Stop scrolling, lower your shoulders and take a deep breath. How do you feel after exhaling? Believe it or not, we can teach dogs biofeedback exercises like deep breathing if we can sharpen our observation skills and deliver reinforcers calmly to our dog after each deep breath. In this video, you will see Ruby the dog and Kate the very observant and supportive guardian working on this exercise together. While we can see changes in the appearance of the front of Ruby’s nostrils when she breaths deeply, Kate and I are looking at the wing like flaps on the side of the nostril and Kate is marking (“yes”) and reinforcing (treats) when she notices the flap opening for a deep breath.
From Frank Rosell, author of “Secrets of the Snout”: “When the dog inhales, an opening above and beside this flap allows air to pass through. When the dog exhales, this opening closes and the air comes out below and beside this flap through another opening, enabling the dog to increase its collection of odors.”
Exercises like this can be helpful when teaching dogs how to authentically settle on a mat and are foundation exercises that are useful for teaching relaxation. My goal is to have a genuinely relaxed dog, not just a dog that is holding still. If you are interested in this and want to read more, check our Dr. Karen Overall’s website and her “relaxation protocol.”
🚨Awesome Adoptable Alert🚨 Ralphie is super smart, brings the party at play time, and like most livestock guardian breeds he’s very affectionate with people he knows and trusts. OAHS would like to place him as an only dog; he has had a dog playmate on neutral ground successfully at least once in the past.
In this video clip, Emily who participates in the Canine Crusader program at Oshkosh Area Humane Society is teaching Ralphie the skill of walking close to her on leash while maintaining connection and eye contact. She starts by using a food lure to teach Ralphie the position of a loose leash walk, reinforcing him for being in that position. Once he is beginning to understand where to walk, she added the cue “With Me” and we began reinforcing him for holding that position for longer distance and duration. We used the cones on the floor as a ruler to measure but at home you can count your steps or use lines in the sidewalk to measure distance. Ralphie is walking on a front clip harness here which helps give gentle control to a handler when needed. You’ll notice there is slack on the leash in this entire clip, the harness and leash are really just like a seatbelt in a car here and aren’t what is teaching the behavior of loose leash walking. It is a myth that harnesses teach dogs to pull!
A few days ago I shared a video of a hippo training to participate in his own dental care. Our dogs and cats also can be trained to participate in their oral hygiene care cooperatively. This reduces stress on the caregiver and the animal and provides animals with the ability to have their health more frequently assessed by their guardian and veterinary team so they don’t miss critical warning signs of disease. Mickie and her guardian previously worked on cooperative nail care training with me - Mickie is much less stressed during nail care if she isn’t restrained or held down and can be a willing participant in her nail trims. Her guardian expressed that she would like to also teach Mickie to have her teeth brushed cooperatively using the same principles - we worked on acclimating Mickie to the types of handling we would do during brushing, added an informational cue, and this was the end of their first session! They’ve continued to work on this at home to help Mickie continue to feel increasingly more comfortable with brushing - taking good care of your animal’s teeth can add years to their life!
This morning I had fun at The Neenah Animal Shelter’s Furry Flurry. I got to meet Mutthammad Ali who is an AWESOME adoptable dog who helped me with a loose leash walk training demo. He was able to practice a training skill on stage with a loud PA system and crowd full of people and dogs. I was so impressed by his ability to work around distractions. I want to give a shoutout to NAS volunteer Gloria who also trains at Ideal DOG who has been working with Mutthamad Ali and helping him shine like the star that he is. Want to adopt a great companion? Go check this guy out. Share if you can’t adopt to help connect him with someone looking for their new best friend. I’ll post more adorable photos of him in the comments.
The future looks bright! 🤩 Peighton and her buddy Rainbow wanted to work on some beginning agility concepts to boost their teamwork together. Mom and Dad were there to cheer them on but Peighton did all this training herself in their first session. When I see young people training effectively and compassionately it gives me hope for the future of animal training.
Teaching a “Quiet Please” cue is one of several strategies I use to help guardians whose dogs engage in longer sequences of intense barking behavior. For some dogs, maintaining complete silence when a visitor arrives isn’t realistic and reinforcing them for a single bark can be a strategy that meets the dogs’s natural desire to alert and also helps guardians’ sensitive ears by interrupting a long sequence of intense barking. The dog in this clip has also been learning to associate new people with opportunity (treats!) instead of threat and has been practicing several other training games to build comfort with visitors and communication with her guardian. #dogtraining #rescuedog #positivedogtraining #forcefreedogtraining
💡”Leave It” Training Tips 💡 This video shows highlights from a recent training session teaching a dog to leave times on a counter and redirect his attention to his own toy on the floor. For a more detailed tutorial with step by step instructions - check out my YouTube!
#goldenretrieversofinstagram #positivereinforcement #clickertraining #goldenretriever #dogtrainingtips
Many thanks to DGadzinski Photography for using positive reinforcement based training methods to help my dog Mordie feel more comfortable in his photo session. She is located in Waupaca, WI, please consider checking her out if you want to capture some precious memories with your furry family members.
Taco started his training working on learning skills that would help him feel more empowered and comfortable when meeting new people. His guardian wanted to see if working with him on some agility obstacles might also increase his confidence and benefit their teamwork - I think its safe to say these two make a beautiful team. Many thanks to Ideal DOG LLC for allowing me to work with clients in their beautiful space.
This video shows some helpful beginning training steps for teaching your dog how to walk on a loose leash. Spring is almost here, so it’s a great time to work on these skills with your dog, whether they are learning this for the first time or they just need a refresher.
Training a settle on mat cue can be a wonderful incompatible to jumping up during life’s exciting moments.
#positivereinforcement #clickertraining #herdingdog #kpactp #cdbc #forcefreetraining #dogtraining
It is such an honor and a privilege to help this beautiful team reach their training goals. #positivereinforcement #looseleashwalking #clickertraining #doodlesoftiktok #kpactp #cdbc #goldendoodle #lovemydog
Muzzle training hack - Some dogs just need a little extra help learning to feel comfy wearing a muzzle. If your dog has learned to put their own face in their muzzle but they still need some extra help learning to walk and behave normally with it on, try creating a “training” version of your muzzle by cutting the front off a second muzzle in their size. Playing games with toys, chewing, licking and sniffing can all be made easier while your dog learns their muzzle is a good thing. Switch back to the regular closed front muzzle when your dog shows you they’ve learned to feel comfortable wearing their training version.
Dogs wear muzzles for many reasons - to prevent eating things on the ground, to add safety to grooming or vet care, during introductions to new animals… always work with a certified trainer or behavior consultant if your dog displays signs of aggression and you need help. #positivedogtraining #positivedogtrainer #fearfreepets #kpactp #iaabc #muzzletraining #muzzleuppup #muzzleupproject
My client taught this ADORABLE cue “Be a Gentleman” for a paw crossing behavior. Not only is trick training mentally stimulating for smart dogs like Charlie who want a brain workout, but this behavior in particular is a wonderful incompatible behavior to jumping up and mouthing which are common herding breed greetings. What a joy to witness the amazing ways positive reinforcement builds relationships and desirable habits.
