We’re in love with Stitch’s backwards waddle 😍
A while ago we posted Stitch’s back up cue and we just had to update you! Building distance and duration of a behavior takes time and consistency. Trainer Amanda has been working with Stitch a little bit each week on this cue and it’s really coming along. The next step is adding in the distraction of the front door and a cue transfer from the word “back” to touching the door handle. This is a great way to prevent door dashing. 👌
Remember, when working through the 3D’s (duration, distance, and distraction) it’s important to take it one step at a time and keep your learner successful every step of the way. 🙌
#dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #positivereinforcement #clickertraining #doordashing #backup #prettygirlswalklikethis #funnydogs #frenchiesofinstagram #frenchbulldogs
Our ideal set up for outings and adventures maximizes safety and comfort for you and your dog!
1. Well-Fitted Y-Shape Harness
We’ve tried a lot of harnesses and this one is our favorite because it’s easy to get a great fit! Every strap is adjustable. It sits in all the right places (no chafing and no constricting). With three buckles, it’s easy to get on and off (no squeezing your dogs head through or lifting their legs into).
2. Biothane Leash
Whether you’re using a 6-7ft leash or a long line (10+ft), we recommend biothane. It’s easier to handle safely and very easy to clean. We don’t like to keep poop bags, keys, or other gear on our leashes. Put those in your treat pouch and keep your leash clean and easy to handle. At @hightailhikes and @trailblazingtails you can add additional features like traffic handles, carabiner hooks, hands free, and extra grippy biothane for added safety.
3. Well-Fitted Flat Collar with ID or GPS.
We like quick release collars with ID attached or GPS features. Having a collar allows you to attach a safety strap and these features allow you to more easily find your dog should they get loose and lost.
4. Safety Strap. Attaching a strap from the collar to the long line ensures that should one piece of equipment (harness or collar) fail, your leash is still attached to the other.
5. Leash wrap communicating needs. A leash wrap can say anything you want! Some examples are: “in training, please ignore”, “nervous, give space”, “no dogs”, etc. Help advocate for your dog’s needs with a clear leash wrap.
All of these items can be found on our Amazon eStore and the link is in our bio! 🔗
Thank you Clark for being a wonderful dog model!
@roma.and.pups
#dogtraining #dogtrainer #harness #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainingequipment #clickertraining #safetyfirst #leashwrap #safetystrap #longline
Leash reactivity (behaviors like barking, lunging, and growling at people/dogs/etc) can be super upsetting to live with. For many people, the thought of working with their dog around real triggers sounds like an actual nightmare. But we promise training sessions don’t have to feel stressful for either end of the leash! In fact, we specifically set up sessions so they’re actually FUN!
Moxii and her fabulous parents have been making a lot of headway on working through leash reactivity! In a typical private coaching session, we get to work AND play in the presence of controlled triggers. We go at Moxii’s pace, we systematically decrease distance, and we take plenty of breaks to keep anxiety at bay for humans and dogs alike.
Join us in our next round of Reactive Rover March 6th to start working through barky lungey behaviors in a fun and stress-free environment! We promise there’s a place for silliness even in “serious” behavior change programs.
Teaching your dog new skills is not the only thing dog training is all about.
More than half the journey is finding ways to meet your dog’s specific needs.
When you adopt a hunting breed, it is unfair to expect them to walk in a slow, straight line for the rest of their life and to ignore wildlife and smells.
When we try to ignore their needs and purpose, we get frustrated when the training doesn’t work. No matter how much time we put into thoughtful, R+ training it just doesn’t make a difference in the way they behave.
Sometimes we get so frustrated that we resort to punishment. Now, not only is the dog not getting opportunities to do the thing they were bred to do… but they’re getting punished left and right for trying.
Today, try to meet your dog where they’re at. Find joy in seeing them do the thing they’re good at! Watch them track, listen to them sniff, observe in wonder at how innately amazing they are at their job. Help them embrace their superpower. Only then, do we teach new skills.
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogbreeds #vizsla #vizslasofinstagram #huntingdog #bredtohunt #dogtrainer #dogsofinstagram #outdoorswithdogs #orangecounty #letthemsniff #looseleashwalking
“Relax on a mat” is one of our favorite exercises. It allows us to provide our dogs with a “safe space” or “comfort zone” no matter where we are. The mat allows our dogs to sincerely relax under conditions that wouldn’t normally be relaxing.
As always, you want to begin conditioning the mat at home, with no distractions, when your dog is sincerely tired and at their most “chill”.
Whether practicing at home or in public, these 7 tips will help you and your dog see success:
1. Avoid staring at your dog. Try to act natural. Watch tv or enjoy the view and watch your dog out of the corner of your eye. If you stare at them, they’ll likely stare back and maybe even bark or try to guess what it is you want from them.
2. Use crumbly treats to encourage sniffing the mat. Sniffing is great for slowing their breath and encouraging calmness. It’s also incompatible with staring at you for the next treat.
3. Deliver each treat to the mat, not to their mouth. The mat will become the thing to check for more food, rather than your hands or your eyes.
4. Keep lots of little treats in your hand and your hand out of sight. This way you avoid ruffling a treat bag or taunting your pup with a visual of possible food coming their way. Both of which can lead to excited anticipatory emotions and behaviors.
5. Reinforce when your dog notices distractions. While on their mat, your dog might see or hear a squirrel, a dog, a person, etc and those distractions make it harder to stay settled and relaxed. So make sure you’re reinforcing frequently when distractions are noticed.
6. Reinforce when your dog is not staring at you. Notice the moment they look away from your eyes and reinforce then! This is one of those rare exercises where we don’t want engagement from our dog. We want them to know reinforcement is not contingent with looking at us. They can relax and rest and still get paid.
7. Take frequent breaks! We recommend working on this for one minute at a ti
It has taken Finley 3 months to feel safe approaching, exploring, and hopping into the car.
One month ago, Finley jumped into the car for the first time thanks to a carefully implemented plan using Klimb platforms.
This week he jumped in without any platforms or coaxing! All on his own.
Now you might be thinking “I could have gotten that dog in the car in 5 minutes” and you’d be right. His parents do currently lift him into the car when choice is not an option.
But if we want a dog who willingly gets into the car for the rest of their life, then choice must be given.
When it is imperative that Finley gets in the car, he gets lifted. When the car ride is not obligated, then he gets to choose (by way of specific training games). If he says no, we do not lift him into the car. If he says yes, then we go for a fun field trip.
Three months can seem like a long time. But in the grand scheme of a dog’s entire life, three months suddenly feels very fast to change a sentient being’s mind about something they previously found terrifying.
If we forced, tricked, or trapped Finley into the car, we guarantee you that he would still be avoiding cars. His suspicion would increase. His fear would generalize. And it will take longer and more force, tricks and traps to get him in the car at all.
That is why we truly believe that slow is fast.
#forcefreetraining #choiceispower #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #clickertraining #positivereinforcement #slowisfast
No matter what your next goal is - make sure to splice it up into small, bite sized pieces.
By focusing on what is *easily achievable* you:
• avoid frustration
• increase confidence
• build momentum
• make positive associations
• form trust
• get to celebrate success more often!
There is absolutely nothing to gain from lumping criteria. Take the time to examine your goals and see what the next, most easily achievable step is. Celebrate each step forward as if it’s the finish line! You’ll get there before you know it.
Happy splicing!
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainer #dogtrainersofinstagram #dogtrainerslife #positivereinforcement #clickertraining #forcefreetraining #orangecounty
Sometimes when clients sign up for our advanced classes, we hear concerns that the environment will be harder or more “serious” than prior classes. In the words of Ken Ramirez (chief training officer of Karen Pryor Clicker Training): advanced training is just the basics done well!
Our advanced classes are designed to help guide you and your dog through more challenging exercises, but we don’t get there by flooding you or your dogs. Instead we:
✨ Focus on building a robust history of reinforcement
✨ Polish handler skills for crystal clear communication with their dogs
✨ Introduce more conceptual exercises like behavior chains and cue transfers
✨ Build behaviors as errorlessly as possible
If we’re doing things right, an advanced class should be a smooth next step on your training journey together. We have you and your dogs’ best interests at heart, and we promise we’ll never throw you into a situation we don’t think you’ll rock (like these amazing students!)
Interested in joining a group class? Check out our website for the full course catalogue! Don’t see the type of class you’re looking for? Stay tuned, we’re working on some special new things for 2023. 👀
It’s super easy to have a negative bias with our dogs. We can recall every reaction on a walk, pick apart every mistake in a training session, and list off our pain points with ease. To make matters worse, we’re also pretty good at applying that negative bias to ourselves. We might reflect on all of the enrichment activities we haven’t had time to prepare, or obsess over our handling errors or management mishaps.
This is your reminder to take a step back. In the comments, we encourage you to name one thing you love about your dog. Does your dog have the cutest butt fluff? Do they excel at nose work? Do they throw their toys around in the most ridiculous way?
We’d also love for you to name one thing you’re proud of yourself for accomplishing. Did you remember your training skills to get past a trigger on a walk? You finally started bringing treats with you outside? Maybe you were able to take a deep breath and respond gracefully when you noticed your dog has rolled in something truly awful.
Let’s focus on the positives together. Because that’s where positive relationships begin 🐾
Dogs (and even humans) don’t need to get up close and personal with their fears in order to start conquering them. In fact, they shouldn’t.
Midas here is scared of the gardeners. Contrary to popular belief, he doesn’t need to meet and befriend a gardener. He needs to experience the noises, the sights and the smells in a safe way.
You can make something safe by ensuring:
✅ it is a safe distance away
✅ it is a low intensity (quiet, slow, out of sight, etc)
✅ it is present for a short duration
Controlling the distance, intensity, and duration of our dog’s triggers can be difficult! That’s often where a professional trainer comes in. We help you set up sessions that allow your dog to learn in the safest, most well-managed way possible. Then we transition to real life 🤪
#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainers #conqueringfears #counterconditioning #desensitization #poodlesofinstagram #poodlemix #doodle #fearfuldog #positivereinforcement #clickertraining
Dog people know that for every glamorous photo of your dog, there’s 100 outtakes minimum. 💀
We’ve had a busy week of group classes, including 26 new graduate teams! 🤯🎓 It’s always amazing seeing how much progress pet parents can make in 6 short weeks. The dogs and humans learn new skills, but hands down our favorite part is seeing mindset shifts from training you do TO your dog, to learning you do WITH your dog.
If you and your pup are ready to get started with a group class, you can check out our website for our course catalog. There’s still room in a few Fall Semester classes, we hope to see you there! 🍂
Putting a puppy down for a nap can be anxiety inducing for any new puppy parent. We know you want to build a good routine and enjoy a well-rested pup. Here are some of our best tips for encouraging stress-free naps and alone time!
1. Teach your pup to walk into their crate or safe confinement space on cue.
2. Teach your pup to love their safe space because it leads to some of their favorite things.
3. Take the time to desensitize departure cues like standing up, walking away, closing the door, etc. We like Julie Naismith’s “door is a bore” game.
4. Meet your puppy’s mental, physical *and* social needs before a nap.
5. Provide opportunities for a potty right before nap time.
6. Work on “relax on a mat” to transition to a sleepy mood. 😴
7. Allow your puppy to fall asleep anywhere (even in your lap)!
8. Transition them to their safe space and hang out with them (door open, hand on them, etc) until they fall back asleep.
9. Turn on the noise machine and make the room nice and dark and cool and cozy.
10. Save this post for nap times and enjoy your well-rested pup!
Questions? ⬇️
#puppytraining #dogtraining #dogtrainer #puppynap #newpuppyparents #newpuppylove #positivereinforcement #cratetraining #naptime #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #comfypup #braccoitaliano #bracco #braccoitalianopuppy
Living in southern coastal California means space is limited. Most of us don’t have big backyards. We don’t have off leash trails. Our parks and trails are often crowded. And don’t get us started on the heat!
If you’re looking for a place to decompress, relax and cool off with your dog don’t forget to check out your local Sniffspots!
This genius idea has been around for years but has finally taken off. The app now provides more spots than ever to help you provide your dog with exercise and enrichment opportunities safely and for way cheaper than buying a house 🤪
This is not an ad. We really just wanted an excuse to post these adorable, happy videos from @hellobentoto ‘s birthday party / training session 🥳
Thank you to @sniffspots for making that possible!
#sniffspot #samoyed #goldenretriever #swimmingwithdogs #dogsofinstagram #dogtraining #dogtrainer #samoyedsofinstagram #goldensofinstagram #happydogs
You’ve heard us talk about Leslie McDevitt’s Pattern Games before. We will probably never stop!
Pattern games are magical ways to provide our dogs with predictable and reliable outcomes. The game demonstrated here is the infamous 1-2-3 (pg. 138 of “Control Unleashed Reactive to Relaxed”).
Almost as much as we love pattern games, we love layering reinforcement. In addition to the treats Gigi is getting every few steps toward someone exciting, the “go say hi” is also acting as a huge reinforcer. He’s learning that he doesn’t have to drag his mom over to me. He doesn’t have to ignore food because we don’t understand that I’m what he truly wants. He doesn’t have to bark, whine, or lunge. He can reliably access this reinforcement on cue and at the end of a loose leash walking chain.
Gigi is a big strong dog and mom is pregnant. Safety is priority number 1. And we can achieve safety with force-free training that is enjoyable for all. 🙌🏽
📌 #accessibility to be pinned in the comments.
#dogtraining #dogtrainer #germansheperd #gsd #germanshepherdsofinstagram #forcefreetraining #clickertraining #patterngames #lesliemcdevitt #positivereinforcement #dogtrainingtips #dogtrainingadvice #dogtrainingisfun #trainlikethis
We’ve heard the (totally fictional) assumptions that dogs who wear muzzles have smaller worlds, restricted lives, or a lack of training and enrichment. The world’s most handsome dog Clark, and his amazing human/trainer @roma.and.pups , are here to show you just how false that is!
When taught the right way, muzzles should open up opportunities for you and your dog. They can make adventures possible, make their care at the vet or groomer less stressful, and all in all improve their quality of life (and yours!)
We feel so strongly about this that we are giving away TWO FREE ENROLLMENTS to our new Muzzle Magic eCourse! 🥳 Just share with us how you think muzzle training will help you and your dogs!
Rules for Entry:
1. Follow us @clickstartdogacademy
2. Tag us in a post, reel, or story sharing how you feel muzzle training, and a muzzle training course, will help you and your pups.
3. We will announce our two winners on Monday August 15th!
Two Winners will Receive:
1. Complimentary access to the full self-paced Muzzle Magic eCourse choc full of instructional materials, videos, and more!
Don’t forget to add yourselves to the Muzzle Magic email list to be the first to know when it launches, and to receive a special one-time discount code!
Distractions and interruptions happen all the time when you’re training out in the real world. Lucky for us, we happened to catch this one on camera so we could share how we worked through it!
During a session with teenage doodle Charlie, a surprise dog popped up from behind a wall! 😳 We had run into this pup before, so thankfully we weren’t concerned about safety. But getting miss Charlie back into the swing of learning after a big disruption like this takes some doing.
In this moment, (or really in any moment) putting a bunch of pressure on Charlie would not have helped. All it would accomplish is making training not enjoyable for either of us, and ensure that next time it would be even harder to regain her attention. Instead, we give her space to observe and process the situation, reinforce what we like, and shape attention from there! No need to get upset and correct, our dogs deserve the grace to learn in a safe environment. ✨
We love having the opportunity to teach skills that are frequently taught with force, with positive reinforcement instead! Many of us have probably seen videos on social media of dogs being forced onto treadmills with aversive collars and coercion. When team Franky got themselves a dog pacer treadmill to help meet his needs, we knew from the get go that it was going to be his choice to participate!
Since Franky has BIG feelings about food, we didn’t want to lure him onto the treadmill. Instead, we used a series of pattern games that centered around giving him choice. Despite popular belief, giving the learner options and honoring the “no”s actually gives us a more clear and enthusiastic “yes.” At the end of this session, Franky returned to stand on the treadmill to ask for the game to continue multiple times.
Just because something is traditionally taught with force, that doesn’t mean it is the only way! Creative applications of positive reinforcement can allow us to meet training goals without compromising our dog’s comfort or happiness.
No catchy music. Just a real glimpse into Class 2 of our summer Lake Forest Basic Communication class. This group is full of excitable adolescent dogs. And just look at them comfortably relax around distractions! 🤩
Please take a deep breath and take a moment to enjoy baby Dakota bravely exploring one of our puppy class novelty items, a large rolling cart! We started off rewarding the pups in class for simply observing the cart, but Dakota showed us she was interested in hopping right in. So we followed her lead and turned it into a learning opportunity for the whole class.
Early socialization is critical for puppies, and one easy way to safely introduce your puppy to new places is by using a rolling cart or wagon. This allows your pup to experience new sights, sounds and smells without contacting potential pathogens.
Dakota here is helping us demonstrate some of the ways we can prepare our puppies for outings in the cart. We want to make sure they’re comfortable hopping in, hopping out, spending time in the cart, and experiencing movement in the cart before we try to hit the road.
Questions about puppy socialization? Ask away! 🥰
