Redeeming Dogs - Dallas/Fort Worth Dog Training

12/30/2024

We are starting to get the calls from people who got a puppy for Christmas. That's a good thing, we like to start our relationship early and get people off to a strong start. It's so much easier to avoid a problem than to fix it later. The puppy socialization window ENDS at 16 weeks old, it a crucial time to do some important things that don't take all that much time. Give us a call or visit us at redeemingdogs.com. :)

11/04/2024

One of the worst things you can do to your dog is to not crate train it, or to not keep that training up for the life of the dog. It severely limits things you can do and places you can take your dog. In the inevitable situations where it does have to be confined the dog suffers a great deal of stress.

10/31/2024

The most brittle temperaments I see in dogs are the dogs that have the least boundaries put upon them. Dogs that have human company 24/7, dogs that aren't ever crated, dogs that are fed on the dot at the exact same time each day. A small world contributes to that a lot too. To me a small world is just that, a dog that rarely leaves it's own house or yard, and rarely is within proximity of other dogs or humans not part of it's family. Bits of stress here and there, intelligently introduced, are what inoculates a dog against stress.

10/15/2024

Training a dog to hunt does not begin with hunting. Training a dog to do protection work does not begin with biting. Training a dog to run with you does not start with taking the dog on runs. Training a dog to walk with you does not begin with taking the dog on walks. You cannot start at the finish line.

09/14/2024

Dog owners are often very eager for us to see the dog at it's worst. They want to show us how the dog explodes on the leash, or freaks out when people arrive at the house, or the terror it feels in situations that don't warrant fear.

We already know what a dog operating out of fear or adrenaline looks like. We've seen a thousand of them. Seeing your dog lose it's cool won't provide any information to us. The whole point of dog training is to help the dog manage it's emotions and stay out of adrenaline and fear.

So training for your dog doesn't start with your dog at it's worst, it should start with your dog at it's best. Dog is comfortable, feels safe, triggers aren't present. This is where the foundation is created that will allow you to work on triggers later. Get victories over little triggers and the big triggers will shrink in impact as well.

If you have a dog that is having moments at it's worst contact us at Redeeming Dogs and we can probably help. We will come to your house, or if you're out of our area we offer zoom calls now. Let's move towards a future where your dog is at it's best more and more. :)

07/24/2024

More than one dog trainer will tell you they often see overweight dogs have more behavioral things going on. I think it's because the simplest discipline you can follow with a dog is food discipline. If owners haven't followed food discipline with their dogs they typically haven't followed other types of discipline. When I say discipline in this context you can equate to structure or control.

07/13/2024

Sometimes if it isn't broken you shouldn't fix it but you can improve it. My historical approach to dog training had me doing all the in home consultations, and using a firm rule that dogs for board and train don't come until they are six months old. I didn't do Zoom calls because I didn't see much value in it.

Some changes have leveled up the above solutions, which were already tested and solidified by experience over the last 18 years.

Jon Van D**e, a trainer friend of mine who cut his teeth training dogs for TV, movies, and Hollywood folks, is now working closely with me. Adding his 35 years of training experience to mine we have over 53 years of dog training experience. Changes as follows:

Jon is doing 100% of my in homes now. He came with me many many times over months to be sure there's a Redeeming Dogs spin on what he does, and he's getting very good reviews from clients. I've thrown some doozies his way and he's handled them all. This gives us more flexibility as to consultation times. I only did in homes Monday - Friday during the day. Jon will come out weekdays, Saturdays, or evenings to help people.

Jon has had a lot of success doing zoom calls to help dogs, so we are adding that to the mix. We can assist folks outside of our geographical area if you need us, or if you just need some insights on an issue that may not require an in home.

Finally, I've been experimenting with having dogs already signed up for board and train at 6 months come stay for a week as younger puppies (4-5 months old). Not in training but getting used to living in a group of balanced dogs and adapting to the routine. I'm seeing how those dogs are turning out now and I'm very pleased. So you don't HAVE to send the pup early before board and train but I'm recommending it strongly. I'm also offering a week of brush up for existing Board and Train grads. A client requested it for their dog and they were very pleased with the results.

I think the above changes allow Redeeming Dogs to help the most clients in the best way. Let us know if you need help.

07/11/2024

You are the primary influencer of your dog's response to stimuli. There are some things that are outside of your influence but you drive most of the dog's behavior.
There's a faucet on the exterior of my dog barn, I use it to fill up the outside water bowl and wash off the porch. When I use this faucet, although the dogs inside hear it, there is no response. The reason is I'm careful to only use the faucet AFTER I put the dogs up, I use it after I leave the barn. If I were to begin by using the faucet THEN go into the dogs it would be a predictor of my imminent appearance and would create excitement. Similarly, there is a sprinkler head that sprays the metal barn wall. The dogs never respond. It is a loud recurring noise but it holds no significance.

When you come home and the dog is super excited - do you immediately let him out? If you do you are driving the behavior. He feels that being excited is part of the process of being let out. Leash reactivity and so many other behaviors are being initiated and driven by you. If you'd like to learn more about this we are available for in home consultations, and we have recently added Zoom calls which can work through a lot more than you might think!

07/10/2024

There's a popular saying some dog trainers say - "Your dog didn't get this way over night and we can't fix it overnight". I can kind of understand that, but it's dead wrong. It's wrong because the minute you start to understand your dog better, how it's brain works, how it differs in world perspective from you, the dog can change. There are trainers out there selling long term services for simple behavioral and obedience issues that leave the dog unchanged - because they focus on the dog.
Our three hour in home consultation is primarily about seeing the relationship as it stands and then introducing the dog psychology information you need to know, then practicing with those concepts in mind. Jon Van D**e, a trainer for TV, movies, and Hollywood sorts has 35 years experience. He can fundamentally change your relationship with your dog for the better - in three hours. The dog is responding to your behavioral cues. When your cues change the dog will in response change.

Take a look at our Google Reviews, give us a call, we'd love to talk to you about what is going on with your dog. You could be three hours away from a far better friendship with your dog.

5.0 ★ · Dog trainer

07/05/2024

One of the things that I find will sabotage a training session with a relatively unexperienced dog is high winds. Dogs are scent based not primarily visual, so what is a minor inconvenience of high wind to us is an overwhelming sensory experience for a dog. Add in bushes, flags, etc whipping and snapping in the wind and you have enough to make a dog that looks promising most days look terrible. I'm not saying not to train on windy days, but I'm saying be aware if the dog isn't looking great this is a lot harder day for him to work for you.

07/04/2024

I know the barn is 40 feet from the house but I like to have monitors/alarms for temperature in addition to cameras. Personally I like the house at 75 but the dogs like it cooler. On a 100 degree day they want to play a bit then they are clamoring to get back in to the A/C!

07/03/2024

There are few things universal among dog trainers, but a lot of them employ a duration exercise. To me a duration exercise is some form of stay where you are, do nothing, relax, and I'll tell you when we are doing something. The ones I use are "Sit on the dog" where the leash is under your foot or you sit on it to keep the dog close, then you ignore dog. I also use "place", where we ask the dog to rest on a cot or platform until we are ready to do something else. The long down is another form of this.
An important part of these exercises is the dog has no toys, no interaction, it's just a dog having to deal with itself without distractions. Duration exercises improve the character and patience of the dog, in other words it's something the dog does in the day that helps it deal with the rest of our day.

Human equivalents might be prayer, or meditation, or just sitting in quiet reflection, sunbathing, maybe floating in calm water. When we do these without external influences, or entertainment if you will, we have a span of time where we have to deal with ourselves. Some these days have no quiet time like this, or they avoid it like the plague. It's uncomfortable these days be without external stimulus. I think there is vast benefit to looking at one's day and making sure your own version of "sit on the dog" occurs. Just you and yourself and some time. I do think it will make the rest of your day go better, and improve your patience and character as well as it does your dog.

06/30/2024

Allergies -

Had a client dog (Vizsla) that seemed to always have welts on her back. They didn't break open but her back was always... bumpy. They had had some allergy testing done and changed foods a few times but nothing was helping.
I suggested they try one of the online services where you mail in some of your dog's hair and they test it for allergies. The dog came back as allergic to broccoli. This wouldn't affect most dogs but the owner gave the dog broccoli every day when she ate some. Owner quit giving the dog broccoli, all the dog's welts went away. It's nice when it works out like this. Your dog trainer isn't a vet, and can't give you medical advice, but we can surely mention things we know of that have helped our dogs or other dogs.

06/19/2024

Overfeeding a dog often has an obvious symptom (overweight dog) but it also can be seen in earlier responses that tell you you are overfeeding your dog. Like...

1. Your dog just doesn't finish it's food. It might not eat all of the bowl, or it might skip meals entirely. Some dogs self regulate to eat once a day, some even every other day, when given too much food.

2. Your dog fiddles with it's food. Dogs that tip their bowls over, push them into the corner, take forever to eat, or put bedding on top of the bowl are saving surplus food for later. I've always found these dogs were overfed.

I've found cutting back food has always fixed both problem #1 and #2.

06/18/2024

My clients know that I will watch your dog if it's been through my three week program, and the majority of them take me up on that. This is the first summer where activity has returned to pre-covid levels and I'm having to turn away valued customers because I'm full. Please if possible don't wait to schedule your boarding, especially Holiday boarding, or you might not get a spot.

06/11/2024

Change "horse" to "dog" and there's a ton of wisdom to unpack here. How well does your dog tolerate being inconvenienced? How much time have you spent working on it?

Inconvenienced
Kathleen Beckham

Years ago, I had a baby horse, and when he was about 18 months old, I had the opportunity to have an equine chiropractor work on him. He was wiggly and squirrelly, and I apologized to the chiropractor for that. “That’s okay,” she said, “Little babies haven’t learned how to be inconvenienced yet.”

That was big for me. So big. “Inconvenienced.” I hadn’t thought of that before, but it was the perfect word for it. We don’t want our horse to tolerate being hurt, or being treated unfairly, but he dang sure needs to be able to be inconvenienced.

From that day forward, “being inconvenienced” became a more thoughtful part of my horse work. I started to see some of the “issues” students were having with their horses as having to do with the horse’s inability to be “inconvenienced” without becoming very anxious. I also saw the stress that some of my students experienced when they knew they were going to inconvenience their horses. It turned out it was, indeed, a “thing.”

The ability to be inconvenienced and be resilient about it, it’s a skill. It’s a skill for people, it’s a skill in dogs, and it’s a skill in horses. It’s a skill that needs to be purposefully taught, and then carefully developed and expanded over time. It should be part of any training process for horses, because it’s something that they don’t necessarily come “from the factory” with, and it’s something they really need to succeed in the human world we insist they live in.

For a horse, “being inconvenienced” can be things like being asked to work while other horses are eating, standing tied, not being fed first, being turned out or brought in a “non-preferred” order, standing next to strange horses and not being allowed to socialize, having their feet picked up, going down the trail while other horses speed by, having veterinary work done, getting in a trailer or other small space, not being allowed to graze while working… I think you get the picture. Once I started thinking about my horse being “inconvenienced,” I saw it everywhere. Gosh, a LOT of a horse’s life in the human world is inconvenience. I also started to see how much stress a horse who had not learned to be resilient about being inconvenienced could experience.

It’s not always possible to remove the inconveniences in our horses’ lives, and I’m not sure that’s the way to go anyway. A horse who is resilient about being inconvenienced develops many other positive qualities because of his ability to be inconvenienced. He learns to self-soothe, he learns to think before he reacts. He learns patience and he learns to be flexible. He learns not to get stuck in patterns and expectations. He learns to be softer and more thoughtful. He learns to be calmer and quieter.

A horse who develops the ability to be inconvenienced as a principle of his training/life is less likely to be herdbound, gate sour or barn sour. They’re more likely to trailer load easily, to tie quietly and to learn whatever we are trying to teach them. It’s kind of the “secret sauce” of horse training, if you know about it.

Being inconvenienced might start very small. The first time one of our youngsters is inconvenienced might be the first time we have him on a lead rope and he wants to go left and I want to go right. Or he wants to eat grass and I want to take him for a walk or take him over to get his feet trimmed. So it might start very small at first. But I’m aware of it. I’m aware of when he’s inconvenienced, and I’m aware of how much inconvenience he’s able to take, for his stage of development. I am carefully and thoughtfully, methodically building his “fitness” to be inconvenienced.

Those little, fleeting inconveniences will turn into bigger ones eventually, like being left outside or in the barn by himself, or standing tied to the trailer all day, or working in the rain, or working while the farm is being fed. Those are much bigger inconveniences than being asked to turn left when you want to turn right. A working horse, or a horse we want to be able to take places and do things with, he’s really got to be able to be inconvenienced. That makes him much safer and more fun to be with.

Being inconvenienced is also about a horse being practiced at changing his mind. So he can practice thinking about one thing (“I want to go sniff that horse over there”) and change what he’s thinking about (“Hey horse, let’s go over here, away from that horse, and do a stop/back/bring our front end around.”). To do that, we have to be able to decipher what our horse is thinking about, and then become proficient at causing him to change his thoughts. Horses who can’t change their thoughts do not deal with inconvenience very well, while horses who are good at changing their thoughts will be much better at being inconvenienced.

This is different from “desensitization,” and it’s not about getting the horse “shut down. It’s not about hurting him, or flooding him, or setting him up to fail. It is literally about building the horse’s mental flexibility, by degrees. It’s methodical and progressive. It’s sometimes a delicate balance, and it can be something that takes some awareness and skill on the human’s part. It’s no different than building a horse’s physical fitness and abilities, it’s about choosing the right size steps for that horse’s fitness level.

A horse whose ability to be inconvenienced has been well-developed will be quieter, less anxious, less ulcery, and more physically and mentally balanced. They will have more brain-space available for things of our choosing.

This ability to be inconvenienced, it’s a gift to the horse. It’s a gift to him, so he doesn’t have to suffer the unnecessary stress and anxiety caused by his lack of mental flexibility. Done mindfully, it doesn’t have to be scary or dangerous. And done earlier, it’s easier. And older horse who has never been inconvenienced, that’s going to be more difficult than a younger horse with no preconceived ideas about things.

At the end of the day, this is a practical thing. We choose to have our horses live in our human world, so if they can be inconvenienced, that makes living in our world a lot easier for them. It’s a gift, not a burden to them.

Coming soon... The Attention Course: an online learning opportunity that will help you get, keep and direct your horse’s attention (thought), and in the process, become worthy of it. This is part of being inconvenienced, because it is not always convenient for our horse to pay attention to us (or for us to have to ask for his attention). If you’d like to be eligible for a discount on The Attention Course when it goes live soon, sign up for your discount here: https://www.ethosequine.com/courses