Training Tip #2 - Always carry a bag of treats with you, single word commands & Some random observations on what we've been doing

Hi all!

Wow! What a great weekend in Cape Town it has been! Spring has sprung and everyone is outdoors having fun (with or without furry friends). If the change of season has made me realize one thing, it has to be that I want to spend this summer out and about - and possibly have Salvador in a semi trained, calm state so as the both of us can enjoy it.

This week we've stuck to our 'walking on the lead' trick and I even had some family and friends remark on the improvement he's made! We have by no means perfected it yet, but I feel confident that it's the way to go and that soon our gagging, disastrous walks will be a thing of the past!

Jameson stayed with us this week - as you might or might not know, he is one of Salvador's ultimate bestie's. He is a huge, cuddly and sweet nurtured 9 year old Golden Retriever that belongs to my boyfriends mother.

Salvador and Jameson

Jameson has assisted me so helpfully in keeping Salvador calm on walks - when you have a dominant dog, it helps a lot to have a calm old timer walking in front of you. I found that previously Salvador would always want to be the leader and by keeping him next to Jameson or even slightly behind, he calms down a bit.
Salvador also responds differently to other dogs in the park when he is with Jameson, almost as if he mimics his friend's behavior - which is great because Jameson is everyone's friend!

What I'm most excited to tell you about is this weekends adventures! On Saturday morning we took Salvador to this great park just up the road from us called Keurboom Park.

Image of Keurboom Park in Rondebosch from Foursquare

It is one of the two parks in Cape Town where dogs can run free - the other one being DeWaal Park in the City Bowl. It boasts some pretty cool features such as a skate park, kids play area, walking/running loop, a channel that runs through it and it's adjacent to a soccer and rugby field so all in all, it is a very large park with ample exercise space for you and your dog. 

This Saturday I decided to let Salvador off the lead as I have noticed that his behavior towards other dogs are much calmer off it than on it...it's strange, but this is apparently a thing - I'm not saying that you throw caution to the wind and let a very aggressive dog loose in the park, but if you have a manageable dog that possibly picks up on your nervous tension, perhaps you should give it a go.
Salvador happily met all the dogs that came on our path and we then proceeded to do some training with him on the rugby field - commands like 'COME' and 'DROP'(crucial for playing fetch). We are trying our best to stick to single words, for instance, when we call him, we say 'come' and not 'come Salvador'. All our commands are just single words - this makes it so much easier for him to learn!
He was so good on this walk that this morning we decided to go for a walk along the Promenade - on the lead most of the time so we just reinforced Tip #1 and I must say, we were pretty happy with the result, until, on the way back he promptly found the nearest puddle of muddy water and rolled in it...I guess you can't have it all in one day...

Happy training!

Licks and Kisses
xxx

Surely all Spaniels do this...

Training Tip #1 - Walking on a lead

I'm just going to start off by saying that I might or might not have been in denial about my dog's training, or lack there of...In my defense though, I would also like to make it clear that most often than not it can be quite a curse to own a really cute, handsome dog! He is never more than a few steps away from someone who wants to cuddle him - even though he doesn't always conduct himself well in these occasions...O.K, no more excuses, it's time to face the facts! Salvador is in need of some serious training! Being allowed to roam free (back when we were living on the farm) and jumping on guests and couches alike has taken it's toll on my lenient nature (when it comes to him...) so I'm currently in the process of trying out some training tips and techniques.

Our biggest issue with Salvador at the moment is walking him on the lead. He really struggles with this as he grew up running around on the farm freely. I was hopping that after a few months of living in the suburbs he would settle down and become accustomed to walking on the lead although this has not been the case.
It starts with barking and extreme excitement at the mention of the 'W' word and then the barking and leash biting turns into a chocking game of tug'a war down to the park - not exactly enjoyable. In desperate need of some help, I started doing some research about dog training and I've come across clever training aids and collars, although I've decided to go with a training tip I read on a blog; about training your dog to walk on the lead without pulling.

This is how it works:

First things first, you want your dog to be in a reasonably calm state when embarking on the walk. This is easier said than done though so what I've been doing for the past two days is I walk the front door and take the lead off the hook. I then ask Salvador to sit. This is often greeted with barking and excited shuffling around, but I take care to stay calm and only clip the lead on when he is sitting and in a semi calm state.

We now try to exit the house without any wild jumping around and barking. If he fails to sit still while I lock up, we simply walk back into the house, do a loop through the house, and attempt going out and locking up again. I regret to say that you might be doing this a few times over the next few walks, but it has to be enforced and whatever you do, DO NOT GET IMPATIENT!

O.K so we are now setting off on the walk. Salvador is by my side (it helps to keep them on one side always so as to avoid any confusion) and as soon as he starts to pull forward we immediately turn around and walk back a few steps. The fist day I did this it took a while to sink in, but after a while I noticed him looking up at me more regularly as if he has become aware of my presence (FINALLY!). Two days in we are already having a much calmer walk although I'm not going to get too excited yet!
If you are going to try this technique out I would suggest doing it for a few weeks on a known route, somewhere where you know you two won't get too distracted by other dogs or people.
The more progress you see, the more you can venture out and try different walks.

P.S I'm by no means a dog training genius, merely a fellow owner in desperate need of training my dog.

Goodluck with your training and let us know how it goes!

Licks and Kisses
xx

Just to be clear,EVERYTHING belongs to Salvador...