Day 4: Moving Right Along

I was Sage's alarm clock today - I was up before her furry nose hit my pillow. It was a special day because elk came to visit. Sage was unmoved - no barking or particular interest, if she even noticed them at all.

We began the day with our usual run through of the basics, plus whistle training, around breakfast time. Sage was hungry so  I was able to use her kibble for training treats this morning. 

Today Sage made lots of progress with Leave It. We built up the degree of difficulty slowly so she was able to be successful each time - which solidifies learning more quickly. 

One kibble 

Two kibbles

Five kibbles

Paw!

We also did some Stay practice. Sage did great!

In the afternoon, my assistants Debbie and Julie came to help out with Sage's training. We did lots of leash walking practice and Come training. But first Sage had some fun playing with her new friend, Olive.

The first training exercise was a special kind of recall training called a Premack Recall. This is a kind of 'leave it to get it' exercise. First, one person tempts Sage with tasty treats.

 Then when Sage leaves the treats without getting any and runs to the person who is calling her,
the first person runs after her and gives her the treats she left behind.

 This is a powerful way to teach recall - because it teaches Sage that if she  leaves the thing she  likes so much (exciting smells, tastes, activities) she will get it in the end. All too often dogs learn the opposite - come to me when I call you and you will lose the thing you were enjoying  (or worse, you will have to do something you don't like, such as leave the dog park, come inside and stop playing, or have a bath).

Sage is loving her recall training because we always make sure she has a lot of fun when she comes to me when I call her. We use food treats sometimes but more often, play with toys, such as the old rope frisbee she likes so much.

Next we moved on to leash walking training. We worked with a variety of techniques, with all three of us handling her at different times.

Sage, Let's Go!

 Whenever Sage pulls forward even a little bit, I do something about it.

 Like turn and go the other way.

When she is doing well she gets praise, petting, hugs and treats  - mostly while we are moving, but sometimes, after an extra good effort we just have to stop and smooch.

Having more than one trainer helps Sage gradually understand that all humans like her to do loose leash walking - not just one strange, aberrant person (me)!

Oh, hi Julie, you know how to do this walking thing too?  

Whoa, Debbie knows this as well! I guess i have to do it then! 

We took frequent breaks, as dogs learn better in short sessions

Recess 

Some recall games with vigorous frisbee activity as the reward for coming were a great way to let off steam in between  leash walking lessons.

Back to work with more leash walking, Sage was doing really well.

 Turning left across her body if she starts to pull ahead is a good way to remind her to stay focused and walk beside me.

 Talking to her in between treats is important - if I want Sage to focus on me, I have to focus on her!

 After we were done for the day, we all went for a walk down the driveway. We veered off into the trees so the dogs could have a good sniff and were rewarded by the sight of a magnificent Barred Owl, sitting on a tree limb in plain view.

 Next we did some gardening, and Sage was really good, hanging out on her long line.  and occasionally coming to help.

In the evening, the elk came back to graze in the meadow for an hour or so, but by then Sage was fast asleep in her bed. It was a great end to a wonderful day!