Due to the Holidays fast approaching, these will be the
LAST CLASSES UNTIL 2013!
So if your New Year's Resolution is a better behaved best friend why not get started early?

Puppy/Rookie
WEDNESDAY EVENING CLASSES 6-7 P.M.
Starting: November 7th
Will Meet the Following Wednesdays:
11/7
11/14
11/28
12/5
12/12
12/19
1/2
SATURDAY CLASSES 10-11 A.M.
Starting: December 1st
Will Meet the Following Saturdays:
12/1
12/8
12/15
12/22
1/5
1/12
1/19

Intermediate
SATURDAY CLASSES 11:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. 
Starting: December 8th
 Will Meet the Following Saturdays:
12/8
12/12
12/22
1/5
1/12
1/19

Visit my Services page to enroll in a class!

  Halloween is one of my favorite holidays (second to Christmas of course!). Although I have to admit that I prefer Halloween to be a celebration of Fall and not necessarily all the gross and gruesome scary elements! I love carving pumpkins, making my house smell like cinnamon and spice, bonfires, "hoodie weather", all the beautiful colors on the trees, and of course long cool hikes with dogs that have been cooped up inside during the hot winter months! Unfortunately, many of the things that make Halloween so much fun to celebrate can be hazardous to our four legged companions. But there is a bright side to Halloween happenings, there are PLENTY of training opportunities for your dog if you use them to your advantage!

A Guide to Halloween for Dog Owners:

  CANDY- According to www.petpoisonhelpline.com, poisoning by eating household foods was the NUMBER ONE reason dog owners and veterinarians called them for consultation in 2011. Specifically chocolate, xylitol, and grapes/raisins (all three can be easily found in MANY Halloween candies).

Certain types of chocolate are very toxic to dogs. The chemical causing toxicity in chocolate is theobromine (a relative of caffeine). The darker, more bitter, and more concentrated the chocolate is, the more dangerous it is. Many sugarless gums and candies contain xylitol, a sweetener that is dangerous to dogs. When ingested, even in small amounts, it can result in a life-threatening drop in blood sugar or even liver failure. Raisins and grapes are often overlooked as one of the most toxic foods to dogs, and can result in kidney failure. Make sure you brush up on your dog's "Leave it" and "Drop it" Commands before Halloween in case you find them with candy. Also,  be sure to talk to your children about the dangers of candy for dogs (just because WE know it is dangerous, doesn't mean our kids do!). And of course, do all that you can to keep these poisons out of reach in the first place!

   Tons of dog owners dress their dogs up for Halloween every year, myself included! My corgi has been everything from a lobster to a Lego, but she wasn't born loving dress up. Okay, maybe she still doesn't like dress up, but she does humor me! No matter what your dog is going to dress up as, make sure you purchase (or make!) the costume a few weeks ahead of time to give your dog time to get used to it. Spend some time making wearing the costume fun (hint: treats are always fun!). Start with just part of the costume and slowly add more pieces to it. For instance, maybe just get them used to wearing a hat, then the body piece, then shoes or an eye patch! Only add pieces once your dog is completely comfortable with the first piece. Don't rush the process, if the only thing they get used to is wearing a hat by the time Halloween comes around, then start the process earlier next year!

  Many owners get all dressed up in their Zombie best, then are completely surprised (and maybe even entertained) by the fact that their dog seems to actually think they ARE a Zombie! I have seen dogs not recognize their owners by simply adding a hat to their wardrobe, let alone full out zombie attire. Be sensitive to the fact that your dog might not recognize you in your costume and be prepared to deal with it. You may even want to put your own costume on a week ahead of time and get them used to it. Let's face it, no one wants their dog to act as if you are in a scene from "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" the entire evening of your party or handing out candy to trick or treaters. This preparation may sound like a hassle but it is designed to save you work during entertaining and maybe even save you from being bitten by your own dog!

   I love hosting our Halloween party every year and so do millions of other families every year. But what role does our dog play in the party? If you have a Halloween "Pro" like my Corgi Tru, dress them up and let them join in on the fun! However, if you have a Halloween "Newbie" like my German Shepherd Ziva, you may want to make other arrangements. Let's face it, when we are entertaining the last thing we want to be thinking about is training our dog (although it would be a GREAT opportunity!). If you don't feel you will be committed to making Fido behave during your party, you are better off not letting them join in on the fun. Not only will his bad behavior be frustrating to you but you will be teaching your pup that he does not have to behave when there are guests because there are no consequences. For puppies that are still in training, consider sending them to a Dog Day Care for the evening to have their own party like Dog Day Afternoon. If you don't want to explore that route, consider crating them or confining them to another room until the party settles down and then bring them out once everyone has eaten so you can be more focused on your dog's behavior and less on entertaining.

  Whether you are taking your own children around town to gather candy, or you are handing out your own sweets to the little goblins, pirates, spidermen that show up on your stoop, don't overlook your dog's participation in the festivities. If you are taking your kids Trick or Treating, consider dressing up your pup and taking them along! It is a great opportunity to work on their leash walking skills and people greetings. What other time of year are you allowed to show up at all your neighbor's houses and work on your dog's polite greetings? :) If you are staying home, consider working on your dog's door manners. Practice having your dog sit every time the doorbell rings and wait patiently to be greeted by all the little children (make sure you read my note above about humans wearing costumes and decide whether your dog is ready to greet goblins, pirates, and spidermen). What other time of year do you have a seemingly endless stream of door greetings to practice?

  As you can see, Halloween is a constant supply of training opportunities. You can either use this time of year to get frustrated with your far from perfect pup, or you can use these situations to teach your dog what you expect of them so get out there and practice!

 
No one intends on creating their dog's training/behavior problems. In fact, most owners do not even realize they are a part of their dog's behavior equation. However, its been my experience that there are many traits of human nature that work against us when we are interacting with our puppies that can lead to the very problems we dislike. This week we will explore some human traits that may need to be put aside while working with our dogs.

Trait # 1 Humans are Verbal beings, Dogs are not- On a daily basis I see dog owners trying to interact with their dogs verbally when physically would be more effective , not a "make them do it" physical sense but a "help them understand" physical sense (more on this in a moment in the "Less focus on verbal commands" section).  When we begin training our dog, in a way, we are teaching them a new language. Not only a new language, but a language that couldn’t be further from their native language. Imagine trying to learn Hieroglyphics. Not only are all the words different, they come in a different form than what you are used to communicating in (pictures instead of words). Dogs naturally communicate mostly through body language which means teaching a dog English is like trying to get you to speak in pictures! So what can we do to accommodate this in our training? I'm glad you asked!

Less focus on verbal commands initially- In my classes, we teach the behavior to our dog with physical cues and luring before we ever introduce a word to the behavior. When a dog is learning how to Sit, saying the word "sit" does not help him figure out what behavior is getting him rewarded, as a matter of fact, you run the risk of associating the verbal command with the wrong behavior if you introduce the verbal command too early. (Ex. You say "sit" and try to lure your dog into a sit position with a treat, instead of sitting he keeps jumping up at the treat. By introducing the word early, you are associating the jumping up behavior with the command for sit!). We definitely want to make sure our dog is proficient at his verbal commands eventually but that will come once he knows the behavior you are asking of him.

Don't Repeat Commands!- This is probably the issue I deal with the most universally with owners. Commands should not be repeated. As humans talking to another human, if we say something and it doesn't happen our instinct is to repeat it until it does. Unfortunately with dogs, this is NOT a good idea. When dogs begin training, usually when they do not respond to a command, it is because they is not convinced that they knows the right answer. We then tend to repeat the command, thinking that repeating the word will somehow give him a clue as to what is expected of him. However, all we end up accomplishing is a dog who thinks we are a broken record that is not worth listening to.   Remember: The less you talk, the more your dog listens. Another instance where we end up repeating commands: when dogs who are very efficient in their verbal commands think they have better things to do than those silly commands. It is even more important to fight the urge to repeat your commands at this point because your dog is very good at this game. They will figure out exactly how many times you are willing to say the command before you "mean it" and will always hold out for that time instead of responding the first time.

Trait #2 Negative focus- Unfortunately, no matter which way you slice it, the majority of owners are "glass half empty" kind of dog owners. Most of this is completely unintentional but owners tend to focus more on the negative than the positive.

Saying their name negatively- Have you seen that cartoon where the two dogs are talking on the sidewalk and one dog says to the other "Hi! My name is NoNoBadDog, whats yours?!" While this cartoon is designed to be humorous, there is truth to it. Several years ago, I went to a dog training summer camp and met a wonderful albeit boisterous little puppy named "Nell",  her owner was heard saying "Nell, NO!" so many times over the course of that week that it became a running joke that her name had turned into "Nellno".  The problem we face in this instance is they begin building a negative association with their name. It is no wonder they are reluctant to respond to it eventually. Imagine that every time you heard your name it meant you were in trouble, eventually you would cringe when you heard your own name! So my clients are told to use their dog's name only in conjunction with their positive word (i.e. "Good Girl, Nell!") and stay away from using their name with the negative word.

The squeaky wheel gets the grease- I cannot tell you how many times I have heard an owner say the following words: " When my puppy actually calms down and lays quietly, I don't dare say anything for fear they will stop!" Unfortunately, we tend to ignore when our dog is good and address them only when they are being naughty. Even though we may give them praise once they correct a bad behavior, that is not enough. As a matter of fact, praising them for good behavior only after having exhibited bad behavior teaches them the bad behavior is a necessary part of the chain of events. For example, your dog sits quietly next to you hoping to get a pat on the head, you don't respond (either because you don't notice, or you don't want to interrupt this wonderful behavior). Now the dog decides to be naughty by jumping up on you. You scold him so he stops jumping and sits quietly. Once he is sitting, you praise him and pet him. The lesson your dog just learned  is this: "Just being good in the first place is not enough to gain rewards. You must first be bad, then be good, to get my attention". Ooops! Make sure you capitalize on when your dog chooses to be good without being bad first.

Not enough verbal/physical praise- Most owners that come into my classes are ready from day one to have their dog listen to them without having to use treats. I do agree that this is an important transition to make eventually. However, what I usually have to encourage is increasing the owners verbal and physical praise for their dog as part of this transition.  Without realizing it, we expect our dog to go from working for 70% treats and 30% praise to just 30% praise when we stop using the treats. How would you react if your boss walked in on Monday morning and cut your pay by 70%? My guess is you would be looking for a different job! So when we wean them off the treats, we must increase verbal and physical praise!

Trait #3 Expecting Doggie Mind Readers- Are dogs Psychic? Of course not, but we expect them to be. Dogs are one of the few non-human animals that we allow to share our house. Because we are used to cohabitating with other humans, I think we sometimes forget how complicated (and confusing) living with a human can be.
 For instance, when we bring our new puppy home, we buy him some plush toys and a dog bed. We are horrified when we find him chewing on his dog bed! Doesn’t he know that’s for sleeping on? No, he doesn’t as a matter of fact. What are those plush toys you bought him? (Stuffing covered with fabric) What is that bed you bought him? (Stuffing covered with fabric). How is he supposed to tell the difference? We must teach him what is to be chewed on and what is not. I also get owners who are at their wit's end with a puppy who seems to grab everything they "know" they are not supposed to have. Most of the time, your puppy does NOT know they are not supposed to play with your kitchen towels, they DO know getting those "toys" is the best way to engage you in their playtime. Think of it this way: you buy 2 different types of toys for your puppy. You pick up one and get no reaction from your pup ("Well that one is a dud!", you think), You pick up another and he runs toward you excitedly, trying to take it from you ("Here's the winner!" you think). Now, imagine your puppy picks up one of his toys and looks at you expectantly but gets no reaction ("Well this toy is a dud!" , he thinks), so he finds a kitchen towel and you run toward him excitedly, trying to take it from him ("Here's the winner!", you think). Unfortunately, he is wrong, you don't want him to steal things that are not his toys but he sees it as a way to engage you! So next time you are "certain" your dog knows better, stop and think, are we expecting them to read our minds and know how we want them to behave without being taught?

The examples above are just a few of the many human traits that can work against us when training our dogs. So next time your dog training session isn't going in the direction you want it to, consider the fact that YOUR behavior just might be the speed bump!

I tend to get a lot of calls about dogs who are exhibiting troublesome behaviors in regards to fear/reactivity/aggression. One of the biggest problems I find with owners is that they are inadvertantly choosing to work on the symptoms of the problem and not the deeper issue. Remember the blog entry I wrote about microwave dinners vs. spaghetti where I discussed how we tend to compartmentalize our dog's issues instead of realizing they are actually a complicated mess of different behaviors? If you missed it you can read it here: Think Spaghett, not Microwave Dinner                                 .

Well, choosing to work on our dogs reactions in certain situations and not realizing their behavior in other areas are related is not the only problem. What I find many owners focusing on is the behaviors that bother US and trying to modify our dog's behavior without first figuring out why the behavior is happening. In other words, your dog acts aggressively towards other dogs on your walk. Is it because they are afraid of the other dog? Is it because they see you as their resource and don’t want to share you? Or perhaps they feel helpless being restrained on a leash and therefore over react to the passers by? While it is extremely important to work through these scenarios, we must make sure we are truly changing how they FEEL about those situations not just how they ACT in those situations.

I know many owners don't even realize the problems associated with simply changing behavior and neglecting the emotional side, others honestly don’t care how their dog feels about a situation they just want them to behave, while others may even have a hard time believe that dogs have complex emotions at all. Either way you slice it, you are walking a risky line by only addressing their behaviors in certain situations instead of truly uncovering the underlying issue. Why? Even if you are successful in modifying their behavior in certain routine situations, what happens when you find yourself in a situation that is not routine or expected? They will go into default mode.  You see, if you only change the way a dog ACTS in a certain situation and not how the dog FEELS, when they get into a new situation their feelings will override their training. You will find yourself frustrated by the fact that all your hard work has seemingly been lost. This is why we truly have to change their view of the world, not just their behavior. 

 FOUNDATION-This may require a little bit of prep work before we ever work on the issue that bothers them (you) directly. Many times I get a phone call from a dog owner who has one MAJOR issue they need addressed YESTERDAY. They are often disappointed when I give them a realistic expectation of how the training is going to go. For instance, for many dogs who have behavior issues, I enroll them in my Work for a Living Program (WAFL). Many times, I will require the dog and owner to go through at least 2-3 weeks of the program before we directly address the owner's MAJOR issue.  For many of  my WAFL dogs, most of their issues stem from the fact that they are convinced they run the show and answer to no one. WAFL helps to change their perspective. If you start by trying to address behaviors in a particular situation without first making sure your dog looks to you for leadership, you are doing a lot of work in vain. You can be doing everything right but if your dog is not paying attention, or doesn’t care what your opinion is, than you might as well be doing the training sessions by yourself. Some owners have a difficult time coping with this idea, however, it is necessary to build a strong foundation before going into the situations your dog has the most difficulty with AND it will make your work easier when we do begin addressing that situation!

REHAB-Another element of this type of training that owners can have a hard time with is the "Rehab" period. The behaviors that you are hoping to address are likely full blown habits. What I mean by that is they have done these behaviors for so long, they might not even put a lot of thought into them. Well as you might have guessed, getting your dog to change a behavior requires that they think about said behavior. That is why it is necessary to take your dog through a rehabilitation period where they are not allowed to exhibit those behaviors. If we can start breaking those habits while we are doing our 2-3 weeks (or maybe more) of foundation work, it will make our job easier when we reintroduce them to those situations later in their training. For example, if your dog explodes with reactivity when he sees another dog on your walks, try to take him later at night or to a park where you are not likely to run into other dogs, you can even skip taking him for walks for this transition period if you feel like he can get his physical exercise elsewhere temporarily (like in a fenced yard). Our goal in this piece is to begin breaking the habit. The only successful way to do that before we have completed our foundation work is not putting them into those situations. Now would be a good time for me to explain idealistic vs. realistic. I realize that not everything I recommend is the easiest or most convenient option. However, it is the most ideal option. I always like to begin with my clients discussing the ideal situation, and then coming up with realistic options that are feasible for them. I always want to be clear however, and say the farther we stray from ideal, the less progress we will see. Another side note: make sure your rehab period does not turn into avoidance. It is a good idea to keep your dog out of those situations until you and the dog are ready to be successful at them, but if this rehab period becomes permanent, it is no longer rehab, it is simply avoidance. Dog owners who practice avoidance live in constant fear of the day they won't be able to avoid the situation that bothers their dog and that is certainly not the goal of the rehab period.

Once you have done your homework, then it’s finally time to get started on those specific issues you have been eager to address! Well….kind of…

BREAK IT DOWN-When you have done your foundation work and rehab period, we want to start addressing specific issues but we want to begin at a level that is going to be successful for you and your dog. For example, if you have a dog that is very reactive when someone comes into your home, you can simply start with the doorbell. Stand at your front door with the door open and your dog sitting there observing you ring the doorbell. What happens? Does their anxiety level immediately rise? If you continue to ring the bell, do they continue to be upset even though it is obvious that no one is there? If they do, this likely means they have a very strong (and negative) association with the sound of the door bell itself. They KNOW that sound means a stranger is approaching (in their minds it’s not unlike if you heard your burglar alarm go off, right?). If their association is so strong that seeing with their own eyes that it is not a stranger and in fact is their owner isn't enough to overcome that association, then we have some work to do before we go any further! If your dog has trouble remaining calm for step one (the doorbell) of a situation that has several steps (doorbell, going to door, opening door, person entering, and greeting. Etc.), than it is pretty safe to say we need to break it down into small enough pieces that your dog (and you) can handle successfully.  I commend owners who try to work with their dogs to improve their behavior and not just live with them; however, if we throw them in the deep end of the pool before they get comfortable in the kiddie pool, all we will accomplish is increasing that fear/anxiety.

I understand that this might sound like a lot more work than you had anticipated. However, when you consider how much more you will be able to enjoy your dog for the next 15 years because you took a few extra steps to address their behaviors the right way, the price is cheap.

The days of "do it because I said so and that should be reason enough" are over, and they should be! It is time to truly start effective communication with your dog; you might be surprised what they are capable of!

Do you feel like your dog could benefit from my Work for a Living Program? Please give me a call! 785.408.6127