GM News - August 2023

Welcome to GM-News' 50th Edition!

We're so glad you're here :-)

Amanda, David, Rodna & Ruth

Gentle Modern School of Dog Training

Top Tip - Where to Target Your Effort

Once you've learnt a skill, e.g. "stay", it can be tricky to assess your level of competence. The book Training the Best Dog Ever: A 5-Week Program Using the Power of Positive Reinforcement by Dawn Sylvia-Stasiewicz and Larry Kay refers to the "Four As of Learning."
"Stage 1: ACQUIRED. The first session in which your dog successfully completes a new task.
Stage 2: AUTOMATIC. You and your dog can fluently do the skill at least 80% of the time.
Stage 3: APPLICATION. The two of you have generalized the skill so that you can apply it in a variety of places, including some real-life situations outside of training.
Stage 4: ALWAYS. The two of you maintain the skill so that it's a natural part of everyday life together."

Think about each skill you and your dog know
Assess the value of the skill - need to know, nice to know, never use it
Where are the two of you at with the skill
- Acquired? - we know what to do
- Automatic? - easy
- Application? - we can do it anytime, anywhere, as needed
- Always? - we're in maintenance mode
Prioritise your practice on the skills you really need, in the places you really need them

Resources

Passionate about Teaching Tricks?

You must check out Do More With Your Dog's Tricktionary - there are loads of free tutorials!

Dog-Dog Play

A recent Play+Train session focused on Dog-Dog Play, and Amanda and David have put together a guide: Dog-Dog Play – Facilitating Play that Everyone Can Enjoy

Why it’s worth giving opportunities for Dog-Dog Play
Steps to ensure your dog is ready for safe play
Dog-Dog Interaction - Signs to Watch for
Keeping yourself in your dog’s mind
Fenced 'Dog Parks'
Alternative to Random Encounters with Other Dogs
Fights

Body Language - the Head Tilt

There's potentially a lot going on with the head tilt.

Adjusting the head position to change the ear angle for capturing sound
Processing the word/sound uttered by the human
Given that humans find it an endearing doggie move, possibly a dog does the pose for the positive human response

In 'Why Do Dogs Tilt Their Head to the Side?', Stephanie Pappas considers the head tilt and recent research on the topic by animal cognition researchers at Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary. [More detail on the research study available in 'An exploratory analysis of head-tilting in dogs' ]

Dogs in the News

So much interesting and fun dog stuff happening in the world. Here's our top four picks for this edition:

The 2023 Comedy Pet Photography Awards
Golden Retriever Jamboree The first Golden Retriever pups were born at Guisachan House in Glen Affric, Scotland 155 years ago. To celebrate, 100s of Goldens gathered in the ruins of Guisachan House in July. Aristocrat Sir Dudley Marjoribanks developed the breed as he wanted a gun dog suited to Scottish Highland terrain.
A Smart Device using AI to provide enrichment for Dogs; Companion. Currently a prototype, you can get on the waiting list for your own Companion.
Are Dogs Creative? Research by an Eckerd College Professor, Alumnae and an Animal Trainer shows they are by Tom Zucco Florida researchers found that dogs performed similarly to bottlenose dolphins, rough-toothed dolphins and killer whales in the ability to be creative. After seeing a “create” cue, usually a hand signal from a trainer, dolphins, for instance, receive a reward if they do something new. Dogs can also perform novel behaviour.

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