Puppies are capable of much more than we give them credit for. It’s a common belief, and something I hear quite frequently, that you should wait until a dog gets older before you begin training. The problem with this, is that puppies start learning the day they come home. They’re constantly accessing you, and your family to see the role they play in your house.
Waiting = missed opportunities.
Set your dog up for success. Make it very clear what is expected from them in the beginning. In order to do that you need to understand what structure looks like and how to convey leadership to a dog in a way they understand. Structure is what makes your dog feel most secure. It plays a big part in allowing our dogs to develop trust in us. If we allow certain behaviors one day, and then disagree with it the next, our dogs can’t trust us. Same thing goes for having a puppy that we allow to “be a puppy” and 6 months later we start introducing boundaries. It’s not fair to the dog.
These are 14 week old pups in a place they’ve never been. They are not fearful of their surroundings, and are looking to me for guidance. This is possible because of structure that was put into place since day one. Your dog is capable of this too!
Being a puppy is not an excuse for allowing bad behavior. Be aware of how important this time is for your puppy as the experiences they have now will set the foundation for who they will become in their adult life.
Training Tip Tuesday: Dog Psychology vs Obedience
While obedience training has value it is not what makes dogs well behaved and balanced. Although most dogs can easily learn, or already know how to sit, stay, or lay down, it’s not effective in solving bigger issues. Destruction, overexcitement, separation anxiety, aggression, or moderate issues such as jumping, barking or pulling on a leash can not be fixed by giving commands. Dog psychology pairs an understanding of how dogs think, with our energy and reactions to find the underlying cause. Changing the relationship with your dog allows you to be viewed as someone they not only trust, but respect, and can feel confident in your leadership. Having dog psychology as your foundation creates an overall more obedient dog. Obedience training after psychology is easier and more effective.
Training Tip Tuesday: Toys
Adding structure to play time is a great way to incorporate mental fatigue as well as physical. Toys can be a big source of excitement so it’s important that you are able to start and stop the game.
With this puppy my rule on the walk is that if I stop she has to stop and sit before crossing the street for safety. If I walk across without stopping 50% of the time it will never be clear that that’s my rule because I’m inconsistent in asking for it. But if I stop every single time and follow through by making her stop/sit that’s when it will become a habit for her and something that she will do without question. Consistency makes rules clear! If you don’t have structure that you are consistent with your dog will never know what the rules are. Also, if you ask your dog to do something but never actually make them do it (no barking, no jumping, no furniture, etc.) then you are consistent in showing them that they don’t have to listen to you. So if you want your dog to follow your directions make sure that you aren’t confusing them by breaking your own rules. They need to know that if you ask them to do something it’s a non negotiable and that you actually mean what you say.
People have a really bad misconception that leadership is mean or means that you have to intimidate your dog and that could not be farther from the truth.
Dogs are pack animals. In a pack there are front, middle, and back positions. How many dogs are at the front? One- the rest all follow. The majority of dogs do not want to be a leader and feel very uncomfortable doing so, which is why we see so many dogs with problem behavior.
As an animal, dogs have survival instincts. This means that they only follow those who protect them from dangers and lead them to safety (food, water, etc.) If an animal or person is unbalanced and and does not show that they are leadership material an animal will not follow their direction.
It’s not as easy as just saying or thinking “I am my dogs leader” you have to PROVE IT to them. They need to see that every single day you are committed and consistent and capable of leading them.
Dogs consider a leader someone who is calm but confident. Someone who can give them direction and structure so they don’t feel overwhelmed. I always tell people it’s like being thrown into the White House and told you got it! With all those expectations of good decision making and no one explaining anything to you, you would probably be pretty stressed and your dog feels the same way.
When dogs are given true leadership that is when they feel most trusting and most loved. Dogs will gravitate to energy and leadership that makes them feel safe. Establishing leadership is dependent on everyday interactions you have with your dog. Being a leader to your dog will create an amazing bond and allow you to grow your relationship to its fullest!
A clip from the end of our pack walk today!
This was the first time these guys have all went on a walk together. It took some repetition of letting them know what was expected but this was the end result. The guy on my left has some reactivity issues that we were working through as well so there was a lot to address, but this was the final outcome. There were people, kids, and dogs that made for some really good distractions for these guys.
If you pay attention to the dog on my lefts’ body language he is alert with his tail sky high and still scanning but is now avoiding things that he otherwise was being reactive to. Ideally he would be relaxed and following my direction like the others but I think that this was great progress for today! Like always training takes commitment, consistency, and agreement between everyone working with them!
Biggie has a very high toy drive which makes it easy for his excitement to escalate too high around toys. I’ve been structuring his play times to help him practice being able to have control when playing with toys.
When I first got Biggie he did not want to let go of toys he was playing with at all. Although he does not resource guard, he would go into competition mode and give you everything he had in him. Overtime he has learned that their are rules and limitations when it comes to toys.
In this exercise I’m calling Biggie off the ball when he is in a full run towards it. I think this a great skill to practice for many reasons. Not only are you teaching control around toys but you’re teaching control period. Think if that ball was the mailman, another dog, or a squirrel running into the street. I want to be able to have my dog stop at any given time.
Biggie was already anticipating a cue from me which is why he didn’t go to the ball at first. I like to change it up every throw to have him stay mentally engaged and never expect the same thing. Sometimes I let him have it right away. Other times I might call him off when he’s there and immediately let him have it. And like in this video, sometimes I call him off completely and have him come back to me.
Working with dogs is a process. There is no overnight miracle that will change your dog. Continue to put in the work and the results will come!
Do you wish your dogs would stop pulling? We can help! Schedule a consultation and you will learn how to get your dogs to walk like this!
Little Gigi’s first walk ever today!
