At the tender age of 12 months and 1 day, Simone won her first rosette at an obedience show.
She came 2nd in the Novice class. She was beaten by ½ a point and a far more experienced dog.
All the dogs in that class were older and more experienced than her, so I'm very proud of her.
It was only the second show at which she had completed all the exercises, ringwork and stays.
Her competition training will now go 'on hold' for a while.
She will be given a little time to 'mature' before we continue, plus, I don't much like winter shows,..
I'm way to old to brave the elements anymore, and don't like cold, wet, dark winter days.
So we will spend the winter 'playing' around with 'distance control',' sendaways' and 'scent'.
I prefer it if my dogs think that these, much harder things, are seen as a 'good game' to play, so will take my time and make them fun.
Simone is also of an age where she needs her hips and elbows xraying, so I will be booking her in for these in the very near future. Keep your fingers crossed that they turn out ok. There is no logical reason why they shouldn't, Simone is bred from 6 generations of xrayed dogs, but you never know, nature does strange things sometimes.
Tuesday, 25 October 2011
Friday, 21 October 2011
Simone was just coming up for 5 months when her 'competition' training started.
I took her onto the field next to the house and just walked around changing directions every dozen steps or so.
Now the majority of my pups, when I do this, eventually look up at me with the expression on their faces that says "which way are you going? why do you keep changing direction" At this point, as they look at me, they get a ton of praise and lots of fuss. By the end of the 'lesson' most pups have cottoned on to the idea that if I look up at mum while we walk, she thinks I'm wonderful. I finish my first lesson with this, the pup having had a good positive feedback that 'looking at me' was what I wanted.
Simone however had to be different !!!!!
She looked at me with an expression that said "Oh for goodness sake, why do you keep changing directions? Can't you see I'm busy looking and sniffing at all these glorious things on the field? Can't you just let me pick up that wonderful leaf that's lying over there?"
She had no interest in me or what I was doing, my self centred little princess could think of nothing, other than what she wanted.....
It baffled me all day. Until I spoke to a friend.
We were just talking about pedigrees and who was related to who in my house.
Then I mentioned 'Sky' Then a light bulb went on in my head.....
Sky was Simone's great grandmother and the most ignorant, difficult dog we'd had for a long time.
She wasn't bred by me, but was out of one of our bitches to an outcross dog. A lovely looking girl but oh boy, not the easiest to live with. A very opinionated girl to say the least.
It was this conversation that was to change the way I trained Simone in the early days.
A couple of days later I took Simone onto the field, put a half check collar on her and went through the same training I had done in her first session. Every time I changed direction she now came to the end of the lead and the half check closed. Did it bother her? Not one iota, !!!!
She still had the same attitude of "why are you bothering me with all this when all I want to do is ignore you?"
Exactly as her great grandmother Sky had done at that age, but with Sky I had found it quite amusing and done nothing in particular to change it. Sky was never going to be trained for competition, so I never really addressed the behaviour. Oh boy, did I pay for that mistake later in life.... Sky considered herself a 'princess' all through her life, and because I had not done anything in particular to change this, she was always a dog that was a 'pain'. Now don't get me wrong Sky had a lovely temperament and was not a 'problem' dog, and was fairly obedient, but she would do things in her own time. When I said something like 'come here' - she would always come to me, but, she'd have to have a look at that bush first, or have a pee first, or just run round the field first and THEN come back to me. It was never 'instant compliance'....
Well, I had no intention of repeating that experience with Simone.
So with no more ado, I went and got a slip chain......
Now I know that this will cause absolute outrage amongst the ' you must motivate your dog' trainers, but you have to understand that Simone didn't care about being motivated or patted or fed titbits. All she cared about was getting her own way.
So I went through the same training as before but this time each time I changed direction she ran into the slip collar. Well, that changed her mind totally......It was like flicking a switch, as it dawned on her that I wanted something from her. The next 5 minutes were an absolute joy,,, Simone took to heelwork like a duck to water.
Now for those of you that worry, I never once 'took her off her feet' with the slip collar, all it did was tighten with a bit more umph than does a collar or half check. I never once hurt her, just stopped her in her tracks.
After that Simone's favourite game to play was the 'heelwork' game and she came on in leaps and bounds, literally !!!! We had to have a couple of sessions learning that heelwork does not have to be done at a 100 miles an hour. Her balance of course was and still isn't perfect, but that will come in time.
She then learned how to 'fetch' things and how to arrive in front of me for a 'novice' recall.
Then we went to an obedience show to see what she'd think about doing all this stuff where there was a lot of people and dogs.
At 6 ½ months old she did her first 'Novice' class. I was so proud of her, she did superbly.
At the end of the day, her ring work was up there in the top 10.
We went home happy and tired.
The next lessons will be her 'Sit' and 'Down' stays, which she needs, to be able to complete her class.
I took her onto the field next to the house and just walked around changing directions every dozen steps or so.
Now the majority of my pups, when I do this, eventually look up at me with the expression on their faces that says "which way are you going? why do you keep changing direction" At this point, as they look at me, they get a ton of praise and lots of fuss. By the end of the 'lesson' most pups have cottoned on to the idea that if I look up at mum while we walk, she thinks I'm wonderful. I finish my first lesson with this, the pup having had a good positive feedback that 'looking at me' was what I wanted.
Simone however had to be different !!!!!
She looked at me with an expression that said "Oh for goodness sake, why do you keep changing directions? Can't you see I'm busy looking and sniffing at all these glorious things on the field? Can't you just let me pick up that wonderful leaf that's lying over there?"
She had no interest in me or what I was doing, my self centred little princess could think of nothing, other than what she wanted.....
It baffled me all day. Until I spoke to a friend.
We were just talking about pedigrees and who was related to who in my house.
Then I mentioned 'Sky' Then a light bulb went on in my head.....
Sky was Simone's great grandmother and the most ignorant, difficult dog we'd had for a long time.
She wasn't bred by me, but was out of one of our bitches to an outcross dog. A lovely looking girl but oh boy, not the easiest to live with. A very opinionated girl to say the least.
It was this conversation that was to change the way I trained Simone in the early days.
A couple of days later I took Simone onto the field, put a half check collar on her and went through the same training I had done in her first session. Every time I changed direction she now came to the end of the lead and the half check closed. Did it bother her? Not one iota, !!!!
She still had the same attitude of "why are you bothering me with all this when all I want to do is ignore you?"
Exactly as her great grandmother Sky had done at that age, but with Sky I had found it quite amusing and done nothing in particular to change it. Sky was never going to be trained for competition, so I never really addressed the behaviour. Oh boy, did I pay for that mistake later in life.... Sky considered herself a 'princess' all through her life, and because I had not done anything in particular to change this, she was always a dog that was a 'pain'. Now don't get me wrong Sky had a lovely temperament and was not a 'problem' dog, and was fairly obedient, but she would do things in her own time. When I said something like 'come here' - she would always come to me, but, she'd have to have a look at that bush first, or have a pee first, or just run round the field first and THEN come back to me. It was never 'instant compliance'....
Well, I had no intention of repeating that experience with Simone.
So with no more ado, I went and got a slip chain......
Now I know that this will cause absolute outrage amongst the ' you must motivate your dog' trainers, but you have to understand that Simone didn't care about being motivated or patted or fed titbits. All she cared about was getting her own way.
So I went through the same training as before but this time each time I changed direction she ran into the slip collar. Well, that changed her mind totally......It was like flicking a switch, as it dawned on her that I wanted something from her. The next 5 minutes were an absolute joy,,, Simone took to heelwork like a duck to water.
Now for those of you that worry, I never once 'took her off her feet' with the slip collar, all it did was tighten with a bit more umph than does a collar or half check. I never once hurt her, just stopped her in her tracks.
After that Simone's favourite game to play was the 'heelwork' game and she came on in leaps and bounds, literally !!!! We had to have a couple of sessions learning that heelwork does not have to be done at a 100 miles an hour. Her balance of course was and still isn't perfect, but that will come in time.
She then learned how to 'fetch' things and how to arrive in front of me for a 'novice' recall.
Then we went to an obedience show to see what she'd think about doing all this stuff where there was a lot of people and dogs.
At 6 ½ months old she did her first 'Novice' class. I was so proud of her, she did superbly.
At the end of the day, her ring work was up there in the top 10.
We went home happy and tired.
The next lessons will be her 'Sit' and 'Down' stays, which she needs, to be able to complete her class.
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
The start of her training.
Because we live in a sort of 'out of the way' place, Simone doesn't get to see a lot of humans or their dogs.
Because of the way I raise my youngsters she's never had the opportunity to be around a lot of dogs.
I know this may sound strange considering how many dogs we have, but, because I'm ultra careful about the bones and joints of my baby shepherds Simone had up till this point only ever run free with my mini dachshund.
So, I did something I've never done before, when she was 4 months old I enrolled her in a local dog club.
Oh boy, what a mistake to make !!!!!!
In the past we've always had our own dog club, so my pups were introduced to other dogs in a controlled environment. In our dog club everyone had control of their dogs and the dogs were all well behaved, so it was an ideal place to 'socialise' our youngsters.
But going to our local dog club was a whole different experience. What Simone learned there has taken me the best part of 8 months to reverse!!!! and I still struggle at times to control her in a busy dog environment like a dog show.
The trainers at this dog club were very nice, very well meaning people, but........
Simone went to class for the first time and was absolutely 'gobsmacked' .... the expression on her face was priceless. She had never seen so many dogs and people all in one small space before and the noise and commotion blew her mind. After the initial shock, she launched herself into space. She tried saying hello to everyone!!!!!
It was not a place that was conducive to learning. There was so much going on, so many dogs scrabbling around on a wooden floor, so many people talking and walking that there was no way on earth that my little girl could concentrate on anything I was saying to her. Now don't get me wrong, all the dogs in the class had lovely temperaments and their owners were lovely people, but !!!
At one stage Simone was getting quite hysterical about wanting to launch herself to the end of her lead in order to meet and greet all her new found friends, so I got hold of her collar and attempted to get her to sit and calm down, but she was so excited that as she felt my hand in her collar she turned and attempted to grab my hand. This was just pure frustration at not being able to get where she wanted to go and to do what she wanted to do, but never the less, I have one abiding rule, you do NEVER put your teeth into a human being.... so she got a clip round the ear for it, and told in no uncertain terms that I would not accept her behaviour. Now Simone, wasn't unhappy at this, she sat and looked at me and accepted my rule.
However, my actions totally incensed one of the trainers, who came rushing over, and told me in no uncertain terms that I must NEVER smack my dog. What I should do is distract her with titbits and feed her. The trainer then took Simone and proceded to 'show' me how to manage my little kangaroo under these circumstances...
When Simone realised that I no longer had the lead in my hand, she looked up at the trainer with a look that said " Brilliant, I can now do as I please" and proceded to re-launch herself upwards and outwards towards her new found friends. The trainer then called Simone by name and tried manfully to distract her with a juicy titbit of liver. Well, Simone looked at the titbit, looked at the trainer and for all the world said " no thanks, I'd rather bounce all over these people and their dogs....." After about 5 minutes of trying and failing to get my girls attention, the trainer gave her back to me and said "It just takes practice, but she'll learn"
We stayed and 'trained' till the end of the class, but things didn't improve much. I felt as though I couldn't really do much about Simone's behaviour as they wouldn't let me bring her back under control, they just kept saying "she's only a baby, she'll learn"
Well she did learn, she learned that if there are dogs and humans around I don't have to do as I'm told.
She is much, much better now, but I still have to be totally aware of her when in company, as she can launch herself six feet up from a standing start with gay abandon.
I did persevere for another two weeks at the club, but, finally realised that she was learning all the wrong things and that if I continued to attend these classes that I would have a totally out of control dog. I didn't return...
So began our training at home........
Because of the way I raise my youngsters she's never had the opportunity to be around a lot of dogs.
I know this may sound strange considering how many dogs we have, but, because I'm ultra careful about the bones and joints of my baby shepherds Simone had up till this point only ever run free with my mini dachshund.
So, I did something I've never done before, when she was 4 months old I enrolled her in a local dog club.
Oh boy, what a mistake to make !!!!!!
In the past we've always had our own dog club, so my pups were introduced to other dogs in a controlled environment. In our dog club everyone had control of their dogs and the dogs were all well behaved, so it was an ideal place to 'socialise' our youngsters.
But going to our local dog club was a whole different experience. What Simone learned there has taken me the best part of 8 months to reverse!!!! and I still struggle at times to control her in a busy dog environment like a dog show.
The trainers at this dog club were very nice, very well meaning people, but........
Simone went to class for the first time and was absolutely 'gobsmacked' .... the expression on her face was priceless. She had never seen so many dogs and people all in one small space before and the noise and commotion blew her mind. After the initial shock, she launched herself into space. She tried saying hello to everyone!!!!!
It was not a place that was conducive to learning. There was so much going on, so many dogs scrabbling around on a wooden floor, so many people talking and walking that there was no way on earth that my little girl could concentrate on anything I was saying to her. Now don't get me wrong, all the dogs in the class had lovely temperaments and their owners were lovely people, but !!!
At one stage Simone was getting quite hysterical about wanting to launch herself to the end of her lead in order to meet and greet all her new found friends, so I got hold of her collar and attempted to get her to sit and calm down, but she was so excited that as she felt my hand in her collar she turned and attempted to grab my hand. This was just pure frustration at not being able to get where she wanted to go and to do what she wanted to do, but never the less, I have one abiding rule, you do NEVER put your teeth into a human being.... so she got a clip round the ear for it, and told in no uncertain terms that I would not accept her behaviour. Now Simone, wasn't unhappy at this, she sat and looked at me and accepted my rule.
However, my actions totally incensed one of the trainers, who came rushing over, and told me in no uncertain terms that I must NEVER smack my dog. What I should do is distract her with titbits and feed her. The trainer then took Simone and proceded to 'show' me how to manage my little kangaroo under these circumstances...
When Simone realised that I no longer had the lead in my hand, she looked up at the trainer with a look that said " Brilliant, I can now do as I please" and proceded to re-launch herself upwards and outwards towards her new found friends. The trainer then called Simone by name and tried manfully to distract her with a juicy titbit of liver. Well, Simone looked at the titbit, looked at the trainer and for all the world said " no thanks, I'd rather bounce all over these people and their dogs....." After about 5 minutes of trying and failing to get my girls attention, the trainer gave her back to me and said "It just takes practice, but she'll learn"
We stayed and 'trained' till the end of the class, but things didn't improve much. I felt as though I couldn't really do much about Simone's behaviour as they wouldn't let me bring her back under control, they just kept saying "she's only a baby, she'll learn"
Well she did learn, she learned that if there are dogs and humans around I don't have to do as I'm told.
She is much, much better now, but I still have to be totally aware of her when in company, as she can launch herself six feet up from a standing start with gay abandon.
I did persevere for another two weeks at the club, but, finally realised that she was learning all the wrong things and that if I continued to attend these classes that I would have a totally out of control dog. I didn't return...
So began our training at home........
Monday, 10 October 2011
Growing up
Simone is a high energy girl.
She came into the house at 8wks and could see no reason why she shouldn't take over.
She never 'walked' anywhere, she had two speeds, stop and 100 miles per hour.
So finding that there were rules in my house came as a bit of a shock to my precious princess.
The first few weeks were a constant 'NO !!' Don't attack my dachshund, Don't eat the cat, Don't chew anything that has not been given to you for that purpose !!! Don't piddle on the floor, etc, etc.
Then there was a whole new language to learn, ENGLISH, she had to realise that the noises that came out of a human actually meant something !!!
She took all this learning quite easily, and soon became an integral part of the house, although she didn't always see why she had to 'come here' when asked, especially when she was very busy doing something else.
So the first month or so was dedicated to learning what I call 'good manners', like, don't snatch when offered a piece of food, come here when asked, don't jump up on people and 'no' when we sit down to dinner you are not invited, humans are not teething toys. So many new things to learn, so many new things to see, so many new things to do. It's a wonder to me that most dogs live quite happily with the human race as to them we must seem totally incomprehensible. However, adjust she did, and never lost her happy outgoing nature. She never lost her incredible 'bounce' either, but that's another story.
Next time I'll tell about Simone's 'competition training'.
She came into the house at 8wks and could see no reason why she shouldn't take over.
She never 'walked' anywhere, she had two speeds, stop and 100 miles per hour.
So finding that there were rules in my house came as a bit of a shock to my precious princess.
The first few weeks were a constant 'NO !!' Don't attack my dachshund, Don't eat the cat, Don't chew anything that has not been given to you for that purpose !!! Don't piddle on the floor, etc, etc.
Then there was a whole new language to learn, ENGLISH, she had to realise that the noises that came out of a human actually meant something !!!
She took all this learning quite easily, and soon became an integral part of the house, although she didn't always see why she had to 'come here' when asked, especially when she was very busy doing something else.
So the first month or so was dedicated to learning what I call 'good manners', like, don't snatch when offered a piece of food, come here when asked, don't jump up on people and 'no' when we sit down to dinner you are not invited, humans are not teething toys. So many new things to learn, so many new things to see, so many new things to do. It's a wonder to me that most dogs live quite happily with the human race as to them we must seem totally incomprehensible. However, adjust she did, and never lost her happy outgoing nature. She never lost her incredible 'bounce' either, but that's another story.
Next time I'll tell about Simone's 'competition training'.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)