DOG PACK

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DOG PACK

By nature, dogs group together to live in a PACK.

Dogs find security in the PACK.

Dog training employs the physical operation of the pack to establish order and learning.

The trainer is the leader of the pack. In a regular family, the care giver of the dogs is usually the leader of the pack and is therefore "the trainer".

Dogs are social animals. They need company from another dog or humans in order to function properly.

There is protection, understanding, food and shelter with the pack.

There is insecurity without the pack.

Dogs can tolerate short term isolation, but making a dog live outdoors by itself is cruel. It cannot understand what it has done wrong to be rejected by the PACK which is indoors.

Also, unless your dog is an Arctic breed, please bring it indoors when the temperature is below zero. Dogs are like mashed potatoes; they don't freeze well.

BEGIN HEELING OFF LEASH

For intermediate obedience dogs ready to start show polishing.

Begin Heel off Leash

Work in a quiet, secure area, do the heeling exercises, 3 circuits, 2 times daily.

Keep a journal, use the calendar and clock.

Hang the leash over one shoulder, Anna Lee prefers you use your right, use hands on leash to give corrections then let go of leash. Keep your voice up and get the dog to watch you by being quick and chatty. The clip to the collar should hang straight down. (Remember when we first started heeling the clip was at a slight angle) Now we are giving less clip guidance. Go through all the heel commands: sit at heel, forward, halt, forward, slow, normal, left turn, about turn, fast, normal, right turn, halt.  Help with automatic sits by leash corrections, let go of leash.

 Video yourself working the dog, and after the evening practice use the hup stick as a reward for fun, then put the dog in the crate to percolate the lesson. After about ten minutes, time to come out of crate or enclosure for a cuddle or treat or supper or whatever you prefer as reward for your dog.

Toys are a great reward after percolating time

The hup stick is a good release 

Treats in a puzzle toy are an excellent way to reward

KEEP IT INTERESTING

Circulate TOYS

For dogs who like to play with toys

Keep three sets of toys, in three different buckets or bags to rotate for interest, cleanliness and learning, and one bucket for highly prized play items.  Toys can be a great motivators for rewarding dogs and cats. Make note of which toys your pet favors so that you may employ them in bribery and reward. Keep those for special time in a special set. Label the buckets; 1,2,3 and Special.  Many dogs value their security in terms of personal possessions. If your dog is so inclined, pay attention to those needs by seeing that the “stash” is protected and not raided. A towel or small blanket to hide the bucket or dish from view is often satisfactory. Change the play toys bucket every other day, keep the Specials for obedience praise.

Check toys for safety, wear and cleanliness. Wash kongs, hard rubber toys, frizbees and nylabones with water and a bit of bleach, then dish soap and water, then rinse really well. The bleach will cut the saliva and the dog smell. Launder fluffy toys in a toy wash, hot water and unscented detergents. Dry the fluffy toys in the dryer. If they do not survive the laundry, you did not want them for your dog and do not repurchase them. Discard used rawhides; they get germy quickly.

PAYING ATTENTION

Circle to the Right   teaches the dog to pick up speed in order to keep pace with the handler. In Novice obedience competition, it is demonstrated in the figure eight exercise. 
While you are on a walk with your dog on leash be busy, train a bit but not all the time.
Make a circle to the left or right around trees, sign posts (don't crash, keep your head up), or even around underground parking lot pillars.


Use a "Slight" leash pop going into the circle

Happy up your voice and shake the lead to encourage the dog to keep pace Give big verbal praise coming out of the circle “what a good dog”

ROLL OVER TRICK

Work while down on your knees to be less intimidating and to look different from formal exercises. Dog does not require a collar for tricks.

 Get the dog to sit. From sit go to down position, Walk around on your knees to the dog’s side and lay the dog down onto its rib cage with its back to you. (Legs pointing away from you) Bait the dogs’ nose with a treat as you turn her over by lifting on her front leg that is on the floor.

ABOUT TURN

Keep moving smoothly, don’t look back to see where the dog is. Feel with the lead and respond to tautness by shaking or jerking or popping depending on the position in the turn. Use your big voice to get attention and help the dog to stay focused and keep pace. Do Not adjust your pace to that of the dog.

When the dog forges ahead of you while out on a controlled walk, or while going through the door or gate, use a sharp jerk and change direction or speed saying DOG “heel”, or c’mon let’s go, or laugh madly, mix it up. Then you can do something else like a front and sit, or a fast and sudden placed corrected stop, Learn to look ahead to make the corrections happen just prior to or at the exact same time as the dogs’ mistakes.

BEGIN THE RECALL FOR ADULTS

Send the dog into the crate. Tell her to “wait” there. Sitting is ideal but standing is ok. Get the dog to look at you, keep your hands and fingers extended out for attention getting and use your voice. Back away from the crate, create anticipation, “Are you ready? Are you ready?” Dog “Come!” as you back up a few steps, lots of praise as she comes to you. Send her back and do again three or four times. Keep it fun and happy.

FRONT AND FINISH

From sit in front, Leash in right hand, slight pop or shake on the lead as you say “dog, Round” ,step back with right leg,(take more steps if needed at first) pass lead behind your back into your left hand as you step forward, (keep moving until she is up with you) then placed sit and praise. Use your voice and lead shake to encourage the dog to come around into the heel position. You need to take a few steps at first, but eventually you will not move and only the dog will move in this exercise.

HOLD THE DUMBELL AND WALK

Have the dog sit at heel position, place the dumbbell in her mouth carefully and instruct the dog to “Hold”

Step back to the full extent of your reach as you encourage the dog to keep holding.

If she begins to lower her head, she is thinking of standing up but she must not until you are ready for her to start moving. Tell her firmly to hold. She must not move until you have let go of her muzzle and are telling her to take a few steps. Just a few steps at first is all you need. Say “OUT!” to get the dumbbell back. If she won’t let go, just a slight tap on the end of the bell will do the trick.

LEARNING THE LEASH

Controlled walk notes

Leash should never be tight, should always hang loosely. If pulling tight, flick leash to shake or snap chain in order to gain dog’s attention. Direct dog to move closer to you so that leash is no longer tight, and change something (direction, pace, or stop altogether) Praise during and after change, praise after corrections on the move. For example, dog is pulling ahead. Speed up a little bit then snap the lead as you slow down and at the same time say, “GO EASY”, then right away say, ”What a good dog!” because the correction should have brought her into position. You should have one hand on the leash most of the time, not two. Keep your elbows snug against your sides.  Feel where the dog is rather than look.  In a controlled walk, the corrections are a snap or pop or shake the chain, change direction of travel unexpectedly and follow through with something else now. There is a difference between the change of direction and the about turn while heeling. Change of direction does not give the dog a chance if he is not paying attention. He is going to get snapped and he has to catch up because you are now suddenly nine feet away from him. With the about turn while heeling (in competition), the handler actually steps around the turn to allow the dog to keep pace.

Remember, when the collar snaps, your voice should be praising the dog. “Hey! What just happened” Act as though you had nothing to do with the correction. The leash did it; not you. Keep your voice tone ”up”.

You must anticipate your dog’s next move and decide your next move. Use the correct snap on the lead. Use the correct tone of voice for commands. If your dog is lagging constantly, entice him to keep up using a happy voice instead of more correction. Three tries and things should work; if not try something else. Be especially aware of timing with commands and corrections. Think about when it should happen.  Mix up the practice routine to avoid boring your dog.  

COME WHEN CALLED

Beginning the Recall Exercise

Leash and slip collar in hand.

Dog is inside crate waiting to come out.

Bounce gate 5 times; say, “Wait”

Put leash and collar on dog, close gate loosely, bounce it a few times, leave it open, saying “Wait” as you stand up and get ready to call your dog. Hold your hands out and extend “wizard fingers” as you say wait to give puppy visual “wait” encouragement.

You should be standing about 9 feet away, one arm and leg extended forward toward the crate ready to stop the dog from coming out until called.  Do what it takes.

When ready, command “DOG” to “Come” to you. Use small snap corrections with the lead.

Gather up the leash and backup quickly and lightly on your toes to guide him to the front of you where hopefully, he will sit. Do not sweat the small stuff; if pup does not sit do not worry. Just get him situated in front of you.

Say “What a good dog”, and pat his chest when he gets to you.

Do not make puppy wait in front of you. Either do the exercise again straight away, or proceed outside, or proceed to do whatever you were doing when you first decided to take him out of the crate or out of his enclosure.

If this is an actual practice “session” do it three or four times or until you get it right, put the dog back in the crate for a treat and to think for a few minutes, then put him on the house lead and there you go.

This exercise can be practiced from a mat or a day bed once the pup has the idea. A “house lead is a light 3/8 inch x 7 ft. nylon kennel leash with a small clip which is used as an umbilical so the pup may follow you around the house.

 Do not give young dogs full access to the house right away. Remember that these are rewards that must be earned. (by you and the dog). If you want puppy to sleep in the bedroom, then you need to be diligent about training. Sleeping with Alpha and Beta is serious freedom. Train using a CALENDAR a CLOCK and a JOURNAL. Record your activity and thoughts; training should be brief and frequent. When you miss a day entirely write down that you have missed the day entirely.  Record your daily care of the pup as well. THE CALENDAR AND CLOCK WILL BE CHECKED BY THE DOG NANA.

TRAINING THE RECALL USING THE LEASH AND CRATE TO START

Adult recall

Keep sessions brief; do an exercise only three or four times, a couple of times a day.

 

Training

The greatest training skill a handler can learn is the ability to be consistent.  In the wild, canines do their things in the same way, at the same tine, day in and day out, so they will know what is going on; dogs do not function well with confusion. Dogs need to know what is going on. Speak aloud and confidently to your dog. Words have vibrations, which dogs can see and feel, even before we have said the words, only “thought” the words. Dogs can read such vibrations over great distances.

Kennel rules

Begin in home, using the dog box (crate, cabin).

Spend some private study time with the collar to learn how to put it on properly. The clip of the lead attaches to the ring coming from across the back of the dog’s neck. Put the collar and lead on pup; make sure the collar is not on backwards.

Spend some time going over how to go into the dog crate. Once a dog will wait in the crate for the next command from four or five meters (say 12 feet), then it is ok to proceed to the recall beginning.

Hold onto the lead and tell the dog to go into the kennel. Tell the dog to go in the same way each time, and have the treat ready. Use praise, but quietly, and be ready to enforce the command to GENTLY take the treat. (Cover top of nose with your hand and firmly say “gently” if needed). When it is time to take the dog from the crate, bounce the crate gate gently as you open it. This helps the dog to remember to wait while you open the kennel door. Also, tell the dog to WAIT in the crate as you open it. If you need to be sharp, bang the gate closed making enough noise to make the dog jump back. As you attempt to hook up the lead, the dog may push past you.  If this happens, tell the dog “that is WRONG IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS so get BACK in there and WAIT”.  Once the dog understands how to wait in the kennel, move on to:

Part One of the Recall Exercise

Holding onto the lead, tell the dog to Wait in the kennel, Tell her to Wait as the gate is opened. Try to keep the lead slack.

Look directly into the dogs face and eyes. Keep telling her to WAIT

Turn sideways arms extended leash full length, while telling her to Wait

Ask “are you ready?” Then, draw the leash up bringing dog to you as you say Shady Come. Say, “What a good dog! Sit”. Help her sit.

Say lets go and proceed to door, through the door, and out to the PP pen or start over again for three times.

Stairs Exercise

Help dog sit at the bottom of the stairs, short flight is best for starts. Jingle the collar and tell the dog to go easy. Start up the stairs. As the dog pulls up the stairs, give a small jerk on lead as you go back down the stairs, saying Oops! This way now. Start up again saying GO EASY. Continue until the dog walks up the stairs gently, without tugging.

SUMMER UPDATE 2012

Summer flew past, here are a few shots of our friends. Today, we mostly wanted to mention new laws being proposed against bully breeds, we think it is rather unfair to say the least, and panic driven at best. Let's hope cooler heads prevail and education gets a say so in all of this. The dogs agree.

Queen of the world

Chris and Mason

Qanniq, Layla and Nana

Chris and injured Toby

Gracie

Peanut

Laura and Qanniq at war

Mr. Jones hard at work sawing logs

Toby in the field once again

Abbey at her usual job

English Bulldog and Laura

This is Mika. Under the new laws being proposed in BC, Mika would be destroyed for being a bulldog

Please sign the petition against this.

http://www.causes.com/actions/1676207

Stop the proposed province wide ban on pit bulls and bully breeds it is totally unfair.

SUMMER VISITS

Dogs learn how to behave around each other through training

Using the collar and leash is important for control

What fun! Summer is here and it is holiday time. You cannot wait to be off to visit your best friend who has invited you to stay for two weeks at her fantastic lake house. Even your dog is welcome to come along for two weeks at the lake. There is one small problem; the last time you visited, your friend`s dogs seemed to hate your dog. Fights broke out several times over toys, and everyone was growling over everything.

 Maybe you should leave your dog behind, but that thought does not go far; you have no option but to bring him along. What to do? What to do?

Well, here’s the thing. Dogs do not “get” the concept of visiting like humans do. Dogs, do not see visitors as individuals who will eventually leave, they see INTERLOPERS who will eat the packs food and who will eventually have to be fought for position in the pack. That is just how it is; and you can`t change Nature, but, a good dog handler will control the situation i.e. “The pack”.

We know your friend is not a good handler, or else her dogs would not be such little jerks. Unless she took her dogs to school since you last met, it is likely the problems will have amplified since then. Her dogs will see your dog as “the interloper “who was driven away last time he was past here. And your dog will be ready for “those troublesome cousins” at the lake. You must keep your dog on leash at all times, just like back in novice training with the ribbon lead. Keep your dog attached to you and he will not get hurt. In order to have a securable place for your dog to stay when you are not with him, take a crate with you on holiday. Let him loose only when your bedroom door is securely closed. The other dogs will look for a way to drive your dog away so keep on your toes and wait for your opportunity.

Ideally all the dogs should be on leash but that probably won`t happen. Just keep your dog on leash.

If and when the other dogs make a move towards your dog aggressively, use an enormous foot stamp surprise, threaten to give them a sharp poke and tell them to PSHST!OFF! in no uncertain terms.  If and when your dog growls or barks, reprimand him firmly, using the collar and leash. Keep the peace and let all the dogs know that you are intervening over and above all aggression.

Do not bother explaining any of the above to your friend as  she probably will not listen. Just do it, and she will be as surprised as her dogs are.

Happy Summertime,

Love the Dog Nana

Kelowna road trip

On our last road trip to Kelowna we dropped in on a BCSPCA fundraiser; a fun time dog show at the Delta Grand Okanogan Resort. Abbeygale was a good sport about it, and was pleased to receive cookies from the friends at Bark n Fly pet shuttle. The judges and hosts were most gracious and the venue was well decorated.


Smile for the judges

We had a great deal of fun showing off and the food for humans was very good; done by the hotel. 



Ah, the orchards

What has any of this to do with training? Well, none of it would be happening if Abbeygale was not a very well trained dog. She has all her freedoms and travel trips because she is trained and able to be in public with out being a menace. Simple basic obedience earns these freedoms.

TEACHING YOUR DOG TO "HEEL ON LEASH

Learning to HEEL ON LEASH is an important step in a dog's education. After learning the CONTROLLED WALK, a dog can learn to HEEL ON LEASH at any age, any where. Giant breeds are best taught while they are under six months of age; any later and they have a weight advantage that must be taken into account. Begin teaching the heel on leash in a quiet location, indoors at home preferably, and then gradually work your way out into the world. Have a mental image of how you want look, of how you want your dog to look and keep actual practice sessions brief.

HEEL ON LEASH

EQUIPMENT MUST BE APPROVED CHAIN COLLAR AND 6 FT LEATHER LEASH, NO BRAIDING

NO TAGS OR ANYTHING ELSE ALLOWED ON THE COLLAR OR ON THE LEASH

The principal features of this exercise are:

The dog stays close to the handler’s left leg without interfering, not lagging nor forging out of position, adjusting pace to the handler’s.

The handler walks in a confident manner without adjusting to the dog’s pace or position.

The handler walks with head up, one hand on the leash, the other hand prepared for leash corrections.

The handler avoids looking back to see where the dog is.

The handler and dog are pleasant to look at and listen to; they present the image of a team.

CORRECTIONS (jerk leash) AND MOTIVATORS (pop leash) must:

Be applied in the direction of travel

APPROVED EQUIPMENT, NO TAGS

Be accompanied at the same time by the command or chatting

Be instantly followed praise and happiness

ABOUT TURN IS A “STEP AROUND TURN” and is an about turn to the right

Heeling is taught in parts, and then assembled into THE DOODLING EXERCISE which will prevent boredom on the dog’s part.

THE IMAGE OF A TEAM

STEP, GIVE THE COMMAND, POP THE LEASH AND PRAISE ALL  AT ONCE

BE HAPPY AND DOODLE

SIT AND ACCEPT PRAISE

SIT and ACCEPT PRAISE EXERCISE

In order to get a grip on attention, we need to calmly ask the dog to Sit and Accept Praise in a decent  orderly fashion.

The Object of this exercise is to gain the dog’s emotional control, so that productive, positive, obedience training/ learning may proceed. 

Do not allow the dog to fall over, lie down, lean on you or anyone else, and shuffle around; that is not what we want. We want the dog to sit relatively still while we praise and pet it. Not a STAY exercise but very nearly.

Place dog in sit position, on lead and training collar. Stand facing the dog right in front, holding lead in your dominant hand.

Using your free hand and elevated tone of voice, praise, ”WHAT a good dog”, pet dog, give word of praise and immediately correct any silly behavior with the leash and really sharp word NO, quickly followed by praise and eye contact, petting again “WHAT a good dog”.

 

Saying the word “WHAT”, is vital.

Do this for no longer than five minutes.  Don’t train for long but train frequently and everywhere.  Give confined time out for a few minutes after training, for dog to think about the session. You should see results in three days; if not, you are doing something wrong and should talk to THE DOG NANA.

TAKE A BOW; YOU ARE DOING SO GOOD!

PRAISING YOUR DOG ...USE THE MAGIC WORD!

PRAISING YOUR DOG

The front of the dog's chest is called the sternum. That is the best place to pat him for praise.

What a good dog

The word WHAT clearly pronounced, instantly gains a dog’s attention in a distinct fashion. WHAT A GOOD DOG; WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?; WHAT IS THAT NOISE

THIS IS A WORD YOU MUST USE A GREAT DEAL WITH DOG TRAINING

In OBEDIENCE TRAINING

When praising your dog while in the heeling position, reach down, pat on the sternum and say, "WHAT a good dog".

When praising your dog with only a word of praise and no patting, say, “WHAT a good dog”

The manner in which you praise your dog is most important. Always use the word WHAT.

THE RIBBON LEASH

THE RIBBON LEASH

THE RIBBON LEASH IS TO KEEP THE DOG ATTACHED TO YOU
 WHILE YOU GO ABOUT YOUR CHORES

Keep the dog on the ribbon leash and chain to restrict household freedom until it is earned 

A dog should not just be allowed the run of your house or soon it will be running your house for you. First, crate train, exercise pen train, ribbon leash train and leather leash break. Then you can safely begin to give household freedom to your dog as you proceed with obedience training. When the dog has come out of the crate, gone out to do it's business and is now in for time with you, put it on the ribbon leash. The dog follows where you go, when you go. Keep the lead looped over your wrist. Do not forget potty breaks, especially for young dogs; about every half hour or when waking up from naps. Eventually the ribbon leash is eliminated, depending on the individual dog and the age; two to four weeks.