Puppy Training 3 Management Routines as a Training Tool

Dogs thrive on routine. Sometimes unwanted behaviors can be prevented by adopting regular routines that dogs become accustomed to. While training specific behaviors is important in molding a young dog into a great companion, management also plays a major role.

Roscoe, a 17-week old chocolate Labrador Retriever, arrives at TLC Dog Training Puppy Boot Camp for an intensive two-week training adventure. Roscoe is a sweet puppy, but he is very rowdy, and he must touch everyone that he meets with his BIG paws. Roscoe lives with a family with two boys, ages 7 and 10. The adults in Roscoes family have had Labradors before, and they are committed to teaching Roscoe how to be great family companion, but sometimes lack the time and the expertise to deal with rowdy Roscoes less than stellar behavior.

At TLC Dog Training, Roscoe lives in a crate in the house. When he comes into the main living area, he is on leash and closely supervised so that he doesnt have an opportunity to have a potty accident. He also has a large 10 x 10 outdoor pen, complete with a cot for sunning. Mornings begin around 7:00 a.m., when Roscoe and as many as two other dogs also in for training are turned outside for their morning bathroom break.

While the dogs are outside, trainer Leslie Carpenter prepares the dogs training treats for the morning training sessions. Leslie returns the dogs to their crates after 20 minutes, and she then takes each dog from his or her crate and works each dog. Puppies like Roscoe train for about 10 - 15 minutes, while dogs older than 6 months may train for 20-30 minutes.

Morning training sessions include walks along a country lane with many distractions such as horses, other dogs, slow moving cars, and scents of wildlife. Roscoe will learn to sit quietly before he may leave his crate or pen, to sit quietly for greeting, and to sit quietly before proceeding through a gate. At first he doesnt know enough to wait in a doorway while Leslie walks through first, but over the two-week training period, he will gradually learn that "SIT" means sit and stay until he is told to do something else like "LETS GO" through the gate, and "DOWN" means down and stay until he is released or asked to do something else. Roscoe will also learn to come when called and to walk on a loose leash.

After the training sessions, Roscoe and the other dogs return to their crates to cogitate on what they have learned while Leslie prepares their breakfast. Fifteen to twenty minutes after the dogs return to their crates following training, Leslie feeds them in their crates and gives them about 20 minutes to eat. Then she picks up their bowls and takes them to their outside runs to enjoy the remainder of the morning.

Young puppies like Roscoe need to be fed three times per day, so about 12:00 p.m., Leslie returns the puppies to their crates and feeds them their noon meal. Older dogs receive a biscuit and remain outdoors to enjoy the Carolina sun. About twenty minutes after eating, the puppies return to their outdoor runs.

Around 4:00 p.m. Leslie prepares the afternoon training treats. Roscoe and the other dogs return to their crates and are then worked one-by-one in their afternoon training sessions. As each dog completes his afternoong training session, he returns to his crate to reflect on his training session. About 20-30 minutes after training, Leslie feeds each dog his evening ration.

The dogs then go outside for an individual romp in the paddock, followed by lounging time on the cot in their individual pens. Since Roscoes owners have indicated that they would like for him to have interactive playtime with other dogs, he and a compatible canine companion are given about 30 minutes for interactive playtime in the paddock.

Roscoe and his friend come into the house around 9:00 p.m. for final biscuits and bedtime.

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Dog Training Tips from Weston Florida about Walking Your Dog

I was at a dog training session in Weston the other day and the client and I were walking his dog down the street.  We were walking on a short leash and everything was going great.  This was a larger dog and the client was right handed, so we decided to walk the dog on the client’s right side.  As we were about half way through the dog walking exercise, a neighbor approached us and said he was doing it all wrong.  He told my client that all dogs should be walked on the left side.

We politely acknowledged the neighbor and tried to get away from him as quickly as possible.  When we were out of earshot, my client asked me if there was a correct side to walk the dog.  My answer was “It depends”.

I always tell my clients that it doesnt necessarily depend if they walk their dog on their left or their right unless they are going to be in dog shows.  In a dog show, you walk your dog in a counter-clockwise circle around the judge.  You have to keep the dog on the inside of the circle (on your left) so that the judge can easily view and grade your dog.  If you don’t plan to be in dog shows, who cares…

With that piece of information, let me add some general tips about picking the right side for you and walking your dog.

• You pick the side you want to have your dog on when you walk.  You can pick the left or right side, it doesn’t matter.  The important thing is consistency in the walking process.  When you finally pick your side, you will always walk your dog on that side.  This allows your dog to establish a perspective of where he should be while walking with you and will make the entire experience far more enjoyable.
• If you have a big dog, walk him on your dominant side.  If you need to correct him, it is important that you do it from your strong side.  (i.e. Are your right handed or left handed?)
• Once you have picked a side for your dog during the walk, everyone will walk him on the same side.  If you allow different friends and family members to walk him on different sides, it will add to his confusion and extend the time it will take him to “walk well”.
• He should always walk by your side.  When he walks ahead of you, it is far harder to have him obey you when you encounter a distraction such as a duck or squirrel.
• (My pet complaint!)  Use a regular six foot leash when walking.  NO EXTENSION LEASHES!

Follow these simple suggestions and your "walkies" with your dog will be a great experience! For more information about dog training, canine obedience, or dog behavior, please contact us at The Best Dog Trainers in South Florida or call us at (954) 424-0170.

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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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Getting Wolfie to Stay

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Dont Tase me Bro

Last week I played phone tag with a gentleman about training his dog. I finally got in touch with him late that evening.

He has a rescue dog from breed rescue. I was really excited because the dog was of a breed that I had as a child. I really like that breed and have not had one in to train yet. I really want to work with that breed.

He told me they had already picked a trainer. I asked him if he minded telling me who he picked. There is one trainer in this town who is an out and out crook. I figured if he had picked this trainer I would do my best to talk him out of it.

He told me it was the chain that uses shock collars. I asked him if he understood what shock collars did. He said he did. I offered my standard free demonstration and asked him to reconsider using a system that gives an electric shock. I told him to read my blog about shock collars. He said he would and then call me the next day to arrange to come in.

He never called.

Losing client to someone else is no big deal. But this one really got to me. I figure if you go to the crook you get what you deserve. But I couldn’t get over why someone warned about what shock collars do would still chose that method.

I finally figured out why it bothered me so much.

I was one of the first deputies on my department to carry a Taser. When we first got them there were not enough of them for everyone to have one so they selected certain people to carry them from each shift. I believe the criteria was that you were known to be a $%*# magnet.

As part of the training you had to be hit with the Taser. I had spent more than one end of shift in the emergency room over the years. Plus I had both back and neck surgery. I understand pain. But when they turned it on, it was the most excruciating pain I have ever experienced. I would have bought the operator a car to turn it off. And I am talking a good car, like a Rolls.

Maybe we should require owners to get tased before they are allowed to use a shock collar.

Doug

PS. The dog in the picture was not shocked, but it was taught to trust.

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Bertie Dog Training Outdoor summer course dates now available

Outdoor training at both Stonton Wyviille and Brockshill Country Park, Oadby have now been finalised so please contact us to book a place. Our summer courses have proved very popular and to enable people to go on holiday we are again offering two short 5 week courses as well as the fast track training. Discounts will also be on offer for those joining the intermediate classes.

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Crate Training Basics

There is a wide range of free dog training tips online. They include the basics as well as some of the more advance obedience training. But the first training each of us is faced with is potty training a puppy. One effective way that worked well with my dog is crate training.

To a dog, a crate can be like his own special home inside your home. A safe place, a den of sorts, that your dog can go to when he or she wants to feel secure. Some people think that putting your dog in a crate is cruel, but it is only cruel if you do it in an abusive manner such as leaving your dog in there for more than a few hours. In fact, crate training your dog properly has many advantages for both you and your pet and should be something that you incorporate into your dog training plans. I thought I would never do it until it was explained to me.

While some dogs might take to a crate right away, others might be a little leery of this strange object that you want them to step inside of. The most important aspect of crate training is that you must never force your dog into the crate. Instead, you must make your dog want to enter it of his own volition. If done properly, you will find that your dog actually loves the crate and goes there on his own to sleep and “get away."

Introducing Your Dog To The Crate

The first thing you need to do is “introduce” your dog to the crate. Take one of his favorite toys or a treat and “hand out” by the crate so that he simply gets used to the crate being in the room. Play with him near the crate, repeating this for several days. You should start off with the crate in the spot you want to keep it in and this should be somewhere that is away from the traffic areas of the home but in a room that the family spends time in. You don’t want your pet to feel isolated and lonely in a crate that is way off somewhere where no one ever goes!

Getting Your Dog Into The Crate

Next, you want to get the dog to go into the crate on his own. One way to do that is to “bribe” him by putting his favorite toy or a treat inside. Don’t put it too far in to begin with, just enough so he has to stick his head in to get it.

You’ll probably find that he pokes his head in and then backs out right away. That’s OK, just be sure to pet and praise him so he feels good about the whole thing.

You want to keep at this exercise every day, gradually putting the toy or treat in farther and farther. You also might want to be sure that you have a comfortable dog bed in there just in case he wants to try it out for a short nap.

Eventually, your dog will get used to going in the crate. When you see him in there, sit beside the crate and pet your dog while he is inside. This will let him know that being in the crate is “good." Always keep the door open wide at this point.

Getting Your Dog To Stay In The Crate

Keep repeating the above steps while trying to get your dog to spend more and more time in the crate. When he seems quite comfortable with it, close the door but do not latch it. Leave it unlocked so that he can nose his way out if he feels uncomfortable.

Eventually, your dog will come to love his crate and will probably retreat there if he is feeling insecure as well as to sleep. If you are going to close the door, be sure you provide him with fresh water at all times and never leave your dog locked in the crate for extended amounts of time.

It was amazing how fast our Maltipoo got accoustomed to the crate. It was only a day or two, but every dog is different.

This of course is just one step in your training ventures. Some people, especially first time dog owners, believe they need a professional to train them and their dog. But there are a lot of free dog training tips online. Youll be surprised how easy and rewarding it is when you do it yourself.

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