100 Day Trick Training Challenge

A few weeks ago I watched a movie called Wild Horse, Wild Ride about the Extreme Mustang Makeover Challenge, an annual contest that dares 100 people to each tame a totally wild mustang in order to get it adopted into a better life beyond federal corrals.

This has branched off into an Extreme Mutt Makeover - 15 trainers - 56 days - annual event in Texas held every year in conjunction with the Mustang Makeover.

So we are doing our own version and you are invited to play along.

100 DAY TRICK TRAINING CHALLENGE
Utilizing Kyra Sundance's Trick Title system...

BASIC RULES:
All tricks must be new to the dog – ie. if your dog already knows Sit, you may not count it.
Handler will bring any props required for a trick.
A reward may be given after a trick is successfully performed, but food must remain in a pocket until completion.

SCORING:
All tricks should be performed on 1 command and/or signal.  Extra commands or signals will be a 1 point deduction.  Gestures, body movements, noises are all considered extra commands/signals.  Multi-part tricks are allowed 1 command and/or signal per part without deduction.

If a dog is unable to perform the trick after 3 extra commands and/or signals, they will receive 0 points for that trick.

[N] Novice Tricks are worth 3 points each.
[ I ] Intermediate Tricks are worth 4 points each.
[A] Advanced Tricks are worth 6 points each.
[E] Expert Tricks are worth 8 points each.
[C] Champion Tricks are worth 10 points each.

A full tricks list is available on request indicating the possible tricks and their difficulty level.

Anyone want to play?

Major Updates!

So we have been silent for far too long - things got really hectic at the farm and the property was actually being sold.  This put us into a big tailspin as there aren't very many places that will allow 12 dogs and the comings and goings of boarders and training dogs.

In the end, we found a place in Winston Salem and are truly blessed to have such a fantastic new space!

We are still putting the finishing touches on it and will do a full post on the before and afters of it all - but we are so thrilled with the potential here.  We have a training room, office, photography studio and are fencing the yard for an amazing play area, building a full size agility course and outdoor obstacle course.

THE OFFICE SPACE BEFORE:

THE OFFICE SNEAK PEEK:

Moving up here has brought us closer to some really great people who have come on board at Pawtential.  

Melissa Robertson has come on board as our Office Manager.  She is handling the day to day answering of emails, phone calls and appointments.  She is also studying in our Train the Trainer program as an apprentice.  

We also have Jeanene Ridge joining us.  She comes from a lifetime of stock dog handling and competing as well as almost 10yrs of grooming.  She has come on board as a program trainer.

We have tons of exciting classes planned for next year, Woof Weekends, Urban Dog Programs, seminars and workshops and more...stick around - we are only just getting started!

Jordan Lake Training Trip

As often as we can when the weather is nice, I like to get our Board &Train clients dogs out to the Lake.  Many of them haven't had a chance to run around rurally and if they have proven their off leash reliability they are allowed some doggy run time with our guys.  (If they aren't ready for that then we go with a 30-50' long line so they can still swim/run.

While we certainly want everyone to enjoy themselves, dogs included, it is important that they are still listening while there so we always reinforce good behavior - especially for the new dogs.  Here Tracy has a rapt audience...to be able to break them off from swimming and playing to recall and sit politely is always good practice.  

We always go to the very back of the inlet where it curves back on itself and we can give the dogs a little more freedom to roam.  Here we can see them all a little too far out and do a quick recall...

And who was the first one back - CHARLIE!!!




After about 45 minutes of hard play, water retrieves and obedience practice - Charlie and Ayla are done.

Time to round up the crew and head back to the farm!

BREAKTHROUGH WITH CHARLIE

Board & Train Charlie is one of the sweetest, most affectionate dogs I've had stay in a while but he has some serious resource guarding issues. He has bitten people over a tissue, including his owners. 

His preferred MO is to steal an object from a table and then run under a table or bed with it.  If you pursue and try to take it - he will get downright vicious about it.

If you tried to strongarm him or get physical about it, he has no hesitation in striking out.  This is why I LOVE positive reinforcement.

We have been working very hard on giving up low value items and have managed to create a semblance of a retrieve game but it is by no means full proof yet.  

He is truly a Jeckall and Hyde in this moment - one second a wiggly, wagging, open mouth guy with soft eyes and a big grin and then a hunkered down, super tense, low growling ball of unsprung defensiveness - but as soon as the object is removed it is like he blinks out of it, looks at you, wags his tail and doesn't even know what happened?  There may be some neuro switching going on as the behavior seems a bit disconcerting to him as well.

I started by just being in the same area as him with this low value item then moved up to being able to be beside him with him remaining calm.  I just wanted to show him I wasn't going to try and take it - I am not even looking at him at this point - just coexisting peacefully.  So far so good.

When he was ready, we started with me resting my hand near him then on him.  He is okay with all of this.  I can touch his ears and face while he is chewing a bone and he is good with it.  Open mouth, no pause or tension at all, no hunkering down... His trigger is if you apply pressure to take it - then he feels he has to react.

We had great success with getting him to leave, drop and/or give eye contact away from low-medium value items - but never a high value one such as a hearty chew, antler or rawhide.  To avoid unwanted situations from arising - these things were simply kept out of reach and only given as crate rewards where he would not feel threatened.

So when I saw him heading towards me with a rawhide chew that he had taken from another dog's crate in his mouth, I was a bit concerned. 

But I kicked it into Game Gear and started cheering and applauding for him and he started wagging his tail and brought me the rawhide. I sat on the floor to encourage him to come closer and what he did next surprised me to no end. He dropped it in my hand! Not only did he drop it in my hand, but I was able to get eye contact and getting him to look away from his prize has been extremely difficult. 

He was charged and ready to play the game... he then retrieved this prize rawhide 10 times in a row always dropping it in my lap or in my hand! At the end of the 10 repetitions, I gave it to him to take back to his bed, and he grinned and walked away but kept looking back at me as if "what the game is over?" 

AMAZING JOB CHARLIE!

New fosters!

I got a call from the family we adopted Micah from a few months back. They still have 3 pups left, all males, 12 weeks old that they have asked me to take before they take them to the pound. 

Dad is a 18 month old pure bred Newfoundland... 
Mom is a 15 month old Chocolate Lab x Basset (?) or Standard Dachshund (?) - something with little short legs.

We picked the pups up last night and they are all happily playing in the yard this morning. They were all given flea baths, had their nails trimmed and ears cleaned - they all did so beautifully - not a fussy one amongst them - they even allowed the force drier with no problem. 

They do all have worms but we are taking care of that and they will be getting their health check and vaccinations on Mon/Tues. 

They have done fantastically with all the other dogs - they play really well. 

They have not been on a leash before and are at the bucking bronco stage. 

All of them are very sweet natured, real people friendly pups. What we have seen so far is this: 

BULL - Large w/ Most White - 29.8lbs - medium energy - reserved, somewhat more independent, is happy to entertain himself but enjoys attention. 

KNIGHT- Short Legs - 21.2lbs - medium energy - goofy, very people oriented, wants to follow you around but can play by himself as well. 

SHADOW - Mostly Black - 30.0lbs - medium energy - sensitive but not overly shy, listens very well, appears to pick things up quickly, would probably be overlooked as he is not as forward as the other two but he is going to be one to watch. 

They should be ready to go on Friday pending a clean health check.

PAWTENTIAL PROFILE: Charlie

Name:  Charlie
Breed:  Cockapoo
Sex:  Male
Age: 4 years

Duration: 2 week Board & Train

Reason for B&T:  Barking/Jumping


What we are working on during his stay:

OWNERS REQUESTS:
* Barking - sometimes he wakes at night and begins barking uncontrollably
* Jumping - jumps on/scratches people when greeting
* Loose Leash Walking- could use some fine tuning
* Reactive to Other Dogs - especially when on leash
* Resource Guarding - he has bitten over this

Due to his potential reactive issues - Charlie did an overnight with us to be sure he was not going to be overwhelmed by the dogs here - so far he is doing beautifully.  He is settling in and is taking it all in stride!

Coco and Cassie say Goodbye...

This has been a busy few weeks with doggy visits and training.  Cassie has been enjoying the wet weather - deciding she needed a spa day and promptly ordered up the mud bath treatment...you should have seen her feet!

And then there is our frequent flyer - Coco.  When Coco first came to stay with us - he was a bit of a curmudgeon.   He didn't want any other dog to touch him, look at him or interact with him.  We respected that and so did most of the dogs.  But over time he has really opened up and begun playing with a few of the dogs here.  We are thrilled to see his progress!  On this latest trip - he engaged beautifully with Rubix, the packs' latest addition.

Both of these guys are on their way home and Charlie will be arriving for his B&T stay tomorrow!