When it comes to training your dog whether it is for detection, social skills or predation substitution there may come a time where training just seems to stagnate. Depending on what you are working on and what your goal is this may not be a bad thing per se but generally speaking we want our dogs to be their best and that means challenging them. Challenging our dogs, so they have the chance to improve and learn new skills, must be done strategically. It is important to have a strong foundation for what you need as well, that way, if the challenge is too difficult, your dog has a practiced and approved skill to fall back on. If this occurs just reevaluate and adjust in a way to ensure your dog is successful. Often times this includes setting up the problem different entirely or breaking it down into smaller steps. The other benefit of a strong foundation is that if your dog were to “fail” at the challenge then they are less likely to “fall apart” when the intended end goal is not met. Some suggestions for getting out of the plateau and on to progress would be to try a new area, different time of day, different reward, change the distance or even take some time off and, within reason, allow your dog and yourself to just go somewhere and exist. While dogs are constantly learning, this is true, they also need time to enjoy being outside, going out and just going on a sniffari. Obviously if your dog has a trigger that really gets them I would suggest avoiding areas that contain that trigger as best you can that way you and your dog can enjoy being outside together with very little pressure to perform. If this needs to be done in multiple short sessions throughout the day/week that is ok. What are some things that you have done when you notice training starting to plateau? Feel free to share so we may learn from each other!

Wondering what brand earmuffs you use for your dogs. A woman in my dog club is trying to find something to promote for Dog Assistance over July 4. Thank you in advance.

When people imagine what having a dog is like most times it is the glorified and romantic version that enters people’s heads. This can be due to meeting mostly well behaved dogs through friends and family and perhaps the only dog a person has had was their family dog growing up. Due to this they did not experience the full grasp of what being responsible for another living creature is like. Another big inspiration for wanting a dog is the movies: 101 Dalmatians, Homeward Bound, Turner and Hooch, Lassie, Benji or Rescued by Ruby just to name a few. Many times movies like these will get people interested in a certain breed without ever doing their research on whether or not this breed is right for them. If this happens to be the case the dog may end up displaying some behavioral issues that the family cannot handle anymore and off to the shelter they go. It is a sad and unfortunate reality for some very good dogs who are just misunderstood and not in the right environment. Do not fret this is not a doom and gloom post. As much as it is a sad reality it does also show the other side of people which are those who step up for these misunderstood and cast aside dogs (and other animals) which is a beautiful thing to see. There are also some working groups who rescue these “high energy” and “out of control” dogs and give them a purpose which is what they were bred for in the first place! I say all of this to mention that it is so vitally important to understand what type of dog you have that way you can approach them as understanding as possible. That way you can understand them for the individual that they are. Not every high energy dog likes to play fetch with a tennis ball and even some high energy dog will not do a gosh darn thing for you for a treat. This is where doing a reward selection, even once every month or as needed, especially for puppies, can really maximize the joy of playing the game of detection for your dog. A quick example would be that when Chiron K9 first acquired Csili her reward with the other party was either a KONG or ChuckIt ball and through reward selection I have found out that she actually really enjoys playing tug and in particular with a fuzzy tug (NOT a rope tug). Her long standing favorite at the minute are the tugs from OneFitK9 who I found on Etsy (great place for unique dog toys) but they do also have their own website.

Hello ,My name is Jean and I am interested in learning more about training my 2 yr old mini poodle. I have started in scentwork. I am interested in the engagement factor with my dog. Somehow, I have to convince him I am just as exciting as the lizards, squirrels and all other moving creatures. Why do I have Poodles? Because I’m allergic to dogs, but I think they are such incredible creatures.