[Kim James]

Hey buddy,
To echo Alex’s thoughts
Time management is obviously the crucial piece, living your life as well as providing a meaningful and fulfilling existents is definitely tricky some days.
Implementing a plan for the week is how I roll, and I will test and adjust as the days go by, exercise routine is super important for me, and it is set in stone no matter what.

If there are a few things MY dogs can always depend on from me it is:
• I will always feed and water them
• and I will always exercise them, both mentally and physically

In my line of employment, scent work is renowned for being taxing in effort, either tracking/trailing or specific target odour detection.

How I manage my time within the Section/Squad is I PUT IN THE HOURS, I get in before everyone and I leave last, if the guys are having or experiencing issues with their dogs I will priorities the tasks as required and always give them the time, even if it’s a simple word document with a list of thoughts and diagnosis techniques they can mull over in their own time.

I have 2 dogs at home (CODA & KELL), also 1 EDD I’m teamed with (HERA) and 7 EDD/handler teams to manage. Most of my guys are self-sufficient and managing them is easy, they are driven and are mostly on the right path, a few are lazy and meet the minimum requirements and will need guidance.

Now that’s work life…..at home I have a beautiful wife and 2 awesome children Lyla 3, and Liam 1. They are my priority and together we’ve managed to work out a great schedule. I pair my home dog time in with the children which is the best I can do for now, we go for walks together and the 2 dogs get their exercise and engagement with me and the kids. I conduct maintenance training them when the kids are taking a nap, and after dinner time I do some one on one.

CODA (the Rotti) is the guard dog full stop, she fulfils her time being ruthless at the fence which I have absolutely no problem with, KELL my retired EDD sits at the fence and spits his ball over the other side to walkers passing by in an attempt to coerce them over. Weird situation for the walkers, I will often watch and muse.

Dave, what I’ve discovered in the past is that trying to burn dogs out via too much irrelevant exercise or tasks can 1) potentially injure them or 2) make them stronger and more driven in the areas your trying to sap.
I feel it’s finding a balance between what you think they want to do and what they actually need to do.

I try to manage my home dog’s energy level and sustain them adequately via an enriching diet and basic exercise.

Dogs will keep themselves busy some way or another, and for me it’s a matter of identifying the behaviour or shortfall and implementing a plan to counter the outlet and express it some way else or productive for us both.

An example I have is the Day runs at work (fenced off area for dogs to use safely) were perfectly flat, lush and green, I put HERA in one during the morning routine and immediately she starts making tracks everywhere in every direction, and I’m not talking about your average dog running track, these are special Malinois speedway burns that have totally ruined the grass and turned it into dust and stone.

As a result, during the search tasks I found her energy levels were zapped.

So, the plan I implement is no more day run in the morning as she keeps herself busy, burns calories and stresses out unnecessarily, to find relief she expresses it via storm trooping around tearing up the yard.

So, in the morning I switch it up and we do short exercise drills, quick agility course or simple ball retrieves 30mins max.
Then I crate her awaiting the work for the day.
Scenario based search work 40-60mins.
In the afternoon, scent work again (discrimination) or walk 30-40min.

This routine has given her stability and keeps her clear headed for the priority tasks, and her energy levels are sustained. I will however switch the search based routine up variably to prevent trends or patterns.

From your description, you provide your dogs with bulk physical and mental stim, I like that your dabbling in scent work also. Finding time is a juggling act for sure I’ve begun offering dog training services at the local shelter and dog park 2 nights per week for some professional development.

So basically, it’s just the ability to manage and be opportunistic of the time on hand.
Some days though I definitely put my feet up and have a beer!!!!

[Kim James]

Hey Dave,

My understanding is you want to provide the dog with an outlet behaviour you’ve identified as relevant for him. And that curtailing unspecific reactivity (not relevant to you or unwanted) with directed reactivity (relevant and wanted) could be a potential source of confidence and protection asset.

Here are some thoughts on your concerns.

C1; Its always good and relevant to re-evaluate after training, additional data can always be valuable. We do it regularly with our scent detection dogs, just because they’ve been an EDD for “….” years doesn’t mean we won’t run an intake pro forma over them for suitability, it highlights deficiencies/efficiencies in training as well as the assessment. We will have multiple handlers conduct the pro forma on the dog to see trends and to calibrate the interpretation of the assessment.

C2; Liability, I feel its not the dogs understanding you need to worry about, its the understanding the children have on what they can do to potentially trigger the dog, again very hard to but your hand on your heart and walk away and leave them to manage each other.

Have you thought about nose work for your dog? Im a member of the Australian chapter of K9 nosetime and I can say this is super fun for owners and all types of dogs.

https://www.k9nosework.com

 

[Kim James]

For Sure Alex 🙂

atm I’m toggling through

• Working Dog Radio
• Animal Wellness Veterinarian Dr. Karen
• Dog Training conversations
• No bad dogs Podcast
• The Canine Paradigm (Australian)
• International Canine Health Awards

I really enjoy listening to other trainers on my way to work, some of it is waffle but mostly it is very well put together and highlights interesting facets of the industry.

 

 

[Kim James]

Awesome idea!!!

I haven’t been following any channels but definitely following podcasts, I find it a better platform, love listening to stuff while driving!!

be great to get some insight to what others are watching!

[Kim James]

Very Interesting Dave!!! dogs are visual experts for sure!

[Kim James]

Sorry link attached here

 

http://www.progressdog.com/follow-our-blog/will-work-for-food-the-contra-freeloading-phenomenon

[Kim James]

Hey Chris very interesting,

I think it requires a contextual analysis of said situation.

What was the circumstances that lead to that behaviour…. other than

” I called my dog over and the other dog came as well ”

where were you?

dog park?

in your back yard?

in the other dogs back yard?

Is this dog familiar to Hudson, is there a clear level of social status between them.

Do you treat (food/toy/affection) your dog on the recall?

I think this is relevant information as it will enable a better analysis of the steps both dogs went through prior to the bite that you may or may not have missed.

Its fair to say a dog would feel entitled if there is a leadership imbalance.

You are and should be a protected commodity if there is a threat present, thats normal behaviour.

If you look at Maslows hierarchy of needs your fulfilling all of these for Hudson in some way or another, the whole idea behind the leadership philosophy is that you are and become the resource MANAGER.

 

 

[Kim James]

Hey Dave

Video it, it maybe easier to break down and analyse.

If you are pairing the command with the lure there should be no need for compulsion, the reward is released once the mechanics are completed, even if you need to chain the behaviour have a target behaviour set, then incrementally reward the approximations that lead towards the target result.

For most dogs the “i’m going to put you where i want you” method is stressful and void of teaching them how to get there.

Also maybe use a different reward something of a lesser value. The anticipation of that reward may be the catalyst for whatever is going on.

I have 2 Black Labs at the moment and food rewarding is just too messy and over exciting for them, however they will happily focus on the tennis ball to lure them into various positions.

[Kim James]

Awesome Dave,

Thank you for keep us updated, thats great!!

I think its an important part of the process seeing and acknowledging our dogs enjoying the moment like that.

 

[Kim James]

Maybe he’s trying to extract more praise out of the item? he’s associated the item with praise and play for sure.

I would think not to implement corrections while the praise article is in his possession (as you may know) unless you want to discourage the behaviour, the behaviour itself was built from something so just rehash the steps and map it out again.

If it was me I would remove said item from his possession on completion of the game and ensure it was never within reach unless I initiated the game.

And as you have stated they can be possessive, so I would make it clear for him when the task is complete. ie “Finish”

My dog Barney brings his food bowl to me once he has finished eating, he will not bring it directly to me when I say “get your bowl” first he needs to parade it around triumphantly, I let him enjoy it… thats “his” reward…its 50/50 he does what I’ve taught him “get your bowl”… he does > praise, he parades it around… he does > self reward, I ask him to “drop” he does… > praise, I say “finished”. task complete. Same thing every time.

 

[Kim James]

Hey Dave,

 

So what is the reward?

The item itself or praise/treat/play?

Quality of reward needs to be consistent in order to maintain continuity for the dog to stay on point, he may now associate the item as the reward.

Are BMC’s known for soft mouths?

 

[Kim James]

Awesome Mack cheers for the email.

I remember those TE Kennels, they were used extensively in the field and on OP’s I first saw them in Afghan, you are right they are cumbersome to say the least but quite a good semi permanent kennel.

I’ve sent a link to a kennel manufacturer that are very good and reasonably priced, We often use this type when cruising around the city you can strap these down easily in a van.

https://gunnerkennels.com

here is a few pictures of the kennels we are running atm, just as big and cumbersome but suit the need.

 

All the best 🙂

 

 

 

 

[Kim James]

Nice list Mack,

Q: What is the main use for your dog crate? ie how versatile? do you want to fix it to a vehicle or portable enough so from house to vehicle ect?

I use dog pods which we designed in conjunction with a local fabrication company if you send me your email i will happily forward the blueprints and pictures, it is a pod that is secure to the back of a ute or  tray back, houses 2 dogs comfortably has internal lights, internal fan if needed, runs off 12V, storage area for equipment and portable refrigerator. no heating but I’m sure mat heating is easy enough to design and include.

The price was $6000 AUS

Are you able to tell me more about the TE mil crate you have? Is is similar to Ray Allen crates?

my email is:  [email protected]

All the best for the holiday season 🙂

[Kim James]

Thanks for the reply Dave,

Yeah crazy people out there willing to get bit. not good for Ace or you if they do though. All those things he is showing is just immaturity and it really could just boil and simmer under the one heading and thats “fear/protective aggression” whether its irrational or appropriate is hard to say due to the subjectiveness of the observation. My pup Ghost has shown some dominance aggression behaviours, I’ve only had him for 3 weeks out of the 4.5 months of his life so I’ve some leadership exercises to maintain and do everyday.

Such is Life 🙂

[Kim James]

Mike guided me towards a very influential book:

“The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People”

: I gotta say though Konrad Most manual is currently blowing my mind! I cannot believe the depth of understanding for that period of time.

Cheers for the heads up lads!!!