I don’t know many people that say they hate Autumn.
We all complain about the gloom and the damp, the cold weather and the grey skies, but there’s the brightest colours to make it all feel good.
Yesterday whilst with a client, the leaves from her Lime tree suddenly rained down like confetti, fluttering around us as her puppy played and chased them around.
Autumn, for our dogs, brings all the smells and damp earth that they love. The smells of wild animals sneaking around at night, the hunting amongst piles of fallen foliage, are a dream landscape for a dog.
Of course, there is something really heartwarming for us about kicking through crunchy leaves and seeking out conkers.
Now is the time of year to take your dog for longer, rambling walks. Let your dog sniff to his heart’s content as he potters around following the squirrels’ paths as they tease him from high above.
Let the dogs learn how to play with one another, especially those of you with puppies. Set up a nice Autumn walk, wrap up warm, even think of getting a little coat to keep puppy warm whilst their coat develops. Find nice adult dogs that are generous with a youngster. Let them get to know one another and have a little game. There are fewer things more enjoyable than watching your dog caper about with another one!
Along with leaves and damp comes plenty of mud! Leave some towels laid out flat by the door, so that you and your dog can come in without fear of transferring the wet any further. It keeps the doormats a little cleaner, and towels soak up most of the moisture from their paws. There’s nothing to stop you bundling them around your dog too, for a drying off cuddle, as long as you both enjoy this of course!
If your dog really is soaking, and you know this is likely, set up a drying crate. Our Collie used to jump into every dyke possible, some very silty! I would then try to send him to swim in a clearer one, before we came home. At home I had set up his crate by the door with a tasty chew placed inside and a few treats thrown in as we arrived. Inside the crate were dry towels with a few more over the top to catch the inevitable shaken off water.
Result? One dry, clean-ish dog by the time he had finished his chew. It also gave me lots of time to change my shoes and clothes into something a bit more indoor-friendly.
Next, another favourite Autumn pastime. Cuddling on the sofa with my dogs snoozing on a blanket, watching repeats of ‘Bake Off’ and seeing the squally weather remaining firmly outside the window.
A dog training walk workout!
You walk your dog every day (and if you don’t, start now). Why not use the time to do some on the spot training that will build your skills and help your dog learn?
You might as well use the time, rather than meandering along wondering what you will have for tea tomorrow. Here’s a few quick dog training workouts for you to add into your walk.
Before you start: Take some food treats with you. The best things to use are small (the size of your little fingernail, no bigger!) pieces of meat such as ham or sausage, mixed in with a portion of your dog’s normal biscuit. Either get a treat pouch, or line your pocket with a plastic bag. These are your dog’s wages, so don’t be a mean boss.
Next start on your walk. Don’t allow your dog to drag you down the path. Stop, call your dog to you, give him a treat, then say it’s ok to move. If he lunges forward, repeat. Keep repeating until he stops and waits for you. Congratulations, you have made a great start already. If your dog is just too excited to do the first exercise, don’t panic. Try it each day. It will come!
As you walk down the road, try to say ‘Good dog’ and give your dog a treat every time he is by your side and not pulling. Easy and quick.
You will find he walks at your side waiting for his next bit of wages, if you do this every day.
Steadiness challenge! Count 5 paces, and ask your dog to sit. Pay him with a little bit of food, then tell him ‘heel’ as you walk again. Count 10 paces, then sit him again. Another little food piece. Then count 5 paces again… as before, sit, and reward. Vary the number of paces you take but always ask your dog to sit when you’ve counted the number. You might want to do a few more, or even just 2 paces, to keep your dog guessing.
If you get it right, your dog is soon going to be watching your every move, waiting for the sit command. This is what we call control, and is the kind of behaviour that makes others admire your cool, calm and collected handling!
Now it is time to do a bit of recall practice. Either on or off the lead, whichever you prefer, step back a little way and happily call your dog to you. Give him his wages (a food piece). Walk a bit further, and repeat, calling him, step back, he comes to you, reward. Do this at least twenty times on every walk.
If you have problems and your dog ignores you, put him back on the lead so that as you step back, he is drawn gently towards you.
Keep repeating these little circuit training workouts as you walk, until you are home.
Congratulations! Your workout is complete!
Play with your dog!
What a strange thing to suggest! Playing with your dog is something we all do, isn’t it?
You’d be amazed how many pet dogs sit alone for long periods of the day, then get fed, and sit on a cosy sofa or lap for the evening, and that’s their daily lives. They may get a walk, they may not. ‘They are too old’, people say. ‘They never pick up their toys’.
In fact, a lot of play is social. This means that whilst some dogs when younger might fling their toys about and chew most things around them, this wears off after a while.
The novelty value of items fades, the longer the dog has access to them. Toys get put into the toy basket and lose their interest.
Playing is such a great activity because it’s really useful for teaching lessons. Our dogs learn to be gentle, to calm down after the excitement of the game. Play is mentally stimulating, leaving the dog tired as a result. Not the sort of tired we get from flopping onto the settee after a day at work. The exhilarating tiredness that we might get after playing on a bouncy castle, or winning the latest round of Call of Duty.
Here’s a few tips on how to wake up the play instinct and get a happier dog.
Firstly, pick a toy they enjoy. Hard rubber toys aren’t usually fun but softer ones can be wriggled about and made to ‘come alive’. Of course, if you know your dog is likely to grab and not let go, or shred it and swallow the contents without giving the toy back, then choose a stronger one. Pick a time when your dog is looking for mischief, or is excited about something else such as you coming home.
Keep the toy low to the ground and wiggle it about, moving it away from your dog. Imagine how a running rabbit might dart away, and get the toy to mimic that movement. If you decide to use a squeaky toy, only use the squeak part once or twice. Apart from the sound being annoying to us humans, it tends to switch the dog off rather than on.
To get the toy back if your dog has decided they really want it, have some treats ready. Tiny bits of sausage or chicken (or other meat, as long as your dog isn’t allergic to it). Swap the toy for some of these goodies, and you can continue the game.
Long before your dog gets fed up, swap the toy for a treat and put it away out of reach. This will keep it exciting and new for next playtime!
Teaching your dog to come back WITH FUN!
Getting your pooch to come back to you quickly is something all dog owners dream of. Asking their dog to leave behind fox poo, other dogs, rabbits in the hedge, on a single word, takes some teaching. We make the mistake of causing it to be a horrible event. We call the dog to us, clip the lead on and head for home. The words ‘Come’ or ‘Here’ become miserable events for the poor dog.
Instead, let’s work on making the recall a great event!
These are a few training games that have been very successful in keeping the fun involved in calling your dog back. The first principle is to always call your dog back throughout your walk, throughout their play, and throughout the day. Don’t leave it to the one time their fun is going to be spoiled.
‘Chase me, catch me!’ is a great game that means the dog comes to you and chases you, catches you by arriving at your feet in a sit. Not the other way around. Chasing your dog is a really bad idea. Run the other way! Here’s how to play.
Call your dog to the front of you, then as they arrive, reward them with a treat and some happy praise. Then suddenly turn away 90 degrees and say ‘Come’ whilst moving a few steps away. Again, as they catch up at your feet and sit, say Yes! and reward again. Occasionally dash away as they get close to you, so that they can’t always predict what is about to happen. All of a sudden you are much more fun and rewarding to be with.
Repeat with the excited attitude of ‘Can’t catch me!’
Celebrate when your dog does as you ask. Gradually make this more fun and more difficult by turning and dodging away. Get them to chase you and try and follow you in an effort to get to the front finish point.
Remember the three key aims:
– Be exciting
– Use high value rewards (tasty food is always best and make sure you have a hungry dog!)
– Repeat quickly
If your dog becomes over-excited you must ask for a sit before you give them any reward. Enthusiasm is great, but not knocking you flying in their haste.
Stepping things up is easy. Occasionally, as soon as they arrive at your feet, toss the food away so that they have to move away.
Soon your dog will be looking for the next call, their eyes firmly fixed on you. Give it a try this week. Happy training!
Dogs like Christmas decorations, too!
What on earth are us humans doing? Collecting boxes down from the loft and suddenly filling the house with flashing lights and tempting food. And none of it can be sniffed, touched, chewed or swallowed. What a pity for our dogs! They may like decorations, but for all the wrong reasons. It is time to be vigilant and check that your beloved pooch can’t reach the spiky holly or the pretty poinsettia.
A real tree might suddenly appear in the lounge, but it is out of bounds to leg-cocking, so be careful where you arrange those electric lights. Even an artificial one is a sudden and strange intrusion. All those dangling baubles and shiny tinsel and even chocolates hanging down. Make sure you put yours on only the highest boughs and never leave the tree unattended. You would be astounded at the reach of a determined dog. Use shatterproof ornaments, and think about putting the tree up on a coffee table or even behind a fire guard. It is simply not worth the life-threatening issues that might occur if your dog decides any of these things are a tasty snack.
As presents start to arrive, keep them well out of reach, because dogs don’t have handy calendars to tell them it is not Christmas yet. Ask givers if the gifts contain anything edible and again, don’t be afraid to put them up on a table to prevent any spoilers.
We had an interesting incident last year where an unwanted (coconut, much hated in our house) chocolate from an advent calendar rolled off the mantelpiece and into the happily waiting mouth of our little terrier Maisie. It was a traumatic moment for us as we retrieved it. Maisie adores chocolate and, unlike our other dogs, would do anything to earn it. Luckily this was the only incident and she is very small. If she were larger there would need to be no chocolates anywhere. This is not just a training issue (she is very good at being called away) but once they can access it, you have a serious problem. Chocolate is extremely poisonous to dogs, so don’t take the risk, not even once.
I’m a full-time U.K. dog trainer and behaviour consultant based in Peterborough with 17 years in the field. My work ranges from class teaching, obedience, flyball, agility and working trials, competition, to running a popular dog display team.
