Blog
In the blog we write about the book, clicker training and our thoughts about gun dog retrieving and field trial training.
Webinar: Reliable Behaviors
Will your dog pick the dummy over the hamburger? No? Most other dogs wouldn't either - but with the right training you can teach your dog to do it! Along the way you'll also learn how to use the same principles to teach your dog to come when called even...
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Retriever class with Seeker and Tassla
Once a month this spring, Elsa, Seeker, Elsa’s baby Viola and I, got into Elsa’s car and drove to Skåne to attend a class. My role was to babysit the world’s cutest baby and I also made sure to learn as much as possible by observing the participants and listening to...
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Straight Lines Over Obstacles
A straight line from A to B might seem obvious to us, but it’s not at all as obvious to the dog. Particularly in hilly terrain or if there are obstacles such as fences, fallen trees or brushwood in the way. Running straight across a football field or along a path...
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Joining the dark side!
After the hard decision to find a new home for Seeker I still knew that I wanted a dog to train. I also knew that I didn't want a puppy. That doesn't fit with our family situation at the moment and I felt that puppy training wasn't what I wanted since I've just done...
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Operant learning vs clicker training vs ”traditional” training
Every now and then, I come across the misconception that classical conditioning is the same as ”traditional” training, traditional training being defined as training using more or less aversives. And sometimes clicker training is referred to as operant learning –...
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Three years of learning and a difficult descision
A couple of months ago we had to make another difficult decision - after recently having to say good bye to Ludde - namely finding a new home for Seeker. We've known for a long time that he's a special dog, that he has a lot of opinions, that he has elbow dysplasia...
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Useful and fun work
A couple of weeks ago I, Seeker, Seeker, Lena & Tassla were helping out on a protective hunt for pigeons. It was both useful work and a great opportunity for me to see where Seeker and I were at in training. Seeker finds it difficult to hold himself togehter when...
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From black and white to a scale of grey
About a year ago, I decided to basically have one single focus when training with Quling: to get a better cooperation. The time before this decision had been a long and frustrating period where I did not understand my dog and I could not get through to him. He seemed...
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Interview with the winner of the Spaniel Championship 2017: Anna Lindholm
Anna Lindholm, Spaniel handler and breeder, won the Swedish Spaniel Championship 2017 together with her dog Wildphoebe Nighthawk "Penny". She also received a prize for the best Swedish bred dog and became "The Spaniel Champion". The latter means that Anna and Penny...
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Two Years of Laughter and Tears – Two Years of Learning
My ”puppy” Quling turned two years old a while ago. Among other things I love him because he’s the cuddliest dog I’ve ever had. Every morning when I wake up, he literally comes to hug me. Wiggling his entire body, he slides into my arms, puts his paws on either side...
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Tassla’s First Field Trial
Tassla and I started in a Beginner’s trial (B) for spaniels a couple of years ago and I thought I'd share that experience with you. Beginner’s trial (B) is the easiest trial there is for spaniels and the purpose is to judge the dog’s ”spaniel qualities”. When it comes...
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Ludde has crossed the rainbow bridge
In mid May, we had to make the most difficult decision a dog owner have to take - to let go of your beloved dog. Ludde was my first dog and my master guide into the world of dogs. When I bought Ludde, my only preference was that I wanted a white golden retriever and...
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Getting Your Dog Used To Game Early On
I’m convinced that introducing the dog to game already during puppyhood is for the very best if you want a dog that feels that handling game is the most natural thing in the world, and the very best thing too. When I meet friends, acquaintances and students whom are...
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When The Hold Isn’t Good Enough
A while ago I had a project with Tassla. The goal wass to improve her hold. She’s always had a leaning towards a somewhat loose hold and most of all; she’s been likely to chew the objects that she’s retrieving. In order to develop a firm hold, I’ve been playing with...
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Winner’s class with Kat
I made my debut in the Winner’s class for Spaniels the other day. With me was my teacher, the Cocker Spaniel Kat. She’s my bonus dog this autumn. Her owner has a few too many dogs and her extra family lives close to me, and since they don’t hunt or train their dogs I...
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Tassla’s First Trial Of The Season
I wanted to share the story of Tassla’s first trial of last season with you, so here goes 🙂 Tassla is in Novice, which is the class you can enter if you have passed the water trial. The next class up is Open, which is the highest class. In Open, you can collect legs...
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When almost everything comes together, but yet not…
What a day! I’m emotionally drained. That handling a Spaniel can be this exhausting! But today, Tassla and I had our best trial so far! We had two runs. The first one lasted maybe 20 minutes, and had quite a stretch in tailwind. Perhaps I did let her run a bit wide...
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The party of the year: Summer camp
Every year we have a gun dog summer camp which is just so much fun so we wanted to share a story from our second summer camp a couple of years ago. The previous year’s camp was amazing and this camp was at least as fantastic, according to many of those whom...
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The Seven Deadly Sins
When we had made some progress in writing the book (Retrieving for All Occasions), we played around with creating a summary under the caption ”The Seven Deadly Sins”. Unfortunately the text couldn’t fit into the printed version of the book, so we’re publishing it here...
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Back to basics
I claim that one can pass a novice cold game trial in Sweden through working on deliveries, steadiness and heeling (providing, naturally, that the dog is interested in hunting and will pick up game). I constantly go back to those basics, both in my own training and...
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