2023 Wrap up!
Thank you all so much for another year of The Hiker Pup Academy!
I struggle with this time of the year knowing I will have to say goodbye to some of my cadets who feel ready to fly solo on your dog training adventures. I hope that you all have enjoyed the year’s program! I know I have really enjoyed following your progress. Please know even if you are not choosing to return that I am always in your corner and if you need me, reach out. Either by email dawn@thehikerpup.com or message me on IG, (be sure to let me know you were in the Academy).
Past students are always on my list to be able to schedule one on one zoom calls even if you don’t sign back up. Email me Dawn@thehikerpup.com and I can send you a scheduling link and those are $75 per 30 minutes.
Obvilously I want you all to come back since I love working with you all, so please never feel like that’s weird, stay as long as you like 🙂 And PLEASE do not feel bad or be embarrassed if you feel like you didn’t take advantage of the program like you wanted to. Life happens and it is not always easy to stay with it. I will never judge you for that whether you come back again or not!
There are some changes coming! All I hope for the better. But one big change that’s to make my life a lot easier is moving forward the programs will be on an annual subscription or monthly subscription plan, which means moving forward, at the end of next year’s program if you don ‘t rejoin you will have to cancel or your subscritption will automatically renew. This is so I no longer have to build new websites each year and since this update is taking SO MUCH work I don’t want to have to do that each year and instead can focus on creating MORE content. The website is going to be SO MUCH EASIER for you to navigate the courses! Each course will have main overviews where you can pick and choose what subject you want to dive into, or you can just start from the beginning and it will keep track of what you have done as each lesson has an option to hit a “completed” button so you know what you’ve already worked on. If you run the courses in order it will just keep bringing you to the next lesson as you finish. I’ve added a MORE exercises, PDFs and resources to the Reactive Dog Class.
Easier Navigation!
Each Course is grouped by subject to make it easy to find what you are looking for! And the website can track what you have already worked on if you click the “completed” button so you will always know where you left off.
More clearly defined exercises
Complete with Video demos and/or easy to follow written instructions, downloadable PDFS and additional resources.
What’s not changing:
Prices. Even though my costs associated with running the website have gone up pretty substantially I am choosing not to pass that along and hope instead that I can get enough folks interested in the Academy to keep myself gainfully employed enough to still make a decent living. We will still have live zoom classes, reactivity support groups and a trainers mentoring group if there is enough interest in that.
If you plan to return for 2024:
All you need to do is either register again between Feb 1st- 18th
If you have any questions feel free to email, message me or post on FB.
If you have enjoyed the experience and you want to help me out:
Please share on your socials about your experience!
The more folks who join up each year the more resources I have to be able to keep making great content to keep offering!
The more folks that join up the more fun the live group zoom classes!
Email or message me a testimonial I can share.
Tag me on IG posts and stories so I can share them (I can only share if your account is public so if you tag me and I don’t share it that’s why, you can still share with your friends 🙂).
The Final Countdown
We have one month left before
the next program year launches.
I wanted to take a minute to give a few heads up.
First of all, I will be taking next week off for a little staycation so if you post or ask questions know it might take me a little bit to get back to you as I plan to completely unplug for the week. I’m taking the week off, as January is going to be a very busy month as we continue together and I will be completely updating the website and building next year’s content which includes some pretty big website overhauls.
They promise me it won’t interrupt the current program, but we all know it seems inevitable that updating the site will likely result in lots of hiccups for me to sort out, so if something suddenly stops working or disappears do know I am working on it and definitely let me know if you discover something broken.
I know that some of you might want to upgrade to the Bark Commanders program for next year, if you can drop me a note Email Dawn to let me know if you want to upgrade next year. I generally have enough spots for those wishing to upgrade, however if I do reach the limit I will put folks on a waitlist and go with the order I get the requests to upgrade.
Also, if you enjoyed the program and want to write a little testimonial about your experience I definitely appreciate that.
We are not done yet!
January still has foundation zoom classes, trainer mentoring group, reactivity support group, Q&A’s and a webinar, so be sure to RSVP so you don’t miss out!
Holiday Gathering
Did you have fun with the Trickmas Zoom?
This next weekend we will continue the festive fun with some holiday inspired games!
NEXT SATURDAY ZOOM ACTIVITIES:
Gift box scentwork search!
Before class wrap 2-4 boxes like presents, and then wrap another box that has your dog’s favorite treats and/or a favorite toy and we will all see if our dogs can find that box! Or you can do one box with a favorite toy and one with treats and see which they choose first. Have a pup that does Nosework? Wrap one box with their scent source inside and see if they can find it among the other wrapped gifts!
DIY crafts for dogs.
Make your dogs their own Christmas Crackers. Save up your empty TP cardboard rolls, and have some treats & wrapping paper & ribbon ready (a great use for those small bits of leftover paper).
I’ll also share how to make your own Paw Print Ornaments.
Ugly Sweater switch!
Have two ugly Christmas sweaters (jumpers)? We will see who can swap sweaters with their dogs the fastest (no traumatizing dogs allowed 😉)
Dog cookie recipe swap!
Have a favorite recipe for making dog treats? Let’s all share our favorites.
This is my favorite recipe: Allrecipes dog treats
Festive Tricks & indoor fun
This Saturday don’t miss the Trickmas zoom!
WE WILL BE WORKING ON FUN TRICKS YOU CAN USE TO GET CUTE HOLIDAY PHOTOS COOPERATIVELY!
What to have ready:
treats
toy
box, ideal height is your dog’s chest height when they are laying down
small folded towel (to place on box while teaching chin rest)
dog safe ornament, or an item you can use as one (ball on a string, etc)
headband, scarf or hat
Did you miss last week’s Indoor Games Class?
Check out the recording if you are looking for some ideas for entertaining your dog inside on those dark cold evenings!
Hope to see you Saturday!
Time: Dec 9, 2023 08:30 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83222883914?pwd=cRZic9ADPR76tihuVZjgmtuaGOWS8C.1
Meeting ID: 832 2288 3914
Passcode: 192195
Holiday Plans?
The holiday season is upon us!
Do you have a plan to help your dogs through it?
Did you know the holiday season is a VERY busy time for Veterinarians? Why?
Dogs getting into the trash on Thanksgiving/Christmas and eating cooked bones, foil, strings that were used to hold meat together and so on, leading to obstructions or illness
Dogs stealing food unsafe for them to eat (onions, chocolate, xylitol, etc)
Dogs with pancreatitis from being fed too much fat
Dogs with Intestinal issues from eating rich foods they are not used to that you or your guests feed them, or they steal from counters, tables, etc.
Dogs getting loose when guests leave doors open long enough for dogs to slip out then getting injured
Dogs getting into fights with each other over high value food
Dogs getting into fights with visiting dogs
In addition to medical issues as a training professional I see a big uptake in behavioral issues during the holidays, why?
The holidays are OFTEN when STRANGER DANGER starts for young dogs!!! The sudden uptake of strangers coming into their homes, often at night, and as we all know often family members are the worst at listening to us when we ask them to leave the dog alone that is worried. I cannot tell you how many times I hear “It all started when my brother (uncle, sister, etc) started laughing and chasing him when he barked at them, because they thought it was funny”. I give you permission to tackle your relatives chasing your puppies ;)
Counter surfing is often first learned during holidays when people without dogs are in your home and don’t know not to leave salami on the coffee table and walk away, or there are just so many people and so much food you don’t see them going for it.
Early dark nights, bad weather can combine to lead to less exercise for your dog, coupled with you leaving for holiday parties can lead to destructive behaviors when they get bored and lonely.
More knocks on the door from Amazon/parcel deliveries increasing trigger stacking dogs.
Having to deal with visiting animals your dog may not get along with, or on the flip side they do, but get over aroused and struggle with manners being excited by their playmate.
PLAN FOR THESE POTENTIAL ISSUES AND YOU CAN AVOID THESE COMMON ISSUES AND HAVE AN ENJOYABLE HOLIDAY SEASON WITH YOUR DOG
Have baby gates, crates or pens ready during meal times if your dog doesn’t know how to “place” during holiday meals to keep them away from the table
Take your dogs for decompression walks before and after gatherings
Prepare dog safe food toys and puzzles for them to enjoy during meals
Put a leash by the door to help keep your dog inside during arrivals (which also helps you work on greeting behaviors (or use a baby gate to keep them out of the room people arrive in and let the dogs in the room after everyone is inside
Have dog safe treats your guests can give your dogs so they don’t give them things they should not eat (this also helps prevent stranger danger by having treats people who your pup is worried about can toss to them) Give them a behavior to reinforce and have them train your dogs for you ;)
Have time out spots away from all the activity available if your pup is overwhelmed
Put signs on your door asking delivery drivers not to knock (put out some candy for them by the sign as R+ works on people too)
Introduce visiting dogs and your dogs on a paralell walk or neutral space and use management around food and toys to prevent squabbles.
Have a stranger danger pup? You can do the above paralell walks with people as well, if your dog likes to play, play triangle fetch having visitors toss toys, dog brings toy to you, you give toy back to the person to throw again. Have DO NOT PET zones and clear instructions on when and if someone should interact with your dog. Do NOT give the go ahead until you see your dog inviting interaction (remember investigation is not greeting, wait for happy loose bodies and solicting affection behaviors)
Keep ALL unsafe foods well out of reach NO MATTER how good they have always been about it!!!
Put your trash up, outside, in a room the dog cannot access or with a locking lid.
Homework:
WRITE A GRATITUDE LIST ABOUT YOUR DOG! SHARE IT WITH ME ON THE FACEBOOK GROUP.
Daylight Savings time = more indoor training time
OK, DAYLIGHT SAVINGS TIME IS HERE, WHICH FOR US DOG OWNERS MEANS LESS LIGHT AFTER WORK TO TAKE OUR DOGS FOR WALKS.
This is a great time of year to capitalize on using dog training as a way to mentally enrich and exercise your dogs. Whether it’s joining an in person indoor dog training class or diving into the Academy training modules this is a good time to have ways to entertain your dog indoors. Especially if you have a puppy or adolescent dog!
Keep an eye on the calendar later this week as I will be adding in more weekday evening group classes for those looking to take advantage of this time to catch up on training.
MY FAVORITE INDOOR ACTIVITIES:
Scent work
Fit Dog
Tricks
Food puzzles/snuffle mats
DOG REACTIVITY IN LOW LIGHT
The change of weather and time can carry with it pros and cons when it comes to living with reactive dogs, here are some things to keep in mind:
many dogs are more reactive at night because they can often hear things but not see them to know whether it is a trigger or not, this is very unsettling for many dogs.
if it is raining, windy or there is traffic noise triggers can get very close before the dog sees them and this can be very hard for reactive dogs as they see fewer triggers at that safe boundary and are only experiencing them inside their threshold.
There is often more wildlife activity in the dark which we now find ourselves walking in, so our dogs might be smelling or hearing animals we cannot leading to more triggered prey drive or anxiety that we are not able to predict or see what they are responding to.
Sound travels differently in cold, and often there is less overall noise so trigger sounds are easier to hear. So normally your dog might not hear those footsteps of someone walking, as the noises of birds singing, cars and so on as they get drowned out by all the other noises that now they hear since it is the only sound present.
If your dog has poor eyesight the change of light can make it much harder for them to recognize what they are looking at.
We can feel more vulnerable and anxious in the dark, ourselves worrying more about who is out and about around us.
BUT…..
less people can also mean less triggers to react to, you may find walking in the dark to be easier for many reactive dogs as suddenly most of their triggers disappear.
many people avoid bad weather, so you can often enjoy long walks and hikes in the rain without seeing anyone at all.
fewer dogs are out in yards waiting to bark at you as you walk by, so many of those yards that you dread walking by are often free of barking dogs during the winter evenings or early mornings.
closed windows and doors can lower the overall trigger stacking your dog might experience during the warmer months when you keep the windows open.
*BE SURE YOU WEAR PROPER GEAR SO PEOPLE CAN SEE YOU AND YOUR DOG AT NIGHT! REFLECTIVE VESTS, HEADLAMPS, LIGHTS, BE SURE YOU ARE VISIBLE TO OTHERS!!
Help your animals adjust to the new time gradually! If you already feed on a sliding scale time wise this time of year is easier for them. If they always eat at the same time each day they may struggle when their meals are suddenly an hour later. So adjust the meal times spread out over the first week if you are a scheduled feeder.
Halloween
DO YOU HAVE A NEW PUPPY OR REACTIVE DOG?
ARE YOU READY FOR HALLOWEEN???
Halloween can be a very triggering event for dogs if you get a lot of trick or treaters where you live! Do you have a plan for how to help your dogs? Here are a few pointers to help get you through the evening depending on what your goals are and who your dog is.
REACTIVE DOG MANAGEMENT:
Use baby gates or an exercise pen to keep your dogs away from the front door so they don’t have to see the little monsters
Have a designated door answerer and a dog helper, the dog helper can feed treats and help the dog while the other person interacts with the kids
You can tuck your reactive dog in another room/crate with a chewy well away from the door, with some white noise/music on during the busy time
consider putting out a sign that says “please do not knock on the door” and place by a bowl of candy in front of your house for self service so no one needs to approach the front door
don’t participate, turn off your lights, close the blinds and go watch a scary movie
USE AS A TRAINING OPPORTUNITY:
Have a “place” ready, have a bucket of candy for handing out, a leash, and a container of dog treats handy so each time someone comes to the door you get the opportunity to work on “place” with someone at the door! This works best if you have two people so you can work on place while they answer the door and hand out candy.
You know your dog best and what their level of anxiety about strangers at the door are. If they are the over excited social types, then Halloween can be training gold for getting a lot of opportunity to work on place behavior with people at the door!!! If your dog is reactive and has stranger danger Halloween can be very triggering and you want to see how you can help them cope best, and usually management keeping them away from the constant door traffic is best especially early on in their training.
This is a time young puppies not yet sure about strangers can get worried, so protect them from that by keeping them safely tucked inside. This is a time excited happy puppies can dash out of open doors while you are distracted, so if keeping them a part of the activity be sure to have them leashed. Be aware children can do very unexpected things when hopped up on candy, like activiely trying to scare your puppy, so keep those pups safe and supervise!
If you are dressing your dog up, be aware of their stress levels, did you get them used to the costume gradually? Did you use cooperative care? Keep in mind being in a costume can be stressful and add to your trigger stacking ladder, so a dog might be more apt to be stressed by other things if they are stressed wearing a costume, so stay aware of what they are telling you with their body language especially if having them around others.
Fall Fever
You may know spring fever is a thing for dogs, but did you know fall fever is a thing?
There are many environmental changes that come with the season changing and these can greatly affect our dogs behavior and habits!
cooler weather can increase energy levels! When it’s hot outside many dog’s energy levels drop, only to return with full gusto when those cool mornings and evenings return!
wild animal activity changes with the seasons. Migratory patterns can bring different animals into your area, often animals head deeper into the forests and up into the wilder areas during the summer when food is abundant for them, and they return back into areas where more people are during the winter. We often see more deer, coyotes, mountain lions and bears as well as flocks of birds passing through during these transition times in our valley.
it gets quieter and that makes noises stand out. When migratory birds head out and less people are outside in the darker cooler mornings it gets quieter, so your reactive dog is going to more easily hear that car in the distance.
we can get busier. Shorter days, holiday activities, school functions, etc. We have less time to get our dogs out and this can lead to less exercise overall. I don’t know about you, but when it’s dark out at 7pm I am ready to crawl into bed vs summer when that’s when I want to be out when it’s cooler.
Older animals can struggle with the changing seasons. Arthristis can increase with the colder weather and less movement. Less light can make seeing harder for aging animals with aging eyes and ears leading to more anxiousness at night.
Fall is a great time to as I talked about last week, revist training games inside!
Put that energy to work for you by tring new things, maybe try a scent work or agility class?
Stock up your freezer with food toys to give your dog a way to use up some extra energy.
Just like spring fever, fall fever will pass, they will settle into the new routines and get used to the changes. If your dog is affected by the changes up your supervision/management so they don’t develop new habits or get trigger stacked. Older pets might need help like adjusting your schedule to walk at more comfortable times for them, or they might need some pain meds to help with arthritis flares. Putting on white noise so your dog is not listening to animal activity outside in the evening.
Fall
I find fall to be a wonderful time to reset,
to analyze my goals and progress.
Not as a way to feel guilty or bad about what I have not done, but rather to adjust and see what things I want to spend the fall & winter working on. I don’t know about others but I find the shorter daylight hours during the fall and winter a time when I have more time at home to do projects as I tend to stay out a lot more when it’s light out. So those evenings when it’s dark at 5pm I find myself playing more indoor training games with my dogs, so this is the time I like to decide when my focus will be during these months. Where as summer tends to just be working with whatever the environment and schedule throws our way.
SO I WILL SHARE A FEW OF MY PERSONAL GOALS AND THINKING FOR THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT THAT PROCESS CAN LOOK LIKE.
I feel like his agility and scent work are pretty well on their way so I won’t keep weaving every day or doing jump drills at home and agility will go to a once a week training schedule when I go to the arena for the days I teach.
His scent work I will also dial back to a once a week practice.
My goal is to finish his novice agility and scent work titles before the end of the year.
I have one conformation show scheduled in November, October and November we will work on getting all of his health clearances done to see if we will continue showing in that or not. So I will not be putting in a lot of energy training or working on that until I know those answers.
Obedience and tricks took a back burner as I worked on agility and scent work this past year, so with those things settled in I will now shift back to those since they are great indoor activities.
I want to finish his trick performer title
I want to get him ready for obedience and rally competitions this spring
I would like to get him therapy dog certified
His cooperative care is very dialed in, but I want to play around a bit more with some things just for the training/teaching perspective for myself.
So my main takeaway is that I will shift from so much time spent on agility and scent work to working on more obedience and tricks.
FALL IS A GREAT TIME:
to set some fun trick training goals
to define what cues need more work that are easily worked on at home
for reactive dogs often it means less people outside and less stressful walks
however it can also mean seeing more things in the dark which can be triggering
What goals do you have? What things do you feel you have progressed with and what needs more work? How can you take advantage of more time inside? What modules do you want to dive into?
Scent Work
Next week I have it scheduled for us to start some
Scent Work Classes!
Currently we only have 2 people signed up so be sure to RSVP if you are interested so we have enough folks to have class! The first class we are going to talk about the basics, imprinting scent, setting up searches and starting basic container searches.
If you are not interested in competition scent work you can participate in the class and you can use treats and toys for their searches! If you are interested in competition we are going to begin with birch essential oil. It is important that when using essential oils we are only using very small amounts and the scent source is inside something that keeps the dog from having direct contact with the oil as if ingested it can cause illness. So the source we use is generally 1/2 a cotton swab with no more than a drop of oil on it, in fact you can also just scent one swab with oil in a glass jar with other cotton swabs and that cotton will absorb the odor. Things you can use to contain your swabs: tins with holes, canning jars with holes in the lids, metal tea strainer balls, closed inside a box your dog cannot open.
If you are interested in competition style searching you might want to collect 4-6 of the same size box. I get packages of mailing boxes at Staples (stationary office supply store) which work great. Or you can often find a collection of the same sized boxes as grocery stores if they save boxes for recycling. For imprinting exercises I like to use a metal colander, a lid for a jar, and if you have scent work tins, an empty one to start.
Even if you are not interested in competition scent work is SO GOOD to help anxious & reactive dogs, as well as all dogs! It helps to decompress dogs that are feeling trigger stacked, intense sniffing has be shown to greatly lower dog’s heart rates and can help build confidence for dogs that struggle with environmental anxieties. It’s also a great activity for dogs inside during those longer darker days of winter, or say, when you are stuck in the house for weeks with wildfire smoke or dangerously high temps.
Emergency Preparedness
Nobody wants to think about the possibility of a natural disaster or major weather event suddenly striking your home, but speaking from experience I know that it can happen without warning and within minutes you may find yourself needing to flee your home. Though you may think you do not live in a place where fires can occur, look around the world, they are happening in places that have never faced wildfires. And it is not only fires that can happen, floods, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes and so on are happening more and more and in new places.
Nowhere is free of risk of all things, especially in our changing climate where things keep becoming more extreme. It’s hard to think about without just getting majorly depressed and shut down, so this post is not about doing that, but rather to prompt you to ask yourself am I prepared? Do we have ready what we need? Do we have a plan on what we take and where we go?
The devastation in Maui is horrific and once again we hear: “we had no warning" “there were no sirens, no officials telling us to go”,” no one to help us leave”, “no officials telling us where to go or what to do”. I know I had this faith before our fire three years ago that living in a town we were safe and there would of course be first responders telling us to leave, telling us where to go. But that’s not always the case, that’s not what happens in a massive event, because those people are at the front lines of the fire doing their best to help, they are not directing traffic, patrolling neighborhoods telling you to go, they are fighting to save who and what they can in the direct path of the event if they can. So all that to say, in a massive natural event it is up to you and only you to know when to leave, where to go and how to get there. And as dog caretakers it is on us to know how to get our pets to safety and be prepared to be able to do that.
I am attaching the checklists I made and shared when we had a live zoom about this.
MY BIGGEST POINTS I WANT YOU TO THINK ABOUT:
If you have pets and kids GO EARLY, you can always come back if it was unnecessary to go, but don’t get stuck in the back of the traffic jam trying to leave.
Know where you will go, and have multiple options incase you cannot get to one of them. We have evacuation meet up spots to our north, west & south in the event we need to go and are not together during the evacuation.
Connect to some neighbors and have a plan incase you are not able to get home, can someone get your pets for you and bring them to safety?
Use those lists in the PDF to plan what you will bring, it is VERY hard to think during an event when you mind goes into fight or flight, so plan those things ahead of time so you can just follow a list.
Always keep on hand at least a week’s pet food supply and a gallon of water per pet.
Try to keep your car’s gas tank above 1/2 a tank, especially if you live somewhere that has a disaster season, keep your cars ready to go.
Novice Rally 1
Rally Novice Resources
For those of you enjoying the Rally obedience classes I’ve linked some resources for you!
The first link you will find the recorded zoom rally classes, the class demo videos as well as a video that has all of the demos combined.
The second link will take you to the AKC website where you can download a list of all of the signs and the descriptions of how they should be performed.
The third link is to printable PDFs of all the signs if you want to print them out for setting up your own rally courses.
For those of you not familiar with Rally, it is a fun way to mix up your foundation training skills to make it more fun and interesting to work on those foundation skills. There are more classes on the schedule if you want to jump in and join us!
Direction and goals
Journals
Are you still keeping a training journal? One of the reasons why I love my training journal is the ability to go back and see what my goals were and where we were at the start of the year. If I think using my normal memory and brain, it feels like I haven’t met my goals. Because it is easy to be focused on what we have not yet done. But in looking at all those boxes I put in of small goals, I have been able to check so many of them off the list! Like, I have not yet gotten any Agility, obedience, scent work or Rally obedience titles so that whole page is empty an untouched like it was at the start of the year. However, every skill in the subcategories under Rally, Obedience and Novice agility is checked off. Most of the ones under scent work and agility are too. So we are so close, even though that opening page makes it look like we haven’t gotten anywhere.
Another example of that for others might be: say reactivity is your focus, maybe that reactivity box is still left unchecked, but how many other little boxes of previous impossible triggers have you been able to check off? We tend to focus on the negative, on what we still struggle with, and that makes sense because struggle is no fun. But sometimes we need to step back and look at how far we have come. And your own words in a journal is often far more helpful than trusting the memories in your head that are influenced by the negative feelings from your last bad experience.
As I look at my list I see a whole area that is untouched, working on his next trick title. Like I have not made a single step forward in it. And I could beat myself up over that. But as I assess it with total honesty I see the reason is because ultimately it just isn’t an important thing to focus on. I don’t actually care about doing that currently and I’ve enjoyed other things I did not expect enjoying (like Fastcat). I’m sure at some point I might want to get back to that as the other training settles out.
Often progress is looking at what you thought you wanted and realizing you actually didn't need that, letting go of that struggle and just enjoying your time with your dog for exactly who they are in this moment. So many times when I find myself in a struggle, I step away and give it a break, then when I come back at it with fresh eyes if I decide I actually still do want to work on that, I am able to make better progress after we both enjoyed the break of not being so stuck in the struggle.
And sometimes I look at things on that list and I have not made the progress I wanted to, so I evaluate if I can kick myself into gear about it. That happened with my weave pole training. I just decided I needed to dig in and get it done, so I started working on it every single day, and wouldn’t you know it, two weeks later we were there. Many things on my list I realized I was just forgetting to work on, So I made a training calendar like you see me posting for you guys, and then I put it in my google calendar with a reminder to do it. So each morning or evening I get a little prompt: scent work? Rally? Weaves? Many days that is the only thing that reminds me and I pop out real quick and spend 5-10 minutes on that thing that I would have otherwise just not done.
These are all specific things since I am working towards specific competition goals, but you can easily swap out weave poles for recall practice, scent work for loose leash walking, etc. More than half the battle is remembering to make the time to do something. Committing is the other half. So evaluate those things on your list, do they still really matter to you? If so, how can you motivate yourself to work on them? If they are not, let them go and free that mental space up for other things. You don’t have to tackle everything on that list, you will be surprised how just digging in on one goal helps the others! By putting that daily practice on the weaves in play that got me working every day, now that he has those weave poles, I now use that same time to work on other skills. It reminded me how we BOTH love that time of day.
Live Zoom Rally Class tomorrow
For Rally you don’t have to any specific training competition goals. Rally obedience is basically a sport of foundation training behaviors practiced in a pattern that changes each competition. So it is a great way to work on foundation skills like: heeling, stays, sits, downs, come, and so on. See the events calendar for the zoom link!
Weekly training challenge - LLW
Loose Leash Walking Challenge
WHERE/WHEN CAN YOU FOCUS?
To work on loose leash walking YOU have to be as focused as you expect your dog to be, so put the phone away, stop daydreaming and get connected! One of the reasons why LLW is so challenging is because it is so hard to stay focused in all the moments you have your dog on a leash. So for this week I challenge you to find two spots in your day, each day, where you can focus on that LLW! This week I am going to concentrate on keeping Leo’s leash loose: walking to the car from my front door and for the last 1/4 mile of our daily walks.
HERE ARE SOME LOOSE LEASH WALKING TIPS:
Have a fixed length leash, it is hard for a dog to learn where leash tension will occur if that distance is constantly changing! So pick the length you will give your dog and be consistent about that.
Consider using a longer leash, sometimes simply changing from a 4ft leash to a 8ft leash can alleviate a lot of leash tension. (be aware of local leash laws, many state the max length of leash)
Decide before you go how you will respond to leash tension: are you going to stop? Turn around? Mark the tension and reinforce behind you?
Focus on catching them being correct and reinforce them for staying connected and engaged with you.
Don’t make leash walks your dog’s only exercise! Use play, treat scatters, food puzzles, trick/fit dog training, etc to burn off energy so they are not unexercised before you walk.
Meet their needs. This relates to the previous tip, if your dog gets little exercise or little time to explore when they walk they are going to NEED to explore and move MORE, so find other ways to meet their needs so they are able to walk calmly with you. (use sniff spots, fenced fields, long line sniffaries, swimming, etc to give them time to move their bodies and use their noses!
weekly training challenge- recalls
Recalls!
SNEAK THAT RECALL TRAINING INTO YOUR DAY!
Is there something that always brings your dog running? Maybe opening the cookie jar, opening the closet door where their leashes hang, picking up their food bowl. The moment before you do each of these things give your dog a clear recall cue, and then reinforce by doing the thing that always brings them running. It’s like free recall training.
First thing in the morning prepare a little baggie of treats, if you feed kibble just sneak away a 1/4 cup of that kibble, if you feed raw get some freeze dried raw toppers to use. Stash the baggie somewhere your dog cannot reach it but you can easily grab it (up on a shelf, in a pocket, etc). Then without reaching for the baggie, call your dog, when they look at you mark with your “yes” and race to the baggie and give your dog some. Only have the baggie on you if you are outside.
Use moments you move about to practice, so taking the laundry to the washer? Have your dog sit and wait, walk to the laundry room, then call them to you and reinforce. Bringing groceries in? Have your dog wait on their place set the groceries down, then call the dogs to you and reward. When using situations where you have them wait, be sure to also practice that game without recalling, instead going back to them to reward.
Casual recalls. Pick things your dog loves and while doing nothing, call your dog over and then do that thing. Leo loves butt scritches so when I’m watching TV sometimes I call him over just to give him love. Nick loves to play, so sometimes I call him over and then send him to get me a toy. Use recalls as a bid for affection/engagement not just to manage and control your dog.
Reinforce the moments they come to you on their own! If running to you always results in you ignoring them, telling them to stay off, etc then coming to us becomes less safe. Often enthusiasm is paired with things like jumping on you, knocking into you, mouthing you, biting your shoes, so we end up reprimanding our puppies for being happy to run to see us. If your puppy is enthusiastic rather than correcting them for that, give it a place to go. Help them stay low by dropping a treat at your feet or handing them a toy. Help them stay off by using a treat or toy to help them sit when they reach you. Reinforce the recall but deflect the energy by tossing a toy for them to go get, or scatter some kibbles. Help them be correct.
Adventure dog resources
Here are some resources from our adventure dog Q & A
The packing lists cover the things I take on adventures.
The above book has some great ideas of what else to pack in a first aid kit. For adventure dogs think about the nature of the adventure and pack accordingly. Going into the backcountry think about what you would need to have until you can get help vs car camping where you might bring more things to be able to treat simple issues. Be sure to check with your veterinarian about appropriate dosages and what you need to know about using first aid medications for your pet.
The Garmin Inreach is one of my favorite pieces of adventure dog gear! Being able to text via GPS no matter where you are can make a big difference. I know backpackers who have used it to arrange emergency meet ups with someone to get their dogs to a vet when things happened on the trail and it was closer for them to hike out to a road than hike back to their vehicle at the trailhead.
Summer Training Challenge
Since summer is a hard time to stay on track with your dog training here are some easy fast fun ideas for you to keep training!
Stay Training Challenge:
find 30-60 seconds per day this week to sneak in some stay training. Here are some ideas:
While you brush your teeth
While you wait for your coffee to brew
While you tie your shoes
While you open the door
While you put their leash on
While you make the bed
While you change the laundry from the washer to dryer
Here are some tips to make it easier to sneak in that training:
Place little air tight containers with treats stashed around the house so when you are doing one of these things you have treats nearby
Prepare a baggie of treats and stuff it in your pocket for when you are ready to train
Put a reminder in your phone to practice
Tag a reward for yourself to completing the task
Summer Adventures
IT’S THE LAST WEEK OF THE JUNE TRAINING CHALLENGE, HAVE YOU STUCK WITH IT?
If so, send me an email with the details of the training plan you followed, how it felt staying with a plan for a month and what progress you made or didn’t make with your dog. If you loved it and want to keep the momentum going let me know and I can help you plan a challenge for July too!
ARE YOU READY FOR THE 4TH OF JULY?
Be sure you read the last post for tips on preparing your dogs for the fireworks. Even if your dog has traditionally been fine do know that dogs can develop sound sensitivities later in life.
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUMMER PLANS OF NEW THINGS TO TRY WITH YOUR DOG?
Maybe take them camping for the first time? Try paddleboarding? Backpacking? Adventures with dogs can be so fun and fulfilling and also can be stressful and challenging.
This Saturday 8am pacific time join a live Q & A ask all your questions about helping your dog be the best adventure dog they can be.
Topic: Live Q & A
Time: Jul 1, 2023 08:00 AM Pacific Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/86416701966?pwd=UlpJVjMrMnhKUlJpQlNGZngxN0t2Zz09
Meeting ID: 864 1670 1966
Passcode: 455274
Summer Time Fun
I hope you are all enjoying the June Training Challenge!
I am loving seeing what you are all getting up to.
Summer is often a hard time for people to stick with training classes as the pull to get outside and enjoy the world pushes training down the priority list. So each year to keep things fun I offer the Hiker Pup Academy Photo Scavenger Hunt. Capture photos of your dog from things on the list and post them to the FB group, or your IG account and tag #thehikerpupacademy @thehikerpup so I get to see your photos.
The rules are simple, be kind and encouraging to your dog, so no unhappy dogs just so you can get the shot. Be respectful to the environment and wildlife, tread lightly as you take those photos. You have all summer to work on the list.
There is a list for reactive dogs to give you some ideas of things you could pursue adventuring with them, you do not have to get photos of everything on the reactive dog hunt, just check off that box as things happen.
Traveling with your dog? Did you see the blog post on the main Hiker Pup Blog with tips and suggestions? Check it out . The Hiker Pup Blog
This week’s zoom class is tomorrow morning (Tuesday 8am pacific time)
The subject is pattern games. We will work on a series of pattern games that can help you get better focus with your dogs. The class will be offered again later in the month on the weekend if you cannot make tomorrow morning 🙂
4th of July: have you prepared your dog’s for the possibility of firework sounds yet?
If you have a puppy and this will be their first 4th of July in the US have you been working the sound desensitizing playlists? If not, start NOW. Prevention is so much easier than fixing it when it becomes a problem.
4th of July to do list:
work a sound desensitizing program (see tips below)
talk to your vet NOW about having some meds at home incase they are struggling- (make sure they give you anxiety meds not just a sedative ) Even if you think your dog will be ok, you don’t want to find yourself with a completely panicked dog with no way to help them at 10pm on a holiday.
do NOT leave your dogs home alone, especially their first 4th. If you have to leave them: put them in a safe secure room without windows to the outside (I have assisted suturing dogs up that have jumped through glass windows during a panic) with white noise on. If you know your dog is afraid of loud noises, just don’t leave them alone, they need you.
if your dog is very sensitive consider renting a cabin or going camping where perhaps fireworks are not allowed if that is an option for you.
load up your freezer with stuffed Kongs, get a snuffle mat and/or stock up on chews.
make time in the early part of the day to get your dog some good exercise!
Sound desensitizing:
The key to desensitizing is that the volume of the noise needs to be so low at the start you are not even sure if the dog hears it. If your dog is hearing the sound and responding with stress, then continuing can actually sensitize them instead of desensitize them. Playing noises at loud volumes for a long time is flooding, not desensitizing. And we do not want to approach treating sound anxiety like that as you can make things worse rather than better. A prevention program can move a lot faster than a program for a dog that is already exhibiting anxiety to noises. So the steps will be the same, but with a prevention program with a puppy with no previous issues you can often work a program in just a couple weeks. With an already anxious dog it can take many months.
STEP 1
go to the sound playlist I’ve collected and find the fireworks recordings (or any other sound you might be needing to work on)
play the recording on the lowest volume setting on your: phone, tv, computer, stereo, etc. (if using your phone or computer, set them up on a shelf or counter so it is not right in the dog’s view)
do something fun with your dog: play with them, train fun stuff, give them snuffle mats, chews, etc.
timing matters: start the sounds and then do the fun stuff, not the other way around
if your dog responds at all- even if they do not look worried, see if you can move the sound further away (or move the dog) so the sound is further away and see if they stop responding at all.
if the dog is not responding to the noises, continue your fun stuff for 5-10 minutes, then you’re done.
If your dog showed NO response to the noise, then move to step 2, if they did respond repeat step 1 with your sound source on lowest setting further away from the dog.
STEP 2
as above, but click up the volume on click, and repeat the fun stuff for 5-10 minutes
To continue keep at each session clicking the volume up only 1 click as long as the dog showed NO responses during the previous session. Keep sessions 5-10 minutes long. The idea is the sound is back ground noise, so faint to begin the dog doesn’t notice it, and then we slowly bring the noise more into the scene, but with keeping the dog engaged in something and not noticing.
Move the source of the sound around: sometimes on your phone, sometimes on the computer, the tv, etc. Move where you set the phone or computer so the sound is not always originating from the same spot.
**If at any point the dog shows a response to the noise as you are working, lower the volume back down, if they noticed but were not stressed you can continue, if they go stressed stop that session.
If you are doing this right, the first 2-3 sessions you might feel like you are not actually doing anything and might think the dog doesn’t hear the sound. That is perfect! Just keep going.
With a puppy or new dog with no known sound sensitivity you should be able to just keep clicking your volume up to real life levels in successive sessions with no issue. If they do start responding then you need to slow down. If you cruise through the volume levels with no issues keep doing the sessions 2-3 times a week until the 4th, that way the noises on the 4th are a normal thing for them.
For an already sound sensitive dog this is a very low slow game, do not rush it! Events will push you back, and so when they have a scary event when you work again, set the volume low again.
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS:
My dog knows the difference between the TV and real life- it’s true, they can work on that, so mix it up between your phone, computer and TV. The TV is usually the sounds your dog has already desensitized themselves to since we play it so often. So often using a phone, computer to portable speakers can help. Don’t work holding the phone in your hand, put it up high enough the dog is not seeing the phone. And even if they work out the difference, it still helps! It is more positive experiences with that type of noise.
How do I know if my dog hears it? Don’t worry about it, just keep working, with the gradually increasing volume you will know they hear it.
Can I use food if my dog won’t play? Yes, just make sure you get that timing, food happens AFTER the noise, and use the food to DO SOMETHING, reward a trick, etc- we want to move the dog’s mind into a state where they are engaged.
If your dog is already anxious and has many sounds you need to work on, work one sound at a time!
Pick the sound that most impacts their daily life. Once you get that sound up to a normal level, then add a new sound, and keep working them like that, one at a time.
After you get going on this I will give you more pointers on what to do when your dog is scared and how to address that. But for now let’s focus on our prevention!!!
June Training Challenge!!!
Need a little help getting jump started???
Need some extra motivation to keep training???
Starting June 5th, running through June 30th
Participate for a chance to win a HPA Hoodie!!!
All those who complete the challenge will be entered into a drawing to win a hoodie!!!
Download the Training Challenge Calendar or choose your own challenge
If you have other training goals you can download a blank training calendar and fill in your own training exercises
You can pick any of the plans from the “training plans” link
Check off each day as you practice (there will be 5 days of exercises per week) the daily sessions are 3-5 minutes long.
Post a weekly photo or 10-30 second video clip of you and your dog practicing on Facebook Group, or send it to me via email or Instagram message if you are not on FB. Post or email me a screenshot of your completely calendar at the end of the month
Post at the end of the challenge on FB (or email me or send me via message on Instagram) what you experienced doing the challenge
You can swap out any training sessions for ones that don’t fit your schedule, so if you can’t get outside for some recall work, do some stay work inside. Going camping? Practice some “place” in camp. Have a dog that needs decompression, substitute a food puzzle or some nose work for that day. The idea is not what you do as much as inspiring you to do something on a regular enough schedule to get yourself inspired and in the habit of training!
