Reward Calmness

I was at the park today with Elka on the long line, when I saw a person approaching with her dog.  It was a yellow lab puppy, I'm not sure how old, but twenty to thirty ish pounds. They were all over the path as they approached, so I put Elka on her regular short leash to wait them out. The puppy was on a retractable leash, and I heard the mechanism squeal as he pulled out more length, even though it was "locked". Elka put herself in a down, and I stood on the long leash (still attached to her harness). She seemed less than happy with the puppy antics, and since the woman didn't seem to have full control, either due to puppy exuberance or lack of interest in doing so, I didn't think they ought to "say hello".

Command Clinic: Heel (with a bonus Front)

The other day, Elka and I were playing with Gumby. Maybe we'd just come in from a potty trip, and it was celebratory tug? I don't remember. Regardless. When we play tug, I like getting Elka all riled up and snarling like she really means it, and then having her "drop it" and then either Down, or Heel. My fiancé hadn't seen this mystical "heel" happen, and had us repeat it several times.

Elka will go from facing me into a heel pretty well at this point, off leash in the house, and also in the yard. If she's a bit crooked, I say "Excuse me, straight" and she straightens herself out in relation to my heel, and sits. I can also say "Front", and she'll swing her hindquarters around and sit in front of me. But how did we do it?

(Front, if slightly crooked)

The Silent Treatment

On Tuesday, I read a blog post called A Simple Trick for Calming an Excited Dog, on the True to Dogs blog. While Elka isn't Super! Excited! All! The! Time! I thought that it would be interesting to try, for my own sake. There are times I talk too much, I know it's true.

For the experiment, we went to a park that we had not visited before. It was totally empty when we pulled up, which was pretty rad. I put the long leash on her, and attached it to the leather leash around my waist. If I was going to go words free, why not hands free too, right?

If you like it, name it

I've heard a lot of good advice when it comes to shaping behaviors, and eradicating behaviors. Interestingly, there is some overlap in the Venn diagram of the two.

If you are shaping a behavior, you reward it when you see it, and put a name to the cue.

If you are eradicating a behavior, you can treat it as though you're shaping it. Name it when it happens, and put it on cue. Eventually, said behavior will be offered, or performed on cue, and not at other times.

It might sound kind of weird. I thought so. But it can work!

Want to learn how?

Would you like some cheese?

Sigh.

So, after I wrote A small rant the other day, I didn't anticipate having another such story to share with y'all.

This story is a bit more uplifting, anyway.

Command Clinic: Recall Revelation

I've discussed recall twice now, in Command Clinic: Recall and Command Clinic: Recall Revisited. It doesn't mean that Elka's not still learning. And, it especially doesn't mean that I am not still learning.

Elka's recall at the park is very, very good. She's on a 20 foot leash, and 9 times out of 10, she'll recall on cue without further coaxing or further prompting. She runs at me, and typically hooks to my left (a definite improvement over the days when she ran at me and I caught her full on), where I catch her, then reward her, and then let her go. Taking pictures at the park the other day, though, I noticed something about that hook to my left.

Monday Mischief: February 27 2012

I've probably mentioned, though maybe not in these exact words, that Dobermans are said to be "Velcro dogs". 

It's true, of course. Even if she was asleep, if you get up off the couch to do something, Elka gets up too and goes right along with you. She "heels" fantastically off leash in the house, like a dream really! If you're in the bathroom, with the door closed, she's concerned for your safety and will whine outside. We're working on that one though; I encourage her to be quiet, and lay down in the kitchen doorway and wait. If she's like that when I get out of the bathroom, it's treat time. If not, "too bad". 

When we're sitting on the couch, Elka wants to be close to you. Very close. It's especially nice in the winter, I'll say, when it is in fact cold. However, Elka is not as aware of her paws as she is of her mouth, and we get stomped on more than we'd like! She will also, if you're taking up "too much" couch or chair space, sit or lay on you.

Something Waggin' Train Your Dog Month Challenge

So, on January 3, Pamela at Something Wagging posted the Something Waggin' Train Your Dog Month Challenge. I immediately jumped on the bandwagon (could you imagine me not?) and stated

Oh, this is a great idea!
I’d like to teach Elka how to close a door. I’d also like to teach her the every so cute “say your prayers”. We’ll see if I make headway on both, or either!

See, January is what the Association of Pet Dog Trainers has designated as Train Your Dog month. On that site, they state "We selected January as the perfect month because so many dogs and puppies are adopted or purchased from breeders and brought home during the winter holidays. Our desire is to help these new pet parents start off the new year right with their newest family member", which I think is great, and I definitely support!

Elka tends to be a big fan of training sessions, because she loves treats! When she hears the clicker rattle as I get it out, she comes running, and watches treat preparation with enthusiastic interest.

Monday Mischief December 5

It was a beautiful day yesterday, and in December, in Central New York, I certainly take what I can get.

I've had a lingering cold-flu thing for about two weeks, so you can imagine, my walks with Elka have suffered.  Well, certain other things have apparently suffered as a result. As in, the Doberman needs regular exercise in order to be able to access her brain!

Elka's New Game

So, Elka and I have a pretty decent routine now, for our walks.

We get up, I do my best to get her to go potty at the house, and then we walk to the park.  I do what I can to keep her attention, and keep the leash loose (and discovered today that she really loves my homemade turkey meatballs), and she does what she can to understand what I want, and we get to the park.

At the park, the long line goes on, and as I discussed in The Rules, we're much more relaxed with the long line.  It's how I practice recall (again, turkey meatballs are apparently The Way), and mostly I just want her to not pull and to keep up.

Velcro Dog

So, this last week, we were on vacation.  We did not bring Elka, but had people she knew and loved stay at the house with her.

So, guess who was exceedingly happy to see her people come back?