The concept of Choice

Note: I wrote this blog post within a few days of starting my blog in 2011. I don’t recall why I never published it, regardless, I found it here in my drafts folder today. Because I think it’s interesting to observe how thoughts about training (and writing...

Ziva – Adding Distractions

The earlier you add disractions to your training, the better. This video shows Ziva learning to ignore distractions while heeling.  At 11 months of age,  Ziva’s heeling is pretty good but the reward schedule is quite high.  This is the best time to introduce...

Lyra – 6.5 months – Scent work and Distractions

A week ago I posted a video of Lyra working on heeling with significant distractions on the field.  I allow her to find the distractions and to discover for herself that working with me is endlessly more fun than self rewarding.  She worked, wandered, sniffed, and...

Lyra 6 months – distraction training

I do not consider distraction training to be a unique stage of training; it is part of the overall process.  Distraction training starts from the day I bring a puppy home, whether I wish to work on distractions or not. Regardless, there are periods in training where I...