Some Minor Dog Training

Some Minor Dog Training Allen and Shalene Minor are dog trainers in Florida that do in-home training and board-and-trains.
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01/24/2025

Calm confidence is an essential part of working with a dog, because confidence allows for clarity of communication. A common struggle many dog owners have is communication during times of tension.

For example: The dog starts to bark at something on the walk, and the human has a short moment of panic. Their arms tense, they pull up on the leash, they quicken their pace, start looking around quickly, and all the other behaviors that go along with that tension. This is a completely natural, normal reaction. But, while this is happening, they're also trying to tell the dog to be calm.

Unfortunately, since dogs communicate primarily through body language, this physical tension sends a very different message to them than what the human is actually saying in that moment. And that's because their body language is telling the dog that they should be panicking, too. So what the human is trying to communicate verbally, or with the leash, is being muddied by their physical actions, causing confusion in the dog. This causes the dog to feel like they have to figure out how to handle the situation. Now both the human and the dog are panicking at the same time, despite the human's words.

Remaining calm and confident in a situation where you don't FEEL that way, however, can be very difficult. That's why we practice, though. The more we practice when things AREN'T tense, the more it becomes muscle memory; we don't have to think about it, we just do it. So when the real situations happen, we don't panic, we just follow the script. Now, even if the human doesn't FEEL confident, their calmness allows for their actions to APPEAR confident, thus creating a very clear, cohesive message with both their body language and their words/leash usage, and the dog will be far more responsive because they know what's expected of them. It's all about clarity of communication. So go practice, even if the dog already knows it. 🐶❤️

01/23/2025

... Don't stop practicing just because the dog can do it. 🐶❤️

An easy trap that many energetic pet dog owners fall into is that they will burn the dog's energy only with physical exe...
01/22/2025

An easy trap that many energetic pet dog owners fall into is that they will burn the dog's energy only with physical exercise. Physical exercise is very important for dogs, but if we focus on that as the only way to burn energy, then we end up creating athletes. And, just like with human athletes, if it takes a mile of walking to wear them out, and we do that everyday for a month, then next month we're going to need to do two miles to reach that same level of exhaustion, and the following month it'll be three miles.

Again, that's not to say that we shouldn't be walking and exercising our dogs. We absolutely should. But we should also give equal attention to mental exercises, such as "Place," or other impulse control activities. We should be challenging them mentally, putting them in situations where they have to focus on a certain task that we can make increasingly more difficult as they get better. For most house pets, they need to be challenged mentally as much, if not more, than they do physically. 🐶❤️

We all want to give our dogs toys that they'll actually play with, but oftentimes we'll give them free access to every t...
01/21/2025

We all want to give our dogs toys that they'll actually play with, but oftentimes we'll give them free access to every toy we buy them at the same time. What happens is that the dog gets bored of one, because it's always available, so they move onto the next, and then the next, until, eventually, they're not really interested in any of them.

If we rotate the toys, however, and only give them a couple at a time, and then switch them out for others, the dog won't have time to get bored. Each time you switch them out, it's as if the dog is getting a brand new toy, which makes it very exciting. This will keep them interested in all of their toys, and ensures that they get maximum enrichment from each one.

This also applies to toys that you're using for interactive play, like rope toys. Maybe the dog is bored of that particular toy, because it's always available, even if you're not around. So ensure that certain interactive toys are put away until you're ready to play. This will ensure that the novelty of the toy is maintained, while also making the association in the dog's mind that this particular toy is for a different type of play (not solitary play, but fun interactions between dog and human). ❤️💕

Did you know that we're also on INSTAGRAM, where we post videos of dog training tips, tricks, and puppies having fun? Ch...
01/20/2025

Did you know that we're also on INSTAGRAM, where we post videos of dog training tips, tricks, and puppies having fun? Check it out:

153 Followers, 208 Following, 401 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Some Minor Dog Training ()

Social comfort is a spectrum for dogs just as much as it is for people. We're not all social butterflies who want to int...
01/19/2025

Social comfort is a spectrum for dogs just as much as it is for people. We're not all social butterflies who want to interact with everyone we meet. And, even if we interact with them, most of us would probably rather get to know them BEFORE hugging them.

Dogs are the same. Some dogs ARE extremely social and love every dog they meet, but a large amount are not. "Dog selectivity" is far more common. If you're unfamiliar with that term, it just means that most dogs are fine with certain dogs, but don't get along with others. Just like with people.

Also, a lot of people tend to underestimate the mental effects that a tense leash can have on a dog. It can signal that something is about to happen, and they should be tense, too. So a dog that is already nervous about the interaction can easily get the wrong message from the human, accidentally causing a reaction. 🐶❤️

01/18/2025

If we do the same thing in the same way every single day, eventually it becomes a habit that we do without thinking. It's the same with our dogs. Decide how you want them to behave in certain situations, and then have them to do it every single time. ❤️🐶

01/18/2025

A lot of people don't realize Poodles are working dogs. And despite, his size (mini poodle), Tucker has that drive within him. He's a high energy dog who needs to work. He also doesn't like to be treated like a small dog. He's a big dog in a small body! Here he is doing Puppy Push-ups.

Puppy Push-ups are a great way to build and polish the Sit and Down cues (later on we'll add in Stand).

Oftentimes in dog training, the dog or puppy will learn your patterns and start to anticipate what you're going to say next. So you ask for a Sit, and then they sit, lie down, sit back up, give paw, and do any other behavior they know without waiting. Puppy Push-ups teach the dog to differentiate between the different cues, so when you say "sit," that means stay in a seated position until the next cue.

They also help to polish the Sit and Down cues, making them faster and cleaner. And they help build focus and drive, so the dog WANTS to follow your guidance.

01/17/2025

Learning takes time. Think about how long human children are in grade school. Even if dogs live 5 times less than humans, their equivalent learning time would be roughly 3 or 4 years, so be patient with their training. 🐶❤️

01/16/2025

Dogs are creatures of comfort, just like us. They'll always seek the things that feel the best to them, even if that "thing" is simply leaving a situation.

So if we're trying to CREATE a behavior, we have to figure out a way to make them see the activity as more rewarding than anything else going on.

If we're trying to CHANGE a behavior, we have to figure out what is making that action more rewarding than whatever it is we're asking them to do, and then we want to address that. Once the old behavior is no longer rewarding, then we can build new, more valuable ones in its place. 🐶❤️

If you've been following our page for a while, you've probably seen our pack. We often use certain dogs to help out clie...
01/15/2025

If you've been following our page for a while, you've probably seen our pack. We often use certain dogs to help out client dogs, if it's needed and appropriate. Given the wide array of different personalities, play styles, and energy levels, we have a match for most dogs. This is the first picture of the whole group we've gotten since Emrys came into our lives.

From left to right: Gambit (Old English Sheepdog), Loki (Old English Sheepdog mix), Jack (Dogo Argentino), Zira (Miniature Pinscher), Tahlia (Chinese Crested), Uma (Doberman), and Emrys (Chinese Crested).

Show us some pictures of your own (even if it's just one dog)! 🐶❤️

01/14/2025
01/13/2025

Pro Tip:
Puppies and dogs have extremely sensitive hearing, so they can detect the slightest change in pitch in your voice. If your new dog or puppy has ONLY ever heard you speak in a certain tone or way of speaking (like in a baby voice), then they might be hesitant to come to you if you use a different tone. In some insecure dogs/puppies, this might look like them bouncing backwards in a seemingly playful manner, or they could simply walk away.

To combat that, make sure that you practice recalling your dog or puppy using different tones and pitches, vary your speed and volume. One thing I like to do is practice whispering the cues to them, so that if they ever hear me scream they know it's an emergency and need to come quickly. 🐶❤️

We finally reached 1,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel! One of the things I've always struggled with, in regards to...
01/12/2025

We finally reached 1,000 subscribers on our YouTube channel! One of the things I've always struggled with, in regards to dog training, is charging people. This is information that can save lives (both dog and human lives), and make life better for everyone. So it's always felt wrong to charge people for it. And yet, I also have bills to pay, which allow me to continue helping people, so it's a bit of a moral dilemma for me.

Social media, especially , allows me to put that information out there for free. It allows me to help more people than I could dream of. Yes, there's a lot more to dog training than I could put into videos, because it's about the individual dog and home, so they can't replace the help of an in-person trainer. But they can at least give a place to start.

We finally reached 1,000 subscribers on YouTube. Thank you all for your support! 🐶❤️

https://youtube.com/

01/10/2025

Training is just as essential to dogs as school is for kids.

School actually plays a big role in early childhood development, and not only because of the academics. School gives the child mental exercise, which is necessary for proper brain growth and maturity, as well as teaching them how to behave politely in society, building their impulse control, and teaching them how to follow schedules and routines.

It's the same for our dogs. And that doesn't mean to enroll them in puppy classes (though that's helpful). It just means that, if we want our puppies to grow into mature, responsible dogs, they need education just as much as human children do.

A couple weeks ago, our oldest got heat exhaustion (that's why it's important to drink water in Florida, even when it do...
01/06/2025

A couple weeks ago, our oldest got heat exhaustion (that's why it's important to drink water in Florida, even when it doesn't feel hot outside) and got a little dizzy while out for a walk with the dogs, her sister, and Mom. I drove over to pick her up in the car, and they were able to hand the leashes to the baby (7 years old) while they handled the situation.

It's not a huge deal, but having that extra pair of hands helped a lot. That's why it's important to have EVERYONE in the house train with the dog regularly. We don't want the first time they handle them to be in a tense situation. We want the dogs already comfortable following the guidance of everyone, even if they're not the person who regularly handles them. 🐶❤️

Management is the other side of the dog training coin. We want to prevent them from practicing the undesired behaviors w...
01/05/2025

Management is the other side of the dog training coin. We want to prevent them from practicing the undesired behaviors while we teach them the appropriate ones. 🐶❤️

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Deland, FL
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