10 Things You Should Never Let a Puppy Do
1)Jump on or off furniture until minimum 11 months - constant jumping for a young pup can damage their undeveloped joints.
2)Chew a show that you don't care about - Dog's can't differentiate between a old shoe and a new shoe.
3)Pull on leash - If you let your puppy pull on a lead, you're teaching him that pulling gets what he wants.
4) Go ahead of you through doors - Letting your pup run out of any door ahead of you is dangerous, you never know who or what will be on the other side, it could be a aggressive dog that would attack your pup and now you have a dog that is fear aggressive at other dogs.
5)Chase other animals, such as a cat, squirrel, bird ect. - It's cute and funny when they're young because they can't catch it, but when they're older it becomes prey and sometimes obsessions.
6)Touch his or her teeth to human flesh - if a pup never touches his or her teeth to human flesh they will never learn from it. If you let your pup chew on your hand he or she learns that it's 'okay' to chew/bite other people and that may be a small child or baby.
7)Thrust against a person or object - This is usually just excitement especially as the pup is coming into sexual maturity, but you want to show your pup that they are not allowed to thrust against objects or people or dogs (use a positive interrupter).
8)Eat then exercise right away - After you feed your pup wait 45 mins before any strenuous exercising and after any exercising wait 30-45 mins before feeding. This will help the muscles calm down and work at their proper pace. If you feed too soon before or after the bowels move very quickly and can cause diarrhea and twisted stomachs for you pup.
9)Eat his or her feces or other dog's feces -(use a positive interrupter to redirect, such as a whistle or the dog's name in a happy tone). For puppies, this is quite normal, they explore with their mouths and feces happens to be on the ground everywhere. After 6 months old it should stop only if you have been consistent with not allowing it (using your + interrupter), if it continues into adult hood you should check with your vet for pica or an underlining medical problem.
10)Barking that lasts longer then 10 seconds.- Barking is NORMAL for a dog to do, quite like us speaking, but excessive barking is a whole other story. The main culprit for puppies excessive barking is attention getting, at some time they learnt that when they bark they got what they wanted, whether this be attention, food, potty break or whatever. The best way to stop the barking is not to make it reinforcing. If your puppy is barking at you to play or get attention, ignore him or her and wait until they STOP barking for a moment then give attention.
2)Chew a show that you don't care about - Dog's can't differentiate between a old shoe and a new shoe.
3)Pull on leash - If you let your puppy pull on a lead, you're teaching him that pulling gets what he wants.
4) Go ahead of you through doors - Letting your pup run out of any door ahead of you is dangerous, you never know who or what will be on the other side, it could be a aggressive dog that would attack your pup and now you have a dog that is fear aggressive at other dogs.
5)Chase other animals, such as a cat, squirrel, bird ect. - It's cute and funny when they're young because they can't catch it, but when they're older it becomes prey and sometimes obsessions.
6)Touch his or her teeth to human flesh - if a pup never touches his or her teeth to human flesh they will never learn from it. If you let your pup chew on your hand he or she learns that it's 'okay' to chew/bite other people and that may be a small child or baby.
7)Thrust against a person or object - This is usually just excitement especially as the pup is coming into sexual maturity, but you want to show your pup that they are not allowed to thrust against objects or people or dogs (use a positive interrupter).
8)Eat then exercise right away - After you feed your pup wait 45 mins before any strenuous exercising and after any exercising wait 30-45 mins before feeding. This will help the muscles calm down and work at their proper pace. If you feed too soon before or after the bowels move very quickly and can cause diarrhea and twisted stomachs for you pup.
9)Eat his or her feces or other dog's feces -(use a positive interrupter to redirect, such as a whistle or the dog's name in a happy tone). For puppies, this is quite normal, they explore with their mouths and feces happens to be on the ground everywhere. After 6 months old it should stop only if you have been consistent with not allowing it (using your + interrupter), if it continues into adult hood you should check with your vet for pica or an underlining medical problem.
10)Barking that lasts longer then 10 seconds.- Barking is NORMAL for a dog to do, quite like us speaking, but excessive barking is a whole other story. The main culprit for puppies excessive barking is attention getting, at some time they learnt that when they bark they got what they wanted, whether this be attention, food, potty break or whatever. The best way to stop the barking is not to make it reinforcing. If your puppy is barking at you to play or get attention, ignore him or her and wait until they STOP barking for a moment then give attention.
Photos from an agility trial: Page
More photos from the Pawsitive Partners USDAA trial on Sunday. This is Page. Awesome candids!
Photos from an agility trial: Devon
Thanks to Virgil Sweeden of Paw Prints Life who took these awesome photos of Devon in action at the Pawsitive Partners USDAA trial on Sunday. It tops off a great day of Qs and placements!
Treibball
Welcome To The World Of Treibball!
What IS Treibball?
A very popular German dog sport that involves you sending your dog off to herd the large exercise balls back to you at the net! This sport has become very popular not only in Europe but the United States and soon to be Canada.
How to play Treibball?
Eight balls of approximately 45–75 cm are set in a triangle formation, similar to billiards, with the point ball farthest from the goal. The object of the game is to get all eight balls into a confined space the size of a soccer goal within a set time period, usually about 15 minutes. The handler may not move outside of an area that contains the left half of and several feet beyond the goal area. The dog works in close cooperation with the handler, who is only allowed to use whistles, verbal or hand signals to direct his dog. No verbal or physical corrections are used in Treibball. The dog and handler must communicate effectively to herd one ball at a time into the goal, in fifteen minutes time. The dog and handler team are scored on cooperation and direction, within that fifteen minute time limit,and can earn extra points or accrue demerits accordingly.
What dog can play Treibball?
Any dog over the age of 6 months can start training. Of course herding breeds will excel at the sport but any dog with a hunting (strong prey instinct or enthralled by movement) can play and compete.
Here is a great video on how the sport is played by a experienced handler and dog
Be the one of the first play Treibball in Canada
To play Treibball you don't need to set anything up! You just need one or more yoga exercise balls and you can practice on a field or in your home.
How To Get Involved
MCT will be holding classes this summer. Please contact ModernCanineTraining@Gmail.com for details. Start dates and prices for classes will be announced in May (once the weather is better).
A very popular German dog sport that involves you sending your dog off to herd the large exercise balls back to you at the net! This sport has become very popular not only in Europe but the United States and soon to be Canada.
How to play Treibball?
Eight balls of approximately 45–75 cm are set in a triangle formation, similar to billiards, with the point ball farthest from the goal. The object of the game is to get all eight balls into a confined space the size of a soccer goal within a set time period, usually about 15 minutes. The handler may not move outside of an area that contains the left half of and several feet beyond the goal area. The dog works in close cooperation with the handler, who is only allowed to use whistles, verbal or hand signals to direct his dog. No verbal or physical corrections are used in Treibball. The dog and handler must communicate effectively to herd one ball at a time into the goal, in fifteen minutes time. The dog and handler team are scored on cooperation and direction, within that fifteen minute time limit,and can earn extra points or accrue demerits accordingly.
What dog can play Treibball?
Any dog over the age of 6 months can start training. Of course herding breeds will excel at the sport but any dog with a hunting (strong prey instinct or enthralled by movement) can play and compete.
Here is a great video on how the sport is played by a experienced handler and dog
Be the one of the first play Treibball in Canada
To play Treibball you don't need to set anything up! You just need one or more yoga exercise balls and you can practice on a field or in your home.
How To Get Involved
MCT will be holding classes this summer. Please contact ModernCanineTraining@Gmail.com for details. Start dates and prices for classes will be announced in May (once the weather is better).
Me & Luna Practicing Agility
Just a short video on me and Luna practicing her agility on a field close to home.
What is puppy socialization anyway?
I’ve been training dogs for quite a while and occasionally get reminded that not everyone lives in my world. Recently, I was talking to a prospective new puppy owner about what to expect and what she was going to have to think about before her new puppy came home. I think I said something to the effect of, “..and of course you’ll need to get the puppy out to get socialized.” , and the look on her face indicated immediately that she thought I was either daft or speaking another language. I paused and she said, “What exactly do you mean about socializing my puppy?” I realized in that instant that many of us are so wrapped up in repeating the mantra, “You must socialize your puppy.”, we’ve almost lost sight of what it means.
First let me give a brief explanation of why socialization is so important. Puppies go through a critical developmental period from about 3 weeks to about 12 weeks where they are most amenable to experiencing new things. This period is called the Primary and Secondary Socialization period. This period is tied to the development of social patterns and provides a foundation for many adult behaviors. 1 In short a dog that is not exposed to a variety of stimuli during this critical period is at risk of developing behavior problems later on.
So it’s really, really, really important to carefully expose your 7-12 week old puppy to lots of stimuli. This doesn’t just mean taking the puppy to a puppy class once a week, it means taking the dog for rides in the car, walks on all different substrates, into the city, out in the country, meeting people of all shapes and sizes, and generally experiencing every possible place you might expect your dog to go when they are grown. If your new puppy is going to be expected to be your first mate on your boat, make sure you let him walk around on it BEFORE you take them both out for a sail. If your new pup is going to be the team mascot, don’t wait until they are older to introduce him to the team. While you need to get your puppy out to see as much as possible it doesn’t mean that you should OVER expose your dog. Keep your trips short and enjoyable! I have seen people who run their dogs ragged with an all-day outing or force their dogs to get near things (big loud trucks, kids on bikes) that are clearly very scary. There are also concerns about letting your partially vaccinated puppy play in areas or with dogs that may not be vaccinated against common dog diseases. For this reason among others, dog parks are NOT a good place to socialize young puppies So begin socializing early, but do so with care. Puppy play dates with puppies of similar age, that are current on their vaccinations, in an area that is safe and secure is a great way to get things going. Just remember it doesn’t begin and end with interactions with other puppies. The best guide I’ve seen for helping people socialize their puppies is the Puppy Rule of 12 by Margaret Hughes. http://www.dogsadversereactions.com/training.html
Socialization also does not begin at 7 weeks or end at 12 weeks. Breeders can do a lot to help a dog develop resilience in their adulthood by developing a program of early handling, brief interludes of separation from the pack, taking the puppies on rides in the car, introducing them to crates, etc. 2
If you got your dog from a shelter you may be wondering, “What about my dog, I didn’t even get him until he was 12 weeks old!”.
As your dog gets older his tendency to be more fearful increases but this should not deter you from getting your dog out to experience as much as possible. It should, however increase your vigilance to make sure the experiences your dog is getting are positive. Dogs younger than 6 months of age should avoid dog parks with lots of older dogs. Make sure you have an ample supply of yummy treats on hand to help your dog associate new things with good treats. Never, ever force your dog to approach something it fears, no matter how silly it may seem. Instead, let your dog choose the distance they want to keep and help them associate that very scary (garbage can, paper vending machine, snowman, etc.) with something good by rewarding them for trying (even if it’s just looking at it).
Puppy socialization should begin early (at 3-4 weeks) and continue through your dog’s 2nd birthday, and please make sure the socialization is safe and enjoyable for your dog.
1. Steven R. Lindsay, Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training ( Iowa State University Press, 2001), Vol 1, 47
2. Steven R. Lindsay, Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training ( Iowa State University Press, 2001), Vol 1, 58-61
