Muzzle training! We’ve talked about it before and will talk about it again (and again and again…) because not only does it make veterinarians feel safer when working on large, powerful breeds like Rottweilers (a lot of vets will muzzle Rotties right away), it can protect your dog from the general public! That’s right. After speaking with a dog bite attorney who represents owners whose dog’s have bitten, she says that her biggest piece of advice is to muzzle train your dog if you’re going to have them out in public places because people are untrustworthy and could provoke your dog into an unfair situation where they feel that they need to defend themselves. (Ideally you wouldn’t be doing this anyway, but sometimes it’s unavoidable.)This may not be the case with all dogs of course, but the truth is that certain breeds do come with higher risk and liability. She also recommends never leaving your dog unattended outside (even in a secure backyard), and to make sure that your homeowner’s insurance doesn’t have breed restrictions. People can be crazy and unpredictable, so always be sure to be your dog’s biggest advocate and don’t put them in unfair/unsafe situations. Not every dog who is wearing a muzzle is aggressive. Muzzles also prevent dogs from eating things that could harm them! Remember to keep muzzle training short and sweet, and most importantly, FUN!
She might be a shaky legged 14 year old, but she still knows how to keep the bears away!
One of main things we’ve witnessed in dog behavior over the last 5 years whilst living in the mountains is that bears seem to be the one animal, besides other dogs, that can so quickly bring out such deep routed, instinctual behavior.
Seeing other animals such as rabbits, squirrels, birds, dogs, etc…obviously can, and often does bring out certain behaviors in our dogs that are fairly stereotypical of their breed type, but seeing or even smelling a bear seems to take our own personal dogs, or any dog that we’ve had here for board and train, back to some sort of a primitive state of mind.
The very reason I was able to get this video in the first place was because I heard Sadie’s “Bear Bark” coming from our back deck whilst I was cleaning the bathroom…Proof that just because we’re faced with modern day to day tasks, our dogs still take the work that their ancient ancestors were selectively bred to do, very seriously…
Before we go any further, we’d like to state that this video is for educational purposes and that Bear is NOT and aggressive dog.
It’s no secret that the world as we know it is developing at a more rapid pace than ever, especially in western countries such as the United States. Unfortunately, this is causing more and more anxiety in our dogs! So many of them are now having find themselves navigating their way through a totally new, alien world, and if we think about it that way, it comes as no surprise that dog bites are on the up!
This is why muzzle training is so important, especially if your dog is displaying reactive, defensive or aggressive behaviors. The safety of your dog and the general public should be your number one priority, and the basket muzzle the only guaranteed way to ensure that serious bites don’t happen.
That said, muzzles aren’t only for dogs that run the risk of biting! They’re also great tools from preventing your nosy / greedy dog (cough, Labs! cough…) from ingesting anything they shouldn’t when out in public.
Overall, basket muzzles are an extremely under utilized bit of kit and we highly recommend that everyone works on getting their dog comfortable with being able to wear one.
You never know, it could safe a life.
#prestigiouspoochdogtraining #muzzletraining #familydogmediation #cpdtka #greatpyraneesmix
Agility!!! Aside from working with dogs and their owners on reactivity, this is my favorite type of training!
Can you believe that this is only Coco’s second time at agility training? Dogs like her certainly have the physical and mental capabilities to excel at this type of training, but it doesn’t mean that your older, heavier, slower, easily distracted dog can’t do it too! It just takes some modification, motivation and a bit of patience!
Not only is agility training incredibly fun for everyone involved, it also takes an incredible amount of focus and impulse control on your dogs behalf. It also helps to reduce stress, anxiety and tires them out mentally as well as physically.
All else aside, her owners don’t know it, but Coco and I have big plans to travel the world and go head to head with the very best in the agility world! BECAUSE SHE’S A CHAMPION, BABY!!! 🥇🐩
#miniturepoodle #poodleagility #agilitytraining #impulsecontrol #myfuturechampion
After a great vacation, the board and train is officially back on the tracks 🚂🐾
Needless to say, it’s a pretty great gang we got here!!
#prestigiouspoochdogtraining #boardandtrain #mountainlife #minaturepoodle #goldenretriever #bernedoodle #irishsetterpoodle #pitbullmix #chinesevillagedog
Repetition! Repetition! Repetition! This is the key to long term behavior modification training!
As the great Bob Ross used to say “ The brain, like any other muscle, is capable to doing great things. You just have to keep exercising it”…or something along those lines, anyway…
Despite what some people / trainers might tell you, there is NO quick fix in dog training…Sure, certain dogs learn quicker than others and there are certain tools that will suppress a certain behavior in that moment, like putting a E-Collar on a reactive dog and shocking the living daylights out of it whenever it reacts to seeing another dog. But, like using duct tape to stop a leak, it’s simply a short term solution..and not a very good one at that.
In the new world of social media instant gratification, you very rarely see the real, often tedious and sometimes “boring” world of dog training. Luckily for you guys we have zero interest in becoming “influencers” and have no problem with showing you how it really is.
This is Isla! She’s a year old Australian Shepherd. Being the breed she is means she was born with a strong instinct to herd. This has been proving problematic for the owners when trying to use the vacuum cleaner.
So, we have a couple of options here. We could use a E-Collar or Prong Collar and give a hard correction whenever she displays a behavior that she was inherently born with? 🤔 OR!! We can redirect her and reward her for offering a more desired behavior?! In this case, it’s a “go to your bed” cue. I think we all know the answer here…
THIS is behavior modification! Does it take a little more time and patience? Of course. Does it pay off? Absolutely!
Here you can see just how many times I had to redirect her to her bed. Especially when I work on going down the hallway and out of sight…Which goes back to our opening line…REPETITION!
If you have any further questions regarding this post then please don’t hesitate to shoot us a
“I swear my dog only listens when your here, he never listens to me” - This is something we often hear when doing in home lessons. But guess what?! They don’t always listen to us, either!!
As you know, we like to show you the real side of dog training, and the work that goes into making your pup a success. Here is a prime example of what we deal with on a regular basis. This is Otter, a six month old Irish setter / poodle mix. “Why does it seem like he has a short attention span and is easily frustrated?” I hear you cry…And the simple answer to that is? He’s six months old! Which basically means he’s running off of hormones and impulse! Not to mention that his DNA is made up of two highly intelligent, high drive breeds.
The concept of this video is to show the importance of patience and following through with all cues. To some, it may just look like an “unruly” dog in need of “discipline.” When in actual fact it shows an incredibly sweet teenage dog trying, and in my opinion, succeeding at being able to get it together. Even if every impulsive bone in his gangly, awkward teenage body is trying otherwise!
It’s not about what ya go through, but how you make it out the other side. We can understand why a lot of dog owners give up hope, especially with an adolescent, high drive breed type. Just remember, patience is a virtue, and although it seems like it’s not paying off at the time, the consistency of training through this difficult period will ensure that these behaviors won’t become and lifelong habit in the future 👍🏼
Good boy, Otter! You’re impulse, but you’re a damn good boy! 🧡
#irishsetter #irishsetterpoodlemix #impulsecontrol #agilitytraining #prestigiouspoochdogtraining
Can any dog do agility? Yes!
Are some better than others? Yes!
Does that matter? No!
It’s as simple as that 🙂👍🏼
#bassethound #bassethoundsofinstagram #agility #prestigiouspoochdogtraining #agilityhound
How to make a safe, durable tether for your dog in less than 5 minuets 👍🏼🦮
The sweetest dog on the planet would like to wish you a happy Hallows Eve 🐕👻🎃 Get Spooky or die trying? Isn’t that right Rodney?
#prestigiouspoochdogtraining #rodneygarfunklewilliams #getspooky #luckydogcuisine
Agility training isn’t just fun, it’s also a great way to reinforce impulse control, enhancing focus and strengthening the bond between the dog and it’s owner / handler.
Isla is making great progress with her agility training! The tunnel and jumps came easy to her! The weaving still needs a little work, but she’s getting there 👍🏼
Who else practices agility training with their pups?
#agilitytraining #dogtraining #prestigiouspoochdogtraining #australianshepherd #aussiesofinstagram #boardandtrain
Counter conditioning with the use of positive reinforcement (changing his emotional response to something that is perceived as “scary”). This is the very first time that Otis has seen or heard a leaf blower. After successfully becoming quickly desensitized to the vacuum cleaner, I decided to up the ante a little and use the same method with the leaf blower. Seeing and hearing the loud noises of a vacuum cleaner and leaf blower is something Otis is going to experience on a regular basis at his home in LA. As we live in an extremely quiet mountain town, we don’t hear the sound of the blower too often.
When working through this, I decided that using Otis’s most prized asset, his nose, would be a great way to help break the fixation and lower the stimulus level. Treat scattering is a great way to distract your nosy little hound when they start to reach a certain level of arousal that could manifest into fear based reactivity.
When doing this kind of daily training, timing is crucial. Re direct your pup before they go past threshold and keep the training sessions down to a maximum of just a minute or so. Maybe even less, depending on the dogs reactivity. Over time, you can gradually increase the time. Patience is a virtue!
Also, feel free to turn this post into a drinking game! Every you read the word “blower” you gotta take a shot of your choice… 👍🏼
#bassethound #counterconditioning #bassetsofinstagram #prestigiouspoochdogtraining #mountainliving #luckydogcuisine
Deaf Dog Training with Elivis
Teaching a deaf dog visual cues and markers. Elvis is the man! #prestigiouspoochdogtraining #deafdogsrock #deafdogsofinstagram #maltese #malteseofinstagram #dogtraining #deafdogtraining
Have a busy body dog who needs more stimulation? Get an Everlasting Treat Ball and fill it with a @stellaandchewys patty and let them go wild! (Boo has to wear a belly band due to being a hormonal 8 mo old who can’t be totally trusted to not lift his leg in the house) #prestigiouspoochdogtraining #prestigiouspooch #mcnabdog #mcnabsofinstagram #mcnabshepherd #bordercollie #canineenrichment #canineenrichmentideas #dogtraining #playtime #stellaandchewys
