We are working on focus at my house ✨
Having your dogs attention on you is one of my top 3 most important skills to teach your dog. I teach focus in a couple different ways. First I teach it on cue so you will have a dog who looks at you when you ask. Next, I teach offered attention and reinforce my dog whenever they pay attention to me! This game will help you get the dog who is focused on you in any environment they are in.
Let’s work together! Email [email protected]
#dogtraining #basicmanners #focus #puppytraining #everettwashington #positivereinforcement
I wanted to share a quick tutorial on the do’s and don’ts when holding a large reactive dogs leash.
DO:
• consider a waist walker, especially if your dog has a bite history or can over power you. That way, you can use your body strength to create distance when needed.
• I like leashes that have a loop close to the dog so you can have a double hold on them if needed.
• if you are using a regular leash or don’t have a leash with a handle, create a handle by looping the leash around your thumb (the strongest bone in your hand and least at risk for a fracture) then making a fist around the rest of the leash.
• use two hands down the leash if you need to!
• NOT IN THE VIDEO if your dog is a bite risk, double leash them and muzzle train 🤗
• anchor your arms to you hip bone. This will give you more strength if needed.
• watch your feet! Keep those feet shoulder width apart with one foot slightly in front of the other and your knees just a hair bent - like your surfing 🏄♂️
DONT:
• stand with your feet ankle to ankle, you will fall over if your dog lunges!
• don’t wrap your leash around your hand! I have seen so many accidents where a dog lunges and the handler fractures a bone!
Anything to add? Comment below 👇🏼
#reactivedog #dogsafety #dogtraining #dogtrainer #everett #lakestevens #positivereinforcement
Reminiscing on my @pasados tour last Friday from the lovely behavior manager, Michele Graves. It was so fun to meet some animals, talk shelter and animal behavior and see their beautiful new set up 🤗
📸 @thatshort_ginger
Next week is our last week of interviews. If you’re interested in working at Katie’s Clever Canines, please send your resume to [email protected].
Solo tails on the trails with Jones 🌲
#greatdane #pnw #gooutside #cascades #dogtraining #hikewashington #hikewithdogs
New tails on the trails date! Sign your dog up for an adventure with Katies Clever Canines. We have 2 spots left for our 4/21 hike. Click the link in the bio or email us for more information!
#hikingwithdogs #pnwdogs #adventuredog #positivereinforcement
Let’s talk about FETCH! Playing fetch with our dogs is a common way to exercise our pups. But, proceed with caution. While it’s an excellent way to physically ware out our dogs in a short period of time. We tend to aimlessly throw the ball while our dog bolts back and forth. This doesn’t only put an incredible amount of stress on their hips and joints. It also doesn’t give them the mental stimulation they need to tire their brain out. Here are some tips to keep fetch fun and healthy for your bff:
1) Start with a warm up. You don’t give yourself a big work out before warming up your muscles. Let’s do the same for our dogs! You can go for a short walk before your game or throw the ball a short distance a few times to get themselves ready for the long run.
2) Implement training into your game! If your dog is like Stellaluna, they LOVE to fetch! Which makes it a perfect reinforcement for training. Between each throw we work on some basic cues. This is also a great opportunity to work on some impulse control exercises like wait and stop. Or, teach your dog to find their ball if they lose it. This will help tire your dogs brain out and build a stronger bond between you and your dog!
3) Take breaks. While we have good intentions tiring our dogs out with fetch. The go, go, go can be extremely unhealthy for our dog mentally and physically. If your dog doesn’t take breaks on their own. Implement it for them! After a few throws, put the ball away for a minute or two so they can take a breath. You can even work on some training at this time or scatter treats in the grass and teach your dog to find it! Find it is another form of mental stimulation and sniffing can be a great way for your pup to slow down and relax.
4) Don’t forget if you have an active dog who loves to run, keep their joints happy with a daily glucosamine supplement! Talk to your vet or pet nutritionist for more information.
There you have it. Four rules to make your game of fetch, so fe
Did you know that you can clicker train all animals? That’s right! From butterflies, to lions, to dolphins and your house pets. Clicker training is a very clear and consistent form of communication to an animal that what they did when they heard the click earns them a reward.
Meet Leia the rooster! Roosters are naturally great protecters of their hens. They often show aggressive behavior to other animals and people because they are displaying behaviors that they are meant to display to keep their ladies safe. Leia does a fantastic job at protecting his hens. This makes feeding him miserable because he charges and bites at my mom. To help lower his and my moms stress levels, we are going to teach him to target a stick rather than peck her. Our first step in teaching him this behavior is to teach him that the clicker means a reward is coming. So, here we are charging our clicker.
Since animals struggle learning when they are under stress. You can see in the second video (in the comments) my failed attempt to charge the clicker. The neighbor was doing yard work which stresses Leia out. You can see his stressed with his vocalizations, ignoring me sitting next to him and lack of appetite. We ended up stopping our first session and waiting for the neighbor to be done with the yard work. We also have him alone in his coop to make sure he is relaxed as possible while we are working. Stay tuned for step 2!
I have never been so proud! Ebony in a store, watching a bouncy puppy train and staying calm!! Yes, she is clearly uncomfortable but she is able to disengage and sniff rather than fixate on the puppy and bark and lunge. This is huge for her. When I first met Ebs, I could have been across that store, not looking at her and not moving and she would have barked and lunged at me. She has come such a long way thanks to the dedication of her mom. Way to go!!
Ebony ROCKING that engage/disengage today!!
Splish splash Maggie’s taking a bath 🛁
Ebys mom and I being her hype men as she rolls around at the park 👏🏼👏🏼