DOBO - The Beauty of Dog Balance - experienced by a Eurasier

Cojanne is a Eurasier owned by SEA member Giò Taddei, who takes Dobo classes with her teacher, Siria Palazzo, a 3* degree instructor in Italy. Siria wrote an article for the Italian Eurasier Club newsletter in 2021, and Giò has kindly shared it with us.

Dog Balance, also known as ‘Dobo’, has a lot of physical benefits, but it also helps emotionally. That’s right. It is a discipline that is truly suitable for everyone, dogs of all ages, of any size, of any breed, or otherwise. 

I have had and am lucky enough to work with Cojanne, a wonderful Eurasier female, a breed still not very common in Italy. 

Cojanne at her DOBO class

“Cojanne, what struck me when you entered the gym, in addition to your beauty, which is unquestionable, was your gaze, which had so much distrust, but was also open to a lot of curiosity so as to understand where you were, what were all those coloured balls, and to me, as I was moving and handling the gear.

Carlo, your owner, presented you as a dog wary of people, reluctant to do new things; especially if you don’t like them, and don’t see the point in them. From there I said to myself: “A new experience begins for both of us”… 

You approached the Dog Balance Fit for the first time, and I was confronted with a breed that I had never worked with before. There, we were tuned from the first moment; we had given ourselves space to get to know each other, understand each other, and like each other… And then, off we go, we started working. 

The beginning of our work started right from the baseline, I built you low, ad hoc proprioceptive sensory paths to put you a little on the edge, and try to figure out your body knowledge, your skills, your temperament, your challenges and your ways of overcoming them. You used your physical abilities and intelligence to face everything, but avoided what you did not like; and I, more stubborn than you, knowing that you could do it without any problem, I urged you to persist until you got over that mistrust. 

Every new Dog Balance Fit lesson with you has always added progress, each time increasing the difficulty, so that you bring out the best skills and knowledge of your body, where you must focus on yourself, your movements, and your trust in me. 

What you take home at the end of each lesson is great results, because you face new things; first with your hesitant approach, but then you put your distrust aside, you believe it, and you know you can do it. Not only do you perform the proposed exercise, but you also perform it very well, as you have since the first moment, bringing home really good results. 

I really believe that the Dog Balance Fit is also helping you to deal with different things in everyday life, managing situations that bring you unease, and you overcome them with the skills you have acquired, and the greater self-esteem that this wonderful discipline gives you. 

We still have a long way to go, and new challenges to face together.”

By Siria Palazzo, Cojanne's DOBO trainer

A Day amongst Top Dogs at CRUFTS 2022

 

My Top Training Tips from a Eurasier Lover and ABTC Dog Trainer

Owning a dog is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do, of course most of you already know this having fallen in love with our wonderful breed, the Eurasier.

This doesn't mean it doesn't come without challenges of course. Over the years things have changed dramatically in the dog training world, thankfully for the better. Gone are the traditional methods of aversion and punishment and we welcome the more science-lead, force-free, positive approaches we use today. 

I could talk about dogs all day, in fact usually I do! But if I have to summarise, here are my top tips for successful dog and puppy training:

Capturing

Capture the behaviours you like, even if you haven’t asked for them. If you dog lays down in his bed - “Good settle”, if you pup goes to toilet in the garden - “Good tinkles!”, if your pup is running towards you - “Come!” 

This a great way of training your dog with minimal effort. If we use the words and rewards at the time the action is being offered then it gets paired together and learnt. Simple!

Short and sweet

Training should be fun for both you and your dog. These don't need to be regimented hour at a time sessions, find minutes here and there throughout the day. Perhaps waiting for the kettle to boil or when the adverts are on whilst you watch TV. Two to three minutes here and there 10 times a day is often much more productive than trying to find an hour slot in your day when one of you might not be in the right mood. Pick your moments well. If you're training something such as a settle command, then you want to make sure your dog is tired and calm. If you're training something such as recall or a retrieve, you want to make sure your dog is keen and ready to go! Set them up for success by making sure they are in the right mood for what you are training.

Using the word ‘No’

When using the word ‘no’ it is important to remember that it is not an instruction dogs can follow. Often, they will get frustrated by this and training doesn't go well. It's far better to focus on what our dogs should do instead, i.e. rather than ‘don’t jump up’, it's better to teach them to ‘have all four feet on the ground’. Rather than ‘don’t lick the dishwasher’, teach ‘settle in your bed’ when it's being loaded. This can make a huge difference to your success and relationship with your dog. 

Prevention is key 

First rule of dog training - prevention. There a saying in the dog world - practice makes permanent… If you let your pup or dog repeat something they find rewarding enough it can become very engrained and hard (if not impossible!) to fix. We can usually find a way to stop our dogs practicing certain behaviours by being one step ahead. 

Some examples:

•   Prevent counter-surfing by never leaving food on the worktop

•   Prevent jumping up by getting low and near the floor before they jump

•   Prevent pups learning how fun it is to chase the family cat by supervising interactions and keeping pups on a house line and under control

Proofing / Environment specifics

When training our puppies/dogs we want them to generalize, e.g. ‘sit means sit no matter where you are’ regardless of environment or context. In order to do this, we need to train our dogs in several different environments, starting with no distractions and building up when they are ready. Always stay within their threshold so they can be successful. When teaching something like loose lead walking it would look like this:

•   Build up to 10 steps, without pulling, in the house (no distractions)

•   Move into your garden starting from 1 step building up to 10 (minimal distractions such as sounds of cars, people, smells etc.)

•   Move out and about somewhere quiet, start with 1 step, build up to 10 (few distractions such as a dog in the far distance, a person walking past)

•   Move somewhere busy (dogs closer, children playing football, groups of people)

Once your pup / dog has nailed this you can start to go from 10 steps to 20, then 30 etc. before you reward. 

At any time your dog is struggling, go back a stage and build back up again. Remember we want them to be successful.

Hierarchy of rewards

It’s important that we make sure we are using the appropriate value of reward in that moment in time when training. 

All rewards will have a certain value to your dog/pup. At any given moment, he may prefer one above another. It is useful to think of all the things your dog likes and place them in a ‘hierarchy’, starting with the most valuable to him first (although be prepared for this order to change from time to time).

Games with toys and praise can also be added into this ‘hierarchy’.

Different jobs require different ‘wages’, so think about what rewards will make actions worthwhile to your dog. Learning new exercises, coming away from things he would rather do, or leaving something tasty to eat will require your highest value reward to ensure he responds next time. In comparison, asking him to do something easy, such as sit once he has learned it, may only require your lowest value treat, or, in some cases, just praise, to maintain it.

You can also ‘Jackpot’ things that were amazing or hard for your dog. This involves lots of rewards in quick succession. For example, if you dog recalled away from some horses, reward heavily one after another to make a big deal of it!

Don't worry about overusing treats. We can also use toys/games as well as social connection to reinforce things we like. We tend to use plenty of treats when teaching something new but we can quickly back off on these and vary our rewards once they have learnt it.

We all know and love the Eurasier breed, and how much they thrive on being part of the family. They need kind, gentle and consistent handling. They love to learn (when they aren’t being couch potatoes!) Hopefully some of these tips help you on your journey. If you haven’t already got a Eurasier and you think you might have the right home for one - do it! You won’t regret it :-)

Good luck and enjoy! 

 

 

 

About me: Hi! I’m Sarah, I am a dog lover, Eurasier owner and a busy mum of 3 beautiful children. I am an ABTC registered animal handling instructor, hold an Advanced Diploma in Canine studies, and am a Puppy School tutor trained by the world renowned Gwen Bailey. I own a busy and successful pet services company on the south coast called Pet-Professionals, and love every minute. My busy life means I don’t get to make many Eurasier meet ups, but I definitely plan to make a few this year when I can. I am often lurking on the SEA forum so hope to chat to many of you there. 

Interview with SEA Chair Dr Brigitte Mordan-Grimm (Our Dogs, December 2021)

All text and photos: Mordan-Grimm
 

AGM 2021

Luca

Gustav

Mishka Boots

Iris

 

Just as well I watched that suitcase!

Hi, 

My name is Indi….though my life started in London in 2014, last year my human and I moved to Germany. It was a strange year, where, when we were not with the horses, we walked a lot and my human did not seem to go anywhere without me. That was amazing!!!

After a busy summer at work, I had to go to the vet three times, but they were nice to me, so it was not too bad….Mum got a small blue book from the vet and seemed really happy about it.

 

The evening after the last vet visit my human seemed very excited. She had cleaned the car and loaded it with lots of things and she had packed THE SUITCASE!!!!! For any dog that does not know, this is the time where you have to watch your human very closely, or they might disappear for a long time and leave you with other humans…….

 

It was dark when we set off on our journey and I was happy my human had taken me with her in the car, PHEW! She drove a really long time to the sea-side and onto a ship I had been on before…it was noisy and smelly, but I was safe in my car.

 

At the end of our journey we arrived at a familiar place with lovely smells….

 

.......could it be possible we were back HOME, REALLY? 

 

OMG I was soooo exited!!!!!!!!

 

There was Margot, my best friend and 2 amazing humans, I knew from before…..my human seemed really happy too.  We were finally together again, yipeeeeeee!!!!!

Margot and I

One day my human put Margot and I in the boot of my car and we drove to a familiar place. I had been there before a few times, but best of all there were other Eurasiers there with there humans and some excited humans who just came to meet us. One human was very familiar, my human called her Brigitte. I saw her often when I was little and still living with my mum, brothers and sisters. 

 

It was raining a little bit, but that did not bother me, because I got to play with lots of friends and enjoy a really long walk. There was Lottie, who was still quite like I used to be when I was younger, Murphy and Bubbles, who were quiet and very polite. Sheeba, she`s family, and Annie too were super nice….in a nutshell, It was great to catch up with old friends at a familiar place.

 

The woods were full of lovely smells and we met lots of different dogs too. Afterwards we all got together to celebrate Murphy´s birthday with some dog treats for us and biscuits for the humans, which Anne, Murphy´s human had brought for us. She was so very nice to us all and made sure we were all happy.

Thank you for a perfect day for us and our humans. Lots of licks and wags, Indi xxx

 

Thank you, Anne, for organising a lovely walk, Bille (Indi´s human) xxx

 

 

A Eurasier Show from the perspective of a Dachshund

Mom just got us up super early and I’m not happy about it. She keeps brushing my ears! Take me back to bed! There’s bags everywhere and her and Dad keep throwing questions at each other. Have you got the poo bags? Have you got the leads? What about water? Do we have enough poo bags? Jeez, how many poo bags do we need? Where are we going? Can I go back to bed?
They’ve packed the car completely full of bags and shoes and coats and Dawg knows what else. There’s not a lot of room for me. I need quite a lot of space actually. Pretty sure I can smell treatos though… They’re still talking about poo bags.

The journey was sooooo long. So long! But we did eventually arrive. Mom’s just disappeared and Dad’s put me on the driver’s seat of the car. Maybe I can drive us home! I would be a great driver. He’s unloading some of the bags. I hope they’re all full of treatos. 

Mom just came back with a little yellow booklet and she’s reading out names to Dad. We’re all in the same class she said. I guess we’re at a dog show or something. Sometimes Mom likes to get Luca’s fancy, sparkly lead out and they run around for a little while and then when she comes back Luca and I get loads of treatos. I knew I could smell them. It’s a day full of treatos! Maybe that’s why they need all the poo bags.

Mom’s just put my lead on and we’re going somewhere. The grass is so long I’m swamped! There was no point brushing my ears, they’re going to be soaked. There’s dogs EVERYWHERE! Definitely must be a show. But why hasn’t she taken Luca? I hope she’s not showing me. I’d rather…look after…the treatos. We’re going over to some people who have dogs that look like Luca but they’re different colours to him. These ones are more similar to my colour. I like their style! Some of these people are trying to talk to me but I need to be keeping an eye on these other dogs. Sheeba, Annie (she’s pretty similar to Luca, actually!), Ruby, Ursa, Arwen and Frodo are their names, Mom said. I need to make sure they don’t beeline for the car while I’m not there. I hope Luca is guarding the treatos. What if he eats them without me? Mom we need to get back! No time for talking! Treatos at stake! Mmmm steak.

Okay we’re going back now. But Mom’s panicking. It’s okay Mom I got the treatos! Where’s the brush? I need his squeaky frog! Oh! They must be going in the ring. That was quick! Mom hasn’t even brushed Luca, he’ll look all scruffy! Wow she’s really speed-brushing now. Poor Luca. Oop they’re off. Dad’s got me now, can’t see Mom and Luca. Dad and I are making our way over too. They’re doing their thing when they run around in circles with their fancy leads. They must get dizzy. Luca keeps peeing everywhere, how embarrassing. I do not know him!! Oh my Dawg! Luca got first place! I was only joking when I said I didn’t know him. That’s my bro! They’re calling him 'Bob' or something. He’s not called Bob! Dawg humans are so slow sometimes.

 

Arwen came second, Ursa came third, Annie came fourth, and Frodo came fifth. Mom says we have to wait here longer now and go for a group whatever that means, so I guess I’ll have to guard the treatos longer. Dawg this is hard work. Sheeba and Ruby went to go and run around their ring with their fancy leads so we’re watching them while we have to wait. Mom says they’re in the AV Veteran class so that must mean they’re really good and been doing show stuff for a long time. I bet they’ve had loads of treatos. Jealous. There’s two new humans here now and one of them gives the best butt scritches. 10/10 would recommend! Ruby got first and Sheeba got third! They really are good at this. Well done the me-coloured Luca lookalikes! 

Okay, Luca and Mom are going in the group now. It just looks like another class but this time it’s all different kinds of dogs, not just ones that look like Luca. Me and Dad are sat on the other side of the ring. I guess so that we can stay nearer the treatos to keep an eye on them. Good thinking Dad. Maybe I’ll let you have one later too. Maybe. Oh Mom and Luca are running towards us HI LUCA HI MOM HI IT’S US ME AND DAD HI Luca saw us and he wanted to say hi but then they ran away again. Oh well I guess they’re busy that’s okay. Oh my Dawg my bro did it again everyone is cheering! He got first place! This is amazing we’re going to get so many treatos. Everyone is hugging Mom now, that’s nice, these are friendly humans! Dad is really happy too. I think that means we have to wait longer. Gosh they better be some good treatos! At least the sun is shining. Sun AND treatos oh boy oh boy. 

Mom and Luca went in the ring again and they did their fancy running, but they didn’t get a place this time. The dog that came first was a dog that looks like me but had short hair, so that’s okay! Mom said That was such a nice day, and we did Eurasiers proud! I have to agree, especially as no one stole the treatos. We had amazing support and company, too. She is really happy and she said we have salmon sticks and beef jerky, and we’re going to get some chimken from the shop too. I dunno Mom, I wouldn’t say this was a nice day, I’d say it was the BEST day! I guess getting up early wasn’t so bad after all.

 Can’t wait to go again!