Remember Your Dog is a DOG!

Here is a great article by a great trainer reminding us that what we sometimes think of as "normal" for dogs isn't really so normal.  Check it out and let us know, are you a "normal" dog owner?

The Myth of "Normal" Dogs

Schedule Change

Due to class enrollment numbers we're changing the class schedule a little.  From now on Level 1 will have class at 10:00am and Puppies over 12 weeks will have class at 9:00am.  Please contact us if you have any questions, see you all on Saturday!

Great Resource

Dr. Sophia Yin is a well respected veterinarian and behaviorist and for the next two weeks several chapters of her latest book are available for reading online for free.  I would really encourage you to check it out and read a couple of chapters if you have the time, it will give you some great information and potentially help your relationship with your dog.

Click on the ling below to read the available chapters.

Low Stress Handling Book

Saturday 11/06/2010

Good News!  We will be able to have classes indoors at the Providence location now!  All class times will remain the same as they appear on the schedule.

Our space is limited so it is important that you let us know when you will or will not be attending class.

Growly Dogs is on hold for the time being due to the space issue, but if you are interested in participating in growly dogs with your dog please keep in contact with us and check back often.

See everyone tomorrow!

Winter Classes

Unfortunately our indoor space fell through for this Saturday.  We're working hard on having a new space ready for Saturday November 6th, but check back soon and we'll let you know for sure.

New Class Schedule

As the weather is getting colder and the days are getting shorter we are moving classes indoors.  Starting next week all classes will be held inside at our North Logan location on Saturdays.  Check out the schedule page to see what time your class is.

Foundation Level 1 10/19/2010

Tonight we practiced all of our Level 1 behaviors and several dogs passed all of their behaviors off and are moving into Level 2!

Puppy Class 10/18/2010

Tonight we worked on handling exercises, maintaining control of your puppy while they are off leash, and recall.  We practiced handling paws and began teaching the puppies to offer each paw on their own for examination, introduced dog toothpaste and made our first steps towards tooth brushing, and the puppies were left off leash for most of the night to work on their attention and focus without the leash present, and to give everyone lots of opportunities to work on and reward their puppy's recall.  Of course, we hand plenty of play time too!

At home continue to work on handling your puppy's feet and face, and practice the basic behaviors they've already learned.

Puppy Class 10/11/2010

Tonight's 7:00 puppy class has been rescheduled for tomorrow night at 7:00.

Are You Really Training Your Dog?

Some popular "dog trainers" these days focus pretty intently on what a dog is doing wrong, but what does that really do for you and your dog? Not much, a dog that only ever gets told what not to do isn't going to be all that useful is he?  There are all kinds of ways that a dog can "misbehave" but usually only a few things you'd like him to do in any given situation, making teaching your dog what you'd like him to do far more efficient.

Imagine for a moment that you are learning a new task.  Your teacher has given you little or no direction, or at least not anything that was clear, and your both sitting at a table with several objects in front of you that you'll need to use for this task.  Now, if you sit still without interacting with the objects for too long your teacher corrects you.  It doesn't really matter how, yelling, a slap on the wrists, spraying you with water, etc.  Of course you don't like that so you try something else, but each time you do something that your teacher doesn't want you to do, say picking the objects up out of order, or holding them wrong, or putting the wrong ones together, or looking away from the objects, or taking a deep breath, or standing instead of sitting (you get the idea) you get corrected again.  Doesn't sound like fun, and how long would it take you to learn what you're supposed to do, if you even get that far, most of us would choose to leave such a situation given the option.

Now think about your dog, he doesn't speak English, he can't read your mind, your body language can be confusing, and he can't read.  How will he learn from you?  Well, you could watch for every little thing that he does wrong, and correct him each time, or you could use a simple system of communication (think click/treat = good things happen so I should keep doing this) to teach him what you want him to do.

Training your dog should be about teaching him how you'd like them to behave.  If you focus on rewarding the good stuff and simply removing the rewards for the not so good stuff, it will go a long way toward building an amazing relationship and bond between you and your dog.  Just remember, if you're always correcting behaviors you don't like, are you really training your dog or just hurting the bond you share?

Classes 10/05/2010

No classes again tonight due to rain :(

Classes 10/04/2010

No puppy classes tonight due to weather.  See you all next week!

Enrichment Activities for Your Dog

What does your dog do all day?  For many people that answer is something along the lines of "I don't know, I'm not home all day," or "Sleep," or "Wait for me to come home," but is that how it should be?  Most of us people have something to keep us occupied during the day, working, taking care of our homes and families, etc.  Most wild animals have things they need to do as well, in order to survive, and historically most of our dogs have been bred for some kind of purpose.  Now, however, many of our dogs spend much of their days hanging around nice homes and yards where there really isn't too much to worry about.

We often fail to consider that most of us would go crazy without anything to do for extended periods of time, and that the same is often true for our dogs.  Boredom and frustration often lead to more serious behavior problems that can be dangerous to your dog, your home or yard, and even other people and dogs, so it is important to make sure that your dog's needs for mental and physical stimulation are being met whether your spending most of your day with him, or he's spending 8-12 hours a day alone.

You may be worried that this will be too difficult to achieve, given that most of us are rather short on time, but with a little planning and a few minutes each day there is a lot you can do to help your dog.

Physical Exercise
Just as it is important for us to engage in a little physical activity every day it is important for our dogs.  You should speak with your veterinarian to determine what types and how much is appropriate for your dog's age, physical condition, and energy level, but here are a few ideas.

On leash walks
On or off leash hiking
Jogging together
Swimming
A game of fetch
Dog Parks
Agility
Fly Ball
Tracking

Mental Stimulation
While many people due a great job of getting their dogs physical exercise they can sometimes forget that dogs need to use their brains as well as their bodies.  So what can you do to give your dog's brain a much needed work out?  You might be surprised but my first recommendation is to stop feeding him out of a bowl.  Think about it, wild animals spend A LOT of their time finding, catching, and consuming their food, but for most of our dogs food just appears in the bowl once or twice a day, they have no control over it, it just happens, or worse yet...their bowl is ALWAYS full*.  You'll do your dog a lot more good by hand feeding him his meals during training, or giving him a puzzle to earn the food himself, basically just GIVE HIM A JOB.

If you give your dog a job he's a lot less likely to invent one on his own, so it's a lot less likely that he'll end up with a job that you'd rather he didn't have.  

There are some pretty awesome toys out there now designed for the very purpose of providing your dog with some mental stimulation while he eats.  Look for things that are designed to stand up to dog's chewing and will hold an appropriate amount of food for your dog's size, we have a selection of such toys at our Providence hospital, stop by any time to check them out or talk to us about which one might be appropriate for your dog.

*Some dog's may need to have constant access of food for health reasons, please follow the advice of your veterinarian in these matters.

Foundation Level 1 09/28/2010

Worked on:

Targeting
Doggy Zen
Down
Scent Games

Homework:

Try Scent Games at Home!
Try to complete at least 10 minutes of training every day this week.

Puppy Class 12+ Weeks 09/27/10

Today we worked on:

Hand Targeting

Loose Leash Walking

One for You, One for Him  (avoiding resource guarding with other dogs)

Play Time!!!

Collar grabs
Weight Checks

Homework:

Continue to work on the things that your puppy already knows.  Aim for 2-3 short training sessions every day.

What is Your Body Language Telling Your Dog?

Verbal species that we are, we sometimes forget that our dogs are more attuned to our body language and tone than to our words.  This definitely comes into play during training because little things that you may not even notice yourself doing can be confusing and even seem threatening to your dog.

For example, in our culture we generally approach each other head on, make eye contact and then often reach out to shake hands, but if you watch two dogs approach each other they approach in an arc, avoid coming in head on, generally avoid making eye contact, sniff cheeks and then tails in kind of a circular greeting "dance."  Intense physical touch is generally avoided in a polite greeting where both dogs are comfortable with each other, at least until they know each other well enough to decide to continue the relationship, although the dogs may touch noses or brush up against one another.

While, through many, many years of living with people, our dogs have become excellent at reading and understanding us, our almost completely opposite greeting rituals can still prove problematic.  How many times have you approached a dog, or seen someone else approach a dog, head on and then lean over the dog and pat him on the head?  How often have you noticed that dog attempt to move away or just look away, stand up, lower their head, lick their lips, or yawn?  Perhaps not many, as most of us our not particularly attuned to our dogs body language, but that's a subject for another day.  The next time you're in a similar situation, watch for it.

So what should you do to be the most successful in interacting with your own, or other dogs?  Well, first consider the description of two dogs greeting each other above, while you're obviously not (I hope) going to go around sniffing dogs, it is pretty easy to modify your body language to match that of another dog to achieve a successful, non-confrontational interaction. 

First, avoid approaching head on or making direct eye contact, keep your body turned slightly sideways. 

Second, if your body is tense and rigid the dog is likely to pick up on your nervousness and begin to wonder what there is to be nervous about, keep your body loose. 

Third, when you reach the dog if you plan to interact with him (if it's not your dog ALWAYS get the owner's permission first) avoid leaning or towering over him.  If you think of the postures of two dogs in conflict, the ritualized body postures they use to try to avoid physical confrontation frequently involve one dog being very low to the ground offering appeasement, and the other standing tall over him in an application of social pressure (generally meaning that the other dog has infringed on something that they feel is theirs, be it space, food, an object, whatever).  If you mistakenly apply such social pressure and then attempt to initiate physical contact, which is not a part of this ritualized behavior for a dog, they may feel increasingly threatened and attempt to either flee or fight, putting you at risk for a bite particularly if the dog is on leash and fleeing is not an option.  Instead, keep your body turned sideways, with your body weight focused away from the dog and come down to their level in a more neutral position.

Finally if you choose to pet the dog, do so under his chin or on his chest or shoulders, many dogs do not like to be pet on the head and reaching over them is another potentially threatening gesture.

All of the instructions listed above for greeting a dog apply in training situations as well.  If you feel that your dog isn't listening or he just won't look at you the LAST thing you want to do is get in his face.  Think about what your body language is saying, or if some part of the situation may be particularly stressful for your dog, he's probably not willfully ignoring you, just trying to avoid some potential social conflict. 


The next time you start a training session, be aware of what your body language is saying to your dog, as this will come into play as you're teaching him.  Does he really know what "sit" means, or is he just responding to you leaning forward and over him (social pressure)?  Modify your expectations and your training accordingly.

Foundation Level 1 09/21/2010

Discussion of canine body language, practice watching for stress signals, worked on focus/attention, marking calm behavior, and targeting (with a target stick). 

Homework:  Practice "reading" your dog's body language at home, play the "Look at That!" game to work on your dog's focus with distractions around.