y’all are giving your puppies way too much freedom too soon and that’s why you’re having such a hard time curbing those common puppy problems
🐶 the accidents
🐶 the incessant nipping
🐶 counter surfing
🐶 chewing on inappropriate things
🐶 destroying your favorite items
🐶 being a f**king menace
you’re inadvertently setting your puppy up for failure. a leash, a crate, an ex-pen, whatever your flavor of management, goes a really long way.
puppies are insanely hard no matter how much structure you give them. the change in routine, the shark teeth, the lack of ability to make good decisions. i know exactly what to do and even im struggling.
but i see people let their puppies free roam their entire house and refuse to tell their 8 week old puppies “no” and i don’t know how they aren’t being committed.
save yourself the headache. your puppy doesn’t know how to make good decisions. set them up for success from the moment you bring them home. not sure if they’re ready for more freedom? try. if they fail, that’s fine. put the leash back on and try again at another time.
also for the love of god stop giving your puppy so much affection if they’re biting the sh*t out of you. it’s already reinforcing to them. you’re feeding into the behavior. you can interact with them in other ways.
signed, someone who desperately wants to show affection to her cattle dog puppy but can’t, because he only bites 🖤
bagel’s leash skills are coming along nicely. we’re keeping to low distraction neighborhoods so that it’s easier for him to stay focused on me rather than wanting to chase every leaf or grab every object in the grass (although he did a great job not chasing the leaves today!). well slowly build up distractions and move to our own neighborhood when i think he’s ready, but i love his ears flapping and his little prance 🥹🥰
sometimes avoiding a reaction is impossible. the conditions aren’t set up in your favor. watching this back i wish i had the ability to give tuna more space to avoid a reaction, but given the situation she actually did a really fantastic job. there was an incredibly out of control dog off camera who’s owner kept dropping the leash (????) when he got sick of being dragged by his dog which just agitated me and affected my energy. not to mention the fact that tuna’s leash got tangled affecting my ability to handle her properly. the most important thing here is that this was less than 2 minutes of a 3 hour visit we had at the park where she was able to relax around a variety of her triggers. and she did fantastic! i’m so proud of her!! #reactivedog #reactivedogtraining #dogtraining #lancasterpa #lancasterdogs #lancasterpadogs #traineddogshavemorefun
it’s taken a lot of work, patience, consistency, and repetition to get here, but our hard work has paid off. arlo is such a good dog and is always so eager to please and happy to work. keep it up buddy!!! #australianshepherd #dogtraining #lancasterpa #dogsoflancaster #lancasterpadogs #reactivedogtraining #trainedogsarehappydogs
i spent way too many years working under sh*tty compulsion trainers telling me that dogs should just want to work for me with no prior relationship building and no use of motivational tools for some asshole in a home depot to tell me that i’m “bribing my dog”.
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first things first - arlo used to try to flee the store anytime someone would even attempt to walk down the same aisle as us. the fact that i could keep filming and this dog wasn’t screaming his head off shows how GOOD i am at my f**king job and how hard i’ve worked at counter conditoning this dog to strangers.
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second - bribing your dog isn’t a BAD THING! it’s a necessary part of the process when you’re teaching your dog a new skill and when you’re helping your reactive dog work past a trigger
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i will bribe every dog i work with every day for the rest of my career over being a sh*tty trainer who has no relationships with the dogs i work with and uses excess force just to prove a point. just because i was told for so many years that a dog “should want to work for me”. no dog “wants” to work for you. you have to make yourself valuable.
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and f**k this guy. #reactivedog #reactivedogtraining #dogtraining #lancasterpa #lancasterpadogs #australianshepherd #aussiesdoingthings
💩let’s talk about dog poop!💩 dog poop is NOT biodegradable! it will not just disintegrate if you leave it on the ground. it carries a lot of diseases. leaving it for people to step in and other dogs to get sick by is gross and rude. but i understand that things happen. so what can you do if you’re on a trail that doesn’t have a trash can? kurgo makes tailgate dumpsters that attach to you car through magnets. super sturdy (mine have lasted for YEARS) that you can purchase on amazon or their website. or there are so many little tricks! leave no trace. don’t be an asshole!
them : this is boot camp!! we will have your dog trained to perfection!! ✨me: allergic to taking myself seriously and will probably (definitely) dance to 70s music in the woods with your dogs ✨#traineddogshavemorefun #dogtraining #packhiking
get in losers, we’re going dog training
everyone’s favorite, riley, learned place today!
place has a lot of functions but i have a few goals in mind for this sweet girl.
since she’s anxious with new people, i think it will be a great place for her to hang out on, but still be present and around, especially when new people are in the house.
she can feel safe here since no one will be allowed to bother her while she’s on her cot (house rules!).
i love watching riley work with her owner jacob. she’s only been home for about a month and a half but it’s so clear how much she loves and trusts him. she doesn’t trust many men or many people for that matter, and she doesn’t trust any other men in the household, but she perks up whenever jacob is around and she trusts jacob implicitly. whenever they work together her body language shifts ever so slightly, and she gains confidence in her new job. she loves to work! it’s so amazing to see ❤️❤️❤️
keep up the great work guys!!!
emmy is the star of the show and i am just the idiot running the circus. here is how i like to introduce heel to dogs and how i use it.
emmy is a star and i’m just the idiot running the circus. here’s how i introduce heel to a dog.
i’m never very strict with my heel position. i don’t require dogs to walk in a heel position at all times, but it is very helpful when a trigger or distraction is walking by and i need to give a dog a job.
constantly in awe of my clients who show up time and time again for their dogs and are willing to work. IN THE RAIN!!! to keep building on the skills they learned during their training programs. we had so much fun today. we goofed off, we laughed, and our dogs had fun! #traineddogshavemorefun #dogtraining #reactivedogs #reactivedogtraining #grouptraining #groupclasses #neutralitytraining