November 2008 - Posts

• Feeling frustrated with your dog? Give him more time and exercise.

  I just returned from a trip out of town to visit my wife's family for Thanksgiving. Fortunately our friends and family that we stay with allow us to bring our dogs with us when we spend the night. We also spent the last night in a hotel that allows dogs. We even brought our three dogs to Thanksgiving dinner. Their behavior always makes me very proud. They were gentle with the kids, they did not try and steal food and they played appropriately with my brother-in-law's puppy. What is the secret to having a dog that acts appropriately in various situations? Time, attention, planning and exercise. There are no shortcuts to a well behaved dog. Overall I think most people understand that dogs take a lot of time and attention. Thankfully there have only been a few phone calls over the years with someone that truly did not understand the time requirements and blamed their dog for his bad behavior. There are frequent phone calls with people that know that their dog needs something, but they don't know exactly how to provide them the proper mixture of time and attention to alleviate the problems that they are witnessing. Here are some tips that will hopefully help alleviate some of the frustration that you are experiencing. Add Fifteen Minutes More in Morning and Evening Most people know that their dog needs more time, but they have trouble finding it with their busy schedules. For the happiness of your dog, you can find an extra fifteen minutes (or more) before you go to work and before you got to bed. If you train him one of those times and then give heavy-duty exercise the other, this could make all the difference between a happy and a bored, misbehaved dog. Most dogs need a minimum of 60-90 minutes of training and exercise per day. Stuff Kongs for Meals I frequently write about the value of stuffing Kongs or other toys and feed meals this way. This is a fantastic way of providing more physical and mental stimulation for your dog. Combine it with hiding Kongs around the house for even more time-intensive acitivities. Field Trips Have you ever taken your dog to a new neighborhood for walk? Try it. You might be amazed at how stimulated and attentive your dog is during the walk. He will also be more tired afterwards due to all of the new sights, smells and sounds that your dog experiences. Socialization This can be accomplished during field trips. If your dog barks at people, dogs, noises or motion from moving objects like trucks or motorcycles you should spend the time to socialize him to those triggers. Often dogs get left home because they bark or are aggressive. If you slowly desensitize your dog to these events then it is much more likely that you will be able to bring him with you instead of leaving him at home. Training Use some time to work on any of the issues that cause frustration. If your dog steals food off of counters, work on Counter Surfing, if he jumps on people, work on Jumping. Use my video lessons or find a quality positive reinforcement training class in your area. If you ignore problems, they won't just naturally go away, they will probably get worse. The time you spend is an investment that will pay off! Posted Nov 30 2008, 09:07 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: training tips

• Your dog refuses to walk? Try this.

  It is not uncommon for dogs to refuse to walk sometimes when they are outside. They might just "put the brakes on", or they might sit or lie down. If your dog is a really young puppy, you might want to just take a break and let them take the world in. You do not have to worry about your dog becoming lazy. This is not a sign of a personality trait that leads to a lazy older dog. Often it revolves around a puppy being ever overstimulated or tired. A puppy's energy level moves up and down very quickly. He might just need to take a break. Use this time to socialize your dog to the world passing by. If time is a factor, just pick up your puppy and go home. It is nice, however, to know how to get your dog moving when you need to. I have had many clients call over the years because their dog lies down in the middle of the street. This can be a harrowing experience, that is for sure. Here are some tips to help motivate yoru dog to keep moving. It is important to practice these techniques periodically on every walk. Not just when the undesired behavior is happening. Say, “Let’s go”, gently pull him to your side, or motivate him to come to your side by tapping your leg or gently walking away. Click (if you are using a clicker) or say,"Yes" and throw a toy in front of you when he appears by your side. This associates, "Let's Go" with movement and motivates your dog to start running after hearing the cue. Practice quick, gentle "Let's Go" behaviors periodically throughout the walk and get really excited after saying the cue. Ask your dog to sit or lie down and practice this cue. This will make it clear that this cue is associated with movement. Work on sit or down stays and then ask for a "Let's Go" and run a few steps forward with great enthusiasm. Treat your dog after more steps each time to increase the distance traveled. This is a great way to increase the anticipation and excitement upon hearing the cue and "springing" into action. Posted Nov 15 2008, 07:54 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: leash walking, dog puts the brakes on

• Dog training tip - what does your dog's name mean to him?

  "Jake!, Jake!, Jake!" I was in the park with my client and we were working on off leash control strategies with his rambunctious one-year-old Border Collie mix. Jake was not too interested in anything at the moment besides the squirrel jumping from branch to branch in a big oak tree. My client was calling Jake repeatedly before I asked him what he wanted Jake to do when he called his name. My client told me that he wanted Jake to come to him when he called. I then asked him if he wanted him to come to him every time when he called him. "Yes, he said, but I sometimes want him to look at me when I say his name so I get his attention so then I can ask him to do something else." That is a problem. Using one cue for multiple meanings can be very confusing for dogs. These are contextual cues or cues that your dog has to think about the context of the cue based on the situation. To create snappy, reliable responses, teach one cue for a specific meaning and then condition that cue by practicing numerous repetitions until the cue and the resulting behavior are fixed in your dog's personality. It is very common for people to use their dog's name in a variety of situations. The most common uses of meanings for a dog's name include "Don't jump on the guests", "come here", or "look at me." Another common contextual cue is, "leave it". I frequently see people use "leave it" to mean both "leave that object alone" and "drop that object". Instead of using "leave it" for both meanings, you should separately teach "leave it" which means "do not go near that object or put it in your mouth" and "drop it" to mean "open your mouth". So, the takeaway from all of this is to take a step back and make sure your dog understands exactly what each cue means that you are teaching. Do not expect your dog to understand different meanings of the cue based on the situation. Your dog's name might mean, Come, Leave It, or just meant get your dog's attention similar to a "Watch me" cue. Posted Nov 11 2008, 10:37 PM by Jeff Millman with 1 comment(s) Filed under: dog training cues

• How to interview a dog walker

  I am constantly amazed at how many new dog walking services pop up all over Chicago. I would imagine this is consistent with other big cities. With downsizing and people's desires to run their own business, dog walking is often a natural fit for the dog lovers of the world. But, like any other business, there are better options than others. How do you sift through all of the dog walkers to choose the best one for your dog? Here are some questions and strategies that I recommend that you take into account when making a decision. I always recommend meeting the dog walker that your service will be sending. I spoke with one of my clients that did not hire a service because the walker did not even pet the dog during the interview. Not a good way to endear yourself to a dog guardian! How long have you been in business? Everyone has to start somewhere, but this is an important question. If has been a really short amount of time, you can press more and ask what their last job was, why they got into this business, etc. I would be cautious of someone that doesn't seem really committed. You don't want to be left high and dry by someone that changes their mind and chooses another line of work. How many clients do you have? This will help you determine how successful they are and also how busy. If they are a one-person operation and have an usually high number of clients, that probably means they are stretched really thin and probably do pack walks. (See below). Will you work with puppies that are not housetrained? Some services will not take on the added responsibility of potential clean-ups and multiple walks necessary for young puppies. How many dogs do you walk at once? There are many dog walkers that do pack walks. I would never hire a dog walker that walks more than 2 or 3 dogs at the most. I would prefer that they just walk my dogs alone. For even the most skilled walker, it is difficult to walk a lot of dogs. What if dogs get into a fight? Do you want multiple dogs tromping through your house while they are picked up? I also worry about dogs urinating on each other when there are many dogs on one walk. Do you do training on walks? I would not expect dog walkers to do a lot of training, but it is nice to know what they are willing to work on. Do you leave notes after walks? This should be basic. The notes should be the potty report and if anything unusual happened on the walk. Some dog walkers send text messages or even call after walks. Has a dog ever been injured in your care? What happened and what did you do? It is good to know what your walker will do if a bad situation arises. For larger services, I recommend asking if you will get the same dog walker every day. Consistency is nice for you and your dog. You will also be giving keys and possibly alarm codes to a stranger. It is nice to know that there won't be a new person each week. Do you offer vacation care? You might choose a service that also offers vacation care to have consistency for your dog when you travel. Do you offer package discounts? Some dog walking services offer cheaper rates if you pay by the week or the month. What is the cancellation policy? It is important to know what happens if you will be charged for cancellations. What do you do if my dog barks, becomes aggressive or jumps on people on walks? This will clue you in on their thoughts on punishment. They should only use humane, gentle methods. No choke chains, prong collars, spray bottles, knees in the chest, etc. Posted Nov 04 2008, 12:55 PM by Jeff Millman with 1 comment(s) Filed under: dog walkers

• Overwhelmed by one puppy? How would you like sixteen puppies?

  Retro the Golden Retriever in Rowley, MA recently had a litter of 16 puppies. Dogs usually are full term at 9 weeks, but Retro had a c-section at 7 weeks due to the size of the litter. Indya, Sheehan, Retro's owner, talks about the 24-hour task of feeding and care for the unusually large litter. See the video of the litter and happy Mom. Posted Nov 02 2008, 08:48 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: sixteen puppy litter

• Easy way to train your dog to drop things

  This is a quick and easy training exercise for dogs of all ages. 7-week-old puppies can learn this as easily as older dogs. This is also one of the most important behaviors your dog can learn. Why is this so important? For one, it can potentially save your dog's life. Dogs investigate the world with their mouths. This often results in them grabbing anything and everything that they can. If they eat the wrong thing (like Halloween candy!) it can prove fatal. One of my Collies, Ranger, grabbed a Snickers bar off of the ground last Halloween. I said, "drop" and he automatically spit it out. This amount of chocolate would not have killed him, but it might have made him sick. Better safe than sorry. Here are the easy steps for teaching drop. The easiest way to practice is with your dog's toys or bones Whenever you see your dog interested in a toy, have a treat ready and "hover" over your dog waiting for him to pick up the toy Say, "Drop" ONE TIME ONLY, wait for one second, and THEN put the treat under your dog's nose. AS SOON as he drops the toy, say,"Yes!" or 'click' (if you are using a clicker) and give your dog the treat That's it! So, how can this possibly work? Through repetition and timing, your dog will start to anticipate the treat after hearing the cue, "Drop". The key is to wait at least a second before you show the treat. If you move the treat towards your dog WHILE you are saying the cue, "Drop" your dog will pay attention to the treat only and probably not learn the cue. So, make sure you say the cue without any body motion, then show the treat. Eventually, you will see that after you say the cue, your dog will do the behavior automatically. A great exercise is to do Toy Exchanges. Use two toys Throw one When your dog brings back one toy, say, "Drop", wait a second and then squeak the other toy AS SOON as your dog drops the first toy, say, "YES!" and throw the other toy Eventually you won't need to squeak the second toy, your dog will drop on his own! You can see these training exercises and more in my high-quality, intant access dog training video: Puppy Biting and Rules of Tug Happy Training! Posted Nov 01 2008, 11:44 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: puppy biting, teach drop