I wrote earlier that I would keep some kind of training diary. It has not been made of – mostly because my blogging is at such a low level right now. But at least I thought I would tell you a bit what we are doing right now, and why. And if the heading did not reveal it, so can i tell – Contact exercises. 😀
If there is Someone who wonders, So contact exercises consists of teaching the dog that it is both good and nice to have eye contact with his person a little now and then. Ella learned very quickly, But Boyo is really awkward on this. He has been ever since I picked him up, And he is also incredibly difficult to train on just that, Because he is so sickly easily distracted and unfocused. Add to that Lilo has been with us more than not during a couple, three months during summer and autumn, so it becomes clear that there has been no much space to train on it.
Indoors it works bra. Here's not much that can distract him, and he holds really nice eye contact before my well to the food, or when we are going to go out and he sits waiting while i dress up (Although he has ants in the ass, so he's having a hard time sitting still).
But outdoors, in other words… My God. It is more or less impossible to make eye contact with him for more than a thousand seconds, and then he is completely gone in his own little world. My personal opinion on this is that it is so morbidly fucking frustrating that I almost bang off. How to train a dog that completely refuses to follow the scent of candy to eye contact and then reward? Even though he really likes the candy we use.
Now we have driven in a way quite a long time, and obviously it doesn't work. He does not understand at all what I want him to do, or whatever the benefit of it. I would like to think I'm perfect 😉 But now it's time to start thinking about what is going wrong. Although I experience Boyo as quite windy and above all sluggish, so he is not unintelligent. Probably he's pretty smart, he's just different compared to Ella.
And then is it like myself i get to start watching. Do I need to change my mind? Is it time to change tactics?
There are rows with reasons why it feels sad to keep up with such simple exercises with a one -year -old dog, But that is as it is. He has also entered a new teenage period where he has forgotten how to go nicely in leash. It's not quite as bad as the former, and hopefully it does not last as long as, but that remains to be seen.
But because return to eye contact; Boyo is really incredible on this. With my occasionally short patience it won't be good at all, so i understand he tires. I tire when he insists on behaving like a mupp.
So – Lilo will be here tomorrow/today (depends on when I publish the post), Then her math is free for a week. I'm going to take advantage of this week and invest in training contact exercises when we are out. We shall not make advanced stuff, But just eye contact – and maybe even hide and seek in the forest, Should it be.
Regarding Rewards so I believe – now in itself likes boyo candy, But I think I will invest in a lot of physical praise instead. He responds well to that – better than on candy, I think. We'll see. Now it will be tested and evaluate various that apply for a while to come.
Blogging is like Said was a bit si and so right now, But I will do my best to keep you updated on what's going on. It would be so damn nice if it could click in Boyos skull, In that way he, like the point,.
Before i even Decided me that it would be just Boyo, Did I say I wanted a challenge in my dog. Little did I think it would be a challenge of this particular kind. 😀