Rhona called me with regards to her 6-month-old terrier mix Oliver who misbehaves when people come to the house or when he meets other dogs when he was out walking. He also gets very excited and pulls on the lead at times.
I arrived at Rhona’s house and was greeted by the handsome wee fella who was delighted to see me. He tried to jump on me,then he jumped on the sofa and was just bounding around with excitement.
I totally ignored him until he settled down then I started introducing him to the clicker. Oliver took to the clicker with ease. He’s a bright little fellow and is very keen to please.
We went outside and I started working Oliver up and down the driveway. I was clicking him when he turned to heel and he was responding well.
I then introduced him to my bitch Lu and again he was fine. He was giving me focus when I requested it and he was happily walking by Lu without a fuss.
I gave Rhona a try at the clicker training. Clicking looks really easy when an experience trainer is working but it can be awkward until you get coordinated with the clicker, treats and lead. After a few goes Rhona looked like she would get the hang of it with a bit of practice.
We ventured back indoors and Rhona’s friend Norma was invited to enter the house so I could see Oliver’s reaction. To be honest Oliver wasn’t bad at all. Yes he attempted to jump on the sofa to see Norma but soon settled down when Norma ignored him and was duly rewarded.
We then introduced a cat into the room. Oliver showed some interest in the cat but he was reminded to behave and he settled down and got praised for his efforts.
I then demonstrated how much more consistent clicker training could be over traditional voice based training by asking Rhona to call Oliver over and ask him to sit. Oliver took around 4 shouts before he wandered over then didn’t bother sitting when he was asked. I walked across the room with my clicker and had him recalling and sitting very consistently with virtually no English words spoken - just a clicker and a lump of liver cake.
This was an an unfair test because I had been working with Oliver and by this time he understood that focus would bear rewards.
I arrived at Rhona’s house and was greeted by the handsome wee fella who was delighted to see me. He tried to jump on me,then he jumped on the sofa and was just bounding around with excitement.
I totally ignored him until he settled down then I started introducing him to the clicker. Oliver took to the clicker with ease. He’s a bright little fellow and is very keen to please.
We went outside and I started working Oliver up and down the driveway. I was clicking him when he turned to heel and he was responding well.
I then introduced him to my bitch Lu and again he was fine. He was giving me focus when I requested it and he was happily walking by Lu without a fuss.
I gave Rhona a try at the clicker training. Clicking looks really easy when an experience trainer is working but it can be awkward until you get coordinated with the clicker, treats and lead. After a few goes Rhona looked like she would get the hang of it with a bit of practice.
Oliver is a fantastic little character with a bubbly personality and loads of charisma.
We ventured back indoors and Rhona’s friend Norma was invited to enter the house so I could see Oliver’s reaction. To be honest Oliver wasn’t bad at all. Yes he attempted to jump on the sofa to see Norma but soon settled down when Norma ignored him and was duly rewarded.
We then introduced a cat into the room. Oliver showed some interest in the cat but he was reminded to behave and he settled down and got praised for his efforts.
I then demonstrated how much more consistent clicker training could be over traditional voice based training by asking Rhona to call Oliver over and ask him to sit. Oliver took around 4 shouts before he wandered over then didn’t bother sitting when he was asked. I walked across the room with my clicker and had him recalling and sitting very consistently with virtually no English words spoken - just a clicker and a lump of liver cake.
This was an an unfair test because I had been working with Oliver and by this time he understood that focus would bear rewards.
The point is that I displayed the benefits of positive body language training over traditional English based training methods.
Here I go again nattering on about body language versus the spoken word.
Oliver is an absolute star. There is no badness in this wee fella. Yes I’ve no doubt he could get boisterous and very excited at times but he’s still a baby and his exuberance can be handled gently without saying “NO!!!!” - just using positive training methods and consistent reward mechanisms.
A few of my recent cases could have been interpreted as simple training issues when I initially received the call. The interesting thing about this and a few other recent cases is that when the behavioural issues are addressed,the training side of things fall into place very easily.
I normally get called after the damage has been done. It’s really nice to get a chance to influence a dog at the start of his life for a change.
Hopefully I can make a difference and set Rhona and Oliver up for a happy life together. All in all I think Oliver will turn into a fantastic little dog.
When the behavioural issues are addressed, the training side of things fall into place.
Here I go again nattering on about body language versus the spoken word.
Oliver is an absolute star. There is no badness in this wee fella. Yes I’ve no doubt he could get boisterous and very excited at times but he’s still a baby and his exuberance can be handled gently without saying “NO!!!!” - just using positive training methods and consistent reward mechanisms.
A few of my recent cases could have been interpreted as simple training issues when I initially received the call. The interesting thing about this and a few other recent cases is that when the behavioural issues are addressed,the training side of things fall into place very easily.
I normally get called after the damage has been done. It’s really nice to get a chance to influence a dog at the start of his life for a change.
Hopefully I can make a difference and set Rhona and Oliver up for a happy life together. All in all I think Oliver will turn into a fantastic little dog.
No comments:
Post a Comment