This Week’s Homework and Videos
Please bring your dog to class on a 6′ leash. Bring necessary training collars/tools.
HomeworkHelper – Don’t Lose It, Use It
Relaxation Walks
HomeworkHelper – The Light Line
(Go to 2:55 for setup tutorial)
This is the kind of work ya’ll should be doing if you’d like your dogs to behave like my dogs. I apologize for the sniffling (it was cold out!) and there’s quite a bit of dead space, but I decided to publish it uncut so that there is no dramatizing or exaggerating. This is exactly what a session looks like. The only thing cut was the extraordinarily uneventful walk from St. Catherine to Oak. I show you the warm up stay, then cut to the entirety of the session on a busy block of Oak Street.
0-1:00 a warm up Sit Stay with funny movement.
1:15-3:30 is a real life example of “little successes” over a big scary trash bag.
(then lots of walking and talking)
16:40-17:30 for Heeling Post demo – proof that a dog can learn from a single experience. If they get caught, just hold still and let them, on their own and by themselves, back their way around to find comfort.
25:40 for an OUT for sniffing in a Stay – around people no less. Pay attention to what everyone says after: “he’s a friendly happy dog!” no one cares. Stay true to your handling.
27:40-30:00 how to work around strangers. There are several stranger approaches in this video. It’ worth noting the reason I was working with him was due to, by his owner’s definition: over-exuberance, jumping, and losing his mind around strangers. And yes, at 29:00 that guy asks if he’s training to be a seeing-eye dog. At 30:25 I show you how to get out of a conversation you don’t want to be in anymore.
28:35 is a real-world Stress Test
If your street trials look like the above and your readiness tests are as good on the light line, you’re getting close!!!!
There is a handling error in these tests: the leash should be off the ground and out from under the legs of the dog to ensure that if they do get tagged by the chain, the ensuing reel to the SSIF does not result in a leash caught under an arm or leg. Watch this in your own handling.
Before you come to class, be sure your dog can pass the “string test”. Take a piece of cotton [kite] string about six inches long, thread it through the running ring of the choke collar and tie the two ends together. You will now have a choke collar with a loop of string hanging from it. Install the chain as normal and bring the dog into a secure area on his six foot leash.
Quietly unsnap the leash and attach it to the loop of string hanging from the collar. You now have a fusible link between you and the dog. Work a simple heeling pattern which should include at minimum one right turn, one left turn, two about turns, one fast, one slow, and two automatic sits.
At the end of your heeling pattern place the dog in a stand-stay and go to the end of the leash for one minute, return to the dog and finish the stay (exercise finish for those paying attention). If your string is still intact proceed to do a one minute sit-stay, followed by a three minute down-stay. Again, check your string; if it is yet unbroken congratulations, you are ready for your next class! If not, fix the problem!
Readiness Test – The “Hands Free Test”
This recording demonstrates several corrections and a blueprint for a typical session. Note: there is no demo of the stranger approach. This is intentional. I train those on their own when I have company or visit with friends and family. Beginning next week, all of training moves to natural settings and approaches become more commonplace.
HomeworkHelper – Down and Recall
This is a bit lofty, but it’s what’s possible with accurate handling until this point.
Watch for a refresher on the new stuff this week and I get a chance to demo a proper Stay correction.
The Left-About
Watch for a couple tricks for fixing bad Sit Placements and a demo of a proper Sit correction.
You NEED to be here by end of the week. The only way to get there is through repetition.
HomeworkHelper – The Stay and Stand
Note in the video that ONE Heel command was given. The social distractions were reminders to “do the job”. Why? Because straying from the Heel position resulted in corrective turns. The key to proper training is proper motivation (distractions). I’ll be looking for these kind of Heels in next week’s test.
P.S. Don’t have a pack of well-trained dogs? USE YOUR FAMILY! Use balls, frisbees, plastic bags, threatening halloween masks, youtube videos, bells, chimes, sounds. And yes, I train barefoot 🙂
HomeworkHelper – The Heel and Sit
Be sure your own readiness tests pit your dog against competing Social, Prey, and Defense distractions!
Homework Helper – The Longe Line
Longing – Day 3-4
Longing – Day 5-6
Readiness test – test your dog similarly before coming to class
Saturday March 11th
Tom Sawyer Park
3000 Freys Hill Road
6:00
Week 6 - The Throw Chain