http://www.seattleschild.com/article/pets-babies

WHAT DO DOGS NEED?

1. Food

2. Water

3. Collar

4. Leash

5. Exercise

6. Toys

7. Training

8. Visits to the Veterinarian

9. A family

10. LOVE!

Over 17 years ago when I brought my first dog to an obedience class I was taught to do a standard leash “correction.” You know, the old snap of the leash to get her to comply. She was a sweet, sensitive Shepherd mix and I just could NOT bring myself to do it. I had never trained another dog but this just didn’t feel right.  I went with my gut on that and now many years later we have all (well, a lot of us) have wised up on our training techniques and, I believe, have much richer and stronger relationships with our dogs because of it.

When my son was an infant I was told that I needed to “sleep train” him and let him “cry it out.” Well, I couldn’t bring myself to do that either. Call me weak, but it just didn’t feel right to me. And while I certainly did not blame the parents who truly needed to do something because they were completely sleep deprived, and were of no good use to their baby because of it, I had to go with my gut here as well.  I carried my baby in a pouch attached to my body not because I was committed to “attachment parenting” but because it was easier to walk my two dogs with him attached to me rather than pushing a stroller and because it just felt right.

Until recently I (and other trainers like me) used to tell our clients not to pet, touch, or talk soothingly to a dog who was showing signs of fear because we would be reinforcing their fear. And even though I suggested (and did) it, that also never felt right to me. Pia Silvani wrote an article in the ADPT Chronicle in the May/June 2009 issue that made me change my ways and gave me validation for going with my gut. She suggested we use classical counterconditioning  (food, play, attention) to help fearful dogs. Studies have now been done that prove that you cannot “reinforce fear” because we cannot reinforce involuntary responses – emotions. If letting your dog on your bed for a cuddle and a scratch behind the ears when the fireworks scare him makes him feel just a tiny bit better, go with your gut. I bet you will feel better.

1. Turn your focus to the positive and teach what you want your puppy TO do not what you want them NOT to do. Redirect your pup from the behavior you do not like and give him something else to do that will allow him to get attention and greet people. It’s great if your puppy is social and wants to greet people (your family included) so let’s teach him an appropriate greeting behavior that doesn’t involve his teeth. Even the youngest of pups can learn a “sit.” Teach him to sit quietly for a treat when you pet or greet him. You may also distract his mouth with an appropriate chew toy when he approaches you to nip.
2. Minimize inappropriate behavior. Do not give your puppy ANY attention for behaviors you do not like. Negative attention (“no, stop, ouch!”) is still attention so if you react in any way your dog has been successful in getting your attention from doing the behavior you do not want and consequently, you have reinforced that behavior. If your pup grabs and nips your clothes, cross your arms, turn/look away or walk away (not too far) so that he learns that nipping gets no response or attention from you. Ignore the nipping then give the replacement behavior, “sit.”
3. Don’t punish by hitting, kicking or and other physical means. This sort of punishment can cause aggression and/or fear and could even make the problem worse. This type of “correction” often increases the pup’s intensity level therefore increasing the pressure and ferocity of the bite.
4. Dealing with a puppy takes a LOT of patience and consistency. Everyone in the household should interact with the puppy in the same way to teach new behaviors. The more consistency your pup receives for his behavior the faster he will learn.

For more info on this topic and many more for your new pup please take our

PUPPY POUNCE class at dog’s day out!

PUPPY POUNCE is a 4 week class for pups 8-16 weeks old that covers age specific issues such as potty training, desensitization to sights, sounds & handling, mouthing, bite inhibition and jumping up as well as beginning work on commands including “sit”, “down” and “come”. We will discuss what to expect in different stages of canine development and socialization and allow pups to socialize with other pups and humans during supervised “recess” periods. Positive reinforcement only; no leash corrections will be used.

NEXT CLASS STARTS SATURDAY, JANUARY 7^th at 9:30am!

To register: http://dogsdayoutseattle.com./wp-content/uploads/2010/10/ClassRegForm2.pdf

 http://www.king5.com/community/blogs/the-pet-dish/7-steps-to-better-leash-walking–135382893.html

One of the most common complaints I hear from my clients is “my dog is terrible walking on a leash!” This is a BIG problem. It often makes walking your dog such a miserable experience that eventually the dog doesn’t get walked at all. This is hugely detrimental to the dog, both physically and behaviorally, not to mention what it does to the dog-human relationship. Our dogs need to be walked outside everyday. Exercise requirements vary from dog to dog but walking is not only for fulfilling that exercise requirement, it is also for basic stimulation – your dog needs to sniff, see people, places and things in order to be happy!

There are some basic steps to getting your dog to walk on a loose leash but before I get to those steps, here are some points you need in order for the steps to work…

1. You need some way to get your dog’s attention. I teach a “look” command to my clients but there are other ways too… maybe you say their name, use a “tsssk” sound, slap your thigh etc..
2. When you are beginning, think of your walks as “training” time not as your dog’s daily exercise. Do something else to get his exercise requirement fulfilled. If nothing else, throw a ball for 10 minutes before you attempt to start leash walking.
3. Keep your walks short at the beginning and don’t expect to get very far very fast. You will be stopping and starting often.
4. Socializing and experiencing the world around him (sights, sounds and smells) are important too. Have time for this as well as structured time to practice leash manners. My basic rule is: if you are moving, your dog is on a short leash and moving with you. Your dog is allowed to explore once you have stopped moving. I’ll even put it on cue for some dogs; I stop walking then, “ok, go sniff”.
5. Keep your dog on a short leash. You want him close enough to get his attention and close enough that you could step in front of him and block him with your body.
6. Bring high value treats with you every time you go out for a walk. You may need them to get his attention and for desensitizing him to unfamiliar or “scary” stimuli.
7. You must be watching your dog and giving him your full attention when working on leash manners; you cannot talk/text on a cell phone and train your dog at the same time!

Ok, now we are ready to walk! Here are the steps to stop pulling on the leash:

1. STOP – When your dog pulls simply stop your body, no verbal command. Most dogs will not hang out there too long, instead they will turn and look at you with the “hey, why aren’t we moving” look. If they look at you at that point skip to step 3 if not…
2. GET YOUR DOG’S ATTENTION – “look”, “tsst, tsst”, slap your thigh, call his name etc. Wave a treat in front of his face if all else fails!
3. PRAISE him for paying attention to you. When he looks at you give him a  “good!”
4. RELEASE – at this point you can simply start walking again. His reward for not pulling and paying attention to you is that he gets to start walking again. To move forward say your release word (mine is “ok”) and a proceed command such as “let’s go.”

Hang in there, be patient and stop, start, stop, start, stop, start… J

It will happen and the rewards are HUGE for everyone involved!

In honor of my new dog Rufus adopted from PAWS this past weekend…

If you adopt a dog from Seattle Animal Shelter, Seattle Humane Society or PAWS during the month of December we will give you $25 off any obedience class on our WINTER 2012 class schedule. Feel free to share!

Rufus

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The two most common complaints I hear from my clients are “How do I get my dog to come to me?” and “How do I get him to walk nicely on the leash”. Let’s start with the first one first…

For starters, getting a consistent recall from your dog can mean literally mean his life or death. It is probably the most important command we teach our dogs and often, the most ignored.

There are a few VERY IMPORTANT THINGS to remember about getting a great recall:

1. When you are teaching your dog a recall, never say the word “come” unless your dog is on a leash or headed straight for you. Otherwise, he will hear you say it (trust me, he DID hear you) but may choose to ignore you thus deeming the command optional.
2. When your dog comes to you, you are HAPPY – no matter what he just did or how long it took you to get him back to you. If you yell at him when he comes to you, he will definitely think twice about coming to you next time.
3. Continue to treat your dog with a high value reward for a long time. This is not something to start intermittently rewarding for quite a while. You want him to know it is always good when he comes to you, he will get something good and may even get to go play/sniff/run again!
4. Don’t call your dog to “come” to have him do something he doesn’t want to do like get a bath, toenail trim or to leave the park. You may need to simply go get him for those tasks.
5. It’s never too late! If you have been saying the word “come” and it is now being ignored go ahead and start over using a new word such as “here” instead.

There are two ways to teach your dog to come; one is on-leash, the other is off-leash. On-leash is generally how we practice in obedience classes but really, I think off-leash recall training is actually even more effective (not to mention more realistic!).

1. On leash:

• Have your dog on a long leash
• Put your dog in a “sit”, “down” or “stand”
• Tell them to “stay” (hand signal=stop sign to the face)
• Back up – start with a short distance and gradually move further away
• Release them with “ok” and tell them to “come”
• If they don’t come you can reel them in on leash.

1. Off leash:

• Start in a small enclosed area (inside your house or yard)
• Call your dog to you by saying anything BUT the word “come” – say “over here”, “let’s go”, call his name, whistle, make a crazy sound, fall to the ground, wave your hands in the air etc. You may need to get animated to entice your dog to you.
• When you dog starts running towards you can encourage him with  “good come” and reward with a yummy treat.
• Repeat this as you extend your distance and increase the distraction level meaning, if you started in the house now do it in the back yard, then at an enclosed off–leash area and so on.
• Continue to call your dog (saying anything BUT “come”) in intervals less than 2 minutes (at 20 sec., 30 sec., 1 min, 40 sec. etc)
• Each time he is headed toward you encourage him with  “good come” then as he gets to you gently grab his collar (this way he doesn’t learn to come to you and stay just out of reach), while giving him a yummy treat and then release him “ok, go play”. Repeat!
• Often, we only tell our dogs to come when we are taking them away from something they like but with this approach your dog learns to come to you, get something yummy and STILL gets to go play.

I have to admit, it makes me a little uncomfortable when I hear new clients come in and tell me how they have been trying to be “Alpha” to their dog. What exactly does that mean I wonder… like the old “alpha roll” where people hold their dog down on the dogs back to “dominate” him? Do people still do that? Unfortunately, they do. Unfortunately, that’s also an excellent way to get bit in the face. Do your kids do it to the dog too? That accomplishes what exactly? Dominance? Establishes you as the Alpha? Are you all “alphas”? Huh?

I’m just plain tired of the term Alpha. What does it mean to our dogs and to (and about) us? Let’s break it down…

The way most people seem to use the term “alpha” descends (if you will) from the relationship between wolves in a pack. But we don’t live in a wolf pack. We live in homes with our families. I don’t consider my relatives part of my pack because I don’t have a pack. I have a family! There is not a set rank in my household. I don’t consider myself subservient to my husband (sorry honey). My dog is not part of my pack because he is part of my family. Our dogs may be descendants from wolves but they are certainly not wolves, they are domesticated. Merriam-Webster defines a domesticated animal as: “any of various animals domesticated so as to live and breed in a tame condition.” Tame meaning “changed from the wild or savage state; without the savageness or fear of humans normal in wild animals.” Why would we use a wolf “technique” on an animal that is not a wolf and is in fact, not even a wild animal?

Along similar lines (vent, vent)… all dogs are submissive and those same dogs are also dominant. The terms submissive and dominant describe a relationship between two beings, not a personality trait. A dog may be dominant over a younger puppy but submissive with and older dog.

You are not “Alpha” and your dog is not “dominant” (or “submissive”). However, you are certainly the leader in your family. You buy the food and pay the rent! I am responsible for my dog and my child so yes, I am the “boss”, I just don’t need to resort to physical dominance over them in order to have a smooth running, well behaved home.

Here are some appropriate ways to become an effective leader to your dog: LEADERSHIP

A video by the artist NEeMA for a song called “Elsa’s Lullaby” (google it, get a tissue!) made the rounds on Facebook and found me yesterday. It is a very sweet song and video about the singer’s relationship with her dog.  I watched it with tears pouring down my face. It reminded me of my first (as an adult) dog, Sweet Georgia Brown Dog. Later that evening I started bawling again just thinking about the video and my own relationship with Georgia.

Georgia was a German Shepherd/Collie/Husky(?) mix who I adopted while working at PAWS, an animal shelter north of Seattle. I was in my mid-twenties, single with 2 cats. Georgia was about a year old and had kennel cough. I was on euthanasia duty that night and we were out of kennel space. She was on the list. I wasn’t even really a “dog person,” I always preferred cats but that night I thought, “this is ridiculous, she’s cute, nice, tri-colored, she will get adopted. I’ll just take her home for a few days.”  She was with me for another 15 years until she died of bone cancer a little over a year ago.

I am currently searching for my third dog and have been thinking of Georgia a lot lately. I’ve met a lot of great dogs in my search but so far, none have seemed to “click.” I am certainly analyzing the dogs much more harshly now because I know so much more. The only analyzing of Georgia I did was to make sure she was good with my cats and when she passed that test I fell in love. I’m starting to wonder if anyone will click in the same way as Georgia and I did. I certainly loved my second dog too but it never felt quite the same. When I first adopted Georgia it was just the two of us. I didn’t have a husband, child, and business of my own to take care of. She was there when I met my husband, had my son and built my business. In fact she quite literally changed my life – I fell in love with dogs and built an entire business from that love.

After that first dog, I wonder if we ever get to have that same precious and close relationship with our dogs that follow. Is there even room for that kind of relationship now that we have all these other people and things that need our attention? When Georgia “happened” to me I wasn’t looking for a dog and certainly not one that had to fit all of the criteria that is now my life (“must be good with dogs, cats, kids”). I need a family dog now, not a dog for me. I have to remind myself that Georgia wasn’t perfect. She had pretty bad separation anxiety. Of course, that wasn’t too much of a problem since she went everywhere with me. “If my dog’s not invited, I’m not coming!” My age and attitude have since matured. But I remember her perfect, the perfect dog for me. I’m not sure it’s possible but I truly hope I get to repeat that kind of love with a dog in my future.

1.  Your dog is a dog. He is not a small furry human with four legs.  He thinks and acts like a dog and understands canine behavior. It is important for us humans to understand some basic canine behaviors and thought patterns before we can attempt to teach them anything.

2. A dog’s first language is body language and tone of voice. Most of the time dogs “disobey” simply because they do not understand what we are asking of them. They are not being “spiteful” or “angry;” they just don’t get it!  We need to try to understand their language (body & tone) in order to teach them ours (verbal). One example of this type of miscommunication happens when we come home and see the dog has destroyed the couch/rug/door frame. We have a very angry tone to our voice and the dog is cowering and “looking guilty”. We think “see, he knows he was bad.”  Actually, he does not know what you are angry about or that the destruction was bad, but he does know, by your tone, that you are angry. Learn to read your dog’s body language and signals.

3.  Dogs need leaders and structure.  Yes, they are our friends, companions and playmates but they are not truly our “equal”. We are wholly responsible to feed, protect and care for them. We buy the food and pay the rent! Dogs need kind, fair leaders who can provide structure and guidance.  They are most comfortable and confident when they are secure in knowing you can take care of things and protect them.

4.  Dogs live in the here and now. Dogs must be rewarded or corrected for behaviors as the dog is exhibiting the behavior.  Punishing a dog for something that occurred 2 hours/30 minutes/2 minutes ago doesn’t work and can further confuse and frighten your dog.

5.  Dogs do everything for some type of reward. Dogs are very good at continuing behaviors that work for them, meaning they receive some sort of reward for doing it. They will also discontinue a behavior if they are not being rewarded in some way. Rewards are different to different dogs and have different values. Rewards may be external: food, ball, attention, play etc. or inherently rewarding such as chewing, digging and relieving himself.

6.  You are “training” your dog all the time. If you are not there to praise him for good behaviors and prevent his bad behaviors then he will not learn which behaviors are desirable and which are not. Chewing, jumping, digging and relieving himself all feel good and are inherently rewarding to your dog.  You need to teach him the appropriate time and place for these activities.  Any new dog (puppy or adult) should be supervised or confined at all times until you are comfortable that he knows the rules.  Preventing undesirable behaviors before your dog can be rewarded (by performing the inherently rewarding act itself) can go a very long way.

7.  No two dogs are the same. They are all individuals with individual personalities and breed characteristics and should be treated as such. You may have to get creative in your training to find out what works for your dog.