Not just a dog trainer

Saw a situation the other day that inspired me to write this. I guess some folks think that a dog trainer just teaches sit, down, stay, come.......  I have been teaching dog training for over 14yrs, have owned dogs longer than that, read, watch, learn from folks way smarter than me at dog training, behavior and the like. I truly know a lot (but not everything, I admit) about fearful dogs, reactive dogs, aggressive dogs. So why was everyone and their brother, customer and their aggressive dog crowding around this shaking fearful dog that hadn't eaten in several days due to being newly adopted and very fearful? Putting this and that on him , standing in the front of the store where every passerby scared him even more? Hovering over him, trying stuff they saw Cesar do? This dog and owner were in the store for over half an hour. All I could do was watch from a distance and my head was about to explode. I know folks were just trying to be helpful but chances are they traumatized him even more. Dogs and their behavior. It's what I do for a living, folks. And not from watching Cesar on TV. I was able to give the owner my card and told him there was lots of help for fearful dogs before the crowd took over. And it's going to take time and space. Space for the dog to feel safe. Time for him to learn new behaviors when he does feel safe. Rant over. I just keep seeing this fearful , shaking  dog and folks saying-don't comfort him. He needs to build his confidence. What in the world..........

Lessons from Rocky

So yesterday Rocky crossed the Bridge. 15 and one half years old. Wow. I should hope to live that long. Just thinking about all he taught me.

Smile. A lot.

Go after what you want with all your might.

Never, never give up.

Bask in the sun whenever you can.

Enjoy the day.

Happiness.

Till we meet again, Rocky!

 

Smokey

Three years ago today we lost Smokey. He was 11 and a half. Best. dog. ever. He was a Pyrenees and we also had his sister Mary who died 6 mos later. They were fun as pups and great as adult dogs. Smokey was more laid back and Mary was a little mischievous. They loved the outside and wanted to be there always. You had to beg them to come in. They were the original LGD's for me. I understand a lot more about LGDs now and will always have one. They have a big, deep bark, sometimes too much but we always felt safe. Mary and Mo are running over the Rainbow Bridge now, barking it up, playing with our other dogs that have passed that were their friends at my home. At least that's what I like to believe. We miss you, Mo Mo. Love, your mom forever.   

Fall Newsletter out!

Fall Newsletter finally out. Whew. Lots to tell you. And me and Rocky/Batman are taking a road trip out to Missouri to see my mom over Thanksgiving. He's 15 years old. In pretty good health for an old guy. I will post pics and tell about our journey here, FB and Instagram. Stay tuned. It will be fun!

Gimme Five!

We are all busy. Jobs, kids, school, dogs, yard work, and the list goes on and on. But if you don't take the time to train your dog, he'll be a wild Hellion the rest of his life. And that's no good.

Here's a solution I read in my emails today that makes SO much sense. Five minutes a day. Surely we can carve out that much for our canine companion. Of course you can do more. But just gimme five. A day.

Start with a couple minutes of play-whatever your dog loves. Then five minutes of training, follow that with a couple minutes more of play. And there you go. By starting and ending with play, you are making it fun for both of you and less of a chore. And the time will zip by. I predict that your sessions will get longer or more frequent as you two have the time of your lives training.  

Gimme five minutes! Try it for a week. Try at different times of the day, before your dog eats, before bed, on a walk, while watching TV (put the movie on pause and take a break). I'll do it with you and tell me what success you have. I can't wait to hear!

Tough love? I dont get it.....

I was reading a post about someone using "tough love" on a fearful foster. Seriously? Made him take a bath, do his nails and used a blow dryer. "Boy was he mad!" It read. Maybe he was scared to death. Ya think?  It also reads that more tough love and he'll be just fine. Wow.

First of all folks-you can't reinforce fear. Fear is a feeling not a behavior. How do you think that dog will feel in the future about baths, nail trimming and blow drying? Not good. I can assure you.

Second of all-you can't explain "tough love" to a dog like you can to a person. But if you pair up wonderful things (treats, play, affection) with the scary thing or event, they will have a better feeling, maybe even a happy feeling about it.

I have used this technique many times, especially with my Help for Reactive Dogs Class. Most recently with my Pyrenees Tulip. She was very afraid of baths and nail trims. I used a clicker and hot dogs to help her move up to the bathroom, move into the bathroom, close the door, step into the tub and finally take a bath. When she would hesitate, we went slower.

Today, my daughter rubbed Tulip's tummy while I did nails. No fear. So the point is-you can't reinforce fear. But you can teach new behaviors to overcome fear using positive force free methods. Just do it!

Let 'em Sniff

The noses lead. Dogs love to sniff. They can tell so much about what's going on by smelling the ground, plants, trees, posts, just about everything. It makes them feel more secure if they can check things out on a walk. Kinda like us and our cell phones. What do we grab first thing in the morning, last thing at night, after a meeting or a meal-our phone. We need to know what's going on. So do our dogs. So let them sniff and smell.

But how do we move the walk on? They'd sniff and smell all day! I have a cue for mine. It goes like this: when the sniff time is over (determined by you) I say their name then "1,2,3 Let's go!" On the 3 Let's go! My feet start moving and we move along.

Give your dog some sniff time, they need to check out THEIR social media too!