Well, I haven't posted all week really. It has been a crazy crazy week at the PAC. Thanks to everyone for their continued support.
I thought I would add a little extra info today about raising a puppy. This week alone we have had 6 new puppies under the age of 16 weeks join PACtivity. Here is some info I the method that I developed for raising my personal pups.
Behaviorally I specialize in aggression & separation anxiety, and training wise my main focus is working dogs (specifically guard & patrol...PSA style). I have to put together a training program for new puppy owners that would be simple enough for people to actually follow through with. In my experience the way we raise our working puppies could apply to all dogs. The pups end up confident, well adjusted, eager to please, in general very happy dogs. I see so many people screw up there dogs by scolding them, yelling at them, redirecting poorly, having very poor timing, misunderstanding basic training explanations, changing methods too quickly, not putting in the time, having to high of expectations, and so on....I have done all of the above at one time or another. Here is the way we train our working puppies (more specifically puppies that will be MY working dogs). The keys to the program are bonding with the dog, exposing him to as many environments as possible, and being in clear control of that environment at all times. This is how your puppy learns to trust you implicitly. When the pup arrives to our home the very first thing we do is focus on crate training. It is important for EVERY puppy to have a den in which he or she can feel safe and comfortable. It is equally as important that you have a place to put your puppy where he or she can be trusted from a very young age. For the first 3 days the pup is placed in the crate and the only time he comes out is to eliminate. This maybe every other hour, but he should only come out to eliminate. He should eat in the crate, drink in the crate, sleep in the crate, and play with his two toys in the crate. Ignore any whining, whimpering, and barking. 9 out of 10 puppies will be completely crate trained by hour 72. Now you have established a safe place for the pup that he enjoys and can be trusted. (People work really hard to break this rule, because the puppy is so new and novel. If you follow through with this exactly you will be pleased with the results.)
The hard part is over and the fun begins. The rules of the working puppy are as follows. She is in her crate, unless you are doing something specifically with her, from now on. Your goal is to bring out as much of the dogs natural personality as possible.
What does this mean?
Working dogs are bred specifically to offer the trainer/handler a pup with the potential for certain skills and certain personality. As trainers our job from day one is to help that dog reach his potential. That should be your goal with your puppy as well. We help the pup get on track to reach his potential (first 8 months) then we start shaping that potential to meet our needs.
Here’s our routine:
In the morning we wake up together. His crate is at the foot of my bed and has been since day one. He comes out of his crate and stands in front of me patiently while I put on his collar and leash. He comes with me while I eliminate and then I go with him while he eliminates. We come back into the house and he goes back into his crate to get his first food/water of the day. He eats quickly (as he only gets 20 minutes or his food disappears). After he has digested for about 20-40 minutes (depending on how busy I am) we head back outside and allow him to eliminate again (on leash…you will notice a theme with the leash). After he goes, we go on a 10-15 minute sprint around the yard. We then play tug for 10 minutes, and finally we throw a ball or Kong around. My favorite toy is the tennis ball on a string. Every time he gets close to it the ball magically jumps away from him. After 45-60 minutes of play we head back inside to the crate.
He gets access to water again, and then it is time for a nap. He rests until it’s time to go out for elimination.
The pup goes back and forth from the crate to the elimination area all day until it is time for his next activity. In the early evening we take a trip to somewhere new every single day. Before we leave we have 30 minutes of chase, tug, and ball play and then we head out. It maybe to the store, gas station, downtown, the country, suburbs, train station, construction site, Dog Park, dog daycare, play ground, the lake, river, woods, neighbors house, basically anywhere I can come up with. All of the places offer different scents, sounds and sights. The entire time the puppy is on leash with me.
We head back home for another hour of chase, ball, & tug, and then it’s back to the crate for dinner/water break. Again he gets 20 minutes to eat, 40 minutes to digest, and then another chance to eliminate. The pup goes back and forth from the crate to the elimination area until about 30 minutes before bed. At this time I let the puppy out on leash, and we sit on the floor together and relax. I brace him in my arms until he relaxes and that is how we finish each day. This teaches him that I can control every aspect of his body. It is important to imprint this on your puppy while it is actually still true. Once he is calm he goes back into the crate for the night.
This is how my pups and I spend everyday for the first 8 months of their little lives. We don’t do any obedience, or specific training, all we do is play and introduce the pup to new things. Every working dog I raised this way has ended up a fantastic dog, free from behavior problems and obedience issues.
People always ask “what do you do when the pup gets to rough during playtime...” we end the game, go back to the crate, and try again 10 minutes later. “What about when he jumps up on you…” we end the game, go back to the crate, and try again 10 minutes later. “What about when he is acting up in one of these new places…” we end the game, go back to the crate, and try again 10 minutes later. You mean you take the crate with you? Yep…everywhere I take the dog, I take the crate. It may not be with me on a walk, but it is never too far away.
The first 8 months of the dog’s life are all about play and being a puppy. It’s really a pretty sweet deal for you and the dog. You develop a great relationship, solid bond, and a well adjusted pup.
This is just some food for thought. Remember to enjoy your dogs....
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Friday, June 29, 2007
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Down...Our Second Obedience Command
We are going to teach "down" in a similar fashion to which we taught "sit". First we will start with luring the dog into position, and then we are going to mark the behavior by offering a treat when the dog is in the correct position.
So, what is the correct position. I actually recommend teaching your dog a "lazy down". A "lazy down" is when your dog goes into the "down" position and rolls his hip over to where is is sitting on his side. Why would I ever teach this...well since none of us are preparing for an obedience competition, and although kind of ugly, this "down" is going to help out a ton when we start working on "Down Stay".
So, to start, get your high value treat out and cut them up nice and small. Lure your dog into the sitting position using the sit hand signal and luring technique we used in the previous lesson. Once your dog has held his sit for 3-5 seconds, flip your hand over (palm down) and slowly lure his nose down towards his front paws. Your hand should be positioned down, with the treat between your first finger and thumb. As you lure the dogs nose down towards his front paws he will either slide his back paws back or his front paws forward. As soon as his belly touches the ground reward him with his treat.
This is going to more challenging with some dogs than others, but this has worked with every dog I have trained (there have been thousands at this point). Do not give up. Be patient and move the treat slowly down. As you move the treat, watch your dogs body language and determine what direction you need to move the treat to get him in the down position. It may be slightly forward or slightly backward. The tendency is for people to lure the dog forward into a down. This will cause the dog's butt to pop up and for him to be in a standing position (the opposite of what we want).
Play with this command a little. If your dog gets frustrated go back to something he knows (sit) and reward that behavior a few times. Then try again. If you get frustrated go have a stiff drink and try again. The only time he should get a treat when working on down is when his belly is all the way on the floor.
Good Luck.....
Feel free to comment with questions.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
So, what is the correct position. I actually recommend teaching your dog a "lazy down". A "lazy down" is when your dog goes into the "down" position and rolls his hip over to where is is sitting on his side. Why would I ever teach this...well since none of us are preparing for an obedience competition, and although kind of ugly, this "down" is going to help out a ton when we start working on "Down Stay".
So, to start, get your high value treat out and cut them up nice and small. Lure your dog into the sitting position using the sit hand signal and luring technique we used in the previous lesson. Once your dog has held his sit for 3-5 seconds, flip your hand over (palm down) and slowly lure his nose down towards his front paws. Your hand should be positioned down, with the treat between your first finger and thumb. As you lure the dogs nose down towards his front paws he will either slide his back paws back or his front paws forward. As soon as his belly touches the ground reward him with his treat.
This is going to more challenging with some dogs than others, but this has worked with every dog I have trained (there have been thousands at this point). Do not give up. Be patient and move the treat slowly down. As you move the treat, watch your dogs body language and determine what direction you need to move the treat to get him in the down position. It may be slightly forward or slightly backward. The tendency is for people to lure the dog forward into a down. This will cause the dog's butt to pop up and for him to be in a standing position (the opposite of what we want).
Play with this command a little. If your dog gets frustrated go back to something he knows (sit) and reward that behavior a few times. Then try again. If you get frustrated go have a stiff drink and try again. The only time he should get a treat when working on down is when his belly is all the way on the floor.
Good Luck.....
Feel free to comment with questions.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Indoor Dog Park Canceled For The Summer
Hello PACmembers....
For the past 4 months we have offered an indoor dog park for anyone that wanted to attend. It has been soooo much fun for us. Owners were able to come in and play with their dogs and get a look at how daycare works.
At this time, we use our daycare play rooms for our boarding. The PAC is doing 15+ dogs per night, and unfortunately this puts customers at risk in the play room. We are working on getting the second floor renovated for boarding, but it is a pretty major project, and is going to take most of the summer. We sincerely appreciate the cage-free boarding business, and hope it continues, but at this point we are going to have to hold off on the Indoor Dog park until September (target month for finishing the renovations upstairs).
I apologize for any inconvenience, especially to those that have been coming every week for the past few months. We thank you so much for supporting our business, and I will add a free day of daycare to your package!
Have a great day....enjoy your dog!
For the past 4 months we have offered an indoor dog park for anyone that wanted to attend. It has been soooo much fun for us. Owners were able to come in and play with their dogs and get a look at how daycare works.
At this time, we use our daycare play rooms for our boarding. The PAC is doing 15+ dogs per night, and unfortunately this puts customers at risk in the play room. We are working on getting the second floor renovated for boarding, but it is a pretty major project, and is going to take most of the summer. We sincerely appreciate the cage-free boarding business, and hope it continues, but at this point we are going to have to hold off on the Indoor Dog park until September (target month for finishing the renovations upstairs).
I apologize for any inconvenience, especially to those that have been coming every week for the past few months. We thank you so much for supporting our business, and I will add a free day of daycare to your package!
Have a great day....enjoy your dog!
Friday, June 22, 2007
Breed Bans & My Opinion
Hello PACmembers...
I am writing the following, because recently, people have been asking how I feel about Breed Specific Legislation. I believe that holding the dogs responsible is just a way of passing the buck. They are animals and are going to do what animals do...I also don't think that euthanizing and entire breed is likely, or going to solve anything. If we do ban Pittbulls, Rotts, Dogos, Ban dogs, or anything other breed, and we actually manage to eliminate them...another breed will be soon to follow. There will always be a new breed to replace the existing problem. So here is my answer...and BREEDERS...your not going to like this.....
First, it is important to understand, a well bred Pitbull IS dog aggressive, NOT human aggressive. Pittbulls were originally designed to fight other dogs. The dogs that fought the hardest were bred to create even stronger fighting dogs. The dogs that were weak, and the dogs that bit their owners were euthanized. In the early days of pit fighting the dogs were separated from each other frequently throughout a single fight. This meant that a person had to be able to intervene with out getting bit. If the dog bit them they were immediately euthanized. So by definition, a Pittbull that is people aggressive is POORLY bred. Who's fault is that....THE BREEDERS!
The answer:
1)ALL BREEDERS MUST BE LICENSED AND CAREFULLY REGULATED BY THE STATE (similar to gun dealers).
2)THE BREEDER IS LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOGS THEY BREED FOR 2 GENERATIONS OF BREEDING.
I can hear the gasps and groans of how unfair this is already. Please let me explain. 99% of dog bites stem from two things. One, poor breeding practices (i.e. genetic issues, uneducated parings), and two, careless ownership (aggression stemming from the dogs environment). If every breeder was going to be held financially and criminally liable for the actions of their dogs (dogs out of their line), several things would change. Breeders would be extremely selective in how they bred, why they bred, and what they bred.
They other major key is that they would be more selective in who they sold the dog too. For instance, a breeder of working Rottweiler's has a litter, and a potential owner inquires about purchase for a family pet. The answer should be a prompt and clear no, but these days that is not necessarily the case. To think the average family can provide a high drive Rott with adequate exercise, training, and work is ridiculous.
I have been a trainer/behaviorist for 9 years. I specialize in aggression and other severe behavioral issues. More often than not, owners of aggressive dogs have purchased a dog completely wrong for their lifestyle, situation, and expertise. It should be the job of the breeder (theoretically an expert on the breed) to determine whether or not this potential family is right for this dog. The breeders need to take responsibility for their carelessness.
Not everyone should own a Pittbull, rottweiler, GSD, Malinois and a number of other working dogs. In fact, most absolutely should not. So who gets to decide who owns what. Well, the breeder. Since the breeder is already in control of this decision lets make them responsible for its outcome.
This solution eliminates careless breeding, back yard breeding, uneducated breeding, putting pets in the wrong environment, putting pets in abusive environments....all of these things combined would bring the likelihood of a bite incident to nearly zero. These list above would be considered crimes.
Let's think about an actual bite situation and determine how this could have been affected by these new laws:
1) A dog born full of anxiety and fear (more common than you think because of poor breeding standards) is sold to a very loving family who are going to give him a happy, safe, and stable life. He'll have plenty of room to run and play, the best food money can buy, all the toys in the world, and most important of all...lots of love. After the dog has been in the new owners home for about 13 months the owner startles the dog and is bitten in the face. Unbelievably, this owners Pittbull has "turned" on him, and nearly killed him. He had taken such good care of the dog...what happened. It must be the breed. WRONG. An unskilled breeder bred a working dog with weak nerves and poor temperament, and then placed this dog in an environment with people who did not know how to handle this issue. A "breed expert" created this disaster and should be held responsible.
Every single bite incident is affected by, and the responsibility of, the dogs breeder. It is time for them to be aggressively regulated, and take responsibility for there actions.
I love to debate this topic so please feel free to contact me for further discussion .www.petathleticclub.com
I am writing the following, because recently, people have been asking how I feel about Breed Specific Legislation. I believe that holding the dogs responsible is just a way of passing the buck. They are animals and are going to do what animals do...I also don't think that euthanizing and entire breed is likely, or going to solve anything. If we do ban Pittbulls, Rotts, Dogos, Ban dogs, or anything other breed, and we actually manage to eliminate them...another breed will be soon to follow. There will always be a new breed to replace the existing problem. So here is my answer...and BREEDERS...your not going to like this.....
First, it is important to understand, a well bred Pitbull IS dog aggressive, NOT human aggressive. Pittbulls were originally designed to fight other dogs. The dogs that fought the hardest were bred to create even stronger fighting dogs. The dogs that were weak, and the dogs that bit their owners were euthanized. In the early days of pit fighting the dogs were separated from each other frequently throughout a single fight. This meant that a person had to be able to intervene with out getting bit. If the dog bit them they were immediately euthanized. So by definition, a Pittbull that is people aggressive is POORLY bred. Who's fault is that....THE BREEDERS!
The answer:
1)ALL BREEDERS MUST BE LICENSED AND CAREFULLY REGULATED BY THE STATE (similar to gun dealers).
2)THE BREEDER IS LEGALLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DOGS THEY BREED FOR 2 GENERATIONS OF BREEDING.
I can hear the gasps and groans of how unfair this is already. Please let me explain. 99% of dog bites stem from two things. One, poor breeding practices (i.e. genetic issues, uneducated parings), and two, careless ownership (aggression stemming from the dogs environment). If every breeder was going to be held financially and criminally liable for the actions of their dogs (dogs out of their line), several things would change. Breeders would be extremely selective in how they bred, why they bred, and what they bred.
They other major key is that they would be more selective in who they sold the dog too. For instance, a breeder of working Rottweiler's has a litter, and a potential owner inquires about purchase for a family pet. The answer should be a prompt and clear no, but these days that is not necessarily the case. To think the average family can provide a high drive Rott with adequate exercise, training, and work is ridiculous.
I have been a trainer/behaviorist for 9 years. I specialize in aggression and other severe behavioral issues. More often than not, owners of aggressive dogs have purchased a dog completely wrong for their lifestyle, situation, and expertise. It should be the job of the breeder (theoretically an expert on the breed) to determine whether or not this potential family is right for this dog. The breeders need to take responsibility for their carelessness.
Not everyone should own a Pittbull, rottweiler, GSD, Malinois and a number of other working dogs. In fact, most absolutely should not. So who gets to decide who owns what. Well, the breeder. Since the breeder is already in control of this decision lets make them responsible for its outcome.
This solution eliminates careless breeding, back yard breeding, uneducated breeding, putting pets in the wrong environment, putting pets in abusive environments....all of these things combined would bring the likelihood of a bite incident to nearly zero. These list above would be considered crimes.
Let's think about an actual bite situation and determine how this could have been affected by these new laws:
1) A dog born full of anxiety and fear (more common than you think because of poor breeding standards) is sold to a very loving family who are going to give him a happy, safe, and stable life. He'll have plenty of room to run and play, the best food money can buy, all the toys in the world, and most important of all...lots of love. After the dog has been in the new owners home for about 13 months the owner startles the dog and is bitten in the face. Unbelievably, this owners Pittbull has "turned" on him, and nearly killed him. He had taken such good care of the dog...what happened. It must be the breed. WRONG. An unskilled breeder bred a working dog with weak nerves and poor temperament, and then placed this dog in an environment with people who did not know how to handle this issue. A "breed expert" created this disaster and should be held responsible.
Every single bite incident is affected by, and the responsibility of, the dogs breeder. It is time for them to be aggressively regulated, and take responsibility for there actions.
I love to debate this topic so please feel free to contact me for further discussion .www.petathleticclub.com
Monday, June 18, 2007
The PAC makes the Enquirer!
Hello PACmembers....
I hope everyone had a chance to see the article about us in the Sunday edition of the Enquirer. It was great! The journalist did a wonderful job.
Also, I wanted to thank Jaime & Louann for there quotes...we appreciate the kind words and all of the support!
Here's the link
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070617/BIZ01/706170341/-1/back01
Check back later for todays training lesson!
www.petathleticclub.com
I hope everyone had a chance to see the article about us in the Sunday edition of the Enquirer. It was great! The journalist did a wonderful job.
Also, I wanted to thank Jaime & Louann for there quotes...we appreciate the kind words and all of the support!
Here's the link
http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070617/BIZ01/706170341/-1/back01
Check back later for todays training lesson!
www.petathleticclub.com
Friday, June 15, 2007
Sit...our first obedience command....
Hello PACmembers...
Hope everyone is having success with the name game. Those that I heard from seem to be doing pretty well.
Today we are going to learn our first hand signal and obedience command. You are going to be "luring" your dogs into a sit today. No verbal cues will be used for the next two weeks (besides the dogs name). Our hand signal for "sit" is simply open palm, palm facing up. Here is the way this work:
Get a very high value treat, and place it near the dogs nose. Once he is aware of the treat, move the treat up and back towards the dogs rear. This motion will lure the dogs head backwards and cause him to move into the sitting position. Move the treat very slowly, and be patient. You may have to lure his head up and back a few times before he has the hang of it. As soon as his rear end hits the ground reward him with the treat from your hand. Repeat the exercise 10-15 times, rewarding the dog each and every time as soon as his butt hits the ground.
Now lets teach the hand signal. Again, our hand signal will be palm open and up towards the ceiling. Place the treat between your thumb and first finger, with your other fingers extended. Use the same luring move as above to motivate your dog to sit. As soon as his butt hits the floor give him the treat. Practice this about 10 times.
Once he seems to have the idea, offer the hand signal (without the movement), and wait. It will take your dog a second, but he will sit on his own. Reward him right away. Practice this about 10 more times.
Take a break...come back to this in about 3-5 hours. When starting the second session, start with the hand signal, treat, and a small luring motion. Practice this 4-5 times. Now it is time to take the treat out of the situation and just use the hand signal. Hold the treat in your left hand behind your back. Offer the hand signal again, pretending you still have the treat in the hand signal hand. After your dog sits, reward him from your left hand.
Practice this procedure in as many different environment and on as many different surfaces as you can. Try to do about 30 sits a day. Use only the and signal...no verbal cues at all.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.....
If you have any questions leave a comment, email, or log onto www.petathleticclub.com and go to our new live support function, and speak with a trainer directly.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Hope everyone is having success with the name game. Those that I heard from seem to be doing pretty well.
Today we are going to learn our first hand signal and obedience command. You are going to be "luring" your dogs into a sit today. No verbal cues will be used for the next two weeks (besides the dogs name). Our hand signal for "sit" is simply open palm, palm facing up. Here is the way this work:
Get a very high value treat, and place it near the dogs nose. Once he is aware of the treat, move the treat up and back towards the dogs rear. This motion will lure the dogs head backwards and cause him to move into the sitting position. Move the treat very slowly, and be patient. You may have to lure his head up and back a few times before he has the hang of it. As soon as his rear end hits the ground reward him with the treat from your hand. Repeat the exercise 10-15 times, rewarding the dog each and every time as soon as his butt hits the ground.
Now lets teach the hand signal. Again, our hand signal will be palm open and up towards the ceiling. Place the treat between your thumb and first finger, with your other fingers extended. Use the same luring move as above to motivate your dog to sit. As soon as his butt hits the floor give him the treat. Practice this about 10 times.
Once he seems to have the idea, offer the hand signal (without the movement), and wait. It will take your dog a second, but he will sit on his own. Reward him right away. Practice this about 10 more times.
Take a break...come back to this in about 3-5 hours. When starting the second session, start with the hand signal, treat, and a small luring motion. Practice this 4-5 times. Now it is time to take the treat out of the situation and just use the hand signal. Hold the treat in your left hand behind your back. Offer the hand signal again, pretending you still have the treat in the hand signal hand. After your dog sits, reward him from your left hand.
Practice this procedure in as many different environment and on as many different surfaces as you can. Try to do about 30 sits a day. Use only the and signal...no verbal cues at all.
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE.....
If you have any questions leave a comment, email, or log onto www.petathleticclub.com and go to our new live support function, and speak with a trainer directly.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
What commands will we be learning...
I have received a number of emails asking what commands we will be learning and how many a week we will cover. The online program will cover a minimum of 15 commands (probably more), and we will do about 3 a week.
The rough order will be:
Name Game
Sit
Down
Stand
Walking on Loose Leash
Sit Stay
Down Stay
Come
Heel
Leave It
Go to Place
Settle
Drop It
Wait
Roll Over
Play Dead (Bang)
Shake
Under Arrest
Speak
Spin
If you do not see a command on here, and you would like to learn how to teach it, please let me know. I have already received a request for teaching "get me a beer!"....
www.petathleticclub.com
The rough order will be:
Name Game
Sit
Down
Stand
Walking on Loose Leash
Sit Stay
Down Stay
Come
Heel
Leave It
Go to Place
Settle
Drop It
Wait
Roll Over
Play Dead (Bang)
Shake
Under Arrest
Speak
Spin
If you do not see a command on here, and you would like to learn how to teach it, please let me know. I have already received a request for teaching "get me a beer!"....
www.petathleticclub.com
Phases of Training & Name Game
Hello PACmembers...
Today is the day that you have all been waiting for. Today, we begin to teach basic obedience.
Today's tasks include understanding the phases of training and the "Name Game".
There are 3 phases of dog training.
1) The Learning Phase - During this phase your dog is LEARNING new commands & behaviors using strictly positive reinforcement. Correcting a dog at this stage of the game is like punishing a toddler for going to the bathroom in a diaper. We will use treats, toys, & praise to get results during this phase.
2) The Correction Phase - This phase never begins before 8-9 months of age, and only after you are certain the dog knows the command 110% ! In this phase of training we will continue to reward the dog when he performs correctly, however if he chooses not to obey, then we will administer a correction. The correction maybe verbal, using body language, or a collar correction. This will vary from dog to dog. Hitting your dog with your hand is never a correction...it is abuse and will not be tolerated.
3) The Proofing Phase - As a rule, dogs do not generalize anything well...especially early on. During this phase of training we focus on introducing the dog to as many distractions and situations as we can. We work on "proofing" his commands in these new situations until we are confident he can perform anywhere.
All of the training we are going to do over the next few weeks will be in the learning phase. This means NO corrections what so ever...at all....under any circumstances...! Odds are, during this phase, if your dog is not complying, you are the one screwing up. So if you start to get frustrated, roll up a newspaper really tight, and give yourself a good smack upside the head. This should be a reminder that you are the one making the mistakes, not the dog. At this stage he can do no wrong.
Let's start off with a very basic command. Your dogs NAME. Most of you probably don't think of your dogs name as a command, but it is. It means hey look at me, give me your attention, so I can tell you what to do next. If we can't get your dogs attention...it's going to be hard to get him to do much else. The NAME is the most important command and should be treated as such. I know right now most of you are thinking, my dog knows his name....I assure you there are plenty of situations that he doesn't, and these are normally the situations that we need his attention most.
Here is how the game works:
Get a little plastic baggy of very small treats (should be about 30 or so). These treats should be VERY high value (I recommend freeze dried liver). I want you to hang out with your dog and wait until he is distracted, not paying any attention to you (he should be OFF leash for this exercise). For most of us, this won't take very long. Once the dog is distracted I want you to say his name VERY clearly, ONE TIME! As soon as he turns and looks at you I want you to TOSS him a treat! Then you are going to wait until he is distracted again, and repeat this exact same process.
Some Basic Rules:
-The 30 treats should be used over the course of a day, do not play this game 30 times in a row for 30 minutes.
-Do NOT ever use your dogs name as a correction from this point forward. All the name means is "look at me"
-Your dog does not have to come to you when you say his name. All he needs to do is look in your direction...we are looking for eye contact. So, just toss the treat to the dog when you get the attention we want.
-If you are doing this game with a young pup, you may not be able to toss the treat. His mouth-eye coordination may not be good enough yet. I recommend sliding the treat across the floor, and starting this exercise closer to the dog.
-Practice this game in as many different environments as you can. Inside, outside, on grass, on carpet, with dogs around, without dogs around, with people around, while you are sitting, standing, laying on the ground, etc. You will find, over the course of the training, that if you change one dynamic in the environment the dog is often starting from scratch.
-You are going to play this game for one week, throughout each day.
-For those of you that have new rescue dogs and want to change there names...this is a great time to do it.
As always, if you have any other questions please post them in the comments section. There are about 30 dogs participating in this online training and we a growing by about 10 per week. Please encourage your friends and family to participate. Every dog can use a little bit more training.
A lot of you that have questions are sending me emails instead of posting to the comments. I want everyone to be able to learn from each other (a lot of you have the same questions, because most of them are on things I didn't explain clearly enough). I am going to begin posting some of the emails I get, especially if I think others will benefit from either the question or answer.
That is all for today...just start working the name game...tomorrow we learn how to teach sit using a hand signal!
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Today is the day that you have all been waiting for. Today, we begin to teach basic obedience.
Today's tasks include understanding the phases of training and the "Name Game".
There are 3 phases of dog training.
1) The Learning Phase - During this phase your dog is LEARNING new commands & behaviors using strictly positive reinforcement. Correcting a dog at this stage of the game is like punishing a toddler for going to the bathroom in a diaper. We will use treats, toys, & praise to get results during this phase.
2) The Correction Phase - This phase never begins before 8-9 months of age, and only after you are certain the dog knows the command 110% ! In this phase of training we will continue to reward the dog when he performs correctly, however if he chooses not to obey, then we will administer a correction. The correction maybe verbal, using body language, or a collar correction. This will vary from dog to dog. Hitting your dog with your hand is never a correction...it is abuse and will not be tolerated.
3) The Proofing Phase - As a rule, dogs do not generalize anything well...especially early on. During this phase of training we focus on introducing the dog to as many distractions and situations as we can. We work on "proofing" his commands in these new situations until we are confident he can perform anywhere.
All of the training we are going to do over the next few weeks will be in the learning phase. This means NO corrections what so ever...at all....under any circumstances...! Odds are, during this phase, if your dog is not complying, you are the one screwing up. So if you start to get frustrated, roll up a newspaper really tight, and give yourself a good smack upside the head. This should be a reminder that you are the one making the mistakes, not the dog. At this stage he can do no wrong.
Let's start off with a very basic command. Your dogs NAME. Most of you probably don't think of your dogs name as a command, but it is. It means hey look at me, give me your attention, so I can tell you what to do next. If we can't get your dogs attention...it's going to be hard to get him to do much else. The NAME is the most important command and should be treated as such. I know right now most of you are thinking, my dog knows his name....I assure you there are plenty of situations that he doesn't, and these are normally the situations that we need his attention most.
Here is how the game works:
Get a little plastic baggy of very small treats (should be about 30 or so). These treats should be VERY high value (I recommend freeze dried liver). I want you to hang out with your dog and wait until he is distracted, not paying any attention to you (he should be OFF leash for this exercise). For most of us, this won't take very long. Once the dog is distracted I want you to say his name VERY clearly, ONE TIME! As soon as he turns and looks at you I want you to TOSS him a treat! Then you are going to wait until he is distracted again, and repeat this exact same process.
Some Basic Rules:
-The 30 treats should be used over the course of a day, do not play this game 30 times in a row for 30 minutes.
-Do NOT ever use your dogs name as a correction from this point forward. All the name means is "look at me"
-Your dog does not have to come to you when you say his name. All he needs to do is look in your direction...we are looking for eye contact. So, just toss the treat to the dog when you get the attention we want.
-If you are doing this game with a young pup, you may not be able to toss the treat. His mouth-eye coordination may not be good enough yet. I recommend sliding the treat across the floor, and starting this exercise closer to the dog.
-Practice this game in as many different environments as you can. Inside, outside, on grass, on carpet, with dogs around, without dogs around, with people around, while you are sitting, standing, laying on the ground, etc. You will find, over the course of the training, that if you change one dynamic in the environment the dog is often starting from scratch.
-You are going to play this game for one week, throughout each day.
-For those of you that have new rescue dogs and want to change there names...this is a great time to do it.
As always, if you have any other questions please post them in the comments section. There are about 30 dogs participating in this online training and we a growing by about 10 per week. Please encourage your friends and family to participate. Every dog can use a little bit more training.
A lot of you that have questions are sending me emails instead of posting to the comments. I want everyone to be able to learn from each other (a lot of you have the same questions, because most of them are on things I didn't explain clearly enough). I am going to begin posting some of the emails I get, especially if I think others will benefit from either the question or answer.
That is all for today...just start working the name game...tomorrow we learn how to teach sit using a hand signal!
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Nutrition, Handling, & Toys
Hello PACmembers....
Today we are going to cover the last three sections of the orientation. I know a lot of you are anxious to get started on the actual obedience training.
Nutrition -
There is a load of information written on the topic in regards to people and dogs. I am going to save us all a big headache and just share the info necessary to make sure you have your dog on a reasonable diet.
There are three main things to consider when selecting a dog food.
1) Protein content- as a general rule, the higher the protein content the better quality the food. The only time this rule does not come in to play is with puppy food. Too much protein can cause developmental problems. With an adult food I like to see a protein content greater than 28%. Just check the back of your bag for all the info.
2) Number of ingredients - The fewer the ingredients the better the food. The longer the list of ingredients the more "junk" they have added to the food. When comparing two brands of food the one with less ingredients is more!
3) First two ingredients - should be proteins. You should be looking for something like chicken, chicken meal, beef, lamb, etc. as the first TWO ingredients. If a grain is listed first or second, keep on shopping.
There are 3 tiers of dog food. Grocery brand (aka...crap), premium (specialty store), and super premium. I advise you to always feed premium at a minimum and super premium if your budget allows for it. Grocery brand food is going to lead to health problems later in life.
Some examples of each category - grocery brand (Purina, Pedigree, Ol' Roy, Kibbles n' Bits, basically anything you can buy at the supermarket) - Premium (Science Diet, Nutro, Eukanuba, Blue Buffalo, anything you can get at Petsmart, but not at the supermarket) - Super Premium (Innova, Eagle Pack, Flint River, BARF, California Gold, etc, these can be a little harder to track down, but Complete PetMart has a great selection of super premium).
Handling -
It is important that you can handle/physically manipulate your dog in any situation. It is important to handle your dog from top to bottom EVERYDAY. Start with the back of the neck and slowly work your way down your dogs spine to the base of the tail making small light circles. Work your way back up to the top of his head. Now work your hand down each leg to the base of the foot. Grip each foot firmly, spreading each toe individually. After carefully massaging each foot, move on to the face. Rub down each ear, inside and out, then lift each lip and run your finger a long the gum line. Finally gently roll your dog over onto his side or back and rub down his stomach and neck.
Doing this exercise daily will help build trust between you and your dog, and will teach your dog to be comfortable with being or groomed or examined by a veterinarian.
Toys -
There are a wide variety of toys available for your dogs. Everything from rawhide to soft squeakers to natural bones. As a rule of thumb, rawhide is BAD. It is dangerous and not easily digestible. If you have some available for your dog, get up, and THROW IT AWAY. There are to many better alternatives.
Plush toys are only right for some dogs. If your dog can destroy them or pull the squeakers out they are a bad idea.
I recommend hard rubber toys like Kong's, natural bones (either sterilized or not), tug toys, and other interactive toys like buster cubes.
The number one toy I recommend is the BUSY DOG BALL at www.busydogball.com
My dogs love this toy and will play with it for hours.
If you have any questions about specific toys please feel free to ask. Better safe than sorry.
Tomorrow we are going to begin my basic obedience program. We will learn the name game, and the first basic command. I am trying to figure out how to post pictures so I can show you the hand signals and proper luring techniques. I may even try and post some video from time to time.
Until tomorrow...
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Today we are going to cover the last three sections of the orientation. I know a lot of you are anxious to get started on the actual obedience training.
Nutrition -
There is a load of information written on the topic in regards to people and dogs. I am going to save us all a big headache and just share the info necessary to make sure you have your dog on a reasonable diet.
There are three main things to consider when selecting a dog food.
1) Protein content- as a general rule, the higher the protein content the better quality the food. The only time this rule does not come in to play is with puppy food. Too much protein can cause developmental problems. With an adult food I like to see a protein content greater than 28%. Just check the back of your bag for all the info.
2) Number of ingredients - The fewer the ingredients the better the food. The longer the list of ingredients the more "junk" they have added to the food. When comparing two brands of food the one with less ingredients is more!
3) First two ingredients - should be proteins. You should be looking for something like chicken, chicken meal, beef, lamb, etc. as the first TWO ingredients. If a grain is listed first or second, keep on shopping.
There are 3 tiers of dog food. Grocery brand (aka...crap), premium (specialty store), and super premium. I advise you to always feed premium at a minimum and super premium if your budget allows for it. Grocery brand food is going to lead to health problems later in life.
Some examples of each category - grocery brand (Purina, Pedigree, Ol' Roy, Kibbles n' Bits, basically anything you can buy at the supermarket) - Premium (Science Diet, Nutro, Eukanuba, Blue Buffalo, anything you can get at Petsmart, but not at the supermarket) - Super Premium (Innova, Eagle Pack, Flint River, BARF, California Gold, etc, these can be a little harder to track down, but Complete PetMart has a great selection of super premium).
Handling -
It is important that you can handle/physically manipulate your dog in any situation. It is important to handle your dog from top to bottom EVERYDAY. Start with the back of the neck and slowly work your way down your dogs spine to the base of the tail making small light circles. Work your way back up to the top of his head. Now work your hand down each leg to the base of the foot. Grip each foot firmly, spreading each toe individually. After carefully massaging each foot, move on to the face. Rub down each ear, inside and out, then lift each lip and run your finger a long the gum line. Finally gently roll your dog over onto his side or back and rub down his stomach and neck.
Doing this exercise daily will help build trust between you and your dog, and will teach your dog to be comfortable with being or groomed or examined by a veterinarian.
Toys -
There are a wide variety of toys available for your dogs. Everything from rawhide to soft squeakers to natural bones. As a rule of thumb, rawhide is BAD. It is dangerous and not easily digestible. If you have some available for your dog, get up, and THROW IT AWAY. There are to many better alternatives.
Plush toys are only right for some dogs. If your dog can destroy them or pull the squeakers out they are a bad idea.
I recommend hard rubber toys like Kong's, natural bones (either sterilized or not), tug toys, and other interactive toys like buster cubes.
The number one toy I recommend is the BUSY DOG BALL at www.busydogball.com
My dogs love this toy and will play with it for hours.
If you have any questions about specific toys please feel free to ask. Better safe than sorry.
Tomorrow we are going to begin my basic obedience program. We will learn the name game, and the first basic command. I am trying to figure out how to post pictures so I can show you the hand signals and proper luring techniques. I may even try and post some video from time to time.
Until tomorrow...
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Thursday, June 7, 2007
The Big Reveal....
Hello PACmembers...
Sorry I missed yesterdays blog....I know you are all eagerly awaiting the answer to your prayers...at least those with the dogs eliminating in your house....
Here it is...I am going to try and keep this short and sweet! Potty training is SIMPLE!
First and foremost, your dog must be crate trained (See the blog on crate training). This is important because we absolutely must have a place where we can put the dog where he is reluctant to go the bathroom. As a general rule dogs do not like to eliminate where they sleep and eat. Some dogs will, but that is a whole other problem. Contact me privately about that issue.
Here is the big secret to potty training your dogs of any age - YOUR DOG MUST BE EITHER ON LEASH WITH YOU OR IN HIS CRATE AT ALL TIMES! There are no exceptions to this rule.
He is either in his crate (i.e. at night, while your at work, any time you can not have the dog attached to you by leash), or he is physically attached to you at all times. This way he never has a chance to slip away and eliminate on the floor. He will be right there with you so you can watch for his signals (sniffing, spinning, pawing, etc.), and take him out to the bathroom right away. When you get outside (BTW...he is still on leash), give him the "go potty" command, and as soon as he is done throw a party. Get as excited as you can and offer a treat. He will quickly learn that this is the spot he should go to when he needs to go out.
As a general rule, when dogs are sleeping they can hold it for the number of months they are old + 1. This equals the total number of hour they can hold their bladder (ie. 3 month old pup can go 4 hours at night). The rule of thumb during the day is that they need to go out a lot! I take my pups out every two hours at a minimum.
Once you have gone 24 days (# of days it takes a dog to develop a habit), with the dog on leash and NO mistakes, you can start giving him 5 minutes off leash supervised play at a time. Add about 5 minutes a day and in no time you will have a dog that can be trusted anywhere in the house, and is completely potty trained.
Once you have gone 90 days with no accidents, your dog is considered potty trained!
The leashing technique is called the "Umbilical Cord Technique". This technique can be used to eliminate a number of negative behaviors including chewing, jumping, nipping, etc. The leash gives you total control of the dog any time he is not confined. This prevents him from being able to demonstrate negative behaviors and allows you to influence positive behaviors.
Good Luck with this PACmembers...potty training is only as hard as you make it.
If anyone has specific problems with their dog please email me or let me know via the comments section.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Sorry I missed yesterdays blog....I know you are all eagerly awaiting the answer to your prayers...at least those with the dogs eliminating in your house....
Here it is...I am going to try and keep this short and sweet! Potty training is SIMPLE!
First and foremost, your dog must be crate trained (See the blog on crate training). This is important because we absolutely must have a place where we can put the dog where he is reluctant to go the bathroom. As a general rule dogs do not like to eliminate where they sleep and eat. Some dogs will, but that is a whole other problem. Contact me privately about that issue.
Here is the big secret to potty training your dogs of any age - YOUR DOG MUST BE EITHER ON LEASH WITH YOU OR IN HIS CRATE AT ALL TIMES! There are no exceptions to this rule.
He is either in his crate (i.e. at night, while your at work, any time you can not have the dog attached to you by leash), or he is physically attached to you at all times. This way he never has a chance to slip away and eliminate on the floor. He will be right there with you so you can watch for his signals (sniffing, spinning, pawing, etc.), and take him out to the bathroom right away. When you get outside (BTW...he is still on leash), give him the "go potty" command, and as soon as he is done throw a party. Get as excited as you can and offer a treat. He will quickly learn that this is the spot he should go to when he needs to go out.
As a general rule, when dogs are sleeping they can hold it for the number of months they are old + 1. This equals the total number of hour they can hold their bladder (ie. 3 month old pup can go 4 hours at night). The rule of thumb during the day is that they need to go out a lot! I take my pups out every two hours at a minimum.
Once you have gone 24 days (# of days it takes a dog to develop a habit), with the dog on leash and NO mistakes, you can start giving him 5 minutes off leash supervised play at a time. Add about 5 minutes a day and in no time you will have a dog that can be trusted anywhere in the house, and is completely potty trained.
Once you have gone 90 days with no accidents, your dog is considered potty trained!
The leashing technique is called the "Umbilical Cord Technique". This technique can be used to eliminate a number of negative behaviors including chewing, jumping, nipping, etc. The leash gives you total control of the dog any time he is not confined. This prevents him from being able to demonstrate negative behaviors and allows you to influence positive behaviors.
Good Luck with this PACmembers...potty training is only as hard as you make it.
If anyone has specific problems with their dog please email me or let me know via the comments section.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
Crate & Potty Training
Hello PACmembers...
I actually have the answer to your prayers today...that is, if your do is not potty trained. The method I am going to teach you is fool proof and guaranteed to be successful!
First, though, we need to discuss crate training. There are basically two ways to do it. The Easy Way and The Hard Way.
The Easy Way: Purchase a crate that is the proper size for your dog. The crate should be just large enough for your dog to walk in, turn around and lay down. This is not a condo, this is a crate. Buying something over sized because you feel guilty is just going to drag out this process. Remember, dogs are den animals...the crate will be his "den". The first day you bring the crate home let the dog sniff it out, eat some treats out of it, and play with a toy or two near it. Do not make this a bigger deal than it needs to be. At bed time, place the crate in a room as far away from yours as you possibly can, politely place the dog in the crate, close the door, turn off the light, and go to bed. The dog will likely cry, bark, and whimper...maybe even for a few hours, but at some point the dog will bark himself to sleep. Follow this same procedure for the next 3-5 days while at work and at night, and your dog will be crate trained before you know it.
It is important to remember:
1) Never let your dog out of the crate when he is making noise.
2) Do not make a big deal about putting him in the crate. The bigger deal you make this process the bigger deal it will be for him.
3) Feed your dog BOTH meals in the crate. (refer to the blog on "Feeding")
4) Use his crate for timeouts (refer to the blog on "Timeouts")
5) Never ever use the crate as punishment (i.e. throw the dog in, smack the outside of the crate, yell at the dog while he's in the crate, etc.) All his experiences associated with the crate should be positive or neutral. Never negative!
The Hard Way: I call this method the hard way mainly because it takes longer and it is more work. I would normally only use this method for a dog with separation anxiety, but owners who can't take the barking/crying can use it for basic crate training.
Once you have selected a crate as mentioned above, place it in your living room. For the next two days just completely ignore the crate. Just treat it like a new piece of furniture. On the third morning at your dogs usual feeding time place the food in the back of the crate (allow your dog to watch you do this). Follow our "Feeding" guidelines from the previous blog. If the dog does not decide to go in and eat, then his food goes away after 20 minutes. Continue following this procedure for the next 7 days. Allow your dog to eat in the crate with the door open. If he does not eat in the crate...he does not eat. Don't worry YOUR DOG WILL NOT STARVE HIMSELF! When he is hungry enough he will eat. After he has been eating in his crate consistently for a few days start closing the door behind him when he goes in for meals (he may revert back to his non-eating ways the first few times the door is shut. After he is eating comfortably with the door shut, start adding about 5 minutes a day to the length of time he is in the crate. After about 2 weeks he will be over an hour in the crate. At this point 90% of dogs will be totally comfortable in their crates. This process can take as long as a month from start to finish, but when you are finished, even the most resistant dogs will be crate trained.
The same "important things to remember" apply from above.
In my opinion every dog should be crate trained for their safety and your sanity. It is nice to have a safe place for your dog when you need to spend time doing other things. Your dog will also enjoy having a safe place that is his, where he can go relax and not be pestered by us annoying humans.
A common question I get is "how long is too long for my dog to be in his crate?". With puppies: (the number of months they are old) + (1) = the number of hours they can spend in their crate. A 3 month old puppy can go 4 hours with out a bathroom break. This will be a strict guideline we will follow when we start the potty training process.
For adult dogs the rules are a little different...Focus on the quality of time spent out of the crate rather than the quantity. Take our working dogs (SAR, Patrol, Personal Protection) for example, they are only out of their crates for 4 hours a day unless they are working. But the 4 hours they are out of the crate are extremely intense. By the end, they are exhausted and ready to go back to the crate and rest. They come out of the crate from 8am-10am work their butts off, and head back to their crate until about 7pm-9pm when they come out for more work. The mistake I see people make is that the dog is crated from 8am-6pm and then gets to sit around with the family until about 10pm and is then re-crated until 7am. This dog was only out of the crate for 5 hours and was then expected to sit around and do nothing. That doesn't seem fair. Now, this doesn't mean that you are doing any better just because you leave the dog free to roam the house all day. The house is just like a really big crate. The dog still needs to work.
So, moral of the story, the more effort you put in while the dog is out of the crate, the better behaved your dog will be in the crate.
We are out of time for today, but I promise to reveal the big potty training secret first thing tomorrow.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
I actually have the answer to your prayers today...that is, if your do is not potty trained. The method I am going to teach you is fool proof and guaranteed to be successful!
First, though, we need to discuss crate training. There are basically two ways to do it. The Easy Way and The Hard Way.
The Easy Way: Purchase a crate that is the proper size for your dog. The crate should be just large enough for your dog to walk in, turn around and lay down. This is not a condo, this is a crate. Buying something over sized because you feel guilty is just going to drag out this process. Remember, dogs are den animals...the crate will be his "den". The first day you bring the crate home let the dog sniff it out, eat some treats out of it, and play with a toy or two near it. Do not make this a bigger deal than it needs to be. At bed time, place the crate in a room as far away from yours as you possibly can, politely place the dog in the crate, close the door, turn off the light, and go to bed. The dog will likely cry, bark, and whimper...maybe even for a few hours, but at some point the dog will bark himself to sleep. Follow this same procedure for the next 3-5 days while at work and at night, and your dog will be crate trained before you know it.
It is important to remember:
1) Never let your dog out of the crate when he is making noise.
2) Do not make a big deal about putting him in the crate. The bigger deal you make this process the bigger deal it will be for him.
3) Feed your dog BOTH meals in the crate. (refer to the blog on "Feeding")
4) Use his crate for timeouts (refer to the blog on "Timeouts")
5) Never ever use the crate as punishment (i.e. throw the dog in, smack the outside of the crate, yell at the dog while he's in the crate, etc.) All his experiences associated with the crate should be positive or neutral. Never negative!
The Hard Way: I call this method the hard way mainly because it takes longer and it is more work. I would normally only use this method for a dog with separation anxiety, but owners who can't take the barking/crying can use it for basic crate training.
Once you have selected a crate as mentioned above, place it in your living room. For the next two days just completely ignore the crate. Just treat it like a new piece of furniture. On the third morning at your dogs usual feeding time place the food in the back of the crate (allow your dog to watch you do this). Follow our "Feeding" guidelines from the previous blog. If the dog does not decide to go in and eat, then his food goes away after 20 minutes. Continue following this procedure for the next 7 days. Allow your dog to eat in the crate with the door open. If he does not eat in the crate...he does not eat. Don't worry YOUR DOG WILL NOT STARVE HIMSELF! When he is hungry enough he will eat. After he has been eating in his crate consistently for a few days start closing the door behind him when he goes in for meals (he may revert back to his non-eating ways the first few times the door is shut. After he is eating comfortably with the door shut, start adding about 5 minutes a day to the length of time he is in the crate. After about 2 weeks he will be over an hour in the crate. At this point 90% of dogs will be totally comfortable in their crates. This process can take as long as a month from start to finish, but when you are finished, even the most resistant dogs will be crate trained.
The same "important things to remember" apply from above.
In my opinion every dog should be crate trained for their safety and your sanity. It is nice to have a safe place for your dog when you need to spend time doing other things. Your dog will also enjoy having a safe place that is his, where he can go relax and not be pestered by us annoying humans.
A common question I get is "how long is too long for my dog to be in his crate?". With puppies: (the number of months they are old) + (1) = the number of hours they can spend in their crate. A 3 month old puppy can go 4 hours with out a bathroom break. This will be a strict guideline we will follow when we start the potty training process.
For adult dogs the rules are a little different...Focus on the quality of time spent out of the crate rather than the quantity. Take our working dogs (SAR, Patrol, Personal Protection) for example, they are only out of their crates for 4 hours a day unless they are working. But the 4 hours they are out of the crate are extremely intense. By the end, they are exhausted and ready to go back to the crate and rest. They come out of the crate from 8am-10am work their butts off, and head back to their crate until about 7pm-9pm when they come out for more work. The mistake I see people make is that the dog is crated from 8am-6pm and then gets to sit around with the family until about 10pm and is then re-crated until 7am. This dog was only out of the crate for 5 hours and was then expected to sit around and do nothing. That doesn't seem fair. Now, this doesn't mean that you are doing any better just because you leave the dog free to roam the house all day. The house is just like a really big crate. The dog still needs to work.
So, moral of the story, the more effort you put in while the dog is out of the crate, the better behaved your dog will be in the crate.
We are out of time for today, but I promise to reveal the big potty training secret first thing tomorrow.
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Monday, June 4, 2007
The PAC Radio Show!
Hello PACmembers...
Big news at the Pet Athletic Club...We are starting our very own dog training radio show. The show will be broadcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
We will cover everything from training to general pet care to solving behavior problems. Here's the best part...YOU CAN CALL INTO THE SHOW AND GET ALL OF YOUR DOG RELATED QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
I m so excited about this service. I encourage everyone to call in and participate. The show will be 60 minutes so we should have plenty of time to get to every ones questions. The show will also be available in mp3 and podcast format immediately after.
The show will be on Friday evenings at 5pm. I encourage you to pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back, relax, and call in.
The dial in number is (646) 478-5685
Or you can just log in and listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
I will be adding up dates of the course of this weeks as I learn more about the show.
Don't forget to check in tomorrow as we continue forward with our online training program.
www.petathleticclub.com
Big news at the Pet Athletic Club...We are starting our very own dog training radio show. The show will be broadcast at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
We will cover everything from training to general pet care to solving behavior problems. Here's the best part...YOU CAN CALL INTO THE SHOW AND GET ALL OF YOUR DOG RELATED QUESTIONS ANSWERED!
I m so excited about this service. I encourage everyone to call in and participate. The show will be 60 minutes so we should have plenty of time to get to every ones questions. The show will also be available in mp3 and podcast format immediately after.
The show will be on Friday evenings at 5pm. I encourage you to pour yourself a glass of wine, sit back, relax, and call in.
The dial in number is (646) 478-5685
Or you can just log in and listen at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/
I will be adding up dates of the course of this weeks as I learn more about the show.
Don't forget to check in tomorrow as we continue forward with our online training program.
www.petathleticclub.com
Exercise...The key to a happy life!
Proper exercise for your pets is the most important thing you can offer them.
The best way to exercise your dog is by bring him in for PACtivity 3-5 times a week at the Pet Athletic Club. However, if for some reason (and there aren't many), you can't bring your dog in for PACtivity then here is the best alternative.
As trainers, every dog we have been called to work with is under-exercised. Your dog needs to be exercised every day. Rain or shine – it doesn't matter. Whether you walk, jog, run, Rollerblade, or cycle take your dog with you. Just like you, your dog still needs this exercise.
The length of time your dog should be exercised depends on the intensity of exercise as well as his breed, health, and age. Achieving the right level of exercise for your dog isn't always easy and will require some trial and error, but your efforts will pay high dividends in the end.
In general, a healthy adult dog should receive a moderate- to high-level of exercise for 1.5 hours per day. We recommend 45 minutes in the morning before your dog is fed, and 45 minutes in the evening before feeding him. This helps fulfill your dog's natural need to hunt– 45 minutes of hard work is rewarded by his food in his den (cage). For more information about feeding your dog, click here. Or look back at last weeks blog on feeding.
When walking your dog, make sure he's in a loose 'heel' at your side. He shouldn't be pulling ahead, lagging behind, or sniffing around. Keep a pace of at least 3.5 miles per hour, and don't stop until you are ready for the dog to eliminate. Your dog should walk the entire time—no stopping and starting.
If the walk isn't tiring out the dog consider using a back pack. Dog packs can be filled with weights or water bottles to add some resistance and tire the dog out more effectively. The weights in the pack should equal 20% of the dog's weight.
Notes:
Elderly or handicapped owners may want to consider using a treadmill in place of leash walks. If you would like to teach your dog to run on a treadmill feel free to stop by The PAC and we will show you how.
Allowing the dog time in the back yard does not qualify as exercise. This requires very little mental stimulation and will not normally wear the dog out.
Playing fetch or other games can qualify as exercise but not more than 2 days per week, and obedience must be included in the game. The walk is the key to success.
Good Luck today and get out and get walking. It will benefit you and your dog. Tune in tomorrow for our lecture on crate training and potty training. No more mistakes guaranteed!
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
The best way to exercise your dog is by bring him in for PACtivity 3-5 times a week at the Pet Athletic Club. However, if for some reason (and there aren't many), you can't bring your dog in for PACtivity then here is the best alternative.
As trainers, every dog we have been called to work with is under-exercised. Your dog needs to be exercised every day. Rain or shine – it doesn't matter. Whether you walk, jog, run, Rollerblade, or cycle take your dog with you. Just like you, your dog still needs this exercise.
The length of time your dog should be exercised depends on the intensity of exercise as well as his breed, health, and age. Achieving the right level of exercise for your dog isn't always easy and will require some trial and error, but your efforts will pay high dividends in the end.
In general, a healthy adult dog should receive a moderate- to high-level of exercise for 1.5 hours per day. We recommend 45 minutes in the morning before your dog is fed, and 45 minutes in the evening before feeding him. This helps fulfill your dog's natural need to hunt– 45 minutes of hard work is rewarded by his food in his den (cage). For more information about feeding your dog, click here. Or look back at last weeks blog on feeding.
When walking your dog, make sure he's in a loose 'heel' at your side. He shouldn't be pulling ahead, lagging behind, or sniffing around. Keep a pace of at least 3.5 miles per hour, and don't stop until you are ready for the dog to eliminate. Your dog should walk the entire time—no stopping and starting.
If the walk isn't tiring out the dog consider using a back pack. Dog packs can be filled with weights or water bottles to add some resistance and tire the dog out more effectively. The weights in the pack should equal 20% of the dog's weight.
Notes:
Elderly or handicapped owners may want to consider using a treadmill in place of leash walks. If you would like to teach your dog to run on a treadmill feel free to stop by The PAC and we will show you how.
Allowing the dog time in the back yard does not qualify as exercise. This requires very little mental stimulation and will not normally wear the dog out.
Playing fetch or other games can qualify as exercise but not more than 2 days per week, and obedience must be included in the game. The walk is the key to success.
Good Luck today and get out and get walking. It will benefit you and your dog. Tune in tomorrow for our lecture on crate training and potty training. No more mistakes guaranteed!
Have a great day...your dog is!
www.petathleticclub.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)