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PUPPY FUN AND FOCUS - WEEK 7

We had some nice ‘Touches’ and ‘Leave its’ in class. Well done.

Enjoy the videos and explanations of week 7.

Here is how to gradually overcome distractions…

When you begin training your dog to do something new, you usually start off in an area that's fairly quiet with very low distraction. Once your dog is able to respond quickly to a cue in this setting, it is time to add some distractions and new settings. Do this slowly, and work on adding one new thing at a time.

Let's look then at how you would proof a "down." Practice the down until your dog is able to respond to the down cue fairly quickly. Then begin to slowly add new things. You can start by adding some distraction. Have another family member come into the room. Practice several times, and then turn on the television while you practice the down. Slowly add more distracting things to his environment, like other dogs, running children, and loud noises. Do all this while practicing the down.

Once your dog is able to lie down quickly on cue with some distraction, begin practicing in different places, such as another room, the backyard, and the neighbour's house. Keep each training session to about 10 minutes, and stay upbeat. If your dog begins making mistakes, go back to the last time he was responding quickly to the cue.

After you have practiced a behaviour with different amounts of distraction and in a variety of locations, your dog should have a really good grasp of the behaviour.

He should now be able to perform the behaviour as well at the beach as he does it in your living room. Once you've gotten to this point, the behaviour is proofed!

Some broadly helpful tips for all training if your dog is struggling to keep up include:

  • Increase the value of their rewards so they have something exciting to spur them on

  • Practice consistently, yet at a pace your dog is happy with

  • Treat training like playtime – act bright, cheerful enthusiastic and offer plenty of encouragement at all times.

Here are some more specific tips for proofing that you could also try out:

  • Before moving to a new environment, practice the behaviour in the environment your dog initially learned it. This will ensure that the cue and the behaviour are at the forefront of their mind

  • When you do move to a new environment, lower the standard at which you expect the behaviour to be performed at – offer praise and reward if they offer the correct behaviour, regardless of sloppiness

  • Play attention games first to ensure your dog is in the right frame of mind and thinking fast.

Some more protocols for your Down-Stay! And remember this is what the DOWN should look like. :)

relaxation-protocol-week3.jpg

It's Graduation next week. We will do recall around the training location with the other pups as distraction and we want to see who has the best Down-Stay. :)