tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76978276624173676092024-03-13T07:06:24.553-07:00Living with DogsDog Training Tipssandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.comBlogger29125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-56195853389630302452017-05-07T14:56:00.003-07:002017-05-07T14:56:22.113-07:00Dog Training vs Managment<div style="background-color: white; box-sizing: border-box; letter-spacing: -0.1px; margin-bottom: 1rem; padding: 0px;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We often need to use temporary measures while we are training to keep dogs safe and help them become better companions. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is the difference between management of dog behavior and dog training?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Management and training are often used in combination.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dog Training</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dog training involves teaching your dog to do something. This can be training basic obedience cues, or something more difficult like dog sports. In dog training your dog is learning to do a behavior.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zQAN5Xi6miI/WQ-UtuCxigI/AAAAAAAA3Mo/FX_KYU7_mKgufeYEgifFbM5MZ8cO0PK2wCLcB/s1600/shutterstock_24711940-calm-departures.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zQAN5Xi6miI/WQ-UtuCxigI/AAAAAAAA3Mo/FX_KYU7_mKgufeYEgifFbM5MZ8cO0PK2wCLcB/s200/shutterstock_24711940-calm-departures.jpg" width="147" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The following are a few behaviors we can train a dog to do:</span></div>
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<li>Sit, Down, and stay</li>
<li>Go potty outdoors</li>
<li>Sit and wait at the front door</li>
<li>Let the barking dog outside while you are on the phone</li>
<li>Take treats gently</li>
<li>Tricks, like roll over, shake and sit up</li>
<li>Run an agility course</li>
<li>Sniff for contraband</li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a very long list of new things that dogs can learn. </span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Dog Management</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dog management means we are controlling the dog's environment to keep the dog safe or keep them from practicing something that is annoying. For example, in order to keep a dog from jumping on people we can put them on a short leash. You're not training a dog to behave a certain way, but rather managing the dog's reaction to greeting people.</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVz57ZOmMjo/WQ-VF_D0wUI/AAAAAAAA3Ms/ABgsAVUV1sEn-W3-4wDL2KS31a46uvXwgCLcB/s1600/dog-cute-adorable-play.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xVz57ZOmMjo/WQ-VF_D0wUI/AAAAAAAA3Ms/ABgsAVUV1sEn-W3-4wDL2KS31a46uvXwgCLcB/s200/dog-cute-adorable-play.jpg" width="133" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">The following are a few ways people manage dog behavior:</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;"><ul>
<li>Putting a dog in his crate when guests arrive</li>
<li>Using a Head Halter or Front Attach Harness to make walking a dog easier</li>
<li>Using a blind in class so your dog does not bark and other students can hear</li>
<li>Avoiding car rides for dogs who are car sick</li>
<li>Giving dogs a chew toy to distract them from chewing on computer cords</li>
<li>Fences that keep your dog in the yard</li>
<li>Putting curtains over the windows so your dog does not bark at passers by</li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In management the dog is not learning anything. Management keeps the dog from practicing behaviors that are not appropriate or are annoying to the animals or people around them.</span></div>
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<span style="color: blue; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Working Together</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">While management and training are two different things, they are not mutually exclusive. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif; letter-spacing: -0.1px;">Management is an important tool in preventing unwanted behaviors until your dog is trained to behave differently.</span></div>
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sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-42222778375710291812017-04-11T02:24:00.000-07:002017-04-17T22:18:46.848-07:0010 Reasons to do Agility with Your Dog<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7FcSiljiGFM/WOygQudQ6MI/AAAAAAAA22M/bM3LbL98N4MQp7yyfGYHdOufPIt95YppgCLcB/s1600/_X0Y1935-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7FcSiljiGFM/WOygQudQ6MI/AAAAAAAA22M/bM3LbL98N4MQp7yyfGYHdOufPIt95YppgCLcB/s320/_X0Y1935-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">1. Dogs love agility!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Even if they aren't ready to do all of the equipment, they love to run and to spend quality, active time with you!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">2. Dog Agility is great exercise!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For the both of you, agility is a great way to get out and get moving!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">3. Dog Agility will challenge you and your dog</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The challenge to get around the course as quickly and accurately as possible is a fun puzzle for you and your dog to solve.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">4. Dog Agility is entertaining</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Not only is it fun to do but it is fun to watch your friends. An agility class costs less than dinner and drinks at a nice restaurant and it lasts a lot longer too.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvgvxFZ6wCY/WOygQs3MaTI/AAAAAAAA22Q/Bo8ambtuJvUHuVe_qsrngYSOwuu2Sin7gCLcB/s1600/_X0Y0238-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qvgvxFZ6wCY/WOygQs3MaTI/AAAAAAAA22Q/Bo8ambtuJvUHuVe_qsrngYSOwuu2Sin7gCLcB/s320/_X0Y0238-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">5) Dog Agility makes your dog a better Companion</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Training for agility means training basic behaviors to be fast and reliable. It's also training your dog to value you above other distractions so you can play together. How cool is that?</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">6) Dog Agility is for fun and/or for competition</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">You can compete against the clock, compete against your personal best or compete against other agility teams or not at all if that suits you. Anyway you slice it, everyone wins just by playing!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">7) Any dog can play Agility</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">All sizes, shapes and breeds can play agility. Jump heights are adjusted according to the height of the dogs. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">8) Your bond will grow stronger by training your dog agility</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">The quality time you spend training your dog will help your understanding and trust grow stronger! </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3-4rzUOG8mk/WOygQrHEU-I/AAAAAAAA22I/A54FiiuVmrY38FupqhTE7sde7pkMFWe-ACLcB/s1600/_X0Y1897-X2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3-4rzUOG8mk/WOygQrHEU-I/AAAAAAAA22I/A54FiiuVmrY38FupqhTE7sde7pkMFWe-ACLcB/s320/_X0Y1897-X2.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">9) Agility focuses on training with games</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">There are many fun games to play to train agility. Rewarding your dog with movement and games is one of the best ways to make yourself more attractive to your dog. As we say in our classes, "Be the cookie!" and reward your dog with play, games and fun!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">10) Agility helps you become more important to your dog</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">Training agility with reinforcing play builds your dogs value of you. If you are more important to your dog, your recalls will be more reliable and your dog will be less distracted and more focused on you.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">So we hope you will consider trying out an agility class. If you'd like to know more about setting your dog up for some fun, come pay us a visit us at <a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/">www.livingwithdogs.us</a>.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">See you on the field!</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></span>sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-44846829191694715122016-03-02T02:27:00.001-08:002016-03-02T02:31:55.414-08:00<i><b>Client Question:</b></i><br />
<i><b>My dog is great at home but gets super excited and will not look at me when we are out on a walk and he will not eat treats. What can I do to be able to train him out in the real world?</b></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></span> <span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>My Reply: </b></span><br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2YwS05D-8fg/Vta_ncl4LGI/AAAAAAAAvYw/UTIhx-yJ_lg/s1600/LLW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2YwS05D-8fg/Vta_ncl4LGI/AAAAAAAAvYw/UTIhx-yJ_lg/s320/LLW.jpg" width="320" /></a>First, this is not an unusual problem. It occurs in different degrees in quite a few dogs that we work with.</div>
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What he practices he will get better at, including inappropriate behavior like ignoring you. Practice impulse control at EVERY opportunity, doggie zen, sit, wait, stay, etc.</div>
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Be patient. Work progressively in baby steps with all of your training. Reinforce each step. Don't ask for too much all at once (we call that being "greedy")</div>
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<ul>
<li>When he can master attention at one level, at least four out of five times, then you can move up one step. </li>
<li>If he fails at one of these steps 2 out of five times, keep the level the same. </li>
<li>If he fails at these steps 3 out of five times take it down one step.</li>
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Adrenalin increases arousal as one of its functions. When a dog is aroused, all of the blood flows into the extremities away from the internal organs readying the body for fight or flight. When there is no circulation near the stomach, and the dog has bigger fish to fry (fight or flight) their brain is, in the words of one of my clients, "hijacked". You can train dogs to control this whole cycle of excitement, arousal, etc., with impulse control (self-control) by practicing it for each and everything they want. It is not unlike teaching a human impulse control.</div>
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If you give him reinforcement and he doesn't take the food it tells you he is over his threshold and it is not a learning moment for him. The goal is to teach him how to be under his threshold. If food does not work find or train another reinforcer and continue to work on taking food without taking it and spitting it out. If he is over his threshold at any time, go back to the last point where he is under his threshold or end the training session. </div>
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Work in short three to five-minute sessions, then take a break for five to ten minutes. If he regresses, go back to this training plan. They don't stay trained without practicing good habits every day.</div>
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You will need to be fairly disciplined to follow through. You may need to modify your routine for awhile to reach your long term goal. This may take a week, it may take 2 months depending on how well you stick to the level of the criteria and how often you practice. It's actually very easy, but a little time consuming.</div>
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<i>Can he be calm and pay attention when:</i></div>
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You pick up his leash?</div>
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You give him any cues of your ultimate departure like picking up keys, putting on shoes, getting your coat, etc. Split this down and work on each one separately to get a 4 out of 5 success.</div>
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You'll start training near the door with the door closed?</div>
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Put your hand on the door knob without opening it or turning it?</div>
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Put your hand on the door knob and turn it/rattle it a little?</div>
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Put your hand on the door knob turn it and open it a crack?</div>
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Put your hand on the door knob turn it and open it an inch?</div>
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Put your hand on the door knob turn it and open it two inches?</div>
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Etc., until the door is wide open.</div>
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When you walk to the threshold of the door?</div>
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When you go just over the threshold?</div>
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When you walk one step from the threshold?</div>
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Etc, with each step until you can take a walk around your house, in the woods, etc.</div>
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Your assignment is to come up with the rest of the steps for your area.</div>
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I did this recently with a foster dog who went off the charts whenever we tried to go for a walk. My requirement was that he give me his eye contact and attention. He would get really aroused going outside on walks, bark, pull, go off the charts with excitement. My goal was to walk around the block without barking and pulling and lots of eye contact check-ins. I practiced 2 <span class="boomerang-end-time">to 3</span> days a week and it took me about a week to get out the door. When he barked or pulled we went directly and quickly home and he got some alone time without attention. In about two months we had great walking skills, were able to go around the block without barking at cats, squirrels, runners, skateboards or normal urban things.</div>
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If he is unable to control himself after this, email me then and we will set up a private lesson.</div>
sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-29364593569436602882015-02-09T16:02:00.003-08:002016-03-02T02:39:11.983-08:00Personal Space for Dogs<div style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">
<span style="color: rgb(70 , 78 , 84); font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">“Every living thing has a visible physical boundary—its skin—separating it from its external environment. This visible boundary is surrounded by a series of invisible boundaries that are more difficult to define but are just as real. These other boundaries begin with the individual’s personal space and terminate with her or his ‘territory’”.* This concept of physical boundary and territory can be defined as personal space. Space is something that varies greatly from culture to culture and species to species and breed to breed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Perhaps you've noticed that your adult dog reacts to familiar people and dogs differently than unfamiliar stimuli. Where a dog might curl up with you, their family, on the couch, they may not want to be touched so readily by an unfamiliar person. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Understanding the differences between the breeds is like understanding the difference between cultures. In the US conversational space between two people is between 24 and 36", the more intimate you are the closer you accept people. <span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Different breeds need more space than others too. Working and herding breeds tend to need more personal space. Individuals within a breed can vary outside the breeds norm too. If you see a dog barking anywhere give them as much space as you can, regardless of breed.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Imagine you and your dog are out for a walk and someone asks to pat her. When the stranger approaches, he gives direct eye contact to your dog, reaches over the top of her head to pat her. The stranger's hand is in the blind spot over your dog's head and invading her personal space bubble. <span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">The direct approach of unfamiliar people can be intimidating, even if the person intends to be friendly.</span><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"> Who is being rude in this scenario? </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">How can I see if your dog is uncomfortable in new situations?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Your dog naturally puts her ears back when someone reaches over them. She may also tuck her tail, lick her lips, duck away or back up. These are a few of the early warning signals. As things get more intense your dog may try to hide behind you, shut down, eat grass, jump up, nip or mouth, seem distracted or become crazily active with the zoomies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If, in this scenario, your dog were to escalate and show the whites of her eyes, pucker her lip, show teeth, growl, bark or snap, she would be sending a bigger warning signals that are intended to stop unwelcome attention. <span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Since we tend to find the dog's behavior unacceptable and embarrassing, we may </span><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">punish the warning signs. Then the dog may stop giving warning signs and may go directly to protecting themselves with a bite. </span><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Warnings happen quickly, people often miss them and trainers and behaviorists will hear "There was no warning!". Learning to read your dog takes a little education and your focus. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-weight: bold; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">The "Doughnut" diagram below shows three comfort zones:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Green - Safety zone, comfort zone</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Yellow - Slow down, uncomfortable</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Red - Stop! Very uncomfortable</span></div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LoWua_tBDms/VtbCnLWVC6I/AAAAAAAAvY8/l21fSuVWe80/s1600/Doughnut%2BDiagram.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LoWua_tBDms/VtbCnLWVC6I/AAAAAAAAvY8/l21fSuVWe80/s320/Doughnut%2BDiagram.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">In the green zone, dogs will be relaxed and happy. In the yellow zone, the doughnut shape, they will show early warning signs of being uncomfortable and in the red zone they will show bigger displays of aggression. The zones are dynamic and vary from moment to moment, day to day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">The green zone is the training zone. In the yellow and red zone your dog wants the scary thing to go away and they have more important things to do than obedience.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">How can you make your dog feel more comfortable in close quarters with other dogs and people? Training in groups can help decrease the need for space. A dog who has a lot of training around predictable dogs and people learns how to relax in close proximity.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Be proactive to avoid problem behavior</span></div>
<ul style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Think about how comfortable your dog is around new, unfamiliar people, dogs and situations</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Learn to read the language of dogs, the micro-signals of early warnings</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">If you have a shy, fearful or even a grouchy dog, keep more space around them proactively.</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Keep them in group training classes</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Keep them out walking in public daily</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">Take a Reactive Rover class or private one-on-one lessons if your dog is reactive</span></span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Resources</span></span></div>
<ul>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/" target="_blank">Living with Dogs</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>will schedule a presentation on canine body language for our students upon request. We also provide group training classes from puppyhood to advanced dog sports and we have specialized <a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/#!reactive-rover/c1o42" target="_blank">Reactive Rover classes</a> for dogs who aggress while on leash. If you would like to know more visit our </span></span><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/" target="_blank">website</a><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"> to enroll or </span><a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/#!contact/c14eo" target="_blank">contact us</a>.</span></span></li>
</ul>
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<ul>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><a href="http://yaletowndogtraining.com/dogs-bite-blue/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dogs Do Not Bite Out of the Blue</span></a></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.theyellowdogproject.com/The_Yellow_Dog_Project/USA_files/TYDP-8.5x11.jpg" target="_blank">The Yellow Dog Project</a><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"> - tie a yellow ribbon on your leash!</span></span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://dogsinneedofspace.com/" target="_blank">Dogs in Need of Space (</a><span style="font-style: italic; line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">DINOS ) </span><a href="http://dogsinneedofspace.com/" style="background-color: rgb(255 , 255 , 255); line-height: 27.2000007629395px;" target="_blank">website</a></span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><a href="http://drsophiayin.com/blog/entry/free-downloads-posters-handouts-and-more" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dr. Sophia Yin's website</span></a></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><a href="https://paws4udogs.wordpress.com/2014/04/28/petting-dogs-did-you-ask-permission/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Petting Dogs - why consent is important</span></a></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lilita/5652847156/sizes/l/" target="_blank">Dog Body Language Poster</a> by Lily Chin</span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.centerforshelterdogs.com/Portals/0/Portal%20PDFs/IdentifyingFearfulSignalsPoster.pdf" target="_blank">Fearful Body Language Poster</a> <span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">by Lily Chin</span></span></li>
<li style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/lilita/6577001349/sizes/l/" target="_blank">Space Etiquette for Dogs Poster</a> <span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;">by Lily Chin<br /><br />Author, Sandi Pensinger owns </span><a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/" target="_blank">Living with Dogs</a><span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"> in Santa Cruz County, CA, offering a variety of dog training and sport classes in 3 locations around the county. She shares her life with her husband and four Jack Russell Terriers and one foster dog. </span></span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="line-height: 27.2000007629395px;"><span style="color: rgb(37 , 37 , 37); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;">*Hall, Edward T. (1966). </span><i style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;">The Hidden Dimension</i><span style="color: rgb(37 , 37 , 37); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;">. Anchor Books. </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number" style="background: none rgb(255 , 255 , 255); color: rgb(11 , 0 , 128); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;" title="International Standard Book Number">ISBN</a><span style="color: rgb(37 , 37 , 37); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;"> </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-385-08476-5" style="background: none rgb(255 , 255 , 255); color: rgb(11 , 0 , 128); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;" title="Special:BookSources/0-385-08476-5">0-385-08476-5</a><span style="color: rgb(37 , 37 , 37); font-family: sans-serif; font-size: 12.6000003814697px; line-height: 20.1599998474121px;">.</span></span></div>
sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-53241659819855671982014-11-04T01:33:00.001-08:002016-03-02T02:39:39.486-08:00Say It Once!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qYXCxqrv4wY/VFifohoZDsI/AAAAAAAAlPA/NttfQ9579CM/s1600/play-bow.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qYXCxqrv4wY/VFifohoZDsI/AAAAAAAAlPA/NttfQ9579CM/s1600/play-bow.bmp" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We often hear students repeating "sit-sit-Sit-Sit-SIT!" or "stayyyyy-stayyyyy-stayyyy" or "Lucky! Lucky! Lucky! Lucky!" etc. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Often the cues become louder and are repeated very slowly as if we were talking to someone in a foreign language and volume could help make them understand.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">It is as if we do not believe that our dogs (who have rather good hearing) can hear what they are saying.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Humans are built for the languages of words. Our brains are wired for incredibly complex networked communication using verbal and written language. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>From the Dog's Perspective</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dogs just don't perceive language the way we do and If someone does not understand your language, repeating a word more times will not help them learn it.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For example, if I say the word Tango to you one hundred times would that help you learn to dance the tango? </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How about if I said calculus a few thousand times would you be a math genius? </span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If I came over to your house and said "Clean your house!" a few dozen times would you stop everything and clean your house or would you think I was very annoying?</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Say it Once</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A person who is repeating cues all of the time, will end up with a dog who will learn to wait until you are finished speaking to do the task. In essence you would be training your dog to ignore the first cues and wait for the last cue. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>What Can We Do?</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What can we do about all the repeated cues? First we need to recognize that we are repeating things over and over. Being aware will help you take the first steps. We can now focus on becoming more patient with our training. Then we can grab our treat bags and start working with our dogs and make sure we have their attention first. Start with fewer distractions if we do not have attention. Say the cue once and wait patiently to see if they will respond. We might be waiting 30 seconds or more at first. When they do sit or whatever we have asked, then mark it with a verbal marker like "Yes!" and then move our hand to deliver a treat.</span><br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iLmEWGyiYcs/VFieysvpa-I/AAAAAAAAlO4/kk-Pks6ayo4/s1600/IMG_20131231_130914_147.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iLmEWGyiYcs/VFieysvpa-I/AAAAAAAAlO4/kk-Pks6ayo4/s200/IMG_20131231_130914_147.jpg" width="112" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Motivation</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We often blame the dogs for being stubborn or not listening. I generally think that the dog is just not motivated. Dogs are opportunists, just like we are. Whatever rocks their boat is a motivator not just food but toys, play, praise, touch, movement, freedom, sniffing, swimming or whatever works for them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Over time, we can start saving our words for cues and sincere praise. Realizing that constant chatter obscures really important communication. By all means use your voice but use it to cue and praise at the right time.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><b>Proactive vs. Reactive</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We can also start using words to proactively tell our dogs what to do instead of reactively scolding, correcting, and telling them what not to do. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For example, If you asked me what I wanted to eat for dinner and I said "not hamburger" that would not be helpful. You wouldn't know what groceries to buy or which recipe to follow to make "not hamburger". However if I said I'd like to have Annie's macaroni and cheese, you'd know exactly what to buy and how to cook it.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">To help your dog, teach them what to do. Have them practice sit until they can do it with distractions and then when a person is approaching you can say "sit!" instead of "no jumping!".</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span> <span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Training is a process. During the journey we are learning almost as much as the dog in how to better communicate so we can have happier lives together. I hope this helps you </span></span><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">have a richer relationship with your dog.</span>sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-20293431877156886272014-09-16T11:08:00.004-07:002014-09-17T01:20:01.265-07:00Be the Cookie!<b><i><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">or Ten Ways to Make Yourself More Valuable to Your Dog</span></i></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Watching TV shows like Lassie and Rin-Tin-Tin as a kid, I was amazed at the rapt attention the dogs gave to their owners. Skip forward a few years when I got a Golden Retriever. I assumed she would be loyal and give me all of her attention. She was easily distracted and I began to realize that you have to train TV dog attention. It does not just come with the dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are a few things you can do to increase the chances that your dog will think of you as their sun, moon and stars:</span><br />
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<ol><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Uf5rWVndOuI/VBlDPJdKI-I/AAAAAAAAhXI/vur7fsueE5s/s1600/gabrielle-willi.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Uf5rWVndOuI/VBlDPJdKI-I/AAAAAAAAhXI/vur7fsueE5s/s1600/gabrielle-willi.jpg" height="320" width="233" /></a><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_WDGP9LA1Bw/UzprYAqxRcI/AAAAAAAAcoo/0AyfScxgC3g/s1600/scout-tugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Play with your dog</b>. Play games they love. Tug, Find It, Chase (your dog chases you, not the other way around), Treasure Hunt, Hide and Seek, and Fetch are all wonderful games to play. Smiling, laughing and using your voice create an atmosphere of fun will help the dog think of you as the source of good times</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Install a Learn to Earn program</b>. Feed your dog less from a bowl and more from your hand for doing tricks, showing impulse control and doing some obedience behaviors like sit at the door, sit for your bowl, sit for a leash, wait when I open the car or front door, etc.. Make yourself the gateway to many of the good things in life. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Train with a hungry dog </b>(not starving, just hungry) and use high value, nutritious food for treats. Kibble and flour based treats are minimum wage. Don't be stingy, if your dog is easily distracted, then you might need to use executive wages to get and keep their attention. Even if you have a retriever (read "hungry all the time" and "will eat anything") then you may need to up the ante to develop the attention you need for training. You can use kibble in low distraction environments and something better like hot dogs, chicken or cheese in high distraction environments.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Variety is the spice of life!</b> Change to new treats regularly. Dogs get bored of eating the same treat all the time, even if it is high value. Bring two or three types of treats to a training session and switch to higher value treats when there are bigger distractions.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>If they love it, use it. </b>Use the things your dog loves to reward them. Just because it costs more or is a pretty color of red (dogs see blue and purple best of all the colors) doesn't mean your dog loves it. Use their enthusiasm as a gauge. Dogs do what works for them, learn how you can make good behavior work for them.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Keep your reinforcement rate high.</b> This means keeping the exercises simple enough that your dog can be successful and not taking the difficulty up too quickly. Splitting an exercise down into simple and achievable bits takes practice, and if lots of time (say ten seconds) goes by without having any success or if you find yourself putting your dog back in the stay several times, it means you have bitten off more than they can chew. Decrease the difficulty by decreasing distractions, distance, or duration. Among ourselves trainers call this being "greedy" and we often need to adjust our training plans too. One of our gurus, Bob Bailey, says "Be a splitter, not a lumper".</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice, practice, practice. Play, play, play. Or better yet, practice then play, repeat.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<li><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Keep your practice sessions short</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> enough that you do not loose your dog's attention. For most dogs, lots of short sessions with play breaks will get you to your goal much faster than long sessions. Lots of short sessions are often better to build desired behavior.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Motivate your dog to behave well.</b> All training is about motivation and manipulating consequences. Force free trainers use positive consequences to motivate their dogs. Keep your leash loose. If your dog is pulling however they are putting the pressure on the leash. It is your job to figure out how to motivate them to walk on a loose leash or at your side. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Minimize the use of corrections</b> - either verbal or physical. My guideline is to use them only when life or limb are in danger. Using corrections, including collar corrections, can demotivate your dog, physically harm your dog's neck and throat, hurt your relationship with your dog and cause them to pay less attention to you. What kind of relationship do you want with your dog?</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Have fun with your dog and keep training throughout your dog's life. As a very wise 5 year old child told me once "They don't stay trained, you know!"</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span><b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br />Happy training!</i></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></b>
<b><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><i>Sandi</i></span></b><br />
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<br />sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-82025698938161820682014-04-01T01:30:00.001-07:002014-04-01T01:42:54.506-07:00Rainy Day Games<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ceMDxwEktj8/UzpoZYA4ymI/AAAAAAAAcoM/GYTxhyA69yA/s1600/mud-pie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ceMDxwEktj8/UzpoZYA4ymI/AAAAAAAAcoM/GYTxhyA69yA/s1600/mud-pie.jpg" height="200" title="Rainy Day Mud Pie" width="112" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you and your dog have cabin fever, here are some
suggestions to take the edge off.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) Work on your sit or wait at the door. Have your dog look
at you before crossing the threshold. Invite friends over to help proof your
sit at the door. If you want more help on this attend our Calm Departures & Arrivals class.</span></div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lth6KREzZqM/UzpvGM2LLII/AAAAAAAAcpQ/TNM9CILIvYc/s1600/wipe-paws.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lth6KREzZqM/UzpvGM2LLII/AAAAAAAAcpQ/TNM9CILIvYc/s1600/wipe-paws.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2) Teach your dog to offer their front paws so you can wipe them off when they are muddy. Tickle the back of your dog's lower leg until they lift it off the ground, as they lift it up, say "yes!" and reward with a cookie. Repeat five or more times, then put a small towel over your hand and repeat the exercise five or more times. Then start to rub their paws after they offer them to you and reward as you rub them. Take it slowly and reward each step generously. </span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_WDGP9LA1Bw/UzprYAqxRcI/AAAAAAAAcok/iCp5ah6-8Bw/s1600/scout-tugs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_WDGP9LA1Bw/UzprYAqxRcI/AAAAAAAAcok/iCp5ah6-8Bw/s1600/scout-tugs.jpg" height="200" title="Rainy Day Game 3 - Playing Tug with Rules." width="196" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">3) Teach tug with rules. Play tug, give, sit, tug, give, sit, etc. for exercise,
impulse control and to teach the immediate release of a high value object. For more information attend our Tug, Fetch & Release class. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">4) Play fetch or catch with a sit before each throw to
improve impulse control. Make sure your dog is not skidding on slippery floors to
play fetch. Slipping may cause muscle strain or injury. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For more information attend our Tug, Fetch & Release class.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">5) Have a treasure hunt, hide treats or toys around the
house or go outdoors between rain showers and have your dog find them. This helps to mentally tire them and teaches
them to use their sense of smell. Our Nose Work classes are so much fun and a great way to capitalize on your dog's amazing nose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">6) Play hide and seek. When your dog is in the other room hide behind the sofa, a door, in the shower or behind the bed. Say "Find me!" and wait for them to come and find you. The fewer clues you give the more
challenging for the dog. Start with lots of clues like making a noise then fade
the clues out so the dog has the responsibility to find you. We teach Recall Games classes that use hide and seek to motivate your dog to look for you. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">7) Give your dog a nice chewy to work on while you are gone
or busy. Chewing should be supervised and small bits should be taken away from
the dog. If your dog is resource guarding their chewies, do not give them a
high value item to practice guarding. Call us for private lessons to end poor
behavior.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f8aCqzR9VAE/UzpsRgxGbUI/AAAAAAAAcos/TolV56GCWtE/s1600/kong.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f8aCqzR9VAE/UzpsRgxGbUI/AAAAAAAAcos/TolV56GCWtE/s1600/kong.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">8) Give your dog a Kong or another intelligent challenge toy
with dog food in it. The Nina Ottosson dog puzzles are a wonderful way to spend
quality time with your dog.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H5CyLSAR-Lw/UzpsndQSlDI/AAAAAAAAco4/fiJdfBcTw6w/s1600/play-bow-lab.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H5CyLSAR-Lw/UzpsndQSlDI/AAAAAAAAco4/fiJdfBcTw6w/s1600/play-bow-lab.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">9) Do Doga (doggy yoga) with your dog. Downward Facing Dog,
Cobra, Breathing Awareness and Upward
Paw Pose. Be gentle, overstretching can cause soreness and injury.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">10) Work on your sit stay add duration first, when that is reliable at least 80% of the time add distance and last add distractions like household members talking, tv going, doorbells ringing. Try not to get greedy and do too much all at once, remember to set your dog up for success. Always go back to your dog to reward them for the stay instead of calling them to you. Only call them to you when you have worked on stay for several repetitions prior. Attend a Family Dog 1 Stay, Wait & Settle class for more detail on how to train a stay.</span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MC3_qiRYfz0/UzpyX0ZZyhI/AAAAAAAAcpk/4HgTWdqxO9g/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MC3_qiRYfz0/UzpyX0ZZyhI/AAAAAAAAcpk/4HgTWdqxO9g/s1600/hqdefault.jpg" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">11) Play Crate Games (visit <a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/books/">www.livingwithdogs.us/books/</a>
for a marvelous the “Crate Games” by Susan Garrett). Crate Games or Mat Games are a great way to teach a sit or down stay, a motivated release, impulse control and how to love your crate or mat. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KQxIT9rPwgc/Uzpzc9ZOdlI/AAAAAAAAcpw/o4QemnqN5QY/s1600/sit-up.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KQxIT9rPwgc/Uzpzc9ZOdlI/AAAAAAAAcpw/o4QemnqN5QY/s1600/sit-up.bmp" height="200" width="169" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">12) Teach your dog a fun or a useful new trick. Tricks are a great way to
bond and spend quality time together. People usually laugh and have fun when they are training tricks. The dogs have fun when you have fun. Train your dog to shake, sit up, spin in a circle, roll over, play dead, or to pick up their toys. You
can train them to know each toy by name and put them in a basket or toy box.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">13) Play the </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhIWa_W3QxY" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Muffin Tin Game</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhIWa_W3QxY" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Click here</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> for a video to see how to play.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">14) Play <a href="http://www.clickertraining.com/node/167" target="_blank">101 Things to Do with a Box</a> a game invented by Karen Pryor who started out as a dolphin trainer and now is world famous for her books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">15) Play <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcoNsd5qWFo" target="_blank">Push the Box</a> (with a toy in it). <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcoNsd5qWFo" target="_blank">Click here</a> to view a video. </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71KNuRMR2yw/UzpqXwZmmVI/AAAAAAAAcoY/HXiHoeKI258/s1600/dogbrella.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-71KNuRMR2yw/UzpqXwZmmVI/AAAAAAAAcoY/HXiHoeKI258/s1600/dogbrella.jpg" height="197" title="Dog Brella available at Hammacher Schlemmer" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">16) Put your rain gear on and take your dog for a nice long walk. Take a look at this fancy <a href="http://www.hammacher.com/Product/79317" target="_blank">dogbrella</a> available from Hammacher Schlemmer<span style="background-color: white; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">for a hoot. Our Loose Leash Walking class will help you work with your dog to have more fun on walks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dogs are individuals. Every dog has different needs and
rewards. Know what your dog likes and use those things or activities to motivate and reward
him or her for good behavior. </span><o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Be safe and have fun.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We hope you will use the ideas that are best suited for your dog. For more information about training your dog to do more visit </span><a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">our website</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> for a variety of classes and dog sports.</span></div>
sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-68818326558889622622013-12-26T18:23:00.000-08:002013-12-27T00:00:30.608-08:00Seasons Greetings! <a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VwjugSMdRys/Urzb4sBVrAI/AAAAAAAAa1M/3ig18FWgElY/s1600/CGC_20131006_Nicky+and+Sera+with+Caroline+and+Maize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VwjugSMdRys/Urzb4sBVrAI/AAAAAAAAa1M/3ig18FWgElY/s200/CGC_20131006_Nicky+and+Sera+with+Caroline+and+Maize.jpg" height="200" width="112" /></a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Guests Are Coming! <br />How Do I Teach 'No Jumping'?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Greetings are often a challenge for so many dogs. I am frequently asked by people <span style="color: #38761d;">"How do I teach 'no jumping'?"</span> Some of the challenges are jumping at the front door or on family members or guests - especially guests arriving for holiday celebrations this time of year and jumping on people on walks. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">The TRIP Toolbox </span></b></span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">TRIP</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> stands or </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">T</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">rain, </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">R</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">einforce, </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">nterrupt, </span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">P</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">revent. These are like tools in your training toolbox. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's a bit more about the method:</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">T</span>rain Alternative Behaviors</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">One of the best ways to teach no jumping is to teach your dog what to do. <b><i><span style="color: #cc0000;">It is easier to teach what TO DO than it is to teach what NOT to do</span>.</i></b> In class when I ask what do you want your dog to do instead of jumping the answers are "be calm" and "have all four feet on the floor" but it usually takes a little probing to get people to think about the action of sitting as an alternative behavior. Most dogs have had a lot of practice sitting when asked!</span><br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3YDkbezIQo/UrzcJlEmhdI/AAAAAAAAa1U/iILGpXmU0ao/s1600/DSC_0009.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-M3YDkbezIQo/UrzcJlEmhdI/AAAAAAAAa1U/iILGpXmU0ao/s200/DSC_0009.jpg" height="132" width="200" /></a><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: large;">Train "Sit to Greet"</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In our Polite Greetings class we teach a variety of greetings but the first is always "Sit to Greet" and "Sit for Passers-by". We've been teaching this for years. It still takes practice for a dog to be able to sit calmly when exciting things are happening. That is a part of growing up and learning self control.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;">How to Train "Sit to Greet"</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"><i>Practice leads to confidence!</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice sit when it is easy at first</b>, when no one is at the front door. It may take a few minutes at first but once this is well practiced and well rewarded, it should become easier for both you and the dog.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice sit often </b>- every time you go to the door you are in training mode. Taking the time to ask your dog to sit will make it a habit and that will get you closer to your goal of being able to sit when aroused. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice Reinforcing Sit Often</b> - if sit pays executive wages, then sit becomes a valuable behavior to your dog. Over time, if your timing is good, then you can use praise, patting and fewer food 'paychecks' if your dog begins to think sit is it's own reward.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice being consistent</b> - </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It isn't really fair to allow your dog to jump on Uncle Dave or Cousin Bob and expect them not to jump on little children, elderly people with fragile bones or people with holiday finery or white silk suits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice sit until released.</b> Release your dog after a few seconds at first then increase the time slowly rewarding often.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice sit with everyone in the family</b>. If one of the family members is impatient or doesn't ask for a sit at the door, they are training the dog what to expect.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice with set up situations.</b> Ask a friend over for dinner or appetizers and use it as an opportunity to train the dog. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Practice in the Real World.</b> On your walks you can stop when someone passes you or someone wants to greet you or your dog. </span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Practice sit with duration</b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, (aka "stay") rewarding your dog for holding the sit frequently as they are sitting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Practice with progressively more difficult distractions.</b> Your dog will not be ready for prime time right away. If you are trying to do this two days before your New Year's Eve party or Thanksgiving at your house you may want to use management instead.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: large;">R</span>einforcement: Timing Is Key </span></b> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Ask your dog to sit, then use a marker like the word "Yes!" to tell your dog when they are doing the right thing and after you mark it, then you can praise, pat and then get you food reward it AFTER you mark, praise and pat. This seems like a very small thing, but if your reward is in sight before you ask for a sit, then your dog is going to think the food in your hand is a part of the signal to sit. If they are used to seeing food, then what happens if you don't have food bribe in your hand? The dog won't know what you mean and thus will not sit. Cue first, praise, pat, then the paycheck always comes last.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">I</span>nterrupt Poor Behavior</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If your dog is jumping on someone, you will need to interrupt the poor behavior by gently taking your dog's collar and pulling them down and away from the person or dog that they are jumping on. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">P</span>revent & Manage</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When you don't have time to train, management is your friend. Management works well for puppies and adolescent dogs, as well as untrained dog but if you want a stellar companion dog, you will need to set aside some time to train. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you don't have time to train, you can manage the situation. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It really helps the dog learn impulse control if their choices are limited while they are learning. You can limit their choices by putting them on leash, even in the front hall. We often tell people to keep a leash and rewards near the front door. You could also give the dog something to do - like chew on a bone or go fetch a ball.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you haven't yet trained your dog, your other options are to put your dog in a safe place - on a leash, in a crate, in the back room, outdoors, in the car (well ventilated and safe) or take them to a friend's house or a boarding kennel. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>Distractions, Distractions!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Can your dog sit around distractions? Can they do it in a house? Can they do it with a mouse? Can they do it in a box? Can they do it when they see a running fox? We call distraction training our Dr. Suess lessons. As your dog gets better and better at sit, you can add a little bit of distractions at a time. Here is a list of some common distractions:</span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Your movement: slow & fast</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Your distance from your dog</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Noises, like plastic bags crinkling, dogs barking, squeaky toys</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Toys or food on the ground</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Doorbells or knocking on doors</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Mailman or package delivery person </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other people moving or talking</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Other dogs walking by</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A favorite person approaching</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Cars, bikes, runners, skateboards going by</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Animals moving, running or making noises</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Toys being thrown near them</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Wildlife running</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Be creative and add some every day distractions to this list</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">There is a never ending list of distractions, so practice really helps your dog work through different situations.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="color: #38761d;">When Do I Correct My Dog?</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Our philosophy is for the handler to take responsibility: train first and set your dog up for success! <span style="color: #cc0000;"><b>We advocate <i>using few, if any, corrections</i></b>.</span> Think about it, if your untrained dog failed whose fault is that anyway? Take responsibility and train your dog or manage them to keep them out of trouble. A correction puts the responsibility on the dog. If you have not taken the time to really train your dog </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">under all circumstances</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, then it is not really fair to expect them to know what you want them to do with distractions, or when they are excited or aroused. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This not only takes practice, it takes patience, it takes being consistent</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and it takes a little bit of self control and maturity on the dog's part - which comes with time. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="color: #38761d;"><b>Fortunately, practice can be a fun game and a</b></span><span style="color: #38761d;"><b> few minutes a day at the door, or on a walk will pay off handsomely!</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b>What Other Behaviors Can I Train for Greetings?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Here are a few behaviors (or if you like tricks) that you can train instead of jumping. </span><br />
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Go to your crate or mat</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hold a ball in your mouth, instead of mouthing the guests</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Go Say Hi</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Relaxation Protocol</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Doggie Zen</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Crate Games</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tricks: Bow, Sit Up, Shake</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We teach topic classes in many of these specific behaviors, so you can look up our</span><a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank"> Living with Dogs website</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and join us in a class or contact us if you'd like to learn more. Also, join us for more interesting articles, photos and events on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/livingwdogs" target="_blank">Facebook page</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Training gives you more freedom from embarrassment and freedom to relax in all kinds of social situations. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Hopefully, this will give you some ideas about how to train your dog to be a well-behaved dog that you can be very proud of. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We hope all your holidays are fun and relaxing! </span><br />
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<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><i>Seasons Greetings!</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">From all of us at Living with Dogs,</span><br />
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Sandi, Ed, Irene & Kait</span></i><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Tempe, KK, Piper & Pilot</i></span><br />
<span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><br /></i></span>
<br />sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-833676625382750672013-09-26T00:32:00.001-07:002013-09-26T00:32:29.319-07:00<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/canine-corner/201309/what-type-training-schedule-works-best-dogs" target="_blank">What Training Schedule Works Best for Dogs?</a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I enjoyed reading about this cool new research and wonder if it would help my students who are working on stay for dog sports? </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Here is our new logo, designed by long time student Marguerite Meyer. Thank you!</span><br />
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<br />sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-4234446821557195912013-08-06T05:00:00.001-07:002013-08-06T05:00:28.548-07:00Proactive & Progressive Training<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I am a proactive trainer. I teach my students to try to be proactive and patient too. The other day a student who had a new rescue, Sadie, came to me for help. Sadie is a very energetic and a persistent jumper when greeting new people.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I explained to the client that by jerking the leash and correcting the dog verbally with "Eh-Eh!" or "No!", that the client's attention to her dog may be actually <i>increasing</i> the jumping behavior and actually hurting her relationship with the dog. She had a hard time understanding how force free training would work, but she was willing to give it a try because the corrective approach wasn't working for her at all.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We started by ignoring Sadie's jumping for a bit. I walked up to her and when she jumped, I did not move, look at her, talk to her or interact with her. I was using the lack of social interaction to <b>extinguish</b> the behavior. Finally, after waiting 30 seconds, she sat by herself.<b> marked </b>her behavior with the word <b>"Yes"</b> and<b> rewarded</b> her richly, We poured on the praise, scratched her generously behind her ears and rewarded with tidbits of food her for sitting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I wanted to use some <b>preventative</b> <b>management </b>so she could not practice jumping on me while we trained, so I stepped on her leash so that it did not restrict her but stopped her jumping up. Meanwhile, before she could start jumping, I asked for a sit and rewarded her lavishly again this time for by dropping her food rewards on the ground. A<b> high rate of reward</b> is very important in the beginning when a dog is replacing old behaviors with new ones. We continued with a very high rate of reward for about 2 minutes and then we gave her a break so she had time to soak that lesson in. Breaks are important too. We continued practicing with three lessons asking for a "four feet on the floor" sit and tapered off on the food rewards very slowly, while praising and patting and playing with her. By the end of about 5 minutes she was no longer jumping on me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Sadie will go home and <b>practice</b> greetings for the week. We may have to warm her up again next week, and continue the lesson until she is no longer jumping, even if that means a year of training.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">When a dog practices a behavior for a long time, it becomes ingrained in their brain, in a <b>neural pathway</b>. We want that old neural pathway to become weak through lack of practice and lack of rewarding consequences. We want to create a new neural pathway that gets stronger with each day's practice. This requires patience and persistence on the owners part. She is very motivated to stop the jumping, because Sadie could jump on her elderly mother and knock her down.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">We could go a bit further with the training in the time she has and make sure that Sadie had lots of experience greeting many different people, men, women and children and proof her for different environments and set ups, like the front door with the door bell or knocking noise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My mother always told me <b>"Inch by inch, life's a cinch. Yard by yard, life is hard."</b> and that holds true in dog training too. Sadie is a fun and smart dog and I expect her to learn relatively quickly with a progressive approach and lots of practice. Her owner is delighted with Sadie's progress and is now interested in Agility, which would be a really nice way to use some of Sadie's boundless energy!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Photos by Pierre Tardiff (c) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The top photo is another Agility student, Gypsy and the bottom photo is our lovely Aptos training field.</span>sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com8022 Soquel Drive, Aptos, CA 95003, USA36.9766742 -121.9025407000000311.454639699999998 -163.21113470000003 62.498708699999995 -80.593946700000032tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-86314131473636119182013-02-14T21:50:00.001-08:002013-03-05T15:23:26.796-08:00On the Path: Changing Fear to Joy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Fear can be a tough nut to crack. Changing a dog's emotional response takes persistence, but is so well worth the time. The result is a dog who is more comfortable in the world.<br />
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I've been working with my Jack Russell Terrier Kenzie's fear of large animals including horses and very large dogs. Her fear came about in one very short moment, that I wish had never happened.<br />
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When Kenzie was a 12 week old puppy my brother in law scooped her up without asking and put her up on top of his horse, she was terrified. I asked him to get her down right away, but within a few seconds the damage was already done. As a young pup in her sensitive imprinting window, this was a very fearful experience that made a lasting impression.<br />
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Later that summer we drove to Idaho to a dog show and to visit a friend on her farm. My friend saw that Kenzie was afraid of her sheep and she said "I can fix that!" and as she said this she scooped up the young Kenzie and dropped her in the sheep pen without asking me first. Kenzie again was terrified and the sheep were terrified as well, stampeding around the pen. I quickly climbed over the fence and rescued her, but again damage was already done. I was upset that she had been compromised. It made things much worse - she did not "just get over it".<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoTzea5CPK4/UR3GhyAgWaI/AAAAAAAAK0E/S-xIH0fQdgk/s1600/1kk-treibball-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CoTzea5CPK4/UR3GhyAgWaI/AAAAAAAAK0E/S-xIH0fQdgk/s1600/1kk-treibball-cropped.jpg" /></a></div>
Exposing a dog to something they fear without being able to escape it is called "Flooding". We often see dogs becoming reactive because they have been flooded with the stimuli, usually with the bad experience of being attacked while on leash and unable to escape. I often hear people say about dogs "Just let them get over it!" or "Let them work it out" by exposing them to the things they are afraid of. The issue with this approach is that 1) it is cruel, 2) the dog may become overly sensitized, 3) the dogs may shut down and learn that being unresponsive is the way to get through it (learned helplessness), 4) and the dogs become even more fearful and reactive.<br />
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Ideally we would change the dog's emotions to happiness or even joy when they see the formerly scary thing! Through Counter Conditioning and Desensitizaiton we are able to pair scary things with good consequences like safety and food rewards and make it less scary for them. Let me explain....<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gwpmJAZdnIQ/USE5WKuNtsI/AAAAAAAAK88/xQqtx-jlLlU/s1600/come-beach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gwpmJAZdnIQ/USE5WKuNtsI/AAAAAAAAK88/xQqtx-jlLlU/s1600/come-beach.jpg" height="320" width="215" /></a>On our beach walks we have been running across a lot of large dogs, some well mannered and others not so much. Kenzie usually lowers her head, and begins to walk stiffly toward them, then will quiver her lip if they get close and then show a little bit of teeth. If the dog is big and lunges toward us, she will snap at them. I usually stop her by calling her name before her head goes down and give her an alternative job to keep her busy but wouldn't it be better if I could be more proactive and keep her from showing fear at all?<br />
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The most effective technique I have used to date has been "Look At That" (LAT). I learned about LAT from<a href="http://www.dogwise.com/itemdetails.cfm?ID=DTB943&AffiliateID=45641&Method=3"> Leslie McDevitt's "Control Unleashed"</a> book. Basically I taught her to look at inanimate things first and marked a quick glance with the word "yes!". KK knows that "Yes!" means she has done a good job and can come collect her paycheck (food reward) so she has to turn around and come to me. In her nine years she has not ever, not even once missed collecting her paycheck, imagine that!<br />
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After eight weeks of going to our local training group practice where there is a giant breed dog, and working on LAT it finally started working. Why did it take so long? Kenzie is usually very quick at catching on to things. She's been a star in Treibball, loves doing Agility, enthusiastic at Nosework, wonderful at Freestyle (what little we have done), she even tried Dock Diving and Flyball -- so what's the deal? Why didn't she learn to recover from her fears more quickly?<br />
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The Reverse Learning Curve<br />
Two things....first, around large animals Kenzie did not feel safe and second, when dogs are uncomfortable or fearful it takes much longer for them to learn anything. Her learning curve usually goes steeply up ad then plateaus, but when she is afraid of something, it appears that the techniques that I am teaching her are not working, at least for a much longer time and then finally all of a sudden she demonstrates that she understands. The reverse learning curve for fear is the opposite of our usual training experiences. The reverse learning curve was first described by <a href="http://dr%20peter%20borchelt%27s/">Dr Peter Borchelt</a>, an animal behaviorist in New York City. She had created a neural pathway in her brain, which is a habitual response to a stimulus. A neural pathway is much like the erosion that creates a path for a river like the Grand Canyon is the pathway for the Rio Grande. Her response pathway was deep and well ingrained with practice. I had to "dig" a deeper pathway for a happy, relaxed response in order to change her emotions.<br />
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I had to work on her feeling safe - that was accomplished by creating distance between us and the very large, gregarious dog. Food rewards alone did not make her feel safe. Second, I had to give her enough time and repetitions to learn - she'd been practicing her "growly bear" habits for a long time, too long for me to be able to change the underlying emotions overnight. She needed thousands of safe and happy exposures in many new places with many new dogs to start making a change to her habits and emotions.<br />
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Is Kenzie completely fixed? Probably not. What dogs learn first, they learn best. It takes a lot of work to change those early responses and dig those new neural pathways. I will continue to work to manage her environment and keep her safe and working on the conditioning to change her responses.<br />
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On Looking Back and Going Forward<br />
I'd give anything to have those moments back in order to not have had this problem but it is a waste of creative energy to spend time worrying about the unchangeable past. Going forward into the future, I know now to protect my dogs, manage their environment and work on getting lots of happy experiences so we can ride through the bumpy times.<br />
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I've been able to use these experiences to benefit hundreds of puppies and family dogs as well as sport dogs and reactive dogs in our classes at <a href="http://www.livingwithdogs.us/">Living with Dogs</a>. I am grateful for my job and all of the wonderful things we can do to help dogs live better, happier lives in their homes and in our society.<br />
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Our beach walks are now very fun and Kenzie continues with her amazing abilities to learn new behaviors -- as long as she feels safe!<br />
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I wish you and your dogs many happy, fun and safe experiences!sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-70209751989959819282012-12-01T22:07:00.002-08:002012-12-01T22:07:36.389-08:00Enriching Your Active Dog’s Life<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-udkyCRHwTxI/ULru1lxJizI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/ITfWyViwJN8/s1600/portia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-udkyCRHwTxI/ULru1lxJizI/AAAAAAAAAWQ/ITfWyViwJN8/s1600/portia.jpg" /></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-83nxd8bZ4zc/ULrtA7yRQvI/AAAAAAAAAV4/-bWr7LJJ4O8/s1600/llclouds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a>Dogs are meant to live active, engaging lives working,
running or swimming all day. These jobs involve physical and mental exercise. These
days most dogs these days spend a great deal of time sleeping on fluffy beds
and eating out of bowls with little effort waiting for us to come home. As a
result they are bored and under stimulated, and ripe for getting into trouble. Dogs
need stimulation and that is not always easy with our busy lives. I work to keep Pilot engaged and busy. We cuddled, played fetch, did nosework, and practiced obedience between my family dog classes today. </div>
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Here are some
tips on ways to keep your dog a healthy and happy pet. </div>
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<b>AT HOME</b></div>
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Providing jobs for your dog while you are busy or away from
home will help them from becoming bored and inventing their own entertainment.
Instead of getting into the garbage, barking or chewing on your favorite couch,
they could be working to earn their breakfast. </div>
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<b>Treasure hunts</b>
can be set up by hiding kibble or food stuffed toys around your home or in your
yard instead of feeding them in a bowl. They will have good time hunting and be
a better pet for it. </div>
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<b>Food dispensing toys</b>
are a wonderful for busy work. They are sturdy rubber or plastic toys that hold
food inside. Dogs need to lick, chew, paw, shake or roll them to get the food
out of them. These toys include Kongs<span style="font-family: Vrinda;">®</span>,
Buster Cubes<span style="font-family: Vrinda;">®</span>, Kibble Nibble<span style="font-family: Vrinda;">®</span>, Tug-a-Jug<span style="font-family: Vrinda;">®</span>,
Bob-A-Lot<span style="font-family: Vrinda;">®</span>, and Busy Dog Ball<span style="font-family: Vrinda;">®</span>. </div>
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<b>Puzzle Toys</b> can
be a good outlet and are especially good on a rainy day. Nina Ottossson makes
some creative and colorful puzzle toys that provide new challenges. If you’d
like to make your own fill a muffin tin with toys and balls in each
compartment. Put a treat under each toy then stand back and let your dog work. Video Links: <b><span style="font-size: 14pt; line-height: 21px;"><a href="http://youtu.be/fhIWa_W3QxY">The Muffin Tin Game</a> <a href="http://youtu.be/GcoNsd5qWFo">Box Pushing</a></span></b></div>
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<b>Chew toys</b> are
essential for good jaw health and clean teeth and help relieve anxiety.
Appropriate chew toys can be Kongs, natural marrow bones, bully sticks and
Nylabones®. Providing plenty of legal
chew toys will help keep your dog from chewing on the wrong things.<span style="font-family: Vrinda;"> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b>Games</b> like Fetch, Tug, Find it, Hide & Seek, and Chase are all great fun
and easy to do almost anywhere in any weather.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bkT31ue3uPw/ULrtQBK5rpI/AAAAAAAAAWA/uKzGZoE8P_8/s1600/come-kk.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bkT31ue3uPw/ULrtQBK5rpI/AAAAAAAAAWA/uKzGZoE8P_8/s1600/come-kk.jpg" height="200" width="200" /></a><b><span style="font-family: Vrinda;">OUT & ABOUT<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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There are many
interactive activities that you and your dog can get out of the house and do
together. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Walks, hikes, jogs or car rides</b> can provide a dog with new smells, sights,
sounds and friends. Being around other dogs and people and relaxing out in the
world are important aspects of caring for a dog. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FqT3Q2CmFI/ULrt3gLcrZI/AAAAAAAAAWI/So0qb6jP4nE/s1600/Pluto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8FqT3Q2CmFI/ULrt3gLcrZI/AAAAAAAAAWI/So0qb6jP4nE/s1600/Pluto.jpg" height="162" width="200" /></a></div>
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<b>Dog Sports</b> you can play with your dog provide mental
and physical stimulation and social opportunities. Exercise can be the most
important form of stimulation for a dog. There is a sport for everyone
including agility, nosework, treibball (ball driving), lure coursing,
go-to-ground, rally, dock diving and musical freestyle. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<b>Training</b> with reward-based training classes can increase your dog’s mental
stimulation and improve the bond between you and your dog. It also helps the
dog learn to understand what you expect of him or her. Contact a reward-based
trainer for group or private obedience for classes in your area. <o:p></o:p></div>
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There are many ways to stimulate dogs and every dog will prefer different things. Find what rocks your dog's boat and get out and play.</div>
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Let us know how you are engaging your dog with games indoors and outside on these rainy days. </div>
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Life is short, play with your dog!</div>
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by Sandi Pensinger (c) 2012</div>
sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-62927450562874327552012-09-28T23:30:00.003-07:002012-09-28T23:31:18.720-07:00A Daily Routine for Your Dog<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ySJtLufgyfc/UGaPNmxxJlI/AAAAAAAAATs/btaUIgCpmZ4/s1600/1209741263_nnFqW-L.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ySJtLufgyfc/UGaPNmxxJlI/AAAAAAAAATs/btaUIgCpmZ4/s200/1209741263_nnFqW-L.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lure Coursing. Photo (C) LWD</td></tr>
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<h4>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Your dog needs consistency in his daily routine to have a healthy and fit life. Make a schedule of your dog’s daily activities. Here are some suggestions of things you might include. Every dog is an individual and a recipe approach may not be appropriate for all dogs – find things that both you and your dog enjoy.</i></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Feeding</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Scheduled mealtime routines can help reduce anxiety and help a dog relax. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Training </span></h3>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R5l9atkdlr8/UGaQK4ryXPI/AAAAAAAAAUM/-xSyZU0ezBc/s1600/may-i-pat-your-dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R5l9atkdlr8/UGaQK4ryXPI/AAAAAAAAAUM/-xSyZU0ezBc/s320/may-i-pat-your-dog.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Practicing polite greetings. </span>Photo (C) LWD</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Training is essential for a well socialized dog. You can train your dog any time—while you cook, eat, clean, talk on the phone, work on the computer, watch TV, run errands, go to the softball game, go for a walk, go swimming, take a hike, or ride a bike. Training should be a part of your lifestyle and should be consistent among family members so the dog learns what to expect. A perfect example is training when you arrive at a door. A typical day of running errands and training at the same time can be the following:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Go to the bank, bring the dog with you, and practice door etiquette.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Pick up your dry cleaning and practice loose-leash walking in the parking lot.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>While doing your laundry, practice stays and eye contact, and play the “hide the cookie” or “toy in the towel” game. You can even put the dog on a longer leash and practice recalls.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">•<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span>When you go to the pet shop, practice door etiquette and sitting politely for petting.</span><br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sljE5Ij8ZPI/UGaPxfnBpuI/AAAAAAAAAT8/Q37FxRgv1r8/s1600/gypsy-tire-face-w.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sljE5Ij8ZPI/UGaPxfnBpuI/AAAAAAAAAT8/Q37FxRgv1r8/s320/gypsy-tire-face-w.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Combine training, exercise and play with canine agility.<br />Photo (C) LWD</span></td></tr>
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Play & Exercise Time</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Play is a valuable component in relieving stress and providing exercise. Play can encompass everything from play with other dogs, playing with toys and fetching and playing games with you. Play helps release the happy chemicals in their brain and gain valuable skills. Play can be a wonderful way to reward a dog in conjunction with their training.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Nap Time</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Dogs can be more predictable and calmer with a regular nap time. If you have a very busy or hyperactive dog, you may want to crate them for an hour or two mid-day. Dogs usually have two active times during the day, morning and late afternoon into evening. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alone Time</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Learning how to be alone may be an inevitable part of your dog's life. You need to go get groceries, go places that don't welcome dogs and go on vacations or trips that may not include your furry pal. A little bit of alone time every day starting when you get your dog will help prepare your dog for times when you just can't be there.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chew Time</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Chewing can help to relieve tension and give a dog a nice quiet activity. Chewing should be supervised so that the dog does not swallow large pieces of hard to digest items. Some dogs are very aggressive chewers. You may need to work with your veterinarian to find a safe chewie for your dog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Leash Walks</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">On leash walks will provide your dog with access to a bigger world. Seeing, smelling and experiencing many new things in the world is an important part</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2RmPuKQVnAk/UGaPsMm-sPI/AAAAAAAAAT0/vcaCeu-g0eQ/s320/auggie-phil-by-kathleen-dettman.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hands on time. Photo (C) LWD</td></tr>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2RmPuKQVnAk/UGaPsMm-sPI/AAAAAAAAAT0/vcaCeu-g0eQ/s1600/auggie-phil-by-kathleen-dettman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"></span></a></div>
<h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Hands On Time</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Spend time grooming, massaging and handling feet, toenails, ears tail, and teeth. It is a wonderful way to bond with your dog. All dogs will have some time in their life when they may need to be restrained or handled and daily handling can prepare them. Daily teeth brushing can help you avoid costly dental bills.</span><br />
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<h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What is Your Routine?</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">All dogs have individual needs and preferences. Is there anything that your dog loves that is not on this list?</span><br />
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sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-84132946202781628612012-03-16T23:17:00.000-07:002012-03-16T23:17:29.365-07:00Rain todayThe dogs have cabin fever. Pilot is jumping out of her socks wanting to tug, jump, run, and play ball. I've been teaching her how to be a "calm dog". I wait until she has all four feet on the floor (which can take a lot of patience) and then I stroke over her back with both hands very slowly and talk to her like I am singing a sweet soft lullaby in a little more than a whisper "Calm Dog." At four years old, I wonder when she is going to grow out of this energy at the same time I enjoy being able to train a dog that is so full of life, just not at 11PM.<br />
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It has finally started raining this winter, The rain is much needed but we have enjoyed all of the good weather this year. There are accidents happening on the highways and mudslides in the hills as it always happens when the Santa Cruz Mountains get a lot of rain very quickly. I've cancelled agility classes tomorrow morning as it will still be raining in the morning.<br />
<br />
Pilot was on my lap watching the news quietly sleeping when Ed got up to get ready for bed. She bolted out of my lap and ran down stairs to hunt on the woodpile. Sigh. We have a ways to go to get back to Calm Dog. I'm glad we had those few moments together.sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-32176360480915257792010-10-08T23:26:00.000-07:002010-10-08T23:37:22.236-07:00TreibballWhat a great way to train distance work! KK, never a ball dog before, is loving the ball work in Treibball. Training for a few minutes a day has given us the skills to drive the balls over 80 feet. The distance work has made her more reliable in her basic obedience work - unless a gopher happens to pop his head up right next to the ball. Still working on that one!<div><br /></div><div>We will be giving a Treibball workshop soon to complement "Treibball Ball Herding Handbook". Check our website for details! www.livingwithdogs.us</div>sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-89076836026330057812010-01-26T01:36:00.001-08:002010-01-26T01:43:34.262-08:00Muffin Tin GameWe released our 2010 version of "Rainy Day Dog Games" complete with video of Pilot playing the Muffin Tin Game. Dogs have so many ways of solving the problem of getting the treats out of the muffin tin. Where Capi uses his mouth to lift the toys off the treats, Pilot uses her nose and KK uses her paws. I think Capi is the most efficient. If you need a game to play with your dog, get out a muffin tin, some treats and some toys (tennis balls work well) and go have some fun with your pup!sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-73921051779686338802010-01-12T04:47:00.000-08:002010-01-12T04:51:23.404-08:00Treibball ClassWe had our first Treibball class on Sunday and it went really well. I will probably spend some time on shaping as we have some cross-over students in the class. Everyone wants to leap ahead without working on the foundation skills first. It is great to have that kind of energy in a class!sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-45429335626303948022010-01-05T01:18:00.000-08:002010-01-05T01:25:19.659-08:00Office dayMondays are office days for me. The dogs wait patiently in their beds around my desk while I field phone calls, file papers, answer email and plan new classes. Finally, we get to go on a walk! Pilot was so wound up today - she really needed an off-leash run to burn off all of her energy. I walked with a friend all over Capitola for over an hour and then we came home and played "chase" with both of our dogs for a bit. I did some footwork with Pilot, getting her to put her foot on a box today. I want to teach her a cue for each foot separately so I started with just one foot, the right front, today. Out of 20 trials, she got it 12 times so we have work to do.sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-65850798688247911432009-12-29T03:08:00.000-08:002009-12-29T03:12:43.946-08:00"What a hoot!" Lure CoursingWe took the dogs to a friend's house to lure course and swim today. They all had a blast and are sleeping like puppies. See for yourself: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfRHSNmr1U8">Here's a video</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_bLiPhFPdw">here's another</a>.sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-48638878312032110692009-12-27T01:12:00.000-08:002009-12-27T02:14:37.631-08:00Squirrel WoesI've been really careful with Pilot to try to keep her focused on object play (ball) and not on the rodentia family. For the first time in 33 years of living in Capitola we are having regular squirrel visitors. The terriers have been racing out to the yard to see if they can see one as it is climbing the trees. It is very much like a scene out of the movie "Up!" where everything else stops when the most exciting word "Squirrel!" is heard.<br /><br />The second piece to this is that we went out walking on Christmas and Pilot took off under a fence into a pasture with a long horn steer in it. (Why would someone have a long horn steer in Soquel?) Amazingly, Pilot did not bark at the steer and she came back within a minute or so, but it could have been faster. I had visions of coyotes dancing in my head, as a friend's Jack Russell got grabbed by the neck by a coyote a couple of weeks ago. Yes sir! I do want a faster recall.<br /><br />I sallied forth today under a cloudy cool sky. I put Pilot on a retractable leash and we spent about 30 minutes doing "yo-yo" recalls, out and back over and over again. If she did not respond, I quietly said "Oops!" and I reeled in the leash and limited her scope for 30 seconds, then I called her again, marked her head turn, asked for a sit, rewarded, praised and scratched her neck (collar grab desensitizing), played some tug and then released her and the leash with a "Go Play!".<br /><br />I use two releases. "Break!" means you are released from this behavior but stay with me because we are still training. "Go Play!" means stay close but go do whatever you want to until I call you again. Pilot immediately went off to check out the "grundoons" (gophers) and I'd wait until she lifted her head up and call her. We got about 85 to 90% sucessful responses, which is reasonably good. Even so, I will be practicing this daily. Practice makes perfect.<br /><br />Another way to look at this is that we were using the Premack Principle or life rewards. Premack is also known as Grandma's Rule "Eat your vegetables and you can have desert." in Pilot's case this is "Come when you are called and you can go check out the gopher holes". Salient consequences are important in getting the behaviors you want. I've had people tell me that you are playing with a fire when you are trying to use Premack to trump genetics with food or toy rewards, but I've seen it used effectively with prey drive. Rachel Sanders allows her Jack Russell, Trump, to go after gophers as a game, but she can also end that and get her dog back on a toy any time she asks. It is effective if you are deft at controlling resources as rewards and your relationship and training is stronger than the arousal of prey drive.<br /><br />Genetics and breed play a big role in how your dog reacts to the world, but training and management can trump genetics as long as you are willing to do the practice - and in our case it is all about play!sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-85574437320486137182009-12-24T01:23:00.000-08:002009-12-24T02:17:24.881-08:00Swing to HeelSwing to Heel is such a pretty behavior! We've been working on shaping this. Shaping means getting closer and closer approximations to the behavior we want. I had a friend who said she got a swing by using a stick to push the dog into place and I thought that sounded a little too coercive for my taste. I'd rather get it without forcing it.<br /><br />I'm having to break it into a lot more steps than I thought would be needed when I initially started training. Then again, I know the goal behavior and the dog does not. We train in 2 - 3 minute increments a couple of times a day - keeping sessions short - which allows me to work with the other dogs in the small amounts of time that is available. When shaping, I cut the dog's food back by 30 to 50%. I use Natural Balance (available locally at Pet Pals and Aptos Feed) mixed with a variety of 4 or 5 other treats to reward the dog.<br /><br />First the dogs are to put their 2 front feet on a low box or an air cushion. I click and treat when they sniff the box at first then put one paw on, then finally 2 paws. I'll throw a small crumb to get the dog to "reset" by going away from the box, then I will click them when they come back and put 2 paws on again. I repeat this for a couple of sessions. I want the dog to be sure of what is being clicked before I move on. All of this is done with very little talking. If the dog is unsure, I will praise them as I deliver the reward. If the dog doesn't get it, then I have to go backwards to lower my criteria or I have to break it down and make the task simpler. If I were to constantly correct the dog then the dog would get discouraged. I keep the reinforcement rate quite high to build the dog's confidence and to make sure they have a reinforcement history that will keep the learning curve going up.<br /><br />I worked with Pilot's sister, Remi, on this step today. She has never done shaping and it was a new concept for her. She caught on relatively quickly but I ran the session a little too long and her ability to concentrate started waning. Note to self: Use kitchen timer when training.<br /><br />In the second phase of training a swing we click for every small motion they make with their back feet. I do not want to have to use my body motion to get them to move, but it does jump start the process, especially if the dog has not done a lot of shaping before. If I step across with my outside foot I've found I need very little motion to influence the dog to move it's back feet. If I use motion, I know that I am pressuring the dog, the dog is not the one who is doing the thinking and the dog will become reliant on that movement to accomplish the task. My goal is to mimimize the movement and get rid of that prompt as quickly as I can. I found this stage went a little faster when I did some line-ups for regular heeling just prior to and after each training session.<br /><br />In the third phase, once I have the motion down in one direction, after one or two training sessions, I start working the other direction. Pilot was much better in both directions than KK. KK goes well in the counter-clockwise direction (to heel position) than clockwise (to side position). One of the best reasons to work on this behavior is to improve coordination and proprioception in both directions.<br /><br />I keep a training journal where I make a couple of lines of notes on each training session with drawings if needed. It helps me in planning the next session.<br /><br />Each day I am getting more motion and Pilot's heel (left) and side (right) line-up positions without the training props has become much better as well.<br /><br />I love watching the dog's figure it out. It takes patience to let them work it out for themselves, but it is sweet when they really learn the behavior!<br /><br />Take a look at <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97a2JT_6sX4">this video </a>on training a swing. I think this pup has been working on this behvior for a couple of weeks. This pup is a student of Sylvia Trkman, a world class agility competitor who uses tricks to train her dogs body awareness, muscle development and pure fun! A friend who has a giant breed (over 100 lbs) and did not want her dog leaning against her leg as the dog does in the video. You'll have to make a decision about this part of the behavior for yourself. I asked Sylvia about it recently when I attended her workshop and she said she wanted her dogs to have the tactile sensation of touching her leg - then again her dogs are under 20 lbs.<br /><br />All in all, it is very fun to see the dog's learning so quickly!sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-39204824008750181412009-10-08T04:00:00.000-07:002009-10-08T04:24:07.588-07:00Rodentia AllurePilot had class last night, she did well on her first dog walk. Nice speed but is not hitting her 2o-2o contacts quite well enough to pass muster. We need to practice them at speed with back chaining.<br /><br />After that we worked on jumps near a ground squirrel hole and Pilot kept loosing her focus. We were working on a new field and she wanted to go hunting. The goats in the next pasture over were hanging out by the fence making noise but Pilot didn't want much to do with them. Even her favorite ball did not help get her attention.<br /><br />She hadn't had much exercise or ball play for a couple of days and I haven't been doing as much practice. We are trying to keep things low key while KK gets over her surgery and I have a ton of office work to do. Pilot was really hungry - so that wasn't a factor - I had a mix of great treats too. I do wonder if having Remi to play with all day makes her loose her head? It hasn't been a factor to date. More than likely, it's me being tired, preoccupied and a little stressed that would have more of an impact on her.<br /><br />I picked her up and set her back down. I tickled her and played our pinchy paws game but she was on a roll. Finally, I went and put her in the car in a crate and took the other two for a walk. Absence makes the heart grow fonder. She walked beside me at heel when I went back to get her.<br /><br />Everyone has good days and everyone has bad days. Let it be a lesson to keep up with her exercise and training, especially in new places with rodents.<br /><br />This week we will practice more. Next week we will arrive a bit early and walk around the field with her. I will also try the look at that game and some mat work.sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-63525625058802373542009-02-18T15:25:00.000-08:002009-02-18T22:28:49.214-08:00Pretty PleaseI've been working on "Pretty Please!" (or sit up) with Pilot for about a week. My criteria is that her butt must remain sitting on the floor while her front paws are quiet in the air in front of her. I want to teach her this so I can help to strengthen her abdonimal muscles and so that she has greater body awareness and proprioception for agility.<br /><br />I took her to Dr. Lynda Wells last week. Lynda is a local holistic veterinarian who does musculoskeletal adjustments (chiropractic in the human world) and accupuncture. She found that Pilot's thorasic vertebrae were out of alignment and did an adjustment.<br /><br />Pilot does not seem to have a great awareness of her body or pain when she is playing ball. She skids into things, slips and jumps in some pretty odd ways when she is playing. I'm thinking if we can condition her muscles to protect her spine and make her more aware of her body in time and space (proprioception) then we might be able to avoid injury in the future.<br /><br />We're doing about 10 reps 2 times a day. I started with a lure 2" from her nose 5 times and then I faded the lure using my fingers pointed up pinching as if I had a lure in them. I need to have a hand signal that doesn't look so much like sit that she can make the distinction. I am using all my fingers pinched together, palm upraised and moving upwards. When she sat up I marked the best try with a clicker or with a verbal bridge and then fed her the reward.<br /><br />The first day of sit up practice, I just let her experiment with raising up a four or five times. Then I raised my criteria to sit instead of stand up on her back feet. The second and third day she started to develop more of an awareness of the sit position and was more reliable. We took a break on the weekend (work days at the field). The next two days she was able to sit up reliably with my hand close to her face. I also added the verbal "Pretty Please". She is raising up on back feet much less, and seems to have better ability to balance. Today she sat, balanced pretty well and I was able to raise my hand signal farther away from her face. The next step will be practice to tone her muscles by holding the position longer, raising my hand so I can do it from a standing position and eventually have her do it on a verbal.<br /><br />I'm also thinking this exercise may help her raise her frustration tolerance because she will need to focus for longer periods of time as we add duration and distractions.<br /><br />Once a week I work with her sister, Remi, while she is visiting. Her progress is good, but more practice definately helps.<br /><br />If you do this at home, check with your vet to make sure your dog's knees and hips are capable before you start. Different body types may not be able to do "Pretty Please" comfortably. Every dog is an individual and you should proceed at their pace. Think positive - minimize corrections as much as possible - "no", "wrong" and "oops" type words will not help as much as telling the dog what you want them to do. The first day or so you can help your dog allowing them to rest their paws on your arm for balance.<br />It is fun to see Pilot gain more control of her body on a daily basis. I imagine a couple of weeks before we go to the next big exercise - deep knee bends to strengthen her rear end (tune in for more details).sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-89375106725454733232009-02-16T03:20:00.000-08:002009-02-16T03:24:13.971-08:00How much physical and mental exercise does my dog really need?<br /><br />We get asked this question all of the time. The amount of physical and mental exercise a dog needs varies by breed and age. Some dogs are difficult to tire no matter how long you walk! The rule of thumb is that all dogs should receive at least 60 minutes per day of physical exercise and 15 minutes of training to be happy, well-adjusted dogs. Physical exercise releases "happy chemicals" in human and dog brains that are helpful in keeping us well adjusted and balanced. We usually pay attention to physical exercise and ignore mental stimulation for our pet, mental stimulation is a critical component of exercise.<br /><br />Lack of mental stimulation can lead to boredom, and boredom can lead to behavioral issues and destructiveness like barking, chewing the furniture and digging up the garden. Imagine if you had to sit in an empty room, alone, all day long with nothing to read, no computer, no television and no games. Dogs get bored just like people.<br /><br />Provided your dog is getting two or three good walks a day, a game or two of fetch, or a trip to the dog park; focus more on adding mental stimulation to your dog's daily routine.<br /><br />Mental stimulation of dogs is easy and fun. Here are a few helpful hints to help get you started:<br />Allow your dog plenty of time to sniff on your walks. It is like getting the news is for us. Using their noses and processing the information is good mental stimulation.<br /><br />Provide your dog with toys that make them think, like a Kong toys stuffed with food (see our website for recipes), or one of the many varieties of treat dispensing puzzle balls available at your local pet supply store or the internet (look for the Buster Cube, Giggle and Peek Treat Ball, Dog Smart Puzzle Toys, Tug-a-Jug, Kibble Nibble, Intellibone, Hide-A-Squirrel/Bird/Bee.)<br /><br />Rotate your dog's toys. Continuous access makes toys lose their special value.<br /><br />Play Treasure Hunt. Confine your dog while setting up this game. Take tiny treats and hide them everywhere - under the coffee table, on a shelf of the bookcase, etc. Now release your dog and say, "Find it!" At first, stand near the places where you have hidden the tidbits, then once he has the idea move farther away and let your dog do the work to sniff them out. Then sit back and watch the fun.<br /><br />Try dog sports such as agility, freestyle, tracking, flyball, dock diving, lure coursing and rally obedience Training can help build confidence and tire a dog both mentally. It can also help to improve your dog's focus and attention.<br /><br />You've probably heard the saying, "A good dog is a tired dog". Balance both physical exercise and mental stimulation to keep your dog busy, happy, non-destructive and a good companion.sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7697827662417367609.post-23090395198702189272009-02-16T03:14:00.000-08:002009-02-16T03:17:03.235-08:00Dog GreetingsHere are a few guidelines for greeting dogs:<br /><br />Always ask before petting someone else's dog<br /><br />Extend the back of your hand for sniffing before petting someone else's dog.<br /><br />Always ask before letting your dog approach another dog. Not all dogs like being approached by other dogs.<br /><br />Be sure to have control of your dog at all times.<br /><br />Keep your dog on a short leash in crowds.<br /><br />Always approach a dog from the front<br /><br />Never reach into a dog's crate or exercise pen unles the dog is your dog.<br /><br />If a dog is guarding its crate, exercise pen or car by growling or barking, avert your eyes and move away from the dog to help ease their stress.sandihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00939829874669639628noreply@blogger.com0