Dog Training Tips from Coral Springs When the Family is Crazy

We were at a Dog Training revisit session with a family in Coral Springs last week and their dog that was fine when we had left the first time had gone back to showing the same bad behavior we observed at the beginning of our first session.  The entire family was there for our current visit and we observed that the family dynamics was “nuts”.  Everyone was all over the place.  At one point the mother looked at us and asked “Can our family be making our dog go nuts?”

To paraphrase Charlie Sheen... "Duh, Yes!"

We always try to reinforce the idea that in order to have your dog learn, you must first establish a calm and consistent environment. This will allow your dog have the opportunity to provide focus and allows you to have the opportunity to command that focus.  Your ability to show a passive, assertive nature towards your dog will naturally have him drawn towards you as the one telling him what to do next. 

Guess what, if the environment is full of yelling and screaming, you can’t be focused on your dog and he will naturally draw away from “crazy you”.  What is imperative is that your entire family take a deep breath and “think good thoughts”.  This will provide the essence of what is required to begin the respectful relationship between you and your dog.  This can be really hard to accomplish, but let me provide you with some ideas:

• As a family, you (and I mean all of you) must have a family meeting to discuss how you want your dog to act.  Make a list of rules that you will all agree is correct and you all will agree to enforce.  If you feel that a rule might be too hard for everyone to enforce, change it before you begin.
• Review each rule and discuss how each family member will enforce that rule.  It might be that a sibling just might not engage in a particular act that encourages the inappropriate action.
• Every family member must agree to their tasks and the results they wish to accomplish.  This is not only for them, but for the greater good of the entire family.
• Have every member of the family work with your dog on a daily basis on one or more of the issues your family has identified.  Have them work in teams so that they can make sure that they stay consistent.

As you are doing all this, be sure not to:

·                     Scream your dog

·                     Hit, kick, push, or do anything hurtful or frightening to him

·                     Play rough with him

·                     Give him treats to do what you want him to do.

As we always tell our clients, remain calm and stay consistent.  This might sound really easy to do, but when you have a crazy family; it is hard to put into action.  For more information on this subject or tips on other dog training issues, please call us at (954) 424-0170 or contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in Coral Springs and South Florida.

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Ten Training Truisms

1. Dogs are genetically wired to engage in certain behaviors that extend individual longevity and assure continuation of the species. These behaviors include socializing, playing, predation and feeding, guarding resources, defending territory and personal space, vocalizing, digging, chewing, eliminating and reproducing. The goal of training is not to eliminate these behaviors, but to modify their expression so that the dog can fit into our society.
2. There is a narrow window of opportunity when the dog is between 7 weeks and 18 weeks of age that desensitizing a dog to novel situations and teaching them to accept even unusual situations in their daily lives with humans is relatively easy. This process is called socialization. Older dogs can be reprogrammed, but the process is time intensive and takes a great deal of patience on the part of the owner. A problem behavior or behaviors that have been reinforced for 2 or 3 years or more will not be unlearned in 8 weeks.
3. Dogs dont know right vs. wrong. They know pleasant vs. unpleasant. Dogs have no moral compass, as much as we would like to believe in the Hollywood version of dogs like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.
4. Dogs are very context sensitive in their learning. This means that although they may appear to know a behavior in one location and with one person, they will not generalize the training to a new location or group of people without additional training. A large part of training is teaching the dog, from the ground up, in many different locations.
5. Dogs do not have an agenda (See #3 and #4 above), although they do express emotions like fear and joy. They live in the moment. Dogs do not seek revenge upon their owners by peeing on the carpet, digging in the garden, or chewing up a prize piece of furniture (see #1 above).
6. All dogs bite (see #1 above). They just have different triggers and thresholds for biting.
7. Dogs are social animals. To isolate them from meaningful human and/or animal contact is to create or exacerbate problem behaviors.
8. A minor punishment, such as verbal discouragement, usually serves as an attention reinforcement to all but the most sensitive dogs.
9. Non-lethal punishment is usually a temporary "fix" for problem behaviors. If the underlying reinforcement for the undesired behavior is not changed, and the dog is not trained into a new, desirable behavior, then the dog will return to engage in the previously learned undesirable behavior.
10. There is no such thing as "permanent" behavior change or "cure", even in the best trained dogs. Desired behaviors must be variably reinforced and undesired behaviors must be ignored to maintain a given level of training. Training and maintaining good manners must be a lifelong commitment on the part of the owner.

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Hints on How to Correct Your Dog

I have heard all sorts of ideas and suggestions on how to correct my dog and get him to listen.  Frankly, they are all over the spectrum and doing all of them would just be nuts.  Is there anything that I can do to at least start the process?

The big hurdle that any dog owner has when their dog is misbehaving is to get their attention.  Once you have your dog’s attention, you have the ability to move forward with their training.  There are multiple methods and schools of thought regarding how to properly train your dog.  We are canine behavioral trainers.  This means that we focus on how the dog naturally responds to stimuli from the canine perspective.  There are also trainers who use positive only reward systems and trainers who use more physical methods such as e-collars in their training programs.  With this in mind, let me give you some simple hints that will help in correcting (teaching) your dog.

I think that all dog trainers using any method will agree that dogs can’t communicate like humans.  They can’t talk like Scooby-Doo, Huckleberry Hound or Augie Doggie.  Our dogs use their body language when they need to communicate.  If you have several dogs, just watch how they interact.  You might see one jumping on the other, one getting down low or lying on his back, or your dog might have his tail up like he is standing at attention.  All these actions help one dog to tell the other what they are thinking. 

Let me make it real simple and give you two hints regarding what you can do to let your dog know that you need him to listen.  I want to emphasize that this is not the only thing you must do.  What you are doing is to is to send a message to your dog that he needs to focus on you and the training you are about to employ.

• Be calm and still when you are about to correct your dog.  From your dog’s perspective, their leader is not a crazy person.  We get mad when our dog has eaten the remote or pulled the freshly marinated steak off the kitchen counter.  We then run and scream because that is how we (humans) react when something goes wrong.  Remember, we are dealing with a dog so we must portray the message that he will understand.  Running and screaming does not do that.  Being calm and still is what your dog needs to see.
• Stand up and face your dog when you are about to correct.  From your dog’s perspective, height shows leadership.  This is what they are doing when they have their tail and ears up.  The same thing occurs when they are jumping.  They are saying “Look at me.  I’m in charge around here”.  We can easily portray leadership to our dog by simply standing up.

As some people would say “easy-peasy”.  No matter if you use our canine behavior training method, the positive only training method, or a more physical method, letting your dog easily know that you are the one that demands his respect is always important.  Incorporate these two actions the next time you are working with your dog and you will see a great improvement.  If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in SouthFlorida.

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Why do Dogs Sometimes Get Crazy at People in the Car

My dog is the greatest dog in the world until he goes for a car ride.  He just starts barking like crazy!  He barks at everyone as I drive down the street.  He doesn’t do this with people in the house, what’s happening?

I have seen this with so many clients of ours.  Let’s just say here is a picture of your dog in the back seat.  You are doing the right thing by constraining him so that he doesn’t fly out of control if you have to slam on the breaks.  So far you are doing great.  But still, he is constantly barking and is driving you crazy.  That is bad.  What is the problem and how can you fix it?

...The answer is simpler than you think and the explanation is just as simple.

Dogs are always very aware of dominance; who is the boss, who is the leader.  Who is the dominant one?  Who is in charge?  Look at this picture of your dog.  He is in his car seat that is elevated above the normal seating area which puts him in a raised position.  In the canine world, height is dominance.  Guess what?  You are sitting lower in your drivers seat while your dog is sitting high and mighty in his "dominance seat".  On top of that, you have given him an excellent view of everyone around the car.  He is dominant and he sees all these "other animals" (people) moving around the car.  Some of these "other animals" might even be walking towards the car which gives them an aggressive posture.

Don’t forget that you put your dog in the dominant role and he sees possible aggression towards his pack.  Barking, jumping, growling are all natural actions he could take to try and protect the rest of the "pack".  You put him out in front.  You told him that he was the one who had to protect you and the rest of the people in the car.  You did this by giving him height and dominance.  You elected him the "boss of you".

Now, what do you do?  The answer is simple.  Lower his height.  Find a doggie carrier that you can put on the seat or floor of your car.  Find a car seat that sits on the seat of your car.    All you are doing is lowering the height of your dog and lowering his requirement to be the "boss".  Also, make sure that you dont put him in the front passenger seat, unless you can turn off the air bag release.

This is a quick fix that seems to work over and over again.  Take away your dogs requirement for dominance in the car and your rides will be a whole lot nicer!  Please contact us immediately if you have any questions.  Please feel free to contact us regarding dog training questions at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Field Training At The Mall

     Jade and I had a field outing with the trainer yesterday and today we are attending the training class again. Since we went out of town, we missed a class and a field outing, so now we are making up for lost time.  No buggy though, I love spending this quality time with Jade, and she has a great time too.  Weve actually missed two weeks, since Jade was sick the week before and last week we were out of town. Jade had come down with an upper respiratory thing, which I believe she contracted from me, since Id been sick as well.  Who knows? The Vet said although there have been studies done on whether dogs contract our illnesses, they are not conclusive, so its still questionable.  Anyway, we are making up for lost time, and Jade is doing great.  Yesterday the field trainer met us at the mall, and we did some different things to see how Jade would do.  We got on and off a couple of elevators, and Jade was great.  Its just funny the way she looks at the floor when the elevator starts or stops moving.  :)  She just looks down at the floor, like shes thinking "why is the floor moving?" Its pretty funny.  She wore her harness yesterday and is doing great with it.  She knows the purpose of the harness now, and she understands it is for supporting me, bracing and  helping me with balance.  I can tell she understands this because of the way she uses the harness.  Shes such a champ! The trainer was impressed at how well she did at the mall, which is actually a pretty strange environment for her, as shes only been inside one other time.  
     People are usually pretty friendly when they see us together, and a lot of people ask questions about how she is being trained, how she helps me, etc.  Most people are good about it accepting us into their stores and restaurants, but there are some places that are not as service dog friendly, although they dont have a choice, really. I did talk to the trainer about the episode we had while on vacation, with the other dog that approached Jade nose to nose while she was working. We talked about Jades defensiveness with other dogs that get too close; although Jade is not always like that.  It really depends on the circumstances under which she is approached by other dogs.  The trainer and I agree that it has a lot to do with how I am reacting in that situation.  When that incident happened in Santa Fe, I remember the dog coming up to Jade and sniffing her nose, and me thinking "Oh my God, NO! Here we go again!" and tightening up on her leash.  That is most of the problem.  I know because weve had other instances just like this one, where I relaxed the leash, took a deep breath, and thought "Itll be ok," and it was! It really is amazing how much our dogs react to how we feel! The trainer really didnt issue any homework for Jade on this subject, but for me.  She told me to think of something that really helps me to relax, a happy thought, to use when this sort of thing happens, and to relax the leash.  Im sure shes right, and Ill have to work on that. 
     Otherwise, Jade did wonderfully at the mall, on the elevators, and with the trainer rolling suitcases in front of her, and dropping food on the floor in front of her (which she didnt touch).  It took a while for Jade to get that one.  :)  Jade is definitely motivated by food, as most Labs are. She learned not to touch any food that falls on the floor, and not eat anything unless its given to her by hand, and I okay it.  The training on this isnt over yet, though, were still working on it, but shes doing well.  I really want Jade to be a bomb proof service dog, but I do know that no dog is perfect, and they all have bad days.  She will have her certification test out in the public somewhere and I want her prepared to pass it with flying colors.
     The trainer and I also discussed those websites that are selling vests and such, in order for people to put on their dogs, and call them "service dogs," for the purpose of getting around the law.  My trainer expressed her disgust with these websites and the people who impersonate the disabled and have their dogs impersonate a service dog, for this purpose.  It really is a disgraceful act! A lot of studies have been done in the past about lawbreakers and criminals, and it turns out that most people do in fact, try their very best to obey the laws.  The people who do these sorts of things fit the definition of criminals, and definitely fit the definition of disgraceful! The laws on this are full of holes, and are very vague, and basically dont stop people who do this disgraceful practice, but the ADA regs are written that way for a reason...to protect the disabled.  Its hard to say what needs to be done in this case. 
     Jade did great at the mall, and the trainer was happy with her, as am I.  We will attend class today and catch her up on anything she missed.  Im betting that they want to work on Jades responses to loud noises again today.  Although Jade is definitely getting better with that, she still has some anxiety with a lot of prolonged loud noise.  She will get it though, I have faith.  She will get to the point that none of that bothers her anymore.  Lets hope it happens quickly. Thanks for listening.  


Here are some links below, that are great reads for anyone who just loves dogs in general.  Check them out!






If you love dogs, all kinds of dogs, and want to see what theyre doing for their people....check out this link below.

https://www.facebook.com/exploredogs?sk=wall

The story of Danny, A Service Dog Who Saved A Life

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/01/service-dog-saves-life-arizona-bethe-benne_n_1248293.html?icid=maing-grid7%7Cmain5%7Cdl1%7Csec1_lnk2%26pLid%3D132236

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My Dog Pulls and Goes Crazy on A Walk

My dog walks pretty well most of the time, but sometimes he sees something and just goes nuts.  He is jumping, charging, standing on his two back paws, and barking like a crazy dog.  Is there any special technique I can use to fix this problem?

We see this walking problem a lot with many dogs that are a little overactive and aren’t clearly attentive to their owners.  The normal “walk next to me” exercises are actions that you must initially use for proper, obedient walking, but this problem requires that you will take the next step. 

Don’t worry, the “next step” does not mean that we are going to use choke chains, chock collars, or anything that would scare your dog.  What we must do is to actively enforce the fact that your dog must constantly provide you with focus and attention on the walk.  By doing this, your dog is submitting that you will take charge of any “strange distraction” you might encounter and it is not his responsibility to do all those annoying and embarrassing actions.

Here are some things you should do:

• I would first think about using the right collar for the walk.  When I have to guide him with the leash, I want my dog to experience a quick tug/snapping sensation.  I do not want him to simply experience a continual pull.  We recommend the use of the Bark Busters Training Collars.  These allow you to create that quick tug/snap and also provide an audible correction sound.  If you can’t get one of these collars, try using the Martindale collar.
• Give your dog more leash than normal when you go out for your walk. 
• As soon as he begins to walk in front of you or his gaze begins to wander from you or the path directly in front of him, give the leash a quick tug (it might take several of these actions) until he returns to your side and is focusing on you.
• If he continues to walk ahead of you, stop walking and allow him to continue until he reaches the end of the leash.  Just as he reaches the end, give the leash a firm tug/snap for him to look back and see that you are far away from him.  Continue your walk in the opposite direction.
• Stop multiple times while you are walking and have him sit.
• Change directions while you are walking.  Give the leash a quick tug/snap as soon as he is not attentively changing direction with you.

Do not start this process during “busy times” in your neighborhood.  The whole purpose of this exercise is to enforce your dog’s need to constantly “check in with you”.  Start off when it is quiet so that you can constantly provide him with the proper instruction.  Ramp up the exercise by walking at progressively active times.

We just finished this program with a very large Pit Bull that wanted to go after neighbors and their animals while on a walk.  After a few sessions using these techniques, the dog was great.  If you have any additional questions regarding this technique, please contact us at Great South Florida DogTrainers.

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Coping with the Sudden Loss of a Pet

Two of my clients and friends recently lost their beloved pet dog to a sudden illness. The loss was totally unexpected as the dog was only four years old, and was in apparently good health. While its always difficult to say goodbye to our companions, such a sudden loss can be extremely difficult to face.

When a pet dies suddenly, even if we are not at fault, we may blame ourselves. "I should have been more careful, more tolerant, more aware, more ... ". When we may have some responsibility in our pets death, it is even more difficult to face the guilt.

I have owned many dogs during my lifetime. Some have died relatively young, some have died accidental deaths, and some have lived full lives before their deaths. In some cases, I had to make the decision to euthanize my companion because he or she was in pain, or even worse, because I did not have the financial ability to pay for extended treatment. After these many years, I know for sure that I will eventually lose my pet, but it never stops me from engaging in the joy that I know a relationship with a pet can bring.

Grief is a personal journey. When I am faced with the loss of a pet, I recall the good things that my pet and I did together. I recall the time that I spent with my pet, as well as the money that I did not spend on clothes or cars so that I could spend that money on my pet.

Especially if I feel implicated in some way in my pets death, either by action or inaction, I try to remember that no one is perfect in their ability to care for their pet. We all make mistakes from time to time. And our pets may not be able to tell us that they are hurting. From personal experience I know that making the choice to euthanize can be devastating.

I take time to grieve. For people who do not hold pets dear to their hearts, it is hard to understand the depth of the grief that we pet lovers can experience upon the loss of a pet. Be kind to yourself during this period. One of the most therapeutic ways that I grieve is to make a detailed photo album/scrapbook of my pet. This helps me to remember the fun times that we had together, from infancy to death.

I try to memorialize my pet by purchasing something permanent to remember him or her by. One of my favorites is a beautiful plant or tree, planted in memory of my pet. Others may give a gift to an animal charity or veterinary medical research to remember a pet.

I wait for a while before purchasing or obtaining another pet. If you get another pet too soon after the death of a beloved companion, especially a tragic death, it is likely that for the first 2 or 3 years of the new pets life you may unintentionally compare your new pet to the old pet. The period of grieving that you need is individual.

Some people believe that they can never get another pet because it is too painful to lose them. My philosophy is that choosing another pet to fill a void is an honor to your previous pet. You are not replacing your beloved pet, and you will always have his or her memory, but you remember the fun and know that you can provide a good home to a new pet.

The words of the Garth Brooks song "Last Dance" perfectly describe my feelings about the circle of life that we experience with our pets.

http://www.planetgarth.com/lyrics/the_dance.shtml

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