Toffee’s Deer Chasing Training

[kateincornwall]

Its so good to read that you are enjoying the sessions , it all seems very promising too xx

 

[HAH]

This is such a lovely read @SteffiS , it sounds like you’re putting so much into it and clearly it’s paying off! I do admire your approach, and am really pleased you’re wanting to do more of what Katy offers, the Gundog classes sounds fun. Three cheers and a large Friday gin for you

 

[Atemas]

That all sounds brill @SteffiS - we’ll done to you and Toffee

 

[Selina27]

Great to read @SteffiS , sounds like you have found a really good trainer in Katie to help you with this.
Good boy Toffee xx

 

[Granca]

That sounds good, @SteffiS. Well done, Toffee!

 

[Boogie]

That sounds excellent @SteffiS - we done Toffee and you.

 

[SteffiS]

And I’ve more or less conquered my fear of the Chain Ferry .

 

[Joy]

For some reason I missed your earlier posts so really enjoyed catching up just now. I'm so glad the training sessions are proving helpful.

 

[Jacqui-S]

Sounds like you are BOTH enjoying this!
Well done!

 

[SteffiS]

My normally quiet Sunday morning walk was full of distractions this morning - somebody filling up bird feeders, 2 dogs we didn’t recognise off-lead in the field, sheep peering over the fence at us - so I was able to practice lots of the techniques Katy has been teaching. Obviously a lot more difficult in 'real life' but Toffee did really well considering all the exciting smells and sniffs .

 

[Jacqui-S]

Yay!
Go @SteffiS and Toffee (or not in Toffee's case....)

 

[SteffiS]

Just to update on Toffee's last 2 training sessions. I was a bit disappointed last week as we hadn't had a lot of opportunity to practise (I'd been to London for 2 days and had visitors) but Katy felt we were still making progress, she also introduced the flirt pole and we worked on me keeping Toffee's attention during distractions.

Yesterday I had a long discussion with Katy about my concerns that Toffee wasn't moving forward with his training, she pointed out he was much improved from when we started and also that I was probably over training him, making sessions last too long so he was getting fatigued; it seems he concentrates really hard for a short time and I was not picking up on when he was tired, also not mixing up the training enough and not making it fun for him. Of course this made me feel quite guilty as I can see he is desperately trying to please me (unlike Ripple ) as he is so attached to me.

On a more positive note we worked on release cues by using the down with release, which I have to practise through the week gradually extending the time. We also used the stop cue, again it seems the mistakes are mostly mine, being hesitant and confusing Toffee. Another session with the flirt pole highlighted how Toffee reacts to movement which is part of the trigger for deer chasing, even after Katy put the flirt pole away Toffee spent a good few minutes hunting for the lure as he was sure it had been hidden somewhere for him to find.
We ended the session looking at how to calm some of his behaviours around people, in that way Covid had been useful as most people kept at a distance, now we are back to people walking much closer to us and also wanting to stop and chat. I need to try using the clicker to get him to offer calm behaviours to other people and also return to me rather than continue to befriend every person we meet.

Katy has recommended I buy a flirt pole and also a lotus ball which I hadn't heard of before. The lotus ball should hopefully encourage him to return to hand which he tends not to do, in preparation for the gundog training.

Having read @David reports through the week on Poppy's training I was feeling a bit down about our achievements but hopefully yesterdays training session has put things into perspective and I can be a bit more positive about our progress.

 

[HAH]

It sounds to me like you’ve made great progress @SteffiS in lots of ways, particularly (most importantly I’m increasingly coming to think) around relationship building. The more you can understand each other the better, and I completely understand your feelings of guilt but just like any relationship it’s not a linear thing, and they evolve over time. We’re bound to understand more about our dogs, and them about us, as time goes on - and they change over time like we do. I’m not sure that makes sense but anyway, it’s sounding positive! The flirt pole will be fun, I’ve never quite understood them so would love to hear how you find it if you do get one.

 

[SteffiS]

Thank you for your positive comments @HAH

The flirt pole will be fun, I’ve never quite understood them so would love to hear how you find it if you do get one.

I'm struggling with this as well, its one of those things that I feel I understand when Katy explains it but I come home and puzzle about it. I think it will teach control, he sits and ignores until released to chase it, presumably so he will not chase deer as he hasn't been released. I have ordered one so hopefully all will become clear eventually .

 

[Jacqui-S]

Progress is progress @SteffiS !
And doing something positive is far better than doing nothing.
I take my hat of to you.
I would never think that stopping a deer chase was even possible!

 

[Selina27]

It's good to read about your ongoing training with Toffee.
I too will be interested to hear more about how the flirt pole fits into the scheme of things.
I am sorry you were feeling downhearted, but it does seem that you are starting to turn the corner with this. It's easy sometimes to think no progress is being made, but I think that consistency is the key and overtime they are learning. After all, we can only work with the dog we have in front of us !

 

[SteffiS]

I would never think that stopping a deer chase was even possible!

I’m still not sure it is but I really want to try. I am enjoying the training overall and I know Toffee is - if he hears the word 'training' he comes rushing over to me all keen to get going.

I am sorry you were feeling downhearted, but it does seem that you are starting to turn the corner with this. It's easy sometimes to think no progress is being made, but I think that consistency is the key and overtime they are learning.

Yes you’re definitely right about consistency, sometimes it’s hard as so much seems to be packed in to every training session, but there is a lot of back up with additional notes (and homework). Katy has also sent me some notes on 'Proofing training and progression' , I’ve only skimmed them as they’re quite detailed, so I shall study those tomorrow, I think they will be very helpful.

 

[David]

Having read @David reports through the week on Poppy's training I was feeling a bit down about our achievements but hopefully yesterdays training session has put things into perspective and I can be a bit more positive about our progress.

I really like reading about what you are doing with Toffee. It's very relevant to my situation with Poppy that I haven't really started to address yet - in our case it's sheep, cattle and horses. But concerning the quote above I do hope you don't think it's all plain sailing with Pops. At least a couple of sessions with her have left me thinking I'm completely wasting my time here and Ian (my friend in the police dog unit who found Poppy for me) was right when he said he didn't think she'd be any good as a gundog. I'm kind of telling myself that dogs, like humans, have completely off days and nothing goes right. Today, by coincidence, I took Pops for a late afternoon session in the field near our house and before we got started she found a tennis ball in the river and that was that as far as getting any sense out of her. I couldn't even get her attention! I think you just have to laugh and move on.

 

[Joy]

I am enjoying the training overall and I know Toffee is - if he hears the word 'training' he comes rushing over to me all keen to get going.

This is lovely to read and shows you're definitely on the right track. There are no instant solutions to any training problem and we don't progress steadily when we're learning anything - there are sudden leaps, occasional dips and frequent plateaux. Keep going, you're doing well.

 

[Cath]

You are both doing so well @SteffiS