-up”.

Any of the games and training mentioned will be a fun challenge for both you and your dog.  Keep all your sessions fun by rewarding and playing often.

Use the bad weather as a great time to polish and improve your training.

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

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Heeling Tips & Tricks #22

heeling # 22
RIGHT ABOUT PIVOT
Intro, Handling and Teaching

Click Image to take you to YouTube Channel
 

Watch to the end for a NEW Training TIP

HANDLER CUES: RIGHT ABOUT PIVOT FOOT WORK
The Right About Pivot is a foundation skill for your about turn in heeling. In additions, it can be used for your turns for the Scent Articles, Gloves, as well as many turns in Rally.

When doing a Right About Pivot:

  • Stand with your feet together.
  • Shift your weight to your right leg.
  • Look down past your right foot and back onto the line of travel you will be turning on.
  • Step 1, move your left foot to make the “T” step by placing the ball of your left foot against the toe of your right foot.
  • Step 2, place the heel of your right foot against the heel of your left foot and point your right foot in the direction you will be going or sending the dog.
  • Step 3, bring your left foot up to your right foot.

Teaching the Right About Pivot

  • Review the weight shift from the Right Pivot section before continuing to train the Right About Pivot.
  • Hold your leash the same as in the right pivot so you can rein your leash as you shift your weight and start your turn.
  • With your dog on your left side, start to rein forward on your leash as shift your weight to your RIGHT leg.
  • Bring your LEFT foot to a T in front of your right foot.
  • Turn your right foot so that the heel of the right foot is touching the heel of the left foot.
  • Turn your left foot so that it is even with your right foot.
  • Praise and release your dog up to a treat or toy BEFORE the sit or completion of the pivot.
  • Only add a sit to the pivot once the desire is built and your dog understands how to move on your weight shift and turn while keeping his head up and focused on you.  This can take many training sessions.
  • Use a high value toy or pocket to place under your left arm.  Drop it on the first step or as your dog starts movement for a number of repetitions. Once your dog will keep his head up on the first step, start to drop the toy on the second step and so on. Do randomly reward each step during practices to maintain the heads up behavior.
  • Keep training sessions short.  Use HIGH VALUE rewards and use games with any effort your dog offer to build desire.

PLEASE add YOUR comments Below!

😉🐶🐶🐶 *****Next video – 23 – Heeling Progression – Wean Off Treat and Hand in “heel” Position

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

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Taking Breaks

relaxWe hear stories about a handler’s dedication to their sport, the hours upon hours of practice, and the conditioning and training for them and their dogs.

We are led to believe that they not only eat, drink, and sleep their sport, but also their sport is on their mind every waking minute.  This leads us to believe that any minute not participating, practicing, or thinking about the sport is time that is wasted.  Additionally, we are told that our more devoted competitors are passing us up.  Thus, when we take a break from training we are lead to believe that it is a lack of commitment on our part. But is it really?

Does Your Dog need Breaks from his regular activity and training?

Participating in just one type of exercise over and over can be physically and mentally harmful to your dog and to you. This type of constant exercise can wear and strain both you and your dog’s muscles. Worse yet it can enhance the risk of major injuries or worse “burn-out”.  Cross-training and participating in other dog sports can often eliminates these issues

Have you considered cross-training with your dog? This simply means engaging him in a variety of different activities to ensure that all his muscle groups get worked. It’s a great way to increase his fitness while reducing the risk of injury.

Dogs, like humans, become conditioned to the same exercise routines. With cross-training, you can keep both you and your dog physically and mentally engaged by incorporating different activities into his fitness routine.

Sometimes our own inactivity can limit our imagination to what we can do with our dogs. However, with some imagination, you can find many types of cross-training exercises.

Here are a few simple suggestions.

  • Swimming.  A great low impact exercise to keep you and your dog physically fit.
  • Balance Ball or disk.  This impact-free workout will improve your dog’s core strength, balance and increase his range of motion. It also helps improve your core strength, balance and range of motion.
  • Core and Balance Work.  There are loads of conditioning drills that are low impact yet very effective for overall conditioning for your dog. Sit up and beg is a great example.
  • Use a dog pack when going on walks. Adding light weight to a dog’s backpack is a great way to intensify your dog’s strengthening workout.
  • Stairs.  Climbing stairs is a great way to work your dog’s leg, shoulder, hip and lower back muscles.  Additionally, stair climbing helps your dog with coordination and agility. Have you ever thought of having your dog go up the stairs backward?
  • Hike.  Wooded or beach areas provide a natural cross-training environment for both you and your dog.
  • Different dog sports. There are many other dog sports available that you and your dog can enjoy. Some of these actives include Obedience, Agility, Nose Work or Tracking, Barn hunt, etc…

Be sure your dog always has a proper warm up and cool down before and after exercising.  Check with your veterinarian before starting any new exercise regime for your dog.

Next, is having your dog take Mental Breaks.  When it comes to dog training it seems that less is more. Research has shown that dogs learn faster when given regular mental breaks during training.

The following training ideas can help you get more out of your training sessions AND give your dog a much needed mental break.

  • Set aside a specific training time.  A few minutes of quality time can go far.
  • Take brief breaks if you are working through a problem. If you are working through a hard scenario with your dog, give him play breaks throughout the session to help relieve stress and keep him motivated to train.
  • Don’t OVER train. When your dog does well, owners are often tempted to push their dog to do more. Resist the temptation and always end your session with your dog wanting more. 
  • Use everyday life situations to get in extra training. Use time you are with your dog to get in some extra training. Sit stays at doors, while vacuuming or watering plants. Recall practice when your dog is in the back yard chasing that squirrel or playing with another dog. Use your imagination!
  • Give play breaks. Give your dog a chance to blow off some steam when he has been working hard. Let him just be a dog so play tug with him, have him chase a ball, etc.
  • Don’t work when frustrated. There are times when dogs struggle with a new skill. It can become frustrating when your dog just isn’t catching on. If this happens, or you’re just having a bad day – take a break for yourself. Go get a drink of water, look at the mail, etc. and come back when your head is clear. Your dog will appreciate the break and the skill will be there when you are in the proper frame of mind to train.

When training your dog keep in mind his mental and physical state. Give the two of you breaks to prevent burn-out and injuries. Try something new that looks interesting and fun. In other words enjoy being with your dog and “enjoy the journey”.

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

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Catching in the Act!

To be an effective trainer, correction or praise should occur when the dog is in the act of the behavior you are trying to eliminate or reinforce.

That way, the dog can connect his behavior to your reaction. Most dogs want to please their owners and if your timing is spot on, your dog will quickly learn how to act like a perfect pet!

If your dog does something wrong and you don’t catch him in the act then do not correct him. Dogs have short term memory, very short. If he does something wrong and you come in even a few seconds after the fact (even if he “looks” guilty) and punish him, he will have no idea why he is being punished. In other words, if you don’t catch him in the act, you’re out of luck!

If your dog has a tendency to get into trouble when you aren’t looking, put him in a crate or on leash when you can’t devote 100% of your attention to him. This way if you get distracted, are answering email, gardening, etc., you’ll still be able to keep an eye on him and catch him right away if he gets into mischief.

Always be aware of what your dog is doing. Be PROACTIVE and reward appropriate behaviors rather than waiting until your dog is doing the unwanted behavior and correct. It’s far better for you both if you do some preventative training and management for you dog.

The best training is always preventative training!!!

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

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Gurrrrr. Summer is here.

sun
Don’t know about y’all during the summer months but it gets really HOT here in the south.

During this time of year, I need to plan my dog’s training sessions and conditioning so that we can get the most “bang for our bucks” yet not over heat our dogs.

I know you ask yourself “what is there to do to keep my dogs busy and keep them in shape during the long, hot, dry weather”?  YES, you want to have something up your sleeve to keep your four-legged friends busy, in condition, and out of trouble.

The first thing on my list to do during the hot summer months is to review foundations with my dogs. These are skills that are needed for the venue in which we are getting ready to or are currently showing.

For instance, if I am showing in agility, we will review our contact behavior on a board or the stairs. We can work on start-line stays or simple jump drill skills with one to three jumps.

If we are showing in obedience or rally, we will review pivots which are the foundation of all heeling turns. We can do “Get It” Games to improve any going out and coming back skills such as a dumbbell retrieve or the turn for go-outs.

We can review all the foundation skills that I have used to train my dog. Take a few minutes and remember where your dog’s training started. Write a list of all the foundation skills you used with your dog. If you are having issues when showing, NOW is a great time to brush up on those important skills.

I love to teach my dogs Tricks in the summertime!  Why?  Because Tricks are a great way to exercise my dog’s body and mind.

Tricks such as spin or twirl can help with my dog’s flexibility.  Sitting up and begging can improve my dog’s core strength.

Walking backwards can improve rear end awareness. Picking up toys or dog bowls will improve my retrieves. Whatever you decide to teach your dog will benefit you in some way. Get out your bag of ideas and tricks and train away. Besides, tricks are a super way to impress visitors, kids, any anyone who will watch. Furthermore, they are fun and your dog will enjoy them.
Another area I look at is ways to Exercise my dogs. Keeping fit during the off months is very important and will help prevent injuries in the future. Also, exercises improve balance, endurance, and body awareness. Get pods or foam pads for your dog to stand on for balance. A dog treadmill is great for staying cool while working on endurance and conditioning.

Ladder work teaches your dog how to use his feet. If so inclined, you can work on your balance too.

Let your dog have time off to just be a dog. This is important for your dog’s mental health as well as his physical health. Just like humans, it is good to take a vacation from training and work. Hahahaha. Just take time to let your “hair or ears” down. Activities such as swimming, hiking, going to the beach or just plain “ole” lying around with your feet up in the air make great breaks from training. Find activities that both you and your dog will enjoy and just “DO IT”!

Any of the above suggestions can be built upon and ideas added. Look on the Internet, or buy a book for more ideas. There are LOADS of ways to keep you dog busy and in condition through-out the HOT summer months!

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

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Why Teach Tricks?

trickTrick training does provide many benefits – to you and your dog:

  1. In the process of learning new tricks you establish a way to learn to communicate with your dog.
  2. Trick training helps to build confident dogs and teaches your dog to experiment and offer behavior  – which is important.
  3. Tricks are a great way for your dog to stay flexible and warm-up before showing.
  4. Trick training is a wonderful way to energize, build attention and focus on your dog.
  5. Tricks can be used to replace bad behavior. For example, if your dog is barking at the door, you could ask your dog to do the trick “get on your bed” to redirect his behavior.

Trick training is important and useful for many reasons.  Always keep in mind that every skill or exercise you teach to your dog is nothing more than a trick.

Teaching your dog to remain next to your side, heeling.  Learn to bring something to you, retrieves.  Getting on and remaining in position, a stay or 2o2o behavior for contacts.  Offering behaviors becomes drive, attention and focus.

So go out and have fun and train a trick TODAY!

Visit https://debbyquigley.com/classes/  for Free classes on foundational skills. 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

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Is there a difference between a skill and an exercise?

You bet there is!

What is the difference between a skill and an exercise????

An “exercise” is something I am required to do in the ring. It is a sequence of skills.  The Drop on Recall, Heeling, courses in Rally or Agility etc.   All of these are exercises.  They are the “Things” we are required to do at shows.

Skills, on the other hand, are individual tricks that we teach our dog.  As your dog learns more tricks, you can start combining tricks that will be combined together to complete an exercise at a show.

Think of all “exercises” as nothing more than a bunch of tricks chained together! 

So…. Tricks include things like going around me for the short finish, jumping to my either my right or left hand for the beginning of the long and short finish, successful completion of weave poles or contacts, etc.

When training, teach the skills first and separately.  Break down any exercise you might need for a show and teach all the skills in that exercise separately. Once your dog is proficient with all the skills, start to mix and match what you may need for a ring performance but also mix and match the skills just to be random and test your dog’s knowledge and understanding of all the skills.

My point is for you to start thinking out of the “exercise box”.   Don’t just train exercises.   Start training skills/tricks.   Proof and perfect each trick/skill to meet your criteria (which you should set high).   Mix and match tricks/skills, to test your dogs knowledge and have fun!!!

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley

LEADER OF THE PACK

packDogs are naturally pack animals.

In a family situation with people, a dominant/pushy dog may “test” his place in the pack by asserting himself.  This may be done in subtle ways such as nudging your hand for petting, stealing objects or going out doors before you do.  More extreme ways he may assert himself  can be actions such as guarding resources such as food, toys or even people.

You, as the leader, should establish your position in the household by providing structure and boundaries for all dogs living with you.  Have clear and definite rules for your dogs to live by.  Examples can include  things such as your dog not being allowed on furniture until he is invited and he has to get off when asked; working for all attention or food (tricks or obedience commands like sit or down work great) to teaching your dog not to go through doors until released.  Always keep in mind what motivates your dog’s behavior.  Make sure he is living by YOUR rules and you’ll have a willing follower in your pack!

IMPROVING YOUR RAPPORT WITH YOUR DOG!

Feel like you need a relationship makeover with your dog?  Many times, behavior problems are created by the relationship issues between the dog and his owner. All too often, the owner feels that giving the dog treats, affection or allowing the dog to do as they like, is the answer to building a strong relationship and acquiring their dog’s love.  WRONG!

Building rapport with your dog takes planning, setting definite boundaries, and reinforcing rules. What improves your relationship and rapport with your dog depends  on the current status of your relationship with your dog.  Read over the following and see if any ideas might help improve your relationship with your dog.

Mealtime. There are a lot of opportunities that can be associated with mealtimes. Your dog working for his food is a “biggy”. Take advantage of mealtimes to train a few skills or even modify a behavior. Plan feeding times with your dog before the bowl is filled. Once the meal is fixed, place the bowl on the counter and get to work. Pick new and exciting skills to test your dog’s knowledge and see how eager he becomes when working for his food!

Pick up the toys. Those toys belong to you! Your dog needs to look to you to provide the fun things in life. When you want your dog to play, select a few toys and use the toys to interact with your dog. Use this time to teach your dog to tug,  retrieve and  play with you!

toys

Walkies. Going for a structured walk with your dog is a great way to get exercise and spend some quality time with your dog. What is a structured walk? It is taking your dog on a “walk”. Setting a brisk pace with no stops and randomly throwing in some training along the way. Walks should be in a controlled position.  This means your dog walking next to you.  While it’s ok to stop for a potty break, it is not ok for your dog to sniff every blade of grass or pee on every tree. You set the pace and make the rules for the walk. What a great way to burn energy AND bond with your dog.

Crate time. Time apart is a GOOD thing!  Get the crate out of your bedroom, leave your dog home once in a while, and let them learn to stay without you. We don’t always have to be interacting and touching our dogs. Time apart will build your dog’s desire to be with you.  As a result, your dog will WORK harder when with you and give more effort to gain your attention.

Train! A busy dog is a happy dog. Providing mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise. You would be surprised at how quickly a dog will become tired after a quick training session. Teach your dog to spin, crawl, sit or down or any other trick. Training of any kind will help mentally stimulate your dog.  Skills or tricks are great ways to get your dog’s mind working. A tired dog is a happy dog!

Structure and boundaries set foundations for a wonderful pet and companion.  Check the way you spend your time with your dog.  Are you adding to behavioral or training problems?  How is the rapport between you and your dog?

Anytime you have a problem with your dog, look at home life first!  

 

Please leave comments or email me with future article ideas at Ask DebbyQ. 

Visit my Youtube and watch training videos at https://www.youtube.com/@DebbyQuigley