Wags new home

Finally: some photos of the new digs!
Over the last couple of weeks, there has been a lot of elbow grease put in...scrubbing of walls, bathroom,  floors...and it has now paid off: the place looks and smells clean. It is ready! A few more changes and refinements will still take place over the next little while, but the first few dogs have tried it out; and: it gets the thumbs up! it is functional and ready to go.

New classes will start this week, with everything from Puppy Foundation Skills, to Mutts & Manners for the rambunctious adolescent (and adult dogs, too), Rally Obedience, Thinking Games, Backyard Games and Tricks and Come Fido! recall clinic. 

There is still room in some of these classes if you would like to join. If not this round - but next - only a few weeks until the next rotation of classes start. Hope to see you!

The importance of Play, part 3.

You have your great tug toy; now what?


When we left off last time, we were talking about how to choose a great toy. Now that you have identified one that your dogs shows some (hopefully lots) of interest in...let's get to the actual play part. Today's post will make the most sense if you read through the explanation first, and then watch the video at the end.


The first "rule" of play is this: until your dog is really keen to play with you and really driving for the toy - it is pretty pointless to insist on rules. All you will do is lessen the fun and take away from the game itself. To illustrate what I mean, I am posting a video (from September 2010), in which you will see three dogs; the first one is a puppy who stayed with me for just a short week as a foster. She is just a baby learning about the game, and with her I am only working on trying to increase her DESIRE to play. As you will see, I pull the toy along the ground (think of ways to simulate prey... movement away from the dog) to trigger her chase instinct. Once she has hunted down her prey - her grab is pretty good, so I can "tease" her a bit by pushing her back once she is holding the toy, to encourage yet a stronger grip. If and when she lets go of the toy, I take it with me and run away a few steps. What I want from her is to follow me and run after. When she does, she is rewarded with the toy again. 
So, as you'll see,I have not worried at this stage of training about having any kind of verbal cue for "give" (letting go of the toy) - I simply pull the toy away from her or take the opportunity to take the toy with me and run away from her when SHE lets go...I also don;t incorporate the toy into other training quite yet, but would just continue to work on TUGGING as a skill before moving on to actually using it as a reward..which is what you will see with the next two dogs.


The first clip (of dog #1) is the actual length of that one training session: 48 seconds. This ties in beautifully to this second "rule" of play, which is all about keeping your sessions SHORT. Ideally, when playing - play and train in such short increments, that the dog does not tire and disengage from you. You want to end the game so that the dog is disappointed it ended. Don't play for so long that the dog gets bored and leaves you!
At the 48 second mark, you will see the puppy look away from me (hint to me that the sessions is going on too long) and I indicate to her "Okay" signifying that the game is now over...she then bounces back and her choice is to follow me again - a great choice, which was rewarded and she was then given a break for a while before another short session.
The second rule is thus: SHORT AND SWEET. Play in very short sessions; end before the dog is ready to end the game.


Dog #2, is my one year old sheltie Pinot, who had just started doing her very first jumping and "forward focus" sessions, with her toy as the reward. The first year of her life I spent building the DESIRE to play (she was not a natural tugger and as you will see in the video - the retrieve is not in place yet either). With her little clip, you can see how she now IS motivated by the toy - she'll gladly focus forward and hold her sit until released to go get the toy (going over the jump) - but in her case, what I wanted to build toward - was the ability to toss the toy, have her retrieve it and then continue with a game of tug again. You will see her pick up the toy, and me going farther and farther away to encourage her to bring the toy back to me. I have had to do a LOT of running away from this dog :-) She has developed into a pretty nice retriever since the making of this little clip...


Dog #3 is my four-and-a-half year old Flat-coated retriever Maggio. He leads me to make a short note on AROUSAL and excitement level of the dog. Maggio plays with enormous strength and intensity. In the video (after he retrieves) note how I ask for a "give" almost immediately. He is one of those dogs who tends to "go over the top", has incredible strength and it is not so much fun to play with him if he sets the tone or pace of the game. He has a tendency to get very aroused and "high" in the presence of toys - which you can hear in the whining. With him, it is way more important to get verbal control of the "give" than it will ever be with the previous two dogs. 
In the videoed session, I had intended to do some jumping with him also, but his arousal was so high, I opted for a change of plans instead: quiet heeling around the jumps. Quiet? well, he was over-aroused and could not do it quietly, so the play and jumping session got cut very short. After a calming break, I took him out and we worked on one single thing: heeling around the jumps without whining. Because of his tendency to get so "high", I will sometimes have to put the toy away for a while and go back and reinforce with food instead of a toy. With food, it seems he can keep his brain inside his head, but with toys - it is sometimes just too much. The arousal can then escalate into other unwanted behaviors...one of them being the very annoying whine, which is not a behavior I particularly care for.


So, the lessons intended with all of this:
1. build the desire first.
2. play and train in very short sessions.
3. pay attention to the level of arousal and be ready to modify your plan if needed.

Great dogs of the Bow Valley

Well, I must deviate from this topic of play for a bit...as today was spent getting some dog photos printed for display at the new Wags' home. 




For the past couple of years, I have collected images of most dogs in classes, with this thought of being able to create a big bulletin board display of dog shots and "past graduates". Printing some photos today was just a start.... 


I have had some absolutely magnificent dogs (and owners, too!) in classes as well as private sessions, and feel very fortunate to have been able to work with them. Each dog and person I work with will always teach me something new, too.
The learning extends both ways.

This is quite a pose with the
"grad hat" :-)

Here is just a small sampling of a few past class graduates. Will post some more at a later date.
And many more will adorn the walls of Wags' new home...


It was quite exciting to pick up the pile of prints and to be reflecting and thinking back...remembering the dogs - and their people. Sadly I can't say that I remember the names of every dog and person I have had in classes and worked with..but what was very cool was that when seeing the photos of the dogs...I *remember* the dog, and sometimes some silly quirk or detail about him or her or something that really made "the team" stand out...sometimes the remarkable journey between owner and dog that was so obvious.


We do have some fantastic dogs and dog owners in the Bow Valley!

I hope our paths will cross many more times over the years!

The importance of Play, part 2.

What makes a good tug toy?
Let's start with the very obvious thing to look for: the toy needs to allow both you and the dog to hold on to it at the same time. Thus, a regular ball is not a good choice - but a ball-on-a-rope would meet that criteria. Further, a good tug toy is made of a material that the dog is really keen to grab! For a puppy, new tugger or an older dog who is just learning - the type of material the toy is made of can really make a difference. Faux-fur or sheepskin will often do the trick and trigger instant interest.


The third thing to consider when looking for a great toy is that some elastic give between you and the dog will remove sudden jolts and hard whiplash. Look for bungee cord, something a bit elastic, flexible, stretchy... Some dogs (and people!) are put off by the game if they get a rough jolt from tugging because there is no "give" anywhere. A good tug toy has some kind of elastic cord built into the toy. Or, sometimes you can modify a favorite toy by attaching a "bungee" to it.


If your dog is not a super keen tugger (yet!), a soft material is likely more attractive. Again: think sheepskin type or soft fleecy braid rather than a really solid and hard material (like a hard braided rope or a toy with a plastic feel). If your dog is a natural tugger and wild about most toys - it probably won't matter what you choose. DO consider yourself very lucky, though! The reality is that many dogs, especially if you didn't start this when your dog was a puppy, need to be taught - and really encouraged to play. It is for those dogs, that the material and choice of toy will likely really matter. Experiment - and if your dog does not show interest with one particular kind of toy - don't give up! Try some other materials - and also: pay attention to what your dog is likely to pick up when on "his own time". Those materials will give you a good clue as to what your dog likes to have in his mouth. And just as a side note: if that includes shoes or other out-of-bounds items...you may want to consider ways of managing your dog so that you limit his access to those! This is NOT about making your wardrobe into your dog's toy library: but finding  one or more suitable, appropriate toys that you can develop this fantastic game with.


The very first thing after you have identified this special tug toy is to treat it in a special way. This toy is never left out for the dog to play with or chew on his own. It gets taken out for your short play sessions, and then gets put away - out of the dog's reach. The fun of playing with it should be linked to you right from the start. Play for a short time - and then put the toy away!
Next time, I will talk about things you can do to really encourage your dog to WANT to play, and then we will get into the rules for appropriate play. 

The importance of Play, part 1.

It’s been decided, that the launch of this blog will start with a series of articles relating to a topic near and dear to my own heart: PLAY, as in human-to-dog play and why playing with your dog is important. For the sake of these articles, when I refer to PLAY, I am going to talk mainly about Tug-of-War as well as building Tug into a Retrieve.

The majority of students that come into my classes seem to put a heavy emphasis on dog to dog play, but have not built play as a game including themselves engaging with their dog. It seems that there may be many reasons for this - some of the reasons being a fear that playing tug-of-war with their dogs will cause the dog to become “dominant” and that if tug is ever played with a dog; the dog must never win.

Without getting into a drawn-out conversation about winning or dominance; let me approach the subject from another point of view: what playing with your dog can do FOR you and how it can actually enhance the dog-human bond.

Every dog has an innate predatory instinct in them. It’s there to some degree in all dogs. Teaching your dog to tug (with rules!) is a great outlet for the innate desire to “chase, grab and

bitel”! It puts structure on something the dog instinctively has a desire to do.

In a class full of students I usually get to about this part, when someone inevitable interrupts with a question: “So, are you not making your dog more predatory by playing tug with him then?”

And the answer is no: playing tug is not going to make your dog a predator. He already is one. Teaching him tug (with appropriate rules) will simply channel this energy and give the predatory game structure and allow him an outlet for what he already is.

The fact is, that by playing tug with your dog, you are linking a lot of reinforcement and rewards to You. You are the one playing with your dog, deciding upon and enforcing the rules, and You are the one in charge of the toy. Think of how powerful (not to mention FUN!) that can be – when your dog will choose to stay with you for the opportunity to play with you – rather than take the first opportunity to run away looking for fun elsewhere…

So, before starting, it must again be stressed that Tug-of-War can be and is a wonderful way to play with your dog - BUT, it *must* have rules and structure. Without rules and structure - yes, you might very well be looking at chaos and an unpleasant outcome. There are a few simple rules for you to follow, which I will get into later – but before getting to rules – we need to have a good TOY that we can use for play. Next time I will be back with some thoughts on what to consider when looking for a good tug toy.

Wags unlimited finds a home!

After four years of teaching classes in various locations, Wags unlimited has found a home!

The new address where classes will be held as of February 2011 is :

117 Bow Meadows Crescent #3B, Canmore, Alberta.

Please give me a call 403.763-8781 or send me an email and set up a time to come for a visit and see the space!

It is a modest space, about 800 square feet. Just “big enough” to have some great fun and learning in small groups! With a permanent space, the class Menu will expand to include things like regular Recall classes, Rally Obedience, sports type classes and more. There will also be opportunity to hold some daytime classes during the week. All groups will remain small with lots of opportunity for individual attention. I am also going to be able to offer private one-on-one consults in this space, as well as semi-private training.

Photos will be posted as we complete some touch-up and get flooring put in place. Check back soon!