I can't decide which video to submit for my mixed terrain badge with Lexie.... What do you all think, the feral beach one or the cool calm on lead one? Same day same walk same awful weather blowing a gale and very wet!

For this weeks challenge I decided to pick learning names. This is a nice add on to the hold of the first challenge, as later on you can combine the two. The goal is that your dogs knows the names of different people. So the end picture would be you saying a name of a person in the room and the dog turns his face to the right person. This is the foundation to be able to use the names to send your dog to a certain person, search for a certain person or bring something to a certain person. Incase you dont have helpers near to help you, you can teach this with items instead. You will find an adaptation at the bottom. 1. Decide a person whose name you want to teach first. 2. Have the person standing next to your team. Both you and the helper have treats in a pocket. 3. Say the name of the person, followed by a pointing gesture to the person. As soon as the dog looks at the other person, the helper says something encouraging, does an inviting movement and opens the hand with a treat for the dog to grab. 4.The moment the dog takes the food, you mark/cheer, so the dog turns back to you and you pay with another treat. This way the dog learns, that after completing the task, he always and immediately comes back to you to get new instructions. 5. If the dog doesnt look around and doesnt turn to the person to begin with, the helper should make an inviting noise right after you said the name. If the dog now looks, he gets encouraged and paid by the helper. Mark and reward. 6. Practice this until the dog turns to the person without hesitance. 6. Gradually increase the distance between your team and the handler. (You can here add a second cue like „Go to…“, which will mean move to the right person, instead of only looking at the person.) 7. As soon as there is a distance depending on the excitement of the dog it can be handy to use a very short leash to hold the dog, so he doesnt anticipate, before completing the cue. He has to wait the whole cue „Go to Max“ and not start running after just hearing „Go to..“. This will be important when you add other names, so the dog doesnt start running before even hearing the name of the right person :)

Please share your favorite training treats in the comments.

My turn to pick a training challenge this week and it was hard to pick as I’m unsure of everyone’s training level. You’ll have to excuse my poor form as I’ve injured my shoulder this week and also video jitters as I’m always behind the camera. 😅 I’ve added a basic guide, but I understand there’s so many ways to teach things and all dogs learn differently. Watch your dog and how they learn, slow down if needed and take each session as it comes, no rush. My chosen challenge is sending your dog around an object from any distance. Once learned, a cue is added and you have some distance ~ pick a variety of environments, ground (grass, concrete, etc) to build a solid behaviour. Use different objects for your dog to go around. Tree, washing line, water bottles, etc, get creative and have fun! 👏 Can’t wait to see your videos. I nominate @Nora Latzke to pick a new challenge for Friday the 21st November. —————————————————————————————— 🔹 STEP 1 — Introduce the Object (No Cue Yet) Goal: Dog willingly moves around the object with a lure. 1. Stand very close to the object. 2. Hold a treat at your dog’s nose and lure them in a wide arc around the object. 3. As soon as they complete the loop → mark (“yes!”) → reward. 4. Be slow and smooth with the lure. 🔹 STEP 2 — Fade the Lure Into a Hand Signal Goal: Dog follows your hand even without a treat in it. 1. Repeat the same motion around the object 2. This time your hand is empty 3. Reward when the dog completes the loop You’re teaching: Follow the hand movement, not the food. Alternate having an empty hand and a treat in your hand so you’re unpredictable but they know they still get the treat. 🔹 STEP 3 — Add the Cue “Around!” Goal: Dog starts the behaviour when hearing the cue. 1. Say “Around!” ( or whatever word you wish to use) 2. Immediately make the hand motion 3. Dog goes → mark → treat 4. After several reps, start giving the cue before the hand signal. 5. Then slowly make your hand signal smaller.

Hey All! Just wanted to introduce myself and my awesome doggos. I’m Richard and love training my two dogs and recently I’ve started to push their boundaries and limitations even more - it has been so fun to see what we can achieve and it’s been awesome for them and me. Clive (the Chihuahua) – At times, he’s your typical Chihuahua in that he doesn’t like random people or dogs getting in his face, and he’ll make it clear where you stand with him. When he was younger, he showed some reactivity towards dogs and people, but over the years he’s become much more neutral and happy to do his own thing. He’s also super cuddly—on his terms. Clive’s treated just like my Staffy: no babying, no carrying, and definitely no encouraging reactivity like some people do with small breeds *whispers* it’s not cute 🤫. He attends group training classes and does obedience work with me. Donny aka The Don (the Staffordshire) – She’s your typical goofy, hyper Staffordshire who thinks the world is amazing, every person and every dog wants to be friends, and there’s absolutely no question about it! She was the naughty disruptive kid at puppy class and couldn’t partake in group activities because dogs are her weakness…on a flat collar, she used to pull so hard to say hi to other dogs that she’d actually pass out — obviously very rude, and having your dog faint isn’t ideal. That’s where my training journey with The Don began. Donny attends group classes to work on neutrality and also does obedience training with me — sometimes she gets so excited that she’ll offer every trick she knows, just hoping that one of them will be rewarded. I’m looking forward to getting to know you guys, tell me a bit about yourself and your dogs personality, quirks and all!