Buchman Best Behaviors

29/06/2025

Fireworks: The Dogpocalypse
https://wix.to/II0r10l

It is the DOGPOCALYPSE! At least until 10:30pm July 5th here in Garden City, KS. We celebrate our declaration of independence and for us it is a time for celebration. For our pets and the wildlife living around us . . . not so much. There are a few things that we can do to help minimize the issues for our pets.

1) Training/desensitizing- You can actually create a happy association with the loud noise by consistently offering rewards whenever they hear the sound. If you have started clicker training keep your clicker and food around you.



If the pup is staying away out of fear, just toss it to them if appropriate.

2) A hidey hole- Give them someplace to hide on their own volition. Preferably a place with little to no exterior walls, glass or vents. The vents portion is usually what people miss. The vents reverberate sound and sometimes amplify it or create a whistle (remember they can hear higher ranges than us) that will add to the issue. This is especially true during storms when the wind creates a whistle effect. Don't forget a fireplace is a vent.

3) Be calm- Our animals look to us for guidance. We are the pillar in their life. If we start freaking out, then they know their fears are valid. Don't coddle your pet. You do it to help them but it just scares them more. If they come to you wanting reassurance, go ahead and give it to them. Don't go to them and start trying to reassure them. Once the dog starts thinking you might be worried they will be justified in freaking out. They don't understand that you are worried that they are worried. Exude confidence.

4) Contact your vet- If you have tried all measures or your pups reaction is just too extreme (self injury, mass destruction) then look into medication. Not all brains are the same and some animals (people included) need some help to just take the edge off.

Thunder shirts and pheromone emitters are fine to use. I don't generally use them as a go to because they have about a 50/50 chance of working. If they work for you, fantastic. Just don't count on them. There is no magic wand fix when working with minds.

The best thing you can do is train and desensitize.

Fireworks: The Dogpocalypse

02/03/2025

Many of my clients have heard my distaste for wire kennels. Here is an example of why.

31/01/2025

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30/01/2025

🐾 Ready to unlock your dog's full potential? Explore our comprehensive dog training services at Buchman Best Behaviors! Whether you prefer group classes or private sessions, we have the perfect solution for you and your furry friend. 🐶✨ Visit us at https://wix.to/Y9zDi9E and let's get started!

29/01/2025

29/01/2025

29/01/2025

Happy Chinese New Year! 🎉🐾 Celebrate with us as we embrace new beginnings and positive changes in our pets' lives. How do you plan to enrich your dog's training this year? Share your ideas below! 🌟 Check out more on our website: https://wix.to/BRyPJcl

28/01/2025

Exciting news! 🎉 Buchman Best Behaviors now offers payment plan options with Afterpay, Klarna, and Affirm! Don’t let payment worries hold you back—check out all the details here: https://wix.to/aUQW9Ip

27/01/2025

So the other night I was scrolling through TikTok instead of sleeping (as one does) and I stumbled upon a video that a friend posted. It was a perfect example of one of the common issues people have in training and they had the standard response to the issue.

The handler simply had their hand in their pouch while they were asking for behaviors from their husky mix. This may seem benign to us but to the dog it is a massive cause for frustration. When we are working with our animals we need clear communications. We need clear cues to tell them what to do and clear markers to let them know when they got something right. Unfortunately simply having your hand in the pouch muddies up all the communication. No matter how perfect we are with our markers we can remove the importance of a hand in the pouch. It is a clear sign to the dog that they are about to get a treat. We can't get the treat without reaching into the bag which is why it will always be consistent. So when we put our hand into the pouch we are telling them that a reward is imminent.

To put it into our perspective, it would be like being told you are being paid on Friday and then you don't have your check and it is Saturday. Then on Monday you say "where's my check" and then get told to "be patient." That is what we are putting our dogs through when we hold our hands in the pouch when we aren't ready to reward them. And this builds frustration leading to behaviors that are often labeled as sass or stubbornness. We often see this frustration as behaviors like barking and other vocalizations, refusal to do behaviors, throwing out unasked for behaviors, nose punching or pawing the treat pouch, etc. These are all simply communications from your pet that they are frustrated and they believed a treat was on the way. I also often use the term "food dumb" in these situations due to the hyper fixation on the food at that moment but that label isn't fair to the animal because it is the handler's fault for being unclear.

This is also one of the simplest things to fix. Just keep your hand out of the pouch. Well, sorta simple. We often are doing this unconsciously so we need to set up tricks to build our success. The primary tricks are being self aware and having a neutral position. To become more self away, have someone watch you train and let you know when you have your hand in your pouch or even better telling you when you are doing well and DON'T have your hand in the pouch. Even watching recordings of yourself training can help you become more self aware to when you are doing this. The other big help is to have a neutral position. A neutral position is simply a job for your hands when you aren't using them. Idle hands are the devil's plaything and not giving them a job will often allow you to fidget and the most common place to fidget when training is wherever you put the treats.

So the tldr is keep your hands away from the treats until you mean it.

Happy training!

27/01/2025

New Blog Post

Hands and Pouches