Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Puppies are MAGIC!

They are also TERRIFYING!!


How can that be?

You bring home your new puppy with visions of
what you'll 'accomplish' together.
Those dreams vary from person to person.

There's always one common thought however.
"I don't want to 'Screw it UP'"!

RELAX!!

There's been so many changes in regards to
animal training and methodology.
Much of this training involves finding
what's reinforcing for your puppy.
I personally think these changes are GREAT!

Puppies are like a lump of fuzzy clay.
You can actually mold what they like.
Be creative!!

Seeker LOVES toys.
He'd take a toy over food any day!
So, in order to create more food drive
I turned to my handy dandy clicker.

I would play a short intense game of tug.
Then click/cookie about 5 times.
Then play more tug.
More Cookies, etc.
Maybe two - three sets a session.
The cookies/tug toy were in my hand the
whole time we played tug or click/treat.
This way I could switch back
and forth any time I wanted.

IT'S WORKED!
He'll now happily work for
both food and toys!

On Monday I'll be starting a new 4 week puppy class.
I'm really excited to see how it goes.
We'll be working on
Impulse control and shaping behaviors.

Hopefully I'll have a few posts
to share along the way.

During our first class we'll tackle the first
3 phases of Susan Garrett's Crate Games!
How Fun will that BE!!



4 comments:

  1. It is so much fun to teach those very first behaviors. Your class will be a blast.

    By the time I get another puppy, I will have recovered (gone into denial) from Phoenix's puppyhood. And Jeff will have learned to latch a crate door. LOL

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  2. Wow... what a difference in those two photos.

    I hope your posts from the puppy class are good ones!!!

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  3. As one of the hopeful attendees of your class - I am very excited. Coach has potential!!

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