WHAT CLIENTS ARE SAYING:
"Been a while since we did obedience outside since our time on the path usually just consists of Ally playing with her dog friends. But she’s still got it!
Funny story about my mom whispering “There’s people coming.” Ally was HIGHLY reactive towards strangers for a very long time, and still often will bark at them as they walk by if I don’t catch her attention in time. Today, a man turned onto the path unexpectedly and Ally was having zoomies dragging her leash. I was TERRIFIED because her first instinct is usually to charge / bark. Not today! She was running in the man’s direction, saw him, turned around and ran to my side and put herself into a sit with laser focus on me. I almost threw up I was so nervous and she handled it like SUCH A GOOD GIRL!! Huge win for her today!"
Pestery Puppies!
The value of markers goes WAY beyond just teaching basic obedience. When markers are charged/taught properly, we are able to communicate with our dogs regularly. Allowing them more freedom in the world as we know we have the ability to encourage behaviours we life but also stop behaviours we don’t like.
Below is a perfect example of markers used in a real life scenario.
Ah ah = you’re about to mess up, stop doing that.
Pup pup = reward/attention.
If you’d like to teach your puppies a marker training language, we can help!
Please visit us at www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Puppies !!!
Obstacle courses not only help build confidence in young puppies, but don’t properly also help them think and problem solve.
The only thing require for this exercise is a reward marker and a bunch of random objects, the rabbit is optional 😉
If you’d like to development your dogs ability to problem solve, we can help.
Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Marker Training in Action
Good = I like what you’re doing, keep doing it.
Break = End of a behaviour
Wrong = You offered the wrong behaviour, you get to try again.
If you want to learn our marker training language, please visit our website at www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Simple crate training steps
Confinement actually plays a very big role in your puppies development and training. Crate training is recommend in order to manage your puppies learning environment, to help with house training, prevent destructive behaviours and habits, and to help prevent social and isolation anxiety. Remember that puppies scream, bark and cry in the beginning stages of crate training. Do not feel defeated, this can take time. I recommend purchasing a noise maker to help give the puppy a constant sound to listen to, while also drowning out exterior noise as well. Here is a link to the one I have;
https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lectrofan-lectrofan-noise-fan-machine-asm1007-white-asm1007/10406699?cmp=knc-s-71700000069416315&gclid=CjwKCAjw0On8BRAgEiwAincsHPS-rptM1MIr6vM3bwIu0mJuaD75yIS0Qjsae6N-c1-7h2Mx3ktwcRoC1SsQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
Things you will need to help make this process successful are; your puppies kibble ( mixed with higher value rewards if needed in the beginning stages.) . We prefer to have all puppies work for their meals as it gives us more opportunity to reward our puppies throughout the day (without having to spend extra money or create a fat dog) and it also helps create a better working relationship. You will also need a crate of any kind, as long as your puppy can stand up and turn around, you should be fine. The next thing we recommend is picking up some long lasting chews for your puppy. This will come in handy when we are trying to build on time in the crate. We will explain our choices for long lasting chews below.
We completely understand for safety and housebreaking reasons you are most likely crating your puppy even though he may not be fully loving the idea. That is completely understandable and we do the same here with puppies and adult dogs. The thing you need to keep in mind to make the crate more loveable to the puppy, is to make sure the good times outweigh the bad. That’s where active training will come in h
Place Command
Place Command is used to CREATE behaviours and to support our dogs through more difficult situations that may arise.
It gives them a stage to feel confident and perform in more difficult environments.
Teaching your puppies place will be invaluable as they mature and move through different developmental periods.
If you’re looking to start training your puppy, we can help.
Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Just popping in to remind you to teach your puppy how to focus on you 🫵🏻 first, before heading out into a world full of distractions.
If you’re struggling with getting your puppies attention, we can help.
Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Using my markers to help a tick exam move smoothly for myself and my dog.
He understands that Good means I like exactly what he’s doing And my reward marker, Yes, gives him opportunities to move, shake, yawn or re position himself as the exercise is over. Seeing him stay in position gives me the green light to continue my exam 🙂
If the dog disengaged and demonstrated stress through the exam. I would have asked him to perform a sit or just reward for engagement to get him more relaxed before proceeding with the exam
If you’re struggling with basic handling, we can help!
Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Handling Sensitive Dogs
Working with dogs who are sensitive to touch can feel super overwhelming. However a training protocol that is broken down to its simplest form will help you and your dog feel more empowered. At no point during this behaviour modification plan should the dog react. If the dog does react, you are moving too quickly. It is very important that you understand your dogs body language. Understanding signs of discomfort and stress will help you navigate through this plan much easier.
Before you begin this protocol your dog needs to have a charged reward/release marker (Break) and work ethic.
If your dog is struggling with either of those two things, please work on them before attempting this training schedule. If you’re unsure of where to begin, our program can help! Please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Step One : Creating a Stage
In order for the dog to feel empowered they must have a safe place to work. If conditioned appropriately, your place command can be that safe place. You want the place command to work as a stage, make your dog feel emotionally stable, confident and ready to perform. It is important to take note that your dog might react differently when you crouch or sit in front of them while they are in place. You may need to take a few sessions to make sure they are comfortable with the change in handler position.
Puppy Training
What is socialization?
Or should we say, desensitization...
The word socializing instantly puts us in the mind frame of physical interactions. The misconception is that socializing means your puppy needs to physically interact with something in order to become socialized to that thing. When in reality, physical interactions only make up 5% of what socialization is all about. This leaves us 15% for training and the other 80% of socialization, which is the most crucial, is something we call, desensitization. Desensitization is the process by which we take to diminish our puppies emotional response to different things. The goal with socialization should be to have our puppies maintain a positive, neutral response to new situations, people, dogs, things, etc.
To learn how to properly socialize your puppy, yourself, sign up for our online program by visiting the link below.
www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Here’s a perfect example of socialization being done by Morgan at MK9 Dog Training.
This little boy is also up for adoption !
Interrupting puppies
Pestery Puppies
Little Man puppy is trying to figure out how to get the older dogs tail to wag again, by barking at it 🤦🏻♀️ You can see that the older dog, although patient, isn’t thrilled 😬
The biggest thing you can teach your puppy, when they begin to interact with the world, is to disengage and come back to the handler.
Ah ah, you’re about to mess up.
Pup pup, positivity charged sound, that means come back to handler. This layer turns into your recall command as well😉
Check out our free puppy help Center for more advice on raising puppies
www.trainingpuppiesonline.ca
Vet visit
What are you doing with your dog when you visit your veterinary office?
Now that some of the restrictions are easing, most vet clinics are allowing clients to come inside with their pets again. YAY! This allows us more opportunities to help our pets feel comfortable.
Taking the time to help your pet feel comfortable before and after the appointment can help the vet clinic not seem like such a scary place.
In order to help Bebop feel good about the environment, I brought his favourite blanket to help create some familiarity in training. I did not ask for anything specific, but engagement/focus. I brought out the big guns, LIVER! Normally when we work, his reward is kibble. When you keep the good stuff, for the big stuff, you are able to get more out of your dog.
Checklist for success:
Food Drive
Engagement/Focus
Charged Reward Marker
www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Postive interrupter
A positive interrupter is a strategy used to either get our dogs attention or to stop and prevent undesirable habits. This allows us to get our dogs back to us and gives us the opportunity to teach them what to do instead.
Little Stevie Wonder has a horrible habit of eating poop. When he is on a poop finding mission, you would have no idea that this dude is blind.
The word pup pup used in the video below, is our positive interrupter. Teaching this cue is one of the first things we teach our foster dogs. The main reason being is it’s an easy non confrontational way to stop and prevent behaviours we don’t like or want. Normally you would not have to continue repeating the word, however due to his vision loss, I keep my voice going in order to help him find me.
Btw, check out his little run, it is freaking adorable!!
Stevie Wonder is up for adoption!
https://www.facebook.com/538152363005904/posts/2184853858335738/?d=n
If you are struggling with your dog, we can help! Please visit our online program at www.trainingdogsonline.ca
Recall Training
Recall Training
Quick Tip!
Practice calling your dog when they are moving away from you.
Don’t recall your dog in the beginning stages of learning unless you are sure you will get the behaviour.
If you are struggling with recall training, we can help.
www.trainingdogsonline.ca
This little dude will be going up for adoption once his training is complete.
https://www.canadiandachshundrescue.com/
Indoor training
Indoor Training Time
We have all been there, especially if you live in Canada and get to experience the cold, long winter months. Sometimes we are just tired and don’t feel like bringing our dogs for a walk.
The good news is, you don’t always have to, if you supplement your walk for indoor training time.
Indoor training time works the dog physically and mentally as well, it can be a win win for everyone!
It makes it even easier if your dog has an understanding of marker training and good food drive.
The sky is the limit!
Here’s an example of an indoor fun training sessions with one of our TDO clients.
If you are looking for more ways to not only communicate with your dog, but train your dog, please visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca for more information on our training program.
Our clients never cease to amaze us. We provide them with the blueprints to create a clear communication system with their dog. This blueprint allows them to teach their dog whatever they want.
They however have to do the hard work, and that is, implement the blueprint in a very similar way to building a house. They start with building the foundation (teaching and adding value to a clear communication system). They then frame in the walls (teach the dog behaviours that will help them to be successful in the human world). Lastly, they put a roof on that house (proofing those behaviours in new and challenging environments).
Some clients go above and beyond and decide to put shudders on their house and plant fancy gardens. This here is an example of a client using the clear communication system we teach in Training Dogs Online to do just that. Look how much fun Gelli is having learning to do a focussed heel?
Would you like to lead a more fulfilling life with your dog? We would love to help!
Visit www.trainingdogsonline.ca/sign-up today to join us!
A little shaping for the future.
Little Bee Bop is learning how to offer different behaviours. We are actually utilizing the small carrier, in order to start shaping a down behaviour for the future. This kid NEVER offers a down and you could lure the behaviour til the cows come home, he won't get it.
So we decided to use a behaviour that he already knows, go to his kennel, to our advantage by using a small kennel.
The small kennel means once he is in, he is more likely to lower his head/ body to look at me. This is giving me the opportunity to start to get his body use to that position while working, so I can more easily bring that into other lessons without the crate. Then I can eventually start naming the behaviour.
I switch between marking the lowered head behaviour, and the kennel behaviour in this video. I only need to capture a few of them for now :)
Stay tuned for how I will be transferring this position to other areas.
I think it is also important to notice, I am not in a rush to clean things up. My ultimate is always to build and maintain engagement and speed.
www.trainingdogsonline.ca
