Want to get your dog to orient towards you and go away from something else? Leslie McDevitt’s Whiplash Turns are a great, fun way to work on this!⠀ ⠀ With this game, I’m looking for Dave’s quick head turn back towards me. We can often miss reinforcing the the start of a lovely recall from our dogs when we wait too long because we keep waiting for eye contact and them coming up close. So by doing this, I’m breaking the recall away from something distracting down into a small, easy step as I’m marking him for the quick turn!⠀ ⠀ As we get fluent with this game, we can start adding other potentially distracting things in the environment near the treat, and that thing can become a cue for Dave to turn around towards me.⠀ (Video Description: In an indoor space, the trainer places a treat on the floor, as the dog goes to eat it, the trainer goes behind the dog facing his tail. The trainer says the dog’s name “Dave” and when the dog turns around, the trainer clicks the clicker and drops a treat next to her, the dog gets the treat, and trainer goes behind the dog and repeats the process. Later, the same game is repeated outdoors in an enclosed garden and this time with the trainer being at a further distance away from the dog.)

Been wanting to make this one for a while! I use a long line as my default leash when walking my dog so that he can have more freedom of natural movement and more freedom to sniff while staying safe. It’s also great work working on recall outdoors if your dog’s not ready to be off leash yet. With proper handling and a dog who walks well on leash, the same leash can still be used when walking along a side walk and when you have to walk close to your dog. If anyone out there has had any experience in audio engineering like me, it’s very much like coiling a cable to keep it neat and untangled. The long line I’m using in the video is a 5m rubberised webbing one from @demonmakes! You can also try a biothane long line as they too, don’t tangle easily and are easy to clean. I recommend starting with one that’s shorter (e.g. 3-5m) and working your way up to a longer leash if you want to.

Cooperative Care is about teaching an animal not only to tolerate handling, vet procedures, grooming, etc., but to also be a willing participant and be able to consent to these procedures. Cooperative Care is something I really focus on and find incredibly important because every dog will have to go to the vet (and some for grooming) some time in his life. If a dog is fearful or reacts defensively at the vet’s, he may not get the care he needs as owners may choose to postpone necessary vet care because of their dog’s behaviour. I also love how effective it is to give dogs the ability to choose and consent to whatever is happening to them. Having control is a primary reinforcer (like food and water), and to allow dogs the ability to control the potentially aversive stimulus (e.g. an injection or nail clippers) will reduce their fear, anxiety, and stress about the procedure. For example, with the chin rest, if Dave moves his head off my chin, all handling of his head and ears stop and I will still toss him a treat. He is free to engage, leave, ask me to stop, and go at his own pace. Being empowered with choice can help a dog actually enjoy these procedures, and it’s just so much easier than forcibly pinning a dog down. This is a compilation of just short clips of the cooperative care behaviours I’ve worked on with Dave, from different chin rests to Chirag Patel’s Bucket Game.