Should I Let Wolfie Walk Without A Leash

I see other people walking their dogs on the street with no leash.  I am thinking about walking Wolfie without a leash.  How do you do that and is that a good idea?

You might get an idea of my answer by looking at the picture above.  The reason that I am on this subject today is because of a consultation I had with one of our clients this morning.  She told me that she would often let her dog off leash in the front yard.  Things were normally fine, but this morning her dog suddenly took off down the street chasing a truck.  Luckily there wasnt any other traffic at the time and she finally could get her dog back about a block away with the help of a neighbor.  

"This kind of thing has never happened before", she told me.  "He plays next door with the neighbor dog and I can play fetch with him at the park across the street and he always walks right back into the house after me when we are done.  He has seen trucks before and he has never gone after them in the past." 

To cut to the chase, we do not condone having dogs off leash at any time.  The reason is that the real world is full of thousands of distractions that will engage Wolfie.  Since we cant plan and train for each of these unique distractions, we cant unequivocally state that Wolfie wont take off down the street. Since we cant guarantee Wolfies safety, we strongly encourage our clients to always have their dogs on a leash when outside.

We live in South Florida where things are always busy with trucks, crazy drivers, bikes, motorcycles, golf carts, joggers, and a whole bunch of other things.  Now, if you lived in the country or a small town, I would probably answer this blog in a different way.  The reason is that there are far fewer distractions that we have to deal with.  But, this is a topic for a future blog.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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PIT BULLS AND OTHER DANGEROUS DOGS KEEP ON KILLING

http://www.optuszoo.com.au/news/top/news-com-au/guide-dog-killed-in-pit-bull-attack/750059

ANOTHER innocent Guide dog killed in yet ANOTHER vicious pit bull attack.  When are pit bull owners finally going to understand that their dogs are dangerous; they pose a huge danger to society!

Pit bulls are mauling, maiming and killing people, pets, and service/guide dogs at a rate UNMATCHED by any other type of dog, and WE ARE SICK OF IT!!!!

I dont really care whos at fault, whether its the dogs or the owners; it makes no difference to me. The fact is that pit bulls are dangerous, and a lot of times, so are their owners. So dont bother with your comments about who is at fault, and comment about that "its the owners fault."  I DONT CARE!!!! The FACT is, PIT BULLS CONTINUE TO MAUL, MAIM AND KILL AND IT NEEDS TO STOP, by whatever means necessary! If the damn dogs have to be removed as pets, then so be it.  This guide dog, and NO guide or service dogs, or family pets, or children, or adults deserve to be mauled to death or eaten alive by some aggressive dog, just because its owner thinks he/she has the RIGHT to own whatever dog they want.  Well, guess what....WE HAVE RIGHTS TOO!!!! WE HAVE THE RIGHT TO FEEL AND TO BE SAFE IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS! 
And were DAMNED TIRED of your vicious dogs harassing, threatening, mauling and attacking, and even KILLING our family members, our pets, and our service and guide dogs! 

It used to be easy for you who own pit bulls, but not anymore! We are going to FIGHT you! And we WILL NOT STOP until these vicious dogs are off of our city streets and are NO longer in homes as pets.  WE WILL FIGHT until its done; until we can live safer, and in more peace in our neighborhoods and can walk down the street with our children, or our dogs and guide/service dogs, without the fear of being mauled to death by your inherently vicious pit bull type dog! 

If you dont want the fight, THEN CONTROL YOUR VICIOUS ANIMALS! Put up an adequate fence, get a stronger leash, train your dogs, put them in a locked pen....do whatever you have to do to MAKE THIS STOP, or youre going to have the fight of your life on your hands! We are gathering an army of support, most of them victims, and we WILL fight you! 


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2186433/Dog-bite-hospital-admissions-rise--especially-children.html

"In the UK it is illegal to breed or own Pit Bull Terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentinos and Fila Brazilieros. They were bred as aggressive fighting dogs.

It is also an offence for an owner to allow a dog of any breed to be dangerously out of control in a public place.

The Government has recognised that dog attacks is a growing problem. In 2011 police seized 1,512 illegal dogs – up from just 27 five years earlier. Meanwhile attacks on guide dogs were now running at the rate of seven a month."

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2186433/Dog-bite-hospital-admissions-rise--especially-children.html#ixzz23AkD4Eoa

You CANNOT argue the FACT that pit bulls and their mixes, were bred to fight and kill, EVERYONE seems to know that except the owners of these dogs! 

These attacks are inexcusable! Unacceptable! And completely PREVENTABLE! 

You wonder why people like us want BSL?   THIS IS WHY! Because YOU pit bull owners, and owners of DANGEROUS DOGS cant seem to keep your damn killing machines under control! 

Have you ANY idea what it takes to train a service or guide dog? Have you any idea how much it costs? Do you know what kind of a bond a handler has with his/her service/guide dog?  DO YOU EVEN GIVE A DAMN?????


We Will be quiet NO MORE!!!!!!!

Join us to Walk For Victims of Pit Bulls and Other Dangerous Dogs

October 27th, 2012

12 noon- 7pm

Lincoln Park, Tucson, AZ 

ITS TIME FOR THE VOICES OF THE VICTIMS TO BE HEARD!!!

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Bertie Dog Training closed this week

Both venues  - Oadby and Langtons are closed this week. Normal services will resume the following week.

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Dog Training Tips from Davie Florida about Potty

Great Dog Training Tips about Pottying and the Rain

I was revisiting a dog training client in Davie yesterday when, all of a sudden, we had a massive rain storm.  Although that was not the dog training issue that my client had called me out for, it did initiate another question.  It appeared that his dog was doing quite well with his puppy potty routine until about ten days ago when we started to get into our “summer rain” routine.  All of a sudden, this great dog who would want to run outside to potty is now making accidents on the carpet. 

Like many things, simply describing the problem starts to explain the answer.  We had helped the client work with his dog to understand about going potty outside.  We had conditioned the dog to go on the dry grass during nice days and nights when it was not showering down on him.  Now the outside is wet and muddy and he is trying to go potty while he is constantly getting wet.  All in all, it is just not a potty experience to which he had been conditioned.  Some dogs are OK with the wet and rain and some dogs just don’t want to potty in the wet and rain…

What my client’s dog was telling him was "No thank you, I wont go here, I will just wait until I get back inside.  By the way, when is it going to be dry again?"

Rainy season lasts until November and there is no way that you want your dog pottying on your carpet until then.  So, what do we do?  The answer, as with most of my blogs, is pretty simple.  What I always teach my clients is to first understand the situation when everything was working.  After that, we need to find the moment when things began to all fall apart.  From there, we simply need to analyze the divergent operating conditions between the situations and make the appropriate adjustments.  Here we go:

• The first and obvious observation is that when the ground is dry, the puppy goes to the bathroom with no problem.
• When the ground is wet and mushy and it is raining, the puppy doesnt want to have anything to do with the "outside potty".
• The obvious conclusion rests on the wet grass and being rained upon.
• What we need to do is to find a place that is not mushy and is protected when it is raining.

Here is what you do:

• You must find a place that is out of the rain in your back yard.  This can be a covered area off your cabana bath door, patio, etc.
• Go to Lowes or Home Depot and get two pieces of sod from the garden department.  Place the sod in the protected area you have chosen.  It would be a good idea to place a plastic tarp or plastic garbage bag under the sod so that it will be easy to remove it, when needed.
• Direct your dog to the sod whenever it is rainy outside or the ground is mushy.
• Change out the sod every few weeks so it doesn’t start to smell too bad.

You have now given your puppy the bathroom he wants and your carpets are now safe!  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in Davie and South Florida.

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Make Time for Doggie!

With the Holidays upon us and all the extra things taking up my time, I just don’t have as much time to spend with Wolfie.  Is this going to cause a problem or can I just make it up by getting him a bunch of great gifts?

First thing, you can’t bribe dogs like you can bribe your kids.  Just getting Wolfie a bunch of great gifts is not going to make up for the time you are neglecting him.  Dogs are social animals and need companionship to maintain the bond between you and him that is so critical in your relationship.

When you don’t give him the time needed to maintain your relationship, your dog will start to test you to see “what he can get away with”.  Let’s say that you have taught him that it is not OK to jump on people.  He will challenge you by taking a few “test jumps” to see what will happen.  If you are distracted with guests or out of town family members, you probably won’t react to his “breaking of your rules”.  You have now shown your dog that he can start to do whatever he wants.  You are not correcting, so why should he obey your rules?

When you leave Wolfie alone at home or in his crate for longer than normal, you are going to increase his need to play and get all of that pent up energy out.  Not being outside with him throwing the ball or going for a jog means that he will have to find another way to release all his “crazy”.  That normally means that he will be far more active in the house, demanding your attention and the attention of your guests.  Since you are already engaged in other activities, this normally means that he is going back in his crate or outside. 

With no bonding and interaction, Wolfie will have to escalate his actions to, “in his mind”, continue the bond you had established.  This normally means that he will start stealing things, showing you that he has them, and then run like a crazy dog around the house as you chase and scream at him.  This only puts you in a bad light as his leader and care giver.  It builds up your dog’s canine perception that he better be the boss and take charge.

If you notice, I am not painting a very rosy picture.  If you simply ignore or minimize the play and bonding time between you and your dog during the holidays, you will have an unpleasant holiday and a crazy, internally focused dog for the New Year.  Let’s make sure that this doesnt happen.

The answer is organization.  You must be organized enough to take the minimal free time you have during the holiday season and use it wisely.  Here are some simple steps:

• Write down your schedule for the upcoming week.  Put in your work, shopping, family obligations, church, parties, etc.  Now, find 45 minutes every day (broken down in 15 and 30 minutes) that you will devote to your “best friend”.  If you have to take some time away from another event, so be it.
• Make a promise to yourself and Wolfie that you will not miss those two times daily where it will be your bonding time.
• Make sure that those times are for you and Wolfie!  Do not be throwing the ball while you are on the phone. 
• After each play time, make sure that Wolfie is still with the family.  Do not simply put him back in the crate and say “Adios”.

As your dog’s leader and care giver, it is your responsibility to maintain a constant bond so that he will respect and obey you.  When you break that bond and trust, you are minimizing your relationship with him.  I know that you are going to tell me “But I am so busy with this, I am so busy with that!”  My response to you is to ask yourself if “this and that” is more important than Wolfie who gives you unconditional love, is always there for you, always wants to please, and always makes you feel great when you are down. I think you know the answer.

If you have any questions, we will be happy to help.  Please contact us at TheBest Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Dog Training Tips from Weston Florida about Walking Your Dog

I was at a dog training session in Weston the other day and the client and I were walking his dog down the street.  We were walking on a short leash and everything was going great.  This was a larger dog and the client was right handed, so we decided to walk the dog on the client’s right side.  As we were about half way through the dog walking exercise, a neighbor approached us and said he was doing it all wrong.  He told my client that all dogs should be walked on the left side.

We politely acknowledged the neighbor and tried to get away from him as quickly as possible.  When we were out of earshot, my client asked me if there was a correct side to walk the dog.  My answer was “It depends”.

I always tell my clients that it doesnt necessarily depend if they walk their dog on their left or their right unless they are going to be in dog shows.  In a dog show, you walk your dog in a counter-clockwise circle around the judge.  You have to keep the dog on the inside of the circle (on your left) so that the judge can easily view and grade your dog.  If you don’t plan to be in dog shows, who cares…

With that piece of information, let me add some general tips about picking the right side for you and walking your dog.

• You pick the side you want to have your dog on when you walk.  You can pick the left or right side, it doesn’t matter.  The important thing is consistency in the walking process.  When you finally pick your side, you will always walk your dog on that side.  This allows your dog to establish a perspective of where he should be while walking with you and will make the entire experience far more enjoyable.
• If you have a big dog, walk him on your dominant side.  If you need to correct him, it is important that you do it from your strong side.  (i.e. Are your right handed or left handed?)
• Once you have picked a side for your dog during the walk, everyone will walk him on the same side.  If you allow different friends and family members to walk him on different sides, it will add to his confusion and extend the time it will take him to “walk well”.
• He should always walk by your side.  When he walks ahead of you, it is far harder to have him obey you when you encounter a distraction such as a duck or squirrel.
• (My pet complaint!)  Use a regular six foot leash when walking.  NO EXTENSION LEASHES!

Follow these simple suggestions and your "walkies" with your dog will be a great experience! For more information about dog training, canine obedience, or dog behavior, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida or call us at (954) 424-0170.

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When Training Always Keep it Slow

We South Floridians always like things fast. We always want to drive in the fast lane on the highway.  We love our fast food quick pickup lines. We read the Cliff Notes and not the Book.... This might be great for these things, but “doing it fast” is not how it works when building a relationship with our dog.

One of the biggest reasons that we have problems training our dog is that we are impatient and want the training to be fast. Our dog learns through the simple processes of consistency and repetition.  The last time I looked, neither of these had anything to do with “fast”. 

The best way to train our dog is to take "baby steps".  If our dog is having a hard time sitting, lets first make sure that he can stand next to us and look at us.  If he cant do that, there is now way that he wont be able to sit.  If our dog is misbehaving while in a room full of people, lets first make sure that he can behave in a quiet room just with us.

The secret to this process is to break down our training exercise into many "little steps".  Each step is obtainable and is required before we move on to the next "little step".  We will now be able to be successful because we have forced ourselves to take "baby steps" that we can easily manage and evaluate.

This will allow us to be consistent, repetitive; and succeed. Our dog will feel better because he will have the ability to obey us and we will gain much needed confidence. The relationship between us and your dog will be a happy, loving, and learning experience.

If you have any questions on dog training or any other canine behavior issue, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida. 

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Keep Your Dog Safe and Protected from Thieves

I have heard horrible stories of dogs being stolen and never found again.  What can I do to protect my dog from being stolen?

In recent years there has been an increased level of dog theft.  Some organizations have indicated that dog theft has increased by as much as 32%.

People steal pets for a variety of reasons:

• Some are simply looking for a dog and dont want to pay the price charged by the breeder or pet store.  
• Others are looking for dogs that they can sell.  Dogs can easily sell for up to $3,000 or $4,000 on the open market. 
• Others steal the dog and then wait for the reward posters to be placed in the neighborhood.  It is amazing how often Fido just happens to wander into a strangers back yard with no tags or other form of identification.
• Dogs are stolen to use in fighting clubs. This is probably the most disturbing and distressing of all the reasons your dog is stolen.

Having a dog stolen is horrendous for both the owner and the dog.  A once well behaved dog, if found, can turn into a fearful/aggressive animal.  They can become aggressive around people or other animals.  They might attack with no warning or sit, shaking with fear, in the corner of the room.  Your once, happy companion, has returned to you with a level of anxiety and fear that might never be reversed.

So what can you, the pet owner do to try and minimize your pet being stolen?

• Make sure your dog is micro chipped and has a collar tag.  You also might think about a GPS locator on their collar.
• Never leave your dog in a public place.
• Never leave your dog alone for any length of time in the back yard or front yard.
• Be aware of any strangers who take too much interest in your dog.  If they are asking too many questions regarding your dogs breed, age, lineage, health, temperament; they might "be shopping".
• Make sure that you have thoroughly checked the background of your dog walker.  Are they bonded? What are their references? Does your vet know anything about them?

If your dog has been stolen/missing:

• Make sure that you contact the police or the appropriate local animal control authorities.
• Make flyers with your dogs picture and canvas the neighborhood.  Place flyers in vet hospitals, doggie grooming stores, pet stores, supermarkets, etc.
• Contact the local radio and TV stations to see if they have places on their web sites to post your dogs information.
• Contact and check the local dog shelters to see if your dog has been surrendered.
• Check Internet Databases such as www.FidoFinder.com to register your dog and to see if anyone has listed him as found.

Having anything stolen from us, especially our family dog, is a terrible experience. Getting them back is very difficult and many times, impossible.  The best solution is to proactively take the appropriate precautions outlined above.  Keeping your dog safe and secure provides for their well being and is just the smart thing to do.  As always, you can contact your local Bark Buster Dog Trainer for more information and suggestions at Best Dog Training in SouthFlorida.

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Dog Training Tips to Keep Your Dog from Running Through The Door Ahead of You

My dog always runs through the door ahead of me!  I can just be walking from the kitchen to the living room and “boom” he has to shoot past me like we are in a drag race.  This is just crazy!  What is going on here?

This is a natural canine behavior for dogs who think they are the boss.  In your dogs world, the leader, the boss, must always be out front to check out that everything is safe for everyone else.  As you go from room to room, that is a new place and a new opportunity for your dog to do his job and make sure everything is safe for you.  As I mentioned earlier, this action demonstrates that your dog thinks he is the leader.  Here are some quick and easy steps you can perform to stop your dog’s “door drag race”:

• Put a leash on your dog and slowly approach the door.
• Stop when you are about two feet from the door and tell him to sit and wait.
• Slowly open the door.  As you are doing this, keep an eye on your dog to make sure he is not getting ready to bolt through the door.  If you see that he is getting ready to move or if he has already moved out of his Sit/Wait position, correct him and have him return to the Sit/Wait position.
• Continue to open the door.  Once it is completely open, slowly and calmly step through the doorway.
• Make sure that your dog has not moved for several seconds.  Now invite him through the door to be with you.
• Once your dog is in the room with you, have him sit next to you for several seconds.  Give him some praise “Good puppy!” for obeying you.
• You are now done.  You and your dog can now do whatever you want.

You will be amazed on how this will turn a normally crazy time into a quiet and respectful moment!  If you have any questions or need additional dog training information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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How Do I Keep Wolfie From Going Nuts With The Pool

It is getting warmer now (South Florida, what a stretch!) and we are spending more time in the pool.  If we keep Wolfie inside, he jumps at the glass door.  If we let him out, he barks all around the pool or jumps in on top of us and just drives us nuts!  What can we do?

All Wolfie is doing is copying what you are doing.  You run out the back door, all excited about getting in the pool.  You jump in the pool, splash, scream, and have a great time.  If you leave Wolfie inside, he simply wants to get out to have fun too.  If he is outside, he wants to be a part of the action.  You havent directed Wolfie to do anything different.

What you must do is to direct his actions in a direction you desire when you are in the pool.  The process is called socialization and it is accomplished through providing him the appropriate direction while you are in the pool in a consistent and repetitive manner.  Here is what I suggest:

1. You need to build standard activities for Wolfie when you are outside and not in the pool.  The best activities I suggest are the fetch games.  This will get Wolfie excited to run after things that are directed away from you.  He then needs to return them to you and surrender them to you in a calm and respectful manner.
2. Now, you are ready to get in the pool.  Enter the pool without going crazy.  Have a family member bring Wolfie out on a leash and sit by the pool.  Be sure to have some toys for Wolfie and even some treats so that he has something to do while you are in the pool.  Slowly swim around (without going crazy) and have the family member with Wolfie to redirect his attention back to them and the toys whenever Wolfie gets a little to distracted with your actions in the pool.
3. As Wolfie stays calm with you in the pool while you are calm, slowly increase your activity while the family member with Wolfie continues to redirect his attention back to them and the toys if Wolfie becomes a little too excited.
4. Once this is accomplished, allow Wolfie to wander freely with the leash.  If he starts to get too distracted with your pool actions, have the family member who "had the leash" reacquire the leash and redirect him.
5. Once Wolfie is calm with you in the pool, you can begin to interact with him in a mutually "fun way".  Remember "Step One" where you worked on fetch games?  Now, lets do that with Wolfie.  The one difference is that you are throwing the toys for Wolfie while you are in the pool.  You direct Wolfie to return them to you at the side of the pool where you can throw the toys again.  

You now have a way to play with Wolfie in a consistent manner that he will understand.  You have shown him how to be with you while you are out in the pool and you have also shown him how you will play with him while you are in the pool where he doesnt have to jump in on top of you.

Please note that this training tip does not address keeping Wolfie safe while he is in the pool.  Please look for other articles in this blog to cover that issue.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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