In a recent Q&A, we actually received a lot of questions asking about how to add more structure to their dogâs daily lives & routines.
The truth is, itâs often times a lot more about how we add more structure to our own routines & schedules as human beings, and the dogs are sometimes just a byproduct.
However!!! We do have an example of a more structured schedule, that would be beneficial for any dog & owner to follow. We even follow a similar schedule with our personal dogs too đ¤
-First things first: gotta empty those bladders from overnight!
-Our dogs donât eat ânormalâ breakfast - so instead weâll usually work on their engagement with a few snacks while weâre prepping our coffee, etc - but if your dog does eat breakfast, feed them here (note: this is where you could be hand feeding!)
-Crate rest - make sure youâre always waiting at least 30 min between exercise/activity & when your dog eats, so you avoid bloat!
-Short walk. And if your dog isnât ready for a full blown walk yet, then add in your leash drills instead.
-A more structured schedule doesnât mean that free time doesnât exist! However, if youâre finding that your dog canât handle that âfree time,â thereâs nothing wrong with adding in more kennel time and/or place work too.
-Structured exercise/walk. At least 45-60 min; & this cannot be you just letting your dog outside in the backyard. You can break this up though! If you donât have a full hour, do 20 min here, 20 min there, and 20 min later on.
-Crate rest directly after exercise. Minimum of 2 hrs.
-Potty break.
-Play time!!! Remember to play with your dog. Fetch, tug, running around, etc - just find what your dog enjoys, & find time to do that together.
-Training practice.
-Place work (& offer a chew, if applicable!)
-Dinner (either hand fed or offered in kennel). Followed by crate rest.
-Post dinner walk. Can be structured or unstructured, depending on you & your dog.
-Bedtime (preferably in the crate
Meet our foster dog, Pepper! Available for adoption through Fur-Angel Foundation â¨
Have you met our foster dog, Pepper, yet?
If youâve done private sessions with us, you might have gotten the chance to meet Pepper when we sometimes bring her out with us - if not, let us introduce you!
Pepper is a ~2 year old, spayed female, mixed breed (from just her behaviors & overall personality, we suspect that she is some kind of mix of terrier like Jack Russell, & potentially some French Bulldog and/or Boston Terrier), from our friends over at @fur_angel_foundation. Pepper is about ~17lbs, which does make her a great size for apartment living!
Now, letâs talk a little bit about Pepper:
1) Home girl can be đśď¸ spicy đśď¸ - but!! She is a work in progress. Pepper initially came to us for a ton of reactivity issues. Dogs, cats, chickens, people, bikes, scooters, cars - if it moved, she was going after it. Weâve cut back on the reactivity a lot & have made great strides (i.e like no more lunging at people, cars, etc)! However, other dogs are still a main trigger at times.
2) That doesnât mean that she canât go to a home with other dogs though. Pepper can be very social, and is even mostly neutral with other dogs! When introduced properly, Pepper gets along well with most dogs. We also suspect that sheâd live fine with cats. Smaller animals, like birds, lizards, mice, etc might be more challenging for her though, as the girl has a pretty good amount of prey drive & likes to hunt (which makes sense for any terrier - itâs what they were bred to do).
3) As you can see from these videos, the girl is an absolute goof ball! We want to make people aware of some of her behavioral quirks, so they can figure out if Pepper is actually a good fit for their life & if they can dedicate the time to her continued training; but at her core, Pepper is a silly, cuddly, & playful little dog! When sheâs in work mode, she can also be very fun to train too!
4) Pepper loves sunbathing whenever she can, dehydrated chicken feet & baby carrots, cuddling, p
Our top ten best dog breeds for first time owners.
10. Shetland Sheepdog
9. Shih Tzu
8. English Springer Spaniel
7. Havanese
6. Standard Poodle
5. Papillon
4. Greyhound
3. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
1. King Charles Cavalier Spaniel
Just breaking it down for clicker and/or âyesâ work here đ¤ but youâll absolutely know when your maker (the âclickâ from clicker or âyesâ) is charged up and correctly, when you can get a super clean and fast response from your dog. As youâll see in this video, all 3 dogs were in opposite ends of the house, didnât know Makana had a clicker or treats at his desk/in his hands, and still came running as soon as they heard that âclick.âThatâs the power of consistent conditioning and clear communication.This video is only a demonstration of clicker work, but technically speaking, any marker that you use for anything, should result in a quick and snappy response (after teaching and learning) - if it doesnât, it may not be as âcharged upâ or even as truly understood for your dog, as you may think it is. If youâre working on markers with your dog; are you able to use âyesâ work and/or the clicker at the opposite end of your home/away from your dog, with the same results? Tag us in your videos/stories if you can! Weâd love to see đ and if youâre not there yet - thatâs okay! Message us if you need help.
Remember that your small breed dog deserves training too. Donât do them a disservice by ignoring training, just because theyâre small. âď¸
Remember that your small breed dog deserves training too.
Donât do them a disservice by ignoring training, just because theyâre small. âď¸
Hereâs the thing, we know that a post like this wonât change the world - this is an idea that canine professionals are all too familiar with, & itâs an explanation that can fall on deaf ears often - but if we can even get one person to open their mind up to a new possibility, concept, reality, etc with their dog(s), then we feel like weâve helped to do our jobs. The second that you begin to treat your dog like a human being, youâve already failed them, & unintentionally disrespected them for what they are. An animal. A canine. A dog. Now, weâre not going to pull that line like âtheyâre just dogs,â because we know that theyâre more than that. Theyâre more than that to us too. And weâll be the first ones to tell you that we definitely view our own dogs as our babies & theyâre for sure spoiled! But we never forget the fact that no matter how domesticated they are, they are still animals first and we have to respect that; and we never neglect their needs, just because they donât align with our human ones. Your dog needs a different kind of communication system set up in order to best understand you - they arenât just born understanding human verbal language, it has to be taught. Your dog is a migratory, pack animal; they need physical exercise & time to bond with their pack members - that means that they need to get out more often than just going for 3 potty breaks a day. Your dog has a different way of interpreting affection than you do - you petting your dog when theyâre aroused/exited/nervous has a different response on their brains than if you were physically trying to comfort another human. Your dog has genetics that were specifically bred into them over thousands of years ago - so just because you want your dog to be a certain way or not do certain things, doesnât mean youâre going to get that (Want a lap dog? Get a Shin Tzu, but donât expect that same kind of behavior out of Cattle Dog, just because you want it to be so - one
Things weâd like to see more of going further into 2024 â¨
Weâre only going to go over a few of these, because weâll go over the caption limit very quickly đĽ´đ
but feel free to continue the discussion and/or add what youâd like to see more of this year, in the comments!
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more kindness: for others, for your dog, & for yourself. That last one is one that gets ignored way too often. Take it easy & be a little more gentle. We talk about it often when it comes to dogs, but thereâs a way to be both gentle & firm at the same time - start applying that same idea to yourself & the others around you.
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less pressure: this one has a few different meanings for us. 1) weâd like to see people stop putting so much pressure on themselves - social media can be a great thing, but sometimes it makes us feel like weâre not doing enough, that weâre not where weâre supposed to be, or that weâre just not good enough, based off of something that we watch for 15 secs. Especially when it comes to dog training. But truthfully, much of that isnât reality. 2) weâd like to see people stop putting so much pressure on the dogs in general. Your dog doesnât need to be friends with every single other dog, child, family member, or stranger that they come across. Owners need to start understanding their dog & advocating for their dogs first, & then maybe weâd stop having so many dog bites & dogs ending up in shelters.
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more rest - for you & your dog. Same for you - you canât go without taking a break forever. Thereâs a beauty to the grind, but you need to find balance (even we need to be better about this one đŹ) - itâs not cute to be burned out.
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more education: seriously pick up a book, take a class, or hire a professional. For anything that you want to know more about. This isnât just for dog training, but weâd definitely like to see owners be more active participants in this. For ex, youâre looking to buy a puppy - especially for a breed that youâve never owned before - reach out to a dog train
Not really sure what happened to us as a society (although we have some ideas đ
), where now we think that weâre just entitled to touch all animals - even ones that donât belong us, or even wild ones. đł
The reality of it is, is that you actually donât have a right to touch someone elseâs dog/cat/pet of any kind (especially without asking first!), just because you think itâs cute, or because you have one at home, or just because itâs there when you are. Same thing with all those people out in national parks trying to touch wild bison and moose, or people on the beaches here trying to touch Monk Seals⌠when you get gored or bitten, are you then going to realize that youâre not Snow White, and this isnât some fairy tale? These are animals⌠dogs included. And sorry if this sounds harsh, but they owe you nothing.
Dogs are not public property, and therefore, are not there for your personal âuse.â Ask first. If an owner wants to allow you to touch their animal, thatâs totally fine! But donât be an ass, if someone tells you no, that you canât. They might be training, working through something, the dog might be ill, the owner may not want people in their own personal space, or they just straight up might not want you touching their dog - and thatâs okay! They also donât owe you an explanation.
Dogs owners also keep in mind that you NEVER have to feel bad for telling someone âno, you canât touch my dog.â We hear so many owners tell us that theyâre constantly apologizing to people when theyâre out in public because their dogs are reactive/fearful/etc and donât enjoy new people, and that they feel bad. But seriously, you have nothing to feel bad about.
Think about this way - babies are cute, but you donât see random strangers walking up and just picking kids up out of their strollers or trying to touch them as you walk by in the grocery store⌠thatâd be a major issue. đŠ Usually people just remark on how cute a
