Helping Hounds Training Solutions

01/10/2025

So you have a new puppy, or a newly adopted dog--How exciting!

Of course we want them to explore their new home, and get comfortable. Sometimes their cute antics are just too adorable to resist! We let them cuddle with us for a movie on Saturday night (if they're relaxed enough) and let them roam and sniff to their heart's content on the walks--because after all, that's what a walk is for, right?

Well, hold on--

We take into consideration that there are different "camps" of dogs. Not in terms of breeds, but in terms of personalities. Some dogs you absolutely can spoil all day every day, and the dog will grow to be a sweet, affectionate cuddly companion without any troubles or problems. A lot of these dogs don't need the help of a trainer because they're just natrually, inherently good.

Then you have the other dogs--the vast majority. These dogs are the opportunists. The dogs who if you give an inch, they'll take a couple miles. Sometimes they just behave impulsively and mindlessly, and other times, they think they pay the household bills. And for a few--they think they reserve the right to claim you and or correct you if you're out of line. These are the dogs that trainers see day in and day out to address and modify their behavior.

It's very rare that a trainer will be hired to train a dog that's mild-mannered, naturally sweet and chill. But how do we know that's the dog we'll end up with?? Well, we don't. We won't know the personality style of the dog we have until they mature (or until they've been with their new family for about 3 months). This is why it's better if we run a tight ship in the beginning first, and allow them the privileges and freedoms as the relationship grows.

What does it mean to "run a tight ship"? Simple rules and boundaries--even if you might not like it. Privileges like being allowed on the furniture, or rushing through the door for a walk, or even being let into your space whenever they want can absolutely send the wrong message to the wrong personality of dog.

Although it can be hard or even unusual to implement, when you bring a new dog home--whether it's a puppy or recently adopted--try making sure you enforce certain rules, and have them come into your space by invitation. It's absolutely okay to have expectations for their behavior, and then loosen up as they prove themselves in your home.

Do you need help with setting your new puppy or dog up for success? Let us know! Leave a comment or send us a message and let us help you!

01/09/2025

Oh, puppies. They are just so irresistibly cute!

Picture this: You're sitting on the floor, and your adorable little puppy runs up to you and plows into your lap, and just as you embrace the puppy and prevent yourself from falling backwards from the adorable impact, you're filled with pure joy and happiness. Your laughter leads the puppy to get a little more excited, and he so cutely gives a little gnaw on your chin or hands. It doesn't hurt at all, and he's just so cute, so we continue to play.
Then you stand up to go tend to dinner in the oven, and the puppy follows you like a magnet. Because they're so floppy and cute when they're following, we bend right over to give another little pet.

That whole ordeal probably sounds familiar to some, or at least innocent enough to others, right?

Okay, now picture that same exact scenario and what it could mean coming from an adult dog:

You're sitting on the floor trying to play a game with your child, and your 60 pound dog runs up and pummels you. You try to not fall backwards, and instead of laughing, you're saying "hey! stop!", and then the dog goes to be inappropriately mouthy with you. You finally stand up to go tend to dinner, and the dog just keeps entrenching your space. On top of that, you're also worried that the dog will intrude the space of your other guests. Not so cute or fun this time.

This is one of the many examples of how we can start our puppies off on the right path from the get-go. Instead of allowing the (adorable) puppy to rush up and plop in our lap, encourage calm approaches, or have them wait for the invitation. Encourage separation from time to time, whether it's through baby gates, a crate, or a blocked off area---instead of allowing them to always follow you (which then usually results in attention).

Trying to address these issues when the dog is a teenager or full-blown adult is so much harder because, to the dog, it was essentially "okay" to do up until a certain point--then it all of a sudden wasn't okay.

The cuteness factor absolutely doesn't help--and it tends to be the hardest part of the process...because let's face it--it's pretty hard to ignore or discourage attention-seeking behavior from an adorable puppy....but what you encourage and allow with your young puppy can (and usually will) result in a bigger problem down the line...accompanied with OTHER problems linked to that!

Do you have a puppy that you want to get started off on the right track? Let us help! Send us a message, leave a comment, or email us at: [email protected]

01/08/2025

We hear it all the time: "He's got so much energy and he needs to go to someone who's more active"

Truth be told--your dog needs to learn how to settle and rest more than he needs MORE activity.

The more you give your dog--in terms of activity and exercsie--the more they're going to require. The more activities you give them, combined with the lack of settling, will create a dog who can't settle and relax--thus causing problems!

This doesn't mean there aren't dogs/breeds out there that need more physical activity than others--but as a general consensus, pet dog owners love their dogs so much that they want to give them the world, and unintentionally that creates more of a problem than they bargained for.

There's absolutely nothing wrong with utilizing a crate, a closed-off space, and letting your dog settle. If your dog panics or throws a tantrum, don't rush to let them out--let them learn to self-soothe in those situations so they can learn how to settle their brain. (This is something we've been almost exclusively dealing with in our private lessons with folks lately because the dog NOR the owner can just peacefully coexist without the dog being hyper aroused and the owner feeling the need to tend to the dog.

If you're considering rehoming your dog because he's got "too much energy", please reach out and let us help you learn how to get your dog to chill--who wouldn't love to curl up on a Saturday night with their best 4-legged friend and enjoy a movie? We can help you accomplish the settling side of dog ownership

10/10/2024

Most folks in the training community refer to a process called the "3 D's" for ensuring a dog knows how to maintain a command/behavior. These "3 D's" are known as Duration, Distance and Distractions. Essentially it teaches the dog that he needs to maintain and essentially "stay" in the command and have the impulse control regardless of how long (duration), how far away you are (distance), or what's happening around him (distractions)

However, I'm going to add a 4th "D" for my clients: "Daily Life". Sure, we can distract the dog with throwing toys, food, clapping, etc...but one thing I've been emphasizing with my clients over the years is to move and act as you would in real life. Granted, this would be considered "Distraction work" too, but it's important for the dog to learn how to maintain when you're chopping up food for dinner, or playing a board game with your kids (or even throw the monopoly board across the room lol) or having someone come over--moving normally, freely, with your back turned, out of sight, etc.

Replicating real life situations (or "Daily Life") with the dog's behavior/success at the forefront of your attention will set them up for when real life actually happens and your attention truly is on that situation/thing.

Maybe the 4th "D" could help some of my colleagues convey the message a little more clearly to their clients too? Idk, just something I thought I'd share.

09/27/2024

Your dog's life can be so much more enriching and fulfilling with training and impulse control.

Take it from Bellic, our 1 year, 4 month old "teenager" who accompanied us on an outing to Beak & Skiff and was a complete gentleman the entire time.

Would you like to enjoy your dog more in public? Does your dog make public outings less-than relaxing? Let us help! Get in touch today to see how our training, backed by 15 years of experience training thousands of dogs cost to coast, helping hundreds of families achieve the same!

09/25/2024

📣Attention NEW dog owners!📣

Whether you adopted a dog recently (from us or elsewhere) or brought home a new puppy--this is for you!

Our New Dog Now What Seminar is an informative, 2-hour seminar geared towards setting you and your new companion up for as much success as possible. This seminar has been said to be:
🐾"Something every dog owner should attend"
🐾"Extremely helpful and insightful"
🐾"Very useful for my new puppy"
.and the list goes on from previous attendees!

Come and learn:
💡Problem Prevention Strategies
⚽What helpful and effective products to buy, including food!
🦮Helpful training techniques
🐶A section just for puppies!
And so much more!

⛔This seminar is for people only--the dogs have to sit this one out

🗓️DATE: Tuesday October 1st (And the first Tuesday of each month)
⏰TIME: 2:00 pm
📍LOCATION: Helping Hounds Dog Rescue
💸PRICE: $50/Family
🔗SIGN UP: https://helpinghoundsdogrescuetraining.as.me/schedule/52bc1fb8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=54626864https://helpinghoundsdogrescuetraining.as.me/schedule/52bc1fb8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=54626864

09/25/2024

We had fun proofing place and doing the Casper slide during our last Novice class tonight 🥳😍

09/19/2024

We've had some graduates this week, and not to mention one of our Novice class participants, Bruce, went on to get the highest level of his Therapy Dog Certification! Great job everyone!

Our next Novice class starts October 8th! Sign up today! https://helpinghoundsdogrescuetraining.as.me/schedule/52bc1fb8/?appointmentTypeIds[]=39993171

🐾

08/13/2024

Check out one of our testimonials!

07/02/2024

Another wonderful Novice class in the books! Great job with improvements everyone!

06/18/2024

One of the things a young puppy should learn is Impulse Control

In this case, impulse control with the ability to settle when not being able to do what they want.

Puppies shouldn't always have "something to do", nor should they be mentally stimulated every waking moment of the day. They need to learn to relax, too.

This can apply to situations like:
-waiting in the vet's office to be seen
-standing waiting to cross the street
-standing and chit-chatting with the neighbors
..and more!

Let your puppy learn to relax their brain just as much as you get them to use their brain!

Not sure? Ask us how! Shoot us an email:
[email protected]

04/03/2024

So much cuteness heading our way available to meet you Saturday, April 13th. You must have a fully processed application to meet them.

Please share and help us send them home.

New dogs arriving from Texas and Mississippi available for adoption Saturday, April 13th at Helping Hounds Dog Rescue.

02/29/2024

What's one thing that a very high percentage of dog owners struggle with?

Their dog not listening?
Their dog being wildly anxious?
Their dog pulling on a leash?
Leash Reactivity?

Well, those and more are valid behavioral concerns, but what if I told you that a lack of impulse control was at the root of most behavioral concerns? Your dog just acting without really giving much other thought?

We teach your dog how to think when they want to just act. We teach them how to look to you, rather than the thing they want. From there, they will be much more successful at learning the outcomes for their choices--whatever behavior you're trying to address.

Do you want your dog to have better manners? Let's help you start with impulse control, and go from there. Send us an email to get started! [email protected]

02/14/2024

At the beginning of last night's class, these dogs didn't know what the place command was. But by the end of the class, they were perfectly plopped on their beds, next to other dogs, with their owners hanging out on the other side of the room 🤯

Would you like your dog to learn this handy command?
Or have some leash manners?
Orrrrr...perhaps some impulse control?

Reach out!
[email protected]

02/13/2024

TRAINING TIP TUESDAY:

𝔻𝕠𝕘𝕤 𝕕𝕠 𝕖𝕩𝕒𝕔𝕥𝕝𝕪 𝕨𝕙𝕒𝕥 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪'𝕣𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥.

If your dog is still doing the “bad” thing, then he has learned through inconsistencies (or lack of clarity/understanding) that the behavior he’s doing is worth it. They’ll just keep doing the behaviors that feel good and work…even if you don’t like it.


➡️Try to figure out the situation/place/time that these behaviors persist and address it with unwavering consistency.
❓️ Is it when you’re not looking/preoccupied?
❓️Is it whenever you’re out in public?
❓️Is it when you’re living day-to-day life and not in a “training session”?

Your method of addressing the issue might be a factor too…consider alternative techniques as well--not only in terms of methods, but in terms of nutrition, play and exercise too!

02/01/2024

Don't let your dog's leash manners (or lack thereof) put your safety in danger!

People get their shoulders torn, fall on the ice, break bones, or get dragged down by their dogs when out for what's supposed to be a nice walk 😨😱

When we get dogs to walk nicely on the leash, it's as if we've clearly explained the rules in a way they FINALLY understand...and as you can see, they dogs are happy! Similar to how you enjoy playing a game--the rules are what gets you to play better, thus getting to the point where you both can enjoy the walk!

Contact us today, [email protected] to get your dog's leash manners under control before the nice weather comes--so then you can have all summer to enjoy wonderful walks! 🐾

02/01/2024

📣🐕‍🦺🐾Back by popular demand--our Stress Management & Anxiety Seminar! 📣🐕‍🦺🐾

It is incredibly baffling and heartbreaking to bare witness to the significant increase of anxious dogs recently. Breeds that were known to be fearless protectors are now anxious to be left alone. The new 4-legged family members that are being brought home (whether as puppies or adults) are beginning to be harder to manage.

Does your dog have anxious behaviors?
Does your dog break out of the crate?
Have you had neighbors mention/complain of your dog barking when you're gone?
Does your dog panic easily?

Let us help!

Sign up today for our upcoming Stress Management & Anxiety Seminar
📆DATE: Saturday February 10th
🕚TIME: 11:00am - 1:00pm
📍LOCATION: Helping Hounds Dog Rescue (In the community room)
🔗SIGN UP: https://helpinghoundsdogrescuetraining.as.me/schedule/52bc1fb8/appointment/44511186/calendar/7741989?appointmentTypeIds%5B%5D=44511186

01/31/2024