This is a long one guys, 9 minutes & 8 seconds to be exact 😅 (thanks Tiktok) BUT I do demonstrate what to do if your dog, or a dog in general, is latched onto either another dog, a cat, a person, whatever it may be and how to get them off while minimizing damage to whatever they’re latched onto!
If you haven’t seen the news, there was an incident in South Hadley where a “pitbull mix” escaped its yard and attacked and killed a maltipoo that was walking by with its owners😔
Very sad, very traumatic and was also very preventable!
This is the article ➡️ https://www.gazettenet.com/Animal-Control-requests-dangerous-dog-hearing-after-pitbull-kills-another-dog-55963138
Why is crate training so important?
Let’s start with the obvious, it keeps your dog and your house safe when you aren’t home. They can’t chew wires & swallow chunks of shoes if they’re safely put away in their crate.
It gives them a form of structure when you aren’t home (or even if you are). If you have a dog that spends all day long barking out the window at cars, people, birds, etc. that isn’t good for them or your neighbors.
If your dog (knock on wood) ever gets hurt or sick and needs to spend the night at the vet, they will be crated. Better they be used to it than to add more stress of being put in a crate for the first time at a strange place while they don’t feel good.
If you ever board your dog while you’re going away, most likely they will be crated.
If you go to a family members or friends house or an Airbnb, and they don’t want your dog loose in the house, you’re going to need a crate.
If you have a multi dog/animal household and don’t want to potentially come home to a blood bath, ✨crate✨
It isn’t cruel.
It isn’t “doggie jail”
When you properly and effectively crate train your dog, you end up with a happy calm den area for them to relax and sleep.
Just like any other tool in the dog training world, a crate can be misused. However, when utilized correctly, it’s just another tool to keep you and your dog happy and stress free🙂
Sometimes all you need is a little help from your local dog trainer😌🤗
Looking for something to do with your pup on a wet mucky day?
Teach a trick!
🐾Tricks are fun, they work your dog’s brain as a great form of mental stimulation and they’re a great relationship building exercise 😊
🐾In this clip I’m teaching Aspen how to roll over on cue. I use food luring and shaping to get her to perform the trick. Food luring is exactly what it sounds like, using food to lure her into position. (This dog will follow food off a cliff🤣)
Shaping is done by rewarding in steps. In this example, I started by rewarding her for flopping onto her side to start
🐾I use a very dramatic hand cue paired with a verbal to start asking her what I want her to do without the food lure. Eventually the hand cue will be smaller and she’ll learn what I’m asking by the verbal command!
🐾Remember! It’s supposed to be fun! Don’t get frustrated, don’t use corrections, and don’t expect your dog to get it right away. Once your dog does the step you wanted them to, mark and reward! I use “yess” in that super annoying voice you hear. You can also use a clicker! The idea behind it is you mark the reward as soon as it happens and reward as quick as possible so they know exactly why they’re being rewarded 🙂
🐾Use small steps and lots of motivation. Some dogs can get frustrated much quicker than others, if you feel like your dog is getting frustrated or tired (brain work is hard work), try to end it on a positive note and give them a break. Tricks aren’t usually taught in one session and the trickier the trick, the more time it‘ll take.
Happy Tuesday! If you decide to start teaching a trick, tag me in your videos, I’d love to see them and/or give you any feedback!
📣Feel free to turn the sound up for my explanation on what I do to help Nike deal with his mild reactivity to dogs
✨One of the biggest things is to break the dog’s focus when it’s on their triggers✨
Give them something else to do, keep them moving and give rewards for focusing on you instead!
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #balancedtraining #reactivity #houndsofinstagram #practicemakesprogress
A nice structured stroll through the park with Rosie & Walter!
🐾Rosie was very reactive on leash & Walter had a habit of dragging his mom around and they especially had a hard time with boundaries with each other
🐾Look at them go now🙌🏻😀
🐾Structure is one of the best things you can provide for your dog 🤓
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #rottweiler #labradoodle #balancedtraining #practicemakesprogress
Maggie’s introduction to a prong collar with her loose leash walking!
🐾Notice how the leash attached to her prong stays LOOSE the entire time. Consistent pressure on a prong collar is misuse of the tool, it’s meant for quick 1/2 second corrections and other than that, should sit on the dogs neck without pressure!
🐾The slip leash is also on for a couple reasons. The first being this was Maggie and her moms first day using a prong, I wanted to make sure her mom understood how to use the prong correctly and confidently and wasn’t accidentally holding the pressure on. Secondly, I wanted to make sure Maggie was being introduced properly, and in case for some reason she reacted negatively to the prong (any kind of redirection), we would have a leash to switch too so there wouldn’t be consistent pressure on her prong.
🐾Misuse of a tool is why people hear horror stories about them. Understanding how to utilize ANY tool with your dog properly is so important! This includes prong collars, starmark collars, slip leashes, martingales, e collars, harnesses, etc.
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #balancedtraining #practicemakesprogress #education #themoreyouknow
📣Sound up if you want to hear my quick explanation of subtle signs of resource guarding to pay attention to📣
🐾Ears pinned against the head
🐾Body freeze
🐾Tension in the eyes and jaw
🐾Side eye/looking up under the lashes
🐾He never growled or showed his teeth at all here, but I 100% knew not to try and reach for that ball
🐾To a dog, all these signs are saying “don’t come near me, stay away from my ball”. These are all (to him) very obvious warning signs that he’s giving me. Unfortunately humans don’t always recognize these signs and blow them off and that is when a lot of dogs will escalate to a lunge, muzzle punch, or even a bite.
🐾Pay attention and recognize your dog’s body language! That is their primary way of communicating!
#noblepawsk9 #resourceguarding #cattledog #dogbehavior #dogtrainer #dogbehaviourist #tiktok
Why I DON’T recommend encouraging tail chasing or using laser pointers with your dog
🐾When dogs chase their tails, as entertaining or funny as it may seem, it can actually quickly turn into an OCD behavior
🐾Using laser pointers also encourages OCD behaviors and can create extreme frustration in dogs because they never “win”. They can’t catch the light from the laser pointer and in a lot of cases you’ll notice your dog start to chase any kind of glint or reflection cast off because they become obsessed
🐾If your dog chases it’s tail once in awhile, it’s not the end of the world. Lots of dogs start to chase their tail when they’re bored or sometimes over excited or even if it’s itchy. But like I said previously, do your best not to encourage it and interrupt the behavior if you can and get them to do something else
🐾As you can see in this video, this bull terrier obsessively chases his tail. Once in awhile stops and stares at it, then continues. (He was also being treated for his skin condition). This is the exact behavior you want to interrupt!
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #bullterrier #ocd #balancedtraining #k9
BRRR❄️
It is FREEZING in Western Mass today!
A lot of people, myself included, aren’t doing any dog walks or outdoor physical activity today. Here are some ways to get your dogs energy out using mental enrichment:
🐾One of the easiest ways, stuff a Kong (or something like it) with some freezeable food (I usually do some kibble mixed with pumpkin, plain greek yogurt, or wet food) and freeze it! Freezing is key. Give it to your dog and watch them exhaust themselves figuring out how to get the food out.
🐾”The Sniff Game”
Hide some food/treats or even a toy if they’re really toy driven in a room and have them find it. You can put it in folds of a blanket, in shoes, under pillows, etc and have them use their nose to sniff and find! Dogs using their nose is very mentally stimulating! As they get better and learn the game, you can make it harder 😉
🐾Teach a trick! In the video attached I had taught Monster the doberman “spin” and “turn”. Same trick just different directions. Learning a trick is hard work!
✨Trick to teaching a trick✨
Use a marker! In the video I’m using a clicker but you can also use a quick “yess” to mark the exact moment they do the correct behavior. Reward as quick as you can after the marker. Make it fun!
And teach what the marker means first! “Yes” reward (or “click” reward) repeated over and over until they’re conditioned to understand the marker equals a reward😎
Have fun & stay warm!
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #mentalenrichment #freezing #insideday #doberman #trick #clickertraining
✨Example of impulse control with a structured heel✨
🐾Fidget is mesmerized by squirrels and as you can see by his very pointed body language, he really wants to go after them
🐾We’re in a “heel” command. For Fidget this means he’s in a loose leash walk next to me; not pulling, not sniffing, not reacting.
🐾A structured loose leash walk can be so helpful for situations just like this. Instead of him lunging, pulling and trying to go after the squirrel, he knows he needs to stay in his “heel” command. He’s obviously very aware of the squirrel and I’m fine with him looking at it as long as he’s able to control himself and do what he’s supposed to. As demonstrated in this video.
🐾Whether it’s squirrels, people, other dogs, cars, bikes, horses, ANYTHING; a structured heel command can get you and your dog safely past big distractions and/or reactive triggers while you’re able to maintain control ☺️
#noblepawsk9 #heel #balancedtraining #dogtraining #dogtrainer #impulsecontrol #dogo #dogoargentino #practicemakesprogress
🐾A big part of good training is teaching your dog how to make the right decision instead of just forcing them or correcting them into it
🐾This little nugget is Millie, she’s very hyper active, hyper alert & very attached to her mom. She had no “off” switch and would lose her mind if her mom even walked out of the room and she couldn’t follow
🐾In this video, she can’t see her mom but she can hear her. Her mom opens cabinets, the front door, all sorts of normal everyday things, but instead of allowing Millie to be right there with her; we’re having her stay on place.
🐾We’ve done a lot of work with place for her so she understands she needs to stay on her place when she’s told and she needs to stay calm. No barking, no getting frantic, just relaxing. She’s obviously very aware of the noises her mom is making in the kitchen. BUT if you watch the whole thing, here’s the fun part.
🐾When she stands up, it’s because she wants to get off the bed and go investigate what Mom is doing. You see her think about it, and with no direction from me or her mom, decide on her own to lay back down. Which we quickly praise and reward because she made a good decision.
🐾We need to teach our dogs what the rules are, what’s allowed and what isn’t allowed, and what behaviors we’re looking for. But we have to remember to let them use their brain and be able to make the decisions on their own. That’s how you know if your dog actually understands what’s expected of them🧠💭
🐾If your dog makes a good decision, the right decision (like not breaking the place command) and you want to see that behavior more, reward them! Let them know “YES, that was EXACTLY the right decision” 👏🏻
Teach your dogs. Let them learn and let them show you that they’ve learned😊
#noblepawsk9 #teachyourdog #dogtraining #dogtrainer #practicemakesprogress #rescuedog #balancedtraining
📣Sound on for my quick explanation of Rezzee’s progress!
🐾I’m so proud of this dog and her dad for the leaps and bounds of progress they’ve made over the last 4 weeks!
🐾When I first met Rezzee, she was in pure panic mode the entire hour I was at her evaluation. I didn’t go anywhere near her (fun fact: 7 lessons in & I still have not touched her 😬) but she still was barking, bolting away, shaking, just absolutely terrified the entire time
🐾Today was lesson #7 and she went on a walk through the park like a normal dog😭🥰
no barking, no bolting, heeling by people & dogs, actually able to stop and sit and look around, sniff the breeze & most importantly; she was able to remain pretty relaxed and work through her fear.
🐾She’s still a work in progress BUT she’s doing better everyday!
(and as always, I apologize for my annoying voice 🤪)
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #behaviormodification #canine #k9 #fear #practicemakesprogress
📣Sound on for the quick explanation
🐾Some background for this, this sweet girl is Rezzee & she is one of the most fearful dogs I’ve ever worked with. Like scared of her own shadow, terrified 24/7 fear. Her owners have done everything they can think of to make her life better and less “scary” but they needed a little help 🙂
*absolutely NO HATE on the owners, this kind of fear is genetic combined with a very rough start when she was a puppy down south, they haven’t done anything wrong*
🐾Right now we’re focusing on building her confidence and helping her learn how to work through her fear. Most of her time is spent barking and bolting away from literally everything (flight mode) and now using the leash, leash & spacial pressure, turkey liver treats, and all 4 quadrants of operant conditioning, we’re helping her learn how to work through that fear instead of instantly going into flight mode!
🐾I don’t pet her or feed her, I don’t need too, I’m literally there as a training tool to help slowly push her out of her comfort zone and work through all the chaos in her head
🐾Her dad does all the treating and handling to help improve their relationship and to help her start to view him as her leader
❤️Like or comment to cheer on Rezzee & her family 🎉👏🏻
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #balancedtraining #operantconditioning #fear #caninebehavior #k9 #practicemakesprogress #friyay #rescuedog
I’m so proud of this pup!
🐾Today was Bailey’s 3rd day training lesson and we were focusing on “place” around her older brother Buck (featured 😂) because she can be a bully and has a hard time relaxing inside especially if her brother is getting food or attention.
🐾You can see she stayed laying on the place bed while Buck got a treat and when I dropped a treat (purposely) on the floor, she jumped up BUT stayed on her “place”, which was so great! It shows me that she understands “place”, her impulse control is getting much better AND the fact that she was able to offer a down and re-settle so quickly was awesome, the leash stayed 100% loose the entire time. She was making all the right decisions 🙂
Great job Bailey 🥰
Her next lesson will be with her parents so she can show them all that she’s learned and they can continue helping her be her best self!
Teaching “Leave it” with Nova
🐾Nova is a year (ish) old pitbull terrier that has a lot of resource guarding and food aggression issues. Whenever her parents drop any food on the ground, she will lunge and snap at them to keep them away from it so we are teaching a “leave it” command•
🐾I talk really fast (😬 sorry) so to sum up, what I’m doing is helping her to understand that if she leaves the food on the ground either on her own or by listening to “leave it”, she gets something just as good or better for doing so•
🐾You’ll see her look at the cheese I drop and leave it on her own which is FANTASTIC and you’ll also see her go for it and me say “leave it” and her disengage and look to me instead. It’s taken some work, but I’m very happy with how well she’s doing!
🐾One of the very important parts of “Leave it” is to NOT LET THEM GET THE FOOD OFF OF THE GROUND. Don’t let your dog get rewarded by getting the food off of the ground, always pick it up and have the food come from you.
Let’s talk about dog neutrality and why it’s important
🐾Dogs being in a constant aroused/excited/overstimulated state are not happy dogs. Teaching your dog how to be calm, relaxed and neutral is so important for your dogs mental state and yours as an owner as well. Let’s face it, how draining is it when your dog just will. not. calm. down. ?
🐾A lot of times people will accidentally reinforce their dog being in that overstimulated state by doing things like allowing them to run up and greet every person or dog they see, not giving them any kind of boundaries in the home, purposely getting them all worked up (“go get em” “wanna go!?” anything where you get your dog all excited and crazy), forcing them to put up with situations they don’t like and don’t need to put up with (letting strangers pet them, letting dogs walk all over them etc.)
🐾In this video we have 5 month old Pilot. She’s working on her “place” command but also how to be neutral even with some of my dogs around her. She gets very excited and wild around other dogs, which a lot of dogs do not like and instead of just letting her run around being a nut job the whole time, and setting herself up to potentially get bit, we work on her neutrality. Staying on her place command while dogs are right there and staying calm. Fidget and Zoey are in sits and Aspen is just wandering around providing distraction. (Brady is chilling in the background🤓) As you can see, she’s learning that she can just lay there and observe and not get herself all worked up every time she sees dogs moving around which is a huge improvement.
🐾Neutrality is important for every dog. We don’t want our dog to react to every little thing, whether that reaction is aggression, fear, or over excitement. Be your dog’s leader and provide guidance and structure!
#noblepawsk9 #dogtrainer #dogtraining #place #obediencetraining #goldenretriever #beagle #dogoargentino #neutrality #dogowner #dogmom #bala
