Elvis had fun while his people were on holiday!

Puppy Snow Day and Review of Puppy Class Night!

What a fun day! Fluffy snow falling all day! Puppy's First Steps -- making snowy footprints!
Then a great group of puppies and people at puppy socialization class tonight!
Between the snow fun and the play'n train in class I bet they will sleep soundly tonight!
Kinda like this fun loving pup!


Wanda, Babs, Sally and Jack have all done some great homework with their people. It was nice watching your interaction with your people!

We missed Icycle and Niki this class but here are some notes so you can see what to work on this week.

We talked a bit about the difference between learning and testing. Find ways to incorporate training into daily life rather than reacting. http://www.dogstardaily.com/blogs/not-test

Socialization - Keep up the good work. The critical socialization period is coming near an end. Make a checklist of what you still want to expose your puppies to so they will become adaptable canine members of society. http://www.aspcabehavior.org/articles/83/Socializing-Your-Puppy.aspx

Body Language - We observed the pups communicating with each using subtle effective body language. Appropriate interactions were praised. Inappropriate ones were interrupted and then the pups were redirected. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VmWizZueFQ&feature=related . Read up on stress or calming signals http://www.canis.no/rugaas/onearticle.php?artid=1. See

Attention - Last week I asked you to watch your dog out of the corner of your eye as often as possible and when they glance at you and to say "yes" or "good" and follow it with some rewarding treat, toy, praise, game, or activity. Owners said that their dogs were more tuned into them already! The next step we practiced tonight was to ask your pups to "say please" with eye contact before being released to freedom and play and other life rewards. http://dogscouts.org/Indirect_Access.html

Leave It Foundation Exercise - (Closed fist "zen") We used the Reward Marker RM when the dog backed off and stayed away from the treat hand. The reward came from a different hand. A couple of the puppies advanced to eye contact before being rewarded. We also tried "under the foot" zen with a couple of the pups. Great progressions. See what you can work on at home this week! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNAOe1djDyc&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL

Dogs NAME - That's my name ... don't wear it out! Reminder of the difference between training and testing again. In a learning situation if you think there is a pretty good chance of your dog responding then say their name and the instant they turn their head say "yes" and then reward that head flick with something really great! Treats, toy, game, or all of the above. In a "test" situation then try to prevent from repeating your dog's name multiple times. Say "hey pup pup" or "Fuzz Wuzz" or maybe just go and get the little wuffie and then make a note to keep working on training and slowly working up the distractions. http://pawinhand.blogspot.com/search/label/name%20game

Hand Target - This simple exercise is actually a key to many more training games. Use high value rewards and lots of enthusiasm for this game in the beginning stages so that it's value can transfer to other exercises and eventually become rewarding in itself! Focusing on you, poliste leash walking, off leash trail manners, meet and greet with people, and plenty of fancy tricks too! http://pawinhand.blogspot.com/search/label/Hand%20Target

By finding ways to incorporate these simple games into your ever day life you dog will look to you more often for interaction and as a provider of the good things in life. You will be your dog's benevolent leader!

Next week I have to remember to get out my camera!!! It is so hard to take my attention away from the puppy fun!!! I did get one short video clip the first night though...

Step One Companion Dog Training Class - Graduation Nov 2010

Thanks for joining our Step One Companion Dog Training Class. It was a pleasure to share training time with you and your doggies! We feel proud seeing everyone embrace our style of training! You wrapped your heads around something different, asked questions and were honest about what was working and what wasn't so that we could help you tweak things along the way.












The attention and reorienting games that we taught you are the foundation for Step Two Classes. "Trail Ettiquiette" (Spring 2011) and "Tricks and Games for Leash Manners" (Next).

Step One- Wk 3 summary

For those who would like a quick reminder of what to practice this week, and how it can be applied to everyday life, here's a quick overview. We'll be showing you how to use the foundation skills when working through moving distractions on Sunday.

You Won!

Remember when you were a kid and you heard or read the words "You Won" it really meant something special to you and you looked forward to your prize with great anticipation? I bet now you are skeptical when you hear these same words and hardly pay any attention to them...

In dog training we use a "Reward Marker". We want our dog to eagerly anticipate hearing it and getting the coveted prize! In order to keep it meaningful to the dog we have to ensure it stays "charged" and ensure that it is followed every time with powerful rewards that your particular dog finds reinforcing in that situation. It is usually used in the learning stages of a new behaviour.

In the later stages of training we use praise, petting, happy body language and intermittent rewards to reinforce behaviours that your dog already responds to. (I hesitate to say "know" as that is a whole different blog post!)

This article will help you understand when and how to use a "Reward Marker".

http://www.hollysden.com/Dog-and-Puppy-Training-Articles/Positive-Dog-Training.htm

Identification ID!!!

Over the past week I have had 3 -- yes, three -- phone calls from people who found a dog wandering or lost and called the phone number on the back of the little green Paw In Hand Pet Services tag. In all cases the dog was not far from home or nearby with it's owner and quickly reunited. If you and your doggie are a client of mine I will do my best to retrieve your dog if found and take care of it in the meantime until you can be contacted.

Check your dogs' collar and tags daily. Tags do fall off occasionally ... some dogs are rougher on their tags than others ... right Sophie? ;0)

Please ensure that your pet has a snug fitting collar and that tags are current with at least two different phone numbers. Local Pet Supply Stores can make identification tags on the spot! For travelling you can also get temporary pouches and tubes for alternative contact information.

Having the rabies tag and the municipal dog licence tag on your dog is also important. In case of emergency all the information is available.

Microchips and Tatoos are options that you may want to consider but they are secondary to the first place people look when they find a loose dog ... the bright green Paw In Hand tag!!! My doggie buddies!

xo
Auntie Maren

Trick'n Treat Training!

Happy HOWL-o-ween!


I see training opportunities!

- Doorbell ringing means automatic "go to place"
- Opportunity to accept rushed handling and having costumes adjusted
- Default "Stay" while I open the door...
- "Wait" even with goulish distractions!
- Attention to me gets a treat
- Then a chance to say hi to the trick-or-treaters!
- A chance to check out the candy with their nose is cued by "sniff-sniff"




I am very lucky that my dogs aren't upset by fireworks but I also didn't want to chance it and take them out on the streets on Halloween evening. We had fun at home!


Join our dog training classes and teach your dog some of these foundation behaviours so that next year your Halloween will be happy too!
Step One
http://pawinhand.blogspot.com/p/step-one.html