Graduation Day!
I know many of you have been following Loker’s journey through his group class in the past few weeks so I wanted to let you all know his big day has come! He has officially graduated from his Courteous Canine’s class by Adventures in Canine Training! Looking back at our first day in class, he…
Loose Leash Walking Update
Loose leash walking is a bit of a challenge for every dog. After all, what dog can resist the smells and sights of the world without the proper motivation?! I was having a bit of an issue because at points in the walk Loker would ignore the clicker and ignore anything I said. It was…
Loose Leash Walking with High Distractions
It can be done! The other weekend we had another Courteous Canines group class. Our goal for this class was to walk through a few dogs keeping your dog on a loose leash. Loker used to react very strongly on leash so it was such a relief to see that it was possible to walk…
Practice Makes Perfect – or almost!
I don’t think you can really practice too much as long as you give your dog breaks. This past weekend I went to my little (high school senior) brother’s soccer game. My family was in town and I wanted to join them on the field. I knew this would be a great opportunity to work…
It’s Okay to Make Mistakes
I’m always learning and I never want to stop learning – why? Because I know there is always a way to do something better. And this doesn’t just apply to dog training! I recently tried to teach Loker a few more foundations for a proper heel. He knows how to heel, but this exercise will…
Coming When Called
Last week I went to Loker’s second group training class “Courteous Canines” taught by the talented Stacy Greer (who will guest post soon!) of Adventures in Canine Training (http://aictdfw.com). I had a friend record some of the class so that I could share with you all! Recently I had a request to talk about training…
Behavioral Shaping through Clicker Training
A method that I have been wanting to try for a while now is called Shaping. This involves no luring or direction from the trainer and simply a click/treat when the dog does something right. You work up step by step until the dog is performing the goal behavior regularly and then you add the…
Clickity Click Click
Some tips on becoming a great clicker trainer! Clicker training is part of being a positive trainer. So far I have used the clicker for two completely different techniques. One technique is to teach the dog a trick or cue and the other is to start building positive associations for things that may scare my…