Happy Cinco De Mayo!
I hope you spend the day outside in the sunshine with your pups! 🐕🐩
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Trainer Tip! Make them wait!
Teaching your dog not to bust through a door way as soon as it opens will not only make your life 10x easier, but one day it might just save their life.
Trainer Tip! Getting them to focus on you.
Whenever I am working with a dog on leash walking, the first few lessons include a LOT of talking, and a lot of treats. The biggest key to leash walking is that you still need your dog to be able to give you their attention, regardless of what is happening around them. You want to make yourself the most rewarding thing in their life during that time, and if you are, they are much more likely to pull their attention away from other distractions, and not want to pull you to get to things they deem more enticing.
Trainer Tip! Getting them comfortable in water.
Trainer Tip! If you want your dogs to be comfortable in water and like swimming, you have to make sure their first encounter with it is a good one! Just like us, one horrible experience can ruin it for them. I introduced each one of my pups while holding them, just like a baby, to let them get used to the idea of not being able to touch the ground while having me there to keep them from dipping under, allow them to start kicking, and then slowly reduce the amount of support. Additionally, I will always be sure to point them towards somewhere they can touch or towards land, so they know that if they find themselves in water they should swim towards shore.
Trainer Tip! Never reprimand your dog after a recall.
Off leash recall can be one of the hardest, yet most valuable things you can ever teach your dog. Even if you don't teach them anything else, having a strong recall can open your world to adventures while ensuring that your dog is not going to run off or get injured. The best off leash recalls are built from the very beginning by teaching your dog that coming back to you is the most rewarding thing they can possibly do. If you only ever recall your dog to reprimand them, put them inside, or end play time it's no wonder that they never want to come back to us. Even if my dog gets distracted and starts running towards something else, when I recall them if they come back to me I still reward them heavily because I want them to know that coming to me is going to be more rewarding than whatever they were running towards every single time.
Trainer Tip! Avoiding Food Possession and Aggression
Even though food and toy possession is something you should work on from the time you bring your pup home, it is still something I like to work on with my dogs all the time. As our pups get older they can tend to get crankier and a little more possessive as they lose their ability to defend what is theirs. Therefore, when I feed my dogs I will often walk between them, give them pets, and add a small amount of food to their bowls so they stay comfortable with me being close to them and their food while they are eating. We want our dogs to know that just because you or someone else is close to them does not mean they need to be protective of their food, and that us putting our hands near their food bowls is only going to mean positive things for them.
Sitting and Waiting for Their Food Bowl
Have you ever been trying to give your dog food or water only for them to jump up and spill whatever it is you are holding? It can be frustrating to say the least. That is why I teach all my dogs to sit and wait for their food and water bowls. Not only does it give me the chance to get everything situated without them all over me, but it teaches them to control their excitement and build some fundamental training skills. Here is a video of how I would teach it for the first time, and then I added in some little exchange exercises too! She had already don’t exchange exercises #labrador #labradorpuppy #labradorretriever #labradorsofinstagram #chocolatelab #labradorable #mutts #dogsarefamily #dogsoffacebook #muttsofinsta #muttsrule #chocolatelabrador #puppygram #puppyoftheday #germanshorthairedpointerpuppy #germanshorthair #puppylove #germanshorthairedpointer #puppyeyes #dogmom #germanshorthairpointer #germanshorthaired #chewy #veteranowned #dogslife #puppylife #puppy #progress #veteranbusinessowner #veteranbusiness
Sitting and Waiting for Their Food Bowl
Have you ever been trying to give your dog food or water only for them to jump up and spill whatever it is you are holding? It can be frustrating to say the least. That is why I teach all my dogs to sit and wait for their food and water bowls. Not only does it give me the chance to get everything situated without them all over me, but it teaches them to control their excitement and build some fundamental training skills. Here is a video of how I would teach it for the first time, and then I added in some little exchange exercises too! She had already don’t exchange exercises previously, so these were just a refresher!
