Dog Gone Fun!

I’m reading a book by Viviane Theby called Dog University: A Training Program to Develop Advanced Skills with Your Dog; and she makes some excellent suggestions:

• Video tape your training sessions and analyze them.  This is a great way to really see what you are doing with your dog or cat.
• One minute training sessions.  Use a timer and set it for one minute which is an ideal length of time for many training exercises.  Try to practice 6 repetitions of an exercise per minute and then take a break.
• Keep a training diary.  Keep notes on each of your minute long training sessions.
• Stop saying “no” to your dog.  We need to stop being lazy and saying “no” all the time to our dogs.  It’s not fair to punish them for our own shortcomings.
• Effective reinforcement. Reinforcement should be relative to the training session.  If you want a quiet down-stay, don’t reward by throwing a ball which will get him wound up. Reward him with a well placed cookie or a quiet stroke on the chest.

What do you do with your indoor pooch when the outdoor weather is frightful?

Read below, and find a list of activities that could be delightful.

• HIDE TREATS around the house and then let Fido search for them. This is a fun way to practice STAY and your dog will love the rewards.
• PLAY HIDE & SEEK.  Sneak away and hide some where. Now, call your dogand wait for him to find you and then play tug of war.
• HIDE HER FAVORITE TOY.  Again, great time to practice STAY as well as FIND-IT.
• FOOD TOYS:  Put your dog’s food inside of a Dog Pyramid.  Or a Busy Buddy Tug-o-Jug. Have her work for her meals so that meal times become active and a time to burn off energy.
• DOG PUZZLES.  If you haven’t seen these you should.  What a brilliant way to keep smart dogs using their brains while tiring them out. The brand I like is Nina Ottoson.
• TEACH A COOL TRICK like turn on the light switch. Watch this great instructional video:

• SET-UP AN IMPROMPTU AGILITY COURSE and walk your dog through it several times.  Once she understands, you can begin to direct her to run it.  It might look like this: zoom around the coffee table then under a chair, jump over the broom on paint cans, walk through the ladder that’s lying on the floor and end with a down stay on the couch…  Be creative and have fun!
• PLAY COUCH POTATO OLYMPICS. Sit on the couch and toss a ball or treat across the room for your dog. When your dog returns, toss the toy again. You stay relaxed on the couch and watch a movie while your dog does all the work.  You might even have her do puppy push-ups (sit-down-sit) between tosses.

I’ve found that these four simple steps get a well behaved dog faster & with out all of the struggle. Winston is a career change dog at Dogs for the Deaf. He’s an 80# yellow lab who loves to jump on people, grab & chew on leashes, destroy toys, jump out of car windows, and leap like a lizard on leash. Where in the world does the training start?

• PREVENT & MANAGE dog problems so the dog stays out of trouble. The more Winston practices leash leaping– the better he gets. To prevent leash leaping Winston is wearing a front-clip no-pull harness. Now, his walks are a pleasure instead of a battle. To prevent jumping up I toss food on the ground to distract him while I start walking. He then follows me and calms down while walking.
• REWARD BEHAVIORS that you like and you’ll get more of them. Winston loves and craves attention, food and the tennis ball so these are his rewards when he: sits, stands, walks politely, relaxes, doesn’t plant his front paws on me etc… He is learning that being good gets him what he wants.
• INTERRUPT BAD BEHAVIORS that you don’t like and you’ll get less of them. Winston likes to jump up on people then grab the leash and then play tug of war before he chews it up. If I interrupt him with a word or sound like “uh-oh” –before he latches onto the leash or makes contact with me–I can stop him and redirect him to a tennis ball or a sit.
• TRAIN THE BEHAVIOR YOU WANT instead of nagging at your dog to stop jumping or stop pulling or stop barking. Tell her what you DO want and practice it daily until she gets good at it. When Winston came to Dogs for the Deaf he knew nothing and couldn’t be left alone inside with out supervision. For example: we worked on “go to your bed” until it became automatic to lie down in the living room instead of jumping all over the furniture.

Does your dog growl over a favorite toy or chew? Or even growl if he’s on the couch? Then read below for some help.

(Caution: Growling should be taken seriously. If your dog is growling, you may need to call a professional dog trainer.)

• Growling used to be punished. Not anymore: modern dog trainers agree this is valuable information about your dog. Unless he’s play growling, your dog is communicating that he’s uncomfortable. Without it, you might have a biter on your hands who is unable to warn before biting. So, if your dog growls try one of these things:
• Stop and think: What am I doing to make Bowser uncomfortable? Trying to take a chew or toy? Trying to move him off the couch? Handling him roughly?
• Find an alternative way to reach your goal. If you need his bone, trade it for a treat. If you need him to move–call him off the couch with food or a squeaky toy. Does he hate grooming? feed treats while you comb and cut.
• Lower your dog’s stress levels: Stress is cumulative, so it’s not always about the couch–but rather several things are happening: Maybe a clown moved in next door and has lots of circus friends running around. Also, you hosted a birthday bash for your daughter’s 11th birthday and invited 100 of her closest friends… All of these things will stress your dog.
• Manage your dog’s environment so he doesn’t have the opportunity to growl at you. Keep him off your bed at night; put him in the other room when your cousin with 6 screaming kids comes over; move slowly and use tons of treats when you clip his nails.
• Rule out health concerns if your dog seems grumpy or is suddenly growling. Health issues such as pain or a low thyroid are often at the root of dog problems.
• Finally, you may need to call a professional who can help you sort this out.

Spending too much time pulling your hair out and being frustrated by your dog?

You’ve tried everything but nothing seems to work. This is the class for you! Does your dog continually misbehave, run away, bark, or worse, keep you off your own couch? There is help! You’ll get solutions to your specific dog problems, and get the training you need so you both can live in harmony.

Cost is $95 for 4 weeks & class fee includes one 30 minute private lesson.  Such a deal! 

Starts Sunday Sept 18th at 3pm.

They don’t have to fight like cats & dogs! If you have a new dog or cat or they just can’t seem to get along, then, these training tips are for you.

ALL CATS NEED A SAFE PLACE: Use a baby gate to block off a dog free zone. The laundry room is a great place for this. This gives cats a safety option. Try to keep dogs and cats separated from each other unless you are training.

TEACH LEAVE-IT: Tether dog to a heavy couch or door to free up your hands. Get a treat and put it on the floor in front of dog. Say Leave-it and wait for dog to look away. Now praise and reward. (don’t let him get the treat!) The goal is to have dog quickly BACK AWAY & LOOK AWAY from the treat after you say Leave-it once.

HELP DOG GENERALIZE LEAVE-IT: Eventually, replace the food with a toy and repeat the above training steps. Now, replace the toy with another toy, and so on… Eventually, you’ll move the toy around, while asking for a Leave-it, and then, for the big finale: you’ll call the dog past the toy while rewarding him for ignoring it.

KITTY CAT LEAVE-IT: with puppy on a leash and in the down position, encourage cat to walk into and around the room. Praise & reward your dog for staying. Now, when dog looks at kitty say LEAVE-IT and wait for him to look away, then praise and reward. The goal is for dog to ignore the cat AND remain calm.

KEEP DOG ON A LEASH: continue coaxing the cat into walking around and rewarding dog for ignoring cat. Remember to give lots of verbal praise and treats! Your goal is for dog to remain calm around the cat.

USE A VERBAL CORRECTION IF YOU NEED TO: If dog lunges or barks at kitty, remember to give him verbal feedback that says “stop what you’re doing”. Then you may need to re-think your training plan. Your goal is 100% success. Too much failure will stress out both animals and undermine your training.

KEEP TRAINING SESSIONS SHORT: 10-15 minutes 2 times a day is good; expect to spend a couple of weeks building this behavior. Then, you’ll need manage your dog and cat for several months until dog integrates the Kitty Cat Leave-it into his new routine.

NOTE: Not all dogs can live safely with cats.

If you have a high prey drive dog you may always need to manage him around small animals.

Early socialization for puppies, during which they learn to play with other puppies, is vital. Our Puppy Play & Train class is the perfect place to start. However, many puppy owners keep their puppies away from training classes until they are fully vaccinated and the early socialization period has passed. See what the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has to say on this topic:

“The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. During this time puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing overstimulation manifested as excessive fear, withdrawal or avoidance behavior. For this reason, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated.“

Read full position paper…

If you have a new puppy the clock is ticking!  You have until puppy is 14-16 weeks old before the socialization window closes, and here’s what your puppy should be doing:

• MEETING LOTS OF PEOPLE: Children, skateboarders, older people; people in wheel chairs & walkers or on crutches; people with big hair or are loud or both.
• MEETING HEALTHY & FRIENDLY DOGS & PUPPIES: who are vaccinated, friendly and appropriate. Enroll in a well-run puppy class and schedule play sessions with your friend’s & their puppies.  (Note: not all adult dogs like puppies…)
• HAVING FUN with NEW EXPERIENCES: Go places & get treats.  The vet’s office, the groomer, the post office, coffee shops (outside).
• HOSTING A PUPPY PARTY:  Invite your friends over to meet the puppy.  Bring umbrellas, balloons, wigs, outdated 1980′s clothes. Just be sure puppy is relaxed and having fun.
• AVOIDING SCARY SITUATIONS.  Never force puppy into uncomfortable situations.  Let her meet new experiences at her own speed.
• TRAINING USING POSITIVE METHODS.  Puppy should be learning SIT/DOWN/STAY and COME HERE.  Teach puppy to follow you around the house–this will lead to nice leash walking. Have him WAIT for food and to go outside.