Wolfies Potty Problems While On The Road at Our Cabin

I just dont get it.  Wolfie has been potty trained for years, but when we are on a trip, he makes accidents!  What gives?

Well, our family, along with our four dogs, was on a vacation trip recently and we ran into this exact problem.  Our dogs that never made accidents for years began to have accidents in our rented cabin.  We quickly realized that we had to remember our initial potty training with each dog and the environment/schedule that we finally set up for our "pack".  It then became quite obvious that what we had established as the "norm" in their life was now drastically changed.

We went out hiking in the morning, ate at strange hours, were in and out all the time, had them in and out on our schedule, and just didnt give them the focus that we normally did when we were at home.  We broke the main rule of potty training, we were not "listening" to them telling us to let them out.

Well, when you are on a traveling vacation, it is sometimes difficult to always pay attention to your furry friends.  We had do think of something different so that we werent loosing our "cleaning deposit" at every place we stopped.  Here is what we came up with:

We went back to the basics.  We established a schedule based on our activities for the day.  Whenever possible, we tried to get them out every three hours, even if we had been playing with them earlier.  Also, we kept them in their crates when we left the cabin.  Since they really didnt want to go in their crates, it helped to strengthen the encouragement when we took them out.

Guess what?  It worked perfectly.  As soon as we put this in place we had zero accidents.  All we did was to go back to the basics of potty training.  We put them on a schedule, tried to observe them as much as possible, and crated them when we couldnt watch them.

Even though this is simple advice, it will surely help you keep your cleaning deposit the next time you travel with your pooches!  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Meet Our Resident Client

Good Day Leap Followers,

Please take some time to meet and read about our current foster dog, Bonita. She training and working towards becoming a well-behaved Princess. She is working on her "table" manners around her food bowl.

Meet Bonita: Adopt Bonita

Bonita is currently for adoption through Pit Bull Rescue San Diego.

Bonita: Princess in Training

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Meet Our New Students Featuring Pit Bull Rescue San Diego

David: available at pbrsd.org

Blossom: available at pbrsd.org

Good Day Leapers,

Leap Dog Training began their quarterly basic obedience group class for the adorable, adoptable dogs from Pit Bull Rescue San Diego [PBRSD]. This marks the first time that the dogs from PBRSD will experience the Associations of Pet Dog Trainers "My Dog has C.L.A.S.S." curriculum.

The curriculum will be tailored to help these dogs personalities and needs in order to achieve the ultimate success: adoption!

Bonita: available at pbrsd.org

Leaps goal is to create more than just an obedience class. The dogs will learn to properly socialize with other dogs, people, and good table manners. All key components to have a well-adjusted, adoptable dog that is ready to be accepted by society as more than just a pit bull. They will be well-trained, lovable doggies who have worked very hard to get educated. Wouldnt you love to adopt one of our students?

Please visit Leap Dog Training on Facebook and Instagram for more awesomely cute pictures of these adoptable, adorable doggies like David.

Are you and your dog doing anything fun and special to help other dogs in need? We would love to hear from you!

Give me a kiss! David: pbrsd.org 

Love,

LEAP!

Photo Gallery: CLICK HERE. 

Whos your favorite dog? 

If you would like for your dog to get the PBRSD basic obedience treatment at your home do not hesitate contact us. 

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Training Your Beauceron to Listen to You

Training Your Beauceron to Listen to You

Why Wont My Beauceron Listen To Me?

This is a common question that most first-time Beauceron owners ask me. Before I answer your question, let me ask you a few instead:

• Do you use cookies, collars, head halters or clickers to make your Beauceron listen to your commands?

• Do you have to raise your voice every time you want your Beauceron to listen to you?

• Does your Beauceron always come or sit on command - anytime and anywhere you want him to?

If your answers are mostly in the negative, its time you seriously reconsider your role as a sincere Beauceron trainer and an ideal pet parent.

Learn how to bond with your Beauceron with this free mini course.

Get Your Beauceron To Listen To You

Before you begin any training, you must first establish yourself as the "ALPHA dog" of your family. Your Beauceron must know that you’re the leader of the pack and it is YOU who is in charge.

Here is a list of simple DOs and DONTs that you must follow if you want to be the Alpha:

• Always go out or come in through the door first - remember you are the leader;

• Always eat first - give your Beauceron something to eat only after youve finished your meal;

• Don’t circle around your Beauceron when he is lying on the floor - make your Beauceron move out of your way instead;

• Dont let your Beauceron set the rules - pay attention to him when you think fit and not whenever he demands;

• Don’t permit your Beauceron to sleep with you in your bed - demarcate his sleeping area clearly.

Once you successfully established yourself as the Alpha, training your Beauceron and making him listen will be a lot easier than you can imagine. Remember, if your Beauceron does not learn to "listen", all your training efforts will be in vain!

Does your Beauceron know his name? Does your Beauceron look at you whenever you call him by his name? This is the first and the most critical step involved in Beauceron Training. If your Beauceron doesnt respond to his name, you cannot have his attention for teaching him any other commands.

To make sure that your Beauceron recognizes his name, take a treat in your hand and hold it away from your body. Call your Beaucerons name. He is most likely to look at the treat in your hand. Continue calling his name untill he turns and looks at your eyes. Give him the treat immediately. Repeat this exercise by holding the treat in the other hand. Once youre sure that your Beauceron has learnt to recognize his name, just call his name and reward him for looking at you by petting or with a hug.

You must understand that Beaucerons respond far better to positive reinforcement than they do to coercion or force.

Learn how to train your Beauceron better with this free mini course.

Copyright (c) 2009 TrainPetDog.com

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Wolfie Seems Afraid of Me What Can I Do

I am not sure what it is, but Wolfie seems afraid of me.  Hell always stay away from me and never comes!  What can I do that wont make the situation worse?

Unfortunately, we see this more times that we would like.  All doggie owners try to be good doggie owners, but sometimes we just blow our stacks.  We get mad, yell & scream, and sometimes whack our "best friend".  Bad experiences can leave very strong impressions with dogs and can last a long time.

So we messed up.  What can we do to make it right with Wolfie?  

One way is to practice an exercise called "V Feeding".  This is a process where we use small treats or kibble to entice Wolfie to come to us, feel safe, and then allow him to move away.  The entire point of this exercise is that we are allowing Wolfie to feel safe the entire time.  Here is what you do:

1. Get some small treats (Zukes Doggie Treats are perfect) or Wolfies kibble.
2. Have Wolfie about eight feet away from you.  Throw a goodie to the left of Wolfie about seven feet from you.  Allow Wolfie to go and get it.
3. Now, throw a goodie to the right of Wolfie about six feet from you.  Allow Wolfie to go and get it.
4. Repeat the left and right process with the food, moving Wolfie closer and closer to you.
5. When you have Wolfie about three feet from you, kneel down low to see if he will come to you.  If he does, that is great.  If he does not, that is not a problem.
6. Now, start throwing goodies to your left and right at increasing distances from you.  All you are doing here is reversing the process where you had Wolfie come to you.
7. Once Wolfie is about eight feet away from you, praise Wolfie in your high voice.  Stand still for a moment or two and then walk away.

Repeat this process two or three times a day.  What you are doing is to remove the notion that you are "the boogie man" in Wolfies eyes.  Coming and going from you is a pleasurable experience.  After about one week, toss the goodies so that Wolfie is right next to you.  Continue that for a week and then start to slowly pet Wolfie when he is right next to you.  (Remember that you are kneeling down low when you are doing this.)

Do not pet Wolfie by extending your hand over his head.  Show him the back of your hand and slowly move it along the ground towards his chest.  (If he flinches, do not press the matter.  You will try it again the next time.)  Once you reach his chest, slowly rub him.  Make sure that he is looking at you and you are looking at him.  Next, slowly move your hand around to his back and continue the rubbing.  

What we have done is to "reintroduce" yourself to Wolfie in a non-aggressive way.  We have allowed Wolfie to come to the conclusion that you will not harm him.  You will then have the opportunity to regain his respect and focus  and he will once again feel safe and secure around you.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Dog Training Easy Ways to Make a Best Friend

Dogs are without a doubt mans best friend. With a little knowledge they can become a treasured part of the family. Dog training is very important to the harmonious running of any household.
There is a lot to think about when you are adding a dog to the family. Dogs can display many antisocial types of behaviour. These may include peeing in the wrong place or time, barking too much, chewing on your favourite shoes or maybe the posties shoes with the postie still in them. They can get into digging holes where you dont need them, run down the road as soon as you open the door or become anxious and upset as soon as you pick up the car keys to head off to work.
You really can teach an old dog new tricks. It is possible to have a dog inside all the time. It can be a pleasure to take a dog for a walk and not have them pulling on the lead or haring off after every cat they see. Dogs do not have to leap up at you and lick you to death.
Dogs will respond positively to rewards and praise. Their training should be fun and consistent. If a dog is allowed to sit on the door mat one day and not the next it will become confused. They understand your tone of voice and some body language. If you train with fear and punishment they become unhappy and you can create more problems.
It is important for the dog to know who is the boss. When you answer the door you must be the first one to the door. When you sit on a chair the dog sits on the floor. When toilet training the dog should get used to going on on a particular surface, whether it be gravel, newspaper or whatever. There are many simple tricks to training a dog and if you are gentle and consistent you will be rewarded with a best friend.
If you would like more information on dog training go to [http://www.mansbestfriends.info]

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Dog Training Fun Ways to Train Your Dog

The thought of dog training can make most people cringe. The hours of work and the constant repetition may seem too much, yet dog training exercises can be enjoyable. Being able to have a well trained dog and have fun in the process is possible. Because dogs have different personalities, an owner may need to try a few methods in order to see how their dog responds best. Reward training is a type of positive reinforcement training. Part of this type of instruction is giving your dog a command and then rewarding for the proper action. Clicker training is one popular example of this. When a dog performs the desired act, the clicker sound gives him the acknowledgment that he did right. When starting the clicker training, the click is followed by a treat. This gives the dog the knowledge that the click is what he wants to hear. After awhile, the treats can be taken out of the equation, and the sound of the clicker is enough reinforcement. Treats are great supports, but a pat on the head or excited voice can also be very important to you dog. This reward training is used for most types of training. If you are using the right kind of treat, for treat based training, your dog will want to spend the time learning. Agility training is a fantastic way to enjoy your dogs education. Most dogs, except for large, heavy ones will enjoy this fun way of exercise, and you might be amazed at the amount of discipline that the dog must learn in order to accomplish this task. An agility course is set up to have the dog go from one obstacle to another in a timely manner. Some of the obstacles might include crawling through a tunnel, jumping over small fences, and climbing over walls, to name a few. The owner stays with the dog, but must only help the dog by giving a dog command, and at the beginning, leash guidance. Through this course, dogs learn to listen to their owner, get exercise, and helps build a teamwork bond between pet and owner. With the popularity of agility training there are more schools using this method, but if you cannot find it in your area, a simple search online to find the appropriate items can set up your backyard. Almost any game can be used to teach your pet. When you are working on obedience training, it is a good idea to intersperse some tricks in the midst. This will help you enjoy the time more which will help your dog relax and learn more easily. Simple tricks like "shake" and "stay" are teaching valuable lessons. In order to "shake" a dog must learn to sit properly. "Stay" is a great command when you have children or elderly people visiting. A well trained dog is the goal of most dog owners, yet many of us stop training after our dog gets beyond the bad manner behaviors. The guidance should not stop there; in finding exercises and games that both we and our dog enjoys will enable us to continue the education and the bonding time with our pet. Obedience classes as well as agility training are available in most areas for all ages of canine. For a wide variety of dog training methods check out http://trainmydognow.com including videos, eBooks, training tools and resources. Just about any training need can be found here whether you have a new puppy or an older dog needing some additional training, so check it out now.

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