Potty Training When You Are Away For A Long Time

I am in the middle of potty training my four month old puppy and things are going relatively well when I am home.  When I go to work, I can’t always get home at lunch to take him out.  What can I do to make sure that I don’t mess up the training when I have to be gone a long time?

We have a good number of clients who get new puppies and then have to leave them while they go to work.  The mistake that most of them make is to either leave them in their crate or give them the run of the house.  The problem is that their little puppy physically can’t hold it for the time they are left alone.

Let’s first talk about what you are doing wrong and then discuss what you should correctly do…

Leaving your puppy in the crate for an extended period of time is wrong.  Dogs naturally don’t want to go to the bathroom in their crate.  They see the crate as their den and they don’t want to leave their scent there because it might “draw in their enemies”.  They also don’t want to go to the bathroom on themselves because of the same reason.  Because of this, they will try to hold it as long as possible.  If you are gone longer that they can hold it, they will reluctantly toilet on themselves and in their crate. 

If you continually force them to toilet in their crate, their drive to try and hold it while they are in there will diminish and eventually disappear.  Since you use the crate as a place where they do not toilet, you have eliminated an important potty training tool.

Letting the puppy out in the entire house or an extended portion of the house while you are gone a long time is also bad.  Since you are away for a period of time that is longer that your dog can hold it, he is naturally going to toilet somewhere.  The key word here is “somewhere”.  Sometimes it is very hard or impossible to find where your puppy has toileted while you were away.  When this happens, your puppy has left the smell of a toilet somewhere in the house.  If it smells like a toilet, it must be a toilet.  This smell will constantly entice your puppy to return to that spot to go to the bathroom. 

Here is what you should do if you are going to be gone from the house and you know your puppy will probably go to the bathroom:

• Pick a small room with a tile or linoleum floor such as a laundry room or bath room. 
• Pick up all the items that your puppy might destroy.
• If there is access to any “inappropriate area” such as behind the washer, block that access.
• Clean the floor with a mild cleanser such as Lavender Fabuloso.
• Cordon off the room with a doggie gate that your puppy can’t knock over, climb over, or jump over.
• Place some toys, his bed, and a small amount of water & food in the room.
• Place a wee-wee pad in the room. (Entice him to go in that area but not require him.)

Put your puppy in that room when you leave.  You have now confined him to a comfortable area that you can manage once you return.  The important thing here is that you are not diminishing the importance of the crate or possibly creating an “invisible toilet” (as noted above).

When you return home you can remove him from this area.  If he has gone on the wee-wee pad, simply pick that up and throw it away.  If he has gone anywhere else in the enclosed area, simply clean that up with an appropriate cleanser.  Close the door to this room and do not allow him in the room except when you are going out for an extended period and you have appropriately set it up for his use (mentioned earlier).

What we have established here is a “time out” in the potty process.  Your goal is to maintain the importance of the crate and not to have the house smell of urine.  You have created a place that he can go, if necessary.  Since he is not allowed in this area except during long absences by you, this will have a minimal impact on your potty training process.  As always, if you have any questions, please be sure to contact us at TheBest Dog Trainers in South Florida

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Things To Consider When Bringing An Additional Dog To Your Family

I have had Wolfie as a great member of our family for years and am thinking about adding another dog.  Ive heard stories, good and bad, about families bringing additional dogs into their fold.  What are some things that I should watch out for and what things should I consider?

The very first thing that you should consider about getting a second dog is if you are prepared for the additional responsibilities of owning a second dog.  Your neighbor that was fine in baby sitting one dog while you were away for the weekend might not have the ability to watch two dogs.  The places you travel that dont mind you bring Wolfie might not accept a second canine guest.  Your Vet bills and dog food bills will now be twice as much.  Your association might not allow a second dog.  Do you have time for a second dog? Your home owners insurance might drastically change.  Again, these are just a few real life things to consider before you even continue your thoughts about more doggies.

Now, lets way you got past those first, few hurdles.  You need to consider Wolfies temperament and the type of breed you might consider.  Here are some tips:

• If Wolfie is dog aggressive, territorial, or over protective of you, you might want to stop thinking about another dog.
• If Wolfie is more of a "couch potato" or over seven years old, you probably dont want to consider getting a puppy.
• Consider a dog that is roughly the same size as Wolfie.  This will make play time safer for both of them.
• In my opinion, I would make sure that both dogs have been neutered or fixed.
• If you are not prepared for a high energy environment, do not consider breeds like Jack Russels, Boxers, Labs, or Dalmatians.  (Great dogs, just high energy!)  

With these things handled, it is now time to start your search.  Here are some more tips:

• Start your search with a family meeting with the open ended question, "What kind of dog would you like?".  Dogs you have had in the past, favorite neighbor dogs, or the "I always wanted a ..." normally will be mentioned.  Go on the internet and research these breeds to see if there are any red flags that would pop up about them.  Dog Breeder Info Center is a great place to look.
• If you have small children, large, high energy dogs might not be a good fit.
• Large dogs in apartments or homes with small back yards might not be a good idea.
• If you work long hours, dogs that require a good amount of exercise or require a good amount of interaction might not be a good match.
• Check out the local Humane Society, Animal Shelters, and Rescue Groups to locate your next doggie.  There are so many great dogs already out there, it really isnt necessary to go to the pet stores or local breeders.

Now, you have found your next doggie and he appears to meet all the above criteria.  Now is the time to see if it is really going to work.  Now is the time to see if Wolfie will really get along with this potentially new member of the family.  More tips for you:

• Have Wolfie and your potential doggie meet at the Shelter, Humane Society, or Rescue location.  Be in a fence enclosed, outside environment and have both doggies on leashes.  Allow them to approach each other and exchange their doggie sniffs.  If there is any sign of fear or aggression, separate them and try again.  Once they are "used to each other", drop the leashes and allow them to wander.  Always be right there in the event they become aggressive.  If needed, step on the leash, pick it up, and separate them.
• Repeat the above process for a second and possibly third visit to assure that they are fine with each other.  If, after three sessions, there are still signs of aggression or fear, this is not the right fit.
• If they appear to be the right fit, it is now time to bring the new canine family member home.  Have your new doggie and Wolfie meet in the front of your house.  Let them sniff and re-greet each other.  You might want to take both of them on a little walk up and down the street.
• Now, take Wolfie inside the house to an open area in sight of the front door.  Bring your new doggie in and have Wolfie and him greet again.  Walk them around the house (on leashes).  Now you can drop the leashes but still keep both of them in sight.
• Take both of them to the back yard and let them play.  Use new toys so that there will not be a "possessive issue" with Wolfie.
• Feed them separately for the first few days.  After that, try feeding them together (much easier) while being on the lookout for any food possessive/aggression issues.

If you follow these guidelines, you are on your way to having a great life with your larger human/canine family.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.. 

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Sorry Ive been gone so long

Back in 2006 I opened Pikes Peak Manners In Minutes when I retired from the Sheriffs Office.  This was never supposed to be a full time job, just something for an old cop to do.  The goal was about a thirty hour week and enough income to pay the bills.

And that is what it was until 2012.  Suddenly I was working six or seven days a week anywhere from 40 to 70 hours. 

As a result this blog fell by the wayside.  It wasnt that I didnt have something to say, it was finding time to say it.

Ive grown as a trainer and as a result at any given time I have about 60 to 80 dogs that I am working with.  Neighborhood pack has grown from one session a week to four.  Some days I get here at 9 and dont get home until 8 or 9 at night.

But this has become a very rewarding way to spend my retirement.  I get to watch so many dogs change and so many owners improve their skills.

Ill try to be better about posting things that may help you. 

And now I have to go work with a dog

Doug

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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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Potty Training Away a Long Time

Sometimes my work requires long days and I have to leave Wolfie alone in the house for ten or twelve hours.  He is still a puppy and I am still working on Potty Training.  Thats a long time to keep him inside!  What do I do?

We all know that "life happens" and we cant get home to let our little puppy out to go potty.  There is a rule of thumb that the number of hours a puppy can "hold it" is their age in months.  (After 8 months, that is where it stops...)  So what do I do with my four month old puppy when I am working twelve hours that day?

First of all, you dont want to leave him in his crate.  Part of crate training and potty training is enforcing your puppy not to potty in his crate.  As long as we stay within the limits of your puppy physical abilities, this is a pretty easy process.  If we surpass his physical limits to hold it, of course he will go in his crate.  This will undermine this part of the potty training process.

What you must do is to find an area that you can allow your puppy to potty.  It must be enclosed and away from your puppys normal "roam of the house".  The best areas would be a bath room or washer/dryer room.  Pick up any rug and remove anything that your puppy "could get into" (toilet paper, boxes on the ground, etc.).  You might even put down a wee-wee pad just to see if he would use it.  I would also suggest that you get a doggie gate to enclose the area so it wont appear so confining.

When you have to be away from the house for extended periods of time longer than your puppys "ability to hold it", you put him in that area.  If he potties, you have a small area to clean and you havent damaged your crate training process.  

Be sure to clean the area well with an enzyme cleaner like Natures Miracle and then a normal cleaner like Lavender Fabuloso.  Also, as I alluded to earlier, keep the door closed to this area to keep him out.  You only want him in here when you are away for a long time.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Meet Eva and Apollo Basic Obedience with Distractions

Meet Eva and Apollo! 

Good Evening Leapers,

Today Leap had the pleasure of working with Apollo & Eva, whom are 2 year old Cane Corsos. They are going through their basic obedience training TOGETHER and did a phenomenal job today during their midterm. So far, they have learned their sit, down, stays, come, and lets go.

Next for these two darlings is learn how to wait patiently by the door before exiting. One idea, to help dogs curve their enthusiasm, is to pick up their leashes and walk around the house going about your chores. By doing this, we can desensitize the dogs a bit by showing that just because youre holding the leash it does not mean you will be leaving the house. This is a quick way to manage that bit if a excitement when the leashes picked up.

Do you have any suggestions or ideas to help dogs curve their excitement at the sight of their leashes being grabbed? Let us know, we would love to hear from you.

Love, LEAP!

Small peek at the training session:

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