Millie

This stunning young girl is around 2 years old and is waiting to find her new home. She is utterly adorable and will make someone the perfect companion.

It is such a privilege working with her.  

When she arrived in rescue she’d had no training, no manners and absolutely no idea of how big she is!  Even saying “Good girl” to her could send her from zero to 10 in seconds, running towards you and jumping up.

Consistency and calm are key for young dogs. One of the first things we teach puppies is how to be calm. We don’t use cues or “tell” them to be calm, we just reinforce calm behaviour while managing our own body language.

When I first met Millie, I observed she was stressed and over stimulated.  This is often mistaken for hyperactive and over-excitement. We see this a lot in young dogs that have not had any life skills training and have instead, been bombarded with cues to “behave”. Very often we tell dogs to “get down” when they jump up – this can be rewarding for the behaviour and add to the excitement as we become more frantic (or frustrated) about it.  

Millie was quite a stressed girl and you could clearly see the sweaty paw prints in the hall we used for training when we first met her.  This weekend, with new people, there were none. Clever girl Millie.

Traditional obedience training used to say the first thing you should teach your puppy is Sit! Thankfully things have moved on since then and we now teach life skills such as how good it feels to be calm. You can see from the image at the top how Millie clearly learned “Sit”. She offers this without being asked.  Sadly, it did nothing to “calm her down” or help her stress and overstimulation. So often, “obedience” cues are used to correct unwanted behaviour but all they do is use up the tiny bit of self-control the dog has, resulting in a delayed unwanted but more intense behaviour

Millie also pulled like a steam train on a lead when we first met her!  She had never been taught how or where to walk in relation to a person and with her size, was very difficult to manage.

Initial training concentrated on helping Millie be calm. When a dog chooses to do something it always feels so much nicer than being asked to do something. We taught Millie how nice being calm feels and how rewarding it is. We used desensitisation and counter conditioning to stimuli including sounds that could overstimulate her and she has met many students.

Mental stimulation is also key in helping dogs be calm. Dogs need around 14 hours of sleep per day (puppies need more) and quality sleep is essential. Physical exercise will not mentally tire a dog and too much exercise can often lead to dogs feeling physically stressed and overstimulated.

We can provide mental stimulation very easily at mealtimes, using interactive feeding toys instead of a bowl.  Millie also enjoys the challenge of learning something new through shaping. She also enjoys scentwork, using her amazing olfactory system.

This is Millie walking beautifully in a completely new area.

A recall is an essential skill dogs should learn too. Millie can recall even with distractions or being in a new area. Have a look at the following video clips:

Millie loves using a snuffle mat, playing impulse control games or having affection and is very food motivated! Dogs will often become very excited when in kennels when humans come into their enclosure and sit in their bed! Millie remained calm and snuggled in.

Once dogs are calm, look what can be achieved.  This is Millie, walking beautifully with someone she doesn’t really know and who has never handled her before on a walk. Her new handler manages her own body language, does not give any verbal cues and Millie just walks alongside. Fabulous work by her handler and fabulous work by Millie. We can use hand signals and our own body language to let dogs know what we would like them to do. 

Connection is ALWAYS better than control.

She is with RSPCA East Lincs. If you would like a Millie in your life please contact them on this number: 07967565367.

Breakthrough with Sienna

Those of you who have been following Sienna’s progress will remember that she had never been on a harness or lead.

We introduced a harness early on, in a very positive way and she was happy to wear it. She still reacted a little to the sound of the clips but does stand still while it is put on.

Last week we did some chin targeting for fear free handling while she wore the harness with a lead attached and some work on the weighing scales with the lead attached. She did so well we decided to move things forward.

Unfortunately, I did not manage to get videos of this but she did some chin targeting with the kennel manager while I played Vet nurse, touching her ears and gently lifting the skin on the back of her neck to mimic a vaccination. We used a different location and had another person present as well. She was amazing.

However, that is not the best news.  We put a lead on her harness and took her out into the paddock!  She adores going in the paddock and enjoys interacting with the other dogs in the next paddock. She was used to wearing her harness in the paddock but not with a lead attached and certainly not with a human holding the other end of the lead.

Amazing moment!

We gently and quietly led her down the corridor into the paddock area dropping treats down as we went. It is so important to ensure every part of the process is positive.  She still greeted all the dogs we passed as we walked.

Sienna can be a bit unsure around gate areas and the kennel manager has been working on this with her.

This first video clip shows just how important it is to be patient and to ensure the whole process is positive. You can see her licking her lips with a worried expression while she waits for me to open the gate.

We allow her time and avoid pulling her. You can see some tension on the lead which I quickly release. As soon as she begins moving we reinforce with treats.

In the following video, you can see just how relaxed and attentive she is.  She initially rejects her favourite liver treats.  Thankfully I came prepared with some other grain free ones. As soon as these are offered she walks beautifully.  Watch what happens when she pulls forward, approximately halfway through the video. She turns to see why she cannot move forward, and I immediately reward her for coming back towards me, thus loosening the lead.

This is such a HUGE moment for Sienna. We were so overjoyed with how she managed herself. When a dog has never had a lead on, finding themselves restricted can be so scary for them.  Sienna is worried about so many new things, so every step must be broken down to make them achievable for her, pairing wonderful things with each new thing.  You can see how overjoyed I am in the next video clip!!

We avoid putting any tension on the lead and allow her all the time she wants for sniffing. We should let dogs sniff anyway, but it is really important for Sienna to be able to still interact with the environment in the way she would if off lead.

Here is the last video clip. This time we allow a little tension on the lead while pairing it with good things. What a clever girl and so lovely watching her walk relaxed on lead.

More chin targeting fun with Sienna

This is our next session with Sienna.  Now she is comfortable with the chin target game we begin introducing additional aspects.

I thought it might be nice to see my wonderful view during this training.

The most amazing part of the training this week is the fact she is wearing a lead! The sight of a lead can make her flighty and panic. We leave the lead attached to the harness, trailing on the ground to get used to the weight and feel of it.

Unfortunately I “chopped off” her ears in this short video clip but she allows me to touch her ear while keeping her chin on the mat.

In the next video clip you can see she feels at ease with me touching her left ear but when I attempt to touch her right ear, her head lifts up.  Clear communication from Sienna – I am not comfortable with that.  It is essential we stop right away to build her confidence and let her know she is being listened to. She places her chin down again and I am able to touch her right ear this time. You can actually see her relax into the target area in this clip.

She can be sensitive about her collar or the harness being touched or moved around so I am introducing touch to the collar next. Again, she lifts her head so I stop immediately. As soon as she places her chin down, giving me permission to continue, I introduce the touch again and she keeps her chin down.

In the next video clip I attempt to touch her right ear again but this time she moves her head. I stop. As soon as her chin is down I repeat the action and she keeps her chin on the blanket for a sustained ear inspection. On my next attempt, she lifts her head again so I stop. It is essential we listen to what the dog is saying rather than continuing. A dog may “put up with” something but this is not fear free!

Our chin targeting game continues but this time there are two people looking around the kennels. We agreed beforehand that this would be an excellent introduction to having other people present in the room during handling – when dogs visit a veterinary clinic there are usually at least two people in the room, sometimes three if a nurse is also needed.

Sienna can be a little flighty with new people but watch the video clip below and see just how well she did. This is because she really enjoys the chin game. She looks at them, assesses the situation and then returns to the game. She even allows me to touch her collar and her ears in their presence!

In the next video clip, we introduce unseen hands and touching her mouth. Eventually, we want to be able to inspect her gums and teeth but need to take our time with this.

Up until now, I have made sure she can see my hands and what they are doing. This time, my right hand that I use to touch her, comes from out of view. You will see me pause the movement of my hand when she briefly lifts her chin to look. She then places her chin down again so I continue moving my hand towards her. I take the training back a step and avoid immediately touching her with an unseen hand – this would be too difficult as we need to work up to this.  Look how well she did!

More chin targeting with Sienna

Sitting on the weighing scales

This is our next session of fear free handling for this stunning young girl.

We begin by building duration again. She often gets distracted by the noise of the other dogs – it is a kennel environment so lots of activity at times. We do not call her or try to get her attention – it is essential that she chooses to engage.

When she gets distracted, we just simply wait for her to engage again. As time goes on, she is distracted less and less as she enjoys the session.

We begin by rewarding every time she chooses to place her chin down on the towel. 

Dogs will often tolerate things, even though they feel uncomfortable. This is not fear free training! Eventually, they will stop tolerating things.

We teach that things feel really good by marking and rewarding choices. You can see Sienna firmly place her chin down at around the 40-second-mark in the video below. Sienna is really distracted in this one as a dog is approaching the room!

I have my right hand held out so she can see it. She keeps an eye on my hand, to begin with, but soon gets used to its presence.

At around 1.07 she is aware of the touch but does not move her chin away. This means she is happy for me to continue. The moment her chin lifts up though, I must stop. Around 1.44 she is unsure and looks directly at me when I move my hand. I wait for her to give permission to continue. 

We finish the session with a visit to the weighing scales. I had covered the scales with the towel we used for chin targeting. Sienna already has built up a "feels really good" association with the towel. When asking dogs to stand on weighing scales, we can minimise the anxiety and stress by placing a towel down. This reduces noise and also makes the scales more comfortable. A towel can easily be calibrated with the weighing scales. You can see how quickly she stood on the scales today in the video clip below.