Dogs A' Flying

Building a Better Team involves how you interact with your dog every day! Use all your interactions to build your team. Below are some ideas to strengthen your team. Some are specific to agility while others are to strengthen your team overall. This page will be updated with newest material at the beginning of the page.

May 2008

Beef Heart Training Treats Recipe

I have been asked to put my recipe on my website so here you go? I don't do anything fancy at all. Slice the beef heart if it didn't come that way. Lay the slices in a Pyrex dish and sprinkle liberally with garlic powder. Cover with some paper towels (I try not to use plastic anymore) and microwave. After maybe 5 minutes, rotate the slices around so the inside ones are now on the outside. Nuke some more until the pink is gone, or mostly so.

Lay the slices on paper towels to absorb the juice from the meat. Save the juice in the dish for to put on your dog's food. When cooled, slice the heart into little bites. Freeze in bags for future use. Sometimes I am more lazy and throw the cooked slices in the freezer and cut them up at a later date. If you freeze them on a flat surface, you can toss them in a plastic bag after they are frozen and take them out one at a time for chopping into little training treats. You can also use them yourselves for dishes such as adding to simple soups.

Feb 2008

"The first time you teach a dog something, they remember how they felt at that time. So make it a positive experience. Dogs also don’t forget how they felt in that environment." -- Leslie McDevitt

Jan 2008

The more present you are with your dog, the better a trainer you will be.

"People will know how large your soul is by the way you treat a dog."
---Charles F. Duran

Dec 2007

Build a good foundation. Repairs are never as good as a strong foundation.

Help the dog make the correct choices. It’s all about choices! Set them up for success.

Behaviors reinforced will encourage the dog to repeat the behavior. Behaviors not reinforced will be extinguished unless the dog is getting other reinforcement for it.

Help your dog make the correct choices. The steps are:
1) know the desired action,
2) set up the dog to make the right choice,
3) observe it,
4) reward FAST. Use clicker or verbal yes to immediately mark the correct choice. Follow with petting, food, praise, toy, or smile.

All rewards are contingent on something the dog does.

Get 80% success rate on 2 separate training sessions before adding challenge.

Keep a training journal to track your progress and problems.

Dani doing a fast down on a table at 8 months of age.

Contact Mary Hunter at dogsaflying@msn.com.