Eye contact is the best way to encourage your dog to check in with you and help them get out of a fixated state of mind. Sometimes a dog can get over stimulated or anxious which causes them to mentally shut down. You never want to get stuck just pulling on your leash with no follow through from the dog. As the handler, it is our job to take a breath, slow down and wait for the dog to check in before continuing. By doing this, the dog will learn that making eye contact and acknowledgment from the owner is what gives them the comfort, encouragement, food reinforcement and continuing forward on their adventure. Eye contact and looking to the handler is always the answer to their problems. Itâs a slow process but if you start indoors and with thresholds, then continue to wait for eye contact on your outings will come easier. #rescuedogstoronto #streetdog #puppylover #dogsofinstagram #doglife #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogsofinsta #doggo #dogtrainingtips #balancedtrainer #balanceddogtraining #balanceddogs
Let your dog be a dog. Help them learn how to take on the world from their own 4 feet. Especially when they're young and getting socialized in new environments. It's important that you keep the dog on the ground level where they can grow in confidence, become independent, and get desensitized from their own perspective. #balanceddogtrainer #dogsoftiktokviral #doglover #dogsofttiktok #dogtraining #dogtrainersofinstagram #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtraining101 #dogtrainingisfun #dogtrainingclasses #balancedtraining #balancedtrainer #balanceddogs #puppylove #puppy #puppylife #pomeranian #pomeranianpuppy #pomeranianworld #pomeraniansofinstagram #littledogs #littledogsofinstagram #smalldogsofinstagram #smalldoglife
Conditioning my dog to the crate has been the most helpful tool throughout my adventures with my dog. Whether heâs coming travelling with us or being left with a friend, the dog is bound to feel some stress due to their change in environment. Using the crate gives your dog a safe place where they can get some rest no matter where they are. Itâs important for your dog to have an off switch and time to decompress which the crate provides. If anything happens to your dog and they have to stay at the vet clinic, they will be kept in a crate. It would be very helpful for your dog to already feel comfortable in the crate before being put in that position. Travelling with your dog requires a crate. If you have a house fire, itâs helpful to know exactly where your dog is located. The crate removes separation anxiety. I could go on with more situations where a crate is helpful but if you think simply genetics of the dogs⌠they are den animals. Stop humanizing your animals and taking away something of high value in your dogs life.
The place on and off game is a super fun and easy way to strengthen the command and encourage them to be eager when sent to their bed. Pure fun positive reinforcement to create positive association to such an important tool. #dogtrainingisfun #dogtrainers #dogtraining #balanceddog #dogsofinstagram #dogtrainingtips #doglover #dogsofinsta #dogtrainersofinstagram #boerboellove #boerboelmastiff
If I let Dougie drag me into the park every day, he would! Itâs important that we use this training opportunity entering the park to teach our dog that they only get what they want when they behave properly. If I let him pull me all the way to the park, heâll do that for everything. So itâs important to take the time to make your dog earn their play time. Calmness, paying attention, using their impulse control, staying where youâre asking them to and being patient are all Iâm asking for before he can have his favourite thing in the world. If you start enforcing this with your dog, they will give you this behaviour with other exciting moments in your day too. This will translate when your dog is excited for meeting people, getting out of the car to a new destination, getting food, etc. #dogsofinstagram #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips
You should be able to call your dog off of anything theyâre doing at all times. If your dog is playing with another dog, you should have full control of the situation. If there is food on the ground or heâs getting into something dangerous, you must have perfect recall. This is only possible if you practice with less important things like their toys and treats. Itâs good for your dog to take the initiative to drop the toy and choose you over whatever they want. Trying to take the toy from them is a recipe for resource guarding and creates negative associations to you giving you their things. Practice with a leash to help guide the dog to make the right decision and reinforce when they ignore you to continue playing. For a toy driven and playful dog, playing fetch gives you so many training opportunities!
Conditioning your dog to the muzzle is good to save them from any potential stress. I have heard hundreds of stories about vets and groomers muzzling dogs without asking permission. If your dog has never had one on before, this can create a great deal of added stress to an already uncomfortable situation. Making a game out of it and conditioning your dog to love the muzzle will do nothing but good for your dog.
Part three of introducing two big boys. Keeping slack in the leash is very important so that you donât create stress or frustration in the dog. By keeping slack in the leash your dog will also listen to your leash corrections much more carefully. Not all dogs want to play right away which is why we need to correct Hercules when he initiates play time or pulls towards Dougie. Both dogs know they are in structure and to stay in the heel position until given permission. If I let Hercules continue pushing into Dougieâs space, he would lose trust in me. By keeping this structure, Dougie learns I am his advocate and I will keep him safe around other dogs and Hercules learns itâs not always play time, have some impulse control around other dogs. Now that we are at this stage in the introductions, we go home and put the dogs on place to be in each otherâs space in a calm and controlled manner. For the next couple days we will go on pack walks together and then be let loose in the yard. Itâs important to always stay structured and controlled in tight spaces like in the house. When weâre ready to let the dogs interact freely, we go into the open back yard so that we can walk around and never feel cornered. Both dogs slowly relax in knowing Iâm in control of the situation at all times. If anyone ever feels uncomfortable I respond with redirecting to me for positive reinforcement. Itâs important that we are a good example for the dogs by always remaining neutral and calm for them to reflect our energy.
Part two of introducing two dogs! Body language is very important. Keeping ourselves in between the two dogs lets the dog know that we are in control of the situation. We can use our body to push the dog away from the other if we need more space to keep them calm. By staying parallel to each other, it avoids any confrontational or challenging eye contact and fixation. Once you can successfully walk past the other dog while keeping their focus and calm behaviour, then you can make it more challenging by coming closer or putting the dog on the other side of you, in between the other dog and yourself. You can then walk behind one another or have one dog sit and the other walk around the other dog. If you cannot successfully do these exercises with the other dog then you are not ready to approach each other.
