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Dog House-Training, Potty Training, Housebreaking, Oh My!
A common source of frustration for the puppy or newly-adopted dog owner, let’s simplify potty-training! Potty training, house-training, the traditional term “housebreaking…” It’s all the same thing, isn’t it? It means teaching new puppy (or dog) – we’ll call him Bellhop for the purposes of this article – to eliminate in some places, and not to eliminate in others. As a general rule of thumb, you can assess that your puppy can probably “hold it” for the number of months old he is, divided by two. (So a two month old puppy can probably only hold it for about an … Continue reading →
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5 Tips for Polite Leash Walking Like a Pro
5 Tips for Polite Leash Walking Like a Pro Has walking your dog become a battle of wills over who will be dragging who in what direction? Polite leash walking can be a frustrating endeavor for many dogs and owners but the good news is by following a few tips, you can help your dog learn how to make walks more enjoyable for the both of you. 1. Walking outside with all the new sights and smells can be highly distracting for dogs who are working on their polite leash walking. To help your dog focus on what you are trying to teach them, try working in a more neutral environment where there are less distractions such as in the backyard or even in your house. 2. Dogs need to be motivated to have good manners and that means you need to plan ahead by bringing high-value treats along. A treat pouch offers a great way to easily be able to reward good choices. When choosing a treat make sure that you pick something that will be motivating for your dog even when distractions are present. Typically moist treats are your best bet and they can be cut to a small size (fingernail size) so that you can reward a lot without overdoing how much food your dog is getting. 3. If getting the leash put on sends your dog into an excitable frenzy, the likelihood that you will then be able to go for a calm and well-mannered walk drops. Often times the best way to start preparing for a polite walk is by practicing “getting dressed” (putting your dogs walking leash and or collar on). The key here is to not continue to go for the walk until your dog has calmed down sufficiently and can listen to instructions. So if you have put the leash on and your dog is acting wild, simply ignore them and wait for that behavior to stop before starting your walk. At first, this may take some time while your dog tries to understand these new rules but in no time they will learn that the only way they get to go on their walk is if they keep their cool. 4. Sniffing is an incredibly important part of being a dog and dog owners who attempt to prevent their dog from sniffing are really setting themselves up to fall short. This doesn’t mean however that your dog should be dragging you to go check out exciting smells. Instead, have your dog earn sniff breaks by responding to a command like a sit or come. When your dog performs the command successfully, give them a cue like, “go sniff” and allow them to get their nose on their ground to investigate. By utilizing sniff breaks you can allow your dog to be a dog while also developing a relationship where they don’t just pull you all over the place to check out their surroundings. 5. The last tip is easily the most important… make sure pulling doesn’t work! If your dog has learned that by pulling towards things, they get access to them you have inadvertently taught them to pull. Whether it’s to greet a person, dog, go through a door or whatever your dog wants to pull you towards, make sure that you don’t allow them to drag you where they want to go. Instead, turn and go the other way or simply stop until your dog gives up and then you can practice walking towards the thing that they want with a loose leash. Each time your dog pulls, you show them that pulling is not effective by stopping or turning around. Yes, this requires some patience and consistency early on in training but that dedication will be rewarded during the lifetime of your dog through relaxing walks. As Spring brings sunshine and nicer weather, it’s definitely the time of year to get outside and start walking our dogs! Keep these tips in mind to ensure your walk can go smoothly and that your dog is practicing good manners with you rewarding their positive choices as you go! Erin Kramer Erin Kramer is a professionally certified dog trainer who works as the owner and lead trainer for Tug Dogs a dog training business located in Sacramento, CA that specializes in behavior modification for dogs with fear, aggression, and anxiety issues. Erin has a lengthy canine training resume including training and handling dogs for use in TV and film, training for competitive sports such as AKC obedience, livestock herding, protection sport, and scent tracking, working as an evaluator for both service and therapy dogs, testifying in court as an expert witness in canine aggression and training, and working internationally as an instructor and now owner of trainer’s school. Erin is known for offering clear and easy to understand advice that helps dogs and their owners meet the challenges of helping dogs who are facing problem behaviors at home in a thoughtful and effective manner. You can learn more about Erin, her business Tug Dogs, and see training updates in action by visiting the Tug Dogs Facebook page at: facebook.com/teachtraintug :|zpendofcontent|:
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Why I DON’T Train My Clients’ Dogs to Heel
In the basic obedience classes I teach as a dog trainer, I don’t spend hours training the dogs to heel. I don’t even spend much time on loose-leash walking as a trained behavior. I simply direct my students to the smorgasbord of anti-pull gear at the local pet store (front-clip harnesses and head halters), and move on to other items on the curriculum, like safety recalls, jumping up, and leave-it. It’s not that training dogs to heel isn’t fun–it certainly can be, if we toss the out-moded leash-pop and use a modern training plan. But few of my students actually … Continue reading →
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Can Pet Parents Be Helicopter Parents?
If you are a parent to human children, you are probably familiar with the term “helicopter parent”. If you do not have human children, you may not be familiar with the term. “Helicopter parents” are parents that constantly oversee their children. They often are hesitant to leave their children at school, they are involved in everything the children are doing (even when they are at home playing) and they rarely allow their children to do anything without them. Most children with these overly involved parents will either become extremely dependent on their parents to do anything or they rebel … Continue reading →
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Dog Training Philosophies: Medical Model, Behavioral Model and Knee-Jerk Reactions
Most of our dog pet owners are not aware that there are different philosophies/approaches to “training” a dog and more so how to approach solving behavior problems. There are two main veins of approach even though I titled with three; two of them go together. Medical Model see “problem behavior” as if it’s a disease. The “trainer”, “counselor” or “veterinary behaviorist” may take a history of your dog and come up with a diagnosis for the behavior and label it something like “dominance aggression”. This approach focuses too heavily on the “symptoms” presented and do little to address … Continue reading →
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How to Prepare for Air Travel With Your Dog
New year, new adventures! Are you planning a big trip in 2017? And are you thinking about bringing your dog along for the ride (or flight)? Besides working out where to stay and what to eat, there are many things to consider when flying with a pet. Here is how you can prepare yourself, and your dog, for air travel. As soon as you have decided on a destination, it is crucial to start planning your trip at least a month ahead of time. There is a lot to do! 1. Plan Your Trip You will have to decide whether … Continue reading →
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Incorporating Basic Obedience Into Every Day Life
Incorporating Basic Obedience Into Every Day Life Most dog trainers will tell you that training doesn’t stop after your dog completes their basic obedience training. No, if you are not training/shaping a new behavior, you’re reinforcing an existing one. But training doesn’t have to cost money, nor does it have to take place in a classroom. With some simple planning, you can continue to use your basic obedience commands with your dog as you go about your daily business. Here are some suggestions for doing just that: Sit/Down When you are preparing meals, whether it is for human or canine consumption, “Sit” or “Down” is perfect to keep the kitchen area clear as well as ensuring easy maneuverability. You can also have your dog “Sit” or “Down” before you set their meal down. “Sit” can also be used on your walk when you stop to pick up your dog’s waste, or if your dog is easily distracted by other dogs/people. It’s also not a bad command to use when a car is approaching. Wait This command comes in handy if you need to have your door open while you bring in groceries, or packages, to allow guests to enter your home, or simply just for practice. “Wait” is a temporary command; it helps teach your dog impulse control. Practice your “Wait” command at feeding time when you are getting ready to set their bowl down, or on a walk when it’s time to cross the street. Stay “Stay” should mean, “do not move until I come back for you.” Practice this in your home if you need to nip out of the room for a minute. Both “Wait” and “Stay” can literally be the difference in life or death if, say, your dog were to get loose in a busy traffic area. Come, Here or Your Own Recall Word A solid recall is important, and you can practice this so many times in your daily routine. When it’s time for a walk, for mealtime, to go out for the last potty of the night, or simply just because. Place A small throw rug can be used for the “Place” command. This command can be used when the doorbell rings, or when guests arrive. In my house, dogs need to stay on their ‘Place’ when it is dinner time for the humans. After we’ve finished our meal, we release the dogs and reward them with a small treat. Leave It “Leave It” is one of those versatile commands that you can use for just about anything. It keeps your dog from snagging something harmful off the floor/ground, from rolling in something disgusting, from ripping your arm off at the sight of a squirrel. Look Practice your look command on walks when another dog or animal is distracting, or at meal times before you set your dog’s food down. Once your dog knows their basic obedience commands, there is no end to where you can use them. A tired dog is usually a well-behaved dog and mental stimulation can be almost as tiring as a physical exercise. How do you incorporate basic obedience commands into your everyday life? Jodi Stone Jodi Stone is the author of Heart Like a Dog, a community based blog, where readers go to find humor, inspiration and support. Inspired by the challenges she faced when she rescued her dog, Delilah, Jodi’s goal is to let other dog owners know that their dog doesn’t have to be perfect and they definitely aren’t alone! Jodi is cohost of the popular Barks and Bytes Blog hop, is co-creator of the DADO blog hop, and created the Caring for Critters Round Robin which resulted in a community health page for pets as a permanent addition to her blog. Graduating with a degree in Communications, Jodi currently works as an administrative assistant. Jodi lives in CT with her husband and two dogs, Sampson and Delilah. When she’s not blogging, Jodi can be found hiking the trails with Sampson and Delilah, spending time with her grandchildren, or cuddle up with a good book and preferably a dog. Jodi is most active socially on her blog www.heartlikeadog.com or https://www.facebook.com/HeartLikeADog/ :|zpendofcontent|:
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How to Choose the Right Dog for Your Family
I once had an 85 year old man come to me because his niece gave him a Jack Russell puppy because he had had a Jack Russell before. This match was difficult from the start. Jack Russell’s tend to be intelligent and highly active. They usually need lots of exercise and mental stimulation. This dog was no exception. The man did not have the skills or the desire to teach this puppy. He tried to keep her for a year but had to finally find another home for her. This was devastating for the man and the puppy. I often … Continue reading →
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The 4 Quadrants of Dog Training: Are You Doing All Four?
There are four ‘quadrants’ when it comes to dog training; positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, positive punishment and negative punishment. To summarise quickly… Positive reinforcement is when you add something to the dogs environment that he likes for example if he sits he gets a piece of cheese. This increases the chances of the behaviour happening again. Negative reinforcement is when you remove something the dog doesn’t like from the environment; for example stopping an electric shock when the dog eventually sits down. The dog learns that by sitting he avoids the shock thus increasing the chances of the behaviour happening … Continue reading →
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10 Things You Might Not Know About Clicker Training Your Dog
Have you ever tried clicker training with your dog? Clicker training is currently a very popular training method, and there’s good reason for that. If you haven’t tried it yet here are some facts about it, good reasons to do so, and some tips to get started. The Facts The Science Behind It: Clicker training is based on the theory of operant conditioning. This term was coined by B.F. Skinner, an American psychologist and behaviorist. Animals learn that their actions can control their environment. For example, they learn that ringing a bell gets the door to open. It is positive … Continue reading →
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How to Stop Your Dog From Being Scared of Traveling in a Car
Most of the time, dogs who have a fear of going in a car have had some sort of traumatic memory in the past. This doesn’t have to be anything that we, as humans, would call traumatic, however. Indeed, it may seem as if from one day to the next, your dog simply decides to be scared of vehicles.
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How to Get Your Dog to Sleep In Its Own Bed
It may seem like a good idea, particularly on a cold and lonely night, to let your dog sleep in your bed. However, before you know it, you are ready to have your own bed back, but your dog doesn’t want to leave anymore. You may think that all you need is to offer the dog a comfortable alternative, but...
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