Come Fido! class grads

Here are photos of four of the six dogs who graduated from the most recent Come Fido! class, just before Easter.

We've chuckled at what a mouthful it was to try to keep track of the names of these dogs...try saying this in rapid succession: Kiska, Tess, Jazz, Ezzy, Sass, Jess!
And how is it possible that three dogs; Jazz, Jess and Tess end up in the same group :-) It's like a tongue twister from a children's book.

We've worked on everything Recall-related. My own favourite part has been to see the dog's play skills - namely retrieve and tug - develop and build. 
A high percentage of dog owners that I have in classes report that "my dog only retrieves so so - and likely won;t bring the toy back even if he will chase it first". There is a really simple two-toy trick that I absolutely love to get these dogs thinking otherwise and actually doing a full retrieve. For the majority of dogs, it works really, really well and is quite fast, too. 


And why is retrieve or tug important in a Recall class, you ask?
Well, there are many different ways to approach recall training. The old school methods (sadly still in use) are very heavy-handed and heavily rely on physical punishment and trying to show the dog what is "wrong" and that the dog must obey, or else. People who turn to the use of electric shock collars often feel very justified doing so (he must obey) and say things like "it's for the dog's own good. It's shock collar or the dog can't ever be let off leash. I HAVE TO KNOW that when I call, my dog comes." etc...justifications go on.

To me, the most important question in choosing what route to take with any training is to consider what kind of relationship it is you want to have with your dog. That little piece "MUST obey, or else" just really does not sit well with me. What God-given right do we have to say something like that? Amazingly enough, I find many people have never even reflected over this?! We're still, in many ways living in the dark ages, overshadowed by this mentality of "dogs must, or else"...but have not really even considered what that means or why we would have the right to say that?!


Where play fits in nicely is in a program where we do care about the relationship between human and dog and start to look for 'why should the dog care about where you are to begin with?' and this is where play can be a phenomenal tool. When YOU play with your dog, you are developing a relationship and saying to your dog that you can facilitate his pleasure and desire to play - you thus start to become a fun and reinforcing person to be around! The whole training process becomes less about "Why should the dog HAVE to come to you when you call?" and more about the realization that you've invested so much joy and fun into playing together with your dog - that, when eventually you do need to call him to you: "Why WOULDN'T the dog want to come to you when you call?" It's a completely different starting point and different mind-set.
One that I think pays off in dividends. 
Every time you play with your dog, as long as the play is honest, sincere and fun for both of you - you are investing in your relationship and putting "money in the bank".. that when you need to call him - the investment will pay off; he'll happily come bounding to you! 
Teaching an older dog to play tug or retrieve with a human can be a journey...for some it will be a fast track to success, for others it will require more time. I've written about this topic before if you're interested to search through archives for ideas on How To - but bottom line is: the time invested in teaching good and solid play skills is worth it! If your dog will play with you any time, anywhere - you have a powerful reward, but also; more than likely - you have a happy partner who has learned just how much fun it is to hang out close to you! 


The dog is not living in fear of when and what punishment will happen next - but instead the sparkle in his eyes will tell you his mind is on the "game": Another game is just around the corner...any moment now...any moment now...


and THAT you can do a lot with as the trainer/ handler!

Puppy Foundation Skills

Can there be anything more eye-catching than a fluffy Chow? 

Well, yes - an adorable Chow Puppy!

This is Charlie-the-Chow-Puppy, who apparently gets stopped on the streets all the time to pose for total strangers who want to capture him on their cameras! And you can sort of see why, can`t you?! 

My connection to this spectacular puppy is that Charlie is a Puppy Foundation Skills class student. He (and his people) came to class last night. The room was filled with "stuff" for puppies to explore and investigate. There`s a ton you can do to build a dog`s confidence early on with "Enrichment"; by creatively introducing them to as many novel items as you can (safely) dream up: surfaces, things to go over, under, pass by, hear, see, smell, feel, various footing,...etc. In Puppy Foundations we do a lot of this and I try to inspire people to see the importance of all these simple but important games and keeping it going outside of class, too. Introducing a young pup to "novel stuff" is something fairly simple you can do with your young puppy at home, with a bit of creativity and changing things up - but of course of big importance, too is taking your puppy out to new places where he is exposed to sights and sounds of the real world; all the things and stimuli you want him to be familiar with through his life.   

For your reference, and for a bit of further reading on risks vs. benefits of socialization with a partially vaccinated puppy, I am attaching a link to the position statement On Puppy Socialization of the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior:

http://www.avsabonline.org/avsabonline/images/stories/Position_Statements/puppy%20socialization.pdf

We also worked a bit with Charlie on building play...as in tug-of-war. Building solid play-skills and then using play (with you!) as a reward when working on teaching other skills is such a valuable investment of time and effort. There are many skills later on that become a breeze to teach and work on, if your dog loves to play with you. With young puppies it is usually quite easy to build their play and tugging, but if not - be patient and keep working on it! Build up and on  from CHASE, don;t try to shove a toy into a dog`s mouth..instead, think like a squirrel running away from the dog (!) and pull the toy away from the puppy along the ground. In the beginning, you just want to engage the pups instinct to chase the toy - and ultimately, grab it.

Every effort to play and develop this game with your dog will pay off and is like money in the dream-bank..the return-on-investment is really big!

Luckily for Charlie, playing Tug is likely never going to be an issue as his people were totally keen on the game and quickly "got it":-) And, so did Charlie. 

We will continue to work and build from here - check back for his grad photo later this spring...the changes and growth will be amazing!

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.