Canines Content Dog-Friendly Training

06/26/2024

❤️

05/06/2023

Cheers to these sweet pups and their awesome humans who came to Urban Paws Training Walk this morning❣️🐾
Dottie, Kira, Maggie Mae, Kermit the Dog, Alvin, Chelli, Winnie and Walter.

04/09/2023

🌷 Happy Easter from Freddie and his bunny friends❣️🐰

11/03/2022

Chewing on a stick is fun, but can you guess why Koji is wearing an orange vest? Hint: We were recently hiking in Maine.

08/03/2022

What a fun Urban Paws Walk! Thanks for coming Chelli, Rocket, Miles, Honey and Austin. 🐾

07/17/2022

Too cute not to share. 🐾🙂

Specializing in the most unique garden decor! Shop our whimsical selection of wind spinners, garden statues, yard ornaments, copper bird baths, decorative bird houses, beautiful metal rain chains & wind chimes today!

06/16/2022

Your dog will thank you for reading this. If you can't place your hand flat on the ground for 7 seconds comfortably, then it's too hot for your dog's paws.

04/09/2022

Who wants to be a therapy dog? Lucia and Nuri do! Congrats on passing your evals❣️🐾

12/22/2021

Barbie, Corky, Teddy, Austin, Honey and Beau graduated from Intermediate Class just in time for the holidays! 🐾❤

12/14/2021

Saturday's Urban Paws Training Walk was a lot of fun! Great job and thanks to all who attended. 🐾❤

11/22/2021

Hooray for Hani, Beau, Paddington, Indy, Truffle and Alfie! They just graduated from their Basic Class. 🐾❤

11/14/2021

Didn't think I'd be posting this in November, but we're having hot Santa Ana weather! 🐾

09/24/2021

Interesting...

Whole Dog Journal‘s mission is to provide dog guardians with in-depth information on dog food, training, behavior, health, and more.

07/22/2021

Who wouldn't enjoy a visit from these sweet dogs and humans? They're on their way to becoming therapy dog teams!

06/30/2021

What all pet owners should be thinking about before the July 4th holiday.

Lots of dogs are afraid of fireworks and other loud noises. Here are a few ways to help your dog get through the 4th of July.

06/22/2021

Look who just graduated from Family Dog Basic Class. 🐾🎉 Congratulations to Scout, Nuri, Bozley, Bailey, Sig, Coco and Murphy!

03/07/2021

A delightful tale about the canine-human bond.

Talking Dog's Unique Barks Helps Him Get Adopted | When this guy heard a dog barking like a seal at the shelter, he knew he had to adopt him. You can keep up...

12/28/2020

Confused about how to socialize your puppy during COVID or during normal times? This article provides an excellent guideline on how to socialize safely and help your puppy grow to be a confident, well-adjusted adult dog.

Suddenly, thanks to COVID-19, the whole world is asking the question that’s all too familiar to savvy puppy owners: “How likely is this experience to result in infection, and is this particular interaction worth it?” There’s a stretch in puppyhood – up through around 4 months – when pupp...

12/14/2020

We want our pups to be happy and safe during the holidays. Here are some great tips from Whole Dog Journal to help make that happen.

The holidays can be a happy time for you and your dogs if you are careful to make it so.

12/12/2020

It's wonderful that we can safely train our dogs during these challenging times. Well Done! to the recent graduates from the Family Dog Basic Class.

11/03/2020

Congratulations to some of the wonderful graduates, canine and human, from my Basic and Intermediate classes last Saturday! You guys rock!

10/21/2020

Thinking of giving CBD to your dog? Read this first. There's still much research to be done.

Overall, CBD use in dogs appears to have a good safety profile and is at low risk for side effects. But “Appears” is the key word here.

09/22/2020

Congratulations to Saturday's Basic Class graduates: Lulus, Luna, Rosie, Lucio and Keely! Yay!

08/18/2020

Love these smiling faces, on the dogs and behind the masks! Rhodie, Pink and Loona are some of the recent grads from my Family Dog Basic Class. Congratulations!

08/06/2020

Happy Graduation! Here are some of the lovely dogs and people from my Family Dog Basic Class - Odie, Levi, Penny and their masked humans.

08/02/2020

My training clients often hear me say " Keep It Simple". Here's some great tips from Whole Dog Journal on...

How We Can Confuse Our Dogs

So often in training, when a dog doesn’t perform the desired behavior in response to the given cue, we blame the dog. I often hear, “He’s blowing me off!” or “She’s being stubborn!” In reality, the handler just didn’t make it clear enough for the dog to fully understand what the person was trying to teach. Here are ways we confuse our dogs:

DON'T EXPECT YOUR DOG TO AUTOMATICALLY KNOW OUR LANGUAGE. Dogs don’t come with an English software package installed. We must patiently teach them our language, one cue at a time.

NOT TAKING THE TIME TO DEFINE THE CUE’S GOAL BEHAVOIR. Have in mind the specific definition of what you expect. I suggest you create a cue dictionary. Write down every cue you currently use, then define the goal behavior for each cue. Do you want a straight sit with square hips or a sidesaddle sit? A speedy down or a slow down? Defining your cues and the goal behavior for each in writing will help you be clear in your own mind about what you expect, and that will make it more clear for your dog.

AVOID ADDING CUES TOO EARLY. It’s important to teach your dog the behavior and make sure she can perform it reliably before adding the cue.

DON'T USE TWO CUES SIMULTANEOUSLY. For example, a verbal cue and a body cue (hand signal): Dogs are keen observers. They pick up on our body language before they pick up on our words. If you use a verbal cue, but also a body movement with it (such as the word “sit” and then the hand signal for “sit”), I’d bet that if you said the word and didn’t use the body movement, the dog probably wouldn’t understand what you meant and might not give you the behavior you expect.

POOR REINFORCEMENT. Don’t fail to reinforce the newly learned behavior enough for it to become fluent. Some dogs catch on very quickly; others more slowly, but they all can learn if we’re patient and reinforce the desired behavior appropriately.

DON'T CHOOSE CUES THAT LOOKS SIMILAR OR SOUND SIMILAR. Choosing the verbal cues such as Down and Bow for two different behaviors can be confusing for your dog. Instead of Bow, I suggest Bravo or TaDa!

There are other reasons a dog doesn’t respond to a cue: the dog didn’t see or hear the cue; the dog didn’t recognize the cue because it’s too similar to another cue; the dog was distracted by the environment (another dog, person, squirrel); the dog felt unsafe.

So, repeat after me: “Don’t blame the dog.” Take a look at your training techniques and find a way to tweak the process so you can help your dog be successful. When your dog is successful, she earns reinforcement and that behavior you worked diligently to install and put on cue works perfectly. The result is clear communication with your favorite furry friend. Happy dog. Happy trainer!

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07/04/2020

Many of our furry friends -- dogs, cats, even ferrets and birds -- go a bit ape when they hear the pops, sizzles and rocket sounds of fireworks. Here's how to help.

06/29/2020

You did it! Congratulations to recent Intermediate Class grads Winnie, Mila, Mahina and their awesome humans!