When I became a feed host, I had the world's best feed host consultant. That's ten years ago, but to my knowledge she is still active. She deserves all the cred possible, because she could answer all the stupid questions I had, secondly, feed hosts gave us very valuable information on how to behave with our puppies. And then I do not mean solely for educational purposes, but also in what we would think of when we socialized and environmentally trained the dogs.
There are two aspects of activating an FM-bred dog. The first is that it is necessary to socialize and environmentally train them as puppies to give them as good conditions as possible in the L-test. The second aspect is that it is incredibly difficult to keep up with a dog's willingness to work.
I remember when Ella had understood that she would sit down. She sat there and looked shitty happy with her tongue hanging and looked like she was wondering – yes, now then? Now then? Now then? What are we going to do now? What we were limited by then, and for all the years thereafter, is MY incompetence – not hers.
Apart from this so there is a lot a dog earns from experiencing, regardless of whether it is bred by the Armed Forces or a mixed race. Just with Ella, I made a great effort to environmentally train her as much as possible. She had not been with me long when we first went down to town. She sat down behind my legs, but I wanted her to learn to handle the encounter with the new environment so I actually moved. Tough as she is, she fixed it gallantly.
We were too by water – on a jetty that lay low in the water, and Ella, maybe twelve weeks old, scolded the waves really hard as they hit the edge of the bridge. I myself laughed so I almost cried – little puppy, so big and cool. Forest environment and industrial environments were also important for her to get used to and be able to handle. Among other things, she learned early on to climb ladders, go up network stairs, stand on unstable ground and so on.
It's winter time the a little harder to just train a dog, can I think. Ella's first winter (with the extreme amount of snow, if anyone remembers) we had fun with her having to climb around snowdrifts and piles of snow and look for sweets. A great way to build muscle and at the same time activate both nose and brain. She still thinks it's a lot of fun, old as she is. Is it very slippery outside (as it were – do not remember what year, but maybe 2012/13?) it's harder to come up with something sensible. I am in itself extremely sensitive to slipping, but it is actually quite fun to stay on your feet.
My best tip for activation is to take everything you encounter on a walk as challenges. You can zigzag between some concrete blocks. You can skip the same lumps. You can hide candies around exactly the same lumps. You can get the dog to push stuff in front of him (not necessarily gadgets, but those long U's on poles that usually prevent cars from driving onto cycle paths) if possible. Playgrounds for children are great places for dogs – when there are no children there, of course. Climb, leta candy, jump, swing (if there are such gigantic swings), crawl under the fence, go zig-zag and so on. The possibilities are endless.
Activation is possible also be meeting people. Ella had not filled one when we were at a party just before Christmas, where there were a lot of people she had never met. She was super active all evening – but the next day she lay covered and sorted all the impressions.
Regarding to socialize an FM-bred dog, at least I find that it is easiest to do it with people who are used to dogs. A dog like this is nothing for those who are afraid of dogs – not with their energy, their intensity and willingness to contact. The same goes for children; at least the FM dogs I have met have rushed on regardless of how small the children are, or how scared they possibly are or will be. As a human being, you have a great responsibility that nothing unnecessary happens.
Another form of activation are contact exercises, which also feels important. It is optional what kind of contact you want to have with your dog, but in order to help the dog in a possible future job in the Armed Forces / Police / security guard, a certain contact with the driver may be desirable. Personally, I appreciate that Ella looks at me from time to time to see that everything is as it should be, in the same way I look at her a little now and then.
If you like I have not taken any dog training, There are many books on different types of dog activation. I have one or possibly two – can't bear to go and look. It is not very difficult with completely everyday activities. If you want to start doing more advanced stuff, it may be time to take a course.