Are YOU Training Your Dog or Is HE Training You (2 of 6)?

This is the second in a series of blogs about dog training:

Introduction
Training Foundation (you are here)
HouseTraining
Obedience Commands
Overcoming Aggressive Behavior
Advanced Commands/Tricks

Training Foundation:
8 Concepts to Understand Before You Begin Dog Training

Are You Committed to Training Your Dog?
Committment to dog training is the primary key to its success. There is no giving up in dog training.

There is a roller coaster of emotions ranging from extreme frustration when you’ve said “No” for the 35th time on a given day or are picking up poop from your living room rug . . . to absolute elation when your pup responds promptly to your command despite distractions or calmly greets you at the front door.

Let’s be serious here – dog training is domestication of a canine, a descendant of wolves. It’s true that most of the wild side is gone, but your dog is still a wolf in his individual breed “clothing.” Take a good look at your pup's teeth the next time you brush his teeth. Those nasty, muti-pointed ones were made for ripping and tearing flesh, not for eating grass.

Establish Yourself as the Leader of the Pack
You are the leader of the pack. Your dog is a member of the pack. If you cannot assume a leadership role, your dog will take it over. He knows no other way to live in the pack. When he takes over the leader's role, you can guess who will be training who.

One way to see this concept in action is to watch a few Cesar Millan (the “Dog Whisperer”) episodes on the web or on the National Geographic channel. Keep your eyes on Cesar.

Another good source of “alpha dog” information is the kingdom of pets Secrets to Dog Training media package (pdfs, DVD, audio). This media package reinforces the “alpha dog” concept throughout the entire set of topics.

Your Dog is a Family Member
Treat your dog as a family (pack) member, and he will respond accordingly. Do you take your dog with you when you go out (event permitting)? Or do you leave him home to fall asleep or chew the furniture in complete boredom?

When you work around the house, is your dog with you or not? Alvin likes to bite the broom, bark at the vacuum, and grab the rake outdoors. Obviously, your dog can’t help you mow the lawn, but he can be at least present for other activities.

Communicate with Your Dog
People talk is NOT a dog’s native language. He will NEVER, EVER understand your entire message. Maybe a few words. Certainly the tone of your message. And he will get a very clear message from your body language.

You need to communicate in dog talk. Of course, you won’t be barking, growling, or biting (unless you want to) – but you need to understand your dog’s body language and sounds. Alvin combines a sound (whining) with a look. He communicates “You left my treats on the counter and I want them” with a whine and a longing stare in the direction of the treats.

How do you learn dog talk?
Watch the animal! Try and figure out what certain body language means by his actions.

Search the Internet with keywords such as “dog talk” and you’ll get all kinds of help in many different formats.

A word of caution: get specific training information from known experts. They know what works the majority of the time. This is one reason why I finally leaned toward Secrets to Dog Training. Dog experts created this training.

Patience and Consistency are Mandatory
If you want to train your dog, but you are not a patient person, best of luck to you! You may be handing your dog’s training over to a competent one-on-one dog trainer. They’ll make fewer mistakes, but then you’ll need lessons from the trainer about how to use commands. And will the trainer show up to teach housetraining – the type of training that requires the most patience?

All dog training requires consistent application of the same activities in order for training to turn into everyday practice. For example, once you teach a dog to sit with a hand signal, everyone in the household should be using the same signal. If a dog is not supposed to jump up on one family member but is allowed to jump up on another, you will have one confused dog!

Rewards Work, Punishment Does NOT Work
Dogs respond to rewards of food, attention, and toys as long as the reward is immediate (within a few seconds of the request/command). When a dog’s action, whether it’s positive or negative, is rewarded, he is more likely to repeat the action.

Punishment does not work with dogs. Dogs cannot connect a whack on the nose with mischievous or otherwise bad behavior (from the human viewpoint). Punish repeatedly and fear and/or aggression will result. On an episode of "It's Me or the Dog," a snarling Boston Terrior would not let his owner touch him. Turns out she had been coming at him with a broom. It showed what the menacing broom looked like from the terrier's viewpoint. No wonder he became aggressive.

Show Respect for Your Pup
No matter how mischievous, aggressive, or destructive the dog, he will respond based on your respect for him. He senses how you feel by your attitude, tone of voice, and actions, no matter how subtle or how unaware you are of the way you are acting.

Dogs Deserve Excellent Treatment
Dogs DESERVE clean water, nutritious food, medical care, shelter from the weather, and our attention and caring. Training is what owners provide so that they can live comfortably with dogs.

If you are not willing to provide what dogs deserve, perhaps you need to re-think why you got a dog in the first place.

valmillsy

Are YOU Training Your Dog or Is HE Training You (1 of 6)?

Alvin Showing Me How To Leash Train

This is the first in a series of blogs about dog training:

Introduction (you are here)
Training Foundation
HouseTraining
Obedience Commands
Overcoming Aggressive Behavior
Advanced Commands/Tricks

When you hear or read about “dog training,” it might suggest teaching obedience commands like “Sit” and “Stay.” Or it might suggest puppy housetraining. Or teaching a dog tricks. Or specialty training like guide dogs or the police canines who sniff out drugs.

Dog Training as an Ongoing Process
All of these types of instruction fall under the category of “dog training.

It’s an ongoing process and never ends.

Either you are training your dog from the day he arrives in your home or he’s training you. Hopefully, it’s the former activity.

Why Dog Training is So Critical
I did not think about dog training as an ongoing process until I saw the movie “Marley and Me.” Soon after, I got a pup and realized that unless I took control of his education, he was more than likely to show signs of behavior problems. Also, I’ve seen animal-lover friends face serious behavior issues with dogs whose training was sporadic.

At this point, I believe the major reason dog shelters overflow with unwanted canines is owner lack of commitment, especially regarding training. Obviously, in these economic times, some people cannot afford their dogs. But the majority of dogs are given up because owners fail to understand the amount of time and effort a dog requires. Untrained dogs are frequently left in a shelter or abandoned.

Types of Dog Training Covered Here
Because I want a well-trained dog in my present and future, I decided to research what was available for certain types of training. I am continuously searching the Internet, talking to people who have dogs, watching trainers in action, and evaluating training DVDs. And I am determined to use what I learned. Any recommendation I make in this blog is a product I’ve used myself.

By the way, I’m NOT discussing specific training methodology (dog whispering, clicker training, reward training). How a particular type of training gets performed (methodology) is not talked about except in passing.

I consider the following types of training/information under the umbrella of “dog training:”

Training Foundation
HouseTraining
Obedience Commands
Overcoming Aggressive Behavior
Advanced Commands/Tricks
Specialty Training (example: guide dog, performance training)

In future blogs, I will recommend specific aids based on my research and application for each of these training types, with the exception of Specialty Training.

Dog Groomer Critique - Need an Opinion

Like his Cockapoo and Bichon parents, Alvin requires grooming every six weeks else he truly resembles a raggedly doll.

The first time he was groomed, I took him to a pet store, paid way too much, and ended up with no real style at all - just a short face cut and trimmed every where else.

This time I hired a mobile dog groomer who came to the house, spent about 1 1/2 hours, and gave Alvin a more stylish cut. Again, it was pricey, but the look is more of a style than just a cut. But I may be biased, so I need opinions.

Here's his picture after the most recent grooming:


Please respond with a critique of this grooming look for a Bichon Cockapoo.

Thanks,

valmillsy