There were two really exceptional posts that caught my eye this week in regard to dog owners who burden their dog with unnecessary emotional baggage. The first from Robin MacFarlane, owner and training director of “That’s My Dog, Inc.” in Dubuque, Iowa who writes: If you send me an e-mail that says something like: I’ve rescued a 3 year old dog. He was living with a neighbor who didn’t pay much attention to him. I “believe” he was abused…he has bit me several times, but not hard bites, just Read more [...]
Dominant Dog Behavior
December 22, 2012 by
Remember all those dominant dog behavior exercises that some trainers and veterinarians recommend -picking the dog up and keeping his feet just off the floor until he quits struggling, holding him on his back until he gives up, not letting him go through doors ahead of you, making him wait to eat until after you have eaten, making him stay off the furniture, and especially not letting him sleep on your bed? By the way, all this is known as “alphabetizing.” It’s all baloney and based on a complete misunderstanding Read more [...]
Dog Attention Training
November 29, 2012 by
Whiteshepherd writes to me with a question about dog attention training: Hi, I’ve just finished reading your dog training book and had a few questions about dog attention training: I have a 9 months old white German shepherd dog. He’s been pretty dominant compared to the previous two dogs that I had a few years ago. I used the techniques described in the book and fixed his pulling issue on leash and got great results with the sit and down-stay. I also tried to build up his ball drive. Dog Attention Read more [...]
Training a Dog To Stay In The Down Position Without Rolling Over On His Back
April 6, 2012 by
So, you’ve taught your dog the down-stay command. But when you bend over to praise her, she rolls on her back. Here’s what you’ll need to do: Take a step backwards. Literally. Did your dog roll right-side up? Just give verbal praise. Did he stay on his back? Then walk to the end of the leash. Did he roll right-side up, and then stand up? Step in and reissue the down command, with a downward tug and release of the leash. Block him from creeping forward with his body. Your goal is to Read more [...]
Stop Dog Aggression When People Pass By
September 11, 2011 by
Corie writes to me about territorial dog aggression: Our rescue husky/heeler cross dog is 1.5 years old. I’ve made a lot of progress with him with your suggestion of the pinch collar and leash and boundary training. He is a nervous dog that is really afraid of everything and when people come up to him his fur goes us and he is on edge. He will not bite, he just backs away. I give people treats to give him and that helps. But when people walk by our yard and I don’t have him in a stay position Read more [...]
Keeping Your Puppy From Eating Too Fast
September 11, 2011 by
TeamK writes to me with a puppy training issue: Our female black lab came from a litter of 12. Brought her home at 7 1/2 weeks. She is now 11 1/2 weeks. At first of course we figured it was how they needed to eat just to get food, but it’s gotten worse. She eats SOOO fast – inhales her food. Tried feeding in smaller amounts, feeding from hand, but still inhales. We also have from day one been around her when she eats,putting our hands in dish or by dish – but now that just makes it worse -she Read more [...]
Dog Refuses to Go Outside
September 11, 2011 by
jomackenzie writes to me: I adopted a terrier mix 7 year old male dog whose owner had died. They lived in Beirut and he was put in a dog shelter there for about 9 months. Rocco was brought to France & fostered for 4 months in the countryside until I adopted him in October. From the start he was reluctant to go out (I live in the city), he doesn’t want to go to the beach or for long walks, he is unhappy & dragging behind me until he knows we’re going home, then he can’t get there fast Read more [...]
Lab loses interest in fetch
September 11, 2011 by
dana.hanson writes to me: Hello, I have a 3 year old rescue lab who I would consider very ball motivated. Because he has some dog aggression issues (which we’re working on, but that’s a whole other episode), for exercise I take him to the park to play fetch, rather than go on long walks because we live in a very dog-heavy area. Loose leash training is really helping with the aggression, but I want to mix his exercise up too. We go to an “island” of grass at the edge of the park where we can Read more [...]
Training your dog not to chase cars
September 11, 2011 by
Melissa writes to me: Hi there! I am almost half way done with “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer” so pleased with it so far! I have 2 Border Collies. A 2yr old male, Jack and a 9 mo old female, Jill. We are from USA, rescued Jack and Jill in England and now live in Amman Jordan. Huge transition for them from the fields in England to the streets of Amman!!! Jack is transitioning well, Jill is having a bit of a harder time. We rescued her at 8 wks old. She was taken from her mom at 3 wks Read more [...]
Dog counter surfing and jumping up on the backs of people legs
September 11, 2011 by
Phyllis writes to me: Hi Adam, I have read your book on dog obedience training twice and searched the forums but haven’t found a good answer to my questions. I have a 4 1/2 month old German Shorthair/Lab mix named BooBoo. She is an assertive but not really aggressive dog. She has already become dominant mostly to our 5 year old Shepherd mix. My questions are: 1) how do we keep her from counter surfing. We have tried the mousetraps on the counter but she wised up to those after just one snap. She Read more [...]
Dealing with your dog’s prey obsession problems
September 11, 2011 by
Andersenm writes to me: Hi Adam – Just joined and started on the book – I adopted from a rescue orginization a Border collie/Golden retriever mix of 15 months of age. he definitly needs work but has learned some commands while indoors – problem is his prey obsession, I have had to cover some windows and door windows because he has become totally obsessed with the squirrels outside. Since this is entering week four of our relationship I still use a leash on him in my 1.5 acre fenced yard. I realize Read more [...]
Dog Seperation Anxiety on the Leash
September 9, 2011 by
Whiteshepherd wrote to me about dog separation anxiety: I had a really embarrassing moment this afternoon. I and my 8 months old GSD live with my cousin. My cousin usually takes him out potty in the morning and feed him when I’m not home. My dog is house trained and stays in his crate during the day. he doesn’t bark when we’re not home. This afternoon we took him out for a walk since it’s the first sunny afternoon after 2 raining days. I started teaching my cousin some basic concepts and Read more [...]
Train Your Dog to Stop Licking
September 6, 2011 by
DancingFlame writes to me: “Hello, I have a pug/chihuahua mix and I would like to thank you for the solutions you’ve already given me. My dog was whining in her crate and having a hard time learning the down command. We bought her a comfy bed and began feeding her inside the crate, and now she actually enjoys napping in it and will go inside at bedtime without being prompted. We’ve also got a good start on the “down” command. I’ve looked over your games to play section in order and would like Read more [...]
How To Train The Shy, Insecure or Fearful Dog
August 15, 2011 by
Shyness and fear behavior in dogs comes from insecurity. Your dog’s insecurity can be caused by several factors: A genetic disposition toward insecurity Lack of early socialization The owner not providing clear leadership Traumatic past experiences But regardless of the cause of your dog’s insecurity– believe it or not, the solution to fixing this type of problem behavior is fairly easy, using the right techniques and a little bit of patience. These are the five points that are crucial Read more [...]
The Problem With Using ONLY Positive Dog Training Techniques
July 4, 2011 by
BETHANY asks: “I would like any advice you could give me regarding the use of positive training techniques. By this I mean training w/out choke chains, pinch collars or shock collars and without physical corrections of any kind. I am not against these methods per se but I am not comfortable using them and do not think they would work well on my very sensitive rescue dog. Thanks for any advice! – Beth ” Dear Bethany: The concept of Motivation is such that, once you understand it, it will work Read more [...]
How Do I Make My New Dog Get Along With The Other Dogs In My House?
July 3, 2011 by
In general… you can’t really control how dogs interact with each other when you’re not around. Probably, if your new dog isn’t being outright aggressive with the other dogs in your house, once she starts spending more time with these dogs, she’ll start to accept them and either: 1.) Start interacting and playing with them, or… 2.) Just simply ignore them. If she does show outright aggressive behavior, you can correct her for that behavior. 1.) Keep a leash (even if it’s just a one Read more [...]
How Do I Correct Negative Or Unwanted Dog Behavior?
July 3, 2011 by
The fastest and most humane way to get your dog to stop any unwanted behavior is to attach a motivational NEGATIVE association to that behavior. Your dog is no dummy, and he will not continue to do a behavior which does not feel good. In fact, if the negative association is motivational, he’ll drop that behavior quicker than you can imagine. The safest way to give your dog a motivational correction is to replicate the way the mother dog will correct the puppies, or the way the Alpha dog will Read more [...]
The Three Keys to Successful Dog Training and Behavior Modification
July 1, 2011 by
There are three concepts that any dog owner must understand in order to get quick results in a minimal amount of time. I call these the,”Three keys to successful dog training and behavior modification.” These three keys can be utilized in both obedience training and behavior modification, as well as many other types of dog training (such as narcotics detection, tracking, etc…) Completely understanding these three keys will put you ahead of even many professional dog trainers. The three keys Read more [...]
The Dog as a Social Pack Animal
July 1, 2011 by
Your dog is a social pack animal. However, the way in which he relates to other dogs, people, and even other animals in his life is much different than how we humans relate to each other. The nature of the dog’s pack instinct is such that he perceives any other animal (human, dog, cat, turtle) he comes into regular contact with as being part of his family, or pack. And how he relates to other pack members is largely governed by instinct and early socialization. In any pack of dogs, either wild Read more [...]
What Is Dog Training And How Do I Get Quick Results?
July 1, 2011 by
Dog training can be defined in a very simple way. In a nutshell– it’s praising or rewarding your dog when he does something you like and correcting him when he does something you don’t like. I think of obedience training primarily as two things. First, it is establishing and promoting a proper relationship between you and your dog. And second, a way of communicating so that your dog understands your commands and those same commands have meaning. Many people think of obedience training as merely Read more [...]
Addressing the Problem of Boredom
July 7, 2010 by
Dogs get bored just like adults and children. Assuming that your dog is happy to just lay around all day or stay on it’s own while you are at work could lead to a very unhappy animal. While it’s not possible or practical for most people to have contact with their dog throughout the day, due to work and other commitments, a dog will always be a lot happier if it knows that at the end of each day it will get the opportunity to go for a walk in the park or a run along the beach. The stimulation that Read more [...]
Dog Training and Building Relationships
July 7, 2010 by
Dog training is all about building relationships. Good dog training is all about building positive relationships where the dog has respect for it’s owner and also where the dog realizes that the owner is the master and leader of the pack. If the owner assumes the position of the leader of the pack and the dog knows and respects that position then it will feel more secure and be a happier pet. Under no circumstances should the dog be fearful of it’s master and that is why most current methods of Read more [...]
Why Dogs Love To Socialize, Too
July 7, 2010 by
Dogs love to socialize and taking your pet to places that they have never been before is a great adventure that will help stimulate them both mentally and physically. When they interact with other dogs and people they develop more social skills and will generally become better pets. This is of course assuming that your dog has had some form of training and you are able to keep them under control in these situations. If your dog has had some training and you let them socialize with other dogs Read more [...]
Is Your Dog Eating Grass?
July 7, 2010 by
What does it mean if you see your dog eating grass? There are two main reasons why your dog will be eating grass. The first reason is to help it to enduce vomiting. It will be doing this to get rid of something that it has eaten that is unpleasant or dangerous. Dogs do not have the ability to digest grass due to a lack of the necessary enzymes that are required for grass digestion. By eating grass the dog knows that it will bind with the offending food and when it vomits the food will be Read more [...]
The Leader of the Pack and Your Dog
July 1, 2010 by
One of the first and most important steps in dog training is to get the respect and confidence of your dog. As mentioned in previous newsletters, dogs are pack animals, and there always must be a leader of the pack. You need to ensure that your dog understands that you are his or her leader. Once you’ve done that you will have gained the respect and confidence of your dog. Having done this will make dog training a whole lot easier for you and a far more pleasurable experience. Failure to Read more [...]
