Keep that puppy brain occupied

I don't know if you have tricks to occupy a puppy brain, but I use Kong with stuffed dog food (soak his regular dog food with water, put in Kong and freeze) as a part of meal, or Buster Cube with his dog food in it (it is a big ball or cubic plastic toy. When a dog rolls it, the kibbles come out from it). Our dogs work on it for long time, so they get tired by the time when they finish their meals. It is good brain exercise for a puppy. Our previous Golden loved Buster Cube. She actually preferred to get food from it than her dish (we put both Buster Cube and her dish on floor once. She chose Buster Cube.).

Kiko

Republishing "Working Dog Training Groups" from Mar-Jun 2008 Newfprints

Several of us admired the vision Sue presents in this article. With her permission, we reprint this article to ensure it gets the exposure we think it deserves.

Working Dog Training Groups: Fun, Experience and Friendship
by Sue Marino

The Newfoundland Club of New England is fortunate and unique in that it has several training groups of devoted people working with their Newfs around New England. I’m not sure that our membership knows how wonderful this is or its advantages so I wanted to spread the word.

It begins with a common interest; training Newfs for water rescue, draft work, obedience, etc. Several members in a geographical area decide to get together to train their dogs. Usually one member coordinates the dates and locations but by no means dictates the decisions of the group. The group decides as a whole how often to meet, suggests locations where they would like to meet or volunteers to host a day and what type of work they will do. The person who is coordinating for the group sends a group email to anyone who has said they would be interested in working with the group, listing the dates and places for the practices. Often the group also plans to have a pot luck lunch or send out for pizza after they work their dogs. It becomes as much a social gathering as it is a working practice. One great, unplanned, advantage (besides the obvious training advantages) when working with a group is the wonderful friendships that form.

One very important thing to remember if you think you would like to join a group is that if you take of the groups time you must give back. If you plan to work with a group you must plan to support the group. In other words, if you want to train your own dog for water rescue, members of the group will help you by paddling the canoe, rowing the boat, pretending to drown, etc. Therefore, after your dog’s session is complete, do not plan to pack up your equipment and go home or sit on the beach and watch. You must also plan to row, paddle, and “drown” for other people’s dogs. The same goes for draft work. Plan to help others carry their equipment or set up a course and pick it all up when you are finished. A group is set up to help the members accomplish their individual goals but every member must support the goals of the group as a whole.

There are definite advantages of working in a group. Your dog gets to work in different locations, with different dogs and different people which helps to prepare them to enter a working test. Even if you never plan to enter a test it offers great socialization skills for your dog. It is also a great source of helpful advice.

Another member of the group might have more experience than you or have encountered the same training problem as you and will be able to offer advice. They may notice a problem in your training of which you might not have been aware or may be able to help clarify or explain the rules of a test. They can also help you evaluate the appropriateness of your equipment. Any extra help will always enhance your dogs performance. Some members of the group might make plans to get together for extra training sessions on a weeknight when a test is approaching.

Working with a group gives you extra support, help, friendship and a built in cheering squad when you enter a test. It is great fun to be at a test, whether you are entered or just spectating, and cheer on the efforts of a member of your group whether they pass or fail.

It is also a great advantage to work with more than one training group if you get the opportunity. I have been fortunate enough to train with all of the groups in New England and even a few in New York. There is always a new approach you can try or a new way to solve a training problem. Something your group might not have noticed or thought of might be pointed out to you at a different group. Each groups members have different levels of experience and expertise so you never know what new tips you might learn. There should be no issues about lack of loyalty when it comes to training groups. If you are invited to train with a different group or choose to do so on your own, your own group should look forward to the experience you will gain and be able to share with them in the future.

I like to hope that my regular group misses me when I am not at their training sessions but I love to take advantage of training with a different group. There is always something new to be learned or a different way to approach a training problem which only increases my ability to train my own dogs.

One other very important thing that training with a group will teach you is sportsmanship. I can’t remember when I last saw a member of a New England training group showing poor sportsmanship at a working test. We don’t allow it! Yes, we are all disappointed when we fail, especially if we have worked very hard to prepare but it is much easier to accept when your group members are there supporting you, sharing in your disappointment, encouraging you to continue and pointing out all the wonderful things that you and your dog did accomplish. Group members don’t tend to go around complaining and blaming the site, committee, stewards or judges for their failure. They accept the fact that things didn’t go their way that day, whether due to conditions or lack of training, and that they will work on their performance so that they will be better prepared to pass the next test. They also show that they still love their dog and don’t make excuses for their dog or chastise them. Just think about how that reflects on a person and their training group. If someone fails and says “Oh well, maybe next time” and gives their dog a big hug and tells them how wonderful they were for trying that day gives any judge, steward or spectator a great impression. Unfortunately this kind of sportsmanship is not always the
norm at tests. People who attend tests on a regular basis always express their surprise and admiration of our training group members when they witness their sportsmanship at tests.

I remember a very experienced judge and trainer stopping the test he was judging to witness the congratulations being given to a New England group member when they passed a test. A line of people had formed to greet this person as they exited the beach and each person had a handshake, hug or pat of congratulations to offer (even though the person and dog were very wet). He was amazed at the camaraderie of the group and said he had never witnessed it at that level anywhere else in the country. I am always so proud of our New Englanders when I see them loving their dog after failing a test and smiling as they leave the test area.

Of course I am also very proud of them when they pass a test! I know all of the hard work and dedication that goes into a passing performance. Our training groups tend to train for the fun and socializing first and the titles second which is an admirable practice and I think that is the basis of the wonderful sportsmanship that we see in New England. They know that the title is just the icing on the cake and
the bond that forms with your dog when working is the most important thing.

Thanks to all of the people who form our working groups and to those that take on the responsibility to coordinate the dates and locations. They are wonderful, dedicated groups of people and I enjoy training with all of them.

If any NCNE member is interested in joining or starting a training group they should contact Keith Mallinson, the NCNE Working Dog Secretary. Also, we are always looking for water sites that will allow us to train our dogs. If you know of any private ponds, state parks, public lakes, scout camps, etc that have areas where they might allow us to train please contact Keith.

Sammy's progress: You CAN train alone when you need to.

As you know, we've missed the last two water practices. So, not wanting to fall too far behind, we've been doing some land training.

First the paddle - I have been working on Sammy picking up the paddle and then retrieving the paddle in the yard. At first he couldn't seem to figure out how to pick up that flat thing on the ground. If it was on a rock, a bump, or laying on a tree root so it was elevated even just an inch - no problem. But on the flat, he just couldn't figure it out. But little by little, he got the idea and for the last two nights he has been shaking in his boots waiting for me to toss that thing so he can run and get it. He loves it. He grabs it, holds it high, and prances right back to me with it.

And as for the boat - as all of you who were at the first water practice this season saw, Sammy was very suspicious of that noisey boat and platform. So I started setting it up in the yard and having him jump up on it (it was more like a crawl actually). And then I laid a ground pole down and got way back and told him to jump! The jumps were great, but he did not like getting up on the platform - even when it was perfectly still. But again, little by little, and with lots of treat reinforcements, he is jumping up on that platform just great. I can even lay it on a little incline so that it wobbles a bit as he gets on and off and he seems to be just fine with that now. In fact, sometimes he jumps up all by himself when I didn't ask him to.

We've still got work to do - but I'm hoping that progress translates well when we get to the water. That was a very fun progression to watch.

So let's see, what's in NewfPrints this month?

Just spending a little quality time with the latest electronic issue of NewfPrints. A few very nice articles. One by Sue Marino about the value of training groups; I read that one twice. An article by Kathy Grim on the outstanding work some of the Newfers did in the Decorative Carting Event accompanies by a full page of nifty color photos. One article on Water Dogs at the Maritime Museum by Molly C’Connell and another about the Spring Fling by Oksana Jackim. Gee, makes me proud to be a Newfer.

What else … what else … oh you know, the usual stuff, Livvy did this and Livvy did that and ….. blah blah blah, oh yes here’s something worth noting. I see the name of someone we know listed under “Board Members”: sister to the brothers Grim I suppose.

Congratulations Kathy! If anyone deserves some recognition and if anyone will do a great job, it’s you.

My dogs, for two, are better human beings for having known you. And I recon there are other Newfers who would say the same for their dogs.

… yup, I know what I said.

Many Thousand Thanks from Livvy and Sophie.

Rally Novice Class A or B ?

I entered Livvy into Rally novice A. Iʼm thinking that is correct because neither she nor I have titled in Rally before. With one leg, weʼre eligible for class A arenʼt we?

Yes, that's right. The criteria are:
1. the dog may not have a Rally Novice or any Obedience title prior to the close of entries
2. The handler must own the dog or be a member of the owner's household or immediate family
3. The handler may not have previously handled any dog that has earned a rally or obedience title

You'll enter B when you want to enter rally novice but don't meet one of the above (for example, if you get your CD).

Kathy

Water Training #3

Weather was perfect today. A breeze, not too windy and warm water. We had an inflatable raft and two Kayaks. We had a puppy that really didn’t seem quite ready to walk down that steep hillside over at the left. And then, suddenly Higgins decided he was “in” and off he went. Too cool. Great attitude on his part, while no one was looking, I got a kiss.

Nimbus impressed me when DoggieDaddy was out in the water calling for help, Nimbus decided he was “by dog gonna help”. But his Hu-Mom called him back clearly. He paused, he thought about it and … he came back. Very difficult, I’m very impressed.

Lonni was just awesome carrying the seat cushion in from the water. What confidence. To me the best part of all this stuff, even better than watching an advanced water dog go through difficult paces, to when I see a young one suddenly “get it”. When they absolutely know what they are about; know what’s wanted, know they can do it, and do it knowing that they did good. Sometimes I think they pause briefly at the short waiting for the applause. Lonni got lot’s of applause today.

Livvy, as always, had a great time because all the people and all the dogs tolerated her social butterfly stuff and were so very gracious to her. Thank you. She didn’t care for getting INTO the Kayak, but she had a great deal of fun paddling around with me. Some great coaching today, Lori and Molly. Many thousand thanks.

Understand that I missed a lot of good stuff going on while I was chatting or playing with the dogs, so folks chime in with other good material that I haven’t mentioned. Pictures always welcome.

If you click on the slide show below, it will take you to today's album where you spend some quality time with your particular darling.

A flatter bumper

I tried to post this as a photo on the yahoo site but was denied. Effie loved her bumper (and still does) It was her first toy. Although we saved it for "working" even when she was a puppy.

You can put it on yahoo or the blog just point people to it thanks

Mary Anne

How Old?

As we are very New-fers, please let me know how old Daisy (currently 5 1/2 months old) should be before she begins the group training days? Kathleen and I have brought her into a lake this week, and she took like a duck to water. We went out about 10 feet out and she swam out and circled around us about six times. The last couple she whined a little (was she afraid for us?). So we got out of the water to keep it a positive experience. We also bought her a wading pool for the backyard, and she hops right into it. Attaching a picture of Daisy too (she's the little Landseer).
Thanks in advance for the advice.

Lori Felch

Hi Lori
The earlier you start training the better. Have fun with it and enjoy your puppy.
In most training groups, the members bring lots of extra stuff you can use.

Molly

Cleo WON Best Costume at the Beverly Farms Library Dog Beauty Contest!

Cleo is pictured here with the judges. She is wearing her hot pink bikini and sparkly collar, and, of course, her winning ribbon!

http://www.mypethaven.com/dog_bikini_2.htm

Decorative Carting Take 2

At the Newfie Fun Day on June 8, 2008 despite some really steamy weather, the Newfers repeated their award winning decorative carting parade.

Candid Video From Opening Day

I finally got around to down sizing a few minutes of fun from our initial training session.

I Posted them to YouTube

Free 8 minute on line Clicker Training Video for Puppies

I’m not selling anything, I just happened to come across this video from the Karen Pryor group about teaching away bad manners on a puppy.  IF you decide to watch it, keep two things in mind:

 

1.       It’s video so it’s a large file.  If you connect over your phone, this may not be for you.

2.       If you decide to watch it, PLEASE watch it all the way through.  The important part is the last 15 seconds.

 

 

 

http://www.clickertraining.tv/product.html?item=FREE-25

 

Home Alone

... not a newf, but could be!

Mary Anne

Great Post Mary Anne,
Sophie gave the jump a 6 out of 10. She thinks she's the next American ...

Bob



These people were always finding water all over their pool deck and furniture, every time they came home, after being away for a few hours. They thought the neighborhood kids were watching for them to leave, and using the pool...However, they could never catch them doing it.

So, they set up their video cam and left. This is what they found out.

Water Training Kickoff

Great beach, great weather, great coaching.



I think it's pretty fair to say that everyone had a good time and there was a LOT of excellent performance on the part of the four legged newfers. Speaking just for myself, without some excellent coaching from Kathy, and support and encouragement from Terry, Molly and Ida, I never would have asked 1 year old ("I'm afraid of the water.") Sophie to jump off the back of Mike's excellent boat platform into water way over her head. Not once, but twice.

This is why it's so much less effecting training on my own.

Lani, you're my new best friend and I hope to spend a lot more time working with you on water rescue. You were awsome today and helping to hold you back until Daddy's hands gave the signal, was almost as much fun as working with my own dogs. I hope you'll let me work with you again. You seem to like me OK and I know I how much I like you. Gosh it's fabulous to watch puppies learn to master new difficult behaviors.

I had a great time. Mary Alice, lighten up on me will ya? I'm a very sensitive guy...