“The training worked!” When a plan comes together...

“How did you get your dogs to do that?” someone shouted over at me in the park yesterday.

I looked over, wondering what he meant.

Freya as usual, was insisting on training and doing tricks at me while Brontë wimbled happily by my side. Laird was thundering back towards us.

The chap wanted to know how I managed to get my dogs to come back when I called them. He had a little Lhasa apso who was very definitely staying on lead.

“With cheese and balls” was my mostly serious answer!

We had an interesting conversation about making sure we give our dogs a good reason to come back to us and how we might start training it.

And then, I came home to open my email and found a message from Jane and John (not their real names) who have been working hard to stop their big retriever crossbreed from charging off to greet other dogs and ignoring any suggestion from the owners that she might want to come back.

Your training works!

It was busy with dogs today so it was a good test for her. She did very well and we were really chuffed. We then met some friends who have 3 dogs. They kept remarking about how calm she was compared with when they’d last seen her 2 or 3 months ago. She was almost laid back with the other dogs!

Recall, or coming back when asked to, is one of those essential life skills.

It can turn walking your dog from a tiresome task into a pleasant enjoyable experience.

And when we talk about recall, I need your dog coming back promptly when you call or whistle them. Not just coming back at the end of a play session or after chasing the rabbit!

It’s a deceptively simple process, but you have to be consistent in your training and only take tiny little steps forward when your dog is really ready.

The not-so-secret Secret Recipe for Recall

• start playing games that encourage and reward your dog when they pay attention to you (parkour, scentwork, tracking, hand targets, and anything else) 
• stop letting your dog run off and ignore you (long lines are your friend) 
• start teaching a brand-new recall cue (a word or whistle pattern) and link it with the best ever reward for your dog (find their crack cocaine) 
• practice the new recall in very low distraction places to begin with (inside the house, in your garden, in a secure field and so on) 
• gradually build up the level of distraction and always be willing to drop back a stage if your dog is struggling

If you're reading this email or blog, and have an nagging sensation that your dog's recall is not as good as it could be, why not commit to recall being your summer training project?

• It’s never too late to sharpen up or introduce a reliable recall. 
• It really can save your dogs life. 
• And it will improve their quality of life and yours! 

I would love you to come and post in our small friendly private Facebook group if you’re taking on the summer recall challenge. https://www.facebook.com/groups/WellConnectedCanine/

What steps are you taking so that your dog isn’t practising the wrong thing?

And do you know what your dogs crack cocaine really is?

Of course, if you’d like a little bit of extra help and expert coaching, there is always our three-week intensive training programs.

Find a 3 week intensive

We offer level I and level II Baby Come Back courses to sharpen your skills, and you can ask us for a private course too!


Happy recalling

Morag, the big Yin (it’s nearly his one-year gotcha Day) and the collie girls 

P. S. Our recall is a bit of a work in progress. Freya is pretty reliable except if she gets too far away and finds a real bunny, but Project Squirrel has been a great success. Laird is pretty amazing unless he is actively on the hunt for something, and deer are our personal nemesis right now. But I promise we are working on it, and I’m using exactly the same techniques that we teach you in our courses!

P.P.S. yes, it has been a while since I emailed and blogged to you all, sorry about that! I've been a bit poorly lately and am still recovering so don't be surprised if it takes me a little longer to reply to emails or messages


What else is going on in WCC Land?

Sat 25th May Gundog Games

Sun 26th May Herding Dog Games 

*whispers* have you set any resolutions yet?

So it’s a new year, apparently! 

I have to confess, I’m not super into the whole new year-new you/new training thing. Not because I don’t set goals, but that’s not a once per year thing for me.

Here at WCC we run on 4 x mini years (12 week years, or Morag Years as Clare likes to call them!), which gives us four times as many new year – new start opportunities!

The problem with most resolutions is they’re unachievable, much too vague, and the deadline is so far away that we lose any sense of urgency…

Working in shorter blocks of time, with clearly defined goals really does change everything. 

If you’re not convinced, why not read the lovely message that came in from Laura & Roman.

They’ve worked so very hard through 2018, and made amazing progress from taking long car trips, attending rehab class, relaxing during firework season and having “Monty Don” moments in the garden!

"If anyone's feeling determined but also a bit unsure about how to go about making some real progress with their dog, can I recommend working with Morag on a 12 week plan. I did this with my lurcher, Roman, last year and we made huge and unexpected progress.

Morag helped us define our overall goal, then break it down into smaller objectives, which we worked on for 12 weeks, adjusting as we went along. We had regular Skype calls to keep us on track which really helped.

Our overall goal was to go to Morag and Clare's Rehab Club, so we could practice being around other dogs. Unfortunately, the location is about an hour's drive from where we live, and Roman was very unsettled in the car on long drives. 

Before we could think about how Rehab Club could help us, we had to think about getting there! So our smaller objectives were for Roman to be able to travel longer distances in the car, without getting anxious, to be more relaxed about visiting new places, and to be more settled in the car on his own.

Each week we had specific aims, like introducing new drives, increasing the length of drives, practicing the Relaxation Protocol in different places and in the car.

By the end of the 12 weeks, we'd progressed to a couple of practice drives to where the Rehab Club takes place, and have now been to Rehab Club about 5 times, where we were able to work on Roman's reactivity to other dogs, which has also improved a lot. 

I found the plan quite intensive but the structure helped me keep on track. I was also able to see clearly how much progress we were making. And of course, I couldn't have done it without Morag's patience, encouragement and humour"

So what’s your small, achievable and clearly defined goal for the next few months?

Feeling brave? Post it in the FaceBook group, that’s where I’ll be putting mine shortly!

 

What's going on in WCC Land?

Don't miss out on your WCC fix this month, we have seminars, workshops AND adult classes start back on 21st January.

• Book 10 week classes or 3 week intensives up front and pay online (don’t forget to use your codes) 
• Book a 10 week class but spread the cost over three payments (instructions here ) 
• Book 10 canicross classes and get one free OR book each week individually

Book an evening seminar


Book 10 week block classes

Book a 3 week intensive

Special Reward Codes

Our glamorous assistants can use their special discount codes, and anyone in the WCC family who books more than one class (paying up front) can use your special dedication code. If you think you should have a code, but can’t remember it please email the office for help (info@wellconnectedcanine.co.uk)

Welcome to the Sunday Sports and Social Club

Training your dog is fun, but it’s even better fun when you add in some cake & coffee with good company. 

It’s good to mix activities up and cross-train for fitness, plus it keeps everyone on their toes. 

So we’re launching the Well Connected Canine Sunday Sports and Social Club (2-4pm) from 28^th January!

Our FREE monthly social club held on Sunday afternoons near Market Weighton. 

You just need to have trained with well connected canine to be eligible to attend, and keen to train with your dog in a friendly atmosphere.

There’s no formal teaching at these sessions. But there is plenty of space and equipment to set up practice areas and other people to help you out.

Activity options

• Rally and Fenzi TEAM
• Agility (with Hoopers coming soon)
•  Scentwork
• Canicross (brilliant trails within easy walking distance)
• Parkour
• Anything else you’d like to work on!

Just let us know you’re coming, and bring along something to share (cake, fruit, biscuits etc). We’ll provide the space*, equipment and tea/coffee.

Are you coming on Sunday 28^th January?  https://doodle.com/poll/d2uyeq3ibar52zr4

And sign-up to the dedicated mailing list http://eepurl.com/PcFGv  for monthly reminders and activity update.

Happy Monday!

Morag and the collie girls

*all sessions are outside, so come prepared for the weather. Dogs will enjoy the sessions most if they’re able to settle in your vehicle while you have a coffee and warm up in the kitchen.

Our amazing weekend - clicker training fun day

Back at work after a fab day out at the Fun Clicker Training Day yesterday.

I am the proudest dog mom in the world right now, Farah was perfect, utterly attentive, super keen depsite having to work off lead in front of an audience (has been a problem lately) and Paddy said she thought we could crack the formal retrieve in just a few sessions. In the afternoon she learned to nose a football toward me, and then to put front paws on a skateboard and move it!!!

Finn officially achieved my most important goals for him. It may have taken five years but its been worth every single heartache, shed tear and difficult moment. This may not sound much to anyone with more normal dogs....but he walked into the hall on a loose leash and could turn back for a treat. We walked calmly past four strange dogs and he went straight into his crate. He coped with other dogs running about, even with someone playing tuggy and being excited. He worked off lead for me in front of everyone, and then in the afternoon was able to learn exciting things and play tuggy/ball even though another dog was fairly close to him.
Even more amazing - he was working for a friend of mine in the afternoon and he was totally chilled.

Which gives me even more hope that we will crack our remaining challenges: car travel and children+footballs :)