Pickles Puppy Preschool
Puppy Preschool board and train for intro to: leash manners, crate training, socialization, polite greetings, sit, down and recall. Good job, Pickles!🥒 👏
Adorable little Lucy was NOT so cute when in came time to take inappropriate items from her. This is our approach to working on resource guarding. Of course, the priority should be management focused; Meaning the owners don't allow Lucy the opportunity to practice resource guarding of food, toys, or people by putting food away, having high value chews be a part of crate time only, and monitoring her body language closely. Meanwhile, practicing these structured exercises, and taking the right course of action will mitigate the 'oh shoot life happens' moments.
Off leash dog training at Big Dog Ranch!
Come join the pack at Big Dog Ranch!
Big Dog Ranch is accepting new board and train clients, as well as graduates of our off leash dog training programs for refresher camps.
Charlie’s Bootcamp Program
This is an emotional one for us!
Charlie came to us from out of state to do a five week board and train program. His past training experience (board and train with another company) caused a lot of conflict and emotional trauma, which led to more behavioral concerns at home. We have spent a lot of time addressing past negative associations; even just putting a leash on him required a lot of thoughtful handling and counter-conditioning. This was a sad reminder that not all training is thoughtful, skillful and with the dogs’ needs at the forefront of the process.
After a lot of hard work, Charlie graduates from his bootcamp program today, and we are so proud of him.
Deaf dogs need training in order to thrive. Add in behavioral concerns such as reactivity, aggression, and redirection, and the importance of training skyrockets.
With the use of positive reinforcement, clear communication, and fair consequences, Charlie now has the skills needed to better navigate the world, but the training journey doesn’t end here. His owner will need to dedicate herself to learning how to live with Charlie using his new skills, and make sure she’s keeping him safe and on track. We have a lot of faith in both of them!
How does training dog basic obedience help fix reactivity? Well, it doesn’t….. Exactly….
If you have ever heard the phrase, “Dog aggression is managed and never cured…” You may have been frustrated or even saddened because it feels like help is not available. But, that’s not true.
What is factual, is that depending on the amount of time that the dog has lived with the problem, there are limits to what can be accomplished. Training is nothing more than repeating behaviors over and over, until they become natural to the dog. So if a dog is allowed to bark and lunge at other dogs and people, or worse, a dog that has multiple bites or attacks under it’s belt, for an extended period of time, then they have essentially been trained (unintentionally, of course) to be aggressive.
The first step in fixing aggressive dog behavior is to BLOCK IT. You must control the dog’s environment in a way that doesn’t allow them to rehearse the behavior; Simple to understand, but HARD to do. That means you can’t allow your dog to run the fence line in the backyard, or to perch on the couch and bark out the window. You have to scan the horizon while on walks and make sure your dog can’t be surprised by a person or dog from behind a fence or car. Micromanaging our dogs is one task, but controlling the outside world is nearly impossible. You must accept that your dog’s world is going to be very small until the next steps can be implemented.
Teaching your dog to reliably respond to obedience commands is imperative to addressing dog reactivity. Sometimes dogs are simply overstimulated, and not truly aggressive. Other dogs are fearful and respond in a way that keeps other dogs or people away (barking and lunging is a rewarding behavior in this case). Regardless of the nature of the reactive dog behavior, obedience is the key to addressing the problem. It allows us and our dog focus on a new and productive task. In dog trainer terms, we need to teach an alternative
No More Leash Pulling
PRO TIPS:
If you are struggling with dog that pulls like they are trying out for the Iditarod, or leash reactivity, it might surprise you to know that you need to LOOSEN YOUR LEASH. Whoa, what?!? Give them more leash? BuT i Can'T cOnTroL Them wIThOut a tiGHt lEAsh....
The way you hold and control your leash effects your dog's behavior. Having a tight leash makes YOU feel like you have more control, but it makes the dog feel trapped and defensive. Tension on the leash creates tension in the dog, creates tension in the handler! Having a loose leash is the most important factor in making sure your dog-
*Can go for walks without pulling
*Pass by other dogs and people without barking and lunging
*Promotes a dog that LISTENS to your commands instead of reacting to physical cues (leash pulls or pops).
In our videos you will notice we use a long line most of the time. We use a long leash so that we can obey leash laws, and make sure our dog is performing their obedience on a loose leash to prevent reactivity and create a dog who listens to our commands.
Whether we let the leash drag or gather the leash depends on the environment and the level of training the dog we are working with has. So with that, you need to evaluate, are you working with your dog in a place where you feel like you need a TIGHT GRIP?
If the answer is YES, then get the heck out of there! Pick a quieter training space. If you're at a busy park and your dog is struggling to pass other dogs or people (or whatever) on the path, move off to the grassy space where people are not passing your dog within inches.
Dog training is progressive. If you can't crawl - you can't walk - you can't run..... Trying to work through a problem, by putting your dog in the problamatic situation, won't help you fix it. For a period of time we have to step away from the situation that our dog struggles with, to teach the new behavior.
Try this exercise and let us know how it goes! You will need a long leash, a martingal
"It isn't that they cannot find the solution. It is that they cannot see the problem." – G.K Chesterton
Have you checked out our Youtube Channel? We are posting lots of Graduation Videos, Obedience Instruction, and Behavior Problem Solving Videos.
Lulu is just finishing up phase one of our Perfect Puppy Program. In this video we demonstrate some of the puppy training foundation that's key to making your perfect puppy into the perfect dog. Isn't Lulu the CUTEST?!
Capture Heel is our foundation for perfect leash manners (no pulling), and the building block for off leash heel.
The 'Wait' exercise builds impluse control, and prevents bad behaviors such as door bolting.
The Name Game is the foundation for total RECALL. For safety and freedom, having a dog that reliable comes when they are called is the most important skill you can develop in your puppy.
www.youtube.com/@dogdynamix4667
Good Dog Training aint cheap, and cheap dog training ain't good.
We recently had a client who had been to another 'trainer' who claimed that this little dog was the MOST difficult dog they had ever trained. The owners did not get the results they were looking for, and stated that they chose the other trainer based on price.
Within 3 days of having her in our program, we discovered WHY she was having such a hard time. Goldie is deaf! Once we discovered she was hearing impaired, we used the pager ecollar to communicate with her with some pretty darn good results.
Finding a quality, proven dog trainer will cost a little more, because we have the experience to recognize situations like these.
Hope everyone enjoyed their holiday!
We really enjoyed having these pups at BDR, this weekend!
Having some Mountain 🏔️ Time
Demi and Apollo living the lives they deserve thanks to reliable training and a dedicated owner ❤️
A few lucky dogs got to head up to Big Dog Ranch ahead of our annual 4th of July camping trip that *officially* begins on Thursday. No complaints from Nugget!
Big Dog Ranch has openings for refresher boarding and new board and train clients. Contact us for details!
Our Puppy Training Programs cover socialization, environmental exposure, and obedience. These two cuties are enjoying some play time!
She’s coming baaaaackkkkk…. For a little while.
Shaina is staying in Colorado for a few weeks this summer, and will be training with us from early June to mid July. She has availability for a few more board and train dogs during that timeframe (including two 3 week spots over our 4th of July trip, 6/16 - 7/7).
Stay posted for other training opportunities while she’s here! She’s currently prepping for a French Ring trial this weekend, and finishing out her current round of Ohio board and train dogs. ☀️ ✨
Field trip! #boardandtrain #dogdynamix #offleashdogtraining
