I have recently been invited to run a dog club near to me - having trained dogs ( my own and others ) for some 17 odd years ( oh dear where does the time go? )...I'm now instructing at the aforementioned club, who have very little concept of how dogs think or how to train -over the phone they stated that they employed ' soft ' methods and yet at the first lesson we had three dogs been dragged around on check collars ( which I've since advised against )...

the thing is, aside from the noraml obedience excercises, which I have spiced up for them ..... they are astounded at the new things I have taught them in three weeks !.....anyone any ideas for fun training and training more related to ' real life ' than the formal ob. excercises...ie we will be doing heelwork on the left....we are currently doing sendaway with the food-box method too....I know how to train....I'm just not very inventive with WHAT to train !

Fun ideas appreicated - anything other than weaving , bowing, spinning - etc....but more how to organise the individuals in the room - like forming tow circles - haldf going one way, half the other, so the dogs pass and making sure you keep the dogs attention as you pass the other dogs...rather tahn square bashing , or running round in circles doing heelwork - I never got the best out of my dogs by doing that ! ...( I've stopped them going round in circles already ! - literally it seems ! )........

Innovative ideas appreciated...
cheers
Norm

HI Norm, I have nothing to do with training dogs but used to teach horse riding. We had to keep the riders on their toes and "awake" as well as stopping the horses getting bored, which they do, going round in circles in the menage.It depends on how much room you have, and how wicked you are feeling but you can do this at the walk (boring!) or at the trot (much more fun).

The menage is twice as long as it is wide . Get everyone going down the long centre line,( in the middle of the area) when you hit the short side the first one turns left, next one goes to the right. Some nifty hand changes needed. When they meet up again at the top short side they have to "slot in" in their original order and come down the centre line again, then the leader turns right, second left - so the dogs dont anticipate what they are going to do next. It helps to teach horses horses to go "dead straight" without the help of a wall or fence on one side. or They have to judge their pace carefully all the way so they get to the right place at the right time. The dog automatically wants to follow the one in front, but must be paying attention to its handler on the turns, to do it smoothly. Much more fun at the trot, you really sort out who is "with it". Dont know if it would work with dogs. There are variations of it- a circle at each end, slotting in as they meet at the shorter centre line. Hope I've explained it ok! Maybe this is done anyway!
Menages have "markers" one on the half way mark on the long and short sides, and one half way ( roughly) between those markers and the "end" of that line. This means you can bellow "Turn right at E" or whatever. its also easier to get a good figure of eight using the markers. Its to get accurate, balanced turns, and to judge pace.

Try as i might, Westie Lover, I can't imagine you "bellowing" LOL!!! :)

The exercises you describe certainly do sort out who is "awake" - I remember having to do similar stuff when riding in the menage. Brings back great memories of my fav. ponies.....:)

Lindsay

Loads of luck Norm, you sound like a person after my own heart. Do you use clicker training as that could perhaps be something to introduce depending on what you want.....sorry not too good on the ideas front, I expect others who do instruct will be able to help.

Lindsay

Many thanks for all your suggestions for the dog club - unfortunately I returned tonight in an AA lorry having never arrived at the club, after my clutch cable went....( please, please let it be the cable and not the clutch itself !! )....most disconcerting I can tell you and the poor dog in the back was most bemused by the whole proceedings !

Anyway, I could well utilize some of thos ideas...

Lindsay...
I have used clickers with success in training individual dogs but using them in class isn't something I would want to pursue...however, I am thinking of teaching them how to use them, so they can work with them on tasks at home, as there are alot of people around who have no idea how to use them correctly. They certainly have their uses, but they are just one tool in my toolbox....

It's amazing how much better all the pupils are at actually talking to their dogs now , as they didn't even do that ! - I'm so pleased to be able to in a position to motivate them - as a bonus it motivates me too as I had got into a bit of a rut training wise.

The next thing will be ' end of term ' christmas capers adn I wanted to do something different for the last class before christmas - can we get our thinking caps on again - what about some sort of relay race I wonder?

The Kennel club good citizen tests are more geared to real life, and alos give something for pet owners especially to aim for. they have a video and literature for those wanting to run the scheme, and you no longer need to be a KC reg club. Of course you could add other things for fun. Ian Dunbar has some fun ideas in his videos! there is even one for dog training for children, who have to use softer methods, not having the power for the forceful sort :)

One of the things you might consider is bringing in some plastic sheets (like those for painting) for the dogs to walk over. Other surfaces would be lengths of fencing (the metal kind as well as the wooden type). Also lots of noises, such as those popper push baby toys and clanging, clacking toys (check the resale shops for them) while dogs are doing sits/downs. One night everyone should bring in hats (give a prize for the craziest hat to encourage lots of silly looking things) and wear those as they work the dogs. Umbrellas are great things to open as the dogs go by, both for distractions and for 'proof' training.

I also taught 'puppy physical exam' techniques where we sat on the floor and looked into ears, examined teeth, opened mouths, felt along the dogs' bodies, checked the pads of feet, felt tails, etc. This is not only good for teaching the dog to sit/lay quietly for vet examinations and/or grooming, but if it is done on a periodic basis, lumps and bumps can be detected far earlier and treatment started.

Another thing that you may wish to do is put a length of chain into a bucket and rattle it as the dogs pass by.

Relay races for recalls (on long lines so that there is no possibility of scuffles) are great for both making training fun and getting the dogs to come quickly. Plus all the excitement encourages people who would normally be very quiet and less vocal in their praise to get involved without feeling like everyone is watching/listening to them.

A long line of sit stays with dogs spaced about six feet apart is excellent for weave heeling and to teach the dogs to remain in a stay. The first dog starts down through the line; once about three dogs ahead, the next dog starts. When the first dog gets to the end of the line, he continues for about six feet and puts his dog in a sit/stay. I don't like doing this with a down stay with dogs that are beginners since the down is a submissive position and if a dog has any aggression it may wish to challenge the dog that is on a down stay.

I also teach attention getting exercises and to help people 'proof' those, I will stand on a corner calling out 'hey' and bouncing a ball as they go pass so that they can encourage the dog to remain looking at them instead of looking to the distraction.

All of this is geared to making a dog 'bomb' proof while out on walks and to keep the dog's attention on the owner.

Yes, we're geared up for KC Good citizens...we have the gate etc....so I'll get that up and running again soon...

Norm, conratulations on your new appointment. Why not give it a plug on here. I can imagine your training sessions could be fun! (my whippets are saving up for their train fares already)

Good luck with it all. Let us know how it goes.

Rachel:)

Thanks Rachel - it's all going really well....everyone is thrilled at my taking over and the other instructors spent the first two weeks with their mouths practically gaping at how differently I worked !...I've always been a motivational trainer way before we heard the term as much as we do now !

I've always wanted to start my own club, ( although I've taken classes at other clubs ) but I'm quite shy, so this is an excellent way to get cracking.........thankyou all for your support and ideas.

Norm at a training class I used to go to we did the Gay Gordons dance amongst others. Basically it was all heel work, sitting and waiting commands. As I'm not scottish I have no idea of the moves but if you knew of any dances it could be a laugh. We even had music and it actually looked pretty good once everyone knew which way they were mean't to turn and I had learned the dance from scratch :-)

Hi Norm

This isn't really to do with your original question, but have you heard of or seen Joanna Hill, she's apparently an Obedience lady but very much in to motivation and fun, don't know if you are at all interested but she's doing a 3 hour training session at Andover, Hants, in January, I'm taking my girl along (dog that is, not child) and she's showing motivational methods with a young pup and also a lady in a wheelchair who wants to train. I'm not really into "obedience" as such, but it sounds so good I am really keen to go!!!

We did something yesterday which was fun.....there were 8 dogs and owners and same number of chairs placed about the room. Each chair had a note on it such as "towel dry, brush and then massage your dog", "ask for a sit, take collar, walk around chair, ask for another sit, then do the same the opposite way" , and also "loose lead walk to door, ask for a sit, open door, go through with dog under control" etc etc etc.....

We have been doing the Good Manners class.....it's amazing how many owners can't groom their dogs or whose dogs won't be led by the collar and so on. (This last was introduced when the instructor had a tyre blow out in the fast lane of the motorway and had to get her 4 dogs quickly and safely onto the safe place without leads!!!).

We all just walked round and did the stuff and if anyone was taking a long time, just carried on to the next chair. It was good fun and provided lots of variety.