Good Shake Dog Training Squamish

When you’re trying to check in as the hooman asked, but the rain makes it harder to do 🌧️ Mia wants her own umbrella ☂️ #rain #rainyday #raincouver #walksinrain #walkyourdog

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room: is “heel” really a recall? Technically, not really. Why are we using it then? I want to make it clear that Sterling learned “come” from his mom, and when we started working on a recall we wanted to use something brand new, so we knew all the history in the behaviour we were about to spend months teaching him. This is why we stuck with “heel” as his recall, because his mom wanted him to be able to walk in heel, off leash. Sterling today, does listen to both “come” and “heel” with his mom, and truthfully, comes into the heel position no matter which one is asked. And that’s because he has a higher reinforcement rate with walking in heel off leash! You may be asking why Sterling got a handful of treats when he took his time coming back to our side when asked the first time. As mentioned, Sterling wanted to smell really badly that day- it’s a distraction we were working on (he loves hunting for animals in that forest), so we tossed more treats than typical that time, because he still chose to come back! He showed us it was even harder for him to come back because he almost got distracted by a scent, so not only does he get more payment (food) for listening, we also tossed them on the ground to give him a little of what he wanted; smelling for a scent. Instead of it being whatever was there, he smelled for treats. #training #positivereinforcement #poodle #offleash #recall #dogtrainer #gucci #sterling

Asking for “chin” helps Boulder know that he’s about to be touched. It’s a behaviour that can help you work on everything with the face; eyes, ears, mouth. Here Faith was pushing Boulder a little, so the timing of her click was admittedly off, meaning the click should have come a bit sooner as over time Boulder could interpret that he should be lifting his head off the hand, and that’s what we’re wanting (which we aren’t). When you have an extra large dog, it’s extra important to work on husbandry behaviours with them!! The more we work on this with Boulder, the less scary it is for him, and the less chance there is of a bite in the future. Whether a child grabs him, a vet checks him over, or he hurts himself and needs to be looked at, there are so many reasons to get your dog comfy with being touched and manipulated!! #extralargedog #greatdane #husbandry #cooperativecare #dogs #training #positivereinforcement

This was the first dog we encountered with our client and Sterling, where he was completely off leash and we were doing the steps to keep him with her, rather than go play. Because of that, we didn’t direct our client to keep walking, knowing Sterling could stay sitting and seeing that the strange dog didn’t care about meeting up, we were pretty positive it’d be a smooth interaction, and didn’t want to overwhelm our client with directions. The more we walked, we asked our client to keep Sterling moving, as it is easier for dogs to stay focused on you when you’re on the go rather than staying still, watching the trigger approach you. And of course, that is the long term goal! We’re very happy with our client and Sterling’s progress!! They’re killing it 👏👏 #poodle #training #dogtrainer #trainer #positivereinforcement #forcefree #forcefreerecall

Teaching Leash Manners to puppies or adult dogs looks very similar. The only difference is with very young puppies, our expectations can be a lot lower. We don’t need a perfect heel, we just don’t want to walk with them pulling on the leash. If you teach them young, pulling = stopping, and stay consistent with it, you’ll soon notice how much less they’ll pull. Why? Because stopping is boring! Who wants to do that?! Rewarding your dog whenever they’re next to you, will in itself help your dog stay in heel because they’ll realize that if they stay there, they’ll get paid, and it’s more fun to get treats than no treats. Have a dog that doesn’t take treats on walks? Let us know if you’d like a video about that 👇👇 #puppy #leashmanners #training #positivereinforcement #dogwalk #walkswithdogs #puppyseason #puppyclasses #dogtrainer

A couple of things to note: 1. Notice how little Raph is speaking? This allows Milo to think through his emotions, and make choices on his own. As humans we tend to word vomit, and not be patient- this creates more confusion for your dog!! As much as possible, we always encourage to allow your dogs to make choices on their own, and you be right there to tell them they made a good one. 2. Milo DOES check in- he just needs time! Raph asked for a “look”, got nothing, so he tried a prompt to help Milo. Still nothing. That means Milo is above threshold and while there may be a couple of things that could snap him out of it, he was at a large enough distance that we know he could work through it. When you know your dog can work through it- allow them to. You will notice results begin showing more when you do!! For this method, one of many with reactivity, it’s all about pairing the dog with the check in. If you stay silent, your dog looks at a strange dog, then looks at you and you give them a treat. Your dog has learned “when I see a dog, and look at my handler, I get rewarded”. When your dog sees a dog, and you ask for look, and they listen your dog thinks “I saw a dog…. I heard look, checked in and then I got rewarded”. The cue to check in is “look”, not the dog. Don’t get us wrong- at first you’ll need to ask for a look (and teach that if you haven’t already) but when they get the hang of it, stop asking when you’re able to! #training #trainingtips #dogtrainer #reactivity #positivereinforcement #positivereinforcementdogtraining

Moka here was brought home at 5 months from the breeder, and took a group puppy classes where she learned two basics; sit and down. As many owners do over time, we stop paying (giving treats) to our dog for doing behaviours they’ve already learned, especially a sit. With that, we also start repeating ourselves. Now, many months later, Moka isn’t quick to respond to “sit”. She takes 5 seconds to plop down. Why is that? She’s learned sit as “SIT” because when you ask your dog repeatedly, typically you get a little frustrated and impatient, so you raise your voice or say it more sternly. On top of this confusion for our dogs, we have also said it 3-5 times, not 1 time. Our learned “sit” becomes “sit, sit, SIt, SIT, SIT”, or even more confusingly at the end we’ll add in “sit DOWN”. In short, if you’re dog doesn’t listen to sit the first time ask yourself 1. When was the last time you paid for sitting when asked? 2. Have I been repeating myself and not giving them time to process my ask (up to 15 seconds) We hope that helps! #training #sit #puppy #learning #positivereinforcement

This is a handy trick for quick wipe ups - especially during walking + training since it involves eating which creates more drool 😅 But, note that this is part of the overall desensitizing of wiping up Boulder’s face. For real wipe downs, he’s also okay with you rubbing the towel all over his face. Why? Because he gets paid for it! Consistently!! #drool #wipeup #face #boulder #greatdane #dog #cooperativecare

3 things I keep consistent with my walks… as a professional dog trainer who also offers enriching walks- or as I like to say; working walks! 1️⃣ Leash Manners AKA No Pulling Loose leash walks are a must! While not the only manners we work on, leash manners are definitely a priority! A combination of time to smell and heeling for food, no matter what, includes a loose leash. 2️⃣ No Reactions… well at least as much as we can (excuse my intense eye roll 🤣) While no one can ever guarantee a reaction-free walk, we make it our goal to achieve this, to the best of our capability. Using methods we teach to our dog training clients, we help manage and improve reactions, aiding in your journey with this. 3️⃣ Mental Excerise Whether it’s brain games, nature’s snuffle mat (shown in video) or training a fun/useful trick, in addition to the training done while walking, we dedicate time specifically to work your pup’s brain to tire them out all that much more! Interested in a working walk for your working breed dog? Contact us today: 778-788-DOGS or [email protected] #squamish #workingdog #walk #dogwalk @downtownsquamish

The MAJOR benefit of hiring a dog trainer as your dog walker? You get some “free” training!! You also get tips for your walks and helpful information. Of course our main job when we come in as a walker, is to walk your pup, but it’s hard for us to not work on things we know will firstly, benefit both us and you, and secondly, help add enrichment to your pups walk! Dogs want to think and learn, so we add as much of it as possible in our walks. Interested in trying out one-on-one walks where your dog gets undivided attention and learning? Call us! Message us on IG or FB! Email us! We’ve got options 😉 We hope to hear from you soon! @downtownsquamish #squamish #dog #walk #dogwalker #privatewalks #dogtrainer #trainingwalks

Mona: are we actually going to walk anywhere? #sciencebaseddogtrainer #positivereinforcement #ofcourse #trend Don’t get us wrong- we are Positive reinforcement trainers, however no trainer or dog owner can ONLY be R+. Life is unpredictable and we cannot control our dogs environment- working on a sit and they sit on a something pointy that causes discomfort or pain? That’s not just R+. Ending a training session when your dog is having a blast? Not just R+ training. If you’re looking for a trainer that doesn’t use punishment, looking for a science based one is a good start- typically that means they’ve studied material that shows using P+ does more harm than good, and is simply not needed. P.S. who also has a reactive dog? 🙋‍♀️🙋 (really most dogs are reactive to a certain degree, even if they’re not barking or lunging at the end of a leash! Let us know if you want a video explaining this!) #squamish #canada