Why are we such big fans of crates and proper crate training?
1) Crates provide a safe space for your dog to decompress, sleep, and have alone time.
2) They are a great way to build confidence and possibly avoid or help correct separation anxiety in your dog.
3) In a multiple dog household, crates are a great way to keep everyone separated during feeding times to avoid conflict. They also ensure that dogs get time on their own throughout the day in a multiple dog household.
4) They keep your dog safe and secure when you have to leave the home. Ensures that your dog cannot get into anything they are not supposed to.
5) They provide stability and structure which are essential ingredients to your dog’s mental health and understanding of the world around them.
6) Puppies need 18 hours of sleep a day for brain development. Crates are a great way to give them the nap time they need.
We believe in creating a positive association with crates. This means introducing it slowly. Feeding your pup their meals in there. Giving them practice in their crate for short amounts of time without us leaving the home. Giving them a high value reward in there. We want them to associate the crate as their positive, safe space and not to associate it with mom or dad leaving or as a punishment.
Crates are great tools when it comes to managing multiple dog households as well and are very helpful in keeping all of the dog’s relationships healthy and positive.
They are a great tool to remove your dog from certain situations. Ex: if your puppy is playing too rough with your older dog, he can go in his create to take a break. We always want to advocate for other dogs.
We do acknowledge that not every dog is a good fit for a crate. There are times when past experiences or other circumstances warrant for your dog to not be crated. Through our experience, we have seen the wonderful benefits of crate training from an early age or when you bring a dog home.
With that being said,
Pack walks and proper socialization!
We love our monthly walk with our clients. It’s such a great opportunity to practice leash walking skills in a new environment and to challenge our pups.
This is also an awesome way for all of the dogs to experience being around lots of other dogs and people, but to not interact with them. We’re teaching them to be neutral to their environment and focus on mom or dad.
As always, we are beyond thankful for this community and all of the time and hard work our clients put into their dogs. 🐾
How to manage and respect an anti social dog!
In today’s seminar we had a client who has a dog that is a great example of a pup that wants nothing to do with people outside of his circle. He has made it very clear through vocalizing, body language, and taking space from other people, that he does not want to be approached or interacted with.
Often times as owners, it is hard for us to not project our own emotions and desires on our dogs.
“We want him to be good with kids”
“We want him to like other people”
But what about what our dog wants? Especially one like this example where he has made it clear what he does and does not want. This is where we may need to adjust our expectations of our dog.
At this point it is our job and responsibility as owners to respect the social preferences of our dog and to advocate for them in situations involving other people.
The owners in this situation did a really great job of communicating to the kids that come to their home “to please not approach or interact with the dog”.
Remember that you as a human probably do not like every person you meet. You don’t enjoy every social situation. You may be very introverted and not enjoy being around others. You may be extroverted and thrive in social settings. Dogs are not much different in that sense. Not every dog will enjoy others in their space. It is our job to advocate for them and to show them that we have their back when they are the most uncomfortable and vulnerable.
Happy Training! 🐾
Giveaway Winner!
Congrats to Caroline Coleman for winning our review give away!
Thank you so much to everyone who took the time to leave us a review and support our trainers and business. It truly is what helps us to grow. 🐾💙
Pack Walk!
Don’t miss our next pack walk this Saturday 3/30 @ 9:30am - Liberty Pond Park!
Join us as we work on leash walking skills, obedience with distractions, and offer one on one coaching from our team of trainers.
If you want to have as much fun as Cheyenne here, you’ll be there!
Only open to past and current clients.
Client appreciation post!
The way we train is a little different than some. We come to you for your sessions and really work to ensure that the training is just as much in your hands as ours.
Our goal is to teach you how to better communicate and work with your dog so that training can be continuous and last a lifetime.
You are just as important, if not more, to the outcome of your dog’s training than we are. We want to help empower and coach you to have the confidence needed to train and engage with your pup daily.
We believe that training is a life long part of you and your dog’s time together. It can always be challenged and improved and we are beyond grateful to start you on that journey together.
Whatever your goals are, we are here for you!
Seeing our clients take the leash and practice what we have taught is the most rewarding part of it all! 🐾
What a great day for puppy training! Today we teamed up with Wags k9 Training and all of our puppy clients for the ultimate obedience, confidence building, leash walking, & socializing event. Every single puppy did a wonderful job today focusing on their owners in the presence of a whole lot of distractions. We are hoping to have events like these monthly for all of our current and past clients. Big thank you to Will and his team for hosting this awesome event! Happy training everyone!
We had some cuties working on long like recalls today!
It’s always so awesome when owners are excited and engaged with their dogs throughout the training process. I promise, everyone has more fun that way!
Why use long lines when teaching recall?
🦴 Safety of your dog in a public space
🦴 Keeps our dogs accountable to what we are asking of them
🦴 Gives us the ability to physically get their attention
🦴 Helps our dogs learn to pay attention to us as we move
Happy Training! 🐾
Nothing better than fall on the farm and some @mountainwildpet training sessions.
We are incredibly picky about what we feed our pups and what we use during training sessions with our clients. Choosing Mountain Wild was an easy choice due to their minimal and clean ingredients. Our pups and our client’s pups go crazy for these wild elk and deer treats that come from all the leftovers of hunting season in the Rocky Mountains.
Who doesn’t love an ethical, clean, and sustainable product?
100% pure, natural, and wild. Just like our pups 😉
Use code CONNECTEDK9 for 10% of your next order!
#wildroaming #MountainWild
Marker training
“good” vs. “yes”
In this group class we went over the difference between “good” and “yes” as it applies to marker training.
When we want our dog to sustain a command, we use the word “good”. We teach them that this means the treat will come to them and they are to stay in that position until we release them. This should be a calm arousal state and we solidify and strengthen this by adding in distractions such as our trainer, Kyle, demonstrating here as he steps closer and closer to the puppy.
“Yes” is more often used in the teaching phase and to evoke higher levels of arousal. When we use “yes” we move and draw the dog into us rather than bringing the reward to them. More to come on this “yes” in part two!
This is just how we use markers, but you can absolute use different words as long as they have consistent meaning to them and are communicated clearly.
Happy training!🐾
Leash walking and how we use certain tools to teach it.
Tools are meant to be used to help and are not meant to be relied on.
Utilizing something such as a slip lead must be done slowly, with intention, and above all, safely.
We start by simply introducing the feeling of it to the dog. Letting them get used to what it feels like. Our next step is to use our voice paired with light pressure, small taps, and rewards to begin getting our pups to follow us as we change direction.
We want to make sure that our body language and voices are helping to guide them where we want them to be and the light taps are simply the physical part of the communication.
It’s important to start practicing these skills in a controlled environment without distractions before taking your dog on a walk and expecting them to respond well to the leash pressure or understand what you’re asking. They have to understand what the pressure means and what you’re expecting of them with no distractions before putting it all into practice in the real world.
Always work with a professional when using new tools, be patient, and consistent.
Happy training! 🐾
#dogtraining#dogtrainer#behaviormodification#basicobedience#dogtrainingtips#dogtrainersofinstagram#puppytraining#puppylife
Crates!
This is always a huge and important topic when it comes to puppies or any new dog in the home.
Some key things about the crate:
- It should always be a positive experience rather than punishment.
- you can start to build a good relationship with the crate by feeding your pup on their and giving them practice at being in there alone throughout the day for short periods of time while you are home.
- Do not let them out while they are crying (unless it is at night and only to go to the bathroom and then right back into the crate). When we let them out while they are crying we are reinforcing that crying = getting let out of the crate.
- Be fair. Give them practice being in the crate before leaving them home alone in there. If they sleep in the crate, especially very young puppies (>6 months) it is ok for that crate to be in your room so they can see you.
- Respect there space when they go into their crate throughout the day. It is their safe space.
Happy training! 🐾
We’ve been seeing a lot of people re homing dogs recently saying that “they need a more active home”. Be a more active home. Dogs require daily work and exercise and honestly, so do us humans. Here’s your friendly reminder to get out there and have some fun with your pups!
Teaching an “on and off” switch
A common issue that people often have is not being able to show their dog that they are ready to begin or be done with play time. This miscommunication can leave the dog so excited and in “play mode” at times when it is not wanted. When your dog doesn’t know when play time begins or ends, it can lead to inappropriate behavior like jumping on people or continuously demanding your attention.
In the video I am working with Loki on waiting until I say his initiator command “READY” before we start to play fetch. This let’s him know that play time has started.
Loki previously would start barking and crying if we walked into the dog park and didn’t immediately start to play fetch. The goal was to teach him that HE did not start the play session by barking or crying. Rather, the session begins when I say “ready”.
In addition I have a termination command “ALL DONE” to tell him that we are done playing fetch. This communicates to him that play time is over.
Teaching your dog an “on and off” switch is an incredibly valuable tool when it comes to communicating properly with your dog. It helps them to understand what is happening and allows you to maintain boundaries.
Getting to know Kyle!
I am a prior service Navy Military Working Dog Handler. I worked with K9 as kennel support for a year and then as a K9 handler for 4 more years in the Navy. Throughout those 5 years, I got to meet some REALLY awesome people with a lot of invaluable knowledge that helped my enthusiasm for K9 ignite into the burning passion it has become. This is a video of my best bud, MWD Grim. He was my first working dog and I was his first handler. We were together for 2.5 years and got to go on a tour of duty to Qatar. This video was after we returned home and at the end of our time together.
I am endlessly grateful for the people that gave me their time and energy to teach me this beautiful craft. I look forward to the road ahead and the connections to be made!
-Kyle
