Trigger is doing super with his home manners and “place” has been a huge part of that! So many things clients complain about prior to training (dogs bolting and excited greetings at the doorway, always underfoot, chews things up, never settles or relaxes, etc) can be addressed with this valuable exercise.
Place means simply “Go to your bed, relax, and stay until released”. It’s impossible to do anything wrong if your dog is relaxing in a stationary position. Impulse control and is learned and the dog truly learns to how to relax not only its body, but also its mind.
We have 1 July spot left for a board and train program! Call (337)660-6157 if you want this for your dog!
Oreo is nearing the end of his stay and he had one of his most challenging lessons today and he rocked it! Oreo loves to play and came in having a hard time prioritizing people in the presence of any real distraction, especially another dog.
He’s able to come when called even when he’s deep in play, able to settle and hold a position (place) even when his buddies are getting affection, and he’s got the beginning of a nice off leash heel.
This is a bit of a longer video but your can clearly see some excellent body language as Fuuko invites Oreo to play and I explain what’s happening.
If your dog struggles with dogs, socials like this, with well trained balanced dogs are a must imo and we can help! We have one opening for June and only a few spots in July. Get with me at (337)660-6157 for more info!
Lou is gaining new freedoms and rocking them! He’s going to be able to enjoy some off leash hiking (in appropriate areas) and have a solid recall thanks to ecollar training!
I can’t express how proud I am of this little dog and her owner! Riot has came so far in a few short weeks. I will write more about her later but for now enjoy her progress!
On Wednesday our lesson consisted of lots of leash handling and place work around dogs in the yard and we took the opportunity to work on creating good associations to strangers during greetings.
*Riot will not be greeting strangers like this but it’s a good way to introduce her to people she will be interacting with. Please do not try this on a fearful dog without professional guidance.
On Thursday we moved our lesson to a public space and she walked into a dog friendly store for the first time ever and rocked her lesson. She was a bit overstimulated from the new sights and smells but did really well staying engaged and able to practice some obedience in the presence of strange people.
Tucker came in extremely reactive to people and dogs. Anything he saw coming at him sent him into a frustrated screaming mess. We’ve worked a lot on changing his emotional reactions to his triggers and doing a lot of socials in the yard around dogs, along with teaching him obedience. Yesterday was likely one of his biggest challenges. A large barking dog charging and running a fence line is a lot of pressure on a dog and Tucker walked nice and relaxed right passed it!
Cash is the total opposite! He’s not reactive to anything and is mostly mellow but the boy knew how to use his weight and would pull your arm off. Now he’s so much softer and responsive on leash. Can you walk your dog with just your pinky holding the leash?
We have 1 board and train opening for May and only a few in June, don’t continue to struggle with your dog when you could spend the summer enjoying him! Call (337)660-6157 for more info.
Do you want your dog to have better obedience? Maybe just better manners and social skills? Maybe your dog is struggling with anxiety, fear, or reactivity?
We can help you with whatever your training goals are!
Training spots are filling fast for the summer, don’t wait to get booked!
💥We have only TWO board and train spots open in May and are already booking into June! For more info, call (337)660-6157 to discuss your options.
At 1.5wks in, Tucker is making nice progress with the anxiousness he carried around. He settles well when asked and he’s working nicely off leash when given direction. Around here we work around distractions instead of avoiding them and this was a great training opportunity.
This is a longer video of Riot but I didn’t want to edit anything out. A couple of times in the video you can see she’s clearly distracted and looking to the neighboring yard and even low barked a couple of times. I included those moments so you could see not only the restraint she showed to not react, but also how I continued to work to keep her engaged in the game.
This was my first session introducing play and teaching Riot how to appropriately use her mouth. A common misconception I’ve heard many times from veterinarians, groomers, and other pet professionals is that we should not encourage dogs to bite and play tug and that’s the farthest from the truth! Dogs LOVE to play tug and it’s a great way to build a relationship. It’s also a great way to build enthusiasm into your training as a reward. Giving a dog, especially a dog who is genetically designed to bite, an appropriate outlet is ESSENTIAL! You can’t change or train away genetics so denying dogs like Riot the opportunity to use their mouths is only setting them up for loads of frustration and they will find ways to fulfill themselves.
Using tugs, balls, etc as rewards, gives the dog a way to satisfy prey drive while they are learning control. It’s also a great mental workout for them!
Meet Tucker! This young guy arrived on Monday afternoon full of anxiety. At home his the most laid back dog and away from home he gets easily overstimulated which leads to excessive vocalizing and leash reactivity. He pulled like a freight train on leash and struggled to engage with a handler.
Yesterday he had his best long line session and even though he’s not giving me a ton of eye contact, he’s very aware of his position in relation to me and is trying hard to stay with me.
*We’ve had a cancellation for a board and train spot last minute and offering a $200 discount if your can send your dog to start next week. For more information call (337)660-6157.
Bruiser only has a few days left with us and we are going to spend them proofing his obedience and making the distractions harder. When he came in, he was reactive to dogs and was very over stimulated. With a lot of structure and a predictable routine, we’ve watched him “let go” of a lot of anxiousness and he’s at a much better mental state.
His recall away from the dogs is beautiful and his off leash heel is right where I want it, even with his play buddies right there with him.
It was evident very early on that Bruiser has an obedience foundation so these past few days we’ve been working on giving him some clarity and slowing down his brain. He would “guess” what you wanted and that was creating some frustration for him. We also introduced him to an ecollar to provide clear communication and started shaping a formal heel. This boy wants to work and needs a challenge to work his brain. So we are going to give him a challenge! Stay tuned!
Make sure you have clarity in your training! We use marker words as a cue to let dogs know if they should hold a correct position or if they can move.
YES = Take out. The dog is free to go pick up his own reward
GOOD = Room service. The dog is doing the correct behavior/position and needs to continue doing it and a reward will come to him.
Rylee demos this Kingston in the video. Watch how with no hesitation how he runs to her for a reward when he hears YES (it’s very valuable to him) and then when she wants him to settle on place you’ll hear her use the GOOD marker and he stays.
Kingston and Daisy brought some friends to the park to train today! Here’s a clip of the highlights of their trip!
We still have 1, maybe 2 spots, left for board and train programs in March. This can be your dog! Call for more info (337)660-6157
Kingston is rocking loose leash walking! This boy offers up so much eye contact and engagement now. He’s ready for some public training sessions!
Daisy is trying so hard and place is teaching her some impulse control which is lowering her arousal around triggers like the doorbell and knocking. Even with another dog barking, she tried very hard to stay on task and did a great job.
Using the place command will also be a way we manage Daisy from resource guarding her owner when she goes home.
*I do NOT recommend holding a leash this way, this was for demo purposes only!
Lady has come so far! She started out a dog living in flight, terrified of really any kind of collar around her neck to now a dog whose very aware of her handler and tries very hard to stay in position. She loose leash walks like a champ and look at those auto sits! 🤌
Lady has not been an easy dog to reach. She still won’t take food from me, even at the end of her day training program. She came to me very leash reactive, terrified of anything around her neck, and lacked social skills to navigate the world. Through a mix of training and social exposure here and private lessons with her owners, Lady is in a much better place. She’s one of my favorite dogs to walk now, she’s so soft on leash. Neighborhood distractions no longer phase her and she’s neutral to dogs in a social setting off leash. While she still has a long way to go, her confidence has grown a lot!
This is her this week working alongside my dog Tarkan.
This video was muted but it is circulating on a veterinary page I follow. The veterinarian makes a joke of her dog’s behavior, stating it was a shame she’d spent thousands on training and the dog still greets guests in her home this way.
I commented that is was a shame she hadn’t gotten help because over arousal was common and fairly easy to address. Her trainers had told her this was dominance, and had nothing to do with hormones!
Guys, I LOVE my vet staff and I’m not putting this vet down or any others. But shame on the trainers who have told her that! So let’s break this down!
🌟Over arousal (overstimulation) by definition is a state in which a dog can feel excited or very alert, for example, as a result of fear, stress, or anxiety.
🌟Dominance is the power and influence over others. Absolutely dogs can display dominate behavior, but this ain’t it!
Humping often signals heightened energy levels. Dogs may resort to this behavior during play but redirect it to your leg or cushions when excitement wanes. Boredom or frustration can trigger humping, hinting at underlying stress.
The dog’s owner stated this behavior happens when guests arrive so this is purely excitement driven not dominance over a new person suddenly in his home!
Guys this is not ok! It’s not cute! If you have a dog who struggles with becoming aroused and too excited around people, I can help you! Your guests will thank you and so will your dog. I have openings for board and train and day training programs. Give me a call for a free consult. (337)660-6157
