Kirby's mom here-
Well the weather is finally getting nicer here in Michigan and it's staying lighter out later which means Kirby and I can now go to the parks in the evening. I think we both are enjoying that! I have been doing some research on parks in our area where you can walk dogs and I'm finding quite a few! If you'd like to check out some of the parks where we live here is a link to the county parks near us
I have vacation coming up soon, and my hope is to visit alot of these parks with Kirby. I will also start checking other county parks near us too. I am trying to find new environments to expose him too but also keep him safe and although dogs are supposed to leash at all parks of course you run into some that aren't. This happened the other day and I'm proud to say that Kirby stayed under somewhat under control and we were able to walk past the unleashed dog. He did growl but didn't go ballistic. I know some of my followers do unleash your dogs at parks, but if you do, please make sure your dog has a good recall, in all situations.
Rally has been going very good. Kirby's reactiveness has been much better and he is feeling more comfortable in class. Last night a new dog showed up and Kirby went all growly face on him so we walked away and did the "look at dog" game (Thank you Marge for suggesting Control Unleashed!) This was actually our first time at this game and it worked!! Kirby settled down pretty fast and we were actually able to be near the dog with no growly face! Kirby even went up to to this dog's owner for a treat!
We are having a hard time with "close". Our instructor showed me how to work with Kirby to get him "close" but he doesn't like it. You put the leash around his belly area and gently guide his rear next to you. He went totally terrier on me! So I will keep working with him on this, but does anyone who has done rally know another way to teach "close".?
So while Kirby and I are enjoying the nice spring weather and practicing our rally moves check out these other bloggers:
-Kirby's mom
Nothing ruins a trip to the park like dogs who haven't been trained to come when called. Several of my foster dogs were not dog-friendly, and it seemed like any trip to the beach had to include a rude dog and an owner screaming down the beach to tell me that "it's okay, he/she is friendly." Whenever my own dogs are off leash, I'm looking out like a hawk for any on leash dogs in the area. Anyway, happy Saturday!
ReplyDeleteIt's always a bit scary walking past an unleashed dog because you never know what's about to happen.
ReplyDeleteKirby, tell your mom that you needn't know 'close' as long as you're a good doggy at home!!
I'm always worried about unleashed dogs and if they will be nice. Since I'm a terrier too, I can go all terrier-crazy on them and get myself in trouble!
ReplyDeleteHooray for spring someday coming to Michigan.
Nubbin wiggles,
Oskar
Rally....such fun for a dog and handler team. I loved the teamwork that Oliver and I experienced. He's such a good observer of my body language.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, next weekend while I'm playing on this hop, I'll also be hosting one at my blog. I'd love to have you join in to help homeless bunny friends find furever homes. Check it out http://www.allthingsdogblog.com/2011/04/easter-rabbit-adoptathon-blog-hop.html
Hi, I found your blog on the blog hop today. I am intrigued because I can understand the challenges that come with adopting a dog. I adopted my Gretel 5 months ago and she wasn't socialized and doesn't know yet how to be a good dog. She is learning.
ReplyDeleteI will say that your playlist thing gets me a little. When I came to your blog I turned it off but soon realized that it comes back on each time I switch pages...so I have to scroll to the bottom to turn it off again. I won't give up yet because I do like your blog.......
Kirby sure is smart! My mom keeps me on a leash or carries me at times. I don't know commands, but I pretty much never leave her side. Have a great weekend.
ReplyDeleteYour pal, Pip
Hi There,
ReplyDeleteI'm very impressed with how well Kirby did at the park with the other dog - way to go!!
When I see other dogs I just want to play, Mum's really happy though that I never growl at them even if they growl at me, no idea why they do that?
Hope you're having a great weekend,
Snoopy :)
We don't know "close" at all! Lily is a scaredy cat so if something is happening she just runs behind Mama anyway... but Trixie is more of a wild dog and maybe SHOULD learn "close!"
ReplyDeleteBoy do we agree with you all-Parental Unit never fails to get angry (and then keep it to herself) about dogs, especially large, powerful breeds who are unleashed in our local park and elsewhere. Most of these owners do not have control over their dogs-they stand there yelling at them to "Come" and the dogs totally ignore them! As a result, we can rarely, if ever, walk through the center of our beautiful park. I get myself terrier self in trouble, too-and have been attacked twice by large breed dogs, so PU is extremely paranoid!
ReplyDeleteDog parks can be a very dangerous place as there are many unpredictable, untrained dogs left to run loose. Sometimes owners aren't paying attention to their dogs & that's when trouble can start. Dog parks aren't a safe place at all plus, Kirby could pick up some kind of disease or ticks/fleas from any of those dogs.
ReplyDeleteWe can understand the frustration of encounters with off-leash dogs in an on-leash area. While mom has me under control at all times, it is near impossible to control other people's dogs if they run up to me unleashed and are poorly trained. Plus with my size at 5lbs, we avoid most dog parks as that is a recipe for disaster for us. Hopefully you will have better experiences!
ReplyDeleteGlad to hear things are going well... looking forward to hearing more about rally!
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting the link to the parks! We look forward to reading about your fugure visits. As you know, we're always looking for great places to stop during our travels.
ReplyDeleteHope you had a great weekend!
We have some specific parks here where dogs are allowed to be off-leash (sign posted) and I do think it's important for them to have some space & freedom to stretch their legs BUT I totally agree that all owners should have control over their dogs at all times (and be watching them at all times!) - whether leashed or unleashed! There are just too many irresponsible dog owners out there and they ruin it for the rest of us.
ReplyDeleteAs for teaching "Close" - is that like a "Heel"? I don't know if you do clicker training with Kirby that that would be an alternative way to teach it which might work very well with his terrier personality. Coz your current method is sort of using "force" (I know in a gentle way! But it's still sort of trying to use physical pressure to get a dog into position) and a lot of dogs of a certain type of personality would react instinctively against any force by fighting against it.
Whereas clicker is the complete opposite - it works by the dog figuring out that he has to do something to make the CLICk happen and earn a treat. So he starts trying lots of different things to see if he can make the CLICK happen.
So if you happen to CLICK every time he gets into the 'Close' position (even just by luck the first couple of times), then after a few repetitions, he starts working out "AHA! When I stand here, I hear the CLICK - which means "You Got it, Kirby!" - and I get a treat" - so then he starts to voluntarily go into that position more.
When he is doing it readily, you can start adding the verbal command just before he does the action - and then start asking for it and rewarding him when he does it. At this point you can fade the clicker away (coz it's just to communicate with him what he needs to do) and just move onto giving him the command and praising/rewarding him for getting into position.
Clicker works really well with most dogs because it's them voluntarily figuring out what they need to do to earn treats and voluntarily doing it themselves. It keeps the whole training thing positive and keeps them keen & happy to work for you!
Hope this helps!
Hsin-Yi
Glad you found the advice useful! I forgot to say that if haven't ever used clicker before, it's really important to "charge the clicker" before you start...if you go to our "Clicker Training" page on Honey's site, there is a post called "Introduction to Clicker Training - Part 1" which explains all about charging the clicker and has to start training and a video to demonstrate too.
ReplyDeleteHsin-Yi