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What an amazing week! This was an experience of a lifetime that can be repeated year after year if so desired and have the time, resources and ability to travel. There is no possible way to cover all the bases in a single week of camp. In fact campers are advised, especially the first year, not to try to do too much. Both you and your dog will wear out, both physically and mentally.
Our scheduled was geared to take advantage of classes that Susie would enjoy and also further her training agenda. Susie thought you would enjoy a bit more detail about the classes that she and her daddy participated in beyond our mention about how much she enjoyed and took to herding sheep.
We started with four classes, including herding, and midweek picked up another class, Tricks, when herding was done. The other three classes were Reading a Dogs Body Language, Loose Leash Walking, and Really Reliable Recall.
Both Reading a Dogs Body Language and Tricks were taught by Leslie DeFusco. Leslie was a veterinary technician from 1991 until 2002 when she formed her own training company, Dogs Think!, where she provides training and behavior consulting full time. Additional information on Leslie’s career, classes and workshops can be found on her website. Most important to know is that Leslie has a genuine love for dogs and using reward based methods for training.
In the body language class we learned how to recognize a dog’s moods by such key details as the position of the tail, ears, and body position and approach. Leslie used dogs in the class to illustrate how different dogs react to the introduction of different elements into their environment. She used a variety of aids such as an animated cat, different sizes of stuffed dogs, and interaction of dogs in the class to illustrate these elements. For example a small terrier named Digby went head-on at the fake cat and grabbed it in his mouth, while Susie (see photo) approached the fake cat from the side, sniffed it, determined it was not real, and then ignored it.
Midweek we joined Leslie’s tricks class and Susie managed to learn four new tricks, and started on a fifth. Susie learned spin, roll over, play dead, and prairie dog (sit pretty). We started marking for tissue retrieval as well. Although she is not perfect in all of these yet, she is well on her way to mastering them.
Tricks and Dog Body Language were morning classes. After lunch Susie moved on to Loose Leash Walking taught by Sean McMurray. Sean was assisted most of the week by his daughter Lauren. Sean has been teaching classes since 1990 and currently is an instructor at Tails-U-Win in Manchester, Connecticut. Sean has been coming to Camp Gone to the Dogs since 1992.
This class greatly improved Susie’s leash walking. The exercises during the week of class grew in difficulty as Susie and her classmates began not only to walk with a loose leash, but also navigate with their handlers through a variety of mazes with cones. Difficulty ramped up with the addition of treat distractions (Of course being on leash during the camp also helped in the process.) Of course her daddy also learned how to handle the situation much better by getting her attention with liberal use of her name (and some treats) to get and keep her attention where it should be. Use of a high pitch voice helped when she became distracted
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It didn’t help that the many exercises at the high field at the camp left the ground covered with treats to be sniffed and found by eager canines.
The other afternoon class which followed Loose Leash Walking was Really Reliable Recall. Leslie Nelson was the lead instructor. Leslie is the owner and training director at Tails-U-Win in Manchester, Connecticut. She oversees over 50 classes a week and a staff of more than 30 instructors and assistants. In the mid-nineties, after being introduced to Ted Turner, the head trainer at Sea World of Ohio, Leslie developed a training program for family dogs based on the training done at Sea World. She has a degree in education and has been teaching classes since 1973. Leslie is featured on a DVD on Really Reliable Recall that has sold over 20,000 copies. (20,001 now because we bought one!)
Really Reliable Recall features a method to insure that your dog comes when she is called. The basic set up for success is to teach your dog the name game, reward all recalls, play recall games every day, try not to call your dog if you think she will not come, and NEVER call your dog to do something unpleasant. Instead of the standard Come Susie and I selected the RRR word of NOW, but this is up to the individual. Susie did well in the class and is continuing the process at home. Buy the DVD or take the class to learn more.
The other evening class we attended was on use of the herding whistle. Susie’s daddy actually managed to create sounds with the whistle, which can be daunting at first. We also purchased an extra whistle. We plan to work with it more at a later date. The first commands to be given a whistle sound will be recall and sit. When we returned home we ordered a book on herding dogs that tells more about the commands, etc.
After the week of intensive training Susie has moved into dog graduate school!
July 4, 2023
