Typist: Bethany What scares me the most about Brychwyn's leash reactivity is the lunging. We have to pass by other dogs in pretty close quarters here in the city and while I don't believe he would ever injure another dog, I fear that another dog will understandably defend itself against Brychwyn's snarling, barking lunge and Brychwyn will get hurt. So to me the most important thing in dealing with my leash reactive corgi is to get him by my side, out of harms way. For many years, I have used a "with me" command that means he is supposed to come from where ever he is to heel position (I don't make my dogs walk in exact heels while on everyday walks and with three dogs there's always one or two on my right side,) and look up at me. But lately Brychwyn has out smarted the "with me" command. On his way to his heel, he frantically looks about for another dog. I have taken to occasionally using the command when there is no other dog around but he is still on to me. We have been on such a minimal leash reactive event upswing lately, I want to somehow keep the momentum. And do that, I have gotten even more positive. When either Brychwyn or I see another dog and Brychwyn's threshold has not been crossed, I just start praising up a storm. Not just verbal praise. Not just tons of treats. Petting. Tickling. Laughing. Squealing. I am a mobile Brychwyn cheer leading squad all by myself. And it's working! Brychwyn is such a hard working and eager to please dog. He has been very proud of making me proud. It's been a very rewarding few weeks. It's been virtually lunge free and with very few out of control barking fits. I am so pleased with our progress lately and with travel season looming on the horizon I truly hope that Brychwyn continues to work so well for his cheerleader at the end of the leash. I am also very proud of myself in that it seems that I have finally undone the damage I did to my leash reactive dog with the useless negative training techniques I had tried. Any old-fashioned, negative reinforcement training with a reactive dog only make things worse! I always knew that it's all about the positive but that is so tough when holding the leash of a snarling, barking lunging monster. But now I am positive, positive and more positive. Maybe now all I need are some pom-poms? | Typist: Brychwyn I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'm just a corgi. Nothing can hurt me. Especially not another dog. I live with Wilhelm, a smaller dog, and he can't hurt me. I also live with Huxley, a larger dog, and he can't hurt me. Last weekend we went to a corgi walk and there were lots of corgis there that agreed with me. Nothing can hurt us. We're not afraid of anything. Humans may call this expression of our corgi toughness being "leash reactive" but we just call it being ourselves. Sometimes we have to bark, snap and lunge at other dogs to let them know we are not afraid. I have also said before that brings corgi means that I am eager to please Bethany. I like working for her. She's nice. Lately, when she tells me another dog is approaching... What is it she says? Oh yeah, "with me," she has really been expressive with her "good Brychwyn," "good dog" and "such a good boy" praising. I mean, I know it all, but it helps to hear it. She almost scares me with all her cheering and patting... but what frightens me more is missing out a chance to loudly tell another dog how tough I am. Wait. Nothing frightens me! Besides, like I have also said before, I would do anything to make Bethany happy. While I'd much rather bark, snap and lunge at other dogs, Bethany says we should stay positive. I'm not sure what that means but if ignoring other dogs gets me so much cheering and praise, I'll keep trying. |
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Do The Cascadian Nomads Canines Really Like Ginger's Treats? | Organic Dog Treat Review and Giveaway3/11/2014 Typist: Bethany Last week we received a comment from someone about the beautiful "ORGANIC" photo we took with Ginger's Treats that said it looked to them like the dogs didn't "want to touch the stuff." As far as I can tell, this person is someone who does not even slightly understand dogs or dog training but I thought we probably should let you know what we really think of Ginger's Treats for dogs. There were also a few people who entered our Ginger's Treats giveaway that told us they intend to buy some treats even if they don't win. Hopefully this review of all five flavors of Ginger's Treats will be helpful to you if you are shopping for organic dog treats. And maybe, just maybe, the person who thought that our very well trained Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley, so patiently maintaining their "stay" in order to get even just a few bites of the delicious, organic smorgasbord laid out in front of them, will learn a little something about the use of high value treats and jackpot rewards in dog training.
Bulldog Bites Speaking of scrumptious organic dog treats with peanut butter, Bulldog Bites are also a favorite of all of ours. Once again, I like that I can easily break these treats up into very small pieces for training and sharing. In fact, Bulldog Bites break more cleanly that Barkin' Brittle so it is probably my favorite of all five Ginger's Treats flavors. Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley obviously like these treats too. I am still surprised since no other peanut butter treats have ever wowed them like these. This flavor is definitely highly recommended. If you were to try just one flavor of Ginger's Treats, I'd say try Bulldog Bites.
Jack O' Gingers. Also, all three dogs love pumpkin. I have been feeding them unsweetened, organic pumpkin since they were puppies. It's healthy and they inhale it. Now they can have pumpkin in the form of a crispy treat! This is where the dogs would say, " what could be better?" Well, like Autumn Crisps, Jack O' Gingers do not break. But the pumpkin treats are delicious, crunchy rectangles that make for an excellent high value or jackpot reward in training. So far, Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley have done anything that I ask them to do when there is a Jack O' Ginger being offered as a reward. Maybe the dogs are right, what could be better? Sweet Potato Crunchers
From our experience with Ginger's Treats so far, they offer a healthy variety that can please every dog as well as make for a valuable reward in many situations. I have carried Bulldog Bites and Barkin' Brittle with me on walks and divided tiny pieces among Wilhelm, Brychwyn and Huxley for loose leashes, speedy "leave it" responses and respectful encounters with neighbors. I have also used these two treats as small rewards during training sessions. Autumn Crisps and Jack O' Gingers have also come along on walks as jackpot rewards for very difficult tasks like not going after squirrels, reacting to other dogs or a long "stay" while I take pictures. These two flavors also make excellent high value rewards in our training sessions. I give Autumn Crisps or Jack O' Gingers at the end of a long, treat-less heel work practice or when something I have been working on shaping finally becomes a more solid behavior. And all that is just my appreciation of the array of Ginger's Treats. The dogs can only show their love of Ginger's Treats by behaving in order to be fed more! Remember to count treats given to your dog as part of their daily caloric intake and adjust their meals accordingly! Ginger's Treats is a Cascadian Nomads blog sponsor and while we did receive Ginger's Treats for free, Cascadian Nomads was not asked or paid to do this review. Our affiliation with Ginger's Treats in no way influenced our review. As always, all opinions are our own. We are just sharing stuff we like!
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