Chickens and Dogs

Well we have had 3 chickens for a week or so now. My children have named them Daisy, Maisy and Cassie. All very exciting and they certainly have their own personalities. My dogs have been well stock trained so pretty much ignore them but love eating their poo but that is another story entirely. In the first few days I quickly worked out that getting them back into their coop in the evening was going to be difficult as I chased them around the yard and the section and did not have much luck chasing them. Also came to the conclusion that the less stressed they were the better so chasing them was not going to work. So I thought how hard can it be to teach chickens? So I started down the road of teaching the 3 chickens to come when called. Just like dog training said come when they were looking at me and then threw some food by my feet then stood back. They proceeded to come cautiously and started to peck away at the food. I repeated a number of times so that every time I said "chook chook come" I gave them food always making sure I did not say the words until they were looking. Well after a few days I then started calling them even when I could not see them. They soon came running having associated the word with the food. The last 3 nights to put them away I simply call them and put some food in the coop and they come running from wherever they are and go in for their evening food. Saves me time and of course saves the chickens from stress as they chill out for the evening. So if you have chooks give it a whirl and see how you get on.

Letting go of the lead for the first time

Have you yet to have that "dreaded" moment where you are walking with your dog, have done lots of training with getting your dog to come but it has always been on a long line or in the back yard. You are now in the park and the time has come for you to unclip the long line and let them be free. But when we are getting our dog to come back how to we make that big jump? First off don't panic. Many dogs will come back to you, just relax and walk off in the opposite direction. Next make sure if you have been doing reward based training you have something better than what is out there. Yes on the long line you may have got the dog to come back with a liver treat but when they are off lead are they really going to back or do you need something absolutely top notch! Next let your dog enjoy itself. The first time people let the dog off lead they panic and want to constantly call the dog back. Do you need to or can they have a bit of fun first? If you are at the stage have fun and remember RELAX! www.dogguru.co.nz

How to stop that dog pulling on the lead

Have you wondered how to stop that constant pulling on the lead and what is going wrong? I like to use a technique called the table tennis hand. Basically what this is, is two small tugs using just your wrist. What this does is create something that is completely unique for the dog and they are not sure how to react. They often stop and look and then you carry on walking. It may not sound like much but today on your walk give it a quick go and see how it works.

Getting that puppy back!

Guest blog from our Christchurch trainer Billie

When I first got Elsie I was amazed that my tiny 9 week old puppy would happily wander off with not so much as a glance backwards to see where I was, most puppies I've met are pretty attached to their new owners! Following this, I knew I would need to put a lot of effort into building a solid recall. We played lots of recall games, building a lot of value for racing back to me, and it worked out really well, I could call Elsie off chasing birds and other dogs at the park. In the past week though, Elsie has been feeling pretty full of herself and has been testing us on all sorts of things like throwing a tantrum when I am putting her tracking harness on, trying to bite my hands when I am clipping her nails and now not coming back when she is called!

I am once again playing some of the recall games I played with Elsie as a puppy, just to remind her of what it is that I want. Our favourite game is a "go & come" game. To start off, I throw a low value treat (like a bit of kibble) and tell Elsie to go get it, as she does I run off in the other direction with a high value treat (sausage is a big favourite around here) or toy, say "come!" and reward when she catches me. Gradually I build up to calling her before she gets the treat (so she is being called off it), then progress to throwing higher value treats, toys, sticks (they are REALLY fun!) and calling her off, then test it when she is chasing things like birds at the park, and it has mostly been working! She will spin around and come racing back to me, now just have to work on more of this game around dogs, and will have to employ a long-line to prevent her from blowing me off to have fun with another dog.

I also play restrained recalls with Elsie, getting someone to hold her (or get her to go into her crate, or "wait") while I run off and generally be exciting, then release and call her when I know she is going to come racing over.

For me speed and enthusiasm is a very important part of recall, and I always want Elsie running to me, not trotting and having a sniff. To initially get the speed I was running away from her when I called her so she would chase me, it seems to have transferred over nicely to when I am standing still. I always reward generously for recalls, especially in distracting environments such as puppy class or at the agility club. Elsie's favourite reward for recall is tugging, but she also loves a bit of raw meat!

So the plan for fixing the recall problem... More training around distractions, using a long-line to prevent her from running off, playing more recall games, and I think I'll teach the Whiplash turn from Leslie McDevitt's new book (Control Unleashed: The Puppy Program).

Geckos

My older dog is coming into his twilight years at a ripe old age of 10. We have been fortunate with this one in that he has been pretty fit and healthy but is definitely starting to slow down a little bit. At our old house he pretty much slept most of the day. However since we moved he has found a new hobby - chasing geckos! This is quite amusing I have to admit as in a month he has not caught a single one. This is a dog that loves nothing more than just chilling out. A few weeks ago he was next door in the paddock wandering around with sheep, he could not be bothered doing anything about them; in fact am fairly sure he thought they were funny sounding dogs! But the geckos is bordering on OCD. He will be out the front from first thing in the morning until late in the afternoon. Now I have no problems with this apart from the fact he is killing my nicely trimmed hedge, it now has these great holes in it. Oh well!

Away on holiday

Well I have just got back from a 10 day holiday and for the first time in 10 years was actually offline. First couple of days were hard but finally relaxed by the end of it. Think some of the ladies may be willing to shoot me out of the stress but they did a good job. What was worrying was with our two golden retrievers as one became lame just before we left. This was a little concerning having put one down a couple of years ago for the same issue. We were a little worried about leaving him but we managed to find a great vet to house sit for us while we were away and worked out what was wrong with him and he is now going sweet.

Once we walked in the door we were greeted by two very happy dogs who have not left my side since coming home yesterday. I ignored the no jumping rule just this once as we were all excited to see them. This was also one of the few times we have gone without the dogs but they managed to cope.