Category : Manners

I am certain that I am not the only dog obedience trainer that reads this blog, actually I have taken notice to quite a few of you!  And, for those of you who are currently in a dog obedience class or know someone who is a trainer, print this out and give it to them!

We, as professional dog trainers, are often really dull and BORING!  I know we don’t like to admit it (and some of you may be offended that I even suggest you are boring) but let’s face it, it is difficult if not impossible to not fall prey to getting tiresome after years of training.

We drone on about heel position and perfect sits and our methods and basic curriculum hardly ever changes!  I admit, I have been there; and I know how hard it is to be a dog obedience trainer and realize week after week hardly anyone is heeding your advice or doing their homework.

We have a very limited amount of time to make a real impact on the lives of our clients and their dogs.  Most people will only take ONE obedience class with their dog and so we have a lot of stuff to pack into a 6 to 8 week period.  I also know that you are treated like a celebrity after class and everyone wants a piece of your time and advice!

It’s a complex job at best and sometimes it is downright disheartening depending on your classroom dynamics! Read more »

I don’t often condone much less recommend the use of dog training collars because most often these references refer to: choke chains, prong or pinch collars, or even shock collars.  However, I do on occasion recommend the use of The Gentle Leader ™ and similar head halters.

I almost ALWAYS recommend a head halter for dogs that show ANY kind of aggression: dog aggression, human aggression, wheel aggression (wanting to chase scooters, cars, roller skates), and even fear aggression.

A properly fitted head halter gives you the ability to control the offensive body part; the snout and mouth.  Although a dog can still eat, drink, bark and bite with a head halter on, it allows their owners to control their face and snout.

Imagine your dog races, accidentally off leash, towards a dog aggressive dog.  Dog #1 is wearing a gentle leader head halter and his owner is able to pull his face upwards and keep his gnashing teeth from biting your dog, dog #2 is on a choke chain, prong collar, or buckle collar and because of his great range of motion in his neck and face he is able to lash out and deliver a bite despite his owner’s best attempts to keep him from biting your dog.

Although this is not necessarily the dog aggressive dog’s fault (since the other dog was off leash), accidents happen!

Now imagine that you are the owner of the dog aggressive dog; which collar would you prefer?  I would want the ability to control my dog’s snout and mouth in any

instance where he might be aggressive or deliver a bite.

People who have never had an aggressive dog think that these dogs should be left at home and never taken out in public or around other people or animals.  However, you cannot work on behavior modification and helping problem dogs if you simply lock them up and never teach them appropriate behavior.

BUT, as the owner of a dog that has aggressive tendencies you want to be in as much control as possible and the idea of your dog showing aggression is usually horrifying for you and fills you with shame.  Good people often get aggressive dogs, or dogs with problems and they have to deal with people who judge and blame them!

My second dog, a female Rottweiler, was excessively dog aggressive for most of her life.  She is the reason I am a dog trainer.  I couldn’t lock her at home and HOPE that her problems would leave and she deserved a shot at a normal life with on-leash walks throughout neighborhoods and parks. Read more »

People always ask me how I, as a professional dog trainer, make dog training look so easy and how can they can improve their techniques?

I came up with what I believe to be the 5 most important reasons people have difficulty training their dog to work effectively for them.

These are the 5 Most Important Dog Training Mistakes to Avoid, in what I believe to be the most important order.

#5  Lack of Practice or Effort

I have said it before (sometimes I feel like I talk about the same things) but I say it again because it is soooo important!

Practice is crucial!  Your dog WILL NOT learn at obedience class once a week.  I use to tell all my dog obedience students this on the first night of class, and YES most were appalled that I would admit it

Your dog learns through repetition and training AT HOME!  If you are not making a point to work your dog daily or several times a day or week, you will not reap the benefits of a well trained dog!! Read more »

I love to read!  When I was a baby I got a vaccination that almost took my life.  I am sure my mother was terrified.  I have some memories of lying on the couch very sick.  My mother would read to me for hours, and at that time (before DVDs or VHS…ahhh I hate aging myself) Disney movies came on record.

I would sit and listen to a movie over and over until I had basically memorized it. In some ways I am grateful for all of my experiences they have shaped me and who I am as an adult.  Because of that one shot, my immune system was never quite able to fight off infection and I did get and still get every flu bug that goes around. I grew up loving reading.   Reading was my way to escape into another world and to learn about…well, anything I was interested in at the time.  My mother did not allow video games, and TV was restricted

This love of reading followed me to college when I double majored one being in English.  I still love English Literature (I know I am a nerd).  But, in many ways these are all the reasons you are reading this article right now.  If I grew up playing video games, I probably wouldn’t be writing or reading to entertain myself.

I am able to learn by reading, and I have hundreds of books lining a book shelf to prove it.  I enjoy reading and breaking things down; highlighting important points for further study.

Part of the beginning of my successful dog training career came from reading just about every dog training book I could get my hands on.  Almost 20 years ago it was difficult to find any kind of dog training on VHS or to see anything visually that wasn’t learned at a class or a seminar.

Much of my learning took place at night reading one book and then another. Read more »

I use to be on one of those public weight loss programs.  I joined it with my best friend many years ago, and let me just say IT WORKED.  Why?  You ask, why did it work?  What was the secret to weight loss?  Accountability! Is the answer.

I will say it gave us so great knowledge and coping skills and together we had a peer group and a support system to rely.  All of this ensured that we were successful!  We had to weigh-in in front of someone every 2 days.   They were NEVER negative at the weigh-ins and never gave us a hard time about gaining or not losing they were always supportive and willing to give us support and more information when we needed it.

What does weight loss have to do with dog training?  Accountability!

The reason my weight loss program worked?  I had to weigh-in in front of someone every other day, and although they were not negative about our weigh-ins; I did not want to fail or even stay the same.  I felt like I HAD to show progress.  I had a goal and my long term goal was to lose weight, but my short term goal was to not be embarrassed on the scale every 2 days!

Accountability makes a HUGE difference, at least for me.  If I am left to my own devices, I might not choose the right road.  I often get lazy and put off things like: dog training or weight loss.  I always have tomorrow, right?

In order to run every day, I need to train for a half marathon or marathon and put smaller goals on my calendar. Read more »

I mentioned “Drive” in one of my previous posts and before the frustration abounds about what “Drive” is and how to achieve it, I thought I would write an article about it!

“Drive” has nothing to do with cars, motorcycles or the like!  “Drive” is all about using your dog’s natural instincts to get them to do what you want, namely your dog’s Prey or Play Drive.

Almost all dogs have prey drive.  Prey drive, the drive that encourages them to chase, catch and kill their prey enables dogs to survive in the wild.  Prey drive is a basic instinct, although in some breeds the prey or chase drive has nearly been bred out.   For these dogs, it will be hard to train them in “Drive”, because the strongest drive comes from wanting to chase toys or other animals.  A lower level of “Drive” can come using food as a reinforcer, but the best way is to use a favorite toy and a game.

Some dogs will have to be taught to play with you!  Often people work on strict “obedience” and compliance to the laws of the home, but they don’t readily teach their dogs how to “PLAY”.

If your dog doesn’t eagerly play or retrieve with you, I recommend you start here.  Your dog’s success in learning how to play has everything to do with how willing you are to get silly and animated while playing with him.  For example, your dog will probably not be successful if you just expect to stand there and monotonously throw a ball, unless you are blessed with a high drive dog! Read more »

Shaping your dog’s behavior is essential in dog training.  The good thing about working with and training dogs is that they are pliable and constantly willing to learn and change their behavior if you learn to employ the right principles!

Shaping as defined in psychology is a process in which a long term goal is broken down into a series of gradual steps or intermediate goals, starting with simple easily performed tasks and gradually progressing to more complex and difficult behaviors.  For instance we don’t normally start off running a marathon after a period of inactivity; and likewise people don’t start playing the piano by playing Chopin, Beethoven or Mozart.  Complex behaviors must be chained.

This is what I love about positive reinforcement training, and why it is so easy for us to shape our dogs into exactly what we want (within reason   you can’t change personality just behavior!)

Recently there was quite a debate on our message boards!  I love a good debate, it institutes thought on everyone’s part about how dog training works in general, how it applies to them as an individual how it applies to the “masses” in general.  As a matter of fact it can all be different!  Different takes on different theories make a person a good dog trainer, or at least a good dog trainer for their dog.  Dogs are equally as different as their owners! Read more »

Recently we got an email from a very distraught young person who begged us to help.  Please read on and perhaps my response will help others suffering from the same or similar problems!

Hi I really need you to answer my question as
fast as possible and if you have to put it in that
newsletter thing could you please put it in
very very soon or as soon as possible.

Ok my dog Koda, I don’t know what to do with
him anymore. He barks and barks and barks
when I put him in his pen at night which is about 5o
meters away form the house and my
dad said that he will get rid of my puppy if he
wont stop which will be very sad. Read more »

In my humble opinion, the “Leave It” command is one of the most important things you can teach your dog!  There are just some commands that may someday be invaluable in saving your dog’s life.  Coming when called and leaving things on command could potentially be lifesaving.

Imagine you are standing in the kitchen getting your morning prescription medications together for the day, when you drop a couple of pills.  What happens if your dog is typically a “Hoover” (floor vacuum-er)?  Most human medications can be fatal for your pet.  Even Tylenol is lethal for dogs and cats.  That moment of panic when pills spill on the floor can be lessened if you teach your dog the “Leave It” command.

When I was training Service Dogs with an organization in Denver, CO I was told “Leave It” meant; do not touch, eat, or even look at the object and that definition has stuck with me.  I think some people think it’s okay to at least look at a “Leave It” object but I think that can add difficulty to an already difficult proposal.

A “Leave It” means to completely ignore whatever the item or distraction is from a pill or a hot dog dropped on the floor, to a skateboarder flying past; Leave It means LEAVE IT! Read more »

We live in a world full of children.  It always surprises me when child aggressive dogs at shelters are placed in “child-free” homes.  Even for those of us who don’t have children…we have children in our lives.  Nieces, nephews, friend’s children, step children they are everywhere and cannot be constantly avoided.  Dogs that are seriously child aggressive should be seen by a Veterinary Animal Behaviorist so that they can be controlled safely and under the watchful eye of a veterinarian/behaviorist.

Dogs must be taught first to tolerate children, and then hopefully to love children!  Socialization should begin early and lots of time should be spent with good kids to help endear them to your dog.

Children are loud, they move fast, they make strange noises and sometimes they engage in behavior that dogs classify as rude and obnoxious.  Unfortunately, that is just how children behave and it is difficult to control all the children that your dog will meet so although I do recommend educating and arming children with good doggy social skills, it is also imperative that dogs are subjected to the world of children in a fun and positive way.

I spent 34 years of my life without children under my roof, but there was always the occasional child that made an entrance into my house.  My dogs had to be taught to enjoy the company of children despite the fact that sometimes dogs think kids are a little scary. Read more »

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