Week 7

This week:

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This week a challenge I faced was that my mum, who usually helped me record training sessions, was away on a business trip. Whilst usually this wouldn't be an issue as recording training would be relatively easy, fetch training is slightly different where Winnie is moving about. This makes the recording part harder. Furthermore, usually to combat the fact that I had to record myself I could usually record with one hand and give treats with the other. However, as this week a main focus was the "Drop" command it meant that I had to grab the toy and give a treat. This meant I was unable to record this week. Whilst this was annoying I think the effect it has on my learning output is limited. This is because my learning output would mainly showcase the final progress I have made. As a result the beginning stages of teaching fetch would likely not be in the video. Furthermore, I think videos of me tugging the toy from Winnie wouldn't provide much value to the learning output anyways as it doesn't really show the process of fetch. Thus, I decided it wouldn't be necessary to record drop and fetch this week.

 

Monday

Today marked the start of fetch training, and I began by introducing the “Drop” command. At first, Winnie didn’t really get it — she held onto the toy and either wanted to keep playing tug or run off with it. I used treats to trade for the toy, saying “Drop” right before giving the treat. Although we kept practicing I think she was quite tunnel visioned and decided to either want to eat the treat or play with the toy and couldn't understand the concept of implementing both. We also did a short “Wait before eating” session, which she handled well — she waited a few seconds before going for the food. I feel like she’s got that down now. I finished with a quick round of the “Go Find” game indoors, and she did extremely well. 

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Tuesday

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The main focus for today was strengthening the “Drop” command and encouraging Winnie to release the toy right away. I think today she did better than yesterday where she started to let go more quickly. Similar to before I wanted to start to phase out the treat and make it more command focused. This was particularly important as I think now she started to let go more quickly because she saw the treat coming. I did this by delaying the treat by a second or two after telling her to “Drop”. I also spent time revising older tricks like “sit,” “lie down,” and “play dead.” She remembered them well and responded quickly.

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Wednesday

I introduced actual toy throwing in the backyard for the first time. Winnie chased the toy enthusiastically but often didn’t bring it all the way back. She’d stop partway and chew on it or drop it randomly. I tried using the “Drop” command and encouraging her to come closer before giving her a reward. It worked a few times, but not consistently. We also did some recall training at the park. She was more distracted than usual — there were dogs barking nearby and lots of smells — but with crouching and calling excitedly, she still came about 60–70% of the time. I also did a quick crate training revision, just practicing the “crate” command. She went in after a moment’s hesitation and stayed calm. We finished with a short session of “wait before eating,” which she handled well — I think she’s ready for this to just become part of her routine at meal times.

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Thursday

Today was about reinforcing “Drop” before rewarding and starting to add longer distance throws. Although she definitely brings the toy into my vicinity she doesn't always come back. I think she's finding fetch quite a difficult concept to grasp but I think she is quite enjoying. However, the drop command is improving which is nice. I did a quick revision of tricks, and she still performs them reliably.

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Friday

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I tried fetch in a more stimulating environment today. This was definitely more challenging. We went to a somewhat busy part of the dog park which caused her to by much more distracted. Today she chased the toy almost every time but didn’t always bring it back. Sometimes she would also ignore the “Drop” command entirely. Today I didn’t push too hard with training and mainly just focused on making sure she has a positive association with fetch (did this using positive tonality). We also did a recall session too. This was tough and she would only come back reliably when there were no obstacles between us. However, I found that she was a lot more reliable when I used my full “crouch and call” sequence. Obviously this isn’t the fully correct command sequence. However, I think that as busy parks are quite a big leap from the backyard it is fine to build the habit of her coming back to me before I start smoothing out the slight inaccuracies.

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Saturday

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Today I practiced the full fetch sequence including the throw, chase, bring back and drop. I did this both with and without treats. Today she did come closer to me which was a good change, and her drop was pretty good. I think she was more hesitant and less consistent when there we no treats, but she still participated which was good. I also did a short crate command refresher and revised her tricks again. She is definitely getting quicker and more confident with the responses.

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Sunday

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Today I spent a long time reviewing everything from this week. In particular fetch and recall were the main focus points for today. We went to the park and did a mix of games and formal training. I think her fetch sequence is slowly improving but I think she still needs some encouragement to bring the toy all the way back. In particular I think her main weakness is conducting fetch in a stimulating environment. However, Drop” is definitely getting stronger though. Recall in the park was very good today but still something I need to keep reinforcing. I also did a final review of crate training. Today she went in when asked and stayed calm, even when I left the room.

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Note:

The main thing that needs improvement is fetch (E1)