Dog Obedience Training Blog

So I’ve done it, I have gone and crossed over into the dark side; I entered a competition with my dog Fury the other day!

Now, you first need to understand ME to understand my thinking and why this is extraordinary and a problem for me.

I am clearly not normal.  I hate competition.  Hate may not be a strong enough word; I loathe competition!

I vividly remember being in kindergarten and running my first “real” race.  Apparently I was “super fast” for my age because I was going to cross the line first (this is not a trait that lasted for me) but I hesitated, slowed down and looked back for my friends.  There was a part of me that didn’t want to cross first.

That trait stuck.  Whenever I talk about competing I always share how much I loathe it.  Some of you must wonder; if I despise it so much WHY do I do it?  Because competition bonds me to my dog!

Even though I hated it and I still hate it some of the best times I had were spent training for competitions with my former dog “Mr. Snitch”.  Not necessarily competing, although I have some great memories of our competitions together as well, the training was spectacular time spent together.   We enjoyed every moment of it together because, of course, I worked him with positive reinforcement training and in drive. Read more »

This is another one of those back to basics posts, but it is really crucial to understand!

In order to use positive reinforcement, you have to find your dog’s motivator or motivators.

You must motivate your dog to listen to you.

If you can’t motivate you are, sadly, left with force and coercion.

Motivation is a term that refers to a process that elicits, controls and sustains certain behaviors.   For instance, if you have not eaten and you are hungry; food may be a motivator.

Coercion is the practice of forcing someone or something to behave in a certain manner by the use of threats or some other form of pressure or force.

Typically in dog training these are the types of training we utilize.  You can motivate your dog to listen by building a relationship and finding his motivators or you can use your physicality and force your dog to comply.

I personally like motivating my dog.  Someday, I may be unable due to illness or injury to force my dog to comply and what would happen then if our relationship was based on force?  Even if I am physically able, I just don’t like force or compulsion.  I think that we “thinking” animals should use our minds to control our animals not our physical force.

You need to find your dog’s motivators if you expect to use your mind (and not your body) to control him! Read more »

This is a culmination of several articles and information and advice that has been given out by me and many others on several subjects.  Adopting a Shelter Dog   The Working Man’s (or Woman’s) Conundrum in Today’s Dog Ownership   and Why Rescues Make one of the Best Resources When Looking for a New Furry Companion.

All these comments got me to thinking “What is the Best Dog”?  Of course there are too many individualities to know what is best for everyone, but personally when talking to most people, my clients, and even my family; adult dogs usually make the best fit.

I am a puppy lover too Lab puppies, German Shepherd puppies, Boxer puppies and Golden puppies just to name a few, and some day I might write an article about why puppies rock!  But there are so many valid reasons for adding an adult dog to most homes. Read more »

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 more »

This is a seriously heated debate in the dog world!  People get emotional about WHY they think their way is better than the other and I must confess there are good reasons for both.

As devil’s advocate and to make sure I cover both sides before I give my opinion I will cover both ways J

Free Feeding

Pros

• Dogs don’t feel pressure to eat, they know there food will always be there.
• Some dogs (not most) will eat only as much as they need more if they are hungry less when they are not.
• Some say this lessens food aggression (although I am not convinced). Read more »

If you didn’t catch my last article “The Premise of the Magical Dog Leash” please read it.  In that article I explain WHY flawed thinking and many people’s approach to leash training hasn’t worked.

If you don’t understand WHY things haven’t worked in the past or the common pit falls you won’t be as successful in teaching your dog the appropriate way!

Now it is time to TEACH your dog appropriate leash skills!

What are Appropriate Leash Skills?

Finding Heel Position: Teaching your dog to find heel position on your left side at the drop of a hat on quiet and clear command.

Drive and Focus:  Teaching your dog to play, find you fun, and give you eye contact on command and while you walk and heel past distractions.

Leash Manners: Teaching your dog how long his leash is and NEVER to pull you! Read more »

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 more »

Gun dog training, specifically, is something I have never really gotten into, being the animal advocate that I am, am not really into hunting (although I am not here to pass judgment on hunters)!  However, I have spent many years working with police and protection dogs so I am not new to desensitizing dogs to gun fire.

It is critical to teach your dog or your puppy correctly when it comes to desensitizing him to noise, especially gunfire.

Dog hearing is much, much better than human hearing!  Did you know the ears of dogs are controlled by at least 18 muscles?  And, upright and curved ears amplify sound.  Humans often use ear protection when they shoot a gun, can you imagine how loud that same sound is for the dog ?

Police dogs and gun dogs are often right beside the gun when it fires and in order to be successful I believe it is best to slowly incorporate gunfire into his life.

I have personally seen and worked with dogs that were traumatized by gunfire or loud sounds and although these dogs can be desensitized to a point, some of them will never be effective working dogs.  It is much better to prevent a problem than it is to set your dog up for failure and then deal with a problem later.

I once worked with a police dog that was purchased due to his high drives sociability and workability; however the police department did not test his gunfire readiness.  Turns out that he detested gunfire!  Gunfire or loud noises sent him running for the car.  As you can imagine no officer wanted a dog they couldn’t trust in a shootout!  Turns out his first owner’s husband had gotten drunk one night and shot a goat right next to him.  The sound of the gun plus the bleating of the goat traumatized him for life. Read more »

I was recently approached by a former client (I would still be her dogs’ trainer if I lived close enough!  I really miss her pack of dogs!) to help some of her rescue friends find an alternative to some of the training collars they have been taught to use.

I don’t like training collars, except the gentle leader, because not only do most rely on compulsion and punishment they are rarely used for “training” like they were intended or as their name implies.

A training collar if utilized should be just that; only used to train or teach a dog something.

BUT, how many times do you see a 4 or 9 year old dog still using a prong collar?

One of the biggest problems is that dog owners have been taught to utilize these collars but instead of just teaching their dogs, they rely on these products constantly to get their dogs to comply with certain behaviors.  AND, the dog knows when the collar is and is not on!

Even though many of these people have been taught by a dog trainer HOW to use these items they are never taught how to wean their dog off of them or how to teach them a different way!

Did I mention I don’t like these collars?  I want to make SURE that everyone knows I NEVER recommend them!  After all, we are a “hands off” dog training system and nothing is more “hands on” than choke chains and prong collars!  So don’t send hate mail!! Read more »

I have been a dog trainer and a vet tech for what seems like forever!  I have never “catered” to my dogs’ food choices.  If I were to let them choose, my 12 year old dog would opt for Reese’s Pieces and Peanut Butter Cookies for all of his meals!  He is a dog after my own heart!

I haven’t jumped on the raw diet bandwagon and I don’t have the time or effort to cook all of my dog’s meals for them.  I don’t believe in spoiling them when it comes to their meals either.  You surely know someone who’s dog will only eat homemade meals.

Personally I don’t believe that most homemade dog food recipes and raw diets get the dogs all the vitamins and nutrients they need in all the right amounts.  I know that most try, but I don’t believe that they have been around long enough to provide my dogs with all that they need.

I understand that there are many of my readers that make their own dog food or feed the raw diet and do a great job and have wonderful results, but for now it is just not for me.  I believe in the research and nutritional components of some of the large dog food companies.  I am not here to discourage anyone from making their own dog food.

However, I recently had a scare when it comes to dog treats.

I use to give my dogs a third of a piece of chicken jerky at night when we all went to bed.   And, my dogs started begging to go to bed around 7 p.m. each night so that they could enjoy their nightly ritual!  I didn’t realize that the FDA had been cautioning pet owners about chicken jerky products made in China since 2007!  YIKES!!!

It got me thinking; perhaps it would be safer for me to make my own dog treats!

For years I have been telling my obedience clients to use human food for treats (in moderation of course) because if lots of small children get sick from string cheese we will know a lot faster than if dogs get sick and the process it takes to diagnose and relate it back to a food or treat item.

But, my dogs LOVED chicken jerky!

So I am going to start cooking for them, at least in moderation!  And, I am going to share some recipes with you so that you can do the same!

When cooking for your dog, remember that simplicity is best!  Dogs don’t need added salt or onion or garlic flavorings.  Actually onions and garlic can be toxic for your dog, and salt is hard on his kidneys so when I cook for them I decrease or leave out any salt, garlic, onion or other spice.  My dogs don’t care about spices!  They just want treats that taste good to them, and we all know that dogs eat unimaginably gross things!  Keep it simple, they also don’t need sprinkles or anything that “looks” like chocolate!

Chicken Jerky Oven

• 1 cooked chicken breast cut into thin strips
• Preheat oven to 200 degrees
• Place strips on baking sheets and bake 2-3 hours (depending on thickness) to remove moisture.
• Allow to cool in oven as oven cools to continue dehydrating
• Freeze to preserve freshness

Chicken Jerky Dehydrator

• Raw chicken breast (as much as you desire or have room for) cut into thin pieces
• Dehydrate for 8-10 hours depending on thickness
• Freeze to preserve freshness

I assume you could dehydrate almost any kind of meat this way!

Liver Biscuits

• 1 lb Liver
• 1 box of corn muffin mix
• Liquefy liver in food processor or blender, mix with muffin mix, knead until doughy, spread on a nonstick cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Cool, cut and put in fridge or freezer.

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