DOGGY•U

My free training foundations mini-course is now live on Patreon! Want to check it out? Simply sign up for my newsletter at DOGGYU.com and I’ll send you the link!

This popular course, with thousands of students, has moved to a new home on Patreon so that it’s more accessible without any time limit on completing it, so you can revisit it at any time!

When you complete this course you will understand how and when to employ the following training techniques:

• Fundamentals of using Markers and Reinforcers
• Luring
• Modeling
• Capturing
• Shaping
• Target Training
• Back-chaining

For each of these training techniques I also show video examples so you can see what this technique looks like in practice. We round out the course by answering a viewer question about shaping, including a video demonstration of shaping a novel behavior.

Like I said, it’s totally free, so check it out now by signing up for my newsletter at DOGGYU.COM or joining as a free Patreon member at Patreon.com/DOGGYU


ID: woman walks with Labrador retriever in heel position. Text says: free training foundations mini-course

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 549

DOGGY•U

We had our first bear encounter on a trail! 🐻
There’s a lot of black bears where I live and I often see them a few times a week. I also hike almost daily with the dogs. But I’d never encountered a bear in my area on a hike, until today!

We were at our local reservoir when we heard someone shout and then a very large bear appeared on the trail in front of us walking at us. Unfortunately, the man was unknowingly pushing the bear at us from behind.

But fortunately the bear didn’t care too much about the man (it was legit one of the bigger bears I’ve seen here) and we were far enough away that we could just change direction and walk at a solid clip away from the bear and he eventually left the trail.

Living amongst bears has made me less fearful of them generally because they’re always around my house, but today was a good reminder to be vigilant in the woods, stay calm, and respect the wildlife.

Image of the dogs, post-bear encounter, up on a rock at the trailhead both wearing orange harnesses.

#bear #dogs #hiking #newengland

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 2,179

DOGGY•U

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the reason we NQed in this AKC Fetch trial is evident here in the first photo.

Last month, Denver and I competed in the AKC Fetch Retriever level, the highest level of the sport.

At this level, dogs complete three directed retrieves to bumpers hidden behind blinds approximately 80 feet away.

A helper calls out, “Hey, hey, hey!” and places bumpers behind two of the three blinds for the first two retrieves, then behind all three blinds for the final series.

Before sending the dog, the handler tells the judge the order in which the dog will retrieve the bumpers.

This photo was taken during Denver’s very first Retriever-level trial. The moment I sent him, I knew I had made a mistake.

Can you spot it?

I had lined Denver up to retrieve the bumper on the right. His head was pointed in the right direction—but his body wasn’t. His body was angled toward the left blind. So when I released him, that’s exactly where he went - to the left.

Because he picked up the wrong bumper first, we received an automatic NQ.

So what did I, as the handler, need to work on? Making sure Denver’s entire body—not just his head—was lined up with the correct bumper before I sent him. I also needed to help him settle enough at the line to find that alignment next to me despite the excitement of the trial. (He was a little sticky on the line during that first run, which made getting him lined up more difficult.)

Fortunately, we got another chance later that day. In our second trial, we were on the same page, got a clean lineup, and Denver put together a beautiful Retriever-level run.

I’m always encouraging people to film their training because video can reveal things you never noticed in the moment. But in this case, a single photo told us everything we needed to know about what to work on next.

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4 weeks ago | [YT] | 424

DOGGY•U

“Oh, my, my, what a time to be alive”
- A Few Of Their Own, Noah Kahan

#servicedog #servicedogs #culinaryinstituteofamerica

Accessibility: woman in teal sun shirt stands with her yellow lab in block position at her back wearing a blue service dog vest. She stands in front of a full wall display of different tins and pans and different shapes.

1 month ago | [YT] | 308

DOGGY•U

13 years married today, nearly 20 together!
Happy Anniversary to Mr. DOGGY•U!
Without Eric, none of this is possible (and not just because someone has to have a big boy job with health insurance 😂)

For all the adventures, past, present and future, I love you. 💜

Accessibility: male and female in black DOGGY•U shirts sit with a black and grey Koolie and Yellow lab between their legs facing the camera.

Photo by @francesmphoto

1 month ago | [YT] | 793

DOGGY•U

So grateful 💜

Also, does anyone have a lint roller? 😅

Headed across the country for a week with the fam.

#labrador #servicedog #labradorretriever #servicedogtrainer

Accessibility: yellow Labrador retriever in blue service dog vest sleeps on handler’s leg.

1 month ago | [YT] | 490

DOGGY•U

John Denver 💜

Photo by @francesmphoto

Accessibility: portrait of a yellow Labrador retriever in a purple service dog vest in front of purple flowers.

2 months ago | [YT] | 750

DOGGY•U

Doing big dog things 💜 🦮

Stay tuned ☺️

2 months ago | [YT] | 617

DOGGY•U

Is this a little too extra? 😂

Also, 2 DAY SALE on all DOGGY•U merch (including our “in training: please give us space” and “I’m going to need a higher rate of reinforcement for this sh*t” shirts 😉)!

doggyu.dashery.com/

Accessibility: yellow Labrador retriever in blue vest sits in a store holding a tote with a cartoon image of his face with the word DOGGY•U underneath.

2 months ago | [YT] | 312

DOGGY•U

Denver earned his Champion Shed Dog (CHSD) title this weekend!

We’ve been driving 20-30 hours round trip to the Midwest to compete all spring and it’s been such a blast.

In dog sports, good people really make all the difference, and the people who put on these shed hunting events and have taken me in as their weird little van-dwelling East Coaster who just keeps coming back, have been such a gift. If it hadn’t been for how welcoming the shed hunting community has been, there’s no way we would have earned his CHSD. But it’s been worth the drive every time and Denver loves to do his thing. Thank you to every one of you who went out of their way to make me feel welcome - it means a lot. See you in the fall! 💜

#shedhunt #fieldlab #labrador #yellowlab

Accessibility: yellow Labrador sits in front of a board with three ribbons on it and a banner that says Champion Shed Dog New Title.

3 months ago | [YT] | 428