Clicker Training a Mouse

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Make Your Own Interactive Treat Dispenser At Home

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Christmas Decorations and Your Dog

Dangerous Christmas Decorations

As the holiday nears and we start celebrating by putting up our traditional decorations, we must think of our pets (not only dogs) and hazards that could save your pets life and also save a costly trip to the vet.

Tinsel & Ribbons

This is very dangerous for your pets and very appealing to them as well. Tinsel and ribbons can cause serious intestinal damage as one end can get stuck while the other end is pulled into the intestine as it contracts, the contractions can cause it to saw through the intestine. If not caught in a timely manner it can cause infection of the tummy cavity which can lead to death.

Fake Christmas Tree

The wire branches on artificial trees can be chewed off and swallowed for a aggressive chewer. Ingesting flexible wire could lead to severe and catastrophic results by tearing the oesophagus, choking, ripping the stomach and many more problems.

Glass Ornaments

All ornaments can be dangerous to pets but glass ones can be the most dangerous, not only for ingesting but breaking. Dogs tails and kitty paws can knock ornaments off the branch and if you have hard floors that glass ornament will break and can be eaten or stepped on, especially if it's at night or while you're at work and not able to clean up right away. Stick with home-made salt dough, hard large plastic or sturdy ornaments that can't be accidently shaken or knocked off.

Lights

Lights are VERY dangerous mainly for chewers and PUPPIES! Avoid lights on the tree or raise your tree up so the puppy cannot reach any strand of light, if the pup was to chew on the strand of lights while plugged in it would electrocute him or her. 

Stockings Held By Weights

Many people are hanging their family and pets stockings on weights placed on-top of the mantle. This can be dangerous for your pet if they were to decide that a hanging stocking looked like a fun toy, pulled on it and had that weight land on them.

Fake Snow

This means that cotton fluff used to decorate mantles and other surfaces as well as the spray snow for the windows. The fluff can be ingested that could cause a blockage in the intestine and the spray snow has so many chemicals in it that can cause your pet to become very ill from licking at it.

Tips to help have a safe Christmas:

* Used bitter apple spray or even essential oils such as (eucalyptus or peppermint) to deter your animals from the Christmas tree or other items you're not sure if they will take a liking to or not.

*Train your dog to be around the tree and reward for walking away from it. Clicking and rewarding.

*Don't leave any chocolate or cooked turkey out on counters, chocolate can poison your animals and ingesting cooked turkey bones can cause your animal to choke or cause the intestine to rip or block.

Remember to enjoy this time of year with your pet and family, don't lock the over excited dog up just to make it easier :) Train.

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Senior Dogs Article

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Who Says You Need A Kid At the Playground

I thought I would share this funny clip of my girl on a rainy day, doing one of her favourite things.....playing at the playground!

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TOP 5 Recall Mistakes Owners Make

Often when I meet a new client with an older dog, I always hear the same complaint, "my dog won't come when I call him".

This is probably one of the biggest problems owners face, when actually it is one of the EASIEST to train. But what happens when you train a recall but still having problems? Look below to see if you've made one or all the typical recall mistakes.

First off, I want you to shake off the unrealistic idea that your dog should come to you......just because you say so. This is unfair and honestly just plain silly.  Now you've heard me say it before and I will say it again, dog's will always do what is reinforcing to them, so if you're not better then another dog, why the heck would the dog want to come to you? Yes, you could intimidate the poor dog and that dog would soon become depressed and even aggressive (depending on what form of intimidation you used), he would only come to you because you've given him no other choice, it's not like he wants to come to you, his body may be there but his mind is elsewhere.

I can teach you how to avoid recall mistakes and have success with your dog, you will have your dog running to you happily over and over again. Doesn't that sound great?



Mistake #1
Don't call your dog to you then end the fun.
Ex: Your dog is at a field playing with some dog's, you call the dog over and he comes back to you (horray!) Now you put a leash on the dog and leave, (booooooo!) You just associated "come" to "your fun will end!"

Mistake #2
Never punish your dog for not coming.
If you punish your dog for not coming right away and taking his time, you just taught the dog that when he does finally come (which is good) he gets in trouble. So tell me why he would want to come back to you?

Mistake #3
Don't put your dog in situations off leash where if you need to call him he will be too distracted to listen.
You have to work up to those distractions, you can't bring a dog to a dog park and expect a recall if the dog can't even come inside your home with no distractions. You must train in a no distraction environment, once you have success there, move to a low distraction environment, once you have success there you can move to a higher distraction environment and so on. With every success you move to a more challenging environment.

Mistake #4
Don't approach your dog when saying "come".
What you're actually doing is using body pressure to push your dog away from you. Either A) stand in one spot and let the dog come all the way to you (which you should train) or B) walk/run the opposite way to entice the dog to follow you.

Mistake #5
Don't over use the command.
Holy moly! People over use the recall and actually desensitize their dog to the cue. If you repeat it over and over again, you will ALWAYS have to repeat it. Only say the cue ONCE and loud enough for the dog to hear you, if the dog didn't come or even look your way you know he A) can't hear you B) too distracting of an environment and you need to take a step back in training.

Any dog that you have trained a recall to mean wonderful things happen when this "come" word is said , that dog will come running to you. It's all about reinforcing the good behaviour so much that the dog anticipates what is to come when he comes to you. After much training you don't even need to use food rewards or toy rewards, the reward is you. But that takes time to get there and a lot of hard work. But if you love and care for your dog, you know it's worth all the hard work.

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Doggy Tips - Halloween Doorbell

The Dreaded DOORBELL!

Instead of locking your dog up so he or she can bark by themselves and learn that it's fun, train your dog the quiet cue.

1. Door bell rings
2. Dog barks
3. You say "quiet"
4. Once the dog quiets down
5. Reward with a treat

Repeat with every trick-or-treater. By the end of the night you'll have a tired pooch that knows a new command.

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Wait At Door

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Companies That Test On Animals

This post isn't quite relevant to training but it does have something to do with dogs and other animals.

I have always wondered which companies tested their products on animals, now I know through this:

http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdotest.pdf

This link will take you to lists of companies like

• Blue Buffalo 
• Aveeno
• Johnson & Johnson
• Lysol
• Oral-B
• Swifter

Here is a list of companies that DON'T test on animals.

http://www.mediapeta.com/peta/PDF/companiesdonttest.pdf

Help spread the word so we can stop supporting these companies and the torture they put animals through.

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Understanding Aggression Part 2 - Types Of Aggression

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Doggy Tips

Did you know that kibble shapes aren't just randomly picked?

Kibbles are designed and shaped in a way to better help your dog clean it's teeth and chew.

Larger kibble can help your dog not eat as much due to the fact that your dog is forced to chew the kibble before swallowing and can actually lead to your dog feeling more full.

Smaller kibble is great for dogs who are picky eaters as it is easier and quicker to chew so it encourages the dog to eat more.

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Understanding Aggression Part 1 - Stress

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Training Young!

Video and comment made from a viewer: (you may need to click the link to watch it on Youtube)

"Your videos are the reason I started clicker training in the first place, and where I get ideas for new things to teach Willow. People are very surprised that my puppy is so eager to listen and obey. You and Luna are very motivational to me. :)"

This video was the highlight of my week. I absolutely LOVE to see video's of anyone who trains with PRT then show off what you've taught. Keep 'em coming people!

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How Dog's Learn

I realized through a client of mine recently, that many people do not know exactly how their dog learns. This post is to help everyone understand the learning stages when training their dog.

Below is a diagram of the stages and distracting phases all dogs must work through.

PLEASE CLICK THE PICTURE FOR ENLARGED VIEW

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Off Leash Anyone

Your Guide to Off Leash Walks

Every single person wants to be able to have their dog off leash and walk with them or keep them close by in some environment, well I will give you the tools you need to succeed with this.

**WARNING**

For anyone who is looking for a quick "how to", this isn't it- there's no such thing.

Basic Foundation Skills Needed to Start:

• Strong bond with your dog
• How to walk properly ON LEASH - important*
• Solid recall "come" cue with distractions
• Friendly with other dogs and people
• Is not a flighty dog (runs when scared)
• Has impulse control 

BOND WITH YOUR DOG

The most important factor before any obedience cues is your bond with your dog, you cannot take a dog off leash if you do not spend quality time with the pooch. Dog's that do not spend time with their owners learn that everything else in the environment is much more reinforcing and fun so they will not listen to you or even pay attention to your whereabouts.

LOOSE LEASH WALKING

I'm sure many of you are saying "I know a dog that can't walk on leash and walks great off leash", which is true in some cases, but in many if the dog isn't listening on leash, chances are he won't listen off leash.

RECALL "come"

I like to teach my clients a recall from day one and stress that if you ever want to teach your dog to be off leash you must start a recall from the beginning and keep it reinforced all the way up until 1-2 yrs of age. This is a bomb proof recall, meaning your dogs body will react before his brain does, it's amazing what any species does through muscle memory.

BE FRIENDLY

Your dog will have to be socialized and not have any extreme fears of other dogs or people as this could definitely back-fire on you, even if your dog has amazing obedience skills. I'm not saying your dog can't be shy or timid of other dogs or people, just make sure your dog is not an aggressor (meaning, your dog will bark at the other dog to leave, and if the other dog doesn't....he'll go make them). 

FLIGHTY DOGS

When I say this, I'm meaning dogs that run away the instant they feel nervous or threatened. These dogs can get hurt and are dangerous to themselves. The problem lies within the dog's emotional response, if fight or flight is triggered, your dog will react purely on survival and could potentially run far away as their adrenalin is pumping and not look back until it's too late and they're lost. Flight dogs tend to not ever be able to be off leash just because you can't trust some stranger or dog to not want to say hello and trigger your dog to run. You can definitely bring a flight response lower with counter conditioning exercises but they usually tend to still stay very hesitant around certain people or dogs. 

IMPULSE CONTROL

What I mean by this is your dog could really want to chase that squirrel but won't, this is very hard for dog's who have a high prey drive (terriers, collies, pointers etc), unless you have done impulse control with them. You never know what could be lurking around the corner, a squirrel, running scared cat, a bird? You need to be able to know your dog will not take off running and leave you in the dust. That dog has to be trained that when he see's "prey" that he can look but not go and wait for the cue from the owner (which we never give with live animals unless you're herding or hunting).

GUIDE ON HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DOG TO WALK OFF LEASH

Step #1 - Clicker Train Your Dog - this makes it so much easier!
Follow the link to learn about clicker training and how to get your dog started. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QzQJZU6RwkU

Step #2 - Start Off Easy
Once your dog has the basics plus a fantastic recall indoors you can start taking your dog to a off leash trail (not an off leash dog park), where the distractions are there but the dangers are pretty far. You can even work at a big empty field that is miles away from traffic sources.

Step #3 - Attention Game (teaching a default behaviour which means no cue given)
Take your dog's favorite food with you.

Stand in one spot and let your dog off leash (remember he must have a good recall incase you need to call him back to you). Stand there and wait, the instant the dog looks in your direction click! If your dog is properly clicker trained, he should run to you for his reward, then send him off to sniff or do something. Repeat over and over.

Step #4 - Creating A Far Enough Distance
This means, the length you feel comfortable with your dog away from you. Luna's is about 20-30 feet from me.
When you dog has reached the distance you are comfortable with, STOP moving and wait. Your dog should not be able to hear your foot steps and come rushing back to you. Click and reward for coming back on their own.
After a few times your dog should be able to walk a large distance and when he no longer hears foot steps, he will stop to look back, this is where you will click and go reward the dog, then send him on his merry way.

After doing this for a period of time (every dog is different) your dogs body will learn to stop at a certain distance from you and check in, becoming muscle memory!

This video is where you will see Step #3 and Step #4 put together and have your results after time

Step #5 - Heel
Whenever you are walking off leash, it is always important to have a heel with your dog incase the passing dog is aggressive or the people are terrified of dogs. To teach your dog a heel please follow this video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1uW3qWMKeI.

Here is a video of Luna's heel in work as we approach a person and his two dogs. Notice how I release Luna as the dog comes charging over, I want to allow Luna the freedom to choose what she wants to do with the strange dog rather then holding her in a heel while this dog comes over.

 

It takes a lot of time and patience to be able to walk with your dog off leash in all types of environments. But you should be very courteous to other people and how they would feel about your dog being off leash. It is our jobs as responsible dog owners to make other people feel comfortable around dogs, showing them how well trained a dog can be, they're not all crazy and disobedient.

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My Journey and Luna’s Story

My Journey and Luna’s Story

When people read about my training methods and I know what many people think, “this is way too soft of training, my dog should listen to me and know I’m boss”, I thought the same way 3 years ago, probably more then some people. I’m not a trainer who thinks that there is one way to train a dog and that is it, that’s false, there are a thousand and one ways to train a dog, and the problem is, finding a method and techniques that work for YOUR dog. Each individual dog is different, every dog learns somewhat different, some dogs are sensitive and if you so much as raise your voice they look like you just hit them, then there are dogs that you yell and scream at and give leash corrections and these dogs don’t even flinch.  If you were to use a leash correction on a sensitive dog, you would break the dog, break your bond and then spiral downwards from there, you would have numerous amounts of side effect behaviours (aggression, fears, behaviour suppression, anxiety) from the training and ultimately put yourself in a worse position then you were to start. This is what happen to Luna and me.

I had always learnt that you the person must be in control of your dog, your dog is a dog, and if you assert yourself as ‘the person in charge’ the dog will follow, easy peasy. Well, this is what I did from day one with Luna, I was VERY hard on her (a firm leader like the books tell you), any behaviour that I saw as wrong or inappropriate I would correct with either a verbal punishment or physical (leash correction, snout tap – your typical traditional punishment techniques to let her know it is unacceptable). Luna would bark at a person, in my mind I thought “how dare she bark at this nice person, what a rude dog, what an embarrassment to me!” so I would correct her, she would stop then continue again and again and again. What I didn’t realise what I was doing was creating a worse fear in her, I didn’t realise she had a true FEAR of strangers, I thought she was just barking because the person wore a funny hat or looked funny and that was her way to let me know. Luna was terrified, frustrated, and incredibly anxious and stressed out! She was doing exactly what her body and mind was telling her to do in order to survive, her survival instincts kick in (adrenalin released – fight or flight) and I’m standing there creating more negative associations by trying to correct her and suppress her natural reaction to a fearful situation.  Her barking increased with each person we would meet and yes she would warm up to some people but there was that lingering issue of “arrggg, she’s gonna let loose on this person” and trying to avoid certain streets and area’s.

At the same time, Luna being about 6 months old she started showing aggressive behaviours to strange dogs. She had a traumatic experience when she was 10 weeks old, she was run down by 3 Husky’s, toppled over and over, screaming while running away from me. This event imprinted on her mind that whenever a dog was running behind her triggered her to react with defensive aggression, lashing out at the dog who just wanted to play! I knew in my gut that it was a fear but I was taught to correct that behaviour because she’s being dominant –“ not allowing another dog to chase her, true alpha behaviour” the media convinced me she was dominant, even powering over my initial gut feeling. So I punished her by leaving the “fun” park anytime she showed aggressive behaviours, because you cannot punish behaviour unless you correct it at the exact moment of exhibiting the undesirable behaviour. What I didn’t realise I was doing was doing EXACTLY what Luna wanted, to LEAVE! She started showing aggressive behaviour as soon as we got to a park with dog’s just so she could leave, leaving was her reinforcement for the aggression. Luna shows aggression, I take her and leave, she just got what she wanted. Smart dog! Not so smart owner….I was actually helping her aggressive behaviour.

By the time Luna was a year old, I and my husband were pretty much at the end of our wits, Luna was now no longer listening to known cues, she would shut down in fear anytime I so much breathed in exasperation.  I constantly thought, “maybe she’s just not happy in this environment, and she would have a better life at the breeders where she could herd all day.” I kept blaming Luna! It was her breed that was wrong, it was her age, it was her sex etc. I never once thought to look at what I was doing. I stereotyped my dog and classified her as a simple minded ‘dog’ that has no emotions, feelings or choices, she acted like the media perceives as a dog with one simple goal in mind – to rule dogs and humans, leaving me baffled. We were days away from calling the breeder to take her back and exchange her for her brother who was completely laid back, we even started telling friends and family that we gave up, she was just too hard for us.

My heart was broken, I was a dog fanatic, I wanted nothing more than a Border Collie for years, I finally have this amazingly great dog that is capable of incredible things and I was thinking of sending her back! What a horrible owner! I researched the internet for hours on end, searching for answers when I came across an Applied Animal Behaviourist (yes, with a doctorate degree), I contacted her with the problem I was having, this is what she told me that changed my entire relationship with my dog:

“START OVER.  Stop everything.  No matter how good a trainer you are, something is GOING WRONG and with this particular breed that's a HUGE indictment of training method...huge.  Go back to kindergarten: re-train everything using only positive reinforcement.  I strongly suggest you learn about the clicker (if you have never used one, and even if you have, re-learn it).

This is a sophisticated training tool that is often misused/abused, yet it is also forgiving.  In the case of your dog, you can't afford to make a mistake.  You must understand the science behind the tool and be certain you're using it correctly.  Put aside all of your immediate goals for this dog: they don't matter if the dog ultimately not only fails but BLOWS UP, and that's what this dog is going to do: blow up.  Give her a "vacation" and re-teach everything, SLOWLY.  Take her off NILIF immediately; her subordination at home may be creating an extreme lack of confidence and her over compensation for this lack is demonstrated with dogs at large in a manner she cannot control.  When you've achieved the basic "commands" (cues) and the dog is
* voluntarily working for you for *click*/treat
* off NILIF at home
* freely interacting and communicating at home (if she's even able to do this at this point, she may not even try)”

I read with all my heart as she poured on and on about the science behind Luna’s behaviour and that is wasn’t all chalked up to dominance and how I was mainly to blame, definitely wasn’t fun to hear and the trainer in me kept scoffing but I kept reading, I was determined not to be another person to give up their dog. I thought, “this woman is emailing me on her own time to help a stranger fix a problem, either this woman is delusional or amazing.” Because I was at the last bit of my thread with Luna, I tried it, I had to, what harm could it do, my dog was already messed up. I engulfed myself with articles on clicker training, positive reinforcement training, Youtube’d training video’s then came along a fantastic trainer who is by all means my idol, Emily Larlham (aka Kikopup on Youtube). I watched her video’s almost through an entire night, and was so excited to start training with Luna after her vacation, but until then……I read, watched and breathed this new training.

Two weeks were up and I had a whole new look on training, the rules were as followed:

• ·         No corrections, punishments or even raising my voice at the dog for anything, if she did something wrong it was my fault.
• ·         Not putting her in situations where she would show aggressive behaviour, if she’s failing, I’m failing and my training is failing.
• ·         Start training a new emotional response through reinforcement, learning what Luna’s reinforcements are.
• ·         Learn what Luna is afraid of.
• ·         Clicker train ALL her behaviours over. Start new.

I literally had to re-learn my dog, and this time I watched with a new pair of eyes, I stopped judging every minuet behaviour and what it means behind it and started enjoying my dog and Luna started enjoying me. Her constant licking (anxiety related and subordination related) started to dramatically decrease as the weeks went by, she started hopping around the house and overall being happy and I could notice the change. Now it was time to start with the behaviour training.

For her fear of strangers I started using Leslie McDevitts Look at That Game, changing her emotional response to a weird looking person from “evil” to “sweet treat! Come closer weird person, you make treats appear.” I read, Patricia McConnell’s At the End Of The Leash, I stopped taking her to dog parks, she was NOT a dog park dog, most likely due to her traumatic event and my training earlier didn’t exactly help. I started socializing her on walks with strange dogs, them on leash and Luna on leash, treating after every calm encounter. I started interrupting bad behaviours with her interrupter cue “laser”, her stressful/fearful reactions started to change from “leave me alone….” to “I’m going to go play with you!” and initiating play which would ultimately lead to yummy rewards and praise (which she loves).

My life and my relationship with not only my dog but my husband improved (dog stress effects the whole family dynamic, stress lingers into everything). At this time, Luna was around 2 years old, yes, this training isn’t overnight, it certainly didn’t take overnight to create it. But at 2 years old I was proud of Luna and how far she came, at 3 years old now she is now 99% fixed. She is still very scared of larger dogs (yes even though she is large herself, a whopping 51 lbs) but dogs the same size can actually scare her, she’s nervous around bouncy, hyper large dogs and can become very anxious still (hard to control an off leash bouncing dog – so we just interrupt and leave now as I’ve found it’s the easiest for my lifestyle, it’s very far and few where we meet them, and it causes her stress so I think it’s best for both parties). But Luna is even shocking me every now and again where she will spark up a play run with 1 or 2 dogs and let them chase her without her feeling nervous and my eyes light up! She has learnt to share balls and toys with other dogs and thoroughly enjoys chasing dogs while they get the ball (like any herder).

I wouldn’t have my Luna if it wasn’t for the Behaviourist who took the time to change a life, I’m passing it on. I make free video’s to promote this training, and offer my advice to anyone with questions. I want to see the corrections and abuse these animals put up with, out the window. I want people to learn to enjoy their dog, create stronger bonds and not feel overwhelmed or frustrated at the idea of training. I'm not perfect, no one is! You can change the way you train though, so if I change one person’s training or even one hundred, I’m thrilled beyond belief.

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A Dog's Life Article

 

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Grooming Your Dog the Proper Way

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Luna the Amazing Border Collie

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Fall Distraction Class Starting This Month

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Before Adding A Dog

In my line of work, you see a lot of what you would call "impulse buys", meaning they bought a dog because it was physically appealing to them. Short time after the characteristics of the breed(s) come out and the owners don't like them, they wanted a fat lazy dog but they happen to have bought a Jack Russell Terrier.

This article will (I hope) help anyone who is searching online about information before buying/adopting a dog. 

When ADOPTING a dog, many times you don't know the breed(s) so you're really in for a surprise, this is what the rescue group or shelter is there for. Let them know exactly what you want out of a companion and they will match you with the dog that is best suited for your lifestyle.

Before Adding to the 'Already There' Canine Family

Another issue is their dog has issues with other dogs or it has an incredible amount of energy that the owners don't know how to control/fix. So they decide that getting a second dog will fix the problem(s).

WRONG 99% of the time.......

Never get a second dog before the first dog is PERFECT in your eyes. By adding another dog to the mix of an already out of control dog, you're just going to have two out of control dogs. Dogs learn from each other especially a younger dog looking up to an older dog, many of the times you just bought your dog a partner in crime.

There have been many times where I have desperately wanted to adopt a dog but I know better then to bring a dog into my home when I was still working on Luna's issues. I'm happy to say that now Luna is 3 years old and my fantastic four legged friend I will be searching for the next addition.

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Great Example

I loved this commercial when I saw it yesterday. This is a great example of what PRT is all about.

Not reacting towards a bad behaviour, manage and ignore it.

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Beautiful Video

This video shows an owner who has used a clicker to train her puppy many different commands and tricks with a clicker! It's so nice to watch how much FUN both are having.

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Get A Beer - Teach Your Dog How-to

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Now Offering Online Obedience Programs

I am so happy to be finally be offering ONLINE OBEDIENCE PROGRAMS on my webpage.

This was a huge challenge for me for the past year with wanting to expand PRT's methods and ethics to anyone that would listen, soon people were trying it, loving it and wanting to know more.Not long after I was being asked on a regular basis if people who lived in Europe, Thailand, Brazil, USA and even across Canada could somehow purchase my 6 session obedience program, of course I had to say no but it really got to me that there were people wanting to train their dog with PRT and I had to say no just because of miles or ocean inbetween, the best I could do was refer them to books and online reading but this didn't help them as much as they wanted.
So after months of perfecting the programs with successful clients, I present to you......

(click the picture to be transferred to my Online Obedience Program page).

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Roll Over Trick

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How to Avoid Recall Mistakes

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Nose Target Idea's To Teach Your Dog

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Teach Your Dog to Jump Over Your Arms

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The Secret To Training Your Dog

I'm sure everyone is reading this and hoping for a magic button to press and problem behaviours go away, well unfortunately, that doesn't exist with anything in life. Instead I'm going to tell you the secret to train your dog, which it's almost like a button, a button that you push in your brain to start training your dog the right way!

DON'T ALLOW BAD BEHAVIOURS TO HAPPEN.....

Simple.

I'm sure you're screaming at me, "but my dog eats food off my counter! How am I suppose to not allow that to happen when I'm not there?" Set the dog up to succeed in the first place! Don't put food up on the counter where your dog can grab it, block off your kitchen while you're not home so he can't surf for food if you leave something up there, the list goes on.


When a dog exhibits a bad behaviour, whether it's barking, stealing food, jumping or biting, he or she is LEARNING FROM IT (figuring out if they enjoy it enough to do it again). When you don't allow a behaviour to happen, the dog doesn't learn from it even if the dog has already been practising it. The behaviour will eventually extinguish itself with a little help from you to guide them in what you DO want them to do.


Dog's will always do what is most reinforcing to THEM. Every dog has a difference reinforcement system (check out my video for Different Types Of Reinforcements) so you must figure out what your dog enjoys.


Does It Work With Behavioural Problems?


This secret also applies with aggression. When you allow your dog to exhibit aggressive behaviours, your dog is learning from it and learning that it makes the scary things go away and the dog gets what it wants. Usually people put their dog in situations where the dog is highly uncomfortable and has to resort to aggressive behaviours to make things go away. Don't bring your dog in situations where he or she is uncomfortable, let the dog stop learning how to be aggressive. Once you stop that, you can start the rehabilitation if you want your dog to go in that situation again. 


When you train an alternate response, the same rule applies, don't allow the dog to get to that growl, lunge etc. Keep the dog under the threshold, train what you want and you are set!


Being Proactive!
Next time when your dog is doing something you don't like, ask yourself how you can prevent that from happening again. 


Not what can you do to let that dog know you don't like that!

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Top 3 Things You Should Never Do To Your Dog

In my line of work I see people doing horrible things to their dog, some things that are excusable because that is all the person knows and some things are absolutely horrific.

I'm hoping with this post that it will encourage, you the people reading it, to walk up to people doing these horrible things to their dogs and explain that "it's not necessary", make them feel embarrassed for what they are doing and say "the dog did nothing wrong".  I want these people to see that the public does not like it when they treat an animal that way and hopefully urge them to think differently.

#1: Physical Reprimands/Corrections

This means touching a dog with any kind of  force that causes the dog discomfort (mentally & physically). This includes, kicking, smacking the snout, grabbing the snout, jabbing the dog in the side (yes, Cesar style), grabbing the scruff and physically manipulating the dog and so on.

This is not just morally wrong but it doesn't even work majority of the time! If you are doing this more then one time per behaviour, it DOESN'T WORK, so you're just abusing the dog for fun.

I've said it before and I will say it again, we lack the right timing and proper amount of pressure to use a correction properly.

#2: Verbal Reprimands/Corrections

This falls under the category of yelling at your dog, speaking in a firm/mean tone to intimidate your dog into submission or causing emotional damage. By yelling at your dog and intimidating him or her you are lowering their confidence, causing unnecessary stress and creating negative associations, all these things are what you see in your classic case of an aggressive dog.

#3: Seclude Your Dog From Social Situations/Interactions

I still don't understand why get a dog if you don't want it near you? This is very frustrating to explain to people who leave their dogs outside all day/night and then ask me "why is my dog out of control?" I say, "well, it's probably because you never interact with him and he doesn't know how to act around you, so he does what he knows."

A dog need opportunities to be shown how to act around people. If you constantly avoid social situations because your dog is annoying or goes crazy you need to analyse your priorities.

 #1 - Should you have a dog if you can't even spend time to train it.

 #2 - Do you have ridiculous expectations that no dog nor human can live up to

 #3 - Is the training you're using working for your dog

I went through the same when Luna was young, wanting to avoid many social situations because I knew Luna would be annoying; want to say hi to every one, jump on people if I wasn't watching, beg for food, possibly bark at a weird looking person. But I had my goal in my head, I wanted Luna to be able to come with me EVERYWHERE and be a outstanding canine citizen, so I dealt with the crazed social situations and trained her in them. 

Now Luna is 3 yrs old, she can go in stores, public area's with kids screaming, dogs barking and running off leash and she is amazing, her focus is on me and what I'm doing. It didn't take over night I can tell you that, it took a lot of patience, understanding and slow training but we got there. I took 1 year of not really having fun anywhere I went (cause I had to train my dog and watch her like a hawk) but I get 12-15 years (hoping for) of a wonderfully behaved, sweet dog that I can trust.

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Positive Interrupter

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How-to Teach Spin!

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Types Of Reinforcements To Use

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Best Way To Teach Stay

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What Is Clicker Training & How To Get Started

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How To Teach Sit & Down

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Stop Jumping Up On My Guests

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Building The Incredible Athlete

How Much Exercise Is Enough?

This post I wanted to address a very common problem among dog owners today and that I find I'm constantly addressing with new clients.

Majority of the population are under the assumption that to have a well behaved dog you need to just exercise the &#$% out of him or her and they will be so tired, they can't do bad behaviours.

True..... to a degree.

Think about it for a second. What happens if you were to jog a mile today? If you've never jogged before, you'd be pretty tired, right? But what happens a couple weeks down the road of jogging 1 mile every day, you're no longer exhausted from it, you could probably go another half mile before feeling fatigued, am I right? YES.
When we constantly run our dogs or walk them for 1.5 per day to try to tire them out, you're always going to have to do more and more to tire the dog out. Soon, a 1 hour walk that use to tire your 6 month old puppy out is a breeze for the 1 year old version. 


You are building an incredible athlete! You are basically training your dog for a marathon when he or she is 2 years old. Why would anyone (that is not a runner) want to do this? You're just going to constantly try to keep up with your amazingly fit dog and dedicate more time trying to tire him or her out. And what's going to happen when you can't keep up with a 4 hour walk per day? Your dog will be so physically fit and use to being able to expel all this energy that your house will become a track field. Not fun for the floors.....

You're probably thinking, "this lady is crazy, she's telling us not to exercise our dogs." This is not the case, sorry, you still must exercise your dog.

Lets give a nice example here of a client of mine:

They have a very active dog and they did thorough research on the breed and were told that the dog needed TONS of physical exercise and room to run all day. So they gave it just that, they were dedicating 3-4 hours of purely physical stimulation to the dog, and constantly trying to tire the dog out as she grew older. They were joining dog sport clubs such as Flyball, just trying to keep her sated from destroying their house.
1 year later, they met me. They tell me how much exercise they give this dog, and I'm looking at the crazy dog bouncing off the walls and running inside while I'm there, the owners say "we've already been out two times today (1.5 hours already!!!!!) This was 3pm. They looked absolutely exhausted, I would be too.
I explain to them happily that they no longer have to take her to fields and run her until she drops, you should have seen the smiles on their faces, priceless.

I instructed, as I tell many of my clients, don't think of your dog as a physical vessel, your dog has a brain and that needs to be exercised no matter what the breed is, smart or dumb. We worked with the dog for 30 minutes on simple cues and tricks, the dog dropped on the floor and went to sleep 5 mins after we finished tricking.

The problem was, the owners never thought to utilize the dog's brain. Yes, your dog has a brain! He isn't just a cute furry thing. When you pair physical exercise with mental stimulation such as games, tricks, obedience cues, playing and interacting one-on-one you are training the dog's brain much like you train your muscles and the dog becomes tired without putting tremendous stress on the joints/muscles.

Try this tomorrow and you'll see the difference.

If you have a active dog - 2-3 twenty minute walks per day (not runs, or ball fetching), maybe once or twice a week a trip to the park to let them run around and feel the wind in their fur. Pair that with 2 fifteen minute brain sessions (obedience, tricks, brain games). You will have the same results as taking your dog out for hours on end throwing a ball.

Non active dog - cut it in half.

Tips: On walks, utilize their brains by training cues and commands such as heel, sit, swing to one side or the other, impulse control game with the leash (tug and leave it).

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Treibball Relay Fun

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Trainer Recommended!

The Best Of The Best!

This post is to help everyone determine what are the top notch products to buy for their beloved pooch. Here I will go through as many as I can think of and the good thing is you can buy most of these products at any pet store.

KONG: A Must For Any Dog Owner

If you don't know what a KONG is, you need to do some reading! This (almost) indestructible pet toy is a life saver for many dog owners as it gives the dog mental stimulation and independent play time trying to get the goodies out of the hollowed out middle.

I myself put a tiny bit of peanut butter in it most days for Luna and she sits there for about 30 mins licking it out. If I want her distracted for longer periods of time I will put rice with some soft chewy treats and a little peanut butter to seal the top then freeze it overnight. This provides extra long entertainment, but a little messy.
You can buy KONG and their full line of products at almost any pet store price ranging from $5 - $20 CAD depending on size.

BULLY BONE: Natural Chews

These naturally made bones/chews are GREAT for puppies and dogs with sensitive tummy's. I always recommend this product for any dog who is a destroyer of furniture, why you ask? Dogs look for HARD things to chew as well as SOFT items, by giving the dog a hard, yet edible so it keeps a dogs attention on it longer then a huge smoked knuckle bone which can be dangerous for a dog to chew on.

The chew that you're seeing in the picture is the ONLY one I will recommend to my clients, why? Because it lasts hours upon hours, it's dense and provides long chewing times for even the most aggressive chewers. Don't be fooled by the other bully bones/sticks that are cheaper, they last you 15 mins. Below is the manufacturer for the Healthy K9 Original Beef Chews and their locations in Canada.Please visit their website to see their retailers  http://www.aronpetfood.com/storelist1.html  .
Do not leave your dog alone with this if you know he or she is an aggressive chewer!

CHUCK IT: The 'golden' ball for any ball loving dog

Most likely you've seen people out and about throwing this orange blue lined ball to their dog on a field or park as they're quite popular in the doggy world and you can even buy a extension to be able to throw the ball a long distance. These balls are absolutely indestructible, dogs chew and chew on them and they never break!

This rubber ball is a wonderful alternative to tennis balls as we all know tennis ball fibres can wear down your dog's enamel on their teeth and cause pain.

You can buy these chuck it balls at almost any pet store for around $7 -$10 CAD.

TREAT BALL: The Magic Ball.... as some dogs would think

This orange contraption is called a treat ball, it dispenses kibble or treats as the dog rolls the ball. The purpose of the ball is to keep your dog occupied for long periods of time by slowly releasing the goodies inside for the dog to eat.

This is a great help for dogs who suffer mild separation distress, it keeps their mind busy as you leave and by the time they're done, they're tired from thinking (it's exhausting trying to figure out how to get the food out!).
You can buy these at any Walmart in two different sizes, large and small for around $5 - $12 CAD.

Do not leave your dog alone with this if you know he or she is an aggressive chewer!


PLUSH TOYS: All Dogs Need A Fluffy Buddy!

Soft plush toys are a must for any puppy owner. The soft fabric allows the puppy to soothe the gums by sinking the little sharp teeth into the fabric and letting it massage their gums.
By fulfilling your puppy's every teething needs (giving something hard, something chewy and something soft) the puppy will be much less likely searching out your clothes or furniture to chew on.

For adult dogs plush toys allow redirection of excitement energy onto the toy instead of you or your belongings. Big doggy's like to throw a plush toy in the air and chase after it, practice their pouncing skills and give you their toy to throw just as much as a young dog.

These toys are available at your local Petsmart
Never give an aggressive chewer a fabric toy without supervision, if they try to eat it the cloth can become blocked in their intestines and possibly cause death).

TUG TUG: Tug-a-War Game Is On!

If you've ever watched my Youtube video's you would know how much I encourage tug games with your dog, (secretly I'm teaching people to create dominant dogs according to many trainers).
These toys are absolutely great for playing tug with a dog and as a regular plush play toy. Each end of the toy has a squeaker that really gets dogs going crazy which is better for impulse control when training the leave it cue. You can even find these that allow you to put a empty bottle in which makes it super noisy and that much more fun for the dog.

You can buy these toys at most pet stores price ranging $7 -$14 CAD.

BEDTIME: Best deal for beds

Most of my clients have these beds but I thought I would share my thoughts on them. They're the BEST!
The middle is filled with fluffy filling and sawdust so it always smells good and a plus is the outside is removable so you can wash it easily.

They come in different colors and shapes (rectangular and round) depending on when you go there.

I first bought Luna's bed from there and we had it for 2 years before I decided to donate it and get a new one even though it still had a good 5 years left guaranteed!

Costco sells these in small sizes as well as large sizes price ranging from $20-$40 CAD. http://www.costco.ca

EQUIPMENT: Leashes, collars, harnesses ect.

Equipment is so important when training a dog, having the proper equipment can make training much easier for you and your dog. When you use improper equipment such as prong collars & shock collars you have a ticking bomb at the end of the leash. Retractable leashes will teach your dog to ignore you.

For walking a pulling dog, I recommend a Easy Walk Body Harness, it's a very humane training tool that causes no physical or mental discomfort to the dog. This clips in the front chest area and actually teaches the dog to walk on a loose leash, and when you pair it with loose leash walking training it goes 2 X's as fast! The concept of this tool is every time the dog pulls, he or she is actually going to be pulled sideways, so the dog learns to ease up as soon as he or she feels tension on that leash. Cause it's not that fun walking sideways!


You can buy this at any Pet Smart and some other private pet stores. Don't be fooled by copy cats, make sure it says Gentle Leader EASY WALK.

The only reason for a collar should be for tags and city license if you don't put it on your dogs harness.  I am a person that hates collars and what they represent. I feel as when you put a collar and leash on your dog that you have a master-slave relationship (just my opinion). When Luna was young I did have a collar when we went out with her tags on it just in case something happened and we were separated. Since she was 1 yr old she hasn't worn a collar, only a body harness when we leave home.

Collars can be dangerous for the dog's health and the reason being: when a dog pulls on the leash that is attached to a collar, the pressure being put on the dogs trachea is immense which can strangle the dog, cutting off oxygen to the brain and leading to a collapsed trachea, reactivity, aggression and fears.
If you must have a collar (dogs who door dash or deaf/blind, use a flat buckle collar).

Leather leashes are by far the best! But you can also find great Nylon leashes that are strong and durable but they do get dirty and you will have to clean them.
If you have a puppy, your best bet would be a nylon leash as it's lighter and easier for the puppy to walk with, switch to a leather leash when they're older perhaps.
All leashes are very durable these days so you don't have to worry too much about quality.
For sizes, I prefer a 6ft or 8 ft leash as it allows me to give my dog room to sniff along the side of the road but still close enough to me that if I needed to bring her in quickly, it wouldn't take forever jumbling around a clunky retractable thing.

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Puppy Behaviour Guide - What To Expect

If you've ever owned a puppy you know they go through all different stages as they grow up, not only physically but mentally. Hormones are raging through them like a human teenage girl or boy, the things they do seem absolutely out of the blue, crazy, annoying and sometimes just plain rude. This guide will help you understand what to expect of your young puppy from age 8 weeks - 1.5 years.

Little Angel - 8 wks - 12 wks
A young puppy between this age should be exploring their home, playing with anything that moves and sleeping 90% of the day. This is the easy stage, the puppy that you always dreamed of, sure he/she may have accidents every now and again but it is pretty much well behaved and follows you everywhere.

Important training to be done: Bite inhibition training. Puppy must learn that putting their teeth on us hurts and is not accepted.

Cute Angel - 13 wks - 5 months
This stage is when your puppy starts feeling quite comfortable with their living space, they don't sleep as much so they're drinking and eating more and therefor usually having accidents in the house. Baby teeth are wanting to come out around 4 months and this is where puppy's chew voraciously, it's very natural, they want to break the baby teeth out so the adult teeth can come in and soothe their sore gums.

This period is also known as the fear imprint period, this is where fears are developed or conquered. By bringing your puppy out to expose him or her to every sight, sound, touch and handling you are likely to have this puppy grow up into a well rounded dog. Now the imprint period doesn't start exactly at 13wks, nor end exactly at 5 months old, but it's right around in that time frame so it's best to get your pup out every day for short periods of time and encouraging curiosity not forcing. If you miss this period where the puppy needs to be exposed you definitely have a higher risk of your dog becoming aggressive and fearful -get the puppy out everywhere!

Important training to be done: Handling exercises and confidence building. Puppy's must learn that being handled by humans is a good thing and scary things really aren't that scary.

Little Demon - 6 months - 9 months
If you've had a puppy you know what I'm talking about :)
This stage is where your puppy's hormones really start raging, they are coming into adulthood and important things in life start changing from gently playing and following you everywhere to rough housing, ignoring you and taking out household items because they are unaware that they're not tiny anymore. Even with training you still do see much of the ignoring behaviour, it's natural, the dog's brain is telling him to do what his impulses say, "sniff, sniff.....you can bark......you can reach that counter now ect". It's important to not take what the dog is doing, personally because the dog is being a adolescent, he's not out to get you no matter how much it seems like it.

This age is when your training needs to be highly reinforced and clear cut rules need to be given to all humans in the household so they can all implement this to the dog. Bad behaviours stem from this age, this is the hardest stage of raising a puppy because they push our frustration to the limit.

You will have wonderful days where the puppy listens to your every cue and you will have days where the puppy doesn't know his or her name or who you are. Take a breather and hold on to your sanity that day...... it passes.

Important training to be done: Impulse control training - this is very important at this age, your puppy is reacting to everything by impulse "that looks fun so I want to do it" and they go into tunnel vision (I like it to call it) they see what they want and they ignore everything else. Impulse games teach the dog to listen while in high arousal.

My Sweet Dog - 10 months - 1.5 yrs

This is where all the training starts to pay off, all those months of house training and obedience training all comes together and you're proud of what your dog has become, a well balanced and obedient pooch. Training at this age is enjoyable beyond belief, if you've been consistent with training since a young pup, your dog will love training and bonding with you and constantly learning new things.Yes they will still have their days "Every dog has his day" but don't look too much into it, be consistent with your rules and training and things smooth over quickly.

After 1.5 years old it's smooth sailing, you've set your dog up for the best possible life with you and your family, enjoy him or her and continue training until the last days of his or her life, they will love you for it.

"Training isn't just teaching, training builds a strong bond between dog & handler that is envied by many"

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DoGGy SmOOthies!

Doggy smoothies are absolutely wonderful for your dog and great for the environment!

We all are guilty of wasting food at one time to another, good thing you have a garbage disposal on four legs that doesn't charge you!

Doggie smoothies allow the dog to get some extra nutrients and us to clean out our fridge without dumping fruits, veggies or meat in the garbage and letting it go to waste just because it's not looking too appetizing anymore.

WHAT'S IN THEM?

Just today I made a zucchini, carrot, banana, strawberry, green leaf and beef smoothie. Just cut up the items and throw them in a food processor or blender with some liquid - I just used water as I tend to stay away from chicken/beef broth unless I make it myself and has no salt in it.

After some pureeing, you end up with something that looks like wet dog food. You can add rice in it to thicken it up.

For all the extra, I just freeze them in muffin tins and take them out and put them in a Ziploc bag. Each day when I give Luna one I just leave it on the counter over night to dethaw.

BENEFITS

I've been doing this for 2 years for Luna and her coat is silky and shiny, she's a incredibly healthy dog that recovers from cuts and scrapes overnight (oh yah, she's a little daredevil in the bush). All the veggies are raw so you don't loose nutrients by cooking them, plus it's ground up small enough where it's easy for the dog's stomach to digest it and you won't see little bits of veggies come out in their poop.

Doggy Smoothies are NOT meant to be a dog's only diet, this is just for added nutrients paired with a quality grade kibble or raw diet.

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Where's Your Bum Trick -How-to Video

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Understand What Dominance Is Before Labeling Your Dog

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Circle & Turn How-to Video

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On Your Bed How-to Video

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Teach Your Dog To Crawl

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Treibball Fun

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Trickin' and Clickin'

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Pet Expo

 

Kris will be not only demo'ing Treibball all weekend but she will also be available for FREE training advice both days!

Come out and speak to a professional trainer, buy some great training toys, training treats, training equipment and more.....

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My article on PRT in Pets Magazine is out now! Look for it at local vet offices and pet stores!

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Naughty Doggies

During a visit to my parents home on the island I heard puffing noises coming from my parents room only to find Luna and Chewy (my parents dog) jumping around on the bed that is off limits. I guess forbidden fruit is just more fun!

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Treibball Practice

Working on handling the ball

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