sheena

I have a Bojak girl. She is 9 years old & never had any health issues & is a good all round dog. They do seem to turn out a lot of puppies though...not sure if this limits the time they can spend with all individual litters. But I am happy with my girl....she is my soul mate...even if a bit naughty :)

Free flights for rescue dogs

Our dogs get walked twice a day & it is usually through a bush block where lots of interesting things have happened overnight or during the day. When we walk the dogs, it is all about the dogs..letting them sniff & explore to their hearts content. One dog I have to keep on a leash because she runs off following her nose & has a lousy recall...but I still stop & let her sniff whenever she likes. If I want to walk for the exercise (mine) I walk without the dogs or I will just take the one that is fine off leash on our own land.

In agility I use it if I want the dog to do a sharp turn to left or right to take an obstacle...usually the dog is running out in front, so it is easy to decide if it is a left or a right. EG as he is committed to a jump or coming out of a tunnel, I would call "left over" or "right tunnel" depending on what the next obstacle is. I get a bit confused if the dog is facing me, because then it is my opposite, but that rarely happens in agility. It is very handy for doing distance work in an exclusion zone or just distance work because there is no way I can keep up with my boy. I also use it for just doing spins for fun/tricks, which is how I first taught it...as a directional spin. Oh...& I do use it a bit in Rally O when I want to do a sharp turn.

I am terrible at left and rights too Its interesting what the words end up being! I spent 2 days trying different words/combos for a "release type" off leash word (just for our backyard) in the end "off you go!" was the only thing that stuck :) With my older girl, I taught back & close for left & right, because that is what Greg Drerrit did, but when the younger guy came along we just taught it as it was...left & right. Now I am in the process of transferring the girl to left & right & she gets it most of the time, especially if I give the tiniest little point of the finger but she still responds to back & close. Directionals are very handy if you are ever thinking of doing agility...I use them in an emergency when I just can't get there to give a body cue :)

What is marching? :) Well...more like "marking time". They are facing me & lifting one front paw at at time on the spot

I use different words for different directions. I use left & right for spins & for cross paws I use criss & cross, though we still havn't managed the "cross" bit yet. For marching I use hip & hop. For leg weaves I just say "legs" no matter from what direction but if I want her to reverse through my legs I say "reverse" For going around me I just say "around" but if I want her to reverse around me I say "scoot".

Same breed ??

My two chewed things till they were about two years old if I left things laying around. My girl used to lay on her day-bed bed & chew the timber cladding on my house My 5 yo still likes to chew up the odd plastic buckle if I leave a collar or harness laying around. Really the only solution is to make sure she can't get hold of things she shouldn't because she is only 11 weeks old...you have a long way to go yet :)

My younger BC was one of nineteen puppies (two litters a week apart). That was a handful, but his breeder took it all in her stride. All pups were raised in the house, all given socialisation & trips in the car..even took them all camping along with their mum's & her other dogs. They were all given the same training & all received equal attention in every way. I couldn't have got a better pup...so happy with him :)

OMG...how could you not love that face :)

The collar grab game :)

The collar grab, is basically getting him used to being handled by the collar. Some dogs freak out when you take hold of their collar & are "collar shy" It is very handy to have a dog that lets you hold it's collar. Make it fun to be held by the collar...apart from treats..you can take him by the collar when he comes back to you & then you can let him run off again...make it a game. In agility we use the collar grab for restrained recalls & my girl gets super drivey in training when I hold her by the collar, stir her up & then let her go. Basically it's just getting them used to thinking that being held by the collar is a good thing & it doesn't always mean "end of fun..I'm being put back on the leash now"

Sounds like you are going great, & may I add, what a lucky dog, to have you as an owner Some dogs (mine included) find just being asked to do tricks, spins etc is a reward in itself. You could start to randomly treat when he is offering behaviours. Mixing it up with how many times he must do something before you C & T. It might be one, then three, then one, then two, then four etc. But just remember that EVERYTIME you click that you treat. Make sure you practice the collar grab...make the "collar grab" an exciting experience. One of the most exciting rewards for a dog who does a good recall (or comes back without calling) is to grab the collar (as long as this has been taught), rev them up & tell them to "go play" again or "go sniff" whatever they were doing before they came back to you. :)

He is very smart...he has worked out what he is getting the click for...for looking & staying calm. I would keep up the C & T for a bit, then gather him up & walk away, continuing to tell him what a good boy he is. I find eventually they look back ever so quickly & will turn back to you before you even get a chance to click. In this case I would be then clicking him for this.

Use a lead that has a length of chain on it where he is inclined to bite.

Yes...let him run around with the long line attached, while you are training & then if he runs past you, just step on it. The knots will stop it slipping from under your feet. It is not a good idea to reach down & grab a long line that a puppy is running with, as it can give you rope burn. Of course I am assuming you are training in an enclosed area, you wouldn't let him run around in an area where he could get tangled up.

This .... Experiences with the collar should only be good ones, until she learns that having the collar on means awesome things are about to happen :)

Ok..so now is the time to start working on duration of attention or be a little more specific about the position you want him in ie next to your left hip, if teaching him to heel. It is also important to have a "that will do" cue, meaning "training has finished, now go sniff/play etc". It is the same with clicker training..you must have a "finish" cue so the dog knows that training has finished for the moment. Sounds like you are going gangbusters Also keep your treats out of sight otherwise he will be focusing on where the treats are coming from, rather than focusing on you...maybe mix it up a bit with some treats coming out of different pockets etc or even spat out of your mouth. ETA..if he is coming back to you but running past, have him on a long line with a knot tied every meter or so. when he runs past, simply put your foot on the line to stop him.

But that is where you are wrong. Click does not mean immediate reward...it means a reward is coming, usually within about 3 to 5 seconds. Using the clicker you don't even have to reward in position. For example, if I am teaching my dog to crawl under a chair (could be handy for something one day :D) I will click for the dog just looking at the chair, but throw the treat anywhere...dog goes & gets the treat then you can see him thinking..."now what did I do to get that click".....it's called shaping....I build on that & for instance, he might stick his nose under the chair..I click & throw the treat anywhere..he comes out from under the chair to get his treat then has a think about it. etc etc. Completely different to luring where you have to treat in position & luring does not teach your dog to use his own brain. You reward EVERY time you click, but the reward might be sitting on top of the fridge. If you really want to understand Clicker Training..read some of Karyn Prior articles What if the animal does not obey the cue? Clicker trained animals want to perform behaviors for which they have been rewarded in the past. If they understand the meaning of the cue and desire the reward, they will perform the behavior. If they do not perform the behavior, clicker trainers do not assume that the animal is "disobeying." Instead the trainer asks the following questions: Does the animal know the meaning of the cue? Does the animal know the meaning of the cue in the environment in which it was first taught, but not in the environment in which it was given? Is the reward for doing the behavior sufficiently desired by the animal? After answering those questions, the clicker trainer revises the training process to be sure that the animal knows the meaning of the cue in all environments, regardless of distractions, and feels rewarded for the behavior.

Jules....I love your aviater :laugh: I saw a classic example of force training at the Border Collie Nationals last weekend. I had to really restrain myself from making comment. A woman had a couple of border collies on lead & one of them had a head halter on with a chain running directly under its chin. Every time the poor dog put his head out of place she gave it a nasty sharp yank on the head halter...she was doing like about one yank every few seconds. It must have been her way of teaching it to heel

...but when you train recall you want the dog moving towards you - if you click when the dog turns the head he might just stand there (whether he is 2 or 50 meters away). For the recall it is hard to find the right timing for a click as moving towards you is a whole procedure, hence I can't see an advantage using a clicker for recall training. You have to start off just a few feet away & I usually do it with two people both armed with treats & a clicker. If he doesn't return to you after he has turned his head, then he doesn't get the reward & it means you have increased the distance too soon....you have set him up to fail. You only use it in the early stages of recall, not when he is 50 meters away.

Another game I like is the "Choose Me" game. For this you can either use a clicker if he understands the clicker or just say "yes". Fill your pocket with lots of very small but yummy treats & clicker if using it, but for this game I just use my voice. With him off lead start in a place with no distractions & where he can't run off & self reward. He will probably start to sniff & explore but say nothing...just wait till he looks at you...it may be just a glance at first. As soon as he looks at you, mark & treat...he will most likely take the treat & go off again...just wait, say nothing, he looks, you mark & treat. When you have this going 100%, move to another area with more distractions & of course you can wait for duration before you mark. Hope these videos work :)

You would only use the clicker in the early stages of teaching recall. It is not used to attract the pups attention....it is used to mark the exact moment he turns his head in response to his recall cue & then he gets the reward when he gets back to you. The clicker is a marker, not an attention getter.

LAT & LAM are two different games, but no reason why you can't play both. The dog has to know that it is OK to look at the trigger, but then turn back to me & tell me it's there, so the trigger becomes the cue for the dog to look at you. If you only play LAMe then you could end up with a dog that is completely "handler focused" whereas you want a dog that can switch between handler & obstacle, especially if you are doing dog sports. JMO though...I may be wrong.