The biggest mistake people are told when getting a puppy is that "socialising" them means letting your pup meet and play with every other dog and person you encounter while out in public.
Unfortunately this is just not true and it can have a negative impact on your dogs behaviour in public places.
This morning I took Alita out for some training in a new area where there is a large volume of people and dogs walking. I had the pleasure of bumping into an amazing group of people from doggy dates on their weekly walk who all understand and accept that not all dogs are friendly and I was able to tag along with them, working with Alita.
This is socialising Alita, teaching her that she has to walk, listen to me and ignore other dogs and people that are around.
In the beginning she wasn't great with respecting leash pressure or my commands. However I stayed out of her threshold, doing basic follow and focus on me drills and was slowly able to close the gap between her and other dogs while having her remain calm and ignore them.
Socialing your dog appropriately goes a long way in having a well behaved, calm and obedient dog when out in public.
While allowing your dog freedom to sniff on walks, I encourage you to also remind them to keep their focus on you. By doing this it will help you not lose control of your dog if you are faced with something that could trigger them.
After doing some more work with our 2 pack leaders we rewarded our packs with some off lead play and fun today.
Dog Trainer and Behaviourist. Macarthur/Wollondilly-Silvia
International Dog Day 🐶
Life is better with a dog.. or 4 💜 I couldn't picture my life without them.
Walking your dog shouldn't be a struggle or something you dread doing.
I love putting my son in his backpack carrier and going out with my dogs on our morning walks because I know they respect me and the leash which means we all have a fun, enjoyable time.
#dogwalking #traineddogsarehappydogs #rescue #dogs #lovelife
Today we worked on Ellie being more comfortable hanging out with my pack and knowing that she is safe.
She is slowly learning that there is no need to be nervous as my dogs aren't going to hurt her, she is safe and her space is respected.
Dog Trainer and Behaviourist. Macarthur/Wollondilly-Silvia thankyou for your help today.
When taking your dog for a walk, do you set yourself up for failure before leaving the house?
Putting their collar and lead on should not become an exciting event. Leaving the house should be calm and controlled.
My dogs are excited to go for a walk but they know the rules, they sit calmly while leads are going on, they listen to commands and wait patiently.
Just because the door is open doesn't mean they rush out the door, they are to calmly walk out the door when given a command by their handler.
If they break their sit, jump around or try to rush out the door, they are corrected and we reset.
Resetting could be getting them to calmly sit again, other times I may leave their leads on, go back inside and sit on the lounge or do household jobs. This shows them that the lead going on or door opening doesn't mean anything, jumping around and not listening doesn't get them anything they want.
We only leave the house when they are in a calm state, listening and following commands. By doing this it means you don't get dragged and pulled out of your door, or have an overexcited dog who is pulling and carrying on at the beginning of their walk.
Fluffy 💙
Normally walking Fluffy is somewhat stressful.
While he respects the leash pressure and my commands his anxiety gets triggered by alot of different things which causes him to become reactive mainly to people.
Walking him is not always relaxing and is more of a working session over simply going for a walk.
I am working on new ways to help him with his anxiety and help us have a more relaxing time while going for walks.
I adopted Fluffy almost 2 years ago and I am always trying new ways to help him over come his past trauma.
When adopting a dog, please keep in mind they may come with a lot of trauma, anxiety from being surrendered and may not know how to behave according to your expectations.
This means you need to learn to read your dog, gauge what is causing the issues and work on reshaping their outlook on life and their behaviours.
It is not always easy, it can take a lot of time and work but it is worth it, they are worth it.
Just a simple reminder to use every opportunity to add training into your daily activities with your dog
This is 2 separate packs of dogs who have learnt how to adjust and play appropriately with each other.
#dogtraining #dogs #sydney #lovethemsomuch
