Tiny had such a great transformation! He is not a bubbly dog, do not mistaken his calm demeanor for “fear”. He is also putting his training into real world use which takes time to naturally rely on. Tiny went from reacting to everything he didn’t recognize or understand to ignoring & being unbothered by it. It takes practice & time. Yes, we use tools & all the dogs are properly trained on leash pressure communication. The more fluent the handler & dog are, the more it becomes a back up. When done properly, it can take 0 strength to guide a large dog in tight spaces. There is no pulling or yanking to get them to move or follow.
Have a dog that you’re struggling with & want to be able to enjoy them more? Contact us today!
Remi has been working on her confidence & simply existing without having to bark at everyone. Along with some structure, her off leash reliability quickly became top notch. She can enjoy running around the front yard with our personal dogs, ignore the workers across the street & has great impulse control around squirrels/birds. We always start on leash, long line & then ecollar only. Skipping steps is where mistakes happen & put dogs in a situation they’re not ready for. When done properly, you’ll be able to safely give your dog much more freedom!
Overcoming irrational fears relies on the human’s leadership. Instead of allowing the irrational response & rewarding it by “comforting” the dog, show your dog there’s nothing to be afraid of.
Playing with other dogs is a small component of socialization and yet is the only part most dogs experience. If you want to enjoy walking your dog & taking them out more, ignoring distractions & building your relationship should be priority. Playing with other dogs should be a bonus not the base line.
How often should your dog play with others? Depends on them. If they can still ignore distractions then it’s a good balance. If you start seeing undesired behaviors, then lower the amount of play time and increase the amount of structured time. Structured activitues can still be fun because they’re getting to spend time with you!
Pop & sits. Great exercise to get their focus implementing leash pressure and working a little bit of duration, distance & recall. Also allows the handler to practice timing communicating when to sit.
Leash etiquette is an important part of our training as well as ignoring distractions.
If you have a routine of physically exercising your dog almost daily, switch a day or two to passive training. Or set 10-15 minutes aside for passive training before/during the walk. For a dog that is constantly moving, having to sit still is the best challenge yet!
Keep watching until the end ♥️
Her love for hiking always exceeds her hatred for rain & jackets! It’s been a process but with each outing, she’s less uncomfortable and exploring much more ❤️
Walking through a public setting should be a neutral experience. When a dog can ignore or visually take in their surroundings without being stimulated, they understand it’s not an appropriate time to be overly excited. This is such an important part of socializing that majority of society misses. If your dog’s only interaction with people and/or other dogs getting excited & pulling to say hi then don’t be surprised when they start to pull/bark/lunge every time they see new potential friends. And if they’re allowed to say hi after pulling/barking/lunging, expect the behavior to escalate because the dog has now been trained that that is the appropriate way to say hi to everyone. The most important training moments tend to be unintentional and those are the ones that create good or bad habits depending on what we are communicating to the dog. Need help? Contact us today!
Thresholds. Train your dog to not cross them without permission. It’s common to train a dog to sit before walking through a door/gate. It’s great but has its limitations. Take it a step further! Walk up to the threshold on leash then walk backwards as you recall (Off. Come. ) your dog away from it. Continue practicing using a long lead, allow your dog to roam and recall (off. Come.) as soon as they walk up. Practice walking/running through (back and forth) as your dog stays on the other side. If they attempt to follow use your off command. Practice tossing toys/treats through the threshold (on leash first). As they progress, up the challenges. Get creative! Train your dog that crossing a threshold is off limits regardless of what’s on the other side. Strengthen your off command so that if they do attempt to go through you’re able to stop them from a distance. In order to maintain clear expectations, when you do want them to walk through, it needs to be with a command (come, heel) . The more consistent you are, the more successful your dog will be! Try it!
