Himself woke up this morning and said “Is it Saturday?” I gently (honestly!) corrected him.
Although I only know what day it is because I’m writing these emails. I’m sure I’d be struggling too without them. During this most strange period of our lives each day is becoming remarkably similar, with the only choices about which direction to turn on our daily walk when we reach the road at the top of our lane and whether I need to go shopping or if it can wait another day.
I will need to go shopping today or tomorrow. Daughter no. 2 declared an emergency last night, because the final bottle of Diet Coke had been opened. This is apparently an essential item…though I do have a few other things we need. I’ve found in-person shopping again quite a revelation. Normally (if can you remember normal) I get all the shopping delivered, but there’s no chance of getting slots at the moment, so off I have to toddle. As I queue, I muse about how this must have been what the war was like for my grandparents during rationing.
Certainly, our Coronavirus Canine Challenge is helping me to have some semblance of a routine and I’m hoping it’s helping you too. Keep those videos and stories coming, I love to see how you’re getting on.
Today the challenge is to name that toy. Although I’ve never formally trained it, Gus does know some toys by name. This game formalises that haphazard and vague training up to now!
Choose 3 or 4 of your dog’s favourite toys. Decide on the name you are going to use for each– a good tip is to make all the names very different sounding so you can make it very clear to your dog which toy you want.
Pick two and place them down equidistant from your dog. Ask him to find one toy clearly (such as “Find sheep”) and watch what your dog does. The clicker is really useful for this because you can click to mark any small movement towards the toy – I clicked Gus’s head movement in today’s video. Mark and reward any type of movement towards the correct toy – head turn, physical movement such as down, touching the toy with a paw, or with the mouth.
Once you think your dog has got the idea, try with a different two toy mix. Repeat this game in short sessions throughout the day. You can work out when your dog understands and has learnt the toy name when he gets it right 19 times out of 20 consistently.
Then you can try the game with three toy options – and four – then more, until your dog can correctly identify all the toys in his toy box (approximately 63 for Gus, including lots of different tugs… Did I tell you he was spoilt?)
Keep training and keep safe,
Carol