The Canine Mentor

02/01/2025

"Please have a seat in the lobby and someone will be right with you"

12/29/2024

When someone says there's free pizza in the break room

12/25/2024

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!

12/24/2024

Today I was training two dogs outside a fenced in dog park. I see a couple walking a dog toward the park. Based on the dogs behavior, I immediately think to myself that dog is going to start a fight. They step inside, take off the leash, dog postures up and just stands there. Other dogs notice and run towards it. It immediately starts a a fight. Owners break it up by grabbing the dogs harness. The second they let go of the harness, it runs and starts another fight. They break it up again, then let the dog go. This time it starts running after other dogs trying to start fights. Owner chases it around trying to catch it. Pandemonium ensues. They finally catch it and leave. This is what you risk going to a dog park and why I never recommend them to clients..

12/18/2024

I made Tito bleed like 1 drop of blood off 1 nail while clipping them. This was his response afterwards.

12/14/2024

I only recommend a harness in very limited circumstances for health reasons. For most clients, I recommend they throw their harness away.

Dog harnesses are sometimes claimed to reduce pulling forces on the leash, but an experiment found they have the opposite effect

12/08/2024

Just normal things in this house

12/08/2024

Took Tito to check out The Dog Wash on Main street in downtown Clayton. What a great experience. The machine was very easy to use and did a great job. If you have giving your dog a bath in your tub like I do, go and check them out.

12/06/2024

The Dog Wash is doing a soft opening this weekend. Complimentary washes tomorrow. Locally owned by a Clayton restaurant. Check them out tomorrow or this weekend.

11/30/2024

Tito would like you to know our Black Friday deals have started. Start any training package by 12/25 and get 15% off.

11/15/2024

Happy national pickle day! It's kind of a big dill!

11/13/2024

When your 80 pound pitbull Foster dog claims your daughters purple and pink blankie

11/11/2024

Thanks to all the veterans who served this great nation including the 4 legged one.

11/04/2024

Bailey wants to show you her sweater.

10/25/2024

Today I was doing a lesson at a dog park, using the dogs in the park as a distraction. A woman pulled in, her dog was barking out the window from 100 yards away. She proceeds to get him out of the car, he barks and lunges at every dog he sees, including the one my client had in a down stay 15 yards away. She told me he's actually really well trained. I silently thought to myself, no he's not. If you dog doesn't listen in every environment, it's not trained. If you need help getting there, give us a call or fill out the form at https://thecaninementor.net/
Tito the chihuahua approves this message.

09/11/2024

Does your dog bark obnoxiously at everything it sees or hears? We can fix that for you. https://thecaninementor.net/

09/03/2024

Effective Dog Training: How To Reinforce Positive Behavior and Avoid Common Mistakes.

The simplest approach to dog training is to reward behaviors you want to encourage and either ignore or intervene in behaviors you want to stop. However, many of my clients unintentionally do the opposite. They often struggle to communicate in a way that is meaningful to their dog. Talking to and touching a dog is always a reward from the dog’s perspective. Unfortunately, most owners fail to reinforce good behavior with praise and affection, but they do provide attention—albeit negative—when the dog misbehaves. This inadvertently reinforces the very behavior they want to discourage.
Let's take, for example, a dog that jumps on its owner in excitement when they come home. Almost every owner I encounter with this issue responds the same way. The dog jumps up, and the owner says, “Oh, Fluffy,” pets the dog, and then pushes it off (which is perceived as a reward). Once the dog is back on the ground, the owner ignores it, thinking this is a form of punishment. However, this doesn’t correct the jumping behavior and the dog thinks your are ignoring it because it's not jumping on you. The goal should be to train the dog to greet people with all four paws on the floor. When teaching a new behavior, the reward must be immediate. So, the interaction should look like this: If the dog jumps, use your knee to gently push it off while saying “off.” The moment all four paws are on the ground, immediately reward the dog by saying, “Yes, good dog,” and then pet it. If the dog starts to jump again, stop petting, and repeat the process.

Training your dog to behave properly is a more enjoyable experience for both you and your dog compared to constantly scolding it. Imagine starting a new job where your boss provides no job description or training. You’re told that if you make a mistake, someone will yell at you, but they won’t clearly identify what the mistake was, leaving you to figure it out on your own. Sounds stressful, right? Yet, this is how many clients interact with their dogs before they begin working with me.

Consistency is key if you expect a certain behavior when you give a specific command. For instance, if your dog gets into the trash, and one time you yell, “No, Fluffy, get out of the trash,” and the next time you say, “Darn it, Fluffy, how many times do I have to tell you?”—you’re not teaching your dog anything except maybe to wait until you’re out of the kitchen to get into the trash. Instead, I use a consistent command like “leave it,” ensure the dog moves away, and reward it when it does. I take this a step further by putting the dog on a leash, placing something tempting, like a piece of meat, on top of the trash, and waiting for the dog to try and get it. The key is to prevent the dog from rewarding itself by getting the meat, which is why I use a leash (and sometimes an e-collar, though it’s not mandatory). When the dog resists the temptation, I immediately reward it with a piece of the meat. I repeat this process, gradually rewarding less frequently. Over time, the dog learns that ignoring the trash may lead to a reward, but trying to take it results in nothing.

I’ll be posting more articles once or twice a week and some videos, so if you found this information useful, please follow me for more content. If you have questions about this article or a topic you'd like to see covered, feel free to message me or leave a comment. If you’re interested in training for your dog or scheduling a consultation, visit https://thecaninementor.net/ or send me a message. Lastly, if you think this information could help others, please share it. Thank you!

https://thecaninementor.net/

07/29/2024

Does he bite? No, but he will silently judge you.
https://thecaninementor.net/