TRAINING A DOG

Often when I meet a new client with an older dog, I always hear the same complaint, "my dog won't come when I call him".

This is probably one of the biggest problems owners face, when actually it is one of the EASIEST to train. But what happens when you train a recall but still having problems? Look below to see if you've made one or all the typical recall mistakes.

First off, I want you to shake off the unrealistic idea that your dog should come to you......just because you say so. This is unfair and honestly just plain silly.  Now you've heard me say it before and I will say it again, dog's will always do what is reinforcing to them, so if you're not better then another dog, why the heck would the dog want to come to you? Yes, you could intimidate the poor dog and that dog would soon become depressed and even aggressive (depending on what form of intimidation you used), he would only come to you because you've given him no other choice, it's not like he wants to come to you, his body may be there but his mind is elsewhere.

I can teach you how to avoid recall mistakes and have success with your dog, you will have your dog running to you happily over and over again. Doesn't that sound great?



Mistake #1
Don't call your dog to you then end the fun.
Ex: Your dog is at a field playing with some dog's, you call the dog over and he comes back to you (horray!) Now you put a leash on the dog and leave, (booooooo!) You just associated "come" to "your fun will end!"

Mistake #2
Never punish your dog for not coming.
If you punish your dog for not coming right away and taking his time, you just taught the dog that when he does finally come (which is good) he gets in trouble. So tell me why he would want to come back to you?

Mistake #3
Don't put your dog in situations off leash where if you need to call him he will be too distracted to listen.
You have to work up to those distractions, you can't bring a dog to a dog park and expect a recall if the dog can't even come inside your home with no distractions. You must train in a no distraction environment, once you have success there, move to a low distraction environment, once you have success there you can move to a higher distraction environment and so on. With every success you move to a more challenging environment.

Mistake #4
Don't approach your dog when saying "come".
What you're actually doing is using body pressure to push your dog away from you. Either A) stand in one spot and let the dog come all the way to you (which you should train) or B) walk/run the opposite way to entice the dog to follow you.

Mistake #5
Don't over use the command.
Holy moly! People over use the recall and actually desensitize their dog to the cue. If you repeat it over and over again, you will ALWAYS have to repeat it. Only say the cue ONCE and loud enough for the dog to hear you, if the dog didn't come or even look your way you know he A) can't hear you B) too distracting of an environment and you need to take a step back in training.

Any dog that you have trained a recall to mean wonderful things happen when this "come" word is said , that dog will come running to you. It's all about reinforcing the good behaviour so much that the dog anticipates what is to come when he comes to you. After much training you don't even need to use food rewards or toy rewards, the reward is you. But that takes time to get there and a lot of hard work. But if you love and care for your dog, you know it's worth all the hard work.

Instead of locking your dog up so he or she can bark by themselves and learn that it's fun, train your dog the quiet cue.

1. Door bell rings
2. Dog barks
3. You say "quiet"
4. Once the dog quiets down
5. Reward with a treat

This post isn't quite relevant to training but it does have something to do with dogs and other animals.

I have always wondered which companies tested their products on animals, now I know through this:

http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdotest.pdf

This link will take you to lists of companies like

• Blue Buffalo 
• Aveeno
• Johnson & Johnson
• Lysol
• Oral-B
• Swifter

Did you know that kibble shapes aren't just randomly picked?

Kibbles are designed and shaped in a way to better help your dog clean it's teeth and chew.

Larger kibble can help your dog not eat as much due to the fact that your dog is forced to chew the kibble before swallowing and can actually lead to your dog feeling more full.

Smaller kibble is great for dogs who are picky eaters as it is easier and quicker to chew so it encourages the dog to eat more.

Video and comment made from a viewer: (you may need to click the link to watch it on Youtube)


This video was the highlight of my week. I absolutely LOVE to see video's of anyone who trains with PRT then show off what you've taught. Keep 'em coming people!

I realized through a client of mine recently, that many people do not know exactly how their dog learns. This post is to help everyone understand the learning stages when training their dog.

Just wanted to share with everyone an amazing pet portrait artist in RI. Check out her web site!

http://www.charcoalpetportraitsri.com/default.html




Here's what she did for me!

Winter

Samantha

In my line of work, you see a lot of what you would call "impulse buys", meaning they bought a dog because it was physically appealing to them. Short time after the characteristics of the breed(s) come out and the owners don't like them, they wanted a fat lazy dog but they happen to have bought a Jack Russell Terrier.

This article will (I hope) help anyone who is searching online about information before buying/adopting a dog. 

When ADOPTING a dog, many times you don't know the breed(s) so you're really in for a surprise, this is what the rescue group or shelter is there for. Let them know exactly what you want out of a companion and they will match you with the dog that is best suited for your lifestyle.

Before Adding to the 'Already There' Canine Family

Another issue is their dog has issues with other dogs or it has an incredible amount of energy that the owners don't know how to control/fix. So they decide that getting a second dog will fix the problem(s).

WRONG 99% of the time.......

Never get a second dog before the first dog is PERFECT in your eyes. By adding another dog to the mix of an already out of control dog, you're just going to have two out of control dogs. Dogs learn from each other especially a younger dog looking up to an older dog, many of the times you just bought your dog a partner in crime.

There have been many times where I have desperately wanted to adopt a dog but I know better then to bring a dog into my home when I was still working on Luna's issues. I'm happy to say that now Luna is 3 years old and my fantastic four legged friend I will be searching for the next addition.

Gus and Bruin

We had a great play date yesterday, Gus (14 wks), Bruin (12 weeks), Tessie and Scout (9 weeks) all had a great time!

Scout and Tessie

This video shows an owner who has used a clicker to train her puppy many different commands and tricks with a clicker! It's so nice to watch how much FUN both are having.

Wow, there's a whole new batch of puppies out there and time again for a couple of reminders.  It may sound a bit repetitive but the first several weeks of your puppies time with your are during a critical developmental period that you can never get back.  Now is the time to SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE, SOCIALIZE!

Perhaps your breeder (and maybe even your vet) said, "Don't bring the puppy to dog parks, or don't let the puppy play with other dogs until they've had all their shots!"  and they are right to be concerned about disease transmission.  I agree, bringing the puppy to the dog park is not a great idea BUT socializing your dog with a small group of other puppies of similar age who are up to date with their shots is critical for development of proper bite inhibition as well as developing doggy social skills.   Without the proper socialization dogs can and often do become dog/dog reactive, you know the ones that you walk past with your dog on leash and they lunge and bark and you think, 'my that dog is aggressive, I can't imagine why they'd have that dog out in public'.  The sad reality is that dog is probably a wonderful dog who just never got properly socialized as a puppy.  This is especially true for small breed dogs, because they are so small as little puppies people tend to be over protective of them particularly around larger breed dogs.  Rather than protecting their dogs they end up creating a dog that worries about being around all other dogs!

Don't take my word for it though, check out the ASVAB (American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior) position papers on socialization http://avsabonline.org/resources/position-statements.  This is a group of Veterinarians who have specialized in animal behavior.  You can also read a great article from the APDT (Association of Pet Dog Trainers) http://apdt.com/veterinary/assets/pdf/Messer_ND06.pdf.

Socialization should not stop with puppy play dates!  It means getting your dog out and about to see and interact with all the different people, places and things that they will see in their lifetime while they are open to it!  So take your puppy with you when you go pick the kids up at camp, let them meet all the kids and their parents.  Take them to the soccer field, the playground, the swimming hole, down town area, any where they are likely to go as adult dogs.  These trips SHOULD NOT be Bataan Death Marches, but short enjoyable outings to see new things and experience new people and places. If your puppy is on the shy side, respect that, don't force the dog closer than they are comfortable to any new stimuli, and of course ALWAYS bring yummy treats with you and REWARD your dog for being brave!  Even a brave puppy can get startled by a fire engine siren, so back away and reward the puppy for bravely enduring the noise!  If your puppy will not take a food treat, it may be too scared, so move further away from the stimulus and try rewarding him again!

Above all make these socialization trips fun, fun, fun.  Play games with your puppy where ever you go.  Let him investigate things at his own pace and reward him for every good thing he does (like sitting politely while being pet by a stranger!). 

I've had the pleasure the past couple of weeks to be working with an adolescent Boxer/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix that was adopted by a very patient senior woman. This boisterous boy was rescued from a shelter and is now adjusting to his new home.  He is very sweet, and very friendly with people, but he has a bit of a social issue.  When he gets excited and wants attention, he behaves just the way a 3-month-old puppy would, though he's now about 18 months old and 75 pounds of lean muscle. He jumps up, humps, paws, mouths and nips and tugs at clothing.

Which brings up a common misconception about behavior: "Oh, he'll grow out of it."  In some cases puppy behaviors do get less severe as they get older, even without intervention or training. But for most behaviors, owners need to take some kind of action to prevent their puppy from growing into a larger version with the same issues. Puppy classes, private lessons or other forms of training can help puppy parents learn the best ways to mold their puppies into good canine citizens.

There is good hope for this rescue dog. He now has a wonderful home with an owner who has the time and dedication to help him learn the manners he missed out on when he was younger. The training will involve some positive redirection, clear boundary setting and appropriate outlets (such as exercise and interactive toys) for his enthusiasm. I can't wait to see what a charming young man he'll turn into!

I am so happy to be finally be offering ONLINE OBEDIENCE PROGRAMS on my webpage.

This was a huge challenge for me for the past year with wanting to expand PRT's methods and ethics to anyone that would listen, soon people were trying it, loving it and wanting to know more.Not long after I was being asked on a regular basis if people who lived in Europe, Thailand, Brazil, USA and even across Canada could somehow purchase my 6 session obedience program, of course I had to say no but it really got to me that there were people wanting to train their dog with PRT and I had to say no just because of miles or ocean inbetween, the best I could do was refer them to books and online reading but this didn't help them as much as they wanted.
So after months of perfecting the programs with successful clients, I present to you......

(click the picture to be transferred to my Online Obedience Program page).

This weekend we learned a very valuable lesson about caring for your dogs in the Pacific Northwest.  Slug bait, used in gardens to prevent the freakishly-large area slugs from consuming veggies and other plants, is highly toxic.  The main ingredient, metaldehyde (say that three times fast - or once even!) is a poison that attacks the neurological system, causing tremors, seizures, high fever, trouble breathing and eventually death.

Unaware of the deadly risks, Apple poisoned herself only inches away from me.  Saturday afternoon, after I had finished with the day's lessons, I was in the yard picking blueberries.  Lots and lots of blueberries in fact.  Apple, always on the lookout for something to eat, was following me, happily munching on the blueberries that had fallen to the ground, either over-ripe or plucked free by birds.

The blueberries had mainly landed directly below, where there is a large patch of strawberries.  Turns out slugs love strawberries as much as we do, so there was slug bait all around them.  Old slug bait, that had been sitting out in the sun and rain for months (okay, this is Oregon, mostly rain!).  Seems the stuff remains highly toxic, because a few hours later (since Apple isn't graceful or selective enough to have only eaten the blueberries themselves), my husband noticed something was amiss.

He tried calling Apple out from under the bed because she was panting very heavily.  She wouldn't come.  He tried calling her again, and just got a glassy stare and more heavy panting.  He sent for me, and while I was able to get her out from under the bed, I knew immediately that something was very wrong.  Apple was panting like she had just run up and down Mt. Hood.  As can happen when she gets worked up, her breathing wasn't just fast, but coarse and raspy, making horrible grating noises every time she drew a breath.  Which was about every second.

As she tried to walk she had a bit of a drunken look to her, not placing her feet in quite the right places, and swinging her legs wide as if even her frying brain knew she was likely to tip.  Her hind end was trembling, not the excited muscle twitches she gets when she's waiting for someone to throw the ball again, but a heading-for-seizure kind of shaking.

I made a beeline for Dove Lewis Emergency Animal Hospital,  even running a red arrow (shh, no telling!).  I promise no one was coming.  The wonderful staff there took a quick look at her and rushed her straight to the back where their ER clinic and ICU areas are.  Thank goodness for a 24 hour hospital.  Even more thanks for one of the best in the country.

The veterinarians and staff took wonderful care of Apple, bringing down her temperature (105 by the time we walked in) with cool IV fluids and wet blankets, stopping the tremors with medication, sedating her to slow the swelling that was causing her so much trouble breathing, and giving her oxygen to help her until the worst past.  It was a terrifying night.  I went home with the passenger seat empty, praying that Apple would pull through.  I had been told before I left that if her breathing didn't improve soon they would need to put her under anesthesia, put a tube in her throat and breathe for her for a period of time.  What a way to try getting some sleep - wondering if that's the path your dog is taking.

Sunday morning brought great news.  Apple had not only survived the night without anesthesia, but was eating and wagging her tail, convincing the veterinarian who had taken over her care that she would be ready to go home by the afternoon.

Today, you wouldn't even know that Apple had a brush with death, aside from the telltale shaved patch on her forearm that allowed the Dove Lewis staff to place the IV line.  Apple was running around, chasing the ball and trying to instigate games of tug.  The slug bait has been carefully removed, and once she's done pooping out all the charcoal she was given (to bind with the remaining toxins), she really will be 100% healthy.  We are a little poorer, but with Apple home to sleep on the bed and greet Ethan when he comes home from school, it doesn't really matter!

It's hard not to fall in love with those soft, brown eyes, or to coo at the tiny features of a new puppy.  Puppies melt our hearts.  They also bite our hands with their sharp little teeth, jump on our legs as we try to walk, and pee on the floor (oops!) instead of the yard. 

But that's what puppy class is for.  That, and the critical puppy-to-puppy socialization that nothing else (not even playing at home with your other dogs) offers.  We have to protect these little ones who are still on their path to becoming fully-vaccinated adults, so romping off to the dog park is a big no-no (way too many chances for disease, and also a risk of an unfriendly dog doing some serious damage).

Puppy class allows growing dogs (ages 8 to 16 weeks) to learn lots of life skills.  It also gives their owners the opportunity to ask the burning "should he really be doing this?" and "am I handling that right?" questions.  We cover things that puppy parents may not have thought of, with the hope that every graduating puppy is well on his or her way towards becoming a well mannered adult.

Puppy class is a joy, one of the perks of being a dog trainer.  A client once asked me, towards the end of a rollicking play session where 6 adorable puppies were tumbling around on the floor, "you actually get paid to do this?!?" 

Well, yes.  It's not as bad as, say, a leash walk through cold, sleety rain with a ninety-pound dog who wants to take a chunk out of my arm.  But it all comes with the territory.  And I take pride in knowing that my puppy classes are well run.  They are jam-packed with good information, covering all the necessary topics in a fun way.  The play sessions are kept to the right length so puppies don't get too crabby with each other and so we get in plenty of "work" too. Overall, they are a joy not just for the dog trainer, but for the puppies and their owners too.

Now, don't you want to sign up?!

Next Class: Saturday, July 28th at 4:00 PM
Location: Rose City Veterinary Hospital, Portland
Cost: $140 for the 5 week course
Requirements: Puppies must be enrolled and current on their vaccines (at least one DHPP/DAP and one bordatella two weeks before the first class).  Ages 8 to 16 weeks; no more than 8 puppies per class.

I'm sure everyone is reading this and hoping for a magic button to press and problem behaviours go away, well unfortunately, that doesn't exist with anything in life. Instead I'm going to tell you the secret to train your dog, which it's almost like a button, a button that you push in your brain to start training your dog the right way!

DON'T ALLOW BAD BEHAVIOURS TO HAPPEN.....

Simple.

I'm sure you're screaming at me, "but my dog eats food off my counter! How am I suppose to not allow that to happen when I'm not there?" Set the dog up to succeed in the first place! Don't put food up on the counter where your dog can grab it, block off your kitchen while you're not home so he can't surf for food if you leave something up there, the list goes on.


When a dog exhibits a bad behaviour, whether it's barking, stealing food, jumping or biting, he or she is LEARNING FROM IT (figuring out if they enjoy it enough to do it again). When you don't allow a behaviour to happen, the dog doesn't learn from it even if the dog has already been practising it. The behaviour will eventually extinguish itself with a little help from you to guide them in what you DO want them to do.


Dog's will always do what is most reinforcing to THEM. Every dog has a difference reinforcement system (check out my video for Different Types Of Reinforcements) so you must figure out what your dog enjoys.


Does It Work With Behavioural Problems?


This secret also applies with aggression. When you allow your dog to exhibit aggressive behaviours, your dog is learning from it and learning that it makes the scary things go away and the dog gets what it wants. Usually people put their dog in situations where the dog is highly uncomfortable and has to resort to aggressive behaviours to make things go away. Don't bring your dog in situations where he or she is uncomfortable, let the dog stop learning how to be aggressive. Once you stop that, you can start the rehabilitation if you want your dog to go in that situation again. 


When you train an alternate response, the same rule applies, don't allow the dog to get to that growl, lunge etc. Keep the dog under the threshold, train what you want and you are set!


Being Proactive!
Next time when your dog is doing something you don't like, ask yourself how you can prevent that from happening again. 


Not what can you do to let that dog know you don't like that!

In my line of work I see people doing horrible things to their dog, some things that are excusable because that is all the person knows and some things are absolutely horrific.

This post I wanted to address a very common problem among dog owners today and that I find I'm constantly addressing with new clients.

Majority of the population are under the assumption that to have a well behaved dog you need to just exercise the &#$% out of him or her and they will be so tired, they can't do bad behaviours.

True..... to a degree.

Think about it for a second. What happens if you were to jog a mile today? If you've never jogged before, you'd be pretty tired, right? But what happens a couple weeks down the road of jogging 1 mile every day, you're no longer exhausted from it, you could probably go another half mile before feeling fatigued, am I right? YES.
When we constantly run our dogs or walk them for 1.5 per day to try to tire them out, you're always going to have to do more and more to tire the dog out. Soon, a 1 hour walk that use to tire your 6 month old puppy out is a breeze for the 1 year old version. 

You are building an incredible athlete! You are basically training your dog for a marathon when he or she is 2 years old. Why would anyone (that is not a runner) want to do this? You're just going to constantly try to keep up with your amazingly fit dog and dedicate more time trying to tire him or her out. And what's going to happen when you can't keep up with a 4 hour walk per day? Your dog will be so physically fit and use to being able to expel all this energy that your house will become a track field. Not fun for the floors.....

You're probably thinking, "this lady is crazy, she's telling us not to exercise our dogs." This is not the case, sorry, you still must exercise your dog.

Lets give a nice example here of a client of mine:

They have a very active dog and they did thorough research on the breed and were told that the dog needed TONS of physical exercise and room to run all day. So they gave it just that, they were dedicating 3-4 hours of purely physical stimulation to the dog, and constantly trying to tire the dog out as she grew older. They were joining dog sport clubs such as Flyball, just trying to keep her sated from destroying their house.
1 year later, they met me. They tell me how much exercise they give this dog, and I'm looking at the crazy dog bouncing off the walls and running inside while I'm there, the owners say "we've already been out two times today (1.5 hours already!!!!!) This was 3pm. They looked absolutely exhausted, I would be too.
I explain to them happily that they no longer have to take her to fields and run her until she drops, you should have seen the smiles on their faces, priceless.

I instructed, as I tell many of my clients, don't think of your dog as a physical vessel, your dog has a brain and that needs to be exercised no matter what the breed is, smart or dumb. We worked with the dog for 30 minutes on simple cues and tricks, the dog dropped on the floor and went to sleep 5 mins after we finished tricking.

The problem was, the owners never thought to utilize the dog's brain. Yes, your dog has a brain! He isn't just a cute furry thing. When you pair physical exercise with mental stimulation such as games, tricks, obedience cues, playing and interacting one-on-one you are training the dog's brain much like you train your muscles and the dog becomes tired without putting tremendous stress on the joints/muscles.

Try this tomorrow and you'll see the difference.

If you have a active dog - 2-3 twenty minute walks per day (not runs, or ball fetching), maybe once or twice a week a trip to the park to let them run around and feel the wind in their fur. Pair that with 2 fifteen minute brain sessions (obedience, tricks, brain games). You will have the same results as taking your dog out for hours on end throwing a ball.

Non active dog - cut it in half.

Tips: On walks, utilize their brains by training cues and commands such as heel, sit, swing to one side or the other, impulse control game with the leash (tug and leave it).