03/12/2024
Get summer ready with a well mannered dog 🐾
Let’s get those dogs trained this Spring and Summer 🐾
I have openings for obedience as well as taking on dogs with concerning behaviors.
Spring in the air . What a great time to get out and spend times with our dogs.
This is a great time to build a bond,..... avoiding boredom and destruction from setting in . It's about investment in a living, breathing being that deserves to be part of your family. It gives me immense satisfaction to know I can help prevent dogs from being turned in to shelters . I teach owners confidence and to embrace that confidence so it flows down the leash to your dog. Egos to the side..... Let's build relationships and establish proper leadership!!!!
No more charging the door and jumping, no non stop barking, no more redirected aggression due to the excitement and presence of food and toys, no more counter surfing,-and let's start walking well on the leash without pulling you into snow drifts or charging at other dogs.
Have your pup trained to lay on its spot or dog bed while company is around- enjoy your pup as part of a well mannered part of the family!
I do individual in the owners residence. We go out to places such as Petsmart and Home Depot or the park to work around distractions etc.
For me I have found many people have issues in their own environment with their pets. When I can observe the owners and the pet , I can intervene much more appropriately .
I do basic obedience with the added behavioral twist - working with the individual needs.
I can also do small groups .for example if I come to Lawrence it's more economically feasible for perhaps several people to work with me. Then I still go to the home to correct and issues specific to the home- like jumping on the counter in search of food.
If a family has more than one pet, the fee doesn't double for the added dog. I just increase it slightly depending on what the need is.
There are many things that owners suffer in silence with:
Barking
Fights
Jumping
Charging the door
Manners indoors
Coming when called
Dislike of one household member-
Rank issues
Escape artists
Running out the door or car door
Anxiety
Fear aggression
Separation issues
Crate training
Potty training
Holding still while brushing and bathing
Behavior around babies and toddlers
Digging
Leash work- heeling, stay, recall
Games to hold interest and provide mental stimulation
Proper physical exercise
Proper feeding schedule
Motivational methods
Prepping for therapy dog certification and exam,
Working with families in crisis due to pets fighting and misbehavior.( which is most always... Rank issues...The lack of leadership and boundaries)
I teach people to be more confident and it flows down the leash and is very palpable when the change occurs.
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This is an excellent little article from a cohort. One of the most important philosophical underpinnings of my training.
The Good Dog Tip: Permission based training and why it works
One of our primary goals when training and rehabbing dogs is to get them out of auto-pilot behavior and into a listening, processing, responding mode. What is auto-pilot behavior? It's where the dog sees, hears, smells something and instantly reacts to it. Or where the dog wants to do something, or to access something, and simply does it. It's an impulse control issue. Feel - do!
And this is where permission based training comes in. Permission based training isn't anything fancy, but it is highly effective. Basically, we start teaching the dog that he needs to look to us before making decisions. Not every decision mind you, but most. This new way of living/behaving creates many positive changes. It creates handler respect, it teaches tons of impulse control, and gets the dog to think before acting. All major pieces of the training/rehab puzzle.
Once a dog begins to look to you for permission you'll see much of the manic, hyped-up, tuned-out, crazy, disrespectful, and disobedient behavior disappear.
Here's a few examples of where we work on this and where permission is needed:
-Crate (going in or out)
-Thresholds (going in or out)
-Place command (not leaving unless given permission)
-Eating (waiting for release)
-Peeing/sniffing on walks (waiting for release)
-Any command that the dog has been asked to be in (must wait for release)
-Furniture (wait for permission)
-Personal space (must wait for permission to access)
-Getting in our out of the car (wait for permission)
-And any other contexts where you see a lot of excitement/pushiness etc.
Teaching your dog to look to you, to ask you for permission before simply reacting is the true secret sauce to transforming both behavior and attitude.
Use it!! 🙂
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What’s happened to us?
We used to be able to deal with our dogs, and our kids, and our lives in a far more firm, confident, assertive fashion.
We didn’t negotiate or placate everyone and everything. We didn’t avoid conflict at every turn. We weren’t terrified of being unloved or unliked if we did something unpopular.
Now, we seem to have lost our way. Strength, confidence, certainty, boundaries, the willingness to speak the truth even if unpopular - I see so little of this.
Sure, the pendulum always swings. I know there were things about our past behaviors and interactions that could have used some tweaks. It wasn’t all perfect, by any stretch. But, as per usual, we’ve swung all the way in the opposite direction.
Instead of realizing there were some better ways to communicate, some more sophisticated ways to teach, nurture, and guide, and then adding them where necessary...we opted to throw all the good out with the bad.
And so we’re left with a bunch of...soft, afraid, placating ninnies. So many have become fearful, weak, doormats. Our kids walk all over us, our dogs walk all over us, our mates walk all over us, our co-workers, neighbors, you name it...walk all over us.
When I conduct, watch or listen to client sessions, I know there’s a ton on the client’s plate. They’re learning a completely new skillset, they’re under pressure to perform, they’ve got a million things to try to juggle and remember. I get it. Truly.
But...
But what I see and hear over and over are owners struggling with the emotional aspects far more than the mechanics. They feel bad, sad, reluctant, and want to pet, touch, coo, snuggle...the dog who bit them, or their friend, or their kid. Or the dog who makes their lives on the walk, or in the car, or in the house miserable due to their disrespectful antics.
And yet, instead of sharing the firmness that will help their dogs become the dog they actually want, and who they could actually enjoy—safely—they roll out the doormat. Themselves.
The dog sees it, and boom, just like that he or she knows the believability and necessity to listen and respect the owner is...zero.
Gang, you don’t get respect by being a doormat. You don’t get respect by allowing. You don’t get respect coddling and making excuses. You get respect by being a believable force that your dog cares enough about to give you their best.
Respect isn’t a dirty word, although many view it that way. The truth is, everyone is entitled to view it exactly as they wish, just don’t be surprised if your kids, your mate, your co-workers, your boss, and yes your dog, don’t offer you that which you don’t demand.
Consequences rule the world. And if you choose to omit the necessary ones, you have to be okay with what the world gives you back.
Stephanie Avila
