Introducing Rally-O

You may have noticed that I have posted on the Peaceful Pack Facebook page about participating in the dog sport of Rally Obedience or Rally for short. Some folks may be wondering what this Rally is all about. Well, let me just give a little intro to this completely fun sport!

Rally is a fun, less formal version of traditional obedience trials and one of the fastest growing dog sports in the United States. Competitors traverse a course of 10 to 20 stations, each marking an exercise for the dog and handler team to carry out. Unlike traditional obedience, Rally allows the handler to talk to and encourage her dog along the way, use hand signals, and go through the course along a designed route on her own without a judge calling out the exercises. The not-so-strict rules reflect the philosophy behind Rally, namely that the focus in dog training should be on teamwork between handler and dog- and should be an enjoyable experience for both. Exercises include a variety of basic and advanced maneuvers like heel, stand, turn, sit, back up etc.

There are several sanctioning bodies for the sport in the US, including the Association of Pet Dog Trainers, whose program, APDT Rally, is open to all dogs, and the American Kennel Club, which tries purebred and PAL/ILP listed dogs. For more information and to find trials, visit www.apdt.com or www.akc.org.

For events located in Maine, check out Wag It in Lincolnville, ME at www.wagitinc.com and Finish Forward Dogs in Saco, ME at www.finishforwarddogs.com

Recommended: Patricia McConnell's Blog

Patricia McConnell is a gifted write, trainer, and academic. If you have not read her wonderful book, For the Love of a Dog, I would run right out and get your hands on a copy. She beautifully describes the emotional lives of our dogs and us!

In the meantime I highly recommend her blog which may be found here:
http://www.theotherendoftheleash.com/

Have a great day and get out there and play with your pups!

The Benefit of a Strong Relationship

Simon and I were having an immensely enjoyable walk this morning- sniffing about and dipping into streams. Well, maybe that better describes Simon's experience than mine. I was enjoying the scent of cedar, pine and the sea all mingled together- and watching my dog have a blast!

Rounding a corner we came across a group of folks and their three dogs. All the dogs greeted nicely- although one was a talker! I stopped and chatted a bit and then we prepared to part ways. At this point all the dogs were hanging together- Simon was closer to the others than to me. The group of people wanted to stop and get Simon back to me and I was able to tell them "Please feel free to move along, Simon will come with me, not to worry." The great, cool thing was that I was completely confident in my statement. I knew Simon would come with me and not follow the other dogs. I did not cue him to 'come', I simply indicated that we were going to walk in the opposite direction. Simon eagerly followed me. Did I take the time to reward him- you betcha! I let him know that choosing to stay with me was the absolutely greatest decision: I verbally praised him, acted goofy and gave him a small treat.

What enabled Simon to be successful, and underlying this interaction, was the strong relationship that I have developed with him. I have taken the time to get to know him and his ways. I know what he is and is not capable of. He trusts me to take care of things. I even think he enjoys hanging out with me. It is this relational foundation that makes training Simon possible. I encourage you to build a solid foundation with your dogs- all your training efforts will benefit from it!

If You Don't Like It, Don't Reward It

Its a simple fact of biology: All organisms do more of what they are rewarded for. If you were given twenty dollars every time you smiled, you would walk around grinning. If wearing a certain coat predictably unleashed a rain of compliments on you, chances are that coat would spend little time in your closet.

Dogs are no different. Any behavior they think works to get them something they want becomes more frequent. Say your dog drops a tennis ball in front of you and barks, and you pick up the ball and throw it. You have just trained your dog to bark to have his favorite game perpetuated. As a strategy barking paid off and sure enough, your dog will bark more. By contrast, ignoring the ball and walking away teaches the dog that barking does not work. When he next drops the ball by your feet without barking, pick it up and throw it to reinforce the delightful quiet.

This simple exercise contains the essence of the type of dog training we use at Peaceful Pack: Ignore what you don’t like and be quick to reward what you do like. The principle applies to all situations and it pays to become aware of the many ways we accidently reinforce behaviors we don’t like. We often reward a dog for jumping up to greet us, either by peting and sweet-talking the dog, or by pushing him away and saying ‘no’, which is more than enough attention to be reinforcing. Turning away or leaving is much more effective. Similarly, feeding your dog form the table reinforces begging. Better to reward Fido with a special tidbit when he is lying quietly on his bed. This has the added bonus of reinforcing calm indoor behavior.

To get a well-behaved dog quickly, always be on the lookout for ways to reinforce behaviors you like. Four paws on the floor when greeting, for example, should always earn a verbal “good dog”, a pet or a treat!