- Location
- East Sussex
Dogs in the bathtub: "I'm sure I was told there was going to be jumping into water today."
Sounds a great day and I bet Ella loved it.
Sounds a great day and I bet Ella loved it.
Dockdogs!
- Thread starter Emily
- Start date
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
One thing from today was the requirement to have your dog on a flat collar and to use +R only. (I spoke to them at the beginning about Ella and my wish to start with a harness and they were happy with this and actually complimented me on my reasoning).
There was a man with an Aussie Shepherd that had the dog on a check chain (also known as a choker) and his treat bag contained no treats, but his spray bottle instead.
The instructor spoke to him at the beginning and explained the rules, saying that it was entirely his decision on how he trained his dog but he'd need to swap collars and change methods if he wanted to do the workshop. To the man's credit, he said he was there to learn and was happy to follow the rules.
And. OMG. The change in that dog and how the man worked with him was so wonderful to see. They played, the dog was rewarded, the dog worked with him, they enjoyed their time together and they did so well. I just hope that a small portion of it will creep it's way into their daily life.
There was a man with an Aussie Shepherd that had the dog on a check chain (also known as a choker) and his treat bag contained no treats, but his spray bottle instead.
The instructor spoke to him at the beginning and explained the rules, saying that it was entirely his decision on how he trained his dog but he'd need to swap collars and change methods if he wanted to do the workshop. To the man's credit, he said he was there to learn and was happy to follow the rules.
And. OMG. The change in that dog and how the man worked with him was so wonderful to see. They played, the dog was rewarded, the dog worked with him, they enjoyed their time together and they did so well. I just hope that a small portion of it will creep it's way into their daily life.
- Location
- Herefordshire, UK
Thanks for the write up @Emily , sounds like a funpacked action packed day, which you both really enjoyed. Great stuff to read about. I'm interested in the techniques to encourage play, I was going to go on a Craig Ogilvie day once but it was cancelled.
Yes! Have you had to do work with Ella re excitement round other dogs?immediately looked at me for reward. Don't you just love it when your training actually shows!
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
It's quite tricky to describe but it involved the way that I position myself around Ella when we play, the way that I move the toy when I'm holding it and the frequency and duration that Ella can have the toy.
The funniest thing we did was to whip a toy out of our pocket, move it around quickly in front of the dog, whip it back into our pocket and reward our dogs. The funny part was that the humans could only look at the toy and not our dogs as this increased the interest in the toy. We did this with the toy that we throw into the water.
Our neighbours dog charges at our fence and barks. Ella used to bark back. I have spent sooooooooooooo long marking the bark and regarding Ella that the sound of and there dog barking at her must now be a cue for her to look at me for reward
Really lovely read and great photos @Emily . Thank you! I really like the idea of building engagement by finding the toy fascinating. I’m going to try that.
At a Police dog demonstration we saw a few weeks ago, they built excitement in a tennis ball by tossing it between their hands, throwing it in the air, catching it then slamming it and holding it on the ground. Kipper loves this, it’s really built his interest in his ball just before throwing it
At a Police dog demonstration we saw a few weeks ago, they built excitement in a tennis ball by tossing it between their hands, throwing it in the air, catching it then slamming it and holding it on the ground. Kipper loves this, it’s really built his interest in his ball just before throwing it
Atemas
UK Tour Guide
- Location
- North Cambridgeshire
Naya
Moderator
- Location
- Bristol, UK
Sounds like a fantastic day. I wish they did something similar over here. Look forward to reading more tomorrow 
Jacqui-S
Moderator
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
Really interesting!
- Location
- Close to Devon/Somerset border
Wow, I've just read through this and watched the video, what a fun thing for the dogs and their people. Was this an expensive course @Emily and do they do other follow on type of things?
From what others have said there isn't anything like this here but I wonder if any trainers would be inspired to set something up - summer only activity I guess !
From what others have said there isn't anything like this here but I wonder if any trainers would be inspired to set something up - summer only activity I guess !
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
The two day workshop cost $140 (£77) so not particularly expensive. They have clubs in NSW and QLD but nothing in Victoria yet so hopefully there will be enough interest to get something here too. The property we were at said that we can rent time here so we can come and use the dam/docks whenever we like. There are also competitions in Aus, US and Canada (not sure if there are others) so we may look at that in the future.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Ok, DAY 2 - part 1
I didn't take a single photo today!
The day wasn't as successful but I learnt so much. As the instructor reminded me, you often learn an awful lot more about dog training when you have difficulties or setbacks.
The first session was a quick refresher on the stages of the jump (the build up, showing toy, setting dog up, release, throw and recall). Then we headed for the dock.
It went well but Ella started to develop a hesitation. So she'd sprint down the dock then hesitate before jumping. Hmmmm. A few thoughts and a few attempts at different techniques were tried.
Then it was time for a break and we all put our dogs in the car.
I didn't take a single photo today!
The day wasn't as successful but I learnt so much. As the instructor reminded me, you often learn an awful lot more about dog training when you have difficulties or setbacks.
The first session was a quick refresher on the stages of the jump (the build up, showing toy, setting dog up, release, throw and recall). Then we headed for the dock.
It went well but Ella started to develop a hesitation. So she'd sprint down the dock then hesitate before jumping. Hmmmm. A few thoughts and a few attempts at different techniques were tried.
Then it was time for a break and we all put our dogs in the car.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Day 2 - Part 2
This part goes down as the most stupid thing I have ever done in my life. The instructor identified that we were all making errors - in our setup, delivery, enthusiasm, recall, reward etc. So. We paired up and took it in turns to be the human and the dog
Just imagine, me holding a toy, bringing it out quickly in front of my 'dog', building her up, placing her in front of a jump, throwing the toy as I sent her, cheering the way out and bring her back in. While bouncing around "where's the toy, yeah, here it is, here it is, yeah, ready ready ready GO GO GO! YES! Come on come on come on come on YEAH GOOD GIRL!!" Yep, I did all of that with a human that I met yesterday. Then we swapped over
The funny part is, the whole exercise was very helpful. We were able to feel how our dogs feel and give really helpful feedback to the humans. And the instructors had a great laugh at the same time
Then we had another break before getting the dogs back out.
This part goes down as the most stupid thing I have ever done in my life. The instructor identified that we were all making errors - in our setup, delivery, enthusiasm, recall, reward etc. So. We paired up and took it in turns to be the human and the dog
Just imagine, me holding a toy, bringing it out quickly in front of my 'dog', building her up, placing her in front of a jump, throwing the toy as I sent her, cheering the way out and bring her back in. While bouncing around "where's the toy, yeah, here it is, here it is, yeah, ready ready ready GO GO GO! YES! Come on come on come on come on YEAH GOOD GIRL!!" Yep, I did all of that with a human that I met yesterday
. Then we swapped over The funny part is, the whole exercise was very helpful. We were able to feel how our dogs feel and give really helpful feedback to the humans. And the instructors had a great laugh at the same time
Then we had another break before getting the dogs back out.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Yes and no. She already jumps into water but we've only ever done it from standing still so I would put her in a stay, throw the ball then she'd jump from standing. I thought she'd do it but she'd never done the running jump. We built up to this through back chaining.
Aww, so no videos of this then?Yep, I did all of that with a human that I met yesterday
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Day 2 - part 3
We followed the same process as we did with our human dogs. After identifying our mistakes with our human dogs, we were all able to improve our techniques with our actual dogs. This went really well and Ella loved the exercise.
Then we started going through the speed retrieve. You hold your dog on the dock, then send them to grab a dummy that is suspended just above the water. As the dog grabs the dummy, the timer stops and your time is recorded.
The first step was building the desire to play with the new toy. Ella thrived at this. Any toy I introduce becomes a hit pretty quickly. Then, we give dummy to a helper, stand with our dog and send them to the dummy to grab it. It's all a hyped up setup ("ready ready ready, see the toy, get it GO GO GO" until the get the dummy, then "YES" and a hyped up recall). This is where the problems started. I'd play with Ella and she'd be fully engaged with me and the dummy. Then I'd pass it to my helper and send her in but as soon as she'd start running, she'd turn and run back to me
We tried a few different techniques but had a similar result.
Then came a brainstorming session and we suddenly realised what was happening both here, and with the new found hesitation on the dock.
This is where it gets a little funny. Over the past four years I have spent so much time and effort ensuring that Ella has a fantastic recall and that she sees me as the best thing on the planet. But this is the cause of our issues today! When I was enthusiastically releasing Ella to get the toy, she'd stop, turn and run to me and my enthusiastic voice! As it turns out, I've done such a good job training her that she sees coming to me as more rewarding than going to the toy! So, massive fail for the sport but, I will admit that I felt a bit proud that the work I've put in has paid off
Anyway, we have come up with the plan of creating a brand new cue for "go and get" so that she can see this as a totally separate activity. This will be our homework
We had a great two days and we're both completely exhausted! I've learnt some fantastic techniques that will help for dockdiving but also for everyday life.
We followed the same process as we did with our human dogs. After identifying our mistakes with our human dogs, we were all able to improve our techniques with our actual dogs. This went really well and Ella loved the exercise.
Then we started going through the speed retrieve. You hold your dog on the dock, then send them to grab a dummy that is suspended just above the water. As the dog grabs the dummy, the timer stops and your time is recorded.
The first step was building the desire to play with the new toy. Ella thrived at this. Any toy I introduce becomes a hit pretty quickly. Then, we give dummy to a helper, stand with our dog and send them to the dummy to grab it. It's all a hyped up setup ("ready ready ready, see the toy, get it GO GO GO" until the get the dummy, then "YES" and a hyped up recall). This is where the problems started. I'd play with Ella and she'd be fully engaged with me and the dummy. Then I'd pass it to my helper and send her in but as soon as she'd start running, she'd turn and run back to me
We tried a few different techniques but had a similar result.
Then came a brainstorming session and we suddenly realised what was happening both here, and with the new found hesitation on the dock.
This is where it gets a little funny. Over the past four years I have spent so much time and effort ensuring that Ella has a fantastic recall and that she sees me as the best thing on the planet. But this is the cause of our issues today! When I was enthusiastically releasing Ella to get the toy, she'd stop, turn and run to me and my enthusiastic voice! As it turns out, I've done such a good job training her that she sees coming to me as more rewarding than going to the toy! So, massive fail for the sport but, I will admit that I felt a bit proud that the work I've put in has paid off
Anyway, we have come up with the plan of creating a brand new cue for "go and get" so that she can see this as a totally separate activity. This will be our homework
We had a great two days and we're both completely exhausted! I've learnt some fantastic techniques that will help for dockdiving but also for everyday life.
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Well I'm sure I saw someone holding up their phone so you might be in luck!Aww, so no videos of this then?
- Location
- Melbourne, Australia
Does this work?Aww, so no videos of this then?