Clean Run - October 2017 - 58

Making Time
In terms of training time, it's very hard for
me to develop any form of routine right
now because we have so much work
going on on our property, with builders,
carpenters, and fencing contractors all
coming and going. My granddaughter
adds to the chaos as do our horses. However, to help Shady, I did try to set aside
time for him in the early evening when
my granddaughter goes up for her bedtime. He seemed to enjoy it and I think
it might have helped him work his way
through his difficulties. The problem I
always find with routines is the excess of
excitement that they can bring. Before I
moved, my dogs used to go for a walk
at the same time of day every day. They
were so irritating and I'm not sure that
level of arousal on a daily basis is good
for them. They got in the van and by the
time we arrived at the common they
were overaroused and overstimulated.
It doesn't matter how much control you
add onto that, you just build the expectation of the release higher and higher.
Since we've moved we can walk the
dogs from our front door, so there is no
set routine and the dogs are a lot calmer.
They have 10 acres to roam in and when
the crop is gone they have 25 acres in
front of the house to explore too.
With our horses, a lot of behavioral issues can be traced to a routine. Anyone
who has ever been on a large competition yard will have seen horses kicking

doors, scraping teeth on bars, etc. Again
this level of arousal isn't good for them,
so our horses know they'll get fed at
some point, turned out at some point,
worked at some point-no set routine
and we often deliberately mix things up
to maintain that calm acceptance. Although Shady wasn't visibly excited, he
did start waiting by the door when training time was near. I plan to keep going
with this routine for a couple of months
and then phase it out again.

an Update on the other Youngsters
Little Dexi has been coming out and
about with us, wearing his "I'm a deaf
dog" coat. It really helps as I don't have
to explain to people that he can't hear
them when they say hello. It also seems
to prompt people to be gentle with him.
Either way he's growing in confidence
day by day and his rather extreme vocal
reaction to large dogs is disappearing.
Play is starting to build, although he can't
yet play with other dogs about. Darcey
would rather not go out and about-
thank you very much; someone might
want to touch the princess! She's not
unhappy, she'd just rather be snuggled
up in her nice warm bed or on your lap
for a cuddle. She's really starting to light
up for her ball now, I'm beginning to see
the driven agility dog that I want; sends
are still for a thrown toy, but she can now
be sent a good 10 seconds after it's been
thrown so we are making progress. D

Darcey is really starting to get
excited for her ball.

Dexi's new coat seems to prompt
people to be gentle with him.

I started agility training and competition in the late 1980's and around about that time I started clicker training. I've competed in both working trials and obedience.
I still think agility is the best of all sports for both dogs and handlers and clicker training the best way to teach it. I thoroughly enjoy training my dogs and teaching
others. Across the years I've been privileged to teach all over the world, from Australia to Japan, all across North America and Europe. I've worked with many talented
handlers and trainers and thoroughly enjoyed every moment. I remain a positive trainer; reward builds behavior so much faster and better than any other method. If
the solution to a problem is going to upset my dog, it clearly isn't the right solution. Contact me via my website: www.agility-training.co.uk, or via my Facebook page:
Jo's agility-training.co.uk.

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Clean Run | October 17

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