Are you a leash popper?

 Are you a leash popper?  Do you yank and crank? Guess what?  Your leash is not a steering wheel or a switch, it’s merely a safety belt!

Leash Corrections Don’t Teach Dogs Anything! When you leash pop, you’re not really teaching your dog anything at all.  Leash corrections are waiting for the dog to get it wrong. 

Look at it this way: You have a child and you want them to learn to play piano. You could introduce them to a piano as something fun, encourage them and reward progress or you can force them to play and deliver a painful shock or slap them or yell at them every time they hit the wrong key. Will both methods work? Maybe……. But the punishment is crazy and cruel right? But, that's the method you're advocating for when you use leash corrections. The punishment method is also likely to make your child hate playing piano and it can cause dogs to avoid engaging with you or participating in training.

Punishing is more rewarding to the punish-er than the punished. That statement probably stings, but it’s true.  Physical or verbal corrections destroy your relationship with your dog. I’ve witnessed how leash corrections ruined the bond between dog and owner so many times.  I’ve seen a dog get a leash correction and then totally give up, walk off, lay down or refuse to pay attention any longer. I have heard people say dogs “appreciate corrections because they’re done with love.” Yet, their dogs’ body language says otherwise.

All to often, people forget their dog is an animal that does not speak English and views the world differently than humans.  Taking your frustrations out on your dog, who is not a human, is so unfair. Anything and everything that goes wrong during the learning process gets blamed on the dog – your dogs are animals; they do not speak English and they cannot read your mind!

Be a teacher:  As a teacher, it’s your job to teach the learner. If the learner is confused, the teacher did something wrong! The next time you get frustrated during a walk or training session, take a moment to breathe deeply. Excuse yourself or hand the leash over to a friend, walk away, and compose yourself! It is your responsibility to be a great teacher.

First steps:  If yanking the leash worked, you would only need to do it once or twice and it would work!  Instead, teach your dog to focus on you!  Reward your dog for looking at you, paying attention to you and for keeping the leash loose.  Teach your dog to target your hand on a walk!

Need help?  Give me a call or text!

 

Like Us on Facebook

Click here for more free advice! 
 

Skip on leash canine greetings!

 

 

 

Supervised off leash dog play is crucial to socializing puppies. It is also important to teach a puppy that there are dogs that they do not get to meet while on leash. New puppy owners want their puppy to have fun with other dogs and thus make the mistake of trying to introduce their puppy to every dog they see.  Wrong!

 

Firstly, if the dog and handler are someone you do not know, you do NOT have a 100% guarantee the other dog is friendly.  It's never worth the risk to let your dog meet a dog you know nothing about.

The thinking behind the idea of on-leash greetings is well-meaning, but it often causes the puppy to grow up expecting that s/he gets to meet every dog they encounter. Wrong! As the puppy grows and the owners’ turn to teaching the puppy how to walk on a harness and leash without pulling, suddenly the puppy is now expected to walk past another dog without pulling?  UH OH! This leads to a very frustrated puppy – “What do you mean I cannot go see everydog, what the heck?  ignore the dog? I ALWAYS get to meet the dog! I must meet dog!"  Pull, bark, pull, bark...frustrated puppy!!!

To avoid this issue, teach your puppy that good things happen around other dogs even if they don’t get to meet the dogs. Do not leave your house without your treat pouch. This will be helpful for both socialization and leash training.  We practice this skill each week in our dog walking group.  We teach the dogs to sit around or lay around and ignore each other, learn to walk past and ignore each other. 

 

I recommend that you completely avoid on-leash greetings with unknown dogs!  Say what? Yes, avoid meeting dogs while on leash!  Dogs communicate through their body language. Tight leashes can cause miscommunication and that can lead to dog altercations. Save your dogs’ playtime for when they’re off leash in a fenced in yard. 

 

You can always tell the other handler as you pass "No greetings we are training!"  Or, walk to the other side of the street.  Set your dogs up for success and teach them to ignore the other dogs on walks.

Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Integrating training into everyday life.

In order to get your puppy to respond here, there and everywhere, you need to train here, there and everywhere.  With total integration, your puppy should see no difference between playing and training. Fun times will have structure and training will be fun.

Train him in small sessions, perhaps fifty a day (SMART 50 prorgram), for a few seconds each. The secret is to totally integrate training into your puppy’s lifestyle, and into your lifestyle.

Integrate short training interludes (quick sits and releases) into your puppy’s walks and off leash play. Each quick sit is immediately reinforced by allowing the dog to resume walking or playing—the very best rewards in domestic dogdom. 

Integrate short training interludes into every enjoyable doggy activity—riding in the car, watching you fix their dinner, lying on the couch, and playing doggy games. For example, have your dog sit before you throw a tennis ball and before you take it back. Progressively increase the length of sit stay with each repetition.

Insert short training sessions before all your puppy’s enjoyable activities. For example, ask the pup to lie down and rollover for a tummy rub, or to lie down and stay a while before invited for a struggle on the couch. Have it sit before you put it on leash, before you open the door, before you tell it to jump in the car, before you allow it to get out of the car, and before you let it off leash. And be sure to have it sit for its supper.

Watching television offers a wonderful training opportunity. Put your puppy’s bed plus a couple of stuffed Kongs in front of the television. During the program it is easy to keep an eye on your puppy as it settles down, and commercial breaks are an ideal time for short training interludes. Alternatively, have your puppy settle down while you’re on the computer and then periodically have a short training session of a few seconds with your puppy.

 Every time you open the refrigerator, make a cup of coffee, read a page of the newspaper, or send an email or text message, call your puppy for a quick training session.

 

 

 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Old vs New

 

 

 

 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

American Animal Hospital Association supports science based training.

"Topics and methods discussed in these guidelines are not part of the traditional curriculum in many veterinary medical schools.

These guidelines are based on the following key messages:

1. Veterinarians must institute a culture of kindness in the practice and avoid using either forced restraint or punitive training or management methods." Click here to read full text

 

 

 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Compliance!

Perfectly said by the great Suzanne Clothier:

"Ask for compliance, not submission. View working with your dog as you would working with any friend. Avoid creating a struggle by asking the dog for more than he can do at the time. For example, if your dog is really excited, he may be unable or unwilling to lay down, but agreeable to sitting quietly with a few reminders from you. Compromise and be reasonable most struggles between dog and owner are created when the owner attempts to dominate the dog, instead of finding a solution acceptable to both owner and dog. " - Suzanne Clothier

Set your dog up for success by creating an environment where your dog can succeed.  

 

 

 

 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Authority vs Leader

 

 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Alpha Rolling Dogs - don't do it!

Alpha Rolling
by:  Robin Sockness
MyBestBuddyDogTraining.com

You might have been told or are under the impression that your dog needs to be told who is in charge and that the best way to do that, is via an “alpha roll”. In your mind this will effectively establish you as the “pack leader”, and the dog will be content knowing his proper place in the “pack hierarchy” and be submissive to you. You may think that an alpha roll shows the dog that you are strong, the boss, the head man in charge.

Please understand the two mechanisms (ways of coping) a dog has when faced with danger. 1. Flight - When presented with danger, flee to get away.  2. Fight -  If presented with danger, fight to protect yourself.

When you alpha roll your dog, you are forcibly holding the dog in place - eliminating option one, which is flight. What does that leave for the dog?  The dog may attempt to fight - option two.   It’s a temporary fix.  You may win by being a bully but you lost at solving the problem because your dog will do it again. The submissive body language you get when the dog finally surrenders is exactly what you “think” you want to see, but your dog is fearful.  Fear could turn to aggressive behavior in the future. The kind of submissive behavior you get when you alpha roll is fear and fear can lead to aggression.

The majority of aggression and behavioral problems stem from insecurity on the dog’s part - not because he wants to “dominate” you.  Alpha rolling your dog will make the problem even worse - make your dog more insecure. Instead, you should work with the dog to help him overcome his/her insecurities. Manhandling will exacerbate the problem.  What if you were insecure about something and someone forcibly pinned you to the ground? Would that make you more or less insecure? Suppression of a behavior does not equal correction! Focus on developing a relationship with your dog and teaching him/her the behaviors you want to see.

Alpha rolling is often done in response to something the handler considers the dog did “wrong”. It contributes to the suppression of the warning signals the dog gives off before something more serious takes place (biting). Growling is usually the dogs way of saying “back off!”. If you respond by alpha rolling the dog, you are also suppressing his natural behavior (growling is natural), and teaching the dog that growling is ineffective as a warning signal. Your dog will stop using growling as a warning signal altogether and go straight to a bite. Then the incident is  interpreted as the dog attacked without reason! Simply suppressing behavior by alpha rolling a dog is very dangerous, and does nothing to help correct how the dog feels on the inside, and increases the chances of a bite.

The dominance theory behind the alpha roll has been discredited by many, including the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, Marc Beckoff (who has written a lot about this), The Pet Professional Guild and David Mech who studies wolves.

So what are you telling your dog by being a bully and alpha rolling? You are saying you are insecure. So instead of showing him that you are a calm, trustworthy and confident leader, you are demonstrating very effectively through aggression that you are a threat, and you’re doing so in much the same way a highly insecure dog would.  Nobody wins. Dogs are looking to be as comfortable and safe as possible, not to constantly compete with you.

In conclusion: the alpha roll is not necessary to raise a well-behaved dog.  What is necessary, are clear rules, structure, reliable obedience training, and time to develop a lasting relationship that is built on trust and respect.

 

Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Passive, Agressive or Assertive, which kind of dog trainer are you?

 

Like Us on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

My dog won't do behaviors away from home! Help!

This is a VERY common struggle for many dog owners. It really does come down to one of two things: lack of focus (too much going on in the environment that is distracting) and/or lack of generalized understanding (the dog has never offered that behavior in that situation).

Lack of focus:  A lack of focus refers to your dog losing attention on you, because they find the outside stimuli (squirrels, passing people, sights, sounds, other dogs, etc.) much more interesting. The way you improve attention and engagement with your dog, is by becoming the source of super duper fun things while your dog is outside!  You have to be more fun than the environment! Start working your dog in a low distraction place outside (driveway, back yard, the street just in front of your house, etc.) When your dog pays attention/listens to you in those low distraction environments, reward them with high value food rewards (not your everyday boring kibble or milkbones, but something that the dog considers really amazing) and engage them in active game play. Use your happy voice!  Don't be a cheapskate, reward heavily!

Lack of Understanding:  What do I mean by "lack of generalized understanding"? Well, your dog is naturally a contextual learner.  By nature, dogs do not generalize well.  If your dog was a human and you taught him/her how to change a tire at home, s/he would know how to do that out on the side of the road.  But not with a dog!  Your dog knows that “sit” means, when facing you while in your kitchen, butt goes on the ground. S/he doesn't necessarily know it means to “sit” next to you at your side while on a walk.

If someone asked you ‘have a seat’, you would easily understand to sit in a chair, on a bench,  on a stool, etc.  You would also be able to easily ‘have a seat’ inside a friend's house, out on their patio, or in an office building bench. We can  generalize our understanding of words and phrases. But our dogs cannot. This frustrates many owners and confuses the dogs.

Help!   How do you help clarify things for your dog? How do you help them expand their contextual understanding to a general understanding? Practice! Simply practice the commands they have mastered in one setting, in a new setting where you will get success. You may find that you need to take a step back (lowering the criteria and helping with a food lure) in order to make two steps forward in progress. Always set your dog up for success - make things easy and build on small wins of success with big rewards.

 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Ultrasonic Bark Devices

"
I asked Rain Jordan, a professional dog trainer, who specializes in helping fearful and traumatized dogs what she thought about ultrasonic training devices. “The sound emitted from the devices is punishing dogs by startling and/or causing discomfort,” she told me in an email.
These devices punish any bark that comes out of a dog’s mouth and can’t discriminate between appropriate/happy/excited barking and “nuisance” barking. Barking is a perfectly normal, even necessary, dog behavior and is only a nuisance relative to human preferences.

When normal behavior is discouraged and suppressed, you “risk either learned helplessness, on the one hand, or aggression without warning on the other.” Dogs wearing e-collars don’t necessarily understand why they are being punished, and even if they do know why, they eventually habituate to the punishment and the “problem” behavior returns. Owners, then, are tempted to up the ante by increasing the volume button on the ultrasonic device or moving to something more extreme, such as a shock collar."  Click here to read full article.


 Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter

Motivation in Training

Motivating our dogs to pay attention to us on walkd and coming when called can be a challenge.

Walking Tips:  While out on a walk mark/treat every time your dog looks at you. No cues, just wait for that behavior to happen!  Practice first in environments that are low distraction.

Practice stopping and just hanging out with your dog on a loose leash, mark/treat every glance towards you.

Of course a great name being called response is vital, so reinforce in ever increasingly distracting environments calling your dogs name to look at you and mark/treat for that look.

Recall Tips:  Be EXTREMELY HAPPY to see that returning dog, every single time, no matter what the circumstances!  Fake it if you have to, but be happy!  Celebrate every step Rover takes coming back to you.

Blasting out the cue in a military commander voice will not yield better results. Happy and calm yields better results every time.

Run away from Rover after giving the recall cue; dogs love to chase.

When teaching recall remember this:  Would you call a dog that is occupied with a scent in the back forty? Nope! That would be wasting  your time, and beyond the level of training for the dog who is just learning to recall. Using the recall cue to end fun or freedom will only ruin it for you.

Always have the dog on a leash or longer training line if you are not in a fenced in area. This removes the option of not coming when called.

Out in the yard just hanging out: whenever dog voluntarily returns to you, with no verbal cue given, have a p-a-r-t-y, and reinforce with food and happy words. Tasty treats make the best impression, but play is also useful for dogs that are very play oriented, such as a game of tug or fetch. Make something wonderful happen when Rover returns to you.

Practice recalls into the house frequently, not just when your dog has to end the fun.  Call your dog in, let him back out.  Call your dog in, give a treat, wait a moment, let him back out!

If Rover is struggling with being motivated, pick up the food bowl for a week and feed all of the meals from your hand practicing behaviors your dog has learned.  Sit, down, stay, leave it, wait, etc.

If you are struggling with your dog being motivated, give us a call, we can help!

Like Us on Facebook
Follow on Twitter
Check out the services we offer!

@MyBestBuddyDog find us on TikTok!