- Location
- Andorra and Spain
Hunting season has started here, and Thursdays and Sundays mean we might have scary people with guns wandering around the campo, so I tend to stick on our land instead of walking farther afield. There's no guarantee that we still won't see a hunter, but it's pretty rare.
I use these opportunities to work on engagement and games. Last night I took some video to share.
It's long - 18 minutes edited down from about 40 mins - so you probably don't want to watch the whole thing, but it shows the sort of things we do, and might give you some ideas. Most of this I don't classify this as "training" as I'm just using skills they already have, but hopefully you'll be able to see how it builds a real desire in the dogs to stay close. The fields are pretty scenty at the moment as there are loads of rabbits about.
A quick run-down:
00:04 We start off with gate manners. Start as we mean to go on, with calmness and focus. Excuse the building site we live in
00:39 Front feet on. Using a rock for this. Squidge, as you can see, is supremely confident, but it's been difficult for Willow to put her feet on something rough and unsteady. You can't see it very well, but the rock - er - rocks as they get onto it. This is great for confidence building with her.
01:46 Offered boundary. As you can tell, we've used this rock for boundary games a fair bit, but it's normally Squidge who jumps onto it as we pass, hopeful of a treat!
02:02 Middle with ginny. She loves this! We are still in the early stages and we're taking it really slowly, but I have no rush for it to be anything other than something she likes to do to earn a treat. She has even started to offer it without me asking sometimes, if I'm stood with my legs slightly apart
02:23 Long jump over some branches.
02:45 You can see how when you play lots of games, they like to offer the behaviours without you asking for them! We've used this log for various thigs in the past - maybe a front feet on will earn a treat? Not today, little one! But then we use another tree to do some object wrapping.
03:20 Willow goes off to snorkel around one of the fig trees - that's fine, this isn't forced engagement, we're just playing and she can choose to participate or not. Squidge joins her because FIGS!
03:31 Chin rest with Ginny. She's a little unsure to start off, but then remembers the game
03:54 Willow came back, still waiting for Squidge so I do a few paces of backing up with magic hand. She isn't the most fluent at this, but she makes me laugh how she Just keeps snapping in the hope of a treat landing in her mouth
04:07 Hand targeting with Ginny. We're just starting to add some distance. She loves hand targeting! Followed by a little more middle with her and Willow. Willow found middle quite unsettling at first, and she can still be a little hesitant, but again that is improving as she gains confidence.
04:58 Need Squidge to come back from the tree, so a (really bad) mouth whistle. Dry mouth isn't good for whistling! I wasn't sure if she would recall from the figs, so I didn't want to taint my "real" whistle, but she was a little star and came straight to join us.
05:10 Agility table boundary. Squidge loves this and, again, often offers it uncued.
05:28 Willow has a few smells she has to roll in every day. It's nothing I can smell so it doesn't bother me in the slightest, I just love how she looks so happy!
06:00 Front feet on a tiny tree stump. Requires a lot more precision and balance! Squidge is brilliant at this game; Willow has only recently started to target the smaller objects like this, and she actually did it really well - but I didn't have the camera pointing at her, so I cut it out. You'll just have to believe me. Go, Willow!
06:13 A bit more wrapping. You can see that I withheld a reward when she went the wrong way. I have to be really careful with this with Willow as it can flatten her, but by keeping everything light and unpressured, she is relaxed and happy.
06:59 More hand targeting with Ginny. Those ears!!!
07:35 Weave poles 2x2. I've been working on this with all the Labs over the summer, taking it really slowly. I won't go into it now, but suffice to say that these posts aren't quite lined up yet, they're in two sets of two, making "gates" for the dogs to run through, but they are only a few inches from being in a straight line. This was by no means the best video, but it doesn't matter; it's more about the fact that it's another game that we were playing; one dog weaving while the other one sits (hopefully) quietly. Ginny can do as she pleases!
08:06 I'm building the value in the frisbee out and about. At home, Squidge will tug it enthusiastically, but once we're out, she's less sure. So short sessions with "tiny tugs" and lots of reward for bringing it to me. You can see she's not falling over herself to get to it, but there was a time when she's just stand still and watch as I threw it, so this is progress!
08:49 CC with Willow to the frisbee. In the spring I had finally got her to the point where she would tug and enthusiastically chase the frisbee. Then she accidentally stood on a stick as she was about to pick it up from the ground and it scared her; she totally blamed the frisbee and wouldn't go near it. She would look worried as soon as I took it out of my pouch. So I've been working on targeting it with her nose, as she loves target games. You can see she's more than happy to play this game, but then I threw it for the first time and she ran towards it, then hesitated (09:29). But when I came up to her, she should touch it with her nose again, and even started to pick at it with her teeth, which is new and awesome. I love how she looks at me like, "Did you see what I did?!". I wanted to see if she'd keep doing this when I picked it up, and she did! The first tiny steps of a tug behaviour
10:33 I was picking figs and needed the girls not to get involved! A good opportunity for proofing a sit/stay. Squidge might have crept forwards on the first one, which is why she's right next to me and Willow is so far back Ginny, meanwhile, is settled down like a boss
Ginny thinks she likes figs, but always spits them out after giving them a chew. Squidge knows this and takes advantage of the situation!
11:01 Another fig tree, another sit/stay, and Luna stayed in place this time
11:20 A little bit of training my "wowzers" cue (run away from me) with and without a stop whistle. When it was Willow's turn, Squidge was struggling a bit to stay uninvolved. so I went back to feeding her for staying put.
15:17 A bit more hand targeting with Ginny. She doesn't have many behaviours, but she enjoys the ones she does have, so I ensure I involve her as much in the games as I can. She also gets plenty of chest rubs which she adores. Even if Squidge tries to get in on the action!
16:14 You can see just how attentive the girls are. I give them their "go play" cue but they think it's more fun with me than chasing bunny scent - the rabbits live in the terracing to our right, so that area is full of lovely smells.
16:45 A bit of funder; like ping-pong recall but going through the legs. Another game Willow was a bit unsure of at first, but it helps to build value in proximity.
17:32 We finish off with a bit more front feet on on our way back and a last middle for Ginny!
I use these opportunities to work on engagement and games. Last night I took some video to share.
It's long - 18 minutes edited down from about 40 mins - so you probably don't want to watch the whole thing, but it shows the sort of things we do, and might give you some ideas. Most of this I don't classify this as "training" as I'm just using skills they already have, but hopefully you'll be able to see how it builds a real desire in the dogs to stay close. The fields are pretty scenty at the moment as there are loads of rabbits about.
A quick run-down:
00:04 We start off with gate manners. Start as we mean to go on, with calmness and focus. Excuse the building site we live in
00:39 Front feet on. Using a rock for this. Squidge, as you can see, is supremely confident, but it's been difficult for Willow to put her feet on something rough and unsteady. You can't see it very well, but the rock - er - rocks as they get onto it. This is great for confidence building with her.
01:46 Offered boundary. As you can tell, we've used this rock for boundary games a fair bit, but it's normally Squidge who jumps onto it as we pass, hopeful of a treat!
02:02 Middle with ginny. She loves this! We are still in the early stages and we're taking it really slowly, but I have no rush for it to be anything other than something she likes to do to earn a treat. She has even started to offer it without me asking sometimes, if I'm stood with my legs slightly apart
02:23 Long jump over some branches.
02:45 You can see how when you play lots of games, they like to offer the behaviours without you asking for them! We've used this log for various thigs in the past - maybe a front feet on will earn a treat? Not today, little one!
But then we use another tree to do some object wrapping.03:20 Willow goes off to snorkel around one of the fig trees - that's fine, this isn't forced engagement, we're just playing and she can choose to participate or not. Squidge joins her because FIGS!
03:31 Chin rest with Ginny. She's a little unsure to start off, but then remembers the game
03:54 Willow came back, still waiting for Squidge so I do a few paces of backing up with magic hand. She isn't the most fluent at this, but she makes me laugh how she Just keeps snapping in the hope of a treat landing in her mouth
04:07 Hand targeting with Ginny. We're just starting to add some distance. She loves hand targeting! Followed by a little more middle with her and Willow. Willow found middle quite unsettling at first, and she can still be a little hesitant, but again that is improving as she gains confidence.
04:58 Need Squidge to come back from the tree, so a (really bad) mouth whistle. Dry mouth isn't good for whistling! I wasn't sure if she would recall from the figs, so I didn't want to taint my "real" whistle, but she was a little star and came straight to join us.
05:10 Agility table boundary. Squidge loves this and, again, often offers it uncued.
05:28 Willow has a few smells she has to roll in every day. It's nothing I can smell so it doesn't bother me in the slightest, I just love how she looks so happy!
06:00 Front feet on a tiny tree stump. Requires a lot more precision and balance! Squidge is brilliant at this game; Willow has only recently started to target the smaller objects like this, and she actually did it really well - but I didn't have the camera pointing at her, so I cut it out. You'll just have to believe me. Go, Willow!
06:13 A bit more wrapping. You can see that I withheld a reward when she went the wrong way. I have to be really careful with this with Willow as it can flatten her, but by keeping everything light and unpressured, she is relaxed and happy.
06:59 More hand targeting with Ginny. Those ears!!!
07:35 Weave poles 2x2. I've been working on this with all the Labs over the summer, taking it really slowly. I won't go into it now, but suffice to say that these posts aren't quite lined up yet, they're in two sets of two, making "gates" for the dogs to run through, but they are only a few inches from being in a straight line. This was by no means the best video, but it doesn't matter; it's more about the fact that it's another game that we were playing; one dog weaving while the other one sits (hopefully) quietly. Ginny can do as she pleases!
08:06 I'm building the value in the frisbee out and about. At home, Squidge will tug it enthusiastically, but once we're out, she's less sure. So short sessions with "tiny tugs" and lots of reward for bringing it to me. You can see she's not falling over herself to get to it, but there was a time when she's just stand still and watch as I threw it, so this is progress!
08:49 CC with Willow to the frisbee. In the spring I had finally got her to the point where she would tug and enthusiastically chase the frisbee. Then she accidentally stood on a stick as she was about to pick it up from the ground and it scared her; she totally blamed the frisbee and wouldn't go near it. She would look worried as soon as I took it out of my pouch. So I've been working on targeting it with her nose, as she loves target games. You can see she's more than happy to play this game, but then I threw it for the first time and she ran towards it, then hesitated (09:29). But when I came up to her, she should touch it with her nose again, and even started to pick at it with her teeth, which is new and awesome. I love how she looks at me like, "Did you see what I did?!". I wanted to see if she'd keep doing this when I picked it up, and she did! The first tiny steps of a tug behaviour
10:33 I was picking figs and needed the girls not to get involved! A good opportunity for proofing a sit/stay. Squidge might have crept forwards on the first one, which is why she's right next to me and Willow is so far back
Ginny, meanwhile, is settled down like a boss Ginny thinks she likes figs, but always spits them out after giving them a chew. Squidge knows this and takes advantage of the situation!
11:01 Another fig tree, another sit/stay, and Luna stayed in place this time
11:20 A little bit of training my "wowzers" cue (run away from me) with and without a stop whistle. When it was Willow's turn, Squidge was struggling a bit to stay uninvolved. so I went back to feeding her for staying put.
15:17 A bit more hand targeting with Ginny. She doesn't have many behaviours, but she enjoys the ones she does have, so I ensure I involve her as much in the games as I can. She also gets plenty of chest rubs which she adores. Even if Squidge tries to get in on the action!
16:14 You can see just how attentive the girls are. I give them their "go play" cue but they think it's more fun with me than chasing bunny scent - the rabbits live in the terracing to our right, so that area is full of lovely smells.
16:45 A bit of funder; like ping-pong recall but going through the legs. Another game Willow was a bit unsure of at first, but it helps to build value in proximity.
17:32 We finish off with a bit more front feet on on our way back and a last middle for Ginny!
