The woman asked if I knew a local trainer that trained at a fairly new store not far from our neighborhood. I had not heard of him, and asked why. She had said that her puppy was kicked out of class and wanted my opinion about what happened. She...
Stop Leash Pulling - Stay Close to Home This is a simple, but often overlooked strategy when working on leash walking strategies. Dogs pull towards . . . anything that they are interested in. If you stay close to home, your dog will get used to (or...
Stop Leash Pulling Leash pulling is a big problem with dogs. To avoid frustration for you and your dog, you should start working inside with your dog on leash. Control the distractions by putting one distraction on your floor. You can use a treat,...
Dog Training Come When Called Troubleshooting It might be helpful to see what I do when a dog doesn't come when I call. You can see Ellie ignoring my command. Notice I do not say "Come" again, but instead use my backup plan. In this case I put her...
Small Successes Add Up If you have seen my other How to Train Your Dog To Come Videos you have already seen the importance of using helpers. This video continues with more examples of how the small details add up. Notice Roxy (the Yorkie) takes...
Repetition is Key Even if you provide full help, such as gently pulling the leash or tapping the ground, your dog will eventually learn. It takes literally thousdands of repetitions before your dog can learn a behavior fluently. But, you also need...
Come When Called Basics Not mentioned in the video, but very important are some simple steps to make it easier to train your dog to come when you call. Say the cue ONCE, and make it happen. Don't repeat cues. This is often a hard thing to do, but...
Shape Behaviors First You will see this in all of my videos. This is the process of molding your dog's behaviors by simply rewarding behaviors that you like. You just wait until your dog does something that you like, and 'click' and treat. You can...
Teach Your Dog To Walk Towards You It is very useful if a dog understands then when he feels a tight leash he should walk towards the person holding the leash. Tight leashes can happen when: You go one direction and your dog goes the otherYou are...
Teach Eye Contact To Your Dog Eye contact is useful when dogs are distracted outside, pull towards everything, or simply need a "reset" button when they are a bit out of control. Start working inside and Shape the behavior, or simply wait for your...
_x000D_
Dog training terms - feed for position
_x000D_
This is a term that I talk about frequently with my clients. It is really simple, but also very powerful. The more efficient you can be with your training, the more your dog will learn. So, any...
How to Train a Dog Not to Pull Leash training is a constant process. There isn't one strategy that you can implement to train your dog to perfectly walk on leash. You should focus on small successes practiced consistently and eventually your dog...
How to Train Your Dog to Stop Jumping on Your Guests Make sure you watch my other jumping videos to learn many strategies for this problem. This is a really simple concept that just simply needs to be executed properly. You need to remember that...
Train Your Dog Not To Jump There are two important elements to training this behavior. Teaching the initial concept of, "jumping does NOT get you things" and also teaching not to jump for an extended period of time. Most people would agree that a...
These are easy tips to use when you and your dog are outside. I recommend watching the video, and then reading the dog training tips below. Look for other dog jumping videos to help with other scenarios. Dog Training Tips When Walking Clients...
This is a simple strategy to incorporate into your daily routine to prevent your dog from jumping. Use this in conjunction with other positive reinforcement strategies. Watch the video and read the short post for more explanation. Change the...
Where should your puppy sleep at night when you are housetraining? Should you keep things in the crate? I recommend watching the video and then reading the rest of the article. The other videos discuss crate training, how to use a long term...
This video shows the very basics of a housetraining scenario and describes how to get your puppy on a routine. It is highly recommended that you download my Housetraining Chart and use it to make your housetraining experience more efficient. It is...
This video will explain what to do if there are accidents and how to fill out my Housetraining Chart to help make sense of your housetraining mystery. I recommend watching the video, reading all the notes and download the Housetraining Chart. ...
They are often used by dog food companies to test new dog foods because of their small size and natural tendency to eat a lot. My clients were most concerned about their puppy’s tendency to bark in the crate, so that is what we started...
This video will explain some basic housetraining tips as well as how to use a long-term confinement area. I recommend that you view the video and then read the extra tips below. Check back frequently for more videos and leave comments. The comments will...
To teach a puppy to stop biting feet or clothes, you should pay attention to his behavior before he bites feet or clothes. This is called “shaping the absence†of a behavior. The goal is to notice and reward appropriate behaviors. This...
If you ask your dog to do something and they don’t do it, there are a few reasons that they did not perform: They did not hear you They don’t know the cue They don’t want to do the cue They are distracted and lost focus on what is...
In this case, I asked her to watch me. Each time she watched me, she got to move a bit closer to the other dog. At a certain point I "lost her" and I moved her gently away and started again. So much of this strategy revolves around two things....
That is one of the wonderful, magical elements to enjoying a dog in our world. They are dogs, yet they become members of our human families! Think about that. Should it be easy to teach them our language and have them do things when we ask them?...
It is also important that your dog remains calm around toys and is composed even when playing tug. If you play tug with your dog, make sure he is able to drop things on cue whenever you ask.
The Concept of "Helper" I use the term Helper to identify any...
This video discusses puppy biting and children. How to manage a puppy and a small child. {youtube}Y7dxujoFY54"{/youtube} Should You Wrestle With Your Dog? You need to make sure that your puppy always maintains a safe level of behaviors. If your...
Learn how to size a crate and the basics of crate training a puppy. This video discusses the basics of choosing and using a crate. Look for all the crate training videos for a complete understanding of house training your puppy. Leave comments and ask...
This video explains easy exercises that you can do with your puppy to teach him to have a soft, gentle mouth.
Use Mealtimes to Train If you consistently use one meal per day to teach your puppy to have a soft mouth, you will make a lot of progress....
This is a simple, but often overlooked strategy when working on leash walking strategies. Dogs pull towards . . . anything that they are interested in. If you stay close to home, your dog will get used to (or even bored) with the location and will pay more attention to you if you are interacting with him.
Every step you take farther away from home, the more likely your dog will be distracted. A distracted dog is harder to train than a dog that is more focused.
As your dog improves his performance, then you can start walking farther away from home.
A Real Life Dog Training Story
I was training a dog many years ago that did GREAT right near her house, but as soon as we crossed an invisible line 4 houses from hers, I completely lost her attention. If I backed up over the line again, she was focused on me. So, I worked more within her comfort zone and did "laps" back and forth until she was looking at me and walking nicely for extended periods of time. Then, and only then, did I cross that line and expand her training area.
After a few fits and starts, she was able to focus on me in the new area. I also reserved toys and extra special treats for the new area. But, retreated closer to her house if I lost her focus.
Enjoy the video, and keep this point in mind when working with your dog.
This is a simple, but often overlooked strategy when working on leash walking strategies. Dogs pull towards . . . anything that they are interested in. If you stay close to home, your dog will get used to (or even bored) with the location and will pay more attention to you if you are interacting with him.
Every step you take farther away from home, the more likely your dog will be distracted. A distracted dog is harder to train than a dog that is more focused.
As your dog improves his performance, then you can start walking farther away from home.
A Real Life Dog Training Story
I was training a dog many years ago that did GREAT right near her house, but as soon as we crossed an invisible line 4 houses from hers, I completely lost her attention. If I backed up over the line again, she was focused on me. So, I worked more within her comfort zone and did "laps" back and forth until she was looking at me and walking nicely for extended periods of time. Then, and only then, did I cross that line and expand her training area.
After a few fits and starts, she was able to focus on me in the new area. I also reserved toys and extra special treats for the new area. But, retreated closer to her house if I lost her focus.
Enjoy the video, and keep this point in mind when working with your dog.
The woman asked if I knew a local trainer that trained at a fairly new store not far from our neighborhood. I had not heard of him, and asked why. She had said that her puppy was kicked out of class and wanted my opinion about what happened. She...
Stop Leash Pulling - Stay Close to Home This is a simple, but often overlooked strategy when working on leash walking strategies. Dogs pull towards . . . anything that they are interested in. If you stay close to home, your dog will get used to (or...
Stop Leash Pulling Leash pulling is a big problem with dogs. To avoid frustration for you and your dog, you should start working inside with your dog on leash. Control the distractions by putting one distraction on your floor. You can use a treat,...
Dog Training Come When Called Troubleshooting It might be helpful to see what I do when a dog doesn't come when I call. You can see Ellie ignoring my command. Notice I do not say "Come" again, but instead use my backup plan. In this case I put her...
Small Successes Add Up If you have seen my other How to Train Your Dog To Come Videos you have already seen the importance of using helpers. This video continues with more examples of how the small details add up. Notice Roxy (the Yorkie) takes...
Repetition is Key Even if you provide full help, such as gently pulling the leash or tapping the ground, your dog will eventually learn. It takes literally thousdands of repetitions before your dog can learn a behavior fluently. But, you also need...
Come When Called Basics Not mentioned in the video, but very important are some simple steps to make it easier to train your dog to come when you call. Say the cue ONCE, and make it happen. Don't repeat cues. This is often a hard thing to do, but...
How to Train Your Dog to Stop Jumping on Your Guests Make sure you watch my other jumping videos to learn many strategies for this problem. This is a really simple concept that just simply needs to be executed properly. You need to remember that...
Train Your Dog Not To Jump There are two important elements to training this behavior. Teaching the initial concept of, "jumping does NOT get you things" and also teaching not to jump for an extended period of time. Most people would agree that a...
These are easy tips to use when you and your dog are outside. I recommend watching the video, and then reading the dog training tips below. Look for other dog jumping videos to help with other scenarios. Dog Training Tips When Walking Clients...
This is a simple strategy to incorporate into your daily routine to prevent your dog from jumping. Use this in conjunction with other positive reinforcement strategies. Watch the video and read the short post for more explanation. Change the...
It is also important that your dog remains calm around toys and is composed even when playing tug. If you play tug with your dog, make sure he is able to drop things on cue whenever you ask.
The Concept of "Helper" I use the term Helper to identify any...
Watch and Train, LLC was founded by Jeff Millman, one of the most well-known dog trainers in Chicago. Jeff also runs Chicago Paws, LLC a very successful private dog training business.
Jeff graduated with honors in 2002 from Jean Donaldson's Academy for Dog Trainers in San Francisco, California. The Academy attracted students from around the globe in its 10-year existence. Jean is now on to other ventures in the dog training world. Visit her new Academy for Dog Trainers.