The Dog Tutor

06/15/2025

There is lots of chat about positive reinforcement in dog training but I find that it is mostly misunderstood by the average dog owner, despite how much it is pushed across social media. It's so much more than using a treat or a pat on the dog's head during structured training sessions. Understanding how to be consistent with your reward system, throughout all your interactions with your dog, is important if you really want to grow a behavior. Understanding exactly what your dog finds rewarding is another key. And too often the handler/trainer's genuine emotional and physical responses towards good behavior are not given enough consideration as to how it effects a dog's progress. Remember, you have to be both emotionally invested and fully engaged with the dog for the training to be truly effective.
You can't lie to a dog.

06/06/2025

When people are struggling to get results in their dog training I find a lot of the time the people need to just get out of their own way.

Investing too much of your human emotions into your decision making and protecting your "feelings" is generally one of the biggest downfalls. Please understand that I use my emotions to guide a dog between correct behavior and incorrect behavior, whatever behavior or action that I am teaching. I absolutely use my emotions to drive a dogs behavior and actions, but I absolutely DO NOT let my emotions construct what or how I am going to train, with any dog.

I train a dog based on what is best for the dog, not my "feeelings". It just makes dog training more effective. Remember dogs are dogs and people are people.

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05/12/2025

Be mindful of not letting your dog move foreward on a leash if it's not in their best interest or against your agenda. It's important that we prevent the ability for a dog to "self reward" under the wrong circumstances.
It's a fundamental concept developed before the turn of the previous century, that we can still apply today, even while walking a dog.

"Responses that produce a satisfying effect in a particular situation become more likely to occur again in that situation, and responses that produce a discomforting effect become less likely to occur again in that situation." AKA Thorndikes Law of Effect
Edward Thorndike 1898

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04/19/2025

It's time for some self reflection regarding my philosophy of "Relationship First".
Are you simply a roommate to your dog, or do you share activities with your dog that are solely for the enjoyment of your dog. In other words, do you fulfill your dog's needs or do you leave your dog on their own to create their own self fulfillment, somehow, while livivng within the constraints of your world. The latter, quite often, appears as what we label as "bad behavior".

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04/15/2025

Crate train your dog even if you won't be using a crate for them throughout their life. It's a skill that your dog may need during an overnight veteranarian visit or at a boarding facility. Be kind to your dog and give them the skills they need to be successful.

04/13/2025

I know it's been said a thousand times before.

The biggest fundamental downfall or error that puppy owners make is giving the puppy too much freedom too soon. Keep a leash on your puppy ALL THE TIME or keep your puppy contained when you can't directly supervise. Your puppy should earn their freedom through demonstrating response to your guidance and the ability to make good decisions. Only then do you start to "trust" them to make good decisions after learning what those decisions should look like.

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04/10/2025

Always follow through when you tell your dog to do something. If you allow your dog to defy the command or escape the situation you have taught your dog they can control YOUR decision making abilities. Do that repeatedly a few more times and you will create a defiant dog that is willing to try and escalate a situation because it has learned how to create an outcome that suits their thoughts. Instead we want to teach a dog that more valuable things can happen when you follow simple instructions.
This is part of creating proper "structure" when living with a dog.

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04/06/2025

How do you repair or rebuild a relationship with your dog?

I believe the fastest way to build a relationship with a dog is through play. When a dog plays, it is flooded with a lot of really cool biological chemicals that relive stress and create an intense sense of joy for a dog. If you become part of that equation, and the association with joy, then you become something different to the dog.

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04/03/2025

SERIOUSLY! Nows I'm seeing dozens of ads promoting "fixing" your dog's behavior by doing vagus nerve exercises. This is the solution flavor of the week. Is there no limit to the garbage and scams trying to pry money out of dog owners hands. All, once again, to prove that there is something wrong with the dog instead of the truth. Bad habits are allowed by humans, that are supposed to be in charge. Just train your dog. It's that simple. If you need help then ask a qualified dog trainer.
Make the most of your life with your dog, and your relationship with your dog. They are here for such a short time.

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03/16/2025

If you want to change something in your dogs behavior, then the first thing that has to happen is, you must change what you are doing.

02/14/2025

Well it was an interesting week with this little girl.
She is a 7+ year old sh*tzu/poodle cross with some intense fears, due to being abused as a young puppy. I could not pick her up or pet her before this week, without gloves, she was a full force biter with really sharp teeth!
Now we get to enjoy playing some fun games of tug, some good ol' belly rubs, and she loves having us pick her up and put her in our lap for snuggles.
She simply amazed me with her ability to still find trust with strangers.

02/02/2025

Today's topic, the zoomies! Oh what to do about those crazy zoomies. The evening ones are usually the most intense for most high energy dogs. Whirling around the house, bouncing off the furniture, eyes glazed over with excitement. Completely out of their mind. I know some of you can relate to that. The worst thing you can do is to suppress the behavior. You can try and turn it into a game of tug or fetch, which can be amazing. But if your dog is too stimulated to focus on play then you need another answer.
Identify some pattern of excitement that your dog does naturally, preferrably outside if possible, like running around the trampoline or fiepit or a tree. Encourage and build up the game as much as you can. You can start creating and building up some kind of running game for your dog if they don't already express one on their own. You eventually attatch a cue word or phrase to the activity and BAM you have an outlet for your dog.

Here's an example of what I mean, when you have everything accomplished:
When I still had Benny, he would come running up to us in the evening sometimes, vibrating and with that weird look in his eyes, and we would give him the trained cue words "do you need to go RUN AND RUN?". We would open the front door and he would explode off the front step, run laps around our tree by himself, until he was exhausted. He would then proptly turn around and walk past us, back inside the house with the biggest grin and longest tongue. Happy as a pig in a potatoe patch. It was a joy that we were thilled in watching for years.

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