Welcome And Sports Puppy Goal

SPEAKER_01 0:00

So with raising a sports car or raising a sports dog or raising a puppy in a sports car at home, so do everything at home before you expect out on the road. Welcome to the Absolute Dogs Texting Squirrel podcast. I'm Lauren Langman. I'm one of the world's leading dog trainers, and it's my mission to help owners become their dog's top priority. In each episode, you'll discover how to gain trust and communicate with your dog like never before, creating unbreakable bonds that make you the most exciting part of their world. I'm joined by the wonderful Nicole, and today we're talking raising a puppy in sports. Now, you're a vet, you're into dog sports, and at the same time, you're like, but I'm not a full-time dog trainer. I don't know about this dog training wise. But you know what? I loved working your dogs at the weekend. Your dogs were absolutely fantastic in the arena. They didn't put a foot wrong. You raise a really good sports dog. You raise a really good sports dog. And I know I raise a really good sports dog. It's it's something I'm very, very good at. What do you think makes raising a sports dog like sort of success? Like what makes it? And I'm gonna start and then we'll do a bit of a tips tennis and let's let's come up with some of our favourite things. Because I know there's so many people out there who are raising a sports dog and sometimes going wrong. So for me, Nicole, I loved watching your dogs. How did you feel about the weekend? How did you feel they did?

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Yeah, I was really pleased with them actually, and especially Tonic, who can be a little bit MBN, a little bit shouty. I was really pleasantly surprised at how well she poked in the big arena.

Focus First With Food Games

SPEAKER_01 1:34

She was amazing, like absolutely incredible. Now, that's probably one of my first points. So raising a sports dog, actually, you as an owner need to read them and focus first. If you've not got their focus, then you can't do really much else. So for me, whether it's food or whether it's toy, and my probably my my go-to would be food with a younger dog at first. So I want to go go for food first because I often can keep them a little bit longer and without maybe the arousal being in there. And focus, all my focus games. So my focus games would be mouse game, the eye focus game, loosely walking and feeding games. I love to have focus for my pups and any young dog that I'm bringing into sport. And if I haven't got focus and if I haven't got them sort of with me, then I probably need to um take them out of the arena or out of the space because they just can't cope. How about you? Focus is my number one feed, if I can.

SPEAKER_00 2:24

Yeah, thinking and arousal for flyball. If they can't think and arousal, they can't do flyball basically because it's such a stimulating environment for them, isn't it?

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Massive.

SPEAKER_00 2:34

Yeah. So with ours, we just have like we're at flyball competitions all through the year. So they travel indoor and they indoor travel with us. So you know, it's like taking them out next to the ring, doing a few little games, like two minutes of games with them, keeping their focus, and then back in the van. So they get used to the noise and lots going on, like from day one, basically.

SPEAKER_01 3:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:01

Obviously, if they they're struggling to cope, we won't keep putting them in that environment. But generally, I think if you've it's not difficult to get a puppy's focus, is it? Um, as long as you don't overdo it.

Short Sessions In Busy Spaces

Build Everything At Home First

SPEAKER_01 3:12

Absolutely, just don't overstimulate them and don't keep them out too long. Yeah. I think the biggest thing is don't overstimulate them. So don't put a border collie next to a ring and expect them just to sit quietly and wait while you should have a coffee and chat. And also don't keep them out to the full and they're done and they're finished. So actually, short sessions makes a big difference, doesn't it? Yeah. Okay, so my next one for me would be when I'm raising a sports star or raising a pup in it, actually play and do everything at home first. So do everything I'm planning to do at home first. And if there's any weaknesses in it, don't take it right out. So don't immediately try and put it in that space. So for example, I'm working with three younger cockers at the moment. They don't really want to play when there's food around. So I'm not going to take that to an arena and expect them to play with everything else going on when I know their players already got weaknesses. So, for example, if someone in the arena's got food or if someone in the arena's got something they're going to be excited by, I won't be trying to play with them because you're only going to build the wrong thing. So I suppose my next one would be start at home. So with raising a sports star or raising a sports dog or raising a pup in sports, start at home. So do everything at home before you expect it out on the road. So train everything at home. How about you?

SPEAKER_00 4:21

Tug drive is probably our biggest one in flyball with regards to play and focus. I think that does help massively. So we start in the garden or in the living room if it's horrible weather. Um, one of us will hold a puppy, the other one will be running away with their favourite tug toy that they've already learned, like that tugging is loads of fun, and then they'll just have to sort of chase us down and catch it and then have a little game. And we just repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, because fly ball is quite repetitive. No, no. I think number one, before you do any ball work or anything like that, is make sure you've got a really solid tug drive. And like, if nothing else, they need to be really obsessed with that tug so that if you do take them somewhere and they can't focus on anything else, at least you can say tug and you have a quick tug and then put them away.

Tug Drive As Competition Lifeline

New Places With Easy Behaviours

Stop Rehearsing Unwanted Habits

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Yeah. Yeah. So you've got that as a bare minimum. Okay, that's nice. And so my next one, probably for raising a young sports dog and thinking like young sports dog in in new environments, is actually I will take them to a lot of new environments like the car park and like the pet shop area, but not actually inside, like vet car parks, for example. I'm trying to think of other spaces around here. Places that don't like I'll go in the gym, like places don't really mean a lot to them. Yeah. But I'll ask them for very basic behaviours in new environments. So can they go into a new environment and do a very basic behaviour? And that's what I'm looking for. And I really want to know they can do a basic behaviour, and that for me is pretty key. Um, and so if for me I can, I start that really as early as like 9, 10, 11 weeks. Just keep putting them in new places and ask them to do very basic tasks. I obviously ditched the bowl, so they get all of the ditched bowl food there, whether it's a squeezy tube raw, whether it's chopped-up chicken necks, whether it's chopped up fish heads, whether it's and those of you at home going, Oh my god, this is all about fish heads, yeah, we're talking about fish heads. Like it really doesn't matter what I'm using, but it's part of their dinner, it's part of their daily regime, it's part of their food. And I'm taking in new spots every day. And then just because I want to add one more, because it kind of tops on from what you were saying, my dogs also like yours, they travel to competitions from day one. So I would say do life with a sports dog, just do life. So then if your van barks, they get used to it. Then if the flyball dogs bark, well, when the flyball dogs bark, they're gonna get used to it. When the jealousy dog next door barks, they're gonna be used to it. Don't try and keep their life like perfect, take them on the road. So let's take the show on um tour and let's get it on tour early. And I really love I've got a good friend Dave Hibbert, he is um police dog trainer or service dog trainer or a um force trainer, not a force trainer, a force he trains dogs for the forces. And he always says like lifestyling. He says you're lifestyling with a dog. I think that's so true. Like you're lifestyling, aren't you? Like is so I think that's really valid for a sports dog or a dog that you're gonna take out and about a lot. How about you?

SPEAKER_00 7:04

I think another one that I find really important because we've got multiple dogs, is not to let them rehearse things that you don't want them to. So it's really easy, like party, for example, or border whip it from day one. For some reason, she found the other dogs moving around the house really exciting. So she'd be behind a baby gate and they'd move through the kitchen to go out the door, and she would scream at the top of her voice. So I think we probably let that go a little bit too long, to be fair. Like we're still trying to um still trying to crack that now, and she's so much better.

Confidence Around Barking Dogs

SPEAKER_01 7:37

I mean, that would a hundred percent be from the collie. That's a hundred percent a collie thing. It's like them, I need to manage movement now. So it's the managing movement thing because I've seen it in so many collisions, I've not seen enough whip it's but I've seen it in a lot of collie, so it's the managing movement. But I agree, like starters you mean to go on and work out what you're gonna let them practice because what they practice, they become. And the more they practice it and the longer they practice it, then it becomes learn behaviour, yeah, and it becomes something they do. A bit like Eliza and the pony standing on the horse box and not going in. He will learn that. Yeah, he will learn that. So, so yeah, I like what they reinforce, they become, I think, um, or what they learn or what they do, yeah, they become. I think that's massive. So for me, another one with um sports dogs, raising sports dogs, I actually think huge confidence around other dogs, other noise and things going on. So, actually, just a lot of food and a lot of play and a lot of um reinforcement for just being there, yeah, I think is really big. Because I imagine I don't know what it's like at flyball. Well, I kind of do. I've seen you when I'm on the green carpet, but for me, the dogs need to be okay with dogs lunging and barking at them.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:38

Because that's gonna happen. Yeah. Right. So when a friend of mine said the other day, I'm really scared about competing with my little dog because dogs lunge and bark, and I'm like, Yep, they do, don't they? They do, they they're gonna lunge and bark.

SPEAKER_00 8:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:50

So for me, having your dog cool with that in sports, like as in feeding them, they've got another like we we do conversation starters, so as you know, they stand on things or they're gonna go into middle, or they they know how to do certain behaviours that they feel very comfortable with, yeah, that I would do around new dogs. Yeah, um, and that's I I would do around sort of other sports dogs because the sports dogs are noisy and you can't control them, you've got to control your own dog.

SPEAKER_00 9:13

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:14

How about you?

SPEAKER_00 9:16

I mean, think thinking on that one, there's some of mine that they don't mind noise but being barked at all. I know, it's hard.

Retrieve And Early Fitness Foundations

SPEAKER_01 9:23

It's hard, isn't it? It's really hard. I mean, for me, agility, and I'll give you a good example. I I've got a very, very good friend and client, and her dog really couldn't do agility because it couldn't handle the side of the ring as it was running down, the dog's barking at her. And it's like it's not a new thing in in sports. So, yeah, I agree, it's it's definitely hard. It's not what I want. It's a bit like when you're out on a walk and other dogs run over to yours. You just can't control other people's dogs. No, and you also I don't know what flyball's like for competing, but in agility, you might be like 19 rings, 300 dogs per ring. So it's busy, like it's full on. So there's a lot of dogs around. So hopefully they don't bark and lunge at your dogs, but yeah, often they do. So for me, those those basic behaviours. Okay, I'm gonna do one last one, and you can do one last one if you've got one. And I'm thinking for sports dogs, and something that I would see as a real essential, a love of retrieve. A love a retrieve. I haven't always got a retrieve on a young dog, I don't force it like early. I I kind of work with it and build it. Yeah, but I do like retrieve. A retrieve is a nice thing. If I see I'm lowering drive by pushing for a retrieve, then I'll back off the retrieve and I'll keep the drive. So if I had to pick drive or retrieve, I'd pick drive. But I would love drive and a retrieve. So retrieve is is definitely a favourite thing for a sports foundation behaviour for me. How about you?

SPEAKER_00 10:36

Yeah, I suppose confidence circuits and getting them used to putting their feet on things and because they're gonna need to do a lot of fitness. Um yeah, so the earlier they can get used to all the equipment.

SPEAKER_01 10:49

And and whilst I'm not adding another one, fitness, right? Like fitness, I don't know about you, but I would always start fitness early.

SPEAKER_00 10:55

Yeah, yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

What would be one of your favourite go-tos in fitness?

SPEAKER_00 10:59

Um, just a static stand. I think getting them to stand still is really important. And what else do we have?

SPEAKER_01 11:08

Oh, I need to give you a spaniel to hold, like getting them to stand still is important. I'm like, you need to try times 10. Like literally. I watch those Border Whippet brains, and that's like it's definitely more still than a spaniel. My god, the spaniel brain. No, that's still it's still progress. It's still progress. Yeah, no, fitness. I I think for me, the earlier you start, the more you can imprint that way of um moving and going. So I love I love the fitness. Um, and I love I love doing all of that. One thing you're proud of with maybe one of the girls, one thing you're proud of that you started in foundation and and young dogs and you built through to today. I'm gonna go with um Skittle. I'm really proud of her tug. I just think she's got great tug. Like she's for a Spaniel, she's got particularly good tug. Yeah. And that was all instilled from early on. How about you?

SPEAKER_00 11:52

Party's ball retrieve, like a bounce back retrieve. And he will tug a ball like she will tug a tug, which is really useful for then getting her to bring the ball back and switch it for a tug.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Yeah, because you can make it a really, really good deal. Um, how about Tonic? Anything you think? I got that right in foundation. I know you're like, oh my god, she's my wild child.

SPEAKER_00 12:11

Um she has an absolutely beautiful box turn. I can't take credit for that. She's James's dog, really, and he trained her box turn. But so she's beautiful foundation on that.

SPEAKER_01 12:22

Well done you, well done you. And I don't know about you, but I know that with my next puppy, we do it differently again.

SPEAKER_00 12:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:27

We keep doing it differently. It's not like you say you're finished, right? You're always ready to learn.

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_01 12:33

So thank you, Nicole. It's been good to talk. Puppy sports foundations, some of the things you could do, and maybe some of the things in flyball that you might do differently to what we do in agility, but actually I think we align on most of them, don't we?

SPEAKER_00 12:45

Yeah, definitely.