Here is Pip amusing herself as she loves to do - digging at a stick in shallow water. I guess none of our hobbies really hold up to close inspection. This one she just adores.
A birthday gift from my dog is a training project. Here's a thread of what happened and this video is my first step in teaching her a bit more about "leave it." http://familydog.yuk u.com/topic/22997
There are lots of normal sorts of play - this is one example. A five-month-old chow(?) mix and a four-month-old Malti-shih having some fun. No matter how many years I do this, cute is cute and these two are cute!
Here's a little work with a five-month-old pup, Betsy, I am enjoying at the moment. Her person has done wonderful foundation work with her so I get to just add some mileage.
Here's our second group project.
A pass is:
You can do this and your dog does not pull his or her head way from you and their feet don't move either.
Discussion and support is here: http://familydog.yuk u.com/topic/21625
Caution: Only you know what is or is not safe to do with your dog.
Wyatt (German Shepherd Dog), Ted (White Standard Poodle) and Pip (in the red coat) romp in the newly fallen snow. Ted gets corrected by Wyatt for making a simple mistake - no harm done, lesson learned. See what he learned and why.
Clip taken from a trip to Costa Rica - 1 - 2010 - this troop went by the deck several times during the week we were there. A joy to watch for anyone and for people interested in animal behavior? An engrossing delight.
If your dog is turning their head away or is unhappy about this the Group Project - here is a variation.
And for all of you who aced that project, give this a try. Your goal: To make your idea their idea and then let them do it. (To paraphrase a few horse trainers out there).
Have fun and stop my MySmartPuppy.com and give us a full report!
Your mission, if you choose to accept it, is to teach your dog to allow you to handle his or her muzzle for a 10 count. Desired attitude? Relaxed (both of you). Desired ear set? Neutral (dog). Desired mental attitude? Relaxed. For support with your efforts, come by MySmartPuppy community - there will be a thread in Daily Dog going on it. Have fun!
Here's a quick clip from a recent walk in fresh snow. Pip is having a ball with a ball (okay, an ex-ball) but that doesn't mean she is too distracted to listen. I use play as her reward for attention and off we go - having a really good time (and doing some nice practice) in the snow. Enjoy!
Just a quick few seconds from a nice off leash walk we all took a few weeks back. Good foundation work - in this case a head turn - is the foundation of this sort of off leash recall.
Here is a delightful dog who has learned to use his strength to get what he wants. See him go from pulling hard on his head halter (almost dragging Sarah along) to turning back at the slightest feel. A great dog to work with!
Fun at the day I spent down at St. Huberts. Here I work with Luther, the fabulous Bullmastiff. What a sweetheart. Anyway, working on his position while walking as well as softening him to blocking. He's a delight.
Watch this dog at the Animal Rescue League of Boston go from clueless to head turns to lovely attention in about a minute - worked on the flat collar she came in on. Now that's a nice start!
And yes, I misspeak myself - when I say "praise" I should have said "head turn" but oh well. Praise on the brain. Dog's work is too good to trash the clip for that oops.
![My Smart Puppy: Step one in filling newly discovered hole in PIp\](http://img.youtube.com/vi/oHWOT88DVTs&feature=youtube_gdata/2.jpg "My Smart Puppy: Step one in filling newly discovered hole in PIp\")
![My Smart Puppy: Group Project #1 - Handling Your Dog\](http://img.youtube.com/vi/hfv_Ad_vFrE&feature=youtube_gdata/2.jpg "My Smart Puppy: Group Project #1 - Handling Your Dog\")
