Meet my new puppy!

[diamondlil]

Thanks for the good thoughts! I'll update on progress. Today I took the dogs out on leash walks, insisting they stayed close with no pulling away to sniff around, no pulling away to chase pigeons. They both seem puzzled at having to behave themselves!

 

[Pugsley]

Janine - I'm so sorry this happened to you. It must be wonderful to have dogs you can let run. It is a real shame you can't do that now.

 

[diamondlil]

So today I had 2 hours sleep before our first visit from the dog trainer, Trevor. Or, as he insists, he's not coming to train them, he's training me!
I knew how he works because he helped such a lot with my friend Cathy's red setters, so no surprises in his practical, no-nonsense manner. Straight away Bertie tried to dominate him whilst we were talking and was made to back down. No violence, no overt agression from Trevor, just firmly and repeatedly reinforcing the message that Bertie doesn't own the world. So then Rosie made a squeaky barky attempt at domination, also firmly dealt with.
Trevor went into theories about pack position and politics, calmly and quietly correcting both dogs as they displayed frankly rude behaviour towards him. Then short leash walking sessions, with both dogs showing how much more interested in hunting cats they are than walking nicely. Corrections explained and demonstrated by Trevor, then it was my turn. Then home for more of a chat about what I hope to achieve.
So now I've got 2 weeks of homework before our next session, to practise the leash walking and general better discipline. For now I'm to walk them seperately, and then work towards having nice relaxed walks with both of them without having my arms pulled out of their sockets when a cat, squirrel or whatever is around.

 

[diamondlil]

I was naughty and walked the dogs together today, but as it's in the plan once I've mastered getting one of them walking nicely and I was trying to get a decent walk in between rain showers I gave it a go. Bertie got a little run in an enclosed area too and actually came back when I called him! surprisingly, bertie is responding better to the new regime than Rosie. He suddenly thinks I'm his boss Whilst Rosie is being quite aloof

 

[diamondlil]

Out today for a good walk, over 4 hours! On-lead, we practised and practised and the dogs are getting the idea to walk nicely at my side. We went to the riverside country park, so the dogs could go off-lead safely. I found letting them off one at a time worked better, if they are both off they want to wrestle and run away, if one is on lead, the other keeps coming back to rejoin us!

 

[Pugsley]

Sounds like you are learning the tricks. Keep up the good work.

 

[diamondlil]

Sounds like you are learning the tricks. Keep up the good work.

Thanks! I do feel a bit daft producing a big 'SHHHHHHHHHHFT' noise and changing direction suddenly with each attempt at pulling, but there's no point paying the trainer if I don't give his methods a fair try.

 

[diamondlil]

OMG! A major breakthrough last night, out for a last 'pee' walk in the dark, with one correction for Berts and two for Rosie we walked calmy past a cat! Already there is a difference indoors, less excitement and jumping around from both of them. This morning instead of leaping off their bed to greet me they both lay quietly with Bertie's tail wagging before I called them over to sit at my feet. Bertie even threw in a leg raise and belly show before he got up. Off out for a walk now to carry on the good work.........

 

[MegF.]

Sounds like you have a good trainer to work with. He's very much like I am with training dogs. I use shssht sound as well and my dogs are very familiar with the meaning. Glad you are doing so much to fulfill your dog's needs for exercise. A bit more discipline and you'll have the perfect dogs! there's nothing like well-mannered dogs that you can trust off leash. I drove across the US with my dogs when we moved here to the East Coast and they rarely wore a leash except at hotels. All stops for fuel and breaks were pretty much off leash. Rest stops required a leash but otherwise, I let them do their thing. they don't go too far ahead and return immediately when they are called. It was also great at the shows we went to. Our breeders showed in conformation and obedience so their dogs were titled in both. I showed mine in obedience only. It was always pretty cool being able to have 6 or 7 ridgebacks laying quietly on their blankets without anyone holding anyone and carrying on about our business while people and dogs walked by. I love seeing a normal Bedlington too....one that doesn't have the silly clip for the shows! They look like real dogs!

 

[diamondlil]

Thanks Meg, I think I was always giving the dogs enough physical exercise, but not enough mental work with discipline and firm boundaries. Today for our morning after my nightshift walk, Bertie was anticipating the corrections and nochalently changing direction before trying to pull ahead again. So I put Rosie inside when we got home and did a short ten-minute solo session with him. I was getting frustrated, so I really worked on keeping calm myself. The same as with my horse-riding, I know I'm a work in progress and if the dogs don't respond I need to look at whether I'm actually giving them the right cues, with the right timing and meaning.
Then I hit on the idea of trying out some narrow alleyways, where in order to pull ahead Berts would actually have to try to push past my legs. He dropped back so I could relax and we ended on a good note with him walking nicely.

 

[tsst]

They look happy as always J9!

 

[MegF.]

Good job. Energy is very important. Frustration and emotions such as that is meaningless to a dog and a weak energy that they will not follow. To them, when you are in that state, you are unstable and dogs won't follow unstable leaders. Calm/assertive is the way to go. Using tools like the narrow alley are great ways to help change a behavior without having to do so much. When I was training my first Ridgeback to off leash heeling she would lag behind and then jump up into place when I tried to correct her. It didn't matter how light the string was holding her, once that dropped away...she knew it. I spoke with the breeders and ended up tying a very strong, light line to my leg and then to her slip lead. She eventually forgot she was attached to me once I dropped the string and if she lagged, my leg swinging forward snapped her up into place. I didn't have to reach down and she thought it was magic getting her Working breeds like yours or solitary independent hunters like my Ridgebacks can be too smart for their own good! They make you work for what you get but once you get it, they are second to none! Terrriers definitely need boundaries and discipline as they tend to dominance and a sharp mind. Keeping their hunting instincts fulfilled while also keeping them in check can be tough!

 

[diamondlil]

All this 'pack' walking is going to have me fit as a fiddle! Progress over the weekend included the challenge of varying our lead walks so we don't get stale, also to take advantage of Bertie's natural tendencies to hang back and wait for direction from me when he doesn't already know the route. SO we took the Squirrel challenge, after a big circuit of the Great Lines, a controlled walk down through the heavily wooded Army estate, which is literally bursting with busy squirrels at this time of year.
Up until now, I haven't said much about Rosie's progress in walking to heel, because she's been a total pushover. Before I got Bertie she was perfect, sticking to my side on leash, easy to recall off-lead, but after she got her partner in crime she'd pull almost as much as Bertie. With the new corrections, she's dropped back into her old good habits, giving up her bids to lead and to chase cats whilst on-lead. Squirrels, though, are a wholle different and enticing deal as they rush about flirting their tails.
So with both dogs on the brace lead, I'd have been puffing and cross with their frantic attempts to get at the squirrels, except after about 2 dozen corrections they finally got the message that I wasn't going to be towed after their prey! I did have to raise the intensity of their corrections the first few times, then gradually relax as they did.
On Sunday Mick and I went lure fishing for Pike at the reservoir in Burham and took the dogs. After good lead work I could let them run around and chase rabbits, with good recall each time. At one point Bertie got himself a bit lost and swam across a bay to get back to me!

 

[MegF.]

Remember Janine. Dogs never correct each other with anger or frustration. They warn, they deliver correction and then go about their business. In the human world, we tend to have trouble with that....as my good friend and trainer Tammy Rogers wrote in her book...when it comes to correction, warn, correct and then rinse and repeat (the rinse is to remove any frustration or anger that comes when you correct). A true correction will change the behavior..if the behavior doesn't change, the correction's energy hasn't matched the level the dogs are at. If the dogs think squirrels are worth 100 points on a scale, you need to start at 101 to bring it down to an easier level to correct. This comes with warning at the first sign (turning of the head or perking of the ears for instance) so that you don't have to correct at a higher level. Sounds like you are definitely going in the right direction! Your dogs are lucky to have you!

 

[diamondlil]

Thanks Meg. Cats and squirrels are our main distractions. Neither dog pays any attention to other dogs, even if they are ones that are lunging at us towing their owners behind them!
You're right about the timing and instant change being difficult to learn, to go from relaxed to correcting to moving on again so quickly really takes practice. It does help that it's exactly the process I was taught by my friends in working with the horses. I got so used to reading and directing the horses that I know I can do it with the dogs if I work on it. I've added a warning 'shake' of the lead with a less forceful 'Shhhhht' which Bertie was responding to on this morning's walk without having to then go up a level. That felt really good.

 

[MegF.]

Good work! It is an art...and one, that even as a trainer I have to keep working on. Dogs can push your buttons and your own dogs seem to have super duper button connections. Learning to just "let it go" after correction is the hardest part of all of it. Love hearing the updates!

 

[diamondlil]

Well we are due our session with the trainer on Friday. I'm pleased with our progress so far. The boys have been round every evening helping with redecorating, stripping the very firmly stuck on wallpaper in the front room and have noticed the difference in the dogs. Getting Bertie to show them respect instead of jumping up and mouthing their hands is meaning I have to interevene and keep explaining and demonstrating how to use their body language to claim their space. Not so easy because Bertie just won't jump up at me! They have got the hang of claiming the doorways, but keep talking to the dogs too much and are still too inclined to babytalk them. Rosie reacts by yipping at them, irritating but not such a big deal, whereas Bertie reacts by trying to dominate them, which is. Explaining that he's invading their space, not being cute and cuddly is a bit of an uphill battle.

 

[MegF.]

It can be difficult to get people to cooperate sometimes! I try to have new people visiting meet the dogs outside. If I can, I work out back on the property until they come. Usually they come to the gate and that gives me a barrier between them and the dogs and it gives me time to tell them HOW I want them to come in. I ask them not to talk to the dogs, acknowledge them in any way or look at them until they are calm. I tell them that I will tell them when it's okay to do so. Then I make the dogs move back from the gate, have them enter and we usually walk out to see the horses or something so that they are occupied while the dogs calm. Then I tell them they can pet them and things are where they should be. Most of the time when people come in the house, they immediately pet the dogs (who are excited at new visitors) and no matter what you say to them, they won't do it! Frustrating!

 

[diamondlil]

People out on walks rushing over squeaking at the dogs and getting them to jump up are really damn irritating, IMO. I've firmly told a couple of them that we are on a training program now, as my just saying I don't allow my dogs to jump up inevitably brings the reply 'I don't mind, I loooove dogs'.
It's pouring with rain today, so whilst we were out on our walk I got a call from the trainer to cancel today, saying 'dogs don't like going out in the rain'. I was hooting with laugter, telling him that we were actually soaked through and enjoying ourselves right then, but he wouldn't budge. So we rescheduled for next week. I'm a little irritated, as if I'd known earlier I could have taken the dogs down to the river this morning while the tide was in. (I try to time our trips there to minimise the amount of mudflats exposed, see below for the reason why! Back in May when I didn't check the tide times)

 

[Nanci]

Bertie looks like he has some sort of hunter's clip!