Category : Uncategorized

My Favorite Dog Obedience Sport

I have recently mentioned my resurgence into the dog obedience and trialing world.

The first time I trialed and showed, I was egged on by my client who challenged me and my dog to an “obedience dare” to see who could title their dog first.  I REALLY, REALLY didn’t want to, but I had help to get her ready for her competitions and she wanted company IN and around the show ring.

I never wanted to trial my dog or get titles, I never cared and was terrified of competition and getting up in front of people.  But the irony of the situation is that the trainer she left me for fashioned herself as a competition training aficionado.

I happily admit I took her up on her dare and not only did I title first, I beat her former trainer   But, for me its not about the competition it is about spending time not only training with my dog but also the short time spent in the ring together!

I intend to get as many titles on my little girl “Fury” as I can!  It is my challenge to myself!

And, my favorite obedience sport, you ask? Read the rest of this entry »

[Video] See Trick Dog ‘Annie’ Perform Her Favorites!

One of my students, Wayne Koester, recently sent me this fun video of his trick dog ‘Annie’ performing all her favorite tricks, including:

•  Running through a box tunnel
•  Dancing on her hind legs
• Jumping through a hoop
• Shaking a paw
• And, belly crawling across the floor

You can watch the video here:

It’s impressive, right?

But did you also notice the SILENT commands that Wayne and Annie are using?

For example, when you break it down, you’ll see that to perform the ‘box tunnel trick’, Wayne has trained Annie to:

1. 1.    Leave him
2. 2.    Run to the box
3. 3.    Go THROUGH the box
4. 4.    And return to him

… The commands have been stacked, so that when Wayne says ‘Go To Your Box’ – Annie automatically translates this into FOUR COMMANDS!

And while Wayne still needs to give Annie the ‘Down’ command before he gives the ‘Crawl’ command, if he continues training, it won’t be long before Annie understands that to ‘Crawl’ she must first ‘Down’…

… And Wayne will be able to just say ‘Crawl’.

So now I imagine you’re wondering, “How do I train MY dog to perform tricks like this, with stacked commands?”

It’s far easier than you think…   But you need to start with the basics.

Wayne and Annie began their training using my ‘Hands Off’ Dog Training Course  which taught them both two important lessons:

First, Wayne learned how to train Annie to do ANYTHING by discovering how SHE learned!  

And second, through her training sessions with Wayne, Annie learned HOW to learn!

… So once Wayne understood how to communicate with Annie, and Annie understood how to learn from her Dad, they became an unstoppable team!

Wayne was able to toss aside my training program (gently of course , get creative, and dream up his own trick routines for Annie!

And Annie has been loving every minute of it (as you can see by watching the video), learning new commands and tricks as fast as Wayne can teach them.

So again, start with the basics.

Learn to communicate with your dog effectively.  And teach your dog how to learn.  My ‘Hands Off’ Training Course offers you a step-by-step blueprint, with daily lessons for doing exactly this, so if you don’t already have a copy, I recommend you get one.

Because if you follow this program, and commit to daily training…

… It’s not unreasonable to expect that YOUR dog could be performing basic tricks like dance, shake a paw, roll over, and more, in as little as four weeks.

Until next time, happy training!

–Chet 

P.S.  Oops, I almost forgot:  If you’re a student of my ‘Hands Off’ Training Program and you have a success story or video that you’d like to show off, please send me an email at stars@thedogtrainingsecret.com  I’d love to hear your story, too…

 

Spreading the Holiday Spirit

I love the holiday season!  I love the smell of Christmas trees, Christmas cookies, fudge and other goodies.  I love eggnog and especially eggnog milkshakes and pancakes!  And, I love that holiday spirit!

But, I hate Christmas shopping!  For some of my family members Christmas shopping is easy, I know their needs and their desires and it is easy to get them the things that they and their families need for the year.

But for some, it is especially difficult!  Even in tough economic times some people really don’t need presents or gifts to set on the shelf and dust or a new hideous seasonal sweater or tie that they will only wear once.

Even when it comes to myself, I sometimes struggle with what to tell others I want or need for the holidays.  So I decided to tell my family to pick from some of my favorite charities and donate in my name or in my honor.

I would much rather have someone donate to help save the Cheetahs, find homes for animals in need, or help needy children rather than send me a hideous sweater or something that needs constant dusting (or in my house “de-furring).

So I figured I would make a plea to you.  For those of you who have those hard to buy for family members please find a charity to make a donation to in their name in honor of the holiday season. Read the rest of this entry »

The Premise of the Magical Dog Leash

There is no such thing as a magical leash, unfortunately.  You cannot simply hook your dog or your puppy up to a leash and expect miracles to happen.  My life would be a lot easier and more profitable if there were such an attachment.

I think when people get a dog they want to slap a leash on and go for a walk, but instead there begins a tug of war usually with the dog winning; and the person and the dog end up totally frustrated and truly unsatisfied with the whole experience.

The problem is that we, as dog owners, don’t take the time or don’t understand that we need to TEACH our dogs what we want and what our expectations are for them when they are on a leash.

As I read through comments to a recent article “Weaning Yourself and Your Dog from Compulsion Dog Training Collars”  and I kept finding myself responding by saying “TEACH your dog what you want” I realized maybe people just don’t understand what I mean or how to do it.

So these are going to be very much back to basics articles.

It is my opinion, from what I see, that we expect to have to teach our dogs to sit, lay down, stay and other various commands but what effort do we put into teaching them about their leashes and what our expectations of them are while they are on it?  Read the rest of this entry »

Why Rescues Make One of the Best Resources When Looking for a New Furry Companion

I LOVE animal rescues, at least most of them!  Most animal rescues have the animal’s best interests in mind and are run effectively and by good and loving people.

I have spent a good portion of my career working with numerous animal rescues and getting to know just what is involved in the processes that they deal with daily!

When I hear people complain about adoption fees, my whole body cringes.  I wish that the average person or naysayer had to spend just a week watching the intricacies involved in animal rescue.

Did you know that some rescues, fully anesthetize spay or neuter, and clean teeth of older dogs that are in need?  Good rescues also make sure their animals are vaccinated, heartworm negative, and not in need of regular medication.   Thousands of dollars are spent on dogs that need surgeries, or heartworm treatment.   They don’t charge $1,500 for the 10 year old dog that went through treatment, so they have to make up some of the differences for their compassion in other places.

These rescue workers scour dog shelters to rescue dogs on the last days of their lives.  If not for these rescues, hundreds of thousands of dogs would be euthanized! Read the rest of this entry »

Success Story From A Client

I just got this video entry for this month’s dog training contest that I thought you’d enjoy.

If you didn’t already know, each month I award $100 petsmart giftcard to the client who sends me the best video of how their dog turns out AFTER using the techniques I teach in one of my programs.

If you’d like to compete against this video and try to win the $100 petsmart gift card here’s a hint… shoot a video of your dog ‘Misbehaving’ BEFORE you do any training with your dog, so I can see just how badly behaved they were.  Then shoot a second video of how much progress you’ve made AFTER you start to see results (it usually only takes a few days)!

Oh, and one more thing…

You do have to have purchased at least one of my programs to participate in the contest, like my Hands Off Dog Training program,  my Teaching Dogs House Manners program, or my program on calming down your dogs emotions.

So if you’d like to get a little reward for implementing a training technique you’ve learned from one of my programs… plus end up with a better behaved dog & $100 to spoil them with grab a camera and start training.

I’m looking forward to seeing your footage.

Recognizing Your Dog’s Limits

I hate to admit it, but all dogs have limitations.  I would like to tell you that ALL dogs can do ALL things, but it’s just not true!!   Just like I will never be a professional dancer (I trip over my own feet sometimes…  often… ) some dogs just don’t have the genetics to do what we want them to.

Limitations come in all shapes and sizes, first there are the limitations that specific breeds bring.

All breeds of dog have been purposely bred for a purpose and most of them fit within a certain category.  The AKC has numerous categories that I usually use:   Herding, Working, Toy, Non- sporting, Hound, Terrier, and Sporting breeds.  Wikipedia breaks them down even further.

Certain breeds are bred for specific jobs: i.e. herding dogs have been bred to help farmers and ranchers herd their stock.  Their instincts for controlled chasing and herding have been modified and tailored to help farmers and ranchers.  Generalization due to breed is usually fairly acceptable and reliable; it would be difficult if not impossible to convince a Bassett Hound or a Chihuahua to safely herd a group of stock. It’s just not a reasonable expectation.

When looking for a dog it is superlative to do some research before you add a new dog as a member of your family!  Breed generalizations and their instincts will assist you in picking “your” perfect dog!

Just like there are breed specific limitations, sometimes there are individual limitations.  Not all Border Collies are capable of herding, not all Greyhounds want to race, and not all Sporting Dogs are capable of hunting.  I once worked with a Labrador Retriever that loved and performed fantastic protection work, but certainly not all Labs have a desire to do bite-work. Read the rest of this entry »

Get Your FREE Report Here – “The Dog Anxiety Cure”

No matter whether your dog is afraid of the occasional vet visit or terrified of everyday objects and social situations, I expect you’ll find this free report a useful read.

In just 14 pages, it covers the 7 most common fear and phobia triggers in dogs while explaining how to reduce and even cure your dog’s anxiety with a simple, but strategic multi-step plan.

Download your free copy of “The Dog Anxiety Cure” here:

http://www.thedogtrainingsecret.com/Dog_Anxiety_Report.pdf

And then tell me what you think in the comments area below:

What’s your dog afraid of?

What mistakes have you made along the way…?

And what are you going to do differently now to help your dog live with greater confidence

Dog car Sickness Cures (Video)

Links To Stuff I Mentioned In Video:
http://www.thedogtrainingsecret.com/carsick (Use keyword ‘Easy Travel Solution’)
http://www.thedogtrainingsecret.com/seatbelt

Traveling with Your Dog

As I write this, I should be packing!  We are taking a 17 hour drive tomorrow to the U.P. of Michigan!  So that got me to thinking, maybe I should include an article about traveling with your pet.  As you know, if you are familiar with my articles, I never travel without my dogs!

However, before you make plans, ask yourself if your dog will be happy and comfortable traveling with you!  Some dogs would prefer to stay home!  Not all dogs enjoy a car ride or an adventure far from home.  If your dog would rather stay home you can look into the options of leaving your dog with:

• Family
• Friends
• Or a Pet Sitter (some will come and stay at your home)

And, although it is not my favorite option, some dogs do fine in a clean, well run boarding kennel.  Just make sure you check out the kennel to ensure it is up to your standards.  My recommendation is that you stop in at their busiest time unannounced (don’t make an appointment) so that you can guarantee it is clean even when they are busy and not expecting a tour.  I prefer a busy Saturday morning.  If they won’t give you a tour when you stop by, I probably wouldn’t leave my pet there! Read the rest of this entry »