Sometimes Dog Training Starts With The Family And Not The Dog

My dog is just crazy and doesnt listen.  I have taken him to dog classes and even sent him away for a week to a special “boot camp”.  He came back and was OK for a day and then went back to being crazy.  He doesnt listen, nips at people and won’t leave my kids alone.  What happened to “man’s best friend”?

As dog trainers, we hear this many times.  Yesterday I was at a new client and they asked me what is the hardest dog to train.  I told them that the answer is really quite simple.  It is almost never the dog, it is the owner or family.  Our dogs are often mirrors of us.  We must assure that we provide them with the correct image.  Here are some things that you should consider if you have a crazy dog:

What is the temperament of your family?  Are things always crazy and are people always running in and out?  This is providing too much stimulus to your dog and he is simply responding through dominance actions (barking/jumping) and heightened adrenaline.  If this is the case, place your dog in a quiet space if things are getting a little too crazy.  The back yard with some of his favorite toys is a perfect way to redirect his energy and focus away from you.

Make sure that your kids arent always playing or bugging your dog.  They might think it is fun, but it is only teaching him that it is always OK to demand play from anyone.  Limit play time to specific times of the day and only have them play with your dog in the back yard.  This will help your dog to understand where and when “crazy time” happens.  It will start to reverse the crazy behavior in the house because it just doesnt happen in there.

Never let your dog tell you what he wants you to do.  If he rubs his nose in your palm, don’t pet him.  If he brings over the leash, don’t go for a walk.  If he steals a sock, don’t chase him.  The more you let him tell you what he wants to do, the more he will ignore your commands and only demand things from you.  When you don’t give him what he wants, he will ramp it up to barking, jumping, and (sometimes) nipping.  None of these activities are things you should allow in your house and with your family.

If you want to be on the right foot to having a great dog, be calm.  Don’t run after him and yell and scream.  Don’t do what he is asking you to do.  Make sure that everyone treats the dog in the same way.  If you don’t want him on the furniture, you can’t let him on the furniture with your kids. 

I know this doesnt sound hard, but you would be amazed at how many of our clients had crazy dogs just because of the situations I have mentioned above.  Once we were able to rectify these situational issues, resolving any misbehavior of the dog was a piece of cake.  If you have any further questions about this, please feel free to contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in SouthFlorida.  

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Walking a Very Strong Big Dog

I have a very big, head strong German Sheppard who pulls and lunges like crazy when I walk him.  I have tried all the tricks of walking on a short leash, using a Holt and Gentle Leader, walking at different times; he still pulls and lunges.  What can I try next?

I had this exact situation with a client and his Sheppard on a training visit earlier this week.  He said that walking was next to impossible with the dog.  With that said, I asked him to take the dog out on a short leash and walk down the street.  (By the way, the street was nice and quiet… no cars, people, kids, squirrels, etc.)  The walking was a disaster.  It was a constant tug of war between the client and the dog.  It was a stalemate where nobody was winning and nothing was being taught.

This is where I introduced a slightly different method that is not for everybody.  I asked for the leash and simply held the leash by the handle.  There was six feet of loose leash between me and this 90 lb., 2 year old, rambunctious Sheppard. 

He looked at me and then began to run out to the end of the leash.  As soon as he got there and began to pull, I gave a good tug on the leash and directed him back to me.  During this entire time, I continued to walk and did not make a big deal of the redirection back to me.  The Sheppard gave me a quick look and slowly began to walk out to the end again.  I corrected him again, but this time I didn’t have to give such a tug to get him to look back and slow down.

After several repetitions of this process, that Sheppard was walking right around me and never encroached on the 6 foot limit of the leash.  Kids and animals would pass by and he still would stay right around me.  Dogs will be dogs, so I still needed to give him slight corrections as we continued and completed the walk.  Also, I want to make it quite clear that I never chocked the dog or hurt him in any way.  I was simply giving him very clear signals that “you can’t go that way”.  

Sometimes dogs need a little more room to “move around” when walking.  I noticed this immediately when I asked the owner to walk the dog.  All I did was to give the dog a little more “walking room” with the clear rule that he still needed to stay around me and to be mindful of my presence.  I simply put the Sheppard in a situation where he could clearly understand my rule and that I had the ability to let him understand what was right and wrong.

Please remember that this technique isn’t for everybody.  The client was able to handle the dog if he lunged, had a clear grasp of the technique I was displaying, and was able to successfully apply it, if needed.  If you have further questions, please contact us at Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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