There simple ways to build impulse control into your dogs daily routine:
1. Crate Thresholds
2. Doorway Thresholds
3. Waiting for Food
Teach your dog to wait 🛑 calmly in each of the these scenarios, offer engagement through eye contact 👀, and listen for the Break command 👂🏻
Work these into your dog’s daily routine. It’s not magic - it’s dedicated and consistency that will give you lasting results
#thededicateddog #TDD #puppytraining #puppyraisingadvice #puppytrainingtips #impulsecontrol #cratetraining #thresholdtraining #doggiedayschool #daytrain
Dood had lots of fun on today’s hike with Gronk 🍂
#thededicateddog #TDD #trainingboarding #structuredboarding #fallhikes
Sadie is here for a couple days of structured boarding!
#thededicateddog #TDD #structuredboarding #dogboarding #goldendoodle
Hank out here crushing his recall training and stealing hearts in the process ❤️
@jaimedeforest
#thededicateddog #TDD #doggiedayschool #puppytraining #daytraining #recalltraining #startemyoung #dogtrainer #chocolatelabpuppy #chocolatelabsofinstagram
Warmest TDD welcome to Dood! Our very first polar bear in training 😍
Dood had his first day train with us today - Socialization and confidence building were the focus of the day ⭐️
#thededicateddog #TDD #doggiedayschool #daytraining #puppysocialization #goldendoodlesofinstagram #goldendoodlepuppy #confidencebuilding🐾
Jovie took on the farmers market and the town common today and did an excellent job navigating all the people, dogs and kids on bikes!
#thededicateddog #TDD #anxiousdog #ecollartechnologies #ecollartraining #realworlddogtraining #everywheredogs #prongcollartraining
Finn and I took to the park today to work on some off leash obedience and recall drills using a long line. I always recommend a long line until your dog is 100% reliable on recall around lots and lots of different distractions. MEANING if you call your dog to come to you 30 times and he blows you off 5 times, he is not 100% reliable and therefore does not earn the privilege of off leash freedom.
I strongly believe that off leash freedom is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling ways for your dog to explore the world and that all dogs should get the opportunity to experience it. HOWEVER it is our job as dedicated owners to put in the time and effort to get our dogs 100% reliable in order to keep everyone safe.
#thededicateddog #TDD #doggiedayschool #daytrain #dogtraining #recalltraining #offleashfreedom #longlinetraining #dogtraining #offleashobedience #realworlddogtraining #blacklabsofinsta
Jovie’s female owner hasn’t been able to take Jovie on her daily walks since they had their first child a year ago. Jovie was constantly pulling on the leash and would become frantic whenever a car went by. Getting Jovie comfortable walking in structured heel with the stroller has been a big focus for her training so she can enjoy lots of walks when she goes back home soon.
#thededicateddog #TDD #boardandtrain #anxiousdog #structuredwalk #prongcollartraining #ecollartraining #ecollartechnologies #dogtraining
Handsome Hank took on the town this afternoon to work on some socialization and engagement amidst distractions. He couldn’t care less about all the trucks passing by and was a perfect gentleman on our lunch date ❤️
#thededicateddog #TDD #doggiedayschool #daytrain #puppysocialization #puppytraining #everywheredogs #startemyoungraiseemright #chocolatelabsofinstagram #chocolatelabpuppy
As an anxious dog, Jovie can get quickly overwhelmed by her environment when out on walks. In order to focus her mind and help her to have a better awareness of herself and her handler on the walk, we have been finding little obstacles on our walks to challenge her to think and rely on communication from her handler. This video is just one example of me asking her to walk along a low wall - which requires her to pay more attention to where she places her feet (and not everything else going on) so she doesn’t fall off. Other obstacles we have come across include:
🔸hopping over and under park benches
🔸weaving in between street poles/trees
🔸hopping onto picnic tables
🔸slowly walking up and down stairs
The more we can engage her brain during the walk the more we can help to settle her anxious mind and get her to have more handler awareness.
#thededicateddog #TDD #boardandtrain #anxiousdog #structuredwalk #prongcollartraining #hermsprengerprongcollar #balanceddogttraining #dogtrainer
Now that Jovie has a better understanding of what is expected of her on leash - walk next to me, at my pace- we can start to introduce new elements, such as walking next to a stroller. Jovie’s owners would love to be able to take her on daily walks next to their stroller but have been struggling to keep her from darting, dragging and lunging. Still have some work to do but I see a lot more family walks in this girls future ❤️
#thededicateddog #TDD #boardandtrain #anxiousdog #structuredwalk #prongcollar #prongcollartraining #oldenglishsheepdog
It’s never too early to start teaching your puppy to respect rules and boundaries within the house. The house should not be a free-for-all environment for your puppy. In my training program, all dogs (big/small, young/old, easy going/anxious) learn house rules and expectations and are held accountable to these rules.
Respecting thresholds is a fundamental part of the training puzzle to creating a calm, well-balanced dog.
Youngins Garfunkel, Jack, and Rudy showing off their threshold skills this morning before some yard time
#thededicateddog #TDD #thresholdtraining #puppytraining #puppytrainingtips #puppytrainingadvice #trainingboarding #puppyboarding #puppysocialization #puppyplaytime #bernesemountaindogpuppy #blacklabpuppy #goldendoodlepuppy
Using non-verbal eye contact to build up engagement in an anxious dog
Jovie is very easily overwhelmed by her environment and quickly disregards her handler in situations that make her uncomfortable. On the walk, she constantly has her head on a swivel until she finds something to fixate on - it is nearly impossible to get her attention when she is in this headspace.
Before I can address this on the walk, I need to build up a relationship built on engagement. In this exercise, I am using her daily food as both the distraction and reward. Rather than ask for eye contact using the “look” command I am waiting for Jovie to offer it on her own. Through repetition I am building up a pattern that engagement = reward.
#thededicateddog #TDD #boardandtrain #anxiousdog #anxiousdogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtraining #freeshaping #positivereinforcement #balanceddogtraining #eyecontact
How do we teach to dog to be calm in the crate?
Crate drills!
Crate drills - done with the dogs daily food and a leash (ecollar optional) - teach the dog what your expectations are around the crate.
1. Enter the crate on command
2. Lie down and relax when in the crate
3. Wait for release command “break” to come out of the crate
Once your dog has a clear understanding of what is expected of them it becomes much easier for them to relax and settle down in the crate. Jovie knows she cannot come out of the crate until she hears her release word “break” so she doesn’t even attempt any nonsense like whining/barking/pawing at the door.
*Behind the scenes note*
There are two men installing my new dishwasher directly behind the wall that her crate is on and Jovie handled it like a champ 🌟
#thededicateddog #TDD #boardandtrain #cratedrills #ecollartechnologies #ecollartraining #anxiousdog #calmoncommand
Want to know the secret to having a dog that you can take out in public?
✨Focus & engagement✨
I took Finn to Lowe’s recently during one of his day trains to work on focus and engagement in a new setting with lots of distractions (people, loud noises, weird smells). During this 8 minute clip (sped up for this post) Finn and I are immediately approached by a very friendly employee curious about the training we are doing. Multiple other employees also come over to say hello and ask a couple questions - Finn handles the distractions in perfect stride, continuing to give me his full attention for which he is regularly rewarded.
At about the 40 second mark, a woman approaches and immediately bends down with her hand extended to engage with Finn. Finn breaks command and I quickly put him back into a down and politely ask the woman to ignore him, explaining that I am teaching him to ignore strangers and focus solely on his handler for the time being.
We can add on a “say hello” command later on if we want to give our dogs the opportunity to greet strangers when we are out but it is important that our dog understands that WE are the most important person at all times, not the stranger trying to pet them or get their attention.
Good boy Finn!!
#thededicateddog #TDD #dogsocialization #everywheredogs #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogengagementtraining
