Lacey is working on yard work for Whoa training. She has been started on this already with slip lead and treats. Lacey is VERY treat motivated and they help keep her happy during her training. We have been on hold with her training as she cycled through her very long heat cycle, but are back to it now. My goal with Lacey is to try to run SH with her in the fall. This is a big goal as Lacey just turned 7 and has not had any serious higher level field training before arriving with us. She finished her JH easily with her previous owner, and has the spunk, drive, and trainability to be an awesome hunting dog. She will hunt and point, but was never finished out. If I don't hurry up with her, she may end up being the oldest SH to title. LOL!
When I last stopped I felt like she was ready to transition to the e-collar with her WHOA. Lacey has a defiant streak and I decided to start the e-collar before teaching her to whoa away from me, as she like to push her limits if she thinks you can not control her. She was consistantly stopping on WHOA near me though with or without treats.
Today we reviewed the slip lead training and she did well, ran about 90% correct. (out of 20 tries) Both mistakes were when distractions were around (smell of spilled food) and it took an actual set back each time to pull her attention back. No amount of treats tugs would do it. SO, this is a slight regression, but I still think the e-collar is the next step for her. She will likely have trouble with the transistion of WHOA away from me because I am starting the e-collar so soon, but I believe she will overall give a more consistant reponse, and not learn that disobeying is possible. Remeber she just turned 7 and has had a long time to be defiant and set in her ways. Breaking her chasing is going to be tough! She is also the type of dog to test her boundries, and I worry that she will quickly become aware of the e-collar, making hunt tests difficult.
Family manners, field work, obedience... whatever a gundog needs to work, hunt and live well, with their family.
How We Train
As a trainer, it's my job to find a way to help a dog learn. I enjoy problem solving and have worked with all ages, gun shy, run-off dogs and even bird shy dogs. Of course, the easy natural dogs are fantastic to work with also, and every dog no matter their skill level, has many lessons to teach me as well. I use no set technique; I learn as many techniques and styles as possible to create a mental "library" of techniques. Then the owner and I choose the gentlest most effective method possible for each dog. I use clicker training in young dogs and to help teach concepts quickly, but also use an e-collar later to reinforce, unless the owner prefers to train without. There is no age too old or too young to learn, but the methods we use will vary.
Check out a few video clips below, to see some of our training techniques for all ages.
Check out a few video clips below, to see some of our training techniques for all ages.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
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