Caninecommunication with Julia Collins

Parlez Vous POOCH?!

Blogger andqualified‘DogListener ’ Julia Collins looksathow funandplaywithyourfour-legged chumcanbe veryinstructive.

Itissaidthathalfan hour’s constructive play /‘training’ witha dog,isastiringasan hour’s briskwalk.Good to know when theweather is horrible and awalk doesn’t feel veryinviting. Adog definitelyneeds one good walk aday,but thesecondone canbereplaced, when really necessary. Trytelling your dogtositand wait whileyou hide afavouritetoy just outofsight.Then,return to your dogand quietlytellthemto ‘find it’. Most dogs love thisand youcan expand thegametohide severalarticlesat once.Makesure thepaceisgentle–not toomuch skidding over shinyfloorsand looserugs. Remember–onlya calmpoochreceives areward. Try y also tellingy yourdog to sit and wait while you move away andthenoutofsight. He will delightinfinding youand,once theideahastaken hold,someone elsecanhide andyou canthen send thedog to findthem. He willunderstandthisvariation based on thepreviousexperience. Stashingtreatsaround the housealso goes down astorm. Just placea little‘reward’behind chair legs,curtains or room entrances. Nowyou’llseesome high-speedconcentration! Havingtriedit once, reducethe numberoflocationsand make themlessobvious,thusobliging thedog to refinehissearch. Adding detail to your usual routineisa good idea too. You canstretch timebymakingthe period available intensely packed with requests.Sittingquietly y while you put on your boots, hat and coat is all good practise. Moving from ‘ sit’ to ‘down ’ and back again from a distance, followed by a little walk around at heel, a ‘ wait’ then ‘ come ’ , all refine attention, centre the dog on you – the leader, and use up

‘thinking energy ’! ‘Good waiting ’ , ‘good no tearing around the hall’ , no squeaking – you can see all this is demanding from a cerebral point of view, and all before anyone sets foot outside thedoor.In addition, if‘goodpayingattention’and ‘carrying out’have taken place beforehand,thewalkmightbe aslightlymorecasualaffair, dedicated to runningaround andlettingoffsteam, rather thanincorporatingtheusually recommendedrecalls, changeof direction andplay. When youcarry outa ‘pre-walk’, don’t feel hurried. Don’tthink‘let’s getthisover withbeforewehittheactual walk’.Itis part oftheexercise regime andavaluableoneat that. Asmoothlyenriched few minutesconcentratethe canine mind,calmthehouseholdand emphasiseanimportantand rewardingdisciplinefor everyone concerned.

Parlez VousPOOCH?!articles are also availableonthe Oracle, an audio information magazine for visuallyimpairedlisteners, which is partof Wymondhamand Attleborough Talking Newspapers. To accessall theTalking Newspaperrecordings, go to

www.watn.org.uk

Julia Collins @walksoflifessuffolk www.walksoflife.co.uk