We had a bunch of people here at the ranch on St. Patrick's Day and were pleased that Flash didn't try to nip at anyone. He was in very good humor and seemed to like everyone.
I've been working with him on his door manners and retrieving skills and he's doing great. Now that Dennis is home from skiing, he's also reinforcing the training. I'm sure this has made a difference in Flash. He is a calmer, more obedient dog, I think, with these "jobs" to do. Plus, he's so smart, he learns new things very quickly. I'll have to find another new job for him soon.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Thursday, March 14, 2013
Flash Eats Out
Flash and I met Rachel at Mediterraneo's for lunch today. He was very good and behaved himself the whole time.
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Smart Dog
According to the Intelligence of Dogs by Stanley Coren, the Border Collie is first in the top ten brightest dogs. See below. This explains why I'm such a great trainer. Ha
Brightest Dogs
- Understanding of New Commands: Fewer than 5 repetitions.
- Obey First Command: 95% of the time or better.[18]
Door Monitor
Fetch Revisited
Today, Flash and I played fetch outside. I threw the tennis ball with the cookie inside and he readily chased it--two times. On the third pass he settled down to chew up the ball and get the cookie himself. So I got his retractable leash and tried again. This time he returned the ball every time and I didn't have to tug on the leash at all. After a few times, I took off the leash and threw the ball a couple more times. He brought the ball back every time.
Wait!
Flash already knows what Wait means. However, we neglected to teach him to Wait at the door until we go in or out. This is all our fault. But it's a problem because he rushes by before we can go out...or in.
Anyway, I've started to make him Sit and Wait until I release him to go out the door. He doesn't like it and pretends he's forgotten how to Sit. I wait until he remembers, then tell him to Wait until I go out the door. Then I tell him it's ok to go out. He does it, but I don't think it's set in his behavior yet. This will take a lot of work and consistency.
Anyway, I've started to make him Sit and Wait until I release him to go out the door. He doesn't like it and pretends he's forgotten how to Sit. I wait until he remembers, then tell him to Wait until I go out the door. Then I tell him it's ok to go out. He does it, but I don't think it's set in his behavior yet. This will take a lot of work and consistency.
Monday, March 11, 2013
Fetch!
Don't all dogs want to fetch? It's proven to be very difficult to teach Flash to fetch a ball or a toy. It would be so much more fun for him if we could throw a ball and have him run after (and return) it. But, no. He will chase after anything but won't run back with it.
I read in 101 Dog Tricks that one way to teach a dog to fetch is to cut a slit in a tennis ball large enough to insert a cookie. Then throw the ball with the cookie in it for your dog. The dog should chase the ball and bring it back to you so you can get the cookie out and give it to him (reward). The book describes it better but I found that it actually works if I get really excited when I throw the ball and even more excited when I ask him to bring it to me.
I tried this with Flash yesterday and he did eventually bring it back with MUCH encouragement. After three times, he dropped down on his bed and tried to get the cookie himself. I had to put a stop to that or he would have destroyed the tennis ball.
We did the game about 8 times and he had the idea and was reluctantly bringing it back.
It shouldn't be this hard.
I read in 101 Dog Tricks that one way to teach a dog to fetch is to cut a slit in a tennis ball large enough to insert a cookie. Then throw the ball with the cookie in it for your dog. The dog should chase the ball and bring it back to you so you can get the cookie out and give it to him (reward). The book describes it better but I found that it actually works if I get really excited when I throw the ball and even more excited when I ask him to bring it to me.
I tried this with Flash yesterday and he did eventually bring it back with MUCH encouragement. After three times, he dropped down on his bed and tried to get the cookie himself. I had to put a stop to that or he would have destroyed the tennis ball.
We did the game about 8 times and he had the idea and was reluctantly bringing it back.
It shouldn't be this hard.
Friday, March 8, 2013
Seek and Ye Shall Find
Just ask Flash about his new "job." I read on Cesar Milan's website how to exercise your dog indoors by hiding treats around the house and letting him find them. This idea coincided with my reading a book by Robert Crais called Suspect in which a wounded police officer teams up with a wounded war dog to catch bad guys. The book describes how the German Shepherd's nose can differentiate a gazillion smells to seek and find a particular item. Aha.
So I tried this with Flash. It's a new game involving treats, so he's into it. Here's how it goes: I get a handful of some kind of treats. (I started with dog cookies, but upped the smell quotient with string cheese and pup-peroni sticks.) I let him smell the treats (at first he just wanted to eat them), then put him in a sit stay in the kitchen while I hide the treats in the living room.
The first time I tried this he (1) didn't want to stay in the kitchen and kept peeking through the doorway and (2) he didn't know he was supposed to look around for the treats. I had to practically lead him to each treat. The second time I used pup-peroni sticks and he was getting the idea with less help. The third time he knew what to expect and did a good stay in the kitchen and, when released from the stay, he vaulted into the living room to search for his treats. This time the treats were some good, stinky string cheese and he found almost all of them right away.
Now that he has the idea, I'll go back to the cookies and see it he can sniff them out. I have to admit, he isn't a real good sniffing dog. But, if the treats were all running around the house, I have no doubt he could herd them up.
So I tried this with Flash. It's a new game involving treats, so he's into it. Here's how it goes: I get a handful of some kind of treats. (I started with dog cookies, but upped the smell quotient with string cheese and pup-peroni sticks.) I let him smell the treats (at first he just wanted to eat them), then put him in a sit stay in the kitchen while I hide the treats in the living room.
The first time I tried this he (1) didn't want to stay in the kitchen and kept peeking through the doorway and (2) he didn't know he was supposed to look around for the treats. I had to practically lead him to each treat. The second time I used pup-peroni sticks and he was getting the idea with less help. The third time he knew what to expect and did a good stay in the kitchen and, when released from the stay, he vaulted into the living room to search for his treats. This time the treats were some good, stinky string cheese and he found almost all of them right away.
Now that he has the idea, I'll go back to the cookies and see it he can sniff them out. I have to admit, he isn't a real good sniffing dog. But, if the treats were all running around the house, I have no doubt he could herd them up.
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