Category: Dog Training (page 1 of 3)

DO NOT, Do not touch my Paws

White puppy holding up his paws

My paws

Do not touch my Paws

Last week, I was helping a groomer with a dog who was strongly objecting to anything near his paws.  He was saying “Do Not Touch My Paws” The problem is that the rest of the body had been clipped and so had most of the legs.

No-one was speaking harshly to him, and we spent ages trying to get the poor dog to cope with either a muzzle being put on, or scissors being near his paws.  Once a muzzle was on, we had to hold the front legs anyway because he was going to rip his face trying to get it off!

I felt so sorry for the poor boy

He was terrified and he wasn’t being aggressive or nasty, he was just trying to stay safe in the only way open to him bearing in mind he was attached to a grooming table.  The option to run away had been removed.  He had no idea that we were not going to hurt him.

Many parents know how difficult it is to try to break through the panic of a child.  The child has language and it is still hard.  Your dog doesn’t, the words are just a sound to him.  Shouting and anger, just adds to the stress.

I have no idea what had happened before as he had obviously been groomed in the past.  It is entirely possible that he hasn’t been hurt previously, he has just always been scared and no-one has ever taken the time to help him.  He needs daily work to move him towards being able to cope with the grooming of his feet.

We did finally manage to get the feet tidied and nails clipped as he loved being under a spray of warm water and was much more docile like that!

It’s not fair

Vets and Groomers face scared dogs on a daily basis.  It is not fair to them to have to risk being hurt by a scared dog.

But more importantly, it is not fair to the dog.  He was very seriously stressed and scared.

That stress may have stayed in his system for a while and would have made his ability to cope with other stresses more difficult.

What can you do to help?

Add it to your puppy’s and dog’s socialisation plan.  It may not be a quick exercise so be patient, go at your dog’s pace, not yours.

Add a check of his

  • legs,
  • feet,
  • ears,
  • eyes,
  • mouth
  • teeth and
  • tail to his training plan.

Get your pooch to happily accept his feet being touched.  If having his nails cut and being clipped  is something that will happen in his life, get him used to the smell, sound and feel of clippers.

Work with a hairdryer too, not just the sound, but the smell of it and the feel of it blowing warm air on him.

It’s your responsibility, you own the dog

You do it, don’t abdicate responsibility to your groomer.  Have other people touching him.

Book in a trip to the groomer to introduce him to the people and the smell of the place.

Also, take your puppy to the vets a few times so that he has a chance to get used to the smell without something happening to him.  Most vet practices will be happy for you to visit for a few moments.  Make the vets and super place in your puppy’s experience.

Choose a training program that includes socialisation to grooming and how to do it.  It’s important.

It’s one of the items I cover in my puppy classes and with my private clients.  I always go at a pace that the puppy can cope with and make it as stress free and as much fun as possible.

Karen,

Peaceful Pups

 

Teaching in Silence – does it work?

Teaching in Silence, does it work? Find out here and then try for yourself.

Fact: Teaching in silence works.
As many of you know, I teach most behaviours silently for a number of reasons.

His Brain

Firstly: Whilst your dog has a number of areas in his brain that deals with language, none of them deal with language in the same way that humans do. The words we say are just sounds to your dog.
In addition, each one of us is unique. Our voices have different inflections and we move our bodies in different ways. Your dog’s eyesight is extremely good at spotting movement and, therefore when you say particular words, you move your body in a specific way too.
For instance: Maybe you twitch your nose when you say his name. Or you could shrug your shoulders when you ask for a sit or raise your eyebrow when you ask him to spin. Whatever it is, you body language is unique to you.

Body Language

Secondly: Your dog relies more on body language than sounds. So when you ask your dog to perform some action, your dog usually looks at you to work out what you want. At first, they will not be listening to the sound you make.
When your dog does start to associate the behaviour with your body language and the sound you make, it is still unique to you and others in your household won’t be the same.
So when your partner says that the dog doesn’t like them because it never does what they ask, it has nothing to do with like or dislike and more to do with the dog not understanding what is being asked. Remember the timbre of their voice is different as is the body language.

Multi-tasking

My third reason for teaching as much as I can silently is that dogs are no more capable of truly multi-tasking than us. When you are trying to learn something and somebody is nattering away at you, you either stop so you can listen or you ask them to go away. Why then, should a dog who doesn’t have language, be able to concentrate and learn when you are talking to him?

Repetition

And finally, I hate it when people say “sit, sit, sit, sit, sit”. If the dog doesn’t do it the first time, he either has no idea what you are talking about or is not actually listening or watching you. This means that you are not only wasting your breath, but your could be teaching your dog to actually sit when your voice reaches a certain pitch or you have said it 6 times! Not useful at all.

So what is the benefit of teaching in silence?

I mostly teach in silence because I have found that the puppy picks things up much quicker once it starts to focus on you and think. You can actually see the dog trying different behaviours to see whether it will work and he will get what he wants. In effect, it is shaping in the same way that some clicker training works. Our speech is, in effect, just white noise most of the time.

I find the dog is calmer and that the learning is more stable. Mainly, I think, because the dog has started to build their own neural pathways in their brain.

When I do not use silence?

Praise is not silent and always comes with a smile.

There are certain situations when a dog will need constant reassurance that they have got it right. For instance, when I am starting with a tiny puppy, I always start the ‘walking on a loose lead’ training without a lead at all (remember I am at the person’s house and we are not in a field). We teach the puppy where the zone of reinforcement is located and progress as fast at the puppy’s pace. But sometimes, if I visit an older puppy for the first time or an older dog and they are already going out regularly, I don’t want to feed a constant stream of treats, so I will utilise a very happy ‘yes’ or ‘Good boy/girl’ when the dog is in the correct position.

I also use the specific word if I am trying to capture a naturally occurring behaviour that I will later want to put on command. For instance, ‘speak’ or a command that tells the dog, I want it to go to the toilet.

I don’t usually use silence for a recall either. I still only say the word once whether I am teaching it as a fun game or I am using conditioning.

Stay is another command that I use right from the beginning if I am actually going to use a word. For some people, a Sit or Down will mean the dog stays in that position until released. In this situation the word ‘stay’ is not required.

Commands suitable for teaching in silence

Here are a list of behaviours I regularly teach without words at the beginning:

Sit

Down

Stand

Heel

Leave

Do not to enter a room

Not to go through a door

Stay in the cage, even if the door is open

Not to go upstairs

Release the toy

On your bed, or in your cage.

When to add the word.

Science has taught us the optimum point to add the command. Therefore, when I think the dog has got the behaviour reliably, I will add the verbal command at the point the behaviour starts. For instance, if the dog is going to sit, say it at the point the body starts to move into position.

Conclusion

However, I often feel that by commanding our dogs, they are reactive to that and wait for the command. If you let them work it out using cues from their environment, I think they become better mannered, calmer and able to make the right decisions. This leaves one less thing for the owner to think about. In this day and age when life is busy and stressful, one less thing to think about is very welcome.

Interesting blog and experiment for you.

Jill Breitner has written an interesting article for Dogster with an experiment for you using body language. Here is a link: Dogster

So have a go at teaching in silence and let me know how you get on. If you want some help with how to do it, just send me a message.

Remember to make training fun for both of you and use very short training sessions. Your dog will be happier and learn quicker, I promise.

Karen

From Peaceful Pups.

 

Why we have got socialisation wrong

A puppy chasing older dogs in play - socialising

Daz (puppy) chasing Odin, Scooby and Poppy

Socialisation

Socialisation, I am sure you have heard about it.

Do you know what it means?

Do you know what you have to do?

Do you know what to include?

Most people think that socialisation means letting your puppy meet other dogs and people, but it is so much more than that.

Dogs

By other dogs, it means not just your own other dogs, but a variety of other dogs outside of your home. Your dog is able to play politely, if it plays, and not barge in, bowling the other dogs over, or not be terrified of other dogs. And then comes back when called straight away.

People

As far as people are concerned, your dog should be polite, not jump or bark (unless given permission), not shy away or barge into them. It shouldn’t matter what they wear or whether they have a beard or not.

Think about, trousers, long dresses/robes, turbans, umbrellas, glasses, males, female, children, running, walking, riding a bike, pushing a pram, wheelchairs, mobility scooters, skateboards.

Situations and Surfaces

What about situations and surfaces? What are you going to want to do with your dog during its lifetime, where are you likely to take it?

Consider trains, lifts, metal and wooden surfaces, bridges (under and over), café’s, pubs, boats, buses, cars, beaches, town centres, stations.

And finally, Sounds

And then there are sounds. Your puppy needs to get used to as many different sounds as possible. Having a dog that is terrified of fireworks or crop scarers is not easy to live with and certainly very stressful for your dog.

Deal with the noises early on, within the first few weeks if possible.

The breeder

The more your breeder does, as long as it has been done well, will be a bonus. There is quite a big push now for breeders to do more and many breeders are now providing a variety of different surfaces, noises, situations, and objects whilst they are growing. It is always worth asking your breeder what they have done in this respect and how many people they have met, especially men and children.

When you should start

You HAVE to start as soon as you bring your puppy home because there is a small window of opportunity that is generally thought to close down by the time they are 16 weeks old, some have even suggested that some breeds shut this period down even earlier, but that is a discussion for another day.

You want your puppy to have a nice experience of as many things as possible in that window. If your puppy doesn’t see something, he may decide that they are scary things and either shy away from it or go to the other extreme that says ‘I’ll attack you before you get to me’ which is known as fearful aggression. Not all dogs will do this though, but how will you know if your dog won’t until it’s too late?

The Bad News

By the way, your puppy will go through another stage like this somewhere around 10 months.

Trainers can get it wrong too

Us trainers don’t always get it right either! I have always lived in villages, but recently moved close to a Town Centre where there were people of a variety of nationalities and wearing lots of different types of clothing.

I thought my dogs were ok, but I found out how wrong I was one Sunday morning when I took my two big boys out early one morning. We had only gone a little way when a car pulled up next to us, and a young girl got out dressed in robes, from head to foot. My boys weren’t so keen on that and let us all know. I then had to spend some time on them separately getting them used to everything around us.

Choices

So you have got your puppy, what are your choices for socialisation?

Typically there are 4:

  1. Vets – puppy socialisation courses
  2. Training clubs and schools – with their puppy classes or
    socialisation classes
  3. Doggie day care – some will take them from a puppy, I did, but I was very careful with them.
  4. Do nothing and hope.

However, now there is a 5th choice. You can work with a dog trainer who knows how to help dogs develop good manners and behaviours around people and dogs.

Why I think traditional options for socialisation are a contributing factor in the increase of aggression

Let me tell you why I believe that the traditional options are a major contributing cause for the increase in aggression in some dogs.

The number of people taken to hospital due to dog bites has risen by 76% in the 10 years to August 2014 and they went up by 6.5% in the year to Feb 2015. Remember these are only the ones taken to hospital.

Socialisation was supposed to stop the badly behaved and aggressive dogs. So why have the numbers of hospitalised dog bites increased?

Where it all started

Dr Ian Dunbar started it all in the early 1980s, he was revolutionary and gradually he made a massive impact and changed dog training in the UK and other countries around the world. This was a major step forward.

Puppy socialisation came to the front and over time many schools and veterinary practices have implemented puppy socialisation classes.

What we got

My experience and what many other people have experienced is that rarely is there any thought given to what the puppy learns if he is allowed to bully all the other puppies. The other puppies will join in, What will they get from that?

And what about the nervous one? The poor thing is terrified and is just plonked into the middle of the fray in a sink or swim way. Only for him to get mown down by the class bullies and the other dogs wanting to join in the fun.

It’s like being terrified of heights and someone making you walk on a glass floor a couple of stories up and the glass cracks whilst you are in the middle.

So now the super confident puppy has learnt that it is ok to railroad other puppies and if he is lucky other dogs will join in. The dog you crash into will likely roll over or run away. But, either way, it’s good fun.

The nervous puppy has been traumatised and will either always try to avoid being that situation for the rest of its life or it will develop an ‘it’s me or you’ attitude and attack first so that the other dog doesn’t get the chance. This is called ‘fear aggression’.

Absolutely crackers.

Now it’s time to up our game, take the next step.

Not all clubs and vets are the same

Now I know there are many places out there, who manage the situation extremely well and some are much better than this, but there are many that do not.

Most owners have no idea what they are letting themselves in for. They just do not have that knowledge and many trainers haven’t thought about it.

The same happens with people, some dogs are not stopped and are encouraged/allowed to get too excited with people.

The nervous ones are just forced to deal with this strange person reaching their hand, like a big scary spider, over the top of their head and they just can’t get away.

Or they are crowded by people and children and their frantic body language telling us they are too scared is totally ignored.

No-one is helping them. That comes later, if they are lucky.

If they are not so lucky, they get re-homed because they are unpredictable or aggressive and sometimes they are just put to sleep.

In most cases, we humans have caused the problem and it’s about time we stopped.

Go and find yourself a trainer who understands and recognises what poorly thought out and poorly managed socialisation can do and knows how to introduce your precious puppy to the world. One who can tell you how to recognise when your puppy is not so happy with what is happening.

If your dog has experienced this, many trainers know how to help your dog learn how to cope without lunging and barking at everything it sees. Go and find one but walk away quickly if they want to use water spray, rattle bottles, pet corrector, shock collars, prong collars or attention turns. These are old methods that work on punishment for your dog trying to do what it feels he has to do to protect himself.

Can I help?

My 12 week Puppy Steps Foundation Plan includes managed socialisation as standard and as I come to you, we practise it in the areas you will be going with your puppy.

If you have a question about how to socialise your puppy, you can book a short free call (SKYPE) with me to see if I can help.

Remember to have some fun with your dog.
Karen – Peaceful Pups

Why should you train your dog?

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Many people wouldn’t know where they’d be without their little pup. A dog to most people is also a best friend. It’s our job to set our dogs up ready for the big wide world and what better than to train and socialise  them? Dog training and socialisation can help improve the life style of your pup, make their lives a little more interesting.  It’ll help behavioural issues to stay at a minimum, can help save your dog from potential dangerous situations and even create a stronger bond between the two of you.

 

Improving your relationship

Dogs love being with you, interacting with you and doing things with you.  The more training and fun you have with your dog, the more it will want to be with you and the stronger bond you will have.

 

Trained dogs are more fun

A trained dog is a lot more fun to have around. If you train your dog properly it means they’re more of a pleasure to take on a walk, more of a pleasure to take on adventures – such as camping, going away on holiday – and just an overall pleasure to have as a member of the family. Dog training can literally open doors for you and your furry friend.  Imagine all of the different places you can go with your pup and share a well enjoyable experience.

 

Saving your dog’s life

One of the most important things that your dog needs to learn is its name.  It can save his life.  Imagine living on an extremely busy main road, you open the front door and your pup is gone within the blink of an eye, into the road. You call out to your dog and hope that it will safely return back to you. If it knows its name thoroughly and knows that his name means ‘look at you’, the instant you call out, he will stop and look, giving you a chance to give him something else exciting to do.  Most dogs are completely oblivious to the dangers caused by roads and knowing his name is your safety blanket.  A fantastic recall can help too.  By the way, it is very easy to teach your puppy not to rush out through the front door in a very short time.

 

Spending more time together

Training your dog means that you both get to spend more time together. Working on behavioural lessons can actually be quite fun. It strengthens the relationship, it gives the dog an opportunity to succeed and to please you as their owner, and you also get to learn all of the things your dog is actually capable of doing. You also both gain benefit from the fact that you’re going to be exercising whilst both learning new things.

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Eliminating behavioural problems

Good socialisation and training will help to eliminate many potential behavioural problems. These can include things such as: jumping on you and your visitors, barking, digging, and chewing. Many behavioural problems occur because the dog is not sufficiently mentally occupied or he hasn’t received enough guidance and feedback to determine how he should behave.  Fun and varied training can prevent these problems which will make you more confident.  Your dog will be a joy to have around and he will want to be with you.

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teach your puppy some manners

3 reasons why you should teach your puppy some manners

 

Dogs should be taught manners for the same reasons that human beings should have some manners.

  1. It is polite
  2. It lets everyone know what the rules are, and most importantly
  3. Your dog knows what is expected of him

Without manners some dogs, especially if they are big, are like a bull in a china shop knocking you and other things out of the way in their haste to get to the next thing, which might just be, going through the door or saying hello.  This is preventable and will make for a much more pleasant experience for you, four family and any visitors.

Depending on how you live with your dog, you can teach him so that he does the behaviours automatically or you will need to tell him each time.  I personally teach a bit of both.  Here are some examples of manners that you may want to think about.

Sit to say please.

A common requirement and one that was recommended by the late Dr Sophie Yin, was ‘SIT’ to say please.  In this situation, your dog will automatically sit whenever they want anything, whether it is some fuss from you, food or to go through the door.  This is not one of my main priorities and not something I teach my dogs, but I know for some or you it is.  It is also fairly easy to capture and teach because most puppies will sit when they want to look at your face.  You just capture that behaviour.

By the way, I hate the automatic ‘sit’ at the kerb too.  What if there is a puddle? The poor dog will automatically sit in a puddle and end up with a soggy wet tail and hind area!  I get my dogs to stand still, next to me.  That way I have calm dogs who are ready to move forward when I do.

Wait before going through a door

This is one that I like, mainly because I don’t like being knocked over by my big dogs.  I do not insist that I go first, that is a hang over from the time when it was believed that dogs are trying to dominate us, which is not something I have ever believed.  As far as I was concerned, your dogs are just excited. Anyway, back to the point, I just want the dogs to wait until I say they can go through, which maybe before or after me.

Same applies to the car, I want to be able to open the door knowing that my dogs will stay in there until I say they can come out so

a) I do not get knocked over and

b) so that I can check it is safe first.

It is very easy to teach and can apply to any door, house, car and cage door, especially the front door.

With enough practice in the first couple of weeks, your puppy will know not to go through the front door when it is opened, much safer than having a dog running loose on the street.

Wait until their food is on the floor

This is another one of my favourites.  I don’t make my dogs wait for ages, sitting there drooling over their food.  To me, that is just us bullying our dogs because we can.

Do you sit with your food in front of you for 30 minutes waiting until someone else says it’s ok to eat?  Why is it ok to do to a dog, when you wouldn’t do it to another human being?

My priority is that I can get their food bowl or stuffed kong on the floor without a nose and mouth joining in.  Again this is easy to teach in the first few days and your dog will know it for life.

Leave it

This is a safety issue as well and I am not talking about a bellowed ‘leave it’, but a nice calm ‘leave’.   I do also teach a calm ‘leave’ for if I am out and there is something I don’t want my dogs to pick up and eat, or something I want them to walk past.

Again this is something that you can teach your puppy in those first few weeks at home and it is with them for life.  You can turn it into a trick too by putting the food on their paws.

Calm before I put the lead on

This is a pet hate of mine, I hate it when you are trying to put on a lead and the dog is leaping around all excitedly or turning in circles.  I just want to be able to attach the lead and then go out the house calmly.

By the way, you are much more likely to have a calm walk if the dog is calm before you start.  If the dog is hyped up before you even go through the door, then there is not very far to go before they are over the top.

Actually I use the calm before I do something a great deal.  If I am preparing their food and they are leaping around, I just walk off.  If they start again, I repeat.

And finally the most important one

To keep all 4 feet on the ground when greeting people

I wish people would realise how important this is, even for small dogs.  Some children become scared of dogs for life because a dog has jumped up at them and either knocked them over or hurt them with their sharp claws.  Your dog is only excited to see someone and wants to get to their face to lick (they do it to each other too), but it is not nice, can be scary and in this time of paranoia over dangerous dogs, a bit risky too.

Teach them silently

I generally teach these manners silently because once the dog has thought it out for themselves, they seem to know it better.  They have forged their own neural pathway and are not reliant on us to tell them what to do.  Just use your body language or the items in the environment to help shape what you want.

They are very quick to teach too.

So please remember to teach your puppy some manners, it really will reward you in future.

 

Manners are an integral part of the behaviours included in my foundation training programmes.

If you would like to know more, please give me a call on 07910 706916 or email me: [email protected]

Remember to have some fun with your dogs.

Karen from Peaceful Pups.

Do you Confront or ask nicely?

Do you confront or ask nicely when it comes to your dog or puppy?

Confrontational attitudes to your puppy and dog are very old school ideas now, but some of them linger on still.  I think it is because people do not think they are being confrontational or do not think it makes any difference to their dog.

To find out whether you are sometimes confrontational, try answering these questions:

If your dog or puppy has something they shouldn’t, do you grab hold of him and forcibly open his mouth to remove the item every time?

If you ask your dog to sit or lie down and they don’t do it, do you physically push them into place or stand really tall over them shouting?

If you ask you dog to go outside or into another room and he doesn’t want to go, do you grab him and actually take him?

If you answered yes to any of these then you are being confrontational.

Generally there is no need.  I tend to think that if you have a great relationship with your dog, you wouldn’t even need to do these things in an emergency as your dog will want to please you.

Why are they confrontational?

These behaviours are confrontational because you are in effect bullying your dog to do as you please and you are not giving him a choice.

I can just hear some of you shout, “HE’S A DOG”,   “HE SHOULD DO AS I SAY”  or “WHY SHOULD I GIVE HIM A CHOICE?”

This is why:

Because he is an animal who can think, feel and make decisions. Maybe it isn’t as complex as our ability, but it is there.

He has the same reactions to stress as we do.  The same fight, freeze or flee instinct is there, the same chemical changes.

He even has very clear body language that tells you he is stressed if you know what to look for.

Dogs, like many of us, are capable of lashing out when forced.  For them, lashing out is a growl or bite and then often the poor dog gets rehomed, or even put to sleep for a situation created by us!

Actually whilst I am on my soap box, making your dog put up with your toddler crawling all over him so you can take a cute photo or video is right up there with bullying too if your dog is sending signals that clearly say ‘I am worried about this’ and ‘I don’t like this’.  Or even worse has stood up and walked out of the way and you let your toddler follow him!

If someone forced you out through the door when you didn’t want to go, or if they just forcibly opened your mouth and removed what you were eating, you wouldn’t be very happy would you.

A different Approach

Now I am not saying that your dog should always get to choose when he behaves or when he doesn’t.  It should never come down to that.

Like humans, a dog will always choose to do the thing that is in their best interests.  So if the training is consistent, he always gets rewarded  when he makes the good choices and you spend time interacting and playing with your dog, he will want to do what you are asking.  Quite often, instant compliance will be automatic because he learnt early on that he gets what he wants when he has done what we have asked.

Similarly, if your training lets you dog work out what is required so he is building the right neural pathways, rather than you always tell him what to do, then often he will instinctively behave correctly without you needing to ask him.

So if you frequently confront your dog and cause him stress, perhaps now is the time to consider a different approach.

If you need help, consult a professional dog trainer.

Let’s stop being confrontational and start asking nicely.

Karen from Peaceful Pups

The personal trainer for your puppy.

Stroppy Teenager Puppy

Daz and Brian, two stroppy teenager dogs testing out their play behaviours

Two stroppy teenagers testing out their behaviours

Is your puppy behaving like a stroppy teenager?

Is your puppy behaving like a stroppy teenager?

Do you have an unruly dog or puppy?

Does he suddenly defy you at every turn, act as if you have never taught him his name or anything else?

And a recall?  has that disappeared?

Does this ring a bell?

If you recognise any of these, the chances are, your puppy is likely to be between 6 and 10 months of age and, I am sorry to say, this behaviour, this acting like a stroppy teenager,  is perfectly normal for a large number of puppies.

I am not sure if that is a comfort or not!

The Second Major Development period 

Your puppy is just going through his second major development period (also known as a fear period).  All puppies will go through this at some point between the ages of 6 months and 10 months.  Usually the smaller the dog, the earlier they go through this development period.  So if you have a Cockerpoo or Jack Russell, your puppy will normally start this developmental period at 6 months, but a Labrador might not start it until 7 months.  It is never precise, all dogs are different, but expect it at some point between those ages.  I promise you, you will notice it.

Please do not think you have a bad dog, or label him as being bad or naughty.  He is just growing up and like human teenagers, he is testing his boundaries.  It is thought that this period coincides with sexual maturity.  It is also a period where he can become fearful of things, he might not have been afraid of before.

Any bad experience can have a profound and lasting effect on your puppy.

With careful handling, you can get your super puppy back again.  Once you know to expect it and how to cope, you will be able to come through it successfully.

How do I cope?

Please remember this is a normal stage for your dog, like any teen, he is testing his boundaries, but to get through it, those boundaries have to remain firmly in place and enforced sensitively.

Harsh treatment (especially if the dog hasn’t seen it before) will just confuse.

Unfortunately, with the customers I see, the owners get very stressed and suddenly only see the naughty things, and then they label the dog as naughty.  Everything goes around in a vicious circle and that is not good.  Sadly, if this coincides with another major event such as the arrival of a baby or a house move, the poor puppy can get very confused and insecure.  Owners have less time, are more stressed and the result is a puppy who is left to his own devices or shut away.  This is not good at a time when he should be experiencing as much as possible and he could be learning so much good stuff to help him reach his potential.

Back to basics

I always advise my customers to be prepared to go back to basics when their puppy reaches the stroppy teenager stage. Think back to the time when the puppy first arrived.  What did you do then to manage the situation and teach your puppy what was required of him? Hopefully, it wasn’t training by avoidance; you didn’t remove the problem or shut the puppy away the whole time.  You showed the puppy what was expected of him and gave plenty of encouragement and praise.

You need to do this again.

This time around you need more patience and calm determination.  Don’t give in, if you do, your puppy will learn that he has to be more strong willed than you because you will give in and that makes the whole situation far worse.

Be calm, plan ahead; know how you are going to help your puppy see how he should behave.

Don’t shout, especially if he barks as he could see this as you barking with him.  Remember when your stress levels rise, your whole demeanour changes, your breathing and heart rate change, the chemical makeup of your body is altered and your puppy can sense it and his behaviour will change accordingly.

If you are calm and have a clear plan, you can get through this period fairly quickly.

Remember you will not need, rattle bottles, water sprays, shock collars or to shut your puppy away for long periods of time.  He needs calm, patience and understanding.  He is only reacting to his hormones and his environment.  It is perfectly normal for him.

If you need help, enlist the services of a trained professional.

You can move your dog from a stroppy teen to a valued part of the family.

Considering rehoming?

Sadly, this is also the time when people start seriously considering re-homing their dog, or even worse, considering having him put to sleep, especially if he has become a bit snappy.  This is why there are a number of dogs in rescue from the age of 10 months to 2 years.

Because the puppy owners are not aware that this will occur, no-one has told them that their puppy will turn into a stroppy teenager, they think that there is something wrong with their puppy, that maybe they have got an aggressive dog when he is only testing out his growling to get his own way.  It is very unlikely that you have an aggressive puppy, but it can become reality with the incorrect handling and lack of the right guidance.

Before you rehome, please discuss with a professional trainer.  It is possible to move through this period and come out the other side with a well behave dog who you can be proud to take out and about with you.

Like your human teenager, your canine teenager can come out the other side.

Can I help?

from Chaos to Calm

If you live in Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire or Hertfordshire and you need help with your stroppy canine teenager, I have put together an intensive Chaos to Calm programme designed to help you get through this stroppy teenager stage or recover if you are already through it and have an older dog.  You will quickly regain control and move from being in despair to being proud of your puppy or dog again.  It is a 10-week programme which consists of 4 weekly sessions followed by 6 sessions every other week.  You do not need to find the time to spend ages training your dog every day, you can do it in very short bursts throughout your day.  I will show you how to fit them into your daily routine.  You will see a difference after the first session.

For more details, please email me:  [email protected] or visit chaos to calm

Karen

Peaceful Pups

Do you enjoy your time with your dog?

Do you enjoy your time with your dog?

Do you enjoy your time with your dog or is your dog just something that exists in your household to be fed, watered and walked around the block as quickly as you can get the chore over with?

Did you get your dog because it will be good for the children to grow up with a dog, but they have now grown or no longer find any appeal in the dog, so you are left with the day to day upkeep?

Or did you struggle to train your dog and now taking it out for a walk is a total nightmare.  You dread having to walk past other people and dogs, or he doesn’t come back so you are terrified to let him off?

I know lots of you have a great deal of fun with your dogs, give them lots of fun and attention.  You create variety and enrichment by introducing new activities and skills for your dog to learn and you really enjoy long walks with your dog.

For those of you who don’t enjoy your time with your dog, maybe it’s time to make a change.

Make a small change today and see the difference tomorrow

Deciding to make a small change and start working with your dog will have many benefits, I promise you.

Not only will it engage your dog’s brain and enable him to be calmer around the house, it will also turn you from a total bore (to your dog) into an interesting owner who interacts with him and has fun.

But the biggest benefit will be your enjoyment of teaching your dog new things.  You will be proud of his and your achievements.

By the way, it doesn’t matter how old your dog is because you really can teach an old dog new tricks.

Also your fitness and mobility is not an issue as there are many things you can teach your dog in your own home.

Things that stop you

I know that for some of you, the problem stopping you enjoying your time with your dog is your dog’s behaviour, maybe he won’t come back or he pulls like a train on the lead.  Maybe he thinks other dogs are the most exciting things in the world or he just doesn’t like other people or dogs.

Whatever the problem, why not take that first step and start working on the issue so you can then go on to do other activities?  It really will be worth it.

Recall – when your dog won’t come back

If your dog doesn’t come back reliably every time, it isn’t a  lot of fun plus it becomes an embarrassment or simply takes up a great deal of your time.

There are many ways to train a recall and if you ask different trainers, you will likely get a number of responses.  I also use a variety of methods.  But ultimately having a good recall is one of the keys to helping your enjoy your time with your dog so I have written an eBook to help you get a  perfect recall in 5.5 steps which you start in your own home and fit in around all the other activities you do in your day.

My FREE eBook 5.5 easy steps to the perfect recall is the ideal place to start because it breaks down the training into small easy steps which you start off in your own home and garden.  It doesn’t require any special equipment and it’s FREE so there is no excuse not to start training that perfect recall today.  Go here to download a copy and start to retrain your dog today: www.peacefulpups.co.uk/perfect-recall-ebook

Pulls like a train – does your dog drag you down the road?

This is horrible, I hate being pulled along and it is so dangerous especially if it is icy.  It is much more fun taking your dog out when you can walk along the pavement with your dog walking on a loose lead next to you.  So if your dog taking you for a walk is the issue and you would rather be walking with your dog on a loose lead next to you, please find a local training school and go there.  Remember to practise frequently when you are at home otherwise your dog will just walk nicely when at the training school and no-where else.  Please avoid places that use rattle bottles, e-collars, prong collars or sharp jerking of the lead.  That doesn’t help, it just hurts and confuses your dog.  Or if you are local to me (in Herts, Cambs or Beds), book a call with me to see if I can help.  Email me at [email protected] and we will arrange a time for me to call you to have  a chat about how I can help you.

Other dogs or people are too distracting or maybe you worry that your dog is going to attack and hurt them?

It can be very scary if you have to take your dog out when no-one else is around or if you are constantly worried that your dog may attack and possibly hurt another person or dog.  Or it could be that your dog just finds other dogs and people too exciting and he wants to greet everyone with great enthusiasm.  The trouble with that is other people are not quite so enthusiastic.

If your dog thinks other dogs are just too exciting or he just doesn’t like them, why not find a training school to help.  It is possible to help your dog understand that he should exist nicely alongside other people and dogs.  Again, please avoid places that use rattle bottles, e-collars, prong collars and sharp lead jerking.  Hurting or severely stressing your dog doesn’t help.  If you are local to me (in Herts, Cambs or Beds), book a call with me to see if I can help. Email me at [email protected] and we will arrange a time for me to call you so we can have a chat about how I can help you.

Even when you are fixing these problems, you can still do other activities at home with your dogs to make living with them enjoyable and much more fun.  Here are some ideas:

 

Some activities you can do

  • The names of toys so that they fetch a particular item,
  • To fetch a pair of toys,
  • Tricks – spin, rollover, run through your legs whilst you walk, leave a treat on his paws, hide his head,
  • Help you around the house, maybe collect the post, find your keys, pick up the rubbish off the floor, open the door for you, close the door, take the washing to the machine.

The list is endless and there are many books out there showing you how to teach tricks.  Some dog training schools now include these types of lessons, if they don’t, why don’t you ask them whether they would be interested in teaching them.

I have a monthly programme where I help you teach a variety of new tricks (For more details, email me at [email protected].)

Active family?

Finally if you are an active family, why not get active with your dog.  Apart from Agility and working trials, there is Flyball, Rally Obedience, CaniCross (off road running with your dog), cycling with your dog and in some areas you can start tracking with your dog, looking for a human that has laid a trail and then hidden.  Have a look at what is available in your local area.

Enrichment is not just for zoos and animal parks

Doing more with your dog won’t just bring some fun and enjoyment into your life, it will have a number of other benefits too.  Not only will your bond with your dog improve, he is likely to be more content and maybe a little tired in the evening.  He won’t go looking for something to do to keep himself entertained. He will listen to the person doing the work with him more and look to you for what you might want him to do next.  Enrichment is available to everyone.

Go on – start to enjoy your time with your dog.

Karen from Peaceful Pups

How to stop your dog snatching the treats

How to stop your dog Snatching at treats?

Is snatching a problem in your household?

Is snatching one of your dog’s bad habits?

Does he snatch at treats which makes you scared of giving him anything?

Or have you children who are too scared because the tiny needle sharp puppy teeth hurt lots so they drop the treat?

Or maybe he snatches food from some people and not others, this often happens with children – why?

Why is he snatching the food?

The reason your dog snatches the treats usually falls into 2 categories.

Possible Reason number 1

This is when the dog is snatching food from some people (usually children) and not others.  It usually occurs because the child or adult is a little scared of giving the treats, in case they get hurt, so rather than wait until the puppy takes it, they drop the treat at the last moment. The puppy has to then move fast and snatch at the treat to catch it. Then because the puppy has snatched, the child is even more scared and repeats next time and so we have a vicious circle.

Possible Reason number 2

The other reason is that for some dogs they fear that they won’t get fed or someone, or another dog, will take it away.

I have one like this. To make matters worse, he’s a very big dog and has an enormous mouth. His started when he was a puppy and I gave him a duck wing (I feed my dogs raw food and I expected him to gnaw away at the duck wing like his litter matesbut he swallowed it whole!  Of course, it got stuck in his throat and I had to open his mouth and pull it out.  I took it away to chop up for him, but I think he saw it as his food being taken away, and now even though he can take food very nicely, he still feels that the food might go if he doesn’t grab it quick enough, especially if there are other dogs around.

I am sure he thinks that there might not ever be any other food available for him, so he must eat as much as he can, just in case, even if it’s on the kitchen worktop!

How do you stop the snatching?

So how do you fix it? How do you stop your dog snatching for the food?

If your dog is only snatching from some people

If your dog or puppy is only snatching from one or two people, it is relatively easy to break this cycle of your dog snatching the treats.

You just need the dog to learn that this person won’t drop the treat, so no need to snatch and the person to understand that if they don’t drop the treat, the dog won’t snatch.

Sounds easy doesn’t it, and it is, but it does take a little time and needs repeating over time.

You will need:

  • The dog,
  • Some treats,
  • Person 1 – the person he snatches the treats from
  • Person 2 – the person (normally adult) he doesn’t snatch from.

How to:

  1. Get your dog to sit in front of you,
  2. Person one (he person he snatches a treat from) should hold a treat between their thumb and forefinger,
  3. Person tow (the person he doesn’t snatch a treat from) should put their hand around person one’s hand, with their thumb and forefinger on top of the other thumb and fore finger,
  4. Give the dog the treat, making sure you do not let person 1 drop the treat at the last minute. If the dog goes to snatch, stop moving the treat towards him,
  5. Repeat a number of times until the dog takes the treat nicely every time,
  6. Let person 1 try on their own. If the dog snatches or the person drops the treat, you are possibly moving too quickly, go back to step 3, this time for a longer period.

Manners

If your dog feels like there is a risk he will never get any food again, we just need to teach him his manners – Snatching food is just not polite.

You will need:

  • The dog,
  • Some treats.

How to:

  1. Get your dog to sit on front of you,
  2. Put a few treats in your open palm,
  3. Hold your palm open at your dog’s nose level,
  4. As your dog goes to take the treats, close your fist so he can’t get them,
  5. Keep your hand still, you dog may sniff, lick, paw to get to the treats. Don not say anything, just wait him out,
  6. As he moves back, open your palm again – still at nose level,
  7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 until, when you open your fist, you dog hesitates for a second or so,
  8. Catch this moment and tell him he is good, and give him a treat from the ones in your palm,
  9. Repeat a few times and once he has the idea that he gets the treat if he doesn’t go to grab it, you can gradually lengthen the time he has to wait before he gets the treat.

Counter surfing

By the way you can use this method to stop him taking food off a counter, by putting some food on the counter and as he goes to take it, cover it with your hand.  Or, if the food has been dropped on the floor (cover it with your foot).

Teaching ‘leave it’

I use it to teach the ‘leave it’ command and add the words, once the dog has the idea. Saying ‘leave’ calmly (not shouted as is usual in dog training) as I present the food in the open palm.

Or what about a Trick?

I use the same method to teach my dog to leave the food that I put on his paws.  I start by putting the treats on the floor in front of the dog when he is lying down. As he moves to eat them, I either cover them or pick them up.  Only giving him the treat when he doesn’t move to take it.  I then gradually move the treats closer, repeating each time until I can put the treats on his paws, first one paw and then 2 paws. Often, you can teach the whole trick to a puppy within 30 minutes, sometimes less.

So if your dog is snatching his food or treats, try this to fix it and please let me know how you get on.

Karen at Peaceful Pups

Making life with your puppy fun and not a worry.

Do I have to

Bailey, a black and white Landseer Newfoundland practising his 'lie down'' in training

Bailey practising his ‘Down’.

Do I have to?

Last week. One of my clients asked me a question “Do I have to teach my dog to lie down?” Because when they looked at dog training on the web and talked to their friends, ‘DOWN’ was something that all dogs were taught and it wasn’t something I had talked to them about.

That got me thinking about how many times in the past, before I became a dog trainer, that I just practised various commands I had taught my dogs, but not used in my day to day life.  Also when I had a traditional dog training club, a number of my customers used to practise with their dogs but not actually use what they had learned in class in their day to day life.

Now before we go any further, just so that you know, I do use ‘down’ with my dogs, I find it a useful behaviour, especially when out.  When I have to pick up their poo, I would rather my dogs be lying down so I know where they are and the lead is not going to go taut unexpectedly, similarly when I stop to talk to people and my dogs are on a lead, I would rather they lie down. Therefore ‘DOWN’ does form part of the day to day life of my dogs.

Interestingly, this customer had taught their dog to lie down, but used a different word and had only taught it in a specific context.  For them, it was important that the dog be able to ‘settle’ at their feet whenever they asked regardless of where they were.  To their dog ‘settle’ meant lie down at my feet and they had practised it in a variety of places.  OK, it wouldn’t happen at a distance but for their small family dog, and their social lifestyle, ‘down’ away from them wasn’t required. Skills such as listening to their children, playing nicely with their children, their friends and other dogs was more important as their dog was an integral part of their family and social life.

To some, I realise that this seems short-sighted and wrong.  After all sometimes it’s handy to have commands that you don’t use every day – such as when Bailey fell head first in the river and I had to use ‘walk on’ to get him to work his way down river to a place where he could climb out. Boy was I glad I had taught him that!  However, I see my job as a trainer to help people integrate their puppy into their life as they want and that normally includes lots of activities for fun and interaction with their puppy for the whole family and not just the one or two ‘allowed’ at their local club.

So to answer the question “Do I have to?” the answer is most definitely ‘NO’.

What do you think?

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