What Happens When Wolfie Wont Come to Me in The Back Yard

It always happens that when ever I need to get Wolfie in from the back yard, he never comes.  I really think it is a game to see how long he can stay away from me and he finally goes in the house when he is fully amused...

See Wolfie way back there?  There is no way that I am getting him in the house any time soon...

The best solution to this is to teach Wolfie to "come".  The only problem is that is going to take you about five weeks to get him to come to you every time you tell him.  We need something now to get him in while he is in "come school".  

Lets first understand what is really happening with you and Wolfie and then find a temporary solution.  You walk outside and yell "come" to Wolfie.  He doesnt understand what that means, but you have gained his attention.  You yell "come" again and become more animated.  He still stares at you, finding you an amusing distraction.  You now become agitated and approach him quickly.  Now Wolfie sees that we are in a game of "follow the leader".  Since you are approaching him, he will take off and engage in the role of the leader.  The whole point of the game is to have you chase him while he avoids you.  The faster you go, the faster he avoids.  Even if you stop and walk back towards the house, he will come after you and turn away at the last second to try and reengage the game.

As you can see, this is a loosing battle that you just cant win.  So what do you need to do to get him in the house if he doesnt understand "come"?  You must find a way where you will remain calm, disengaging, and not directly approaching Wolfie.  If you do this, you will not be "telling" Wolfie that you want to play.

Here is what you do:  (I really love this little trick!)

• Put a 10 foot leash on Wolfie when he is outside.  Let him run around with it so that it becomes uninteresting to him.  Eventually, he wont even know that it is there.
• When you want to get Wolfie in the house, be very calm and slowly approach the handle end of the leash (10 feet away from Wolfie).  
• You are not directly approaching him so you are not sending the "play" signal to him.
• If Wolfie begins to move or run, do not speed up or become animated.  Watch the end of the leash and slowly move towards it.
• If you need to, pause for a minute.  Many times Wolfie will come towards you, bringing the leash with him.
• Once you are at the handle end of the leash, simply put your foot on it.  Now you have him.
• Pick up the leash (keeping your foot on the leash until you have the handle firmly in your hand).
• Give Wolfie the "come" command and give the leash a little tug until he is at your side.
• Give him the "walkies" command and calmly walk him back to the house.

I have "captured" crazy Goldens in 1/2 acre back yards using this exact method.  Give it a try and I am sure you will love it.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Never ask a Lakeland their opinion

This blog is brought to you courtesy of my wife Yvonne. This is an e-mail she sent out a couple of weeks ago:

Lesson #1: Never ask a Lakeland their opinion……….. If you don’t want to hear the truth.



And so it was…………………………

Sears delivered my new treadmill yesterday. When I arrived home and after letting Tag and Chicklet out to go potty and rid the back yard of dreaded foxes……………..Chicklet came back in to inspect the new arrival. I asked her what she thought of Mommy’s new treadmill………. where Chicklet promptly jumped on the virgin track, daintily squatted, and produced just a few droplets of pee.

After my shock and horror, Ms. Chicklet spent the night tethered a few feet away from Mommy’s new treadmill, a pretty weighted collar added to her neck jewelry, where she watched as Mommy walked on the treadmill.

Chicklet is home today…………………glaring at the ###!!!@@@!!! treadmill.

Lesson Learned: I will not ask Chicklet her opinion of my new lamp. I can’t handle the truth.

Love to all, Yon

Doug

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The only way to train a dog is

The other night after our Neighborhood Pack Session three of my dog owners were outside talking. I joined in.

These three have been working with me for a while. And each of them has an awesome dog.

Vino is a Rottweiler. He started his training at nine weeks. He has been trained to be a service dog and is the subject of an earlier blog. He is 22 months old now and just an incredible dog. He works for his twins. He now gives an alert up to 45 minutes before the little girl goes into grand mal seizures and will intervene if her brother starts bumping his head into the wall he will push him away and sit with him until he calms down. He has passed every test and certification with flying colors.

Athena is a Rottweiler, Aussie cattle dog and Akita mix. She is a rescue. She is a one in a thousand dog. She took one look at her new owner, decided she loved her new mom, and has been a jewel ever since. Training her was a breeze and she is one of my pack leaders in Neighborhood Pack. She will often quell bad behavior in another dog with just a look.

Charlie is a young pit bull. When he started he was dog aggressive. We got him past that quickly and he became playful but at the first sign of any rough play would get pretty defensive. Now he is just playful with everyone. Maturity and experience will tone that down.

Vino’s Mom started the conversation by telling us that she had taken him into one of the chain stores. He was wearing his service vest. The store “trainer” came over and told Mom that she trained service therapy Rottweiler’s. She immediately asked if Vino had been trained in a method that uses corrections. Mom answered yes and the “trainer” launched into a harangue that dogs can’t be trained with methods using corrections.

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Athena’s Mom also added that she had a similar experience in another of the chains. The trainer had lectured her about the “only way” to train dogs. She went on to explain the superiority of food based training, the favored method of many chains.

Charlie’s mom got stopped by a neighbor. Apparently this is one of those “I come to you” trainers who lives in her neighborhood. The trainer had seen Duke jump on her as they left the house for their walk. The trainer then told her how her training methods are wrong and she should change trainers. The trainer did not realize that jumping only occurs at the start of a walk and is a way he expresses pleasure. It is also the sign of a young dog who hasn’t quite understood why he should not do that yet.

Each of these three different trainers told my client that their training method was the “only way” to train a dog.

At that point one of my clients said that the “only way” to train a dog is the Manners in Minutes system. I disagreed. I believe that a good trainer can train a dog in any method.

I know I could train in any system; choke chain, pinch collar, clicker, food based, or any of the others. . I use the Manners in Minutes system because it is efficient. Not only do I think the dog catches on quicker, I believe the owner learns this method faster than any other. And I have set up my training lesson plan and center to maximize the method.

I have a training center rather than train in a park because I can control the environment. The center also means I don’t have too little or too much space. And I can control who and what the dog is exposed to as the training progresses.

I use very little food because I have long since realized that a client training for the first time will often use food as a crutch. The temptation to offer the food too often or too soon is hard for someone to resist when they first start working with a dog. As a result the client ends up bribing rather than motivating the dog.

I don’t like choke or pincher collars because for an inexperienced owner it is too easy too over or under correct. Under correction has no effect on the dog, over correction results in resentment. Electronic collars don’t make sense to the dog. I don’t use harsh alpha methods because a pack leader is firm, fair and consistent, not a bully. I don’t use clickers, even though I think they are the fastest way to learn to properly time praise, because too many owners have no control when they do not have a clicker at hand.

I stopped offering group classes to start training because I noticed that in every group there was always one dog that was so out of control that too much of the allotted time was spent on that dog to the detriment of the others. Every group always had someone who for various reasons needed a disproportionate amount of my time. Group tends to put the owner with an easier dog at a disadvantage.

So to make sure that the time I spend with you and your dog is efficient I start you in private sessions. That way you and the dog get my undivided attention. Then when the dog and you are ready I move you into group since there are many things we can do in group you can never do in private sessions.

If you have found a good trainer then there is no “only way,” just what they believe is the best way. And if you have found a trainer who has the “only way,” odds are you do not have a good trainer.

Doug

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Never Use an Extension Leash!

I know that I have said this in the past, but after a conversation with a client this week, I just have to reiterate...

Just as it says in the Taylor Swift song, "never, ever, ever..." use an extension leash when walking your dog!  It is unsafe and could end with your dog being hit by a car or truck.

Yes, I have told this to you before, but I now want to share a conversation I had with one of my clients this week.

My client is a Fire Paramedic who has a great puppy and a wonderful love for dogs.  She told me of an incident she experienced about two weeks ago while responding to a call early in the morning.

It was about 6AM and they were heading to an emergency call driving down a major street in Fort Lauderdale.  Ahead of them was a man with his dog.  The dog was sniffing the grass at the edge of the street.  The owner had the dog on an extension leash and really wasnt paying too much attention to the situation.  It was early in the morning with no traffic, so they didnt have the siren on at the time.

Just as they approached the owner and the dog, the dog leaped in front of the oncoming fire truck.  It happened so quickly that the trucks driver couldnt respond and they were sitting so high up, they couldnt immediately see if they had hit the dog.  My client said that everyones hearts were were racing as they looked in the rear view mirrors.

Luckily, they had missed the dog by inches.  My client said that this incident impacted every Fireman and Paramedic on that truck for the rest of the day.  If the dog had jumped one second sooner of they were five feet farther back on the road, the dog would have been killed instantly.

Can I state it any clearer than this?  Please, no extension leashes, period.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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