Training Treats #2

Here is the second video of how to make training treats that are all natural and homemade.

Pet Chart

Vote for Raygen on http://petcharts.purina.com/
I was notified this morning that the video has been selected to be in the top Pet Chart list. What a great honor to be selected by just posting on youtube. View my other youtube posts on http://www.youtube.com/user/Astrid66us

Training Treats

Why make it complicated when all you do is cook the liver, cut it inot littel peices and use a treats. No messy blending of the smelly liver, no mixing in fillers. Just plain all natural liver.
How to make liver treats.

GSDOC Classes

I will be offering classes at Golden Spike Obedience Club at the next session.
One will be the first of a series of Clicker classes. "Foundation Clicker" will be for puppies and dogs any age 8 weeks and up.
I will also be offering the Puppy Class, however it will not be a Cicker class.
I am very excited to do both and maybe in the furure will be doing a "Clicker Puppy" class.
Anyone interested can email me directly or contact GSDOC.org

Pupcicle

Been making pupcicles for my dogs and they love it.
Here is how you can make your own, very inexpensive pupcicles.
Get an empty plastic container, any size (cool whip, margarine, yoghurt, glad). Add about an inch of water and some treats. Freeze it. Then add another inch of water and treats and freeze it again. Repeat until the container is full. This is best to be enjoyed outside in the grass.
Food I have used but don't limit yourself to this. Raw beef and water mixture, chicken hearts, chicken liver goop, pieces of beef liver, ground lamb, a milk bone, Charlee Bear, Kibble.
You can also substitute the water. I used blood from the package of the heart I bought and the liver package. Blend liver and water, or pumpkin and water. Boil some chicken (turkey, beef etc) and use the stock.
The bigger the container the longer the entertainment.
Enjoy!

Premack is not Magic

I love using the Premack Principle. In simple terms it is the dog doing something you ask and in return letting the dog have something it really wants. For example.... my dog Raygen loves chasing birds. When we still lived in Vista we were able to use a huge High School field for dog training. Sometimes there were hundreds of birds on the field and Raygen loves to chase them. He would run off the instant we set foot onto the field. One day I decided to use the birds as a reward for him performing a simple task. I asked him to sit and took the leash off and told him to go chase the birds. He loved it! The birds were gone and he came back. There are some rules....

• The environment has to be save (fenced yard, not on a cliff etc.)
• The rewards have to be save (no injuring or killing animals, no food that can hurt the dog, no disturbing of wildlife)
• Ask for behavior the dog knows and can easily perform and make it harder as the dog understand the rule (don't ask for a new behavior)
• Don't call your dog back before he is done getting his reward. Let him enjoy his reward.
• Reward your dog for coming back.

Tools: Easy Walk Harness

One of the training tools I highly recommend is the "Easy Walk Harness" by Premier or the Sensation or Sensible Harness. Even though it is a training tool it can be used indefinately. Unlike any other harness it prevents the dog from pulling you off your feet and redirects his body without you having to do a correction. Unlike choke chains, prong and shock collars it will not cause any pain to the dog, therefore eliminating any unwanted behaviors that punishment training can cause.

Flyball

Here is an article about our team Tail Blazers and Flyball training:
http://www.sltrib.com/ci_10057556
People and their pooches from throughout Salt Lake and Davis counties are redefining summertime's dog days. Their summer pastime is flyball, a competitive and fast-paced dog sport created in the 1970s. Its appeal lies in its openness to dogs of all breeds and sizes, including mixed breeds. The only requirements: being "ball-driven" and energetic. Flyball's basic concept is fairly simple: The dogs pass over hurdles, press on a spring-loaded box that dispenses a ball and bring the ball back to their handlers, all in a relay race against dogs from another team running just 12 feet away from them. But as Bountiful resident Cyndi Conwell said, flyball looks a lot easier than it is. The dogs are highly trained. She said the average dog trains about one year before it is ready to compete in a tournament. Conwell has participated in flyball for nine years. She first learned of the sport at Strut Your Mutt, a popular annual fundraiser for No More Homeless Pets in Utah. Conwell's Jack Russell terrier, Lucy, saw a flyball demonstration at the event and said the dog "just went nuts." Lucy is still participating, along with two more of Conwell's dogs. Conwell and her canine clan are members of the Utah Tailblazers, one of Salt Lake City's two flyball teams. The Tailblazers practice at Jordan Park in Salt Lake City, but the club's members hail from Layton, Draper and everywhere in between. There are no team boundaries so flyball enthusiasts can participate with either the Tailblazers or their local rival, Thunder Paws. The newest members of the Tailblazer squad are Taylorsville residents Gil and Lynette Padilla and their 1-year-old border collie, Bocephus. They were "recruited" by a member of the Tailblazers who spotted Bocephus at Millrace Park and recognized his flyball potential. The Padillas are grateful. As Lynette says, "He needs a job. He's just so hyperactive. And since we don't have sheep, flyball is perfect." Gil Padilla confirms the perfect fit of Bocephus and flyball. "He knows - when we're at home and we say 'flyball', his ears perk up and he looks." The Tailblazers and Thunder Paws meet often at regular tournaments held in the Western United States. The tournaments illustrate the camaraderie that flyball facilitates among its participants. Tailblazer co-founder and president Gosia Skowron of Salt Lake City says the team has bonded through twice weekly practices and regular tournaments. The members spend most of their tournament time (usually three to four days) together, having barbecues and engaging in what Skowron calls, "Dog talk - lots and lots of dog talk." Flyball's benefits extend to its canine competitors as well. Skowron lists several perks for flyball dogs including exercise, training, and mental stimulation. She adds it's also a major confidence builder for them, not to mention their sheer enjoyment of the sport. The dogs show their flyball zeal during competition races - they almost always run faster than during practice. "When they see the dog in the other lane, they turn on the afterburners," Skowron said. For Conwell and others, the flyball passion peaks at competitions. "Watching the light come on in a dog . . . it really pays off."