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Just like brushing our teeth to prevent cavities, getting regular check ups at the doctor, exercising and even maintaining the our cars with oil and filter changes. Keeping our bodies and machines well oiled and working is a way to prevent problems in the future. Itās not a guarantee, but good measure to take!
The same can be said for our dogs, training early is a good measure to take the prevent problems later.
Grace is 14 weeks old and her guardian noticed she started backing away slightly from her harness. He let me know right away, luckily she didnāt seem too worried about it so we talked about providing choice and teaching her to put her own head through and the reasons dogs can become uncomfortable with harnesses and other equipment. We caught this really early and likely prevented a big problem!
*note: for dogs who are very averse to harnesses or collars the process involves slow desensitization and counter conditioning. Find a qualified positive reinforcement trainer for help.
Donāt wait until you need a trainer to find a trainer.
I highly recommend working with a professional for puppy training, whether is a class, private sessions, help with socializing or a combination. Weāre like a fun kindergarten teacher for your dog ā¤ļø
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Cooperative Nail Care
Why do reward based trainers talk so much about the importance of working at each dogs individual pace as well as teaching your dog the power of choice and cooperation over their care? Because when a dog feels they can opt in or out of things that may have previously been viewed as scary, and even once have been forced (yes I forced nail trims once) you can see amazing emotional transformations. When we tell them itās ok to say āno I donāt want to do thisā or āyes please moreā - the agency afforded creates a more confident dog.
Weāve been working for the past few years on changing Moxieās feelings about having her nails done and over her last few dremel sessions she began to give slow, happy anticipatory tail flops - but I want you to pay attention to WHEN - itās when the dremel touches her nail. This is the start of the reinforcement sequence. Dremel then reward. Itās an important distinction.
Their pace is rarely our wanted pace. Take your ego and put it aside, working with your dog in this way is truly a gift. Let go of the power to control and learn to work as a team. Iād love to teach you how! Iām available for Virtual Coaching sessions ā¤ļø
Provide your dogs with appropriate outlets for natural behaviors!!
Digging is such a natural behavior for dogs, some more than others, yet Iām often asked how to stop it! Instead of stopping a behavior that comes naturally letās find a way to help our dogs engage in a way that works for everyone.
Both of my dogs love to dig! If they arenāt give ample opportunity to engage in this very natural behavior in a ālegalā way it doesnāt mean they will just stop digging. They will just find a place they want and make a hole. It will probably be in my garden digging up my flowers or vegetables, and that would be frustrating. So how to I prevent this behavior?
Manage:
ā¢ Restrict access to places they are likely to dig that I donāt want them digging - use gates or chicken wire while training is in place.
ā¢ Donāt leave the dogās unsupervised in the yard to make mistakes and create unwanted digging habits. **Puppies especially shouldnāt be unsupervised for any extended period of time alone in the yard**
Train:
Provide a place where you want digging to take place. I use an empty garden bed. Kiddie pools or just a corner of the yard is a great option!
ā¢ Fill with an appealing dirt or sand
ā¢ Bury toys or bones and maybe sprinkle some treats to help your dog engage in the space
ā¢ Direct your dog to the space when they get the urge to dig
ā¢ Put ādigā on cue
ā¢ Praise and tell your dog how brilliant they are when they get it right
ā¢ Repeat - it will take some practice, especially if theyāve already been digging elsewhere
Happy Digging!
REINFORCEMENT DRIVES BEHAVIOR
REINFORCEMENT DRIVES BEHAVIOR.
This is true for all sentient beings. We are much more likely to repeat behaviors that have positive outcomes.
Pay your dogs well for the behaviors you are looking to strengthen and maintain.
This can and should be behaviors they offer naturally and behaviors you ask for! There is nothing wrong with being generous. If you see it and like it, pay for it!
What will you reinforce your dog for today?? ā¬ļøā¬ļø
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#dogtraining #snackleader #acanineaffinity #rewardyourdog #reinforcementdrivesbehavior #positivereinforcement
Muzzle Conditioning
Yesterday I posted about muzzles! Here is a video on helping your dog start to become comfortable wearing a muzzle.
Like and share this video so others can learn that muzzles donāt equal bad dogs!! Help me spread the word!!
#muzzletraining #dogtraining #dogtrainingadvice
Got to do an impromptu training session with some horses recently! Both of the dogs tend to react to horses on trails as they are very close and usually moving quickly. They havenāt had much opportunity to see horses up close just being still. Rodger was pretty fascinated, just watching mostly and cautious when they made movements. Moxie was quick to bark when they made sounds but so realized her barking wasnāt eliciting a response so she was happy to play some engage disengage for some cheese! I hope to have horses someday so I will definitely be looking for more opportunities like these. Super proud of how quickly both were able to settle around these beauties.
How do your dogs do around horses or other large animals?
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#dogtraining #dogtrainer #forcefreetraining #horses
Enrichment - Enhancing the value of something. For dogs - Anything that allows your dog (or any animal) to tap into their natural instincts. This means enrichment isnāt only food related!
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Some of the extra branches trimmed from the Christmas tree made for some super fun morning enrichment for these two!
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How are you enriching your dogs life today?
When Tyler (non harnessed dog) started beginning puppy training 5 weeks ago he was very unsure about it all. He spent the first class trembling, tail tucked, refusing food and couldnāt wait to leave. His humans, who were told not to take him outside until he was fully vaccinated, committed to helping him learn about the world in a safe way. They have been attending classes, puppy socials and working with him at home and now heās grown into a beautiful and much more confident pup! Iām so thrilled so see how growth as he got a late start to his socialization and his progress is not always typical. Itās important to know that there are safe ways to socialize puppies before they are fully vaccinated, and it is critical to do so. Brain development calls for a large portion of socialization prior to 16 weeks of age.
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If you have questions about how to safely socialize your puppy, please ask me!
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Progress is and should be gradual behavior modification. When I started working with Gamja about 2 months ago for people and dog reactivity we started where she could be successful. This meant greater distances between her and possible triggers, short sessions, lots of breaks and more. Through gradual work allowing her to learn that people will move predictably, good things will happen in their presence and she will have space to move away as needed and we are now working in a much more difficult setting. She has often been scared by people appearing around corners and from stairways causing reactions, which is reasonable. Starting training in this environment would not have been fair, we would be setting her up to fail by asking her to deal with too many unpredictable stimulus at once and sending her over threshold into a place where she cannot learn or think. When a dog is reacting, barking, lunging and more they cannot learn. Yelling, popping their collar, shocking them or more in am attempt to correct that behavior may seem like the only option in the moment but you are not teaching your dog anything but to continue to be afraid of the thing in front of them.
Progress is progress. It should be gradual. There are no quick fixes. Gamja was practicing her reactive behavior for over a year and weāve made significant improvements in 2 months, to me thatās pretty good....
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Socialization to novel objects in āOlder Puppyā class. This class is for puppies 18weeks -8 months old. Very often pups enrolled in this class missed some critical socialization time for one reason or another so it itās my goal to help them learn as much as possible about the world around them in the time I have with them. The development that takes place during the sensitive socialization period (about 6-16weeks) helps puppies learn how to accept new things/people/dogs etc into their environment with general ease. If puppies arenāt exposed to enough and have a lot of positive experiences before around 16 weeks of age they run a high risk of having behavioral issues in the future.
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However, this doesnāt mean we cannot still socialize our older puppies, we just need to take it slow, ensure experiences are extremely positive, and work hard to make up for lost time during the adolescent period.
Working with a professional, positive trainer is highly suggested at this junction as well!
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If you are struggling with an older puppy and need help please reach out and I will try to direct you to a professional in your area! If youāre in the Bay Area, reach out and Iād love to help!
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#dogtraining #dogtrainingtips #forcefreetraining #puppytraining #puppytrainingtips #positivereinforcementtraining #socialization #puppysocialization #trainwithoutpain #hssv #hssvtraining
At some point about 4 years ago Moxie became horribly afraid of flies. I donāt know if there was a specific incident that triggered it, but it was suddenly a very present fear/phobia. Outside, if she saw a fly she would become very nervous and unable to respond to much, if one landed on her or she even thought one landed on her she shut down completely and needed to escape inside. It would take 30 mins or more for her to recover.
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If a fly was inside our house things got bad. Shaking, trembling, panting, trying to escape. Full on panic attacks. She would need to leave the house and would sometime refuse to come back in.
My husband and I have become master fly hunters. They only way we could calm her was to kill the fly and show it to her. Then she could let it go.
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This went on for years. I looked for solutions, other dogs suffering from the same phobia, how do you fix a totally unpredictable problem?
ā Not by getting flies and bringing them into the environment.
āNot with food. Flies like food .
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š” So we used Moxies biggest reinforcer- PLAY! Turning hunting flies into a game. Slowly practicing looking at the fly swatter and playing tug/ball.
š” Running outside when the fly swatter comes out
š”Chasing crickets outside first, then gnats, and now flies. We have to carefully monitor not chasing bees š
š”Spending short 2 minute sessions outside in the afternoon when flies are out training and playing, but always allowing her to leave and go inside anytime.
After 2 years of consistently helping her feel safe when flies are present and looking for ways to help her enjoy her life in a fly dominated world........
š Moxie is only mildly uncomfortable with flies. She will lay in the grass and move if she sees one but doesnāt shut down anymore. Her life isnāt run by these flying beasts.
I never thought Iād see her enjoy herself in the yard in the afternoon sun like this. Itās the little things.
šŖš¼These things take time. Th
Separation Anxiety And Puppy Training For Dogs And Pet-Parents Everywhere Specializing in treating separation anxiety in dogs.
