Clean Run Magazine - August 2007 - 35

Spy Kids What’s What s Next? Practice! t? ctice! By Nancy Gyes, photos by Marcy Mantell Photography Sweep and his littermates are almost eight months old. He is a joy to train and has a focused attitude while working and playing with us. Some people refer to that as having a good “work ethic.” I never really understood that phrase as it applies to a dog’s attitude. Jim and I have a work ethic when it comes to training our dogs. While we enjoy the time we spend training and take pride in what we create, we also have made a commitment to exercise and train our dogs even when it is inconvenient at times. Some dogs do seem to have more of an aptitude for training, and many dogs are bred for their trainability, but I don’t think dogs have ethics. If I asked my dogs if they would rather train stays (which we both know they need) and if they could answer me, would they choose stay training over going for a swim? I doubt it. Our dogs just seem like they have a work ethic because they follow our directions willingly. I believe they do so because they have been trained diligently and rewarded often for what we ask of them. Use It or Lose It: Continuing to Reinforce Previously Taught Skills Sweep has been introduced to many individual behaviors since we started his training six months ago. Most of them are on cue and very reliable. Others we have just recently started, like disc targeting and walk back, and are still incomplete. At this age if we do not continue to reinforce and practice behaviors he has already learned we will quickly lose them. Our puppy is only going to be as good as we are. Jim and I continue to discuss and remind each other weekly about the skills that have not been at the top of our training list. Use it or lose it. Don’t forget to continue reinforcing the skills you started training the day you brought home your pup. Potty on command: Sweep is still rewarded often for Get Busy. It is easy to forget to continue this after your pup is housetrained and you are not going outside with him 10 times a day. Door and crate behaviors: He almost always gets a cookie for getting in his cage, as well as for waiting to be released when we open the cage door or the doors going in and out of our home. Handling, grooming, and nails: Make this a weekly priority. Training Sweep to like grooming and the Dremel we use to trim his nails was time consuming, but has been worth the effort as he stands or lies quietly whenever we groom him or do his nails. Hand targeting: I use and reward hand targeting throughout my dogs’ lives. Keep it accurate and rewarding and you won’t lose this handy skill. Put on your leash: Each time we want to put Sweep on leash we say exactly that, Put On Your Leash, and he gets a treat after he sits politely while we snap it on. August 07 | Clean Run Balance cushions (such as a Bosu ball) and Buja boards: At least a couple times a week spend a few minutes practicing these skills. It won’t be long before these pups are ready to train contacts and balance skills need to be in place before that. Don’t do too much though, the cushions can be physically demanding. Retrieve: If you don’t have one, get busy! It is an important skill that you will need as soon as you start jump training and throughout your dog’s career. Recalls: Every day, every week, spend time training this most important of all skills. When the pups were eight weeks old, I wrote about my training mantra. The objective is that my dog is able to eat, play, come, and stay anytime, anywhere. My minimal guideline for introducing real agility equipment is the same. Sweep has not been tested in enough anytime/ anywhere situations yet, but I hope he will be closer to our expectations in about four months. When he is one year old, I hope my focus, and that of these articles, will turn to equipment training, jump drills, and handling. As you are ticking off the days and months until you are ready to being training on equipment, ask yourself this question: Will my pup eat, play, come, and stay anytime, anywhere? Write down all the places that your pup doesn’t have excellent responses to those four skills and make an action plan for training in those situations. 35

Clean Run Magazine - August 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - August 2007