SUMMER VISITS

Dogs learn how to behave around each other through training

Using the collar and leash is important for control

What fun! Summer is here and it is holiday time. You cannot wait to be off to visit your best friend who has invited you to stay for two weeks at her fantastic lake house. Even your dog is welcome to come along for two weeks at the lake. There is one small problem; the last time you visited, your friend`s dogs seemed to hate your dog. Fights broke out several times over toys, and everyone was growling over everything.

 Maybe you should leave your dog behind, but that thought does not go far; you have no option but to bring him along. What to do? What to do?

Well, here’s the thing. Dogs do not “get” the concept of visiting like humans do. Dogs, do not see visitors as individuals who will eventually leave, they see INTERLOPERS who will eat the packs food and who will eventually have to be fought for position in the pack. That is just how it is; and you can`t change Nature, but, a good dog handler will control the situation i.e. “The pack”.

We know your friend is not a good handler, or else her dogs would not be such little jerks. Unless she took her dogs to school since you last met, it is likely the problems will have amplified since then. Her dogs will see your dog as “the interloper “who was driven away last time he was past here. And your dog will be ready for “those troublesome cousins” at the lake. You must keep your dog on leash at all times, just like back in novice training with the ribbon lead. Keep your dog attached to you and he will not get hurt. In order to have a securable place for your dog to stay when you are not with him, take a crate with you on holiday. Let him loose only when your bedroom door is securely closed. The other dogs will look for a way to drive your dog away so keep on your toes and wait for your opportunity.

Ideally all the dogs should be on leash but that probably won`t happen. Just keep your dog on leash.

If and when the other dogs make a move towards your dog aggressively, use an enormous foot stamp surprise, threaten to give them a sharp poke and tell them to PSHST!OFF! in no uncertain terms.  If and when your dog growls or barks, reprimand him firmly, using the collar and leash. Keep the peace and let all the dogs know that you are intervening over and above all aggression.

Do not bother explaining any of the above to your friend as  she probably will not listen. Just do it, and she will be as surprised as her dogs are.

Happy Summertime,

Love the Dog Nana

Kelowna road trip

On our last road trip to Kelowna we dropped in on a BCSPCA fundraiser; a fun time dog show at the Delta Grand Okanogan Resort. Abbeygale was a good sport about it, and was pleased to receive cookies from the friends at Bark n Fly pet shuttle. The judges and hosts were most gracious and the venue was well decorated.


Smile for the judges

We had a great deal of fun showing off and the food for humans was very good; done by the hotel. 



Ah, the orchards

What has any of this to do with training? Well, none of it would be happening if Abbeygale was not a very well trained dog. She has all her freedoms and travel trips because she is trained and able to be in public with out being a menace. Simple basic obedience earns these freedoms.

TEACHING YOUR DOG TO "HEEL ON LEASH

Learning to HEEL ON LEASH is an important step in a dog's education. After learning the CONTROLLED WALK, a dog can learn to HEEL ON LEASH at any age, any where. Giant breeds are best taught while they are under six months of age; any later and they have a weight advantage that must be taken into account. Begin teaching the heel on leash in a quiet location, indoors at home preferably, and then gradually work your way out into the world. Have a mental image of how you want look, of how you want your dog to look and keep actual practice sessions brief.

HEEL ON LEASH

EQUIPMENT MUST BE APPROVED CHAIN COLLAR AND 6 FT LEATHER LEASH, NO BRAIDING

NO TAGS OR ANYTHING ELSE ALLOWED ON THE COLLAR OR ON THE LEASH

The principal features of this exercise are:

The dog stays close to the handler’s left leg without interfering, not lagging nor forging out of position, adjusting pace to the handler’s.

The handler walks in a confident manner without adjusting to the dog’s pace or position.

The handler walks with head up, one hand on the leash, the other hand prepared for leash corrections.

The handler avoids looking back to see where the dog is.

The handler and dog are pleasant to look at and listen to; they present the image of a team.

CORRECTIONS (jerk leash) AND MOTIVATORS (pop leash) must:

Be applied in the direction of travel

APPROVED EQUIPMENT, NO TAGS

Be accompanied at the same time by the command or chatting

Be instantly followed praise and happiness

ABOUT TURN IS A “STEP AROUND TURN” and is an about turn to the right

Heeling is taught in parts, and then assembled into THE DOODLING EXERCISE which will prevent boredom on the dog’s part.

THE IMAGE OF A TEAM

STEP, GIVE THE COMMAND, POP THE LEASH AND PRAISE ALL  AT ONCE

BE HAPPY AND DOODLE

SIT AND ACCEPT PRAISE

SIT and ACCEPT PRAISE EXERCISE

In order to get a grip on attention, we need to calmly ask the dog to Sit and Accept Praise in a decent  orderly fashion.

The Object of this exercise is to gain the dog’s emotional control, so that productive, positive, obedience training/ learning may proceed. 

Do not allow the dog to fall over, lie down, lean on you or anyone else, and shuffle around; that is not what we want. We want the dog to sit relatively still while we praise and pet it. Not a STAY exercise but very nearly.

Place dog in sit position, on lead and training collar. Stand facing the dog right in front, holding lead in your dominant hand.

Using your free hand and elevated tone of voice, praise, ”WHAT a good dog”, pet dog, give word of praise and immediately correct any silly behavior with the leash and really sharp word NO, quickly followed by praise and eye contact, petting again “WHAT a good dog”.

 

Saying the word “WHAT”, is vital.

Do this for no longer than five minutes.  Don’t train for long but train frequently and everywhere.  Give confined time out for a few minutes after training, for dog to think about the session. You should see results in three days; if not, you are doing something wrong and should talk to THE DOG NANA.

TAKE A BOW; YOU ARE DOING SO GOOD!

PRAISING YOUR DOG ...USE THE MAGIC WORD!

PRAISING YOUR DOG

The front of the dog's chest is called the sternum. That is the best place to pat him for praise.

What a good dog

The word WHAT clearly pronounced, instantly gains a dog’s attention in a distinct fashion. WHAT A GOOD DOG; WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?; WHAT IS THAT NOISE

THIS IS A WORD YOU MUST USE A GREAT DEAL WITH DOG TRAINING

In OBEDIENCE TRAINING

When praising your dog while in the heeling position, reach down, pat on the sternum and say, "WHAT a good dog".

When praising your dog with only a word of praise and no patting, say, “WHAT a good dog”

The manner in which you praise your dog is most important. Always use the word WHAT.

THE RIBBON LEASH

THE RIBBON LEASH

THE RIBBON LEASH IS TO KEEP THE DOG ATTACHED TO YOU
 WHILE YOU GO ABOUT YOUR CHORES

Keep the dog on the ribbon leash and chain to restrict household freedom until it is earned 

A dog should not just be allowed the run of your house or soon it will be running your house for you. First, crate train, exercise pen train, ribbon leash train and leather leash break. Then you can safely begin to give household freedom to your dog as you proceed with obedience training. When the dog has come out of the crate, gone out to do it's business and is now in for time with you, put it on the ribbon leash. The dog follows where you go, when you go. Keep the lead looped over your wrist. Do not forget potty breaks, especially for young dogs; about every half hour or when waking up from naps. Eventually the ribbon leash is eliminated, depending on the individual dog and the age; two to four weeks.

THE TRAINING COLLAR

The slip collar is a chain of strong steel links with a ring at either end. The chain links should be small and smooth. It should fit easily over the dog’s head with about two inches extra give. 

Smaller links are best. They allow the quick slipping of the ring along the chain without binding.

Clip the leash to one of the end links; this is now the RUNNING RING because it moves with the leash.  

The other ring is now called the DEAD RING because it does not move.

Hold the DEAD RING horizontally.

Holding the leash with your other hand,  lower the chain through the dead ring.

 Placing the collar over the dog's head is very  important.



WHEN THE DOG IS STANDING TO YOUR LEFT SIDE,

THE COLLAR SHOULD COME FROM ACROSS THE BACK OF THE DOG'S NECK TO THE LEASH

One more time....

 For the collar to work correctly, it must be placed on the dog correctly.
When the dog is on the left (left always for obedience)...

The slip collar should come from across the BACK of the dog’s neck to the lead clip 





Facing the dog the collar should look like this

Cloth slip collars work on short haired breeds or sensitive dogs

IT IS A GOOD IDEA TO USE THE LEASH AND COLLAR AT ALL TIMES UNTIL YOU HAVE A UTILITY DOG