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Training Hack: Creating Routines for Your Dog
Just like humans, dogs love a good routine. While it can sometimes work against us, for instance, when the time changes and our dogs are looking at us like “Excuse me, where’s my supper?”, having routines can make life easier for both you and your dog.
For some examples, I have a nightly routine where my dog goes out to potty one last time, then he comes in and goes straight to his crate where he already has a treat on his bed waiting for him. I never have to make him go to his crate or try and trick him.
I also have a routine for giving any medication, where my dog hops up on a raised bed near his treat station where I also keep any medication he may need (such as for thunderstorms). He waits on the bed, I say “Open”, then I open his mouth, drop the pill in, and rub his throat for him to swallow it . Once he swallows it, he gets lots of praise and several treats. He knows these routines and what to expect so I don’t have to worry about chasing him around!
What routines can you think of that you can do with your dog to make things easier for you?
Holiday Prep for Your Pup!
Planning on having a party or family gathering this holiday season? These tips can help you get a game plan for your pup.
Management
Management is essential to keep both your dog safe and you from having to constantly be on the lookout for your dog getting into something. Using the following management tools can really help:
Baby gates - Use baby gates either to block off certain areas so your dog can’t get to them or to keep your dog in one area and away from guests. Your dog can still see the festivities but won’t be jumping on people or bothering them for some bites of food.
Crate - If your dog is one that tries to jump gates or doesn’t enjoy seeing lots of guests in their home, but loves their crate, this is a great option. Put your dog in his crate with a treat filled Kong or other safe chew toy. You might even want to play some calming music to help drown out the sounds of the party if that tends to bother your dog.
Leash up - If your dog loves having guests over, but can sometimes jump when they first come in or try to dash out of a door, keeping him on leash and even tethered to you with a hands free leash is an easy way to keep tabs on him. He can be with you and amongst the guests but not able to just run about and jump on people. If he is able to calm down once everyone gets in then you can let him off leash to mingle with the guests.
Keep food away from counter edges - No matter how good your dog is usually around food, all the holiday dishes can be super tempting. Keep the food away from counter edges or on low tables where your dog can reach. Remind guests to do the same and ask them to please not feed the dogs anything. If you don’t think you can trust the guests, then keeping your dog behind the baby gate or in his crate might be a better option.
Talk with your dog’s veterinarian about medications
If your pet does get stressed with guests coming over, whether they become really anxious and bark or hide, or they get so excited it’s hard to get them to calm down, you can talk to your vet about possibly trying some medication for your dog. These medications can help many dogs to relax a bit better. NOW is the time to talk with your dog’s veterinarian. Don’t wait until the last minute. As with people, every dog’s reaction to medications can be different so you want to make sure that the dosage and the time you give it work well for your dog.
If all of this seems like a lot of work, it can be! So know that, if it is easier for you, it is ok for your dog not to be at any parties or family gatherings. Boarding them or having them staying with a friend or pet sitter are perfectly acceptable things. Why put your dog through the stress of lots of guests in the home if it can be avoided altogether? For many dogs, they would rather spend a relaxing evening elsewhere than have a lot of chaos in their home.
I hope these tips have been helpful for you. Need some more help coming up with a holiday plan for your pup? Fill out the form on the Contact page and I can help you and your pup have a successful holiday season!
All the Pretty Girls(and Boys) Walk Like This: Leash Walking Tips
This blog contains links to outside sources
Do you dread walking your dog because it is just frustrating for you both? He’s pulling you the entire time, or she may walk fine for a few minutes, but then lunges forward if she sees another dog or person?
The good news is, you can have a more enjoyable walk for you both! These three tips can help meet your dog’s needs and make walks less stressful for you.
Gear up - Sometimes changing up your walking gear can really make a difference. I recommend using a front clip harness such as Blue-9 or Petsafe 3-in-1 Harness. It’s also beneficial to use a bit longer than average leash such as an 8-10 feet leash as that gives your dog a little bit more room. For really heavy pullers, a properly introduced head halter can be really helpful until your dog has had more practice at not pulling on leash. Once they’ve gotten better about not pulling, you can then transition to a front clip harness.
Reward Check-Ins - Many times we miss opportunities to reward our dogs for looking at us, in other words offering a “check-in”. Maybe we are looking at our phone, listening to music, or talking with a friend. These are not bad things, but I encourage you to be fully present with your dog on walks and really watch them. Any time they offer a glance towards you, mark that behavior with a “Yes!” and give them a treat. You should start to notice that your dog is checking in with you more often! While we want your dog to check-in with you, the walk is also for you dog to sniff and explore so we don’t need them to watch you ALL the time. Once your dog has started checking in with you regularly, you can start to decrease the amount of treats you give and instead just give verbal praise.
Decompression Walks- Decompression walk is a term coined by canine behavior consultant Sarah Stremming of The Cognitive Canine (her podcast, Cog Dog Radio is fantastic if you’ve never listened to it). Decompression walks are a way for your dog to be as free as possible and get to enjoy nature as a dog should. Your dog can either be off leash (in an area that is safe to do so. Think many acres of private land, not public park. Sniffspot is a fantastic resource for finding places that can be safe to have your dog off leash). If your dog is not able to be off leash, that is okay! We definitely want safety to be top priority. So, instead, you want to use a harness that has a back clip (most front clip harnesses have both!) and a longer long line, at least 20 feet long. Allowing your dog to have longer walks where they get to just run, play, and sniff as often as you can take them will really make a difference in your dog’s ability to focus more on you during your shorter, day to day walks.
Following these tips, you should see better results on your walks! Need more help with leash walking? Join us starting August 2nd for our 3 week virtual leash walking class! Click here for more info and to sign up.
Never Fear, Karl Is Here! Help for Puppy Biting
Is that the “Jaws” theme you hear as your puppy comes barreling towards you, mouth open, sharp puppy teeth ready to chomp on your hand or whatever body part is closest? Rest assured, you are not alone as every puppy I’ve worked with has caused some sort of injury to their people!
Puppy teeth are like little needles, and while they don’t mean to hurt us, it doesn’t change the fact that it does hurt, and can be very frustrating to deal with. Enter: Karl. The “Karl Hack” was created by Kim Brophey, owner and trainer at The Dog Door in Asheville, North Carolina, and creator of the L.E.G.S. Applied Ethology Family Dog Mediation course. “Karl” is simply a stuffed dog, preferably one the size of your puppy or bigger, that you give them to essentially beat up on and take your place (Melissa & Doug make life sized stuffed dogs that are perfect to use. Amazon often has sales on them, or you might could find one on Facebook marketplace). If your puppy was still with his or her littermates, they would be roughhousing and biting A LOT. This is completely normal puppy behavior. However, we as humans don’t really appreciate the biting. So, we can use “Karl” as a stand in, and either let the puppy play with it by themselves, or move it around and incorporate it into playing with the puppy. Giving puppies this outlet, as well as chew toys/bones of various textures, can really help to decrease the amount of biting. Besides “Karl” and appropriate chew items, you also want to make sure your puppy is getting adequate naps. Just like human children, puppies need a lot of sleep and if they aren’t getting enough sleep, then can be cranky which often leads to more biting.
Try implementing these tips with your puppy, and save yourself from more “shark attacks”!
Still dealing with a shark puppy? Need further help? Fill out the contact form and we can talk about training options to help you!
My Dog is Chewing the Walls!
I designed this infographic after typing up some tips for a client whose dog was literally eating the walls! Hopefully these tips will help you keep your house intact as well.