Another Lakeland Terrier

This is Joie. She is a Lakeland Terrier who started training Monday.

About two weeks ago I got an e mail from a rescue group asking for help. I replied with our standard offer. We will give a discount to rescue dogs from recognized organizations for dog’s that come in within thirty days of adoption. I also added that we will donate a free training package to any rescue Lakeland Terrier as part of our commitment to our breed.

Now Lakeland’s are rare so I was surprised to learn they had a mill rescue Lakeland. She got adopted this weekend and Jan called me on Saturday. Joie came in yesterday even though Jan had to come down from the Denver area.

Jan has a sister who lives here in Colorado Springs. Her sister, Debbie has shown Lakelands so Jan was familiar with the breed.

These rescue dogs are breeding dogs that are no longer used and are useless to the puppy mill. If they are not rescued they are put down.

The conditions for most of these puppy mill breeding dogs are horrid. Most are confined to a small cage or crate almost their entire lives. As a result they have never been socialized to people or dogs.

Usually working with this kind of a dog is a long and drawn out process. Some dogs come in to the center three or four times where all we do is let them get comfortable. There is no training, just desensitization to the environment. They not only have trouble making decisions, some of them literally do not know how to be dogs. So it can be months before we start. And sadly not all of them will make much progress.

So when Joie came in I was amazed at how confident she was. It was pretty close to a typical lesson I routinely give to dogs that have normal backgrounds. Joie and her new mom did well.

I think the reason she was so trainable so soon was one of the attributes of this breed. When they worked in England, they sometimes would get trapped and would have to wait days to be rescued. There are even stories of owners having to use explosives to get to them. To be able to lie in the cold and the dark is bred into them.

She will be back in a couple of weeks for her next lesson. She is a Lakeland, and they are the most challenging dog to train. So I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. After all she is still in the “honeymoon” phase of her relationship with her owner.

But whatever happens I’m pretty sure this dog will make it.

Doug

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Why I like Pit Bulls

When I first started training the only group of dogs I worried about were the bull terriers. I started my police career in the 80s. Back then the pit bull was very popular with the people who were making and dealing drugs. The would often have several dogs staked out with overlapping circles. The theory was that the dogs would delay the police if they came to raid.

I have a fellow deputy who once had to shoot a pit bull off his arm when the dog would not let go. We were particularly wary of their reputation for the strength of their jaw. I listened to more than one bandit brag about how he had bred his dogs for the aggression.

Fortunately for me, the first bull terriers to come into my center were four American Staffordshire Bull Terriers. They belong to my friend and groomer, Kris. She has been raising and showing these dogs for some time and the male she brought in was in the top ten for the breed.

Knowing that Kris is also a trainer and has very good control of her dogs lessened my worries. I found them to be sweet, easy to train and eager to learn. Now Kris does not train in the Manners in Minutes system, but wanted to see it for herself since like many good trainers she is always looking for something to make what she does better.

When I commented on how nice the dogs were to work with Kris explained that when the dogs were still fighting in the pits before it was outlawed, they were too valuable to let them fight to the death. So the owner had to be able to go into the pit and get his dog out without getting bit by either dog. By breeding they are gentle and sweet to humans.

Later when discussing training bulls with the developer of Manners in Minutes training, Pat Muller, Pat also added that during the period when the dogs were still fighting, they were the family pet during the rest of the week. At the first sign of excessive aggression, especially around the owners children, the dog was put down. So over time only the gentlest and sweetest of the bulls (around humans) were bred.

Since then I have worked with a number of Staffordshires, Am Staffs, and Pit Bulls. I look forward to everyone of them. They have all trained well and are some of the best dogs I have turned out were from these breeds.

The lesson from all this is that any dog is dangerous if it isn’t properly trained and socialized. Pit Bulls aren’t more likely to bite than any other breed. As a matter of fact, the most popular breed in this country is the Lab. And Labs are also the dog breed most often reported to the police or animal control is the Lab.

Books shouldn’t be judged by their covers, and dogs shouldn’t be judged by their breeds.

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I dont like shock collars

Last weekend we went to a home and garden show. The last time we went I was surprised to see one of our local dog trainers had a booth. As he has a lousy reputation and is known as a hustler, I wasnt surprised to see him there.

This show had a local trainer of one of the chains. I haven’t paid much attention to them other than to note that two of my customers had “thrown them out” of their homes when they came to do a presentation. They do advertise extensively and have a great logo.

I saw the trainer with a dog that I would describe as way too worried. But we had flooring to look for so we walked past. Later when they walked by I was amazed to see the dog wearing a shock collar.

A little bit of research found that this chain does train with shock collars. I just cannot find a way to rationalize that. I could see, in an extreme case, where you might use a shock collar. I have never had to use one, but I was a cop too long to say that I would never use it. But if I did, I guarantee that when the dog left my center, it would never wear it again. To send people out with a permanently attached shock collar is just beyond belief.

It is one thing to correct a dog. But it is another to punish it. To send someone home and rely on their experience, which is limited if they are using a dog trainer, to be firm, fair and consistent isn’t realistic. We have all seen those college psychology experiments where the student is allowed to shock the test subject.

And the bottom line: I barely understand electricity. I don’t think I ever meet a dog that did. Why would you subject a dog to discomfort at best, and outright cruelty in some situations?

I’m not sure what I would call this, but it definitely isn’t dog training.

Doug

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Getting Wolfie to Stay

No matter what I do, I cant get Wolfie to stay.  I think he just wants to drive me nuts.  I think he is going to stay, but as soon as I walk away, he is up and following me...

What you have done is to try and teach Wolfie too many things too quickly...  Remember that we all learned that 1 + 1 = 2 before we started to work with calculus.  That is the problem we are having with Wolfie.

Lets break to the chase and let me explain exactly what you need to do to start getting your dog to stay:

• Make sure that you have your dog on a leash and that you are in a quiet place with no audible or visual distractions.
• Put your dog in a sit.  If he does not do this the first time and does not stay in a sit position with focus on you, stop the "stay exercise" and simply work on the sit.
• Once your dog is sitting and focused on you, stand in front of him, hold your hand up like a traffic cop, and tell him to "stay".
• He needs to remain in his sitting position while focused on you and, more importantly, your hand.
• After 10 seconds of your dog not moving, slowly step back a few feet (be careful not to tug or pull the leash).  Keep your hand up and always stand tall and face your dog. If he starts to move, correct him.  If he gets up, start the process again.
• Once you reach the length of the leash, make sure that your dog is focused on you and your hand and that you are focused on him.  Wait for 15 seconds.
• Now, while facing him and with your hand up, slowly walk around to your dogs left side.  Next, walk around to his right side.  Finally, return to standing in front of him. Always make sure that he is focused on you.  Again, if at any time he stands up and starts to move, start the exercise from the beginning.
• Return to your dogs side and praise him for a job well done.

It will be quite possible that you will not be able to successfully accomplish all these steps the first time you try.  The first time, you might only be able to stand right in front of him.  After several days, you might get him to stay when you take a few steps back.  It might take a week or so before you can walk to his right and left without his moving.  

It doesnt matter how long it takes to teach him these steps as long as you are ending on a winning experience and you have been consistent in your teaching.  The big thing to remember is to always face your dog while you are teaching and to hold your hand up to give him something easy to focus on.  

We are always telling our clients to understand the world from their dogs perspective.  In this matter, we are telling our dog to sit still and watch our hand.  It is something that they can easily learn and we have gained the result we require.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Neighborhood Pack II

One of the frustrations when you are building a business (especially in a recession) is not having a big enough customer base to do some of the things you want to do.

So by the end of summer when we had enough dogs to make getting together in group possible, we started doing Neighborhood Pack sessions. Of course we did not call it that until we met Pat Rock.

The name is a dead on description of what happens. We form a pack. Last weeks pack had a Border Collie, two Boston Terriers, a Min Pin, a Jack Russell Terrier, a Norfolk Terrier, and a Standard Poodle. Three of the dogs were under a year in age. One dog had extreme dog aggression and another was a rescue with severe seperation anxiety.

Now each of these dogs had finished their private lessons and was making progress. But to complete the training process the dog needed a couple of sessions in a pack. And that night they were.

We dont turn dogs loose. But there is a pack leader, me. And there are higher ranking members of the pack, who have to be respected. That is the owners.

There were no miracles. But there was progress. Everyone learned that the rules their owners have established apply in every situation.

The excitement of the night was when the dog aggressive dog managed to snap open his lead and get loose. He challenged every dog in the center. But there were no bites, just bluffing. Ane he quickly learned that unacceptable behavior results in a frim, but fair, correction. He still has a way to go but that was a big step for him. And every other dog in the room learned they can trust their owners.

Neighborhood Pack has be so successful that now every dog finishes training by attending three sessions. Since the dog learns from the other dogs, and the owners learn from each other, the dog and owner finish the training and cement their relationship.

This gives us the ability to take advantage of both one on one training, and group training.

Plus now you have a place to come back to from time to time to sharpen you and the dog.

Doug

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Should Wolfie Like His Crate

So many people tell me so many things!  Dont put your dog in a crate, it is mean and he feels he is being punished!  Always use a crate because your dog loves it!  These are pretty different views and there doesnt seem to be a lot of middle ground on it.  So, what should it be?  To crate or not to crate?

Look at the picture and you can probably guess the direction this blog posting will take.  As a canine behavioral trainer, I love the crate.  The reason is simple.  Dogs (canines) naturally see the world at three distinct levels of safety.  The first, and most important, is their den.  This is the place that, if they feel threatened or "simply want to leave the party", they can retreat to and be assured that they are 100% safe from anything.  This is their den, their safe place.  The lions, tigers, and bears can NEVER get them in there.  (I will discuss the other levels in another posting.  That information is not pertinent regarding this discussion.) 

Some dogs naturally love the crate (Wolfie does) and some dogs seem to have a hard time with the crate.  These dogs might have come from pet stores or puppy mills where the crate was used as a containment area instead of a safety area.  They might have been inappropriately introduced to the crate as a "time out place" and physically thrown into the crate while their master was yelling and screaming.  The crate might have been kept in the garage or outside in the far corner of the yard where they felt ostracized from the rest of the pack.

So what do you do if your dog is fearful of the crate or you have a new puppy and you want to make sure that they will like the crate?

• Make sure the crate is a fun place.  Put his toys in the crate or feed him in the crate.  Do not initially close the door.  Let him wander in and out so that he will get the feeling that "this is a cool place to be".
• Have the crate near you.  Move the crate during the day so that it is near the rest of the family.  He can be in the crate and the rest of the pack is there too.  This will remove any appearance of being ostracized by being in the crate.
• Open and close the crate door.  We want to start to let him know that the door can be opened or closed and everything is still fine.  You do this by removing the fact that closing the door means anything.  Open the door for a while and then close it (while he is inside).  Do this at different times and make no big deal of it.
• Leave him for a bit.  Walk out of the room or out of site for a moment while he is in the crate.  This helps to remove us as the main safety resource and to reinforce the crate as the safety resource.  It is also a critical part of separation anxiety training.
• Actively engage him while he is in the crate.  Wolfie shouldnt feel like "bubble boy" while he is in the crate.  Get down next to the crate and engage him with conversation or play with the door open or closed.  This will further disengage the crate as a possible inappropriate enclosure.  

Start working on these items above and you will be long on your way to have a doggie that loves his crate and has a safe place he can always visit!  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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