Animal Alliances Dog Training School

12/04/2024

Here’s an example of what I call a tiny Training Session. It’s morning, I’m making coffee and feeding the dogs breakfast. While I wait for water to boil or coffee to drip, I have a few free seconds, so I do a few reps of whatever behaviors we’re working on. (It helps to keep some kibbles stashed in your pocket, or little jars of treats stashed strategically around the house.) This video is actually much longer than most of my Tiny Training Sessions last!

I also do this on walks, throwing in a few reps of tricks, dog parkour, or manners behaviors every so often, especially when one of my dogs is sniffing something and another isn’t.

You’ll be amazed at how quickly you can make progress on learning behaviors when you practice for 15-30 seconds at a time.

Need inspiration for behaviors to practice? Take a class! Winter is a great time to sign up for a fun indoor activity with your dog, and it’ll give you lots of fun behaviors to work on for the rest of the week. Or grab a book like 101 Dog Tricks or Dog University from the library, or watch Kikopup on YouTube. There are lots of great ways to learn new behaviors to teach your dog!

11/06/2024

Trigger is extremely sensitive about paw handling and nail trims after some bad forced pedicures as a young dog. We’ve done lots of Cooperative Care work around all kinds of medical procedures, tooth brushing, and paw handling. He is still nervous about nail trimming, but I am so, so proud of how far he’s come! Today I actually clipped off three teeny slivers of nail, which is absolutely amazing progress for this guy!

Trigger opts in by putting his chin down on my leg and by offering me his paw. I am gently holding his paw, but not restraining it or squeezing it.

The part that really warms my heart is that after we finished, he fell asleep on my lap. He’s snoring there as I write this. This is the kind of trusting relationship I want with my dogs. 🥰

11/06/2024

Feeling so grateful for these goofy beasts who bring light and joy and comfort to my life. (Look at Rye’s tiny front teeth! 🥰)

10/27/2024

Why do we train our dogs? So that we can have wonderful lives and adventures together! Working on our dogs’ manners and social skills lets them come to more places with us, from vacations to friends’ houses to dog-friendly stores, breweries, cafes, and outdoor concerts. Like all life skills, these manners take practice, but the payoff in your relationship and the enrichment of your dog’s life (and yours) is priceless!

10/08/2024

This little lady used to yank her paws away when I tried to hold them. Yesterday and today she lay on my lap and let me clip and dremel all of her nails, and now she has fallen asleep. She got so excited when I got out the towel and clippers that she tried to climb into my lap before the towel was even spread out!

Cooperative Care is a long, slow journey, but the long-term rewards are truly priceless: not just trimmed nails, healthy feet and better posture, but a relationship between dog and human based on trust, consent, and mutual cooperation.

If you need help working on Cooperative Care with your dog, we are here for you! We offer private training on this, and have a group class version that we offer by request.

09/19/2024

This is a great example of how to teach a dog to be calm and focused in public or in other distracting situations. These are excellent foundation skills for not just service dogs, but pet dogs who you want to have come with you to the brewery, outdoor cafe, farmer’s market, block party, friends’ houses, etc.

Did you know that two of our trainers (Alex and Eli) also work for At Your Service Dog Training? If you have a dog who you’d like to train to be a service, emotional support, or therapy dog, they are great resources!

In this video, board-and-train Labradoodle SDiT, Bode, is taken on a training field trip to Tractor Supply. The trainer doesn't just take him inside the stor...

09/12/2024

Looking for ways to entertain your pup on days when you can’t go out? Here are some fun ideas. I also recommend picking some fun training goals, such as getting a Trick Dog, Dog Parkour, or Cyber Rally-O title (all of which can be earned by submitting videos) and doing short, fun training sessions. It’s amazing how tiring learning new skills is, and you’ll be astonished at how quickly you can get to your goals.

Knowing how to entertain your dog at home is a vital skill for a dog owner when working from home, or just on a hot day, or a rainy cold one.

09/12/2024

This is a great example of ways we punish behaviors we like in humans. We do it to our dogs, too.

For example, they run out the door and we chase them through the neighborhood calling them, but when they finally come to us, we often scold them.

Or they growl to tell us they’re feeling uncomfortable instead of going right to a snap or putting their teeth on us, and we get angry at them for growling.

Dogs do what works for them. Running out the door gets them a fun adventure; coming to us makes that end. If their warning growl gets punished instead of listened to, they will stop doing it and go right to snapping or biting.

If you catch yourself having one of these (very human) emotional reactions, take a mental step back and think about how you can make it feel good for your dog to do what you want instead.

That might look like practicing stays while the door opens and earning lots of great treats, and practicing coming when called games on a long line while walking through the neighborhood.

It might look like observing what circumstances make your dog growl and changing your household setup and/or routines so they aren’t put into those situations, e.g. a baby gate between dog and toddler, or putting dog in another room while they eat so no one approaches them. It can also look like playing training games to help your dog feel better about those circumstances so they no longer feel the need to growl.

Need help making these training plans? Contact an experienced trainer who does not use punishment or aversive methods. We are here to help make your life and your dog’s life together better!

09/11/2024

09/06/2024

I often describe adolescence as the time when a puppy’s brain seems to “fall out” and they must slowly grow in their new, adult brain. 😂 This is a fantastic explanation of what is actually happening to an adolescent dog’s brain that makes them behave the ways they do.

There’s a reason that the majority of dogs on PetFinder and in shelters are 8-18 months old. If you’re having a hard time with your dog’s adolescence, you’re not alone! Hang in there, and seek help from a positive/force-free trainer when you need it. We are here to help you!

Adolescence occurs between six months and 18 months of age—a time when guardians typically struggle the most with their dogs. Some guardians are so overwhelmed and underprepared for this developmental stage of their dog’s life, they choose to surrender the dog to a local shelter or rescue group. In a recent study published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science found that the majority of the surrendered dogs (47.7 percent) ) were between 5 months and 3 years of age (M.D. Salman,John G. New, Jr.,Janet M. Scarlett,Philip H. Kass,Rebecca Ruch-Gallie &Suzanne Hetts, 2010)

The neurobiology of adolescence is fascinating, with some key events that alter both the structure and function of the brain.

During canine adolescence, changing s*x hormones effect the animals stress responses. Adolescent dogs have a decreased ability to process information they are receiving from the environment including the presence of dogs, vehicles, people, or really anything around them. They behave in ways that might feel frustrating or upsetting for the dog’s person.

The connectivity between the frontal cortex (responsible for decision making) and amygdala (responsible for emotional processing) decreases, resulting in less behavioral control. We see increased risk taking and more sensitivity to fear.

So what does this mean? This could mean that what was once no big deal to the dog now feels scary; what was once easy to do is now stressful; what once made sense is now confusing. At times, the world can feel like ‘too much’ for the adolescent dog.

As your puppy undergoes this transition into adulthood their inner world is intense, even chaotic. Many pet owners experience an increase in undesirable behavior and find themselves becoming increasingly frustrated. In turn, our own frustration and impatience can cause us to act unpredictably. This adds to our puppy’s inner turmoil. When the inside and the outside are both unpredictable it can be difficult for our dogs to adjust.

If you have an adolescent dog, what can you do? You can give your dog the time and space to observe what is going on around them when on leash at a distance away from the activity when possible. You can give your dog long walks to sniff and explore in nature, giving their brain time to decompress. You can offer your dog a quiet space to sleep so that they can consolidate memories effectively. You can continue training various skills, breaking them down into easier steps that can be generously reinforced.

By understanding what our adolescent dog is experiencing we gain greater compassion and understanding. When we approach adolescence with patience we create a world that is predictable and gentle so our puppies grow up to be their best adult selves.

09/06/2024

Reactive dogs are still wonderful dogs! We may need to adjust our expectations of what activities they will enjoy doing with us and what that relationship will look like, but that is true of any relationship with any species of creature. (Parents of human kids, I’m sure you know this feeling!)

08/25/2024

Excellent advice!

Today's Dog Training Myth of the Day: "Only tell them once!"

What if you ask a dog (whatever age, breed, s*x, background, training level) to do something, but there is no response?

Set aside the myth of "only tell them once." Good rule of thumb: if it were a toddler, what would you do? Probably wait a few beats, be sure you had the kid's attention, then ask again.

Just like us, dogs may not be tuned in 100% because they are busy having their own experience of life which may or may not include you at any moment.

If you *do* have the pup's attention, and they did hear you, next step is to consider that they do not understand and/or don't see the point!

I've often asked clients to stand on a chair and sing happy birthday. I've done it while they were trying to take notes. Result: no compliance, and they say usually say, "Sorry - I was focused on taking notes. What did you say?"

If they are paying attention to me but look at me as if I'm crazy, I ask, "Did you understand what I asked? You did? So why aren't you doing it?" Inevitably the answer is, "I don't want to" or "Why would I do that?" It helped them understand how their dogs might be responding.

So give your dogs the courtesy of clear communication, engage attention first, be sure there is understanding, and make it worthwhile for the dog to work with you. Respect, courtesy and taking responsibility for what we are communicating and how we are communicating -- those are all supportive of healthy dog/human relationships.

This does not mean repeating, Sit-sit-sit-sit-sit-sit which is not good communication no matter who you're talking to! 😊

If you want and need response to just one request (and this has great value!), you first have to teach understanding, understand that connection and attention must come first always, then develop the skill, tighten the criteria and make it worthwhile. Then practice!!!

08/13/2024

08/12/2024

This is the heart of good training. Why is the dog doing the behavior you want to change? What need is driving it? How can we teach the dog a different way to get that need met?

08/01/2024

Happy August! Don’t forget to give your pets their monthly flea & tick and heartworm medications!