We’re excited to be joining the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop for the first time. This hop is held the first Monday of every month, and is hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier, and Rubicon Days. We hope to be joining in more from now on!
This month’s theme is “goals”. Since we got a little waylaid in our training by Luke’s luxating patella and the holidays, I thought this would be a great time to sit down and think about where we’re at and where we want to go in the coming year.
Through the last couple of weeks of the holidays, we didn’t do any formal training. I thought it was OK to take a break for a bit, but of course we still worked on basics in our everyday lives. Since we had people over to the house at times, we got chances to work with Luke on not reacting to people. It went good and bad, but overall I think he did as well as expected.
That is something we will definitely be working more on in the coming year. We took a step back from our not so good first attempt (which you can read about in Part 4), went back to the beginning and mostly worked on trying to keep him calm when cars pull in the driveway. Some times went better than others. Once people are in the house, we have him go to his bed and stay there and he does very well with that (as long as the people don’t move around too much!). I also plan to implement the “Nothing in Life is Free” concept with him to see if that helps. It was suggested to us by a friend in the comments in Part 4 and I think it might work well with Luke (more on that in a future post).
Just this morning I decided to give Luke another try with the nose work, and having a session of just running him through the basics. I have to say I was really excited about how well it went. First of all, Luke was outside and I went downstairs and set up the boxes. When I let him in the house, he went running downstairs, like he knew we were going to do something fun and he was so excited about it!
We moved on in the nose work to closing the boxes (first one flap, then two, then all of them). He pretty well aced it. This is something I definitely plan to continue with him. When spring/summer comes and traveling is easier, I might even decide to take a formal class with him. Either way, it is something we will continue to do for fun, because he obviously loves it and seems to be a natural so far.
In between setting up the boxes I had him going to his bed and staying. We ran through his basic “sit”, “lie down”, “stay” (and “release”), and “leave it” and he did wonderful with all of them. It’s like we never took a break. I plan to just continue with working on the basics daily in every day life, because he is still young and still needs work there. I plan to just do a formal session of that occasionally to reinforce it. We no longer use the clicker when doing these things either. It was a tool to get him to learn things, and that tool worked very well for him.
One other thing I’d like to do is teach him some kind of trick just for fun. I just don’t know what that trick will be yet. I’ve wanted to have him “give paw” or “shake” but he doesn’t really like having his paws handled so I’m not sure if that one will work for him. If you have any suggestions, please leave it in the comments. There may be something I just haven’t thought of yet that would be fun for us.
We also continue to work on loose leash walking and he’s doing well with that. The weather has made it difficult to get outside as much as we’d like but we’ll just get out when we can.
Throughout all my work with Luke, I haven’t forgotten about the girls! Neither of them have responded as well to the clicker training. Cricket just stands there and wiggles, wondering why she just doesn’t get treats just for being cute. Sheba does OK, but she’s much slower than Luke….she wants to please but she’s just not quite as smart as Luke (I don’t intend to be mean saying that….we love our golden girl, we’re just realistic about her blondeness). So I slacked off with them, but I plan to go back to the beginning and try one more time with them, and then I want to try the nose work with them as well. Cricket may be a matter of just using treats without the clicker and luring her to do what I want. She learned the stairs up to the couch very quickly that way. With Sheba, I probably just need to be more patient, and maybe keep sessions just a bit shorter.
I’m excited about working on these things in the year to come, and I’ll get back on track writing this series as well. Luke is the first dog we’ve done any formal training with, and I can see how much it has increased our bond with him. Having a well behaved and obedient dog is not the only benefit to training!
I think you have set some great goals. I know you did Luke’s dna testing and it didn’t show up, but if I did not know better I would say he is a lot Chesapeake. His personality sounds so Chessie….lol. Most Chessies, especially the ones with the old time temperament, don’t really like to be handled. We just go slow, don’t force and use happy voice or treats to reinforce. For example, they hate to do a down and flipping on their back for a belly rub is not something they just do. We don’t push because let’s face it the world will not end if they don’t get one. Finally at three Freighter will do it. Three. So I think as Luke matures you might see that he gets used to being handled and decides it can be a good thing. I also think you are on the right track with the nose work. I firmly believe training in addition to obedience helps a dog. Can’t wait to hear how your NILFF training goes.
Who knows, on one side of his DNA they couldn’t pinpoint much of anything, so Chessie might be in there! That is so encouraging for me to hear that he might let go of some of his “quirks” as we call them, when he matures. We did all the handling you’re supposed to when they’re puppies, then it seemed like all of the sudden one day he didn’t want us touching him in certain ways (he loves to be snuggled, but he knows when you’re up to no good, like checking for a tick).
He really, really seems to love the nose work so that might be a keeper for sure. I also think he’ll do well with the NILFF.
This is a slightly more complicated trick but people love it when Mr. N “prays.” Or bow maybe? Would that strain his knees?
“Praying” sounds cute! Luke does a bow anyway sometimes when playing and I think it’s OK for him, so that’s definitely a good one!
Great goals and you can do it. Luke needs a job and nose work looks and sounds like fun. Cricket you are a doll!
I think you are right that Luke needs a job and this might be perfect for him. As long as he keeps enjoying it we’ll keep at it.
Cricket is our little cutie….and she might occasionally actually get treats for just that reason! LOL
Hurray for Luke! Sounds like you’ve got plenty to do this winter. I have yet to decide on a winter project!
I have a feeling it’s going to be a LONG winter…so we need plenty to keep us busy!
Nose work is supposed to be very good for reactive dogs, helps build confidence. And it never ceases to amaze me how well their noses work! I love watching my pups beeline for the hidden treats.
I was reading that recently, and that was really what motivated me to start working at it again. Luke’s nose is really amazing, especially considering he’s a mixed breed (he may have some scent hound in him though…in fact we’re sure he must). It is so great to watch them having so much fun with it!
Sounds like Luke is a natural when it comes to nose work! I have a lot of training things I want to do this year as well. I used to always to training sessions every single day, now it is only every couple days but it so important to stay consistent and on top of it, so I know I need to get back at it!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
We did it every day when we were working with the trainer, though we still took a day off occasionally. I think every other day or so is plenty too…you don’t want to get burnt out on it either.
I think it’s smart of you to have taken a break from some of the training over the holidays. It can get overwhelming when you try to do everything at once. Good that you were able to work a little on his reactivity.
Nothing in Life is Free is a way of life over here. We ask the dogs to sit before going out the door, getting treats, getting dinner etc. Except, nowadays Leah no longer has to sit to go out the door, (she physically can’t), but she wasn’t the pushy one. When I give her dinner, i have her lie down, and when I give her a treat, I have her touch my hand, that way she still has to do something. LOL!
Great that Luke is enjoying his Nose Work. It’s been so long since I did any box work with my crew, now I feel guilty. LOL!
The holidays are so over-whelming on their own. Every year I try to simplify things but family is in so many different directions I can only do so much.
Oh, I’m glad to hear you use the NILIF too! We already use it for treats so it will be easy enough to add it to other things. Luke started going to his bed to wait when his meals are being dished out…and he started that on his own!
I’m still using your Sniff School series to get started on the Nose Work, and it’s been a great help!
Luke looks like he’s having such a good time with nosework!
I would suggest a paw-wave for a trick, that way he can learn to isolate a leg movement without fear of paw-handling.
Thank you so much for joining the hop!
I like the idea of a paw-wave, and that made me think of a high 5 as a possibility too (which is very similar really I guess).
Thanks, and I’m happy to join the hop!
Is that something Brandon does with Tucker, Jan? A high-five? Sounds familiar, I think so? That would be fun and adorable anyway! Love all the other suggestions though too really!
Oh, I think it might be, Lynn! I’ll have to ask him when we see him next, maybe he can tell me how he trained it. I have a list going now, and just have to decide which we’re going to try first!
That is good that you have some things to do to keep him busy. If you do get the chance to take a nose work class, I think you would really enjoy it. There is so much to it, more than just finding a treat. You will learn a lot about odor and how to work with Luke to find hides. Whether the hide is a treat or an odor doesn’t matter, but it is a great way to bond and work with your dog if you know how to do it 🙂 Happy sniffing.
Thanks, Emma. It has definitely been reading how you are doing with it that has gotten me interested. I think the obedience school we took Luke to also offers some classes in it. As much as I hate going to classes, sometimes I just learn so much better that way. You need to have someone pointing out the things you’re doing wrong! But either way we’ll continue to do it for fun.
The trick I suggest is one I want to work on too- “sit pretty” also known as “beg.” It’s a sit on just the hind quarters, front paws up. The reason I suggest this (and that I want to work on it!) is that is greatly improved core strength while being a fit trick. My mom works this trick constantly with her badly built (too long backed) corgi and he is BUFF!!! I want my dogs’ middles to feel that strong too.
Give the clicker time. Some dogs take 3-5 clicker loading session before they get that hearing the sound means a treat. You can lure and click! The luring method has been proven to work faster when a clicker is involved. Plus, it is easier to remove the lure and just click the behavior.
Thanks so much for joining the hop. Sometimes even just the commitment to post about training once a month is enough to help me stick to some training goals. I am like you and find reinforcing the everyday stuff easier, and while it is important, we all need plain ol’ fun mental stimulation too!
I definitely like the idea of core strengthening while learning a trick too!
I think I did rush it with the girls. Luke learned so quickly I might have expected too much with them. I will definitely go all the way back to loading the clicker. I’m glad to know it’s OK to use luring with the clicker….I think I had read conflicting things about that!
Just writing my clicker training series has helped to keep me more motivated, so joining the hop will definitely help too.
Oh, I almost forgot a trick suggestion. We’ve taught Honey to target things with her nose by saying “touch.” I’ve since moved on to teaching her how to shut doors with her nose.
It’s amazing how fun she finds it. She doesn’t even mind the noise of the door slamming near her face.
Some months back, the Positive Pet Training Hop issued a target training challenge. There were lots of wonderful posts about target training. It is indeed a great base for many tricks. Targeting is also a fun game during training sessions or any time trainer and trainer are working hard. I use targeting as a distraction when guests come or leash reactivity might happen!
Luke did really well with targeting when we were working with a trainer. I’d like to get one of those targets with the ball type thing on the end. I’ve also seen them use them in working with people coming to the house, and I think that could work with Luke.
That (door closing) sounds like fun to try too, and I think it’s something Luke would enjoy as well.
I’m thrilled to hear that Luke enjoys nose work. I’ve found it a great tool with Honey because when she’s working her nose, she forgets to be cautious.
If you have some patient house guests, you might want to try nose work games with Luke while they’re nearby. It might be a real breakthrough.
I totally related to what you said about needing your guests to be still. We concentrate so much on training our dogs that we forget how hard it is to train people. They’re much harder than dogs.
I’ve heard that nose work is really good for reactive dogs, so that definitely increased my interest in it.
That’s such a good idea to try it with people here. Showing off a little might really distract him from being nervous.
Oh yes, you are so right that people are much harder to train than dogs. Men especially because they always seem to think they know better than we do!
Two of the easiest tricks we’ve taught Daisy are “dance” (where she stands on her hind legs and hops in a circle) and “roll over”. Treat training works like magic with Daisy, and she learned the tricks fast, both with words and with hand signals.
I use hand signals along with words, and they seem to be a big help with Luke. If he doesn’t respond when I tell him to go to his bed, pointing at it will almost always work.
See, I never even thought of something simple like roll over. That’s definitely a possibility. We can’t do the dance though because he has the bad knees.
Congrats Luke, that means you have the bestest nose ever! I like that clicker-thingy, it’s the only thing what works when nothing works… but not always :o)
Thanks! Our humans wouldn’t know what to do if we were perfect all the time, would they, Easy? We have to keep them guessing a little! Love, Luke