Dog Training--

Annoying Habits Your Dog Does…

By Adam Katz

Visit Dogproblems.com for more dog training information.

Dear Adam:

My Springer Spaniel has gotten a little more resistant to the come command when she knows it means “Get in the kennel.” At night, she goes in between nine and ten. And like clock work, she wakes me up at 2:00 am. I am sure I have started a bad habit, but I am afraid the neighbors are being disturbed. She still digs once or twice a week during the day. It's like she goes into a panic after 4 to 5 hours in the kennel.

Thanks, Dick.

Dear Dick:

1. Go to her and make her come when you call her, if you do not see that she moves to respond within 1/2 a second of your command. But I personally like to use a specific command such as, “Get in the kennel.” If she doesn’t immediately move towards the kennel, I will go and get her and walk her in the kennel. If you wait to see if she’s going to respond, then she will wait to see if you’re going to make her. (That is, until the behavior has become a conditioned response.)

When you say kennel, you mean a crate-- for at night, right? If not, then this is where she should be sleeping at night. Put her in the crate and then give her a cookie. This will reinforce that going into the crate is a positive thing.

2. For the outside kennel, buy some hardware mesh or chicken wire and put it under the entire kennel run and then put about an inch of dirt on top of that. Dogs don’t like digging and clawing against this type of material.

3. Increase her exercise regimen. Buy yourself a bike and take her for a 2 mile run each day. It’s good for you, too… and it will work wonders in reducing your dog’s boredom.
Best regards,
Adam.

To read more of my dog training ramblings, read about my book:

Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!

Copyright 2002 By Dogproblems.com All Rights Reserved.

When Should I Start Training My Puppy?

If you have a puppy, you must start training early, but do it gently.

Your puppy has to have confidence in you before he can begin learning. Remember that puppies are like children - they have growing bodies, short attention spans, and will only learn things when the conditions are right and when they understand what it is you're trying to teach them.

That said, the earlier you start training dogs, the better. More specifically, it's best if you start “socialization” from 8 weeks, simple commands like “come” and “sit” from 12 weeks, and more intensive training at 5 to 6 months.

**************

While some early training can be started as soon as you bring your puppy home, the optimum time to begin obedience training is somewhere around 9 to 12 weeks of age.

Keep in mind that training can cover a broad range of topics – I’m not suggesting that you begin training your puppy at 8 weeks of age for agility competitions! Your training should start off with the basics – teaching him “No!” and beginning house-training.

Socialization skills are next – experts tell us the best window for your puppy to learn socialization skills is between 3 and 16 weeks – that’s the best time to insure that your puppy grows into a well-adjusted adult.

And remember, socialization isn’t about teaching him the right fork to use at the dinner table – it’s about giving your dog the self-assurance to deal correctly with any social environment he finds himself in is one of the most valuable and lasting lessons you can teach him.

A well-socialized dog will interact well with all types of people and situations, even those he has never been in before. With appropriate social skills, your dog will show little or no fear of most objects, people or other animals, and even if startled, will recover quickly and won’t panic.

Bottom line, a well-adjusted dog is one that is comfortable in a variety of situations and surroundings. He may be excited in a new setting, but not fearful. The key here is to create positive experiences as you expose your dog to more and more new situations.

Even training your puppy for 5 – 10 minutes per day as soon as you bring him home will make a big difference in the social skills and adaptability of your puppy.

Keep in mind that puppies have very short attention spans, so keep your lessons short and fun. How short an attention span? That depends on the age of the puppy, his breed and how mature your individual puppy is – but a good rule of thumb is to keep the training sessions within that 5 -10 minute range.

Depending on your puppy’s age and maturity level, sometime between 3 and 6 months of age you should be moving the training into the area of the basic commands such as Sit, Heel, Down, etc.

It’s important you have realistic expectations about your dog’s capabilities at this point – I don’t expect a puppy to be responding to the basic commands with any degree of regularity until they’ve reached 6 months of age.

And if you want to start today . . . just click here to check out my book “Dog Training Secrets!”

(c) 2004 by Charlie Lafave, author, "Dog Training Secrets!"

To transform your stubborn, misbehaving dog into a loyal, well-behaving "best friend" who obeys your every command and is the envy of the neighborhood, visit:

http://www.dogtrainingzone.com

Discover How To Slash Your Dog Training Time In Half

by Using Techniques That Give You Immediate Results!

Fact #1
In the majority of cases, it’s the owners that need training, not the dog. Discover the secrets to being the greatest dog owner!
Fact #2
You should never use the “Come” command to call your dog to discipline him. Find out why!
Fact #3
Find out all about the hottest and most humane dog training technique currently being used – Dog Whispering!

Dog Obedience Training – STOP Your Dog’s Behavior Problems!Click here to find out more…

Daniel Stevens is the author of the hugely popular "SitStayFetch: Dog Obedience Training - STOP Your Dog’s Behavior Problems!", and now he’s revealed the secrets and techniques that professional dog training experts use including:

• 
  Powerful techniques to solve ANY dog problem such as house training, curbing your dog’s aggressiveness, nuisance barking, digging, destructive chewing, fixing general disobedience, and much more…
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To learn his secrets and transform your disobedient dog’s behavior, check out:

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A Trained Dog Without A Trained Owner Is Like Owning A Ferrari Sports Car, But Not Knowing How To Drive!

By Adam G. Katz

The frustrating thing about being in the dog training business is coming to the realization that 90% of your time is spent training people, rather than dogs.

To really deliver the results, a professional dog trainer must train the owner how to train their dog. Rather than just going in and training the dog.

Because dog training is:

A process of establishing and promoting a proper relationship between the owner and the dog…

And

Developing a way of communicating so that commands are both understood and have meaning…

... simply traing the dog doesn’t cut it. Sure, technically you’re fulfilling your part of the agreement. The owner comes to you and pays you to train the dog.

But again, because it all gets back to developing a proper relationship between the owner and the dog, if I do the training, then the dog end up developing a proper relationship with me! But when he goes home with the owner, he still has the same dysfunctional relationship he’s always had.

So, one of the things that’s really made me successful in this business has been my ability to teach the owner how to handle, train and work with his own pet. That way, even if he travels, or buys a new home… the dog is still going to respect, respond, bond and want to please his owner. (Once more, it doesn’t do the owner any good if his dog does back flips on command, but only for the trainer).

The problem with being ethical and honest about my approach to dog training (or people training, to be more specific)… is that your business model is left open to one very annoying “fly in your ointment.”

And that annoying “fly” is the fact that, even though my dog training techniques are easy to master, and work really quickly… there’s always going to be a certain small percentage of dog owners who are… well, quite frankly… idiots!

To read more of my dog training ramblings, read about my book:

Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!

Copyright 2002 By Dogproblems.com All Rights Reserved.

Some Common Beginner Questions
About Dog Training…

By Adam G. Katz

Dear Adam:

[Note to readers: These questions are follow ups from issues discussed in my book, “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!“ which you can read more about at:
http://www.dogproblems.com/secretsbook.htm ]

1. What age should I start using the prong collar?

[Adam replies: ] Generally speaking, at about four months of age… when you see the adult teeth begin to come in.

2. What should I be teaching, obedience wise, with 8
month puppy?

[Adam replies: ] At eight months of age, there really isn’t ANYTHING you can’t teach the dog, obedience-wise.

3. When you say pop, when teaching the down command,
do you mean I should pop the prong collar? So for
example if the dog gets up from down/stay position and
walk away, you said to say NO, pop the leash, then say
NO all the way back to manhole, then pop the leash
again? Do you mean to pop the prong or to guide him
into down/stay position?

[Adam replies: ] When I say “pop” I mean to tug on the leash. Make sure you’re starting and ending with slack. So, you say, “No!” then go to the dog and give a pop on the leash, then walk him back to the spot and reissue the “down” command… and then “pop” downward (or to the side) on the leash and put him back into the down position.

5. What's the difference between obedience training and sport training (i.e. Schutzhund)? Why do they say you shouldn't train your dog in obedience if you want him to be in Schutzhund? (I just want to know for my own knowledge)

[Adam replies: ] Schutzhund is a dog sport the incorporates an obedience routine, as well as a protection and tracking routine. The obedience exercises are mostly route exercises, and are not trained in a street-smart context. As for why you supposedly shouldn't train your dog in obedience if you want him to be in Schutzhund… this is a myth. Some macho types will consistently over-correct their dog in the obedience phase… and this will kill drive. But anyone with even a shred of common sense will avoid this predicament.

6. What do you think of raw diets for dogs? Worth it??

[Adam replies: ] Not worth it. Feed the dog a high quality dog food and your dog will be fine.

7. What order should I teach the dog the commands?
(first sit, then down then come?? How should I do it?)

[Adam replies: ] I like to teach the “Walk on a loose leash” exercise first, followed by the curb/street/boundary training, as this teaches the dog what a correction is (if he doesn’t know already). Then you can teach exercises in any order you wish. To be honest, the order of basic exercises is largely irrelevant. It DOES become relevant in later training, when you begin chaining behaviors together, such as “Go to the fridge, open door, retrieve beer, then close door.”

8. To teach the dog to not run out of the house, when
I slam the door I'm afraid it is going slam on him too
hard and hurt him. How do I go about doing it? Do I
shut it softly or will he be fast enough to stop?

[Adam replies: ] You’re thinking too much. Just slam the door shut. Assuming it’s not a toy breed, it’s not going to kill him. If it is a toy breed, keep your hand on the door and guide it shut. The idea is that the door slams on the dog… not to injure the dog, but to be uncomfortable so that he waits and watches you for the “release“ command before walking through. You are the alpha dog. You walk through first. It is your job to make sure it‘s safe for him to leave the property, and he needs to look to you for the “It‘s Okay“ cue. If you don’t give the “A-okay” cue… then bad things could happen. Like the door suddenly slamming shut. Ever sit on a dirty chair and ruin a clean pair of slacks? Once it happens to you, you’ll always check first. It’s the same concept with the dog.


To read more of my dog training ramblings, read about my book:

Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer!

Copyright 2002 By Dogproblems.com All Rights Reserved.