Why Clicker Training Rocks
Clicker training is like a gift you give your dog….and yourself. Really. Seriously. No kidding. For humans it takes a small amount of practice to coordinate the click/treat/praise at the right moment. Most people can hone their skills in about 30 minutes or less. Dogs get it right away. It is a communication they understand.
Not only dogs, but just about any animal with a brain understands the method of behavior marking. Used by professional animal trainers for years, chances are if you see a dancing chicken or a fetching kitty in a movie or on TV, it was clicker trained. My own cats are clicker trained in basics – sit, leave it, off, wait. It makes life much easier. Pros train that way because it works. Quick. Easy. Positive.
Miss Pitty Pat - A Puppy Lessons 101 Grad
This is Miss Pitty Pat, a 5-month old French Bulldog….
She just completed our 5-week Puppy Lessons 101 training program. During the 5 week program Miss Pitty Pat learned
- SIT
- SIT/STAY
- SIT to be PETTED
- WATCH ME
- DOWN
- DOWN/STAY
- COME
- LEAVE IT
- WAIT
- LOOSE LEAD WALKING
- WALKING THRU A DOORWAY
Her special trick: SHOW ME YOUR NAILS (girlie version of Shake Hands)
Miss Pitty Pat’s mom said what she liked best about Deborah Moore’s Puppy Lessons 101 program was “it was one-on-one training that covered all the issues I wanted to work on. ” She also likes “all the tips while we were training and the homework and informational articles every week.”
Pitty Pat’s mom said “the Siriusly Canine puppy training program exceeded my expectations and I would definitely recommend the program to a friend.”
Thanks, Miss Pitty Pat’s mom
Miss Pitty Pat says her favorite things about the program were “the squeaky toys, the special treats and taking puppy breaks playing in the monkey grass.”
Good girl, Pitty Pat
Miss Pitty Pat is our latest puppy Dog Star!
Re-post from Victoria Stillwell’s Positively.com
Top 10 Things to Teach Your Dog
Posted by Linda Michaels - 03/17/11 at 05:03:36 pm - 7 Comments
After falling in love with a dog that melted your heart at the local shelter or carefully selecting a puppy from the breed-specific rescue, you’re now faced with some very real challenges at home. What’s the quickest path to making your new bundle of joy a member of the family with whom it’s a joy to live? Your pup will be developing habits each and every day, so begin on day one to train the behaviors listed below.
1. Housetraining – From day one, the key words are containment, both short-term and long-term, and reward opportunities. Confinement in a crate for night-time and in a small area during the day with an indoor sod tray or puppy pad is essential for errorless housetraining until your pup earns more space in your house. Ample opportunities for elimination with food rewards will have your dog looking forward to getting onto the leash to go to the chosen spot in your yard to eliminate and get a yummy treat.
2. Handling and Good Manners at the Veterinarian and Groomer – Your pup should be handled often, starting at 4 weeks of age if that is possible. Visit your puppy frequently and get a head start on the human-animal bonding process with all the members of your family. If your puppy comes home at 8 weeks or later, handle, massage every inch of your puppy, and hold your puppy often. In addition to regular snuggling, pretend you and your pup are at the groomer or vet and practice puppy calmness while you examine toes, ears and mouth with your puppy standing safely on a raised surface.
3. No Bite! - Start on day one to let your pup know in a dog-friendly way that puppy biting is not OK with you. Discontinue playing or handling your pup each and every time you feel teeth on your skin - draw away from your pup or put him on the floor immediately as you make a disappointed sound with your voice. Wait for five seconds, and then resume calm play and handling as if nothing had happened. Your dog will learn that everything, especially fun, stops if he bites!
Edgar, a Puppy Lessons 101 Grad
This is Edgar, one of our Siriusly Canine Puppy Lessons 101 Graduates
During his 4-week Puppy Lessons 101 program Edgar learned to:
- SIT,
- SIT/STAY,
- SIT TO BE PETTED,
- COME WHEN CALLED,
- DOWN,
- DOWN/STAY,
- LEAVE IT,
- WAIT,
- WALKING THROUGH A DOORWAY
- LOOSE-LEAD WALKING
His mom says what she liked best about Deborah Moore’s Siriusly Canine puppy training was “your patience. You got him to do everything and you’ve quieted him down so much. Your puppy training program completely exceeded my expectations. And I’d definitely recommend your program.” Thanks, Edgar’s mom.
Edgar says what he liked best was “the special treats and the belly rubs.”
What a good boy, Edgar
AKC Reports Dog Theft on the Rise
Reprinted from MyFoxNewsOrlando
(EndPlay Staff Reports) - Though it may seems like a plot from a Disney cartoon, it’s no joke, ” dognappings” are on the rise in the United States.
According to a recent study released by the American Kennel Club , animal thefts have risen 49 percent in the past year.
Nearly 224 pets were reported stolen through July 2011, compared to 150 in the same seven-month period last year.
“We are getting reports almost daily of pets stolen during home invasions, out of parked cars while people are running errands and even snatched from dog lovers out for a walk in the park,” said American Kennel Club spokesperson Lisa Peterson.
For pet lovers, the aftermath of a dealing with the theft of a pet can be devastating, reported The BBC .
“The distress has been to such a degree that I can’t even explain. It’s turned my life upside down. I don’t have children so these are my babies,” said Peggy Riley of Texas, whose two terriers, Baxter and Cooper, were stolen along with other items in her home.
That’s no surprise, said Jane Hayes, founder of Dog Lost, a charity that helps reunite missing dogs and their owners. “People treat their dogs like children in so many ways, buying them presents, giving them good food and giving them expensive medical treatments,” she told The BBC. “So the theft of a dog can feel like a bereavement.”
But there are things that can be done to safeguard Fido.
Thundershirt: Myth or Magic
Spring of 2010 Connor my goldendoodle was on a field trip with me when we were rear-ended while sitting at a red light. Connor was lying down in the back seat. When the Jeep driver hit us, the noise was incredibly loud, as well as giving us one helluva jolt. As a human, I knew what had happened. As a dog, Connor had no idea. It scared him badly. He had always been my dog-on-the-go — we were joined at the hip. Suddenly he didn’t want to get in the car at all. When we approached the car, he’d shift into 4-paw brake, like he was Super Glued to the driveway. He shook, he cried. It broke my heart.
After several months of patient desensitization and 3 mg of Melatonin before we embarked on any travel in the car, Connor was about back to normal. He’d actually get excited about going somewhere with me again. A new development since the accident, though, had been transferring the huge loud noise of the crash to a never-before fear of thunderstorms. Melatonin helped, but he would still bark like a maniac with ever clap of thunder, every flash of lightning accompanied by pacing, panting and whining. I knew something had to be done to help him.
Who’s Walkin’ Who?
We’ve all seen it. You’re at a dog-friendly event or store and in comes a dog who looks like he’s practicing for the Iditarod and his owner is trying not to be the sled. Even a 50-lb dog can haul an average-sized human around like a sack of potatoes. Generally, someone who appreciates their own sense of humor will say something like, “Hey! Who’s walkin’ who!?” followed by a goofy, guffawing laugh.
I have been told by dog trainers,as well as dog testing evaluators that loose-lead walking is one of the biggest problems owners have with their dogs. Even with my sweet, well-trained Connor, he failed the Therapy Dog test twice — yes TWICE — because of his loose-lead walking. Well, actually his NON-loose-lead walking. He scored 100% on everything else. wah-wah! (After the evaluators helped me out and changed testing venues, he did fine and has been a registered therapy dog for almost two years.)
There are myriad methods for getting your dog to loose-lead walk. But, if you want minimal effort to get your dog walking like a champ…and not walking you…you need to use the right tools.
Stand by Your (Shy) Dog: Advocate Don’t Apologize
Yesterday a dog and owner came into my store. The dog was an adorable blond, fluffy, huggable-looking little guy. As I approached, precious Fluffy quickly retreated to the secure area behind his dad’s legs — a big brown eye and mounds of pale yellow, wavy softness peaking around a denim-clad calf sizing me up. I smiled, spoke to the pup by name, then looked away and placed a small treat on the floor near his owner’s foot. Fluffy was cemented to the floor, but his tail was slowly wagging. In an apologetic (and I’m sure well-meaning tone), his owner told me he was shy, but “go ahead and pet him anyway - he won’t bite.” I didn’t pet him because the dog’s body language did not invite contact. I smiled again, offered my help if it was needed and went to offer assistance to another customer. As I watched, the dog was getting more relaxed walking around, sniffing and shopping with his person. Fluffy was even looking directly at me. Just a little more time and that cutie would probably take a treat from me. The pup’s owner had found the items he’d come for and came to the register to pay for his purchases. Fluffy took a comfortable seat wedged between his person’s feet and the front of the check-out desk as I rang up the sale. A family with several children came in. Two of the little girls, having honed in on the blond darling at the register, came running up excitedly with outstretched hands ready to reach out and touch/grab their canine quarry. With small hands getting closer and closer, flanking both sides, Fluffy made himself as small as possible, edging even closer to his person. I looked up at the owner, hoping he wouldn’t say what I was pretty sure he was going to. Fluffy’s dad looked down at the little girls trying to get at his pup and sheepishly said, “He’s just shy. Go ahead and pet him anyway. He won’t bite you.”
As I watched this otherwise nice man apologize for his dog’s shyness, his little guy pulling himself into the tiniest ball possible to avoid strange little hands, I could have cried. Dogs, like people, should have the right to be reserved without apology. Sometimes you need a little while to warm up to new people and situations. I wanted to tell the man it was okay, his dog was precious, and he should just tell the little girls his dog was shy. Period. As an owner, it is perfectly acceptable (and for me, expected) to be an advocate for your dog. Pushing a dog into a situation like this, where his body language is screaming “do not touch me, pleeeeease” could, in fact, cause him to growl his warning, then if not heeded, bite out of fear. Then he’s judged a bad dog, an aggressive dog when he’s neither.
As an owner of a socially reserved dog myself, I decided long ago not to apologize, but to advocate for my dog. Skylar is a handsome, rough-coat collie. He’s now a senior dog, but has never been overly friendly with people he doesn’t know. My advice to first-time visitors to our house is to ignore him. Within just a few minutes, Sky will approach with a wagging tail, relaxed ears and friendly expression asking to be petted. When we’re out in public, if children approach wanting to pet “Lassie,” I tell them he is shy around kids, they need to look but not touch. I actually had to physically body block a young teenage boy in PetSmart one day determined to pet him because he “wanted to.”
A shy dog can be socialized gently and with patience, but it may never make him a bouncing, licking, kissing extrovert who loves everyone and wants to be petted by strangers. And as an owner, never apologize for your dog being who he is. Shyness is not a character flaw. Instead, advocate for him, work with him in becoming the best dog he can be and love and adore him, the same way he loves and adores you…in spite of some of your less than hoped for characteristics.
Indestructible Dog Toys? Impossible. Tough Toys? You Bet!
Indestructible dog toys are like the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny — non-existent. Dog toys can be durable and tough, but don’t ever expect one to last forever, especially if you have an aggressive chewer.
My all-time favorite durable toys are by WestPaw(www.westpawdesign.com). Made from patented ZogoFlex, these toys can take major abuse and still keep going. They have an entire line of ZogoFlex toys, but here are the ones my dogs dig out of the toy box first:
Tux…
you can tuck treats inside or leave it empty. The ball shapes are solid, not hollow, so your dog can chomp away without immediately destroying the toy. Interactive play is fun because its shape allows it to bounce funny when thrown or you can turn it on its’ back, spin it and drive your dog a little crazy. And it comes in three colors: lime, tangerine and aqua.
Bumi…
At first glance, I thought my youngest dog would have chewed through these in 3 minutes flat. Not so. We’ve had the lime and tangerine Bumis (BOOM-Es) for months and they are still going strong. If you have multiple dogs, the Bumi’s flexibility allows for fun games of tug. If your dog likes to fetch, they have enough weight to make a good throw toy as well.
All the ZogoFlex toys have a guarantee with a one-time replacement with proof of purchase. Details are on the back label of the individual toys.
