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Reliable Recall
The “recall,” the command that brings your dog to you, is extremely important for your sanity and your dog’s safety! Whether you need your dog to come in from the yard when you are running late for work or want to be able to hike off-leash—a good, reliable recall is vital. With a good recall, you can bring your dog to you quickly when time or safety are a factor. Without a good recall, you are at the mercy of your dog’s impulses. What is a reliable recall? A good reliable recall is when your dog responds to your recall command by returning to you immediately and without…
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Don’t Take Shocking Shortcuts
When training dogs, I employ a wide variety of tools to reinforce good behavior and correct undesirable behaviors. Leashes, crates, collars, treats—each of these has its place and purpose and can help me and my clients achieve our training goals. However, these tools are only effective and productive if they are used appropriately. No tool is a “magic wand” that solves all problems. Unfortunately, many of my new clients believe that an e-collar is a magic wand that can be used to undo months of overlooking undesirable behavior. They come to me after 6 months to a year of inconsistent or nonexistent training and want to put an e-collar on…
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The Importance of the Down/Stay Exercise
For some dogs, especially puppies or dogs that are anxious or aggressive, down stay is a difficult exercise and I often find dogs owners work on it the least. Whether you are at dinner, a soccer game or on vacation, a strong down-stay affords you the opportunity to manage your dog without the need for tethering, crating or leaving it at home alone. When taught and proofed properly amidst strong distractions, this command affords you the opportunity to have your dog with you but he is not underfoot, in harm’s way or in trouble. A Calming Position. A long – duration down stay is the best relaxation protocol you can…
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Smart Training for a Reactive Dog
Some dogs just don’t have the temperament to easily tolerate strangers, other dogs, or children. For some dogs, allowing strangers, dogs or children to approach and/or touch them is just contrary to their nature. It’s not necessarily something you did or did not do; it’s their genetic makeup. No matter how much training you do, you cannot change the temperament. Consequently, you cannot let your guard down when your dog is around others. You must keep your eyes on him—and on the people or dogs around him who may try to approach—at all times. Keep him by your side and under a command. Protect his space for him by ensuring that…
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Canine OCD Behaviors: Reasons and Recovery
Loosely defined, obsessive compulsive behaviors are considered manifestations of impaired impulse control, usually triggered as a response to something undesirable. In dogs, these behaviors include excessive pacing, spinning, barking, whining, and licking. The stress may be caused by separation, fear, excitement, or insecurity. Unfortunately, the obsessive behaviors cause physiological changes that aggravate, rather than relieve, the stress. The obsessive behavior results in a decrease in the dog’s production of serotonin (a hormone vital to impulse control) and an increase in the production of cortisol, which is also called the “stress hormone.”All dogs produce some cortisol all the time, as it functions in regulating energy and glucose levels. However, during a…
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Train Them Young
Puppies have a way of pulling on our heartstrings and pulling on our common sense. Their cuteness overrides logic and we bring into our homes an animal that leaks, whines, chews, and generally turns our lives upside down. And in the chaos that ensues, we maintain our sanity by clinging to the knowledge that it won’t always be like this. Eventually, our pups will learn manners and good behavior and we can enjoy loving them and having them in our lives. Pups don’t just “outgrow” most of their more challenging behaviors. The skills required for living with people don’t come naturally to them. Housebreaking, leash walking, and spending periods…
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Invisible Fencing Pros and Cons
I am sometimes asked if I think invisible fences are “good.” I can’t answer that question because it is incomplete. The real question must be, “Is an invisible fence a good solution for my dog and my situation? “ An invisible fence is neither good nor bad in itself. It is a piece of equipment that may or may not be appropriate for your needs. Like any piece of equipment, an invisible fence only works well if it is used properly under the right circumstances for the appropriate purpose. Questions to Consider First, think about the purpose of the fence. Will the fenced area be used for supervised playtime? Do…
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House Breaking Manual for Exercise Pen
INTRODUCTION Housebreaking is simply teaching your dog/puppy to understand that you want him to relieve himself in a certain spot and getting him to accept the idea that he must wait to be taken to the spot or go there himself. Since this is the first “formal” training which you teach your puppy, housebreaking is the basis for your puppy’s future attitude toward training. This is the beginning of the teaching relationship with your puppy. Your housebreaking and future obedience training should be based on four important principals: PRAISE, PATIENCE, PERSEVERANCE AND CONSISTENCY Becoming angry with your puppy, hitting, shouting or using force may get rid of your anxiety but…
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To Harness or Not To Harness? That is the Question
… that was addressed by a recent study that is the topic of this month’s newsletter. You’ve probably noticed an upsurge during the last several years in the use of harnesses as an alternative to collars. At the same time, there has been a concern that harnesses might affect dogs’ gait. Researchers in the UK investigated exactly that question by comparing the effect of restrictive and non-restrictive harnesses on shoulder extension in dogs when walking and trotting. There are two main categories of harnesses: those that are considered non-restrictive to front limb movement, which have a Y-shaped chest strap and those considered restrictive, which have a strap that lies across the…
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Caring for your Dog’s Neck and Spine: Dog Collar Issues
On one of my visits to my chiropractor, he suggested I pick up the book The Well Adjusted Dog by Dr. Daniel Kamen. The book is written by a chiropractor who also does adjustments on animals, although he doesn’t advertise this. Apparently, chiropractors are not allowed to practice on animals in many states, which I didn’t realize, since I live in Canada and this doesn’t seem to be a problem here in my province. However, what is good to know is that veterinarians in the U.S. are allowed to do adjustments on animals… that is if you can find one that’s studied chiropractic medicine. Not an easy task. In any…