Training

Lots of Changes

Jami Agility, Puppies, Training

Puppies are growing up and leaving for there new homes. There is still one puppy available if you know of someone looking for a new addition to there home. Would make a great obedience or agility candidate.  Dharma is still working on getting her CD title in obedience while the long recovery from her agility injury is still happening. Dharma was recently released to increase some activity so she has started her flyball training. We are going to do a agility trial in the first part of Dec to evaluate her muscle tone and the will hopefully be able to start working at getting those Double Qs and Mach Points soon. Kizzie is healed and starting to learn agility and a little flyball. Trying to sit down and figure out next years goals and plans for the TTs so hopefully more updates soon to come.

Once I graduate (in about 3 weeks) I will be hoping to start back up the 5 minute training challenge blog.

 

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8/23/10 5 minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Dog Training, Training

Couch Potato Monday.

Today’s training challenge was created to help out a grooming client that hated to be groomed. Today while hanging out on the couch spread out your grooming tools around  where you are sitting and see if you can get your dog to do something fun with them or near them.

Kizzie, who is not fond of grooming time was really thinking I was going to trick her so nothing occurred during her first 5 minute but during Dharma’s 5 minutes she decided the clicker game of nose touching the tools was great. By the end of Dharma’s 5 minutes both girls were nose flinging tools around the floor.

Good Luck and Have Fun

Jami

8/20/10 5 Minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Dog Training, Training

Today’s 5 minute challenge comes from Maria and Champ in Norway. The Speed Sit.

For all levels see how many sits you can in 10 30-second periods. The goal is to get your dog in and out of a sit as fast as possible.

I broke the 30 second periods up by doing 2 sessions each in between morning chores.

Dharma had a lot of fun with this, getting an average of 19 sits per session.

Kizzie is still very slow at sitting and started with 2 sits per session but did increase to about 7 sits per session by the end.

Good Luck, Have fun, and thanks Maria and Champ for this fun training challenge.

Jami

8/19/10 5 Minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Dog Training

Today’s challenge is target work. You can use a target plate or if you have a Manners Minder you can use that.

Beginners your goal is to get your furry friend to realize that when you say target there is a reward on the target.

Advanced you goal is to see how far you can get away from the target and still have them consistently go to the target when told to.

Dharma- Distance work is something Dharma and I have struggled with, even in my own yard, she was able to consistently go to the Manners Minder from about 10 feet.Her daddy, Pippin, will run from one end of the yard to steal her cookie from the target so hopefully one day Dharma will get there.

Kizzie- While she did make progress in learning the target she is still pretty distracted by the world so we only got about 2 minutes in before she lost interest and went back to bouncing around the yard.

8/18/10 5 Minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Training

Heeling. You need to decide first if you want your dog in a formal heel or is walking a foot or two away okay for you. After this decision is made pick your level and enjoy the challenge.

Beginner-in a secured area try to get your dog to be in the desired position without using a leash to pull your dog into position.  Tip holding cookies or a toy and after a couple of steps rewarding them for being in position will help teach them that close/ heel is a desired position.

Advanced- Try to get your dog to Heel over or near a favorite item without them leaving position.

Dharma- Worked very well today. She was heeling nicely with frequent turns right past the entrance to the agility tunnel.

Kizzie-The back yard is still very distracting for her, so I had her dragging her leash while we did one step cookie, one step cookie. She made it all 5 minutes without bounding off with the distractions of life.

Good Luck and have fun.

Jami

“To Busy Tuesday” Another 5 Minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Training

Before today’s challenge, I wanted to give hints on training when you think you are to busy.

1) Prepare small cut up treats a couple times a month so you always have a reward if your pup needs food rewards. Also toys and attention can be rewards.

2) Be observant, there are lots of times you are interacting with your dog that can include training with no lose of time. Example 1, when you are on your daily walk ask  your 4 legged friend to sit and or down in multiple places along the walk, including as you are stepping out the door. Example 2, when walking through your house and the dog(s) are following you, stop ask for a behavior, reward, and go back to what you got up to do,

3) When preparing a meal and it say let water boil, let simmer for _ minutes, let cool, etc. if you are not preparing something else, you can practice teaching your dog to stay at the door way, edge of cabinet, etc so that they can eventually learn to be out of harms way.

More tips in the future about creating time when you do not think you have any.

Today’s Challenge

Is to get your dog to offer behaviors. If you have a clicker trained dog this will be easier, but if you do not it is still possible.

For both Beginner and Advanced pull out a single step stepping stool or something similar in size and reward any behavior you get with this object. You will be surprised the differences you get if you have multiple dogs.

Dharma-wanted to use it like she does for physical therapy and was offering her sit pretty.

Kizzie- idea of interaction was to stick her head under the edge and flip it.

Good Luck, Have Fun, and Enjoy your 4 legged friends

Jami

8/16/2010 5 minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Training

Welcome to what I call “Couch Potato Mondays”.

Today I am challenging all levels to see what you can do in 5 minutes or 2-3 commercial breaks on the TV, from your favorite seat in the house.

Dharma performed sit and down from close to the couch as well as across the room, high 5, fetch, and sit pretty.

Kizzie performed a couple of sits, couple of watch me, and then spent the rest of the time bouncing.

Good Luck, Have Fun, and remember training does not take long periods of time to see progress.

Jami

8/15/2010 5 minute Training Challenge

Jami Agility, Challenge, Training

Today’s 5 minute training challenge is agility related(so to those that do not have a tunnel)

Distance Tunnel work

Beginner-Since you may or may not have done the tunnel before my challenge for you is to get your dog running through the tunnel as fast as possible, with only one command.

Advanced. Try to see how far away from the tunnel you can be and send your dog through the tunnel. Start up close and condition them to go through to a fun reward as you slowly step back.

Well, I will be honest I worked all my dogs at the same time on this do to the heat and a headache, but Dharma and Kizzie both got comfortable for the tunnel at 6 feet away. Pippin and Keon and friend Pallo also all had fun running through the tunnels and pretty much the reward at the end for each of them was to chase each other around yard.

Jami

8/14/2010 5 min Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Training , ,

Today’s 5 minute training challenge is leave it.

Beginners

The dog must stay away from the treat in your hand for 5 seconds. There can only be voice cue which should be given before the hand is presented. If the dog try’s to take the treat close hand and move it behind your back. Then try again.

Advanced

See if you can set either treats and/or toys near or on your dog and have them not touch it.

Dharma – Will ignore the food in my hand and on the ground but if it touches her it is hers.

Kizzie- Got distracted and well the bird flying in the sky was much more entertaining…I guess less distractions needed.

Good Luck and post your results.

Jami

Today is Serbu’s First 5 Minute Training Challenge

Jami Challenge, Training , ,

The goal of training challenges is to get you to try something new or more challenging than you have done before.

Watch Me

Beginning Level spend 5 minutes getting your dog to focus on you

Step 1: Prepare a high value treat- something soft and smelly usually works best!

Step 2: Move the treat upwards away from your dog toward your body up to your face.

Step 3: When your dog makes eye contact with you – immediately praise and give her the treat. As soon as she understands the connection between the eye contact and the reward you can start adding the command “Watch Me” into the exercise.

Advanced Level If your dog knows watch me, then your goal is to try turning away from your dog and giving the command and see if they reposition themselves so they are making eye contact.

Dharma did this TT style and started of by just glaring at my back till she realized others got “her” cookies but after 2-3 minutes was moving to heel position and watching me.

Kizzie spent the whole 5 minutes trying to bounce around, but if you met Kizzie you would know that this is Kizzie’s only reliable behavior.

Jami