I’ve been discovering lots of different ways to use a chin rest recently, so decided to make that the next challenge. My videos don’t want to load today, so hopefully this explanation is clear enough. Feel free to ask questions if anything doesn’t make sense. I’ll try to add videos in the comments. Step 1 - Luring I find it works best to start with a larger target, rather than your hand for 2 reasons: it’s easier for the dog to get it right and you have both hands free. My usual choice is the seat of a chair, but you may need a lower item for smaller dogs. Start by luring the dog to bring their head over the target. At first, reward them even if their chin doesn’t fully touch. I like to reward in position then release and bring them back again. Step 2 - Fading the Lure Once they are consistently performing the behaviour, start to fade out the lure. The goal is for the dog to offer the behaviour themselves. Step 3 - Introduce Verbal Cue Each time the dog offers the behaviour, give your verbal cue before rewarding. Step 4 - Transfer to Other Items Once you have a strong verbal cue, you can transfer the behaviour to other items. To start with, cue ‘chin’ and point to the object. A useful second item is a chin rest to your hand. Step 5 - Start Training Tricks! There are lots of different ways to use a chin rest, so here are a few of my favourites: 1. Retrieve: Chin rest is a great tool for building a retrieve to hand. When the dog picks up the article, cue chin so they return to a steady position. Tilt your hand upwards to gain the high head position which some sports prefer. 2. Sad/guilty: A chin rest on the floor whilst the dog is in a down makes for a cute little sad face. 3. Hide head: Once you have a solid chin rest on a chair, you can introduce a pillow for the dog to hide under. Start by holding the pillow above the chair, and gradually lower it until the dog has to lift the pillow and rest their chin on the chair underneath. 4. Cooperative care: Gradually introduce movement of objects towards the dog’s head. This can then be used for skills like eye drops or cleaning ears.

What have you all been up to?

Today I rescued this dog from the pound. He has some behaviour issues that meant he was two hours from being put to sleep. I’ll be training him and sharing updates here and then eventually rehoming him. He needs a new name though. Hit me with your suggestions.

I had been meaning to teach obedience style scent discrimination and retrieve so that was going to be my contribution to the challenges that @Holly Pearson threw my way. However it is a little complex and now a cyclone hitting so will just go with one prepared for something else. The exercise I call Jar is just getting the dog to run to a placed or thrown treat jar and lie down next to it. It is one I now teach first night on a puppy class as a challenge to teach before the class ends. It is like using a dish for remote reward but the closed container has some advantages. As well as teaching a down at a distance the treat jar rattle is a great attention getter in the park. Also I see this as gaining a source of focus in the park away from me I can control so one or two jars can be used for games in the park that help with off leash control by building them up on a long line first and then using the game to test off leash ears in a distracting environment. When getting new people to do it I avoid showing them the end result with a thrown jar to stop them skipping ahead - they need to be good on the waiting for the dumb human to open the jar before adding the throw or you get a dog retrieving or eating the jar.

Does anyone have any detailed resources or advice for training a send away? Specifically the type where the dog runs until they are stopped (rather than running to a particular object). I know conceptually what I want, but I’m struggling to find out how to get there. Most people locally train using a mat/cone as a target, which I’d like to avoid, but I can’t find step by step guidance for any other techniques. Thank you!