WHAT WE DO
This is
PROCESS
This is our
SYSTEM
This is our
Evaluate
First we need to
Dog
Knowing what kind of dog we are working with gives us a better direction. We are looking at things such as the Breed, the Temperament, and the Stability of the dog. Then we better know what Needs have to be met and the training that needs to be done to achieve our goals.
Handler
Believe it or not it is important to know what kind of person is working with the dog even when we are talking about regular people with regular pets. YOU are the handler, and a dog will act different depending on who is “handling” them. Here we look at your Personality, Expectations,
and previous Experience.
Lifestyle
Our dogs our creatures of habit, just like us. The Routine we have in our day to day, the Freedoms that we give them, and the Resources they get all play into their behavior.
Tools
Even just switching different gear we use with a dog can immediately change your experience with your dog. The correct, and incorrect, use of any tool will make or break how you Communicate and teach your dog.
Training
What is
Training?
Training is about repetition, it’s about conditioning new behaviors, and counter conditioning learned ones. Just like going to the gym to build muscle, its all about the reps.
How Dogs
Learn
Dogs learn through patterns, sequences, and association. They learn through their experiences of what they like or dont like. They communicate differently from humans picking up subtle non verbal cues from everywhere.
Game Plan 1
Working
Relationship
The foundation to a successful life with our dogs is being able to work together effectively. Making sure we communicate appropriately so our dogs can learn and we can teach.
We basically are talking our working relationship, and taking that now into different situations and around different distractions. Walks are basically going from one working session to another, and making sure we are not getting dragged in between.
“Walks”
Structure
Routine
We want to get into a routine that allows us to fit an appropriate amount of work, freetime, and rest in our day to day.
The next major hurtle, before anything else, is taking our dog into different environments. Spending time focusing on the impulse control of our dog going from one place to another.
Transitions
Place
Now this is fundamental to work on to build self control in your dog and teach them how to “stay”. A fun activity to do in the house which gives you the ability to work on:
-starting and stopping
-release
-stay
-identifying a target to go to
Checklist
​​We have a routine with our dog, we can work, give free time, and rest comfortably
We can play with our dogs in a fun way without fighting
​​Our dogs can engage with us and ignore what is around us during our working sessions.
We can leave our dogs in a safe area without running into issues, for free time and rest​​
We can transition from one environment to the next with a calm and engaged dog.
We can work around the house and at least one place else.
Game Plan 2
Handling
Skills
Now we are going to get technical. We are off to the races and i am going to start telling my dog more of what to do so i can handle them better. And i want to separate that from exposing them to distractions so there isnt any confusion.
Shaping
New
-heel
-short leash walking
-corrections
-possibly down
Prompting
Learned
-come
-sit
-place
-down
New
Tools
This would be the time to try and work with a tool that may help increase my ability to handle my dog.
Exposure
This is different from practicing handling my dog and giving them commands. This is giving my dog the opportunity to be around distractions that have triggered them, and to build tolerance. I may not say any commands to my dog.
Triggers
Something that causes my dog to get stressed and react.
-people
-dog
-doorbell
Thresholds
The limit of your dogs tolerance to the stressful triggers.
Counter
Conditioning
This is rewarding the alternate choice my dog makes so that they start to enjoy making a new decision then the one before.
Checklist
I can share space around my dogs triggers in a relaxed, stable manner.
9/10 times my dog will respond to my learned commands
​​my dog knows the difference between walking by my side or with freedom
My dog can look away from triggers on their own.
I can be proactive enough to set my dog up to make a choice or i can for them.
Working with my dog is enjoyable and productive.
Game Plan 3
Advanced
Obedience
Complex and more challenging commands:
-directionals
-retrieval
-tricks
Proofing
Throwing as many different variable at the behaviors to make them more concrete
Real
Life
Start to put my dog and myself into more real life situations.
DDD
Duration, distance, and distraction, three things i can always improve on.
Interacting
If the dog is doing great with self control around, then ill work on them actually interacting