Sometimes I feel like everything is up to the dogs... I make a living training dogs and their people - I know many dog people who I often meet - I train my own dog almost every day - I train several sports with my own dog and I also compete..
NOSE WORK
On Thursday we went to the Nose Work class 1 test through DKK in Solrød. The day started early and we spent a whole day filled with lots of dog talk with other NW nerds. PellePirat did some fantastic searches and simply worked so thoroughly concentrated that I couldn't have expected more from him. Unfortunately he didn't get his NW1 title, but that wasn't the purpose of us participating in the test either. Admittedly, I love titles and rosettes - but a happy and energetic competition dog is worth much more! Both here and now but also in the long run.
I just have to declare myself a complete Nose Work fan. My business is based on Nose Work and I love the unity and the enthusiasm and joy I see both in the training of Nose Work dogs but also at the competitions. The fact that my little PellePirat has also gone from being completely uninspired to a huge Nose Work fan is just a mega PLUS!
SHEPHERD
Saturday was about herding. If there's one thing PellePirat LOVES, it's herding sheep. Wow, if he could do it every day, I think he'd say yes, thank you! On the other hand, it's the sport where I'm most away from home - hold on where I just feel challenged:
- WHERE is your sheep?!
- WHY am I being knocked over by sheep?!
- WHY does my dog keep sprinting AROUND and in circles around the sheep?!
- HOW do I slow him down?!
- HOW do I get him to keep more distance so the sheep don't push me?!
So many questions! The dog, on the other hand, often gets lots of praise. The handler NOT so much..
NOSE WORK - again
Yep, on Sunday I went out and trained myself with some of my oldest Nose Work students. One of the hardest things for Piraten is working when there are other, fun dogs present too. So we trained on that and some challenging searches.
And it's so great when someone other than yourself sets up the search. Because then you get to practice something you might not be used to or didn't even have the imagination for.
LP TRAINING
Monday was 3 hours of LP training for class 1. Actually, we can do many of the exercises from class 2 as well, but our biggest challenge in obedience is my Pirat's open mind, which is very influenced by the environment. So focus on class 1.
Funny enough, my coolest training pirate had forgotten ALL about the "stay" exercises on Monday...
- Fake start in the call
- Jump start
- He turned around while walking.
- He ran out to me in tires from a distance
- The change of position was completely out of the question...
PellePirat can never do anything wrong.. He knows all the exercises, he just thought he could put his own touch on the exercises to spice them up a bit.. Often to the great laughter and joy of those watching. I can't help but laugh at him myself. He does everything with his very special PellePirat face and charm, which is irresistible.
So training plan started to get cool for the STAY exercises again.
TRICKS/FREESTYLE TRAINING
Thursday evening was 1 hour of tricks training with a view to the skills tests / Freestyle program (if we ever get there). The pirate has so many tricks hidden in his fur that he likes to show off often. Below are some of the ones he came up with himself:
- Jump up (see image below)
- Teddy bear (yep, the one where he sits on the seagull with both front legs up)
- No / buck / playbow
- Wave
All of them are things he does randomly, but they don't have a strong signal. All of them are tricks that are super cool - but that I haven't spent enough time refining. So we are being challenged now in our training and have been asked to phase out the hand signals, so he does the exercises on verbal signals. Yep, training started!
And where did we come from? Well, another week FILLED with dog training.. Is this happening to you too?
ABOUT BLOGGERS
Tina Hougaard is a trained dog trainer, passionate about training Nose Work and runs Hougaard & Hund. She is the happy owner of the beautiful and cheeky Tibetan Terrier Pilou aka PellePirat, with whom she trains obedience, tricks and Nose Work.
Active dog life
Sometimes I feel like everything is up to the dogs... I make a living training dogs and their people - I know many dog people who I often meet - I train my own dog almost every day - I train several sports with my own dog and I also compete..
NOSE WORK
On Thursday we went to the Nose Work class 1 test through DKK in Solrød. The day started early and we spent a whole day filled with lots of dog talk with other NW nerds. PellePirat did some fantastic searches and simply worked so thoroughly concentrated that I couldn't have expected more from him. Unfortunately he didn't get his NW1 title, but that wasn't the purpose of us participating in the test either. Admittedly, I love titles and rosettes - but a happy and energetic competition dog is worth much more! Both here and now but also in the long run.
I just have to declare myself a complete Nose Work fan. My business is based on Nose Work and I love the unity and the enthusiasm and joy I see both in the training of Nose Work dogs but also at the competitions. The fact that my little PellePirat has also gone from being completely uninspired to a huge Nose Work fan is just a mega PLUS!
SHEPHERD
Saturday was about herding. If there's one thing PellePirat LOVES, it's herding sheep. Wow, if he could do it every day, I think he'd say yes, thank you! On the other hand, it's the sport where I'm most away from home - hold on where I just feel challenged:
So many questions! The dog, on the other hand, often gets lots of praise. The handler NOT so much..
NOSE WORK - again
Yep, on Sunday I went out and trained myself with some of my oldest Nose Work students. One of the hardest things for Piraten is working when there are other, fun dogs present too. So we trained on that and some challenging searches.
And it's so great when someone other than yourself sets up the search. Because then you get to practice something you might not be used to or didn't even have the imagination for.
LP TRAINING
Monday was 3 hours of LP training for class 1. Actually, we can do many of the exercises from class 2 as well, but our biggest challenge in obedience is my Pirat's open mind, which is very influenced by the environment. So focus on class 1.
Funny enough, my coolest training pirate had forgotten ALL about the "stay" exercises on Monday...
PellePirat can never do anything wrong.. He knows all the exercises, he just thought he could put his own touch on the exercises to spice them up a bit.. Often to the great laughter and joy of those watching. I can't help but laugh at him myself. He does everything with his very special PellePirat face and charm, which is irresistible.
So training plan started to get cool for the STAY exercises again.
TRICKS/FREESTYLE TRAINING
Thursday evening was 1 hour of tricks training with a view to the skills tests / Freestyle program (if we ever get there). The pirate has so many tricks hidden in his fur that he likes to show off often. Below are some of the ones he came up with himself:
All of them are things he does randomly, but they don't have a strong signal. All of them are tricks that are super cool - but that I haven't spent enough time refining. So we are being challenged now in our training and have been asked to phase out the hand signals, so he does the exercises on verbal signals. Yep, training started!
And where did we come from? Well, another week FILLED with dog training.. Is this happening to you too?
ABOUT BLOGGERS
Tina Hougaard is a trained dog trainer, passionate about training Nose Work and runs Hougaard & Hund. She is the happy owner of the beautiful and cheeky Tibetan Terrier Pilou aka PellePirat, with whom she trains obedience, tricks and Nose Work.