Get Engaged! Human training for dogs

July 22, 2020 AniEd Ireland Leave a comment

Online, self-paced training crash course for you and your dog!

Crash Course Details:

When? You can start today…or any time! Apply here.

Where? Anywhere, any time!

Who? This training course is for all dogs of any age and their training enthusiast humans.
Training with your dog requires lots of dedication, particularly when working online and remotely, so this course is for pet owners and pros really committed to working on training exercises every day, to see results.

How long? This is a self-paced course, usually taking 8 weeks to complete. You will have access to the online course area, materials and supplementary resources for three months from your enrollment.

How much? Course fees: €30
You can pay by PayPal or electronic bank transfer:

PayPal: https://www.paypal.me/AniEd/ or search our email address, info@anied.ie
Bank Transfer to the following:
Account Name: AniEd
Bank Name: Bank of Ireland
Account Number: 16146805
Sort Code: 900420
BIC/SWIFT: BOFIIE2D
IBAN: IE84BOFI90042016146805

To participate, you will need:

a device and internet access
you need to be able to use the internet, blogs, Facebook groups and if you wish to participate to the fullest, be able to record and upload your short training clips
your dog and your course materials
your dog’s walking gear, e.g. collar, harness, lead etc.
a long line of at least 5m (more on using a long line safely here)
various reinforcers for your individual dog such as their favourite food rewards and toys
a chair to sit in for practicing some course games and a surface, such as a small table, for reinforcers, for some course games
a snufflemat or similar (ideas here) but you may also use a bowl or even grass, when working outside
places that you can take your dog to practice course games (bearing in mind current restrictions, safety etc.)
means to record your work for guidance and feedback when it’s posted to our Facebook group; it’s best that you can set up the camera or have someone else hold it so that we can see you and your dog.

Goals of this course

This course will help you to:

improve your relationship with your dog through the development of rich reinforcement histories
develop new lines of communication between you and your dog
have fun with your dog
build value in different reinforcers
recognise engagement and disengagement
generalise engagement behaviours to different contexts
teach focus exercises
build a foundation for recall, loose leash walking and other “obedience” exercises

You get:

24/7 access to the course online area, from anywhere, for three months
multiple media learning resources for viewing or downloading
course manual to download
14 games over 5 levels across 8 weeks
5 explanatory mini-webinars (clips) – homework for humans – covering topics such as engagement, choice, play, reinforcers, motivation, distractions.
over 40 demonstration clips
comment facility at the online course area for participation, enquiries, interactions
access to a Facebook group to post videos for feedback and guidance
set the foundations for a wonderful relationship with your dog

Engagement. What is it good for?

Like all buzz words that are the talk of trainer-town, engagement is tricky to define. We know it when we see it, and we certainly know when we don’t have it.

‘To engage’ is defined as participating, to attract someone’s attention, and the one I particularly like, to establish meaningful contact or connection.

The important things to note here is that the dog chooses to engage, that they are working to attract your attention, and that you’re (both) developing a meaningful connection.

When engagement happens, the dog is fighting to engage regardless of the presence of distractions and triggers and regardless of whether you have treats or toys.

Making engagement happen starts with the human. If we want our dog to choose us, regardless of what else is going on and regardless of whether we have treats or toys, we have to work to prove that engaging with us is the best!

When the dog is engaged, choosing you regardless, he pushes into the learning and interacting process; he is more than meeting you halfway.

Engagement is the key to teaching nice loose leash walking skills, achieve excellent recall and focus, even around distractions. It’s the foundation to all teaching and “obedience”skills.

Join us on this awesome learning journey, with you and your dog as a team!

You’ll have to do a little more than that…

Online Training with your Dog

Before you sign up, consider carefully embarking on an online training course. Teaching your dog requires plenty of time, patience, skill building and knowledge development. When working remotely in a group, this is largely on you.

A course like this is best for those pet owners who are really interested in committing to working with their dog daily, learning lots of new information about dog behaviour and teaching dogs, and in developing great mechanical skill in teaching.

If you’re ready to go, we would love to have you. Submit your details in the form here and you will be taken to a page with a link and password. That provides access to the course online area where you will find instructions and course materials.

Please note that all dog training, including course activities, are participated in at your own risk. AniEd, staff and trainers cannot accept any responsibility or liability for any injuries or losses sustained during course activities.

You are responsible for your dog’s safety and behaviour at all times and you are advised to ensure you have adequate pet or household insurance cover for liability in the unlikely event of damage or injury caused by your dog to property or to a third party

Once you have received course access (a link and a password that must not be shared with any other person), there are no refunds available.

By continuing and applying to participate in this course you agree to these terms.

AniEd

Rapid & Reliable Recalls

July 21, 2020 AniEd Ireland Leave a comment

Online, self-paced recall master course for you and your dog!

Master Course Details:

We have a special offer on this course for its launch. Until Friday 31st July, you can purchase this course for €150, which is a 25% discount!

When? You can start today…or any time! Apply here.

Where? Anywhere, any time!

How long? This is a self-paced course with 12 weeks of exercises. You will have access to the online course area, materials and supplementary resources for four months from your enrollment (until the end of November if starting in July, for example).

How much? This course costs €150 if you book and pay in full by Friday 31st July. After that, this course costs €200.

Clip link

To participate, you will need:

a device and internet access
you need to be able to use the internet, blogs, Facebook groups and if you wish to participate to the fullest, be able to record and upload your short training clips
your dog and your course materials
your dog’s walking gear, e.g. collar, harness, lead etc.
a harness appropriate to your dog’s conformation is safest when working with long lines; we recommend a Y-harness like this one here
a long line of 5m or 10m (more on long line use as required on this course here)
various reinforcers for your individual dog such as their favourite food rewards and toys
a snufflemat or similar (ideas here) but you may also use a small bowl or container
suitable locations to practice that are low distraction and safe, and some places that allow for safe and distanced exposure to distractions appropriate to your individual dog
means to film your work for guidance and feedback when it’s posted to our Facebook group; it’s best that you can set up the camera or have someone else hold it so that we can see you and your dog.

Goals of this course

This course will help you to:

build a reliable recall
teach recall cue/s that are responded to rapidly, getting that whiplash turn
improve your relationship with your dog through the development of rich reinforcement histories
get a whiplash turn recall
develop new lines of communication between you and your dog
have fun with your dog
build value in different reinforcers
understand how and when to apply appropriate management
generalise recall behaviour to different contexts, including distractions

You get:

24/7 access to the course online area, from anywhere, for four months
multiple media learning resources for viewing or downloading
almost 30 games over 5 levels across 12 weeks
5 explanatory mini-webinars (clips) – homework for humans – covering topics such as recall management, long line handling, reinforcement, cues, distractions, and motivation, and lots of background information so that you understand how teaching recall works
over 70 demonstration clips
access to our Get Engaged! course for free
comment facility at the online course area for participation, enquiries, interactions
access to a Facebook group to post videos for feedback and guidance
build a reliable recall with your dog that may be a life saver and will definitely open up a world of fun with your dog

Online Training with your Dog

If you’re ready to go, we would love to have you. You can apply here and pay online.

There can be no guarantees in terms of success with training and behaviour programs as there are so many variables affecting your dog’s behaviour and your success.

Once payment has been received, you will be provided with course access. There are no refunds, whole or partial, available for course fees once you have accessed the online course area.

By continuing and participating in this course you agree to these terms.

#100daysofenrichment, AniEd, REBOOT

RUN3 Day 101…what now?

June 24, 2020 AniEd Ireland

Don’t stop now, keep this going, tips here!

#100daysofenrichment, AniEd, REBOOT

RUN3 Day 100 Challenges

June 23, 2020 AniEd Ireland

This is it! This is the last day of the current run! Day 100, more pockets puzzles, here!

Well done getting through all this with your pet, I hope you both have had lots of fun, and most importantly, lots of learning. No matter how much you participated, I can’t thank you enough for being here and seeking to improve your pet’s quality of life, through enrichment!

#100daysofenrichment, AniEd, REBOOT

RUN3 Day 99 Challenges

June 22, 2020 AniEd Ireland

Pockets puzzle fun today, here!

AniEd, At AniEd

This is how we do it

June 21, 2020 AniEd Ireland

In an attempt to differentiate and demarcate, it’s common for trainers, their businesses and training organisations, to invest a lot of effort into discussing what they won’t do, what training tools they won’t use, and how they won’t treat or handle your pet.

And while transparency is good, and historically, in this industry, it has been valuable, we aim to emphasise standards, rather than limitations or restrictions, and what we do, rather than what we don’t.

“Training”

Here’s the thing, we don’t really do training. There isn’t some established definition of ‘dog training’ but the term certainly carries with it many connotations, synonymous with discipline, obedience and control.

We have come a long way in teaching others, and in our role, we have students of different species, each with needs, abilities and expectations.
But, the dogs are the vulnerable parties, whose humans want help to understand the needs of their pets.

It’s all education. And both species require a safe learning environment, free from intimidation, with copious amounts of support and guidance.

The modern dog

Dogs live with humans, which has provided them with many advantages. But, this arrangement also deprives them of so much, largely because our expectations of them and their behaviour are unrealistic.

As humans continue to live both busier and more sedentary lives, dogs spend longer in virtual social isolation, confined in under stimulating environments, with little consideration for their behavioural needs, to the detriment of their welfare.

Dogs are expected to and must inhibit their tendencies, their behaviour, their very dogginess just to live with us and when they don’t, their lives are at risk.

We put a lot of effort into management; setting up the dog’s environment so they are less likely to make mistakes. Unwanted behaviours, those mistakes, are usually normal dog behaviours. Management alone, suppresses dog behaviour even further, so we don’t do management alone.

What a dog needs

So far, we are talking a lot of what we don’t do. Instead of “training”, our programs help identify and provide for the dog’s needs, while supporting the human owner and making sure everyone’s welfare is maintained.

Foundations, we guide you in establishing, will always lie in helping the dog live an appropriately enriched life and the relationship between both learners, human and canine, being enhanced through engagement.
We work on engagement, and everything else follows – this makes “obedience” just not an important thing.

We concentrate on teaching behaviours that benefit the dog in their life with their human, and that help the dog and their human live together.
That’s what enrichment is supposed to do; provide dogs outlets for their natural behaviours, providing them with coping skills for the world we keep them in.

Be aware that ‘training’ and learning, for your dog (and for you), is happening all the time, whether you are involved directly, indirectly or not at all.

That’s why we use naturally occurring cues, rather than barking out “commands”. All behaviour is cued by something, even behaviours that we don’t like. Those cues prepare the dog to anticipate outcomes that may relate to them feeling accordingly.

We analyse those cues, or triggers, for behaviour, and teach the dog to carry out some other healthier behaviour in response. This allows us to take a reinforcement based approach and minimise the use of aversives.

“Obedience” is not prioritised as, in our experience, we don’t think that’s what you and your dog needs at all (more here on the whys).

Our species is obsessed with obedience, discipline, control, dominance. Instead of emphasising training exercises, let’s provide our dogs with experiences.

Allow them to navigate our world, as dogs, using their senses, their cognitive approaches, letting them find their joy, allowing them to work it out. We can be their guides (it can be appropriate and acceptable to both species), jumping in when asked, sharing their joy, basking in their silliness.

This provides dogs with important life skills – stuff you can’t teach through “obedience” or control. Their humans learn how to shape their dogs’ experiences and together they navigate their world.

An enrichment based approach

Enrichment is about providing captive animals, including companion dogs, with outlets for normal, natural, necessary behaviours. Many people don’t seem to know what constitutes species-typical behaviour and requirements for dogs or about breed/type specific requirements – dogs are just expected to conform.

And, it seems, that the term ‘enrichment’ and its application, have been somewhat co-opted and apparently are thought to be about puzzles of ever increasing complexity.

That’s not it at all. And that’s why I wrote and developed #100daysofenrichment – it’s essentially a complete “training” program, providing both canines and humans with skills and knowledge required to live together happily and healthily.

No woo here

While all this might sound a little bit out there, we assure you that everything we do is grounded in evidence and sciences relating to animal learning, animal behaviour, human teaching and animal care.

We take a systematic approach to carefully analysing the dog’s environment, lifestyle and behaviour. And then we translate that for their human so that they’re not hit with too much jargon or technicality.

Human centric

Our entire conversation about dogs is from our point of view; how much they love us, how they were sent here to help us; I mean, we say that a dog loves us more than he loves himself.
We talk about the wonders of dogs, but this is largely acceptable only on our terms, via our Disney-version of dogs.

Dogs are wonderful as dogs, just being dogs. Real dogs, uninhibited by human burdens and expectations, doing things that are so often perplexing, and even disgusting, to us, being dogs living their best dog-lives.