Dewey1WireHairedPointingGriffin

Many dog owners and dog training students quickly get stuck in one place or feel that they have reached an impassable point.  This cycle can make dog training students bored when they can't go onto something more challenging in dog training or behavioral modification of their dog.  Meanwhile, with an understanding of how to advance their training and get to their goals, those goals are probably within reach by tweaking what they are doing or finding professional dog training help to bring it forward.   How does a dog owner honestly measure their success in dog training and/or behavioral modification.  This is the topic of this blog today. First of all, training your dog is a lot more interesting if you are improving or progressing in more advanced areas.  A dog owner also needs to understand that their current dog is an individual.  Their learning speed, physical prowess, way that they learn, and motivations are all assembled differently than other dog...

  The ability to teach dog training commands that are later on reliable and ​functional depends upon how the ability to break them up into steps and then layer onto them different environments and distractions.   This is also true when you are modifying your dog's behavior or changing your dog's perception of things that might make them defensive or scared.  Many dog owners are not aware that going slower and methodically is going to give them a much better chance of reaching their dog training or behavior modification goals with their dogs. Dogs neither understand English nor read minds.   It is the dog owner's and trainer's job to break commands down into parts which can be taught well, and then advance the command by increasing things like the three Ds (duration, distance and distraction), which was discussed in  our previous blog post . Typically, dog owners will try to start a command either at the end or midway through the command.   Al...

  Today I am going to go over the very commonly used practices of treat training used with luring to train your dog.   Most of this training falls under the category of positive reinforcement.  That is the practice of adding something to increase the likely hood of a behavior.   In this case, we are talking about food rewards.   CONSIDERATIONS WHEN TRAINING WITH FOOD:   Most puppy training starts with food training.   Puppies are maturing, and do not have the focus of an adult dog.   They are discovering the world with their paws, nose, eyes, and mouth.   Therefore, humans need a good reward method to catch their attention for any period of time.     Adult dogs will have more maturity and focus (usually).  Therefore, the first section does not necessarily apply to them.   Although, these are things you may want to consider, especially if your adult dog seems at all flat when training....

Calming or relaxation exercises benefit all dogs, unless you have the rare very relaxed dog in any situation.  In the majority of dog or puppies though, learning to relax is a very important skill.  It helps those dogs of sound temperament, it helps dogs with behavioral problems, it helps young puppies, and it helps those older adults not exposed to the concept of self chilling. I always hope to influence very young puppies with these exercises, but you don't always get that lucky.   Many years ago, I myself had not discovered the very value benefit to my dogs of doing these.  I discovered the value, when trying to figure out how to calm my dog, Jackie, before we got into the ring to do obedience and earn his Companion Dog title.  This was the key to his success in that area, but this is also the key to a well rounded, confident dog, who has been exposed to many stimulus's that get most dogs all riled up, and cause dog owners many unneeded problems....

  The approaches to training dogs, including behavioral modification, are almost endless.   Which ones are wrong?  Well nothing is wrong per say, as they all have different strengths and weaknesses.   Perhaps the only bad thing you could do is to use only one approach, when more than one is necessary to your dog.  On the other hand, everyone has to begin somewhere.     The more you understand what these approaches are, the more understanding you will have when working with a dog trainer or by yourself with your dog.   There is a lot to learn in dog training, which is why there is no complete definitive book on the whole scope of dog training.  There can't be as it is always training and evolving as people learn more about dogs and how they learn or change perception. ​   As individuals, dogs have different perceptions, experiences, and personal preferences.   As dog owners and trainers, we are all interested...

  Puppies (and some adult or adolescent dogs) are in need of much learning and guidance. One of the most important things to do is to socialize your puppy well in the critical early weeks and months. The first thing that you want to check is that your vaccinations are up to date, and that it is safe to take puppy out to areas with other dogs and puppies. Take a moment to have a discussion with your vet about the best plan. ​ Realize that this is not just about letting puppy loose with people and dogs. There is more to socialization than that. You want to monitor within reason how they react to other people and dogs, and also to control the interactions with people and dogs so that your puppy feels safe with you. Ideally practicing training exercises is also a great way to socialize. For instance, practicing a sit before greeting a human friend or a canine friend. Secondly, do some research to find out what puppy play looks like. Talk to professionals about appropriate correcti...