I love fetch

Fetch is one of my favourite things to do with dogs.   Here's a recent video of me playing fetch with the pack.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NZn4NcpD34]

 

Many people think that their dog can’t fetch, but I’ve had tremendous success teaching many different dogs of all ages this game.  I think my success comes from my approach... I break ‘fetch’ down into skills that I teach one at a time and then eventually string together.  I scope out the dog’s interest and teach the most fun skill first.

Some dogs like to chase, so I teach ‘get it’ and I praise once they’ve ‘got it’ in their mouth.  Other dogs like to play tug of war, so I teach them to ‘bring it’ and I reward with a quick game of tug.

I usually teach ‘drop it’ last so that the reward can be ‘fetch it’, this way the game is an endless loop of fun.   Occasionally I encounter dogs who refuse to ‘drop it’ once they’ve got it, for them I use multiple balls so that they always know they get a ball back when they’ve dropped it.

It’s important to continuously shape your dog’s behavior as the game continues.  This keeps them mentally engaged in the game, and it builds discipline as they have to work to please you.  It also tires them out to an entirely different degree then if the game was on auto-pilot.

Let’s say I throw the ball 30 times.  The first 10 throws I might just chuck the ball as quickly as the dog can bring it back.  This gets the dog very enthusiastic about bringing back.  The next 10 throws I might make the dog place the ball in my hand, or I won’t throw it.  This slows the game down, but builds skill.   The last 10 throws I might ask the dog to do challenging obedience work, like sit, down or stay.  You’d be surprised how much obedience work you can accomplish in a simple game of fetch.

Try out my formula and let me know what you think.

My best student

Phone Rings....Conversation went something like this.

Other end of the Phone: I'm calling on behalf of my teacher, a Tai-Chi Master... he's 76 and has poor English.  He lives in the second floor above a fruit market in China Town. We've had other trainers walk out on us... He needs help with his aggressive, 3 year old Golden Retriever. She's afraid of the stairs and has bitten him twice.  She hasn't been outside in 1 year.   Can you help?

My Brain: ... lots of thought waves start bubbling... most of them revolving around the terrible chemistry experiment that mixes old age with a young dog, likely high energy, frustration and potential aggression.... but then this thought emerges... When the student is ready, the teacher arrives.

My Response:... "Sure, I'll give it a shot".



... Like all my training sessions, I enter the house as though it's mine so that the dog knows that someone new is in charge.  

Lucky was barking and frothing but receptive to my immediate shower of calming signals.   As I made my way, slowly and silently into the apartment Lucky immediately retreated into a far corner and lay with her back to the wall.  I spent the next 30 minutes in silence... trying various techniques to build trust.  Food wasn't working.


Eventually Lucky started approaching me... I remained still and seemingly unaware, but she still wasn't sure of me and her guard was up.  She was flashing her teeth, she was barking and she was attempting to look scary.  Sensing her tactics I remained calm, motionless and fearless.  This earned me even more trust.  When her nose touched my jeans I knew that I had a chance at rehabbing her.

Fast forward only a few minutes and I had her leashed and we were trotting around the apartment.... then we trotted down the stairs... All of a sudden we’re doing wind sprints down a back alley in China Town.

My goal was to burn off a ton of Lucky’s energy as quickly as possible to take her edge off (poor girl hadn’t had a walk in years).  Thankfully for me she could barely take a fourth sprint... both of us slowly walked back to the apartment to meet her owner.

The rest of the session played out smoothly... it ended with her owner successfully leashing her, walking her up and down the stairs of his apartment multiple times, and taking her for a nice walk.

I’m so grateful that I didn’t apply my prejudice to this case before taking it on.  Any time you have an opportunity to meet a ‘master’ in his art, I highly encourage it.  His grace and his attentiveness to the detail in the present moment were unlike anything I have ever witnessed.  This allowed him to observe my dog handling methods and pick up on the nuances of what was truly happening.  Most impressive, however, was his humility and gratitude.

Dogs are a very cool species... they’re only capable of living in the present.  I truly think that my client’s open mind and exceptional ability to adapt to the present moment was Lucky’s saving grace.

Fin's itchy brown paws

Fin is an 18 month old Australian Doodle with a beautiful silver coat.  In the spring it was obvious that his paws were itching him... he licked them excessively and his beautiful silver hair was starting to turn brown around the tops of his feet.  Additionally, his coat was turning dull and he was a little bit chunkier than he could have been. 

Fin's dad suspected it was related to his store bought food after an inquiry with the vet.  He learned that 'food allergies'  can cause this... that it's common for dog's to have extreme sensitivities to the synthetics and preservatives which come in abundance in all store bought dog food (yes... all of it)...especially the cheap stuff (which can last well over a year and still be consumed... the only human food that comes to my mind that can do this is twinkies.)

I recommended that Fin try Carna4.  It's not cheap, but that's because it's filled with the same quality of nutrition as a raw diet, and it's slightly cheaper than going raw or cooking for your dog.  It's very hard to find in Toronto, and I only knew about it because the marketing team at Carna4 found Maydel on twitter and sent her a demo bag (isn't that a little hilarious).  I tried to continue buying it for her but I couldn't find a store that carried it in stock.

The benefits of Carna4 on Fin have been amazing.  In only a few months, he's already leaner, he's happier, he doesn't lick his feet anymore and the silver colour has come back even better, brither and shinier than it's ever been.  Oh yeah, and his poops are amazing.  Fin's dad is extremely happy with the results and this has inspired me to share this story and to stock it in our small retail boutique in the Shloof room.  Pre-order it online and we'll give you a 13% discount and have it ready at the store for your next visit.

By the way, Fin's dad isn't the only one giving Carna4 rave reviews.  Here's a more objective review (it's still outstanding) taken from dogtipper.