It's getting to the point where I never see other dogs on our walks and now I actually want to so I can work on training them!
Each dog got 2 walks today and we never once encountered another dog. Riley did encounter a cat and much to my surprise, she didn't make a peep! She did stare at the cat and the cat stared back at her, but that was it, no hissing from the cat and no barking from Riley. We stood there for a bit, talking to the cat's owner and not a peep, so I gave her some treats and we were on our way.
Finlay did so well with heeling, it was such a pleasure to walk with him, but again, we saw no other dogs.
Oh, I almost forgot, Riley and I saw a deer on our morning walk and that was cool. It was about 15 yards down the street from us, crossed the street, paused and looked over at us, then disappeared in the brush. I pointed the deer out to Riley since she wasn't looking that far ahead and while she saw it, she didn't bark, just pulled a bit, out of curiosity I'm sure.
With the barking today, it's mainly been at the back door, when they see a critter. I go to the door and wait until the stop barking before I let them out. Fin usually stops first, but it takes Riley a while to settle...she gets SO worked up! But I wait...and wait.
Finlay is being pretty barky right now and has been for the past hour. He's been out to potty, so I'm not sure what it's all about...I'll have to see if the frog is on the patio, because that's usually why he does this when it's dark out...the frog is hanging out, getting his dinner on our patio and Fin barks at him, I'm sure that's how it is for every household, right? ;)
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Dog Training - Walking/Heeling
OK, now you know what my dogs' issues are, so I'll discuss the training I received from Victoria for those issues.
Walking - Victoria worked with me on the "watch" or "watch me" command. This is something that I had previously taught my dogs, so that helped. With a treat in your hand, hold it near your eyes and give the command, we use "watch". This gets your dog to focus on you. We did this a few times - and in doing so, Victoria realized that Riley does not have a soft mouth when taking a treat, so we also worked on the "gentle" command. With the gentle command, Victoria did not give Riley the treat if she tried to get it without being gentle. She then said "gentle" and slowly lowered the treat to Riley. It didn't take long for Riley to realize that grabbing the treat wasn't paying off, so she started lightly taking it. Success!
Back to the watch command...Victoria had me walk with Riley and while walking, I would say "watch" and when Riley looked at me, she got a treat. Then, whenever she would look at me on her own, I would praise her or give her a treat. This got her attention on me and she slowed down and stopped pulling on the leash. I should note that after the dog seemed to understand the command, I would mix up giving a treat or just saying, "good girl/boy". Victoria noted that this is important because you won't always have food on hand and they need to learn that they won't always get a food reward.
In our first 10 days of training, this has probably been the most successful thing for us. Victoria noted that I should walk the dogs separately because of the aggression issues and with the watch command, the dogs are heeling very well and not pulling much. At this point, Finlay is responding especially well to this and walking right by my side. Riley is doing well too, but pulling a bit more than Fin. Since Riley has the issue of taking the treat too hard, I am also able to work on the gentle command with this and all other commands. She's getting a lot better and is starting to take food gently without having to be told...but not all the time just yet!
Walking - Victoria worked with me on the "watch" or "watch me" command. This is something that I had previously taught my dogs, so that helped. With a treat in your hand, hold it near your eyes and give the command, we use "watch". This gets your dog to focus on you. We did this a few times - and in doing so, Victoria realized that Riley does not have a soft mouth when taking a treat, so we also worked on the "gentle" command. With the gentle command, Victoria did not give Riley the treat if she tried to get it without being gentle. She then said "gentle" and slowly lowered the treat to Riley. It didn't take long for Riley to realize that grabbing the treat wasn't paying off, so she started lightly taking it. Success!
Back to the watch command...Victoria had me walk with Riley and while walking, I would say "watch" and when Riley looked at me, she got a treat. Then, whenever she would look at me on her own, I would praise her or give her a treat. This got her attention on me and she slowed down and stopped pulling on the leash. I should note that after the dog seemed to understand the command, I would mix up giving a treat or just saying, "good girl/boy". Victoria noted that this is important because you won't always have food on hand and they need to learn that they won't always get a food reward.
In our first 10 days of training, this has probably been the most successful thing for us. Victoria noted that I should walk the dogs separately because of the aggression issues and with the watch command, the dogs are heeling very well and not pulling much. At this point, Finlay is responding especially well to this and walking right by my side. Riley is doing well too, but pulling a bit more than Fin. Since Riley has the issue of taking the treat too hard, I am also able to work on the gentle command with this and all other commands. She's getting a lot better and is starting to take food gently without having to be told...but not all the time just yet!
Dog Training: The Issues
First, I'm going to cover my dogs' issues and the issues on which I worked with Victoria.
Leash Behavior - Probably the most frustrating issue. When on leash, my dogs go berserk when they see another dog. It doesn't matter what kind of dog, big or small, they bark at them all! They also lunge at the other dog and Riley tends to nip at Finlay (redirection of her aggression). Not only is this embarrassing, it's not healthy for the dogs. Note - This behavior is worse in our neighborhood, but does still happen to a lesser extent in parks and other "neutral" locations (territorial behavior for sure).
Barking - Excessive Barking (Ha, right when I typed that, Finlay barked!) - The dogs bark whenever they see a critter out in the yard (bird, squirrel, lizard, etc...), Riley barks when she sees a dog or cat on TV, and Finlay just barks for no reason (boredom?).
Manners - We have had some disputes with my family over my dogs' manners. Namely, Finlay stealing food off coffee tables or Riley jumping up in someone's lap at the dinner table. There are also issues with Riley getting into your lap and demanding attention.
Walking - The dogs also need help heeling on the leash.
For the most part, we worked on the above issues, mostly focusing on the leash/walking and manners. All in all, I think some of the training will help with other issues as well, because we are reminding ourselves that we need to teach the dogs what behavior we like. I've ordered a copy of Victoria's book from www.amazon.com and when it arrives, I will use it as a supplement to the training she provided to me.
Leash Behavior - Probably the most frustrating issue. When on leash, my dogs go berserk when they see another dog. It doesn't matter what kind of dog, big or small, they bark at them all! They also lunge at the other dog and Riley tends to nip at Finlay (redirection of her aggression). Not only is this embarrassing, it's not healthy for the dogs. Note - This behavior is worse in our neighborhood, but does still happen to a lesser extent in parks and other "neutral" locations (territorial behavior for sure).
Barking - Excessive Barking (Ha, right when I typed that, Finlay barked!) - The dogs bark whenever they see a critter out in the yard (bird, squirrel, lizard, etc...), Riley barks when she sees a dog or cat on TV, and Finlay just barks for no reason (boredom?).
Manners - We have had some disputes with my family over my dogs' manners. Namely, Finlay stealing food off coffee tables or Riley jumping up in someone's lap at the dinner table. There are also issues with Riley getting into your lap and demanding attention.
Walking - The dogs also need help heeling on the leash.
For the most part, we worked on the above issues, mostly focusing on the leash/walking and manners. All in all, I think some of the training will help with other issues as well, because we are reminding ourselves that we need to teach the dogs what behavior we like. I've ordered a copy of Victoria's book from www.amazon.com and when it arrives, I will use it as a supplement to the training she provided to me.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Back to the Basics
I was very fortunate to get to spend some time with Victoria Stillwell from Animal Planet's, "It's Me or the Dog" last week. Victoria came by to help me with my wild terriers, Finlay and Riley. Now, I've talked about them before and you know they are my muses for Hound and Thistle and you know how I love them. It is clear that we didn't do the best job training them and we have some issues that need to be addressed, so I'm going to blog about our progress which will help me stay committed to the training.
Victoria could not have been nicer and did not judge me for the way my dogs are. That meant so much to me because I do realize that I didn't do the best job...it's the old, "give them an inch and they'll take a mile." Now, my husband and I have tried various training methods and have not been successful thus far. After meeting with Victoria, I can see why - we hadn't tried her methods which are purely based on positive reinforcement. Now I want to note that we did not use forceful methods before, but we tried the "choke chain" (which in itself has a horrible name), tried a citronella collar (we never wanted to use a shock collar) and tried to show our dogs that we were the leaders...None of which worked.
Victoria explained to me that our goal is to show our dogs the appropriate way to behave in the human world. After all, they are animals and we can't expect them to "guess" what we want and they do what comes naturally. She told me that what I needed to do was to reward the dogs when they were doing what I wanted them to do. Sounds simple, right? Yeah, I thought, "Why couldn't I have figured this out myself!" I was too busy telling my dogs, "no" instead of showing them the behavior I wanted and rewarding it when I got it. With this new knowledge, we started our training session.
Please keep in mind that what I write on here is my interpretation of what Victoria taught me and I would ask you to refer to her book for specifics from her (you can purchase her book, "It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet" at www.amazon.com) . I would not want to lead anyone astray or misinterpret her training, because I am not a trainer and she is such a fabulous trainer! In my next post, I will discuss my dogs' issues and the training methods I was taught. Then I will update you on my day to day training which will be short posts about our progress along with what I learn from Victoria's book.
Stay tuned!
Victoria could not have been nicer and did not judge me for the way my dogs are. That meant so much to me because I do realize that I didn't do the best job...it's the old, "give them an inch and they'll take a mile." Now, my husband and I have tried various training methods and have not been successful thus far. After meeting with Victoria, I can see why - we hadn't tried her methods which are purely based on positive reinforcement. Now I want to note that we did not use forceful methods before, but we tried the "choke chain" (which in itself has a horrible name), tried a citronella collar (we never wanted to use a shock collar) and tried to show our dogs that we were the leaders...None of which worked.
Victoria explained to me that our goal is to show our dogs the appropriate way to behave in the human world. After all, they are animals and we can't expect them to "guess" what we want and they do what comes naturally. She told me that what I needed to do was to reward the dogs when they were doing what I wanted them to do. Sounds simple, right? Yeah, I thought, "Why couldn't I have figured this out myself!" I was too busy telling my dogs, "no" instead of showing them the behavior I wanted and rewarding it when I got it. With this new knowledge, we started our training session.
Please keep in mind that what I write on here is my interpretation of what Victoria taught me and I would ask you to refer to her book for specifics from her (you can purchase her book, "It's Me or the Dog: How to Have the Perfect Pet" at www.amazon.com) . I would not want to lead anyone astray or misinterpret her training, because I am not a trainer and she is such a fabulous trainer! In my next post, I will discuss my dogs' issues and the training methods I was taught. Then I will update you on my day to day training which will be short posts about our progress along with what I learn from Victoria's book.
Stay tuned!
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Gear For Fashionable Pups
When we were at the Atlanta Humane Society's Pet Parade, we met the nicest folks...Hollywoof Styles. The owners are a couple of dog lovers who like us, also love design. They create handmade collars, leashes, harnesses, etc...to set your dog (or cat) apart from the pack! If you are looking for a stylish collar or leash for your dog, you need to pay a visit to their Etsy site: www.hollywoofstyles.etsy.com because you'll find all sorts of cute stuff for your furry friends! Of course, not only is their stuff cute and cool, but the owners couldn't be nicer and more helpful. We're all about being kind and helping one another at Hound and Thistle and you will also find that is the case with Hollywoof Styles, they are good folks indeed!
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Woofstock-Suwanee Town Center
We had a great day yesterday at "Woofstock" in Suwanee. Even though it was hot and humid, it looked like everyone had a great time - the watering tent for the dogs was across from our booth and a must-have on a day like yesterday.
The booth looked great and we got a lot of positive feedback from guests. In addition to the stationery and appliqued pillows, we had appliqued t-shirts and tote bags as well as pillar candles with a pet silhouette or initial and pet bandannas.
We met a lot of great people and their dogs! Our thanks to everyone who stopped by!
The booth looked great and we got a lot of positive feedback from guests. In addition to the stationery and appliqued pillows, we had appliqued t-shirts and tote bags as well as pillar candles with a pet silhouette or initial and pet bandannas.
We met a lot of great people and their dogs! Our thanks to everyone who stopped by!
Monday, April 19, 2010
Dog Breed Tote Bags!
I'm hanging my head in shame because it's been way too long since I've posted here. I've been trying to find a balance between Twitter, Facebook and our Blog. My apologies for the delay...It won't happen again! OK, it might happen again, but I'll try my best not to let it!
On to the fun news...I've completed 3 sample tote bags and they look so cute! We've got a French Bulldog, Golden Retriever, and Long-Haired Daschund. Of course, like everything in our shop, we can put any dog breed on the tote bags - even customize one for your mixed breed!
Since they are so new, they are not yet available in the shop, but will be really soon! Please give us your feedback - we always appreciate it.
See you soon...
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