A simple heeling game

Heeling games are things that we do to increase our dog’s drive and enthusiasm for heeling.   Dogs can learn heeling games even if they have no heeling at all; indeed, probably the best time to teach heeling games is roughly when you are teaching precision...

Ring stress

Sue Yanoff, a student at FDSA and a longtime obedience competitor, wrote the following description of her journey to her CDX with her Beagle Ivy.    I asked Sue if I could share it here because in my experience, ring stress is the most common problem trainers run into...

Reinforcement Choices in Heeling

Today I wanted to see what I had with Brito’s heeling. Here’s an unedited video: After you teach the pieces of lovely heeling, You have to string them together. At that point, I use my choice of reinforcement (food or toys) and the positioning of those...

Cue Discrimination

For the new AKC Cue Discrimination Exercise, your goal will be to teach your dog to listen to a specific position cue like sit, down or stand without creeping towards you. How might you accomplish that? First I would suggest separating out the challenges. 1, Listening...

Handling Errors: Help your dog!

Recently, I wrote a blog on the meaning of silence.  I discussed how we risk inadvertently communicating to our dogs that they are wrong if we create an association between silence/no cookies and errors.  So what can you do when your dog makes an error, or when you...

The behavior chain game

Even a relative beginner to dog training can start creating behavior chains and there are some real advantages to doing so early in your training career. Chains are endlessly more interesting to dogs than single behaviors.  As a rule, single behaviors rely on external...

Precision Heeling

This is probably the hottest topic in obedience – how to get beautiful heeling. If you’re interested in learning this skill on-line, I’m teaching a class on just this topic starting Feburary 1st, 2014, at the Fenzi Dog Sports Academy.  Registration...

Too much “chatter”?

After I posted Brito’s video several days ago, a Facebook friend asked if I was concerned about the quantity of “chatter” in our training session.  When and how would I wean off of that? It’s a good question.  A great question!  Because many...

Brito update

Go ahead and admit it; you’ve never seen such a cute little dog in your entire life:). Here we are working on some heeling, fronts, and the very beginnings of sit in heel position.  He is just beginning to hand me the metal scent article; separately he has...

Proofing Scent Discrimination

This blog isn’t about teaching scent discrimination.  There are plenty of ways to teach scent work that are kind and effective; pick one or blend a few and find a plan that works for you.  Here is how I taught Lyra if you want some...

Brito Ring Prep

I took Brito to his weekly ring prep class today.  A miracle happened. For two minutes and fifty three seconds, he stayed in the ring with me and focused on his job.  He did not run off to visit dogs outside of the ring.  He did not  leave work to look for a promising...

Brito – starting Scent Discrimination

I started Brito’s scent work a few days ago. I chose not to use the Altoids Tin method that I used with Lyra (you can see that method here:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vj8ownH511o). Brito doesn’t like to make mistakes so I wanted to avoid having him...

Brito: Balancing movement with control

The past few weeks I concentrated on a few things with Brito: Play with toys. That is coming along pretty well. Less good outside but hey, he’s  a baby. Play with me.  That also suffers outside, but still…we’ll get there. Retrieve.  Super!  Good boy...

Brito – Finding Fronts

Brito is learning to “find” fronts – first on his own and then with a dumbbell. He’s wearing a leash to prevent him from running off to pee on the bushes.  He is very fond of peeing on things lately. Note that I no longer click for retrieving...

Brito’s first ring prep

Ring prep class is what I call the process of acclimating a dog to the competition ring.  From my perspective, this can never start too early. Here is a video of Brito’s very first ring preparation training day.  He really doesn’t have to “do”...

Brito – more shaped retrieve and beginning proofing

I have introduced Brito to a few more retrieve concepts. I’m now (gently!) pushing him away before starting the retrieve – this encourages Brito to move in a forward direction after he puts his mouth on the bar.  If you don’t do this step, many dogs...

Lyra – Run Through

Today I took Lyra for her first run through in many months.   It is rare that I do a “run-through”.  To me, that means I have pre-decided which exercises I will do, and mostly I ignore errors.  I’m checking to see what needs work.  I use no classic...

Brito – taking the dumbbell

I’m working on Brito’s retrieve. Until now, criteria has included interacting with the dumbbell without stepping on it (I extinguished that), any nose or mouth touching, front teeth, front teeth and nibbling, and slightly more than front teeth. Most of the...

Brito five months general training

Here is an eleven minute training session of Brito from this morning.  You can see a variety of things. Shaping with a dumbbell.  I normally hold it because he tends to put his feet on objects sitting on the floor.  That is not a habit that I want to encourage. (...

Brito – Training Day 5

For those who are worried that Lyra may have disappeared…no worries.  She’s doing very well and, if anything, has been rather brilliant this week. But…she’s getting to be a “trained” dog, which means there is less and less that I...

Brito home

  You can meet Brito in the following three videos.  I chopped out the 80% where he sort of wandered about and behaved much like a puppy. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Is0d9zZ7qnY (tug) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZOn_w2lnxk (beginning of heeling)...