Archive for the Category »Florida Puppy Training «

Tips for Childproofing Your Dog:

By Jeffery
09
Jan 2012

Do you have young children in your home? If so, it is vital to ensure they are always safe around your dog. With this being said, dogs are not the only ones who need training. Children also need to be given rules about how to behave around your dog. The following tips will help prevent incidents and keep both your children and pup safe.

Most children can’t keep themselves from throwing their arms around a dog’s neck or tugging on a dog’s tail. Try and prepare your dog for this kind of attention before his first encounters with a child. Give him lots of praise and maybe even a few treats while you gently pull his tail, hold his paws, hug him, and check out his ears.

Let’s face it, kids behave differently than adults. They run, move and scream erratically. Try to introduce your dog to some of these behaviors yourself. Teach your dog to stay in one spot while you run around your yard or yell in a high-pitched voice.

You can also get your dog used to typical child behavior by taking him to a park or playground. Keep your distance at first, and slowly work your way closer. If at any point your dog seems concerned, take a few steps back and start over. Keep things fun, have some treats in hand and make sure to praise him.

Dogs often will feel more at ease around children if they have an escape route. Crate train your dog so that he is happy and comfortable in a crate. Make it clear to any children in your home that the crate is off limits to anyone but the dog. This way your dog can interact with the children when he wants to, but he also has a safe place to retreat.

Most people believe that holding a dog so a child can pet him is a good way to introduce dogs and kids. This is NOT true. If a dog is afraid of children, holding him while one approaches to pet him can be a unpleasant experience. A dog that is afraid can become aggressive and growl, snap, or even bite in an effort to escape the situation. Instead allow your dog as much time as he needs to get comfortable around kids, and give him the chance to approach when he feels ready.

Category: Florida Dog Obedience Training, Florida Dog Training, Florida Puppy Training, k9 obedience  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

How to Teach Your Puppy His Name:

By Jeffery
04
Jan 2012

Once you have chosen a name for your puppy, you need to teach him what it is. Your objective is to teach him that when his name is called, you are requesting his full attention and to look directly at you.

As you go on to teach your puppy commands, such as come, sit and stay, you’ll do this successfully if your puppy is focused on you whilst you are teaching him these commands – this is why it’s so important he knows his name and responds to it.

Your puppy will start to learn that the sound of his name will be followed by a command, so to him, his name means that something is being specifically asked of him. When you use your puppy’s name, you must keep it associated with good things. Don’t call his name and then proceed to yell at him because he’s chewed something of yours. If you do this too often he’ll start to associate his name with being screamed at and won’t respond when you call. Realistically, his is easier said than done, but it will be worth all your hard efforts in the end.

So arm yourself with some tasty treats and put a leash on your puppy. That way you have complete control if he gets distracted by something or tries to wander off. Call his name in a positive and voice. Puppy’s love to hear your voice and will naturally look towards you when they hear you speak. As he looks in your direction, give him a treat and praise him verbally with “good boy”. Repeat this several times each day until he consistently looks towards you every time his name is called.

The next progression is to introduce a distraction. Try this with other people in the room, out in the yard, in the driveway, when or anywhere else you can think of. Don’t rush this step and always make it easy for your puppy to succeed, he wants to please you, so do your best to make it easy for him.

You need to teach your puppy that wherever you are, no matter the distraction, if he hears his name he needs to look at you and wait for further instruction. So, take small steps that can easily be achieved, then you will both look forward to every training session.

Category: Florida Puppy Training, Pet Care Tips, Puppy Classes, k9 obedience  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

Common Mistakes When Training Your New Pup

By Jeffery
26
Dec 2011

Puppies are capable of learning simple commands from a very young age. Don’t try to give your puppy a meaningful training session if he is highly excited, occupied with exploring, or tired. You need his complete attention. Otherwise you’re wasting both your time and his. You can build up to training sessions in more distracting environments once your puppy is reliably responding to your commands when at home.

When it comes to home training, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to understand the concept, what goes in must come out. If you feed your puppy a quality, nutritious and balanced dog food and stick to regular meal times (3 times a day for young puppies, dropping down to twice a day for older dogs), then your puppy is more likely to have regular potty habits which means you’ll have a much better idea of what time to take him out. If, on the other hand, your constantly offering your puppy with treats and tidbits and feed him at random times of the day, you can expect your puppy to need to potty at any time of day too.

If you’re expectations are too high of your puppy to master all of your commands in the first couple of weeks, you are sadly mistaken and will be disappointed. Young puppies, in particular, have a lot of information to take in the first few weeks as they get settled into their new home away from their mom and siblings. Try to start off with two or three commands at the most sit. “Come” and “down” should be of top priority. Don’t move on to new commands until you are confident enough that your pup has mastered the basics.

Like an adolescent child, puppies have short attention spans and get tired very quickly. Remember, when training your puppy, keep sessions short. 5 to 10 minutes should be sufficient enough time. Two or three short training sessions every day is ideal. You can build in the command “come” throughout the day such as when you want to feed your puppy or take him outside.

A pup will learn much faster and affectively through the association of an action with a positive reward. However, our attention can also be very rewarding to a puppy. This can also include negative attention such as yelling, scolding, or punishment.

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Is Dogs Eating Grass, Harmless or a Health Concern?

By Jeffery
23
Dec 2011

For the most part, dogs are mainly carnivores, but they can and do eat plants and vegetables. One of the more common plants eaten by dogs is basic grass. Raw grass is not toxic to dogs unless it is treated with chemical pesticides and or fertilizers. So if you begin to notice this habit in your dog, don’t panic. The exact reason behind why dogs eat grass and why it makes some dogs throw up is still basically unknown.

Theories about Dogs Consuming Grass:

For years, dog owners and veterinarians believed that dogs with upset stomachs ate grass to induce vomiting or that the grass upset some dogs’ digestive systems. A study has been conducted were approximately 1,500 dogs were examined that had consumed grass at least ten times over the course of a year to get more definitive answers. The study found that less than nine percent were sick prior to eating the grass, and less than one in four vomited after consuming the grass. The researchers determined that grass consumption is most likely a trait that modern dogs have inherited from their wolf ancestors which also ate grass occasionally. Scientists believe wolves generally eat grass to help them purge internal parasites and prevent the parasites from building up in their systems.

When Grass Consumption May Signal an Illness:

Owners who occasionally catch their dogs in the act of eating grass can relax a bit once they understand that this behavior is fairly normal and usually harmless. However, it still pays to watch for any change in your dog’s general behavior and habits after he consumes that grass. If your dog becomes lethargic, has diarrhea, or shows any other signs of illness right before or shortly after eating grass, you should ask your veterinarian to evaluate your pet’s health right away. While grass is unlikely the cause of any illness, any change in eating habits and behavior sometimes indicates a problem. A veterinarian can examine the dog to try to determine exactly what’s going on.

Since the consumption of grass by dogs is generally harmless, there is no reason to prevent your dog from eating it. Unless he eats an unusually large amount each time or it always causes vomiting. Of course, never let a dog eat or play on grass that has been treated with harmful chemicals for pest control or fertilizers.

Category: Florida Dog Training, Florida Puppy Training, Pet Care Tips, k9 obedience  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

How to Break Common Excessive Behaviors & Simple Solutions:

By Jeffery
19
Dec 2011

Excessive Digging:

Digging occurs for many reasons. They dig cooling pits when it’s hot and warming pits when it’s cold. Dogs dig to bury and recover bones. Digging is a highly enjoyable and natural canine activity. Lack of exercise, prolonged confinement and boredom can also be the blame. Once digging starts, it can quickly become a habit.

Providing your dog with regular walks, play-time and proper training, the better chances you will not have a digging problem. But until your dog has been taught that digging up your yard is unacceptable, he should not be given free access to these areas when you are not there to watch over him. Confinement is not the solution. It is only a temporary measure until your dog can be trusted out in the yard.

Excessive Chewing:

When yelling at your dog for chewing something up, such as a newspaper, both the owner and dog are completely misunderstanding each other. We feel that when the dog has his head down and looking guilty, that he must know what he did was wrong. The dog’s body language is actually showing he is frightened and submissive. So in reality, he is avoiding punishment. He may indeed know you are angry about the newspaper, but what about the newspaper? Are the pieces not small enough or is the job not done well enough?

Whatever the dog is thinking you are mad about, it is not for the act of chewing because that is not what he was doing when you scolded him. In order for him to know you are mad about chewing the paper, he must be caught in the act of chewing.

Excessive Barking:

Barking is the most natural thing for a dog. It’s a dog’s way of communicating, like humans when talking. You cannot expect to own a dog and not have a certain amount of barking, whining and howling. Barking is simply what dogs do. You can however, train your dog to bark less frequently than he might already do.

Every time your dog barks, after two or three barks, praise him for sounding the alarm. Then ask him to, stop barking. At the same time, wave a favorite treat in front of his nose. Most dogs immediately stop barking because they can not enjoy a treat and bark at the same time. During this time, continuously praise him.

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Why Does My Puppy Bite and How Do I Take Control?

By Jeffery
16
Dec 2011

Your puppies need for biting is a perfectly natural and essential phase to go through, especially when they are teething. With this being said, however, it is not acceptable to have your pup chewing on you, or anyone for that matter.

Puppy biting or nipping starts out as a bit of fun, but needs to be controlled quickly to avoid ongoing problems. Most puppies can be trained to regulate and minimize the biting fairly easily. The sooner you get started educating your puppy not to bite, the easier it will be. Remember, the younger the pup, the “softer” the bite.

Proven Techniques:

If you catch the biting, just try to redirect the biting from your flesh to a toy or chew bone. For very young puppies this method is often all you need do. As soon as your pup starts to bite your hands just let out a firm ”No!” and replace your fingers with a chew toy.

Make your puppy think he is hurting you each time he has a nip at you. This method replicates the way dogs sort out this biting amongst themselves. When puppies are biting and nipping each other it only stops when one puppy lets out a yelp. We can use this natural way dogs learn by letting out an “Ouch!”  every time your puppy bites. The trick is to startle your dog using your voice, and then pull away and stop playing with your puppy for a while. Your pup will soon learn that when he begins to bite, his friend goes away.

In bad biting cases, as soon as your puppy latches onto your hand say “No!” and quickly put your thumb inside his mouth under his tongue. Your other finger will be under his chin and pinch down, but not to tightly. This will feel uncomfortable to your puppy and he won’t be able to bite you.

If your puppy has an even more severe biting problem, try putting on a pair of gloves and apply a foul tasting substance to them. Your dog will soon understand that if he bites you, it won’t be very pleasant! This method produces a strong negative association to your dog every time he decides to bite you. Some dogs are smart enough to realize that when you take your foul tasting gloves off, it is fine to bite you again.

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How Do I Teach My Dog To Obey Commands?

By Jeffery
14
Dec 2011

Most people want their dogs to behave when walking on a leash. It is essential that your dog come when called. Staying when told is also very helpful. But how do you teach your dog to do these things?

The key to success is understand how your dogs mind works, and then incorporate that with proven training techniques, a few training aids, and consistency. Dogs do not understand every word in the human language. Instead, they learn a few words that they are told repeatedly and associate with a specific activity or task. For example, your dog may recognize the word “out” and associate it with going outside. However, if you change the word you use, he will no longer understand what you are saying or what you mean. It is important that whatever word you choose to give as a command, you stick with that same word each and every time.

A word that often confuses dogs is ‘down’ because people use it to mean ‘lie down’ which is the correct usage. However, the dog also often hears it with the meaning of “get off the couch” or “don’t jump at people”. When the word is used to command all three things, your dog will remain unknowingly clueless. Persistent training in this situation means that you would use “down” to mean only “lie down” and nothing else. If you want your dog to get off the couch, you would use the command ‘off’ rather than ‘down’ and if you want your dog to quit jumping on people, you would use a command like “floor” or “no jump” instead of “down”.

Pack Leader:

Before you begin training your dog, you must set the ground rules that you are the master and he is the follower. In some breeds you will need to work 24/7 to remind your dog that you are the pack leader for example a Doberman, while in other breeds for example, a Golden Retriever will only need to establish your “leader-follower” relationship at the very beginning.

Find the key to being your new pack’s leader. Encourage and help all your family members to become pack leaders for your dog. If you are not the pack leader, your dog is. The pack leader trains the pack members. Become the pack leader. Turn your out of control dog into an obedient pet.

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Why Oh’ Why Does My Dog Eat Poop?!

By Jeffery
12
Dec 2011

Do you have a puppy or older dog that has taken a fancy to eating their feces? This filthy habit, also known as “Dog Coprophagia” is one dog problem, we as owners… HATE! This is generally more common in puppies up to a year old, but can occur at any stage throughout your dog’s life.

There is good news for us dog lovers though. Several proven techniques and training methods can be called upon for correcting this before it can become a permanent habit.

*NOTE* If your dog has this problem (Coprophagia), ensure that all dog vaccinations and worming treatments are current or up to date. The reason for this is that various diseases and internal parasites can be passed from dog to dog due to the eating of their feces.

Possible Causes:

Sadly, in most cases, your dog just thinks poop tastes fantastic. Just the thought of this alone is absolutely disgusting and I’m sure most would agree.

Your dog may have a mineral or vitamin deficiency and they will eat their feces in an effort to help compensate and restore this balance.

It may be a sign or symptom of anxiety, stress or your dog is just suffering from plain old boredom. Certain medications or antibiotics for your dog have even been known to cause this habit to form.

This can be the result from over-feeding your dog. This will not allow for the proper digestion of food, which means his feces will still smell and taste the same as when it was consumed. With this being said, its also a possibility due to feeding your dog too little, such as once a day, some dogs become very hungry and will scavenge around for any kind of food.

Possible Solutions:

Feed your dog twice a day as appose to only once.  Try to get your dog interested in a nutritious and well balanced meal.

If you catch your dog in the act red handed, try to provide him with a distraction. Call him over to you right away with a reward in hand to praise him with. This should be sufficient enough to break this habit, but you must stay consistent when doing this.

You must enforce your strategy every time and stick with it. The longer you let your dog do this, the harder it will be to break the habit.

Category: Florida Dog Obedience Training, Florida Dog Training, Florida Puppy Training, Pet Care Tips  Tags: , , ,  Leave a Comment

The Clicker Training Method:

By Jeffery
25
Nov 2011

Operant conditioning is a scientific description of the way animals learn from the consequences of certain behaviors. In dog training, positive reinforcement is a type of operant conditioning that is commonly used. A system based on sound equals rewards, allows your dog to learn difficult skills, without the use of force or punishment. Your dog will learn to quickly identify what behaviors are desired and which are deemed unacceptable.

The clicker is typically a small plastic box with a metal strip inside that makes a distinct clicking sound when you press it. To teach a dog the meaning of the click, a treat is given immediately after clicking, resulting in the dog learning the positive effects of the sound. The click is more distinct than verbally praised commands and is much more effective than only giving your dog treats.

Where did this method originate from?

At sometime in the recent past, behavioral researchers including Norm Guttman, Marian Kruse and Keller Breland, in a laboratory, were among the first to understand the clicker method. They had realized that rats always stop what they are doing whenever they heard their food dispenser make a sound, which indicates its time to eat. Under the instruction of B.F. Skinner, they decided to try using a sound to correct behavior outside the lab, such as in dogs.

How to conquer the clicker:

To get things started, begin teaching your dog basic commands in a quiet area. Make sure to have ready a sufficient amount of your dog’s favorite treats. The treat should be small enough to be consumed instantly. Press the clicker and immediately give your dog a treat. Repeat 5-10 times. You can test your success by clicking when your dog is not paying attention to you. If your dog instantly responds to the click by looking in your direction, then expecting a treat, you’re starting to get somewhere.

At the exact moment your dog performs the desired action, press the clicker. Follow with a treat and praise. One of the best things about the clicker is the accuracy. The dog associates his action with the click and, subsequently, the reward. Not only does your dog better understand what he is doing, this also makes him more likely to repeat the action when asked in the future. This allows the training process to be totally hands-off, aside from treat giving.

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Teach Your Dog How to Skateboard!

By Jeffery
23
Nov 2011

Here’s a fun one!

Generally, when imagining a skateboarding dog, you might be thinking of a movie or commercial. So, what would it take to make this a reality for you and your dog, you ask yourself? To teach your dog a head turning trick like this will require patience, a handful of treats, determination, and a dog who listens well. So get your dog, grab a skateboard and get outside. Don’t be surprised to get some attention from this, who knows, you may even draw a crowd.

For Starters:

Try to get your dog to show some interest in the skateboard. Let him investigate by sniffing it and climbing on it. Try encouraging him to sit and stand on the board by giving him a treat. Try not to force your dog on to the skateboard. Work at it and he will begin to associate this with fun. Shaping your dog to do this can be complicated because the skill of riding a skateboard won’t just come naturally.

First, decide exactly what you want your dog to do. Do you want him to mount the board and just ride along or do you want him to use his foot to move? Give your dog an idea of what he’s up against by letting him watch as you ride around. Keep an eye out, he might be chasing after you.

How to Get Things Rolling:

Aim to avoid doing this in the streets. Use sidewalks if possible, just as a safety precaution. Set the skateboard in front of your dog. Place one paw on the board. Offer him a treat if he cooperates. Place second paw on the board until the dog is completely on. If he stays, then reward him with another treat.

Although, getting your dog to stay on the skateboard is a feat of its own, getting him to feel comfortable while moving, may become quite the task. On your first few attempts, try to keep a slow and steady pace. Then push the dog as far as he we will allow.

Try not to do more than 4 attempts a day. More than that can result in you and your dog getting burnt out. This can be a positive and fun experience for you and your dog. The both of you may get frustrated at times along the way. When this happens, just take a deep breath and come back to try again later on.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

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