Meet Taro, our Dallas Dog of the Month!
During his in-home Dallas dog reactivity training program, Taro completely transformed his behavior around other dogs and people. He no longer shows reactive behavior around his past triggers and has gained so much confidence walking around his apartment complex.
Dallas has so many dog-friendly things to do and now Taro and his owner can enjoy all of them together! Go Taro!
We have in-home reactive dog training programs in Austin, Dallas, Houston, and Kansas City and virtual dog training programs offered worldwide. Link in bio to learn more!
#dogtraining #dogreactivity #dallas #dogtrainer #dogs #beyondthedog
DON’T MAKE THIS DOG TRAINING MISTAKE 👇
One of the biggest dog training mistakes we see people make is that they expect their dog to listen around super difficult distractions without ever practicing in front of those distractions or nailing the basics first.
Here’s how to prepare your dog for advanced distractions!
1) Begin Fading Food: Get the food out of your hands and into a treat bag and delay the time it takes from saying the command to giving the treat.
2) Do Normal Activities but Remain Focused on Training: If you are practicing a down stay, pretend to check your email or get “distracted” by your phone. Start a load of laundry or begin unloading the dishwasher. Break the everyday activity into bite-sized pieces and reward your dog at short intervals for holding a command like “stay.”
3) Get Your Dog Practicing Obedience Outdoors: Remember, your dog’s nose is much better than your nose, and smells can quickly become very distracting. Go back to the basics you started with when you change environments from indoors to outside.
4) Moving to Advanced Distractions: Ensure your dog complies with verbal cues then start to change your positioning when you ask the command. Once your dog realizes that the command has little to do with the position you are in, it is time to teach them to comply with your command no matter what they are doing.
5) Target Problem Behaviors at Difficult Times: For example, work on jumping after your dog hasn’t seen a family member for a while or practice recall by a squirrel.
Remember, go back to the basics for a few minutes anytime you increase the level of distractions. As you progress through these steps, you will have a well-mannered dog and one that is compliant with commands around advanced distractions without yelling and screaming from you.
Want a professional dog trainer to do the heavy lifting for you? Our in-home dog training programs are crafted from decades of experience training dogs. We know e
Meet Howdy, our Dallas Dog of the Month!
Howdy the Beagle Mix enrolled in one of our in-home Dallas dog training programs to learn calm loose leashing. This is his progress after only two weeks of training!
We can’t wait to see how much this sweet boy learns by the end of his Dallas dog training program!
If you see another dog or your own dog showing this behavior, the dog park is not a good place for you and it’s time to leave!
1.) If a dog enters the dog park, is greeted by other dogs, and immediately runs away with their tail tucked oftentimes vocalizing.
2.) If a dog is overly physical, constantly chasing and biting other dogs without ever reciprocating vulnerable body positions.
3.) If a dog is showing clear signs of aggression such as hackles raised, consistently stiff body language, and growling and snapping towards other dogs.
If your dog has good social skills and you want to take them to the dog park, always stay on the sidelines first and watch if any dogs are exhibiting the above behavior. If they are, wait for those dogs to leave before entering to ensure safe, positive fun!
If you tried socializing your dog but something still isn’t clicking, we are happy to help! Link in bio for professional help with dog socialization, dog reactivity, or any other dog behavioral issue! We offer both in-home (in select cities) and virtual training sessions.
Some dogs should not go to the dog park and that’s okay!
Poor candidates for the dog park include…
❌ Young puppies, specifically those in the critical socialization period of 3-12 weeks (we recommend being extra picky about the group of dogs your puppy plays with until they are at least six months of age)
❌ Unneutered males over 8-months-old
❌ Adult males who have recently been neutered
❌ Dogs that stay by your side the entire time and have no interest in playing with other dogs
❌ Dogs that just want to play fetch with their owners and have no interest in interacting with other dogs
Stay tuned for part 2!
If you notice avoidant or fearful behavior in your puppy, let us know and we can help treat the behavior right away! We have both in-home and virtual puppy training programs that can be customized to fit you and your puppy’s exact needs.
Start your puppy training journey with us below!
https://calendly.com/petbehaviorteam/15min
All puppies bite. It is simply how they explore the world when they are young.
However, it’s super important to pay attention to the context in which your puppy is biting to differentiate between normal vs. abnormal biting.
❗Does your puppy hover over a bone, toy, or food?
❗Does your puppy growl when they’re picked up or while woken up?
❗Does your puppy act aggressively in response to being restrained?
❗Does your puppy grab things and run away?
❗Does your puppy try to swallow items like mulch, trash, or bones, whole?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, your puppy might be showing early signs of resource guarding.
To prevent resource guarding from worsening, practice approaching your puppy when they have a toy or bone, give them a treat, and walk away.
Don’t play with your puppy’s food or take it away mid-meal. Instead, approach them while they’re eating, drop a tasty treat in their food bowl, and walk away.
This helps create a positive association with your puppy being approached with valuable resources. The goal is for your puppy to happily await you approaching them.
Over time, you can prevent resource guarding from worsening with age!
If you need additional help with puppy biting, we have virtual puppy training programs and would be happy to help. Link in bio to learn more!
Ruby enrolled in one of our Dallas in-home dog training programs to address some of her avoidance behaviors relating to the crate.
Her trainer also flagged some early signs of touch-sensitivity which was critical for Ruby as the behavior could’ve escalated into severe aggression like a bite if it wasn’t addressed early on.
Ruby learned commands like crate, place, touch, heel, and more! Go Ruby!
Link in bio to learn more about our personalized in-home training programs!
Resource guarding is a complex, social behavior that is typically caused due to a multitude of factors including genetics, early environment, training history, and the behavior of other dogs in the home to name a few.
It is not caused because your dog no longer “sees you as the alpha”!
If resource guarding is left untreated, the behavior could escalate into your dog biting you or a family member.
Luckily, resource guarding can be treated with behavior modification! We treat resource guarding using a combination of classical conditioning and positive reinforcement that ultimately teaches dogs to look forward to being approached by loved ones.
Learn more about resource guarding below!
https://beyondthedogtraining.com/dog-training/why-is-my-dog-resource-guarding/
Dog-Friendly Chocolate-Covered Strawberries and Yogurt Hearts ❤️
INGREDIENTS
10-12 strawberries (stems cut off)
1/4 cup carob powder (or chips)
1/4 cup coconut oil (or olive oil)
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
INSTRUCTIONS
For the strawberries…
Rinse your strawberries and chop off the tops. Set aside 5-6. Mix carob and oil into a bowl. Coat your strawberries and freeze overnight.
For the hearts…
Dice 5-6 strawberries. Mix with Greek yogurt. Spoon into a mold leaving space on top for the carob. Drizzle carob on top of your yogurt hearts and freeze overnight.
We hope you enjoy these dog-friendly “chocolate-covered” treats!
💌 Happy Valentine’s Day! 💌
If your dog only listens to you when you have treats, it’s not because they don’t love or respect you enough.
It’s because they simply don’t understand what is expected of them.
In a healthy relationship, you don’t assume the other person isn’t listening to you due to a lack of love. The same applies to your relationship with your dog!
Dog reactivity can be an incredibly stressful behavior for pet parents to manage. Many owners and trainers try using shock to treat reactivity. In many cases, shock is seemingly very effective in getting your dog to immediately stop barking or lunging.
But do the ends justify the means when it comes to using shock for reactivity?
Shock often addresses the symptoms of dog reactivity (barking and lunging) but it can mask the underlying cause of the reactivity, the desire to get unfamiliar people and dogs to go away.
The use of shock can make a dog stop barking and lunging but the negative association a dog has with unfamiliar people and dogs can be heightened. After using shock, the dog will associate other people and dogs with an even more unpleasant and painful experience. Classical conditioning is always at play!
Research supports this as studies show the levels of the stress hormone cortisol remain high after the use of shock. Research also shows shock can elicit aggressive behavior!
In our opinion, the ends DO NOT justify the means when it comes to using shock on behavioral issues such as reactivity. It is simply not worth the risk of long-term side effects.
Behavior modification using principles from classical conditioning and positive reinforcement is the best and most ethical method to treat dog reactivity.
For more information on this topic, check out our latest dog behavior blog post below!
https://beyondthedogtraining.com/dog-training/does-it-matter-how-you-train-your-dog-the-effects-of-aversive-training-techniques-on-well-being/
