What To Do When Doggie Sitting a Friends Doggie

I know that I am a "push-over", but I just agreed to doggie sit my friends dog while he is away over Thanksgiving.  How can I make sure that Wolfie isnt going to go "Cujo" on the dog?

The good news is if Wolfie doesnt have a history of being unsociable with other dogs, you have a fighting chance of making this work.  With that said, you cant just throw them in the same room and hope for the best.  What you must do is to initially socialize the dogs and then establish boundaries (Hey!  Dont use my toothbrush!).  Here is what you do:

• Before your friends dog comes over to stay, have his dog and Wolfie meet several times in a neutral territory.  Have them both on leashes and allow them to sniff and exchange doggie pleasantries.  Take them for walks and even play catch with them.  This builds up  a social understanding between the two dogs regarding their individual levels of assertion and respect.  This is important when you bring them into your home.
• When your friend brings over his dog to your house, have the dogs meet outside and let them sniff and play for a little while.  Now, take Wolfie inside to the family room.  Make sure he is on a leash.  Have your friend bring in his dog into the family room on a leash.  Let the dogs sniff and walk around.  Drop the leashes and have everyone "just hang out" for about 30 minutes.  If the dogs show any sign of aggression, correct them and have them sit by their perspective masters for a minute or two before releasing them again.  If Wolfie is over-possessive with any particular toy or object, it would be a good idea to remove them during your friends dogs stay.  
• If everything is fine after about 30 minutes, it is time for your friend to be on his way.  Dont have your friend make a big thing about leaving.  He should just get up and leave.  
• During the stay, remember these simple rules:
• Feed the dogs separately.
• Never leave the dogs together, unattended for the first few days.
• Never leave the dogs together if someone is not going to be home.
• Be sure to let them out and have a good amount of supervised play time every day.
• Never allow your friends dog in Wolfies crate, on Wolfies bed, or in your bedroom.
• If your friends dog has a potty accident in the house, be sure to clean it up immediately using an enzyme cleaner or vinegar & baking soda.
• Give equal amount of attention and love to both dogs.

Follow these simple rules and your friends dogs stay should be happy and uneventful.  And remember that now, your friend owes you!  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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When Wolfie is Sick

Every once in a while, Wolfie gets an upset stomach and throws up his food.  Do I need to always rush to the Vet?

If you are a new dog owner or if Wolfie is a small puppy, I would at least call your Vet, explain the situation, and ask for their advise.  If you believe that they have come in contact with anything poisonous (click here for more details), wash their mouth out and take them to the Vet.  If Wolfie isnt a puppy and you have had dogs before, I would use my common sense and experience to decide what to do. 

The big thing is observation.  After they have thrown up, are they still active?  Do they still have an apatite?  Are they hydrated?  (You can tell this by pinching their fur and see if it bounces back or stays in that "pinch".  If it bounces back, they are hydrated, if it doesnt, they are dehydrated and need to go to the Vet.)

If they are still active, have an apatite, and are hydrated, it might be a good idea to continue watching them.  This "upset stomach" might have been a one-time thing and they will be fine.

The one thing that you should do during this time is to change their diet from their regular, dry food to something more soothing for their stomach.  Just like us, we suggest white rice with a cut up boneless chicken breast.  Make sure they have all the water they want.  After about a day, everything should be fine and they can go back on their regular food.

If, from your observations, they continue to throw up, become listless, or dehydrated; off to the Vet you go!

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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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How To Help Wolfies Fear of Storms

I thought that Wolfie was fine with our summer storms, but he is whining, panting, pacing, and just driving me crazy!  I try and comfort him, but it just seems to get worse!

Remember that I am always saying that we should not treat our dogs like humans?  Remember that I am always saying that we should treat our dogs like dogs?  Guess what!  You are treating him like a human, again.  

We have to understand that the sights, sounds, and even the drop in barometric pressure could be very strong negative stimuli on Wolfie.  This will cause him to become unsure and scared of what he thought was his safe environment.  Naturally, he comes to us to reassure his safety.  Here is where the problem begins.

When Wolfie comes to us, whining and getting under our feet, we instinctively go down and pet him and talk to him in a high, "baby voice" tone trying to sooth and console him.  If Wolfie would be our young son or daughter, that might work.  But Wolfie is a dog and he needs to reassured of his safety in a manner consistent by a strong, canine Alpha Leader.

Here is what you do in order to reassure Wolfie of his safety in a manner he requires:

When Wolfie comes to you, stand up, face him, and ask him to sit or lie down.   Give him a "good boy" when he does.  Continue with your work.  If he starts to whine again, stand up, face him, and give him a firm, low toned "No".  Ask him to sit again, praise him, and go on with your work.  

If Wolfie starts to whine again (what a persistent little guy!), take your leash, hook it on his collar, and briskly walk him around the room or the house.  Return to where you started, have him sit, and return to your work.  What you are doing is to correct and redirect Wolfie away from his perceived fear and to have him focus on you.

You are the boss and your appropriate presence should be all the reassurance he needs to maintain his safety.  As you are communicating with Wolfie, you are standing and facing him.  In the canine world, this is a sign of assertion and leadership.  

Give this a try and see how it works for you.  I have used this technique with our dogs for years and it works like a charm!  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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When Your Dog Comes Inside and Potties on the Carpet

My dog is normally pretty good about pottying, but sometimes he doesnt potty outside and as soon as we come inside, he will potty.  This is just weird.  What can I do to fix this and keep my carpet from being an over-glorified wee-wee pad?

This is a frequent question posed by many of our clients.  Their dog normally doesnt potty in the house, there are just some timing issues that need to be addressed.  If this is truly the case, we have some simple suggestions to help you out:

• When you take your dog outside to potty, actively engage him in high energy play.  Throw the ball for him.  Hide a few toys around the yard and encourage him to actively find them.  Play fetch.  Whatever you do, make sure it is high energy so that you are speeding up your dog’s metabolism.  This encourages “potty”.
• Stop your active play and simply stand back.  Let your dog calm down and begin to focus on the smells of the yard.  This encourages the potty process.  You will normally see him still romp around for a bit and then begin to intensely sniff an area.  This is a sign that he is ready to potty.
• Once he performs his #1 and #2, do not bring him in right away.  Let him “hang out” for a few more minutes.  Sometimes dogs need to potty more than once.  If we bring him in too soon, we have moved the bathroom inside.
• If your dog didn’t potty after fifteen or twenty minutes, take him inside but keep him on a leash and next to you.  Wait five minutes and take him out again.  If coming inside somehow stimulates his need to potty, as stated in our original issue, we have started the process.  The difference is that we will only be inside for a few minutes and we will constantly be with our dog.  Note:  Dogs normally don’t want to go to the bathroom right next to you.

Having your dog outside for potty and then bringing them in only to mess on your carpet is annoying and smelly.  We hope that these suggestions will help you eliminate that problem.  As always, please contact us if you have any questions at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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When I Correct Wolfie and He Cowers What Then

I know that I need to tell Wolfie that he is doing something wrong and I am not hitting him or using those shock collars on him, but he is still cowering and hiding in the corner.  I dont want to scare my dog every time he is doing something wrong, but what can I do?

We have faced this situation many times where the Wolfie is overly fearful or has experienced a traumatic experience in his past were a straight correction, even slight, can cause a fearful reaction.  As dog trainers, we are not trying to scare a dog into obedience, we are trying to teach them what is the right thing to do and to build a positive relationship between Wolfie and his owner.

So, lets clean the slate of all those other correction methods and figure out what we can do with Wolfie.  Remember, we still need to show him what is right and wrong...

The bottom line is that we want to use an alternative method than the standard correction to let Wolfie know he is doing something wrong and we will teach him what is right.  As opposed to a correction which we know isnt working on Wolfie, we suggest an alternative method known as a redirection.  We still want to tell Wolfie he is doing something wrong and to teach him what is right, but we will use a more passive method.

First, you need to get a leash and click it on Wolfie during the day.  Take the leash off him and put it back on at random times so Wolfie doesnt associate the leash with a particular event or time of day.  You dont need to hold the leash, let him drag it around with him.  This will eliminate the leash as a special event and turn it into "simple white noise".  Please remember, you can only have the leash on him when someone is home and within earshot of Wolfie.  If he gets it caught on a chair leg, you must be able to release it quickly to no harm will come to Wolfie.

After a few days, Wolfie will be wandering around with the leash and will pay no attention to it.  Now you are ready to begin to use the leash as a tool of behavior modification through redirection.

Here is an example of how this works:

If Wolfie starts to act up such as running around the house like a crazy boy, dont chase him or yell and scream.  Simply approach the end of the leash which is six feet away from him.  Since you are not directly approaching him, you will not be adding to the adrenaline of the moment.  Calmly put your foot on the leash.

Wolfie will stop and look back to see what happened.  He thought he was in control of the room and could do whatever he wanted (run and go nuts).  For some reason, he lost control.  He sees you and you are calm & still, not approaching him, and standing tall.  This is what Wolfie expects in a good leader and teacher.  You passively told Wolfie that he couldnt run and go nuts and he needs to obey you because you are his leader and teacher.

I want to make it clear that you still told Wolfie "no", but you allowed him to come to that conclusion  by defusing the situation in a direction of your choosing.  You broke his focus on doing the wrong thing and drained his adrenaline fueling his inappropriate actions.  The end result is he is now doing what you want him to do.

There are many other nuances to this technique and we would be more than happy to review your specific issues to determine if this educational process would be most appropriate in your situation. For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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The top 6 dog training mistakes you make these mistakes when training dogs

Training dogs is really very simple, if you do not make any errors. The error in the training of dogs is usually because of frustration or just forgetful. You have to do any of these mistakes and efforts to train your dog?

1. Use a different word or clues Command - When you train the dog you should always use the same word or "prompt" in training. The use of a number of different words can confuse your dog and he would not know what it is you want him.

2. Physically punish your dog in the dog training - you hit or slap your dog, he or she will not require you to do or what not to accept it? Physically punish your dog is not only causing your dog is afraid of you or your dog can lead to be aggressive.

3. Cry during training, or - if you want to cry or your dog training efforts at the same time, you defeat the purpose of all together. You want your dog to obey your orders, in your quiet voice. Through yelling, you will only cause confusion for the dog you always get your order or clues in your normal, calm voice. Use a different tone of voice is not the same, or loud shouting.

4. Courses lasting longer than 10-15 minutes - your dogs training should be for 1 0-1 5 minutes. Your dog will not continue his or her attention to you than a longer period of time. You need the training was useful ideas, your dog will be full of great importance for a long time look like a three-year-old child sitting in one place more than 5 minutes.

5. Forget the praise or the treatment of your dog every time he or she follows orders or appropriate behavior - you have to keep in mind, let your dog praise or treatment every time he or she follows orders or agent of the way, you look forward to .

6. Training in a bad mood - if you want to train your dog when you are in a bad mood, a bad day or uncomfortable, your dog will not fully benefit from your efforts and this could lead to the deterioration of you. It can also be confusing your dog always wait for your dogs training very good state of mind.

Training your dog has never been so simple! With SitStayFetch, you can avoid mistakes, it is easy to make and keep on the right track to train your dog. Reviews Web site, visit the dog training - review of the S itStayFetch.

Police dog training is an important and critical part of your dogs life. A specially trained dog is a happy, healthy and safe.

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Dog Training Tips on Canine Communication

I am doing everything I can to get my dog to sit.  I say "Sit!  Sit,sit you crazy dog, sit! Just humor me this one time and put your rear on the ground!  This isn’t funny anymore, now I am getting mad, SIT SIT SIT!"  It’s just not happening....

So how was that for you?  You have run head long into a big difference in the way humans communicate and the way dogs communicate.  We have words, languages, punctuation, antonyms, synonyms, slang, accents, and other ways we verbally communicate.  Multiple people can look at the same thing and describe it using different words and we all can understand exactly what that thing might look like.

Our dog does not have the multiple communication choices that we have.  He does not have a dictionary where the same word might have multiple meanings and a list of other words that mean the same thing.  All he has are the sounds and tones that come out of his mouth.  We might call it whining, growling, or barking.  Those are all the tools that he has when he wants to verbally communicate to other animals.

In order to verbally communicate with our dog, we first have to understand that words are simply sounds to him.  If we want him to understand those sounds, they must be unique, with only one meaning.  For us, this could be equivalent an emergency vehicles siren.  We hear that siren and we know that there is an emergency vehicle nearby.  We look for the vehicle, pull over, and let it by.  The unique sound of the siren invokes a unique response from us.

That is how our dog verbally communicates.  If we want to have our dog sit, we must have a unique sound that whenever he hears it, he always sits.  Most people use "Sit".  And, by the way, "Sit, sit, sit, sit" is a different sound than “sit”.  

So remember, you must use unique sounds with your dog to have him understand you.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Dog Training Tips from Coral Springs When the Family is Crazy

We were at a Dog Training revisit session with a family in Coral Springs last week and their dog that was fine when we had left the first time had gone back to showing the same bad behavior we observed at the beginning of our first session.  The entire family was there for our current visit and we observed that the family dynamics was “nuts”.  Everyone was all over the place.  At one point the mother looked at us and asked “Can our family be making our dog go nuts?”

To paraphrase Charlie Sheen... "Duh, Yes!"

We always try to reinforce the idea that in order to have your dog learn, you must first establish a calm and consistent environment. This will allow your dog have the opportunity to provide focus and allows you to have the opportunity to command that focus.  Your ability to show a passive, assertive nature towards your dog will naturally have him drawn towards you as the one telling him what to do next. 

Guess what, if the environment is full of yelling and screaming, you can’t be focused on your dog and he will naturally draw away from “crazy you”.  What is imperative is that your entire family take a deep breath and “think good thoughts”.  This will provide the essence of what is required to begin the respectful relationship between you and your dog.  This can be really hard to accomplish, but let me provide you with some ideas:

• As a family, you (and I mean all of you) must have a family meeting to discuss how you want your dog to act.  Make a list of rules that you will all agree is correct and you all will agree to enforce.  If you feel that a rule might be too hard for everyone to enforce, change it before you begin.
• Review each rule and discuss how each family member will enforce that rule.  It might be that a sibling just might not engage in a particular act that encourages the inappropriate action.
• Every family member must agree to their tasks and the results they wish to accomplish.  This is not only for them, but for the greater good of the entire family.
• Have every member of the family work with your dog on a daily basis on one or more of the issues your family has identified.  Have them work in teams so that they can make sure that they stay consistent.

As you are doing all this, be sure not to:

·                     Scream your dog

·                     Hit, kick, push, or do anything hurtful or frightening to him

·                     Play rough with him

·                     Give him treats to do what you want him to do.

As we always tell our clients, remain calm and stay consistent.  This might sound really easy to do, but when you have a crazy family; it is hard to put into action.  For more information on this subject or tips on other dog training issues, please call us at (954) 424-0170 or contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in Coral Springs and 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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Ten Training Truisms

1. Dogs are genetically wired to engage in certain behaviors that extend individual longevity and assure continuation of the species. These behaviors include socializing, playing, predation and feeding, guarding resources, defending territory and personal space, vocalizing, digging, chewing, eliminating and reproducing. The goal of training is not to eliminate these behaviors, but to modify their expression so that the dog can fit into our society.
2. There is a narrow window of opportunity when the dog is between 7 weeks and 18 weeks of age that desensitizing a dog to novel situations and teaching them to accept even unusual situations in their daily lives with humans is relatively easy. This process is called socialization. Older dogs can be reprogrammed, but the process is time intensive and takes a great deal of patience on the part of the owner. A problem behavior or behaviors that have been reinforced for 2 or 3 years or more will not be unlearned in 8 weeks.
3. Dogs dont know right vs. wrong. They know pleasant vs. unpleasant. Dogs have no moral compass, as much as we would like to believe in the Hollywood version of dogs like Lassie and Rin Tin Tin.
4. Dogs are very context sensitive in their learning. This means that although they may appear to know a behavior in one location and with one person, they will not generalize the training to a new location or group of people without additional training. A large part of training is teaching the dog, from the ground up, in many different locations.
5. Dogs do not have an agenda (See #3 and #4 above), although they do express emotions like fear and joy. They live in the moment. Dogs do not seek revenge upon their owners by peeing on the carpet, digging in the garden, or chewing up a prize piece of furniture (see #1 above).
6. All dogs bite (see #1 above). They just have different triggers and thresholds for biting.
7. Dogs are social animals. To isolate them from meaningful human and/or animal contact is to create or exacerbate problem behaviors.
8. A minor punishment, such as verbal discouragement, usually serves as an attention reinforcement to all but the most sensitive dogs.
9. Non-lethal punishment is usually a temporary "fix" for problem behaviors. If the underlying reinforcement for the undesired behavior is not changed, and the dog is not trained into a new, desirable behavior, then the dog will return to engage in the previously learned undesirable behavior.
10. There is no such thing as "permanent" behavior change or "cure", even in the best trained dogs. Desired behaviors must be variably reinforced and undesired behaviors must be ignored to maintain a given level of training. Training and maintaining good manners must be a lifelong commitment on the part of the owner.

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Stupid Things We Humans Do When Walking Wolfie

I just dont know... Sometimes when I walk Wolfie, everything is fine and we have a great walk.  Other times, the walk is just a nightmare. Is there something I am missing?

Many of us think that walking our dog is just throwing a collar and leash on him and then "away we go".  This is not the case.  As dog owners, our dogs need to look up to us as the ones that are keeping them safe and caring for their needs.  We have responsibilities and tasks in order to accomplish this.

When we walk Wolfie, he must feel safe and understand that, whatever happens, we are in charge and he will be fine.  Wolfie must be focused on us to provide him the proper signals and we must be aware of the changing environment of the walk in order to provide Wolfie with the security he needs.

I would like to give you a scenario of a walk and what you should be doing in order to have a successful and productive experience...

• No Extension Leashes.  I have commented on this over and over again.  The extension leash only allows Wolfie to be away from you without providing you focus and you providing him direction.  Get a regular, six foot leash!
• Leashie, Leashie, Walkie, Walkie, Crazy, Crazy.  If Wolfie goes crazy every time you pull out the leash for a walk, you already have a nutty dog before you begin.  Put the leash on at different times during the day while you are home.  Just drop it on the ground and let him walk around with it.  Wolfie will very quickly learn that the leash doesnt always mean he is going on a walk.  He will no longer react to the leash in a crazy manner and you will have an easier time getting it on him and starting your walk.
• No Running Out The Front Door.  The beginning of the walk is not the start of a race.  If it were, we would call it a "race" and not a "walk".  Go to the front door and have Wolfie sit.  Open the door and step out first.  Once you are outside, invite Wolfie out and tell him to sit again.  Once he is calm and sitting, you can start your walk.
• Wolfie Watches You.  Have Wolfie on a slightly loose leash walking by your side.  If he is walking by your side, you only have to give him about a foot of leash to allow it to be loose.  We want him to be in position to have you in his peripheral vision so that he always knows you are there to keep him safe.
• Be the AWAC.  Always be scanning the neighborhood ahead of you and behind you for potential diversions that might make Wolfie feel unsafe or spike his adrenaline.  Squirrels, neighbors with their dogs, bicycles, large trucks, and gardeners with leaf blowers are a few examples of potential issues. Direct Wolfie away from them and capture his focus as they pass.  If needed, go in a different direction or make a large circle around them.  You want to allow Wolfie to experience them from a distance or stance where he feels safe.  It is your job to make that happen.
• Sniffie, Potty, Play Time.    A walk is more than going around the block until you get back home.  It is a time to bond with Wolfie.  The important fact is that you are in charge of Wolfies actions.  Stop and have Wolfie sit.  Then give him a command like "Free" or "Go Potties" indicating that you are allowing him to engage in an action he wishes.  Remember, you are allowing him to do what he wants.  You are still in charge.  When the "free time" is over, have him come to you and sit.  When you are ready, give him the command to walk and continue your trek.
• Oh, Can I Pet Your Dog?  If Wolfie is a cute dog, other people will always want to pet him.  Remember, you are in charge and must keep Wolfie safe.  
• If the other person is overly animated, they cant pet Wolfie. 
• If you get the "heebie jeebies"  from the other person, they cant pet Wolfie.
• If you see Wolfie back up or put his tail between his legs, they cant pet Wolfie.  
• If the person seems fine to you, you can invite Wolfie to approach them.  If Wolfie doesnt easily walk to them on a loose leash, no petting.  
• Have the person put the back of his hand down low and allow Wolfie to smell him.  If Wolfie is still calm, ask the person to take his hand around Wolfies chest and slowly stroke the back of his neck.  
• Never let the person move his hand directly over Wolfies face or lean over Wolfie.  
• When you are done, have the person stand still and allow Wolfie to move away.
• Arriving Home.  When you get back home, it is not the end of a race.  Have Wolfie sit at the front door.  Open the door and step through.  Call Wolfie to come inside and sit.  Close the door and release Wolfie from the sit.

Your walk is now done.  See, there are a lot of things you have to remember and do on a walk.  When it comes to walking with our dogs, it is far more involved than just a "lets go".  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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More Quick Tips When Walking Your Puppy

There are so many things I have to remember when walking my puppy.  What is a quick safety tip that I could be overlooking?

Down here in South Florida it is hot and humid most of the year.  Because of this, we have a lot of standing water and mold.  Little puppies love to sniff and lick just about anything.  The one thing you dont want them to do is to ingest mold and run the risk of stomach infections, loose stools, or even worse.  Here are a few, simple suggestions you might employ while walking your little puppy, Wolfie:

• Always be aware of your environment and avoid standing water or really dirty sidewalks.
• Walk at a brisk pace and stop only when you think it is safe for Wolfie to sniff and just be a puppy.
• Dont just blindly look off into the distance when you are walking.  Always keep your eye on Wolfie to make sure he is keeping his nose and mouth off the ground.
• Walk Wolfie on a short leash.  This takes away a great deal of the opportunity for him to get into trouble.  It also make is easier for you to keep him in control.

Always be observant of Wolfie when you are home.  If you see he is having loose stool, becomes listless, or his eating habits change, give your Veterinarian a call right away and discuss the problem.  It is our responsibility to keep our little puppy safe for his entire life and part of that is just being a smart and observant leader.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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5 Tips To Remember When Teaching The Come Command

1. Use it sparingly. When you overuse “Come”, puppies stop paying attention. When your puppy understands the command, avoid using it all the time. Say it infrequently and make it extremely rewarding.

2. Do not chase your puppy if he does not respond. Practice on-lead for now.

3. Never call for negatives. If you have to groom, bathe, or isolate your puppy, do not use “Come.” Also avoid using it when you are angry. You will only scare your puppy

out.

4. If your puppy runs away from you, do not repeatedly call or correct him.

5. Use a different command to bring your puppy inside. Coming in from outdoors is a big drag, no more fun than being left alone or ignored. Using the “Come” command when you want to bring him in makes it a negative command. Instead, pick a command like “Inside.” Start using it on-lead when bringing your puppy into the house. Quickly offer a treat or ball toss.

gotten from http://information.i-love-dogs.com 

see also Dog Breeds

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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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What to Do When Your Dog Constantly Destroys Their Fluffy Bed

Sometimes the best training tips arent training tips at all!

Let’s think about this for just a moment.  Our dog loves to lie in the rocks by the pool or on the marble floor by the back door.  Is there any reason why we need to provide him with a fluffy bed in his crate or in his corner?

If you haven’t come to the same conclusion, the answer is “No”.  In most instances, your dog destroys their bed, in their crate or outside, because of boredom.  If you constantly replace the bed, you are reinforcing the destructive behavior that is growing in your dog.  If you continue this process, your dog will move on to destroying your couch and chair.  This is not a good thing.

Here comes the easy answer that took me several years of case studies to recognize. 

Remove the bed and allow your dog to sleep on the ground.  Don’t worry; he won’t hate you for this.  You have simply severed the association of “chew my bed, chew the furniture”.

If you have any questions about this, we are more than happy to respond.  Please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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When I Get Home at Night Wolfie Always Wants All My Attention

When I get home at night, Wolfie is right there at the front door (like I assume most dogs are).  I give him a big pet and hug, but after that he wont leave me alone.  How do I tell him "enough"?

After a long day at work where we were probably yelled at by our boss or had a customer cancel an order, or just had a hectic day, it is always great to come home to someone who is really excited to see you.  So, what do we do?  We immediately respond to Wolfies request for attention.  We pet him or hug him and then "try" to walk in the house to put down our stuff or change our clothes.  

The problem is that Wolfie doesnt want to stop asking us for "hugs and kisses".  It finally gets to the point of being annoying to us or the rest of the family and we get mad at Wolfie.   ...And we really didnt want to get mad at him.  Wolfie is our best friend and he wasnt trying to make us mad.  

The problem is that we forgot that Wolfie is a dog and needs to be treated like a dog so he understands what is going on and what to expect.  Wolfie sees his family as his pack.  In a pack, there is the leader and the rest of the pack (the followers).  The leader makes all the decisions for the pack.  Everything must be his idea.  The leader will be the one to engage and to direct the pack.  

When you come home and open that door, if Wolfie is coming up to you, he is engaging you and requesting that you pet him and do what he wants to do.  Being a human, you think nothing of it, and you pet him.  You have just allowed Wolfie to tell you what he wants you to do.  You have just passively admitted that Wolfie is the leader and you, as a pack member, are obligated to do whatever he requests.  That is why Wolfie wont leave you alone.  He has more stuff for you to do.

So, what do we do about it?  We practice passive dominance with Wolfie when we first come home.  We open the door and ignore Wolfie.  Whatever he is doing, we ignore and walk past him.  We put down our brief case, put our keys on the table, get a glass of water, or anything else that we want to do.  This sends a clear message to Wolfie that we are not engaging in his request.  We are not telling him that he is the leader.

Now, WE call Wolfie over to us.  We can now pet him and greet him.  The major difference between this way and Wolfies way is that everything is now on our terms.  Wolfie is doing what WE want him to do.  In this scenario, Wolfie is now giving us the leadership role and he is assuming the role of a member of the pack.  We also need to remember that when we call Wolfie to us, we use a calm voice and remain tall.  This uses natural, canine body language to further tell Wolfie that we are the leader and he needs to respect us.

Please give this a shot and I am sure you will see that your nightly arrival at home will be far more enjoyable.  For more information, please contact The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Why It Is Important That I Train My Dog

I have so many friends that send their dogs off to a canine boot camp to have the trainers there train their dog. I have been thinking about this, but is it really a good idea?  I am not sure that I want someone else to be the leader of Wolfie!

I know that there are the dog owners that dont have the time to train their dog or just dont want to train their dog.  As we can all attest, there is so little time in this world and finding the time to train our dog just might not be there.

Let me answer this question by coming at it from another angle.  First, the reason that I got Wolfie was to have the relationship of unending love and complete trust.  I want Wolfie to know what is right and wrong and I want him to respect me as his ultimate provider.

To accomplish this, Wolfie and I need a great deal of face time.  As he does something wrong, I need to clearly let him know that his action was inappropriate.  I also need to bond with him by engaging in safe and stimulating play activities.  I must never "trick him" into doing something that might scare or hurt himself.

I must provide stimulating activities that will teach him actions I need him to perform.  I need him to "come" when he needs to be by my side.  I need him to "sit" when I need him calm and respectful.  I need him to "stay" so that he will be safe when I need to answer the door or to allow an activity to occur without his involvement.

I need Wolfie to understand that whatever I ask him to do or wherever I take him, he will be safe.  If a situation arises where he might feel his safety in question, he will look towards me to resolve the situation.

If I can accomplish these things, I will have a great dog.  I will have built the bond, trust, and respect that is needed for our relationship.  The only way that this will occur is if I am Wolfies teacher.  I must be the one in charge.  I must be the one that is always guiding and showing Wolfie the proper direction.

Sending Wolfie off to a Canine Boot Camp with someone else doing the training just doesnt accomplish what needs to be done.  The relationship between Wolfie and me is my responsibility.  Wolfie and I will have a great relationship because of the time that Wolfie and I have invested. For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

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Again Wolfie isnt Listening What Now

It is so strange, sometimes Wolfie seems to be listening and sometimes it is like we just arent there!  I wish that it wasnt quite so difficult to get him to be a good dog that listens and obeys.  What could we be doing wrong? 

As dog trainers, we hear this a lot.  Many times it isnt the problem that Wolfie isnt listening, he could be intently listening, but not understanding.  From a canine behavioral standpoint, there could be many reasons for this and I would like to discuss of those in this blog article.

Dogs learn and respond through simple consistency.  This is established by setting up an environment of simple, repetitive rules and actions.  If we expect Wolfie to be off the furniture, we must never allow him on the furniture for any reason.  To take it one step further, nobody can allow him to be on the furniture.

This process extends far beyond being on my favorite sofa, it is a process that we must universally apply when telling Wolfie what he can and can not do.  If I have a rule that Wolfie cant jump, every other member of the family must also apply that rule equally.  Wolfie cant jump, period.  I dont care which family member he is with, he cant jump.

One family member cant have a different set of rules for Wolfie.  Again, everyone must be on the same page.  The best way to accomplish this is to sit down, agree what everyone wants Wolfie to do and then write it down so everyone is clear.

So why wasnt Wolfie listening?  It was because you were all telling him different things.  He couldnt process that because you appeared inconsistent.  Have everyone keep the same rules and you will see that Wolfie will begin to listen and obey because he finally understands exactly what you want.  For more information, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida.

       

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