Tucker's Legacy Training

19/02/2023

We all, unfortunately, have probably experienced that one teacher who probably shouldn't have been in a classroom. You know the one. Always irritated, always frustrated, always quite boring and acting as though they were forced to be there teaching us. I know I didn't learn much from teachers like this. Because they weren't acting excited to be there, I had no reason to be excited either. I often did something else in this class - read a book, doodled, or if I was a student today, I would probably be sneaking texts from under my desk.

We learn so much better when we have a teacher in front of us who is super engaging, enjoys their job (of course all teachers have off days and that is ok! You as your dog's trainer will also have off days, and of course, those are perfectly normal and ok), and loves seeing their students learn. They are patient with students who are having a difficult time and are happy to assist when their students aren't understanding something. They make sure to tell their students when they are doing a good job and guide them when they are having challenges. Think of your favorite teacher, and try to be that person for your dog.

Be patient, be supportive, and most importantly, be someone your dog sees as the center of everything fun. Bring high-value rewards and praise your dog - trust me, your dog will benefit so much from being told when they are doing something right. Be the teacher who brings fun projects to do and changes things up. Mentor your dog with compassion and throw a party when they get a behavior right. Make your dog really motivated to be around you and work with you. Make sure you make it rewarding for yourself, too! Get in on the fun, be silly, laugh, make mistakes, and don't worry about either of you being perfect. Learning isn't about being perfect, it's about heading toward a goal and having the time of your life along the way.

I want to specify: it is ok to have off days. We do not always have to have wonderful training days. The pressure of expecting to train hard every day in itself is going to cause you to get stressed and make it hard to be the best teacher for your dog. And on your off days, take it easy. Don't work on something hard where you know you will get frustrated or upset. Work on something your dog does really well that makes you smile and makes their tail wag. Set your dog up to do individual tasks (like a snuffle mat or frozen Kong) in place of a long training session. Remember when teachers would play a movie and the day was literally just a fun day? Yeah, those are completely fine to do with your dog to take a break. You'll both enjoy the time off. Save the difficult tasks for days when you are rested and ready. And if either of you are struggling or not having a good time, stop training and do something fun instead. It is better to cut a training session short if it isn't going well than to push through and make it a bad experience. Your dog will remember the lessons in which he had a wonderful time, and will either forget or have bad associations with sessions that ended poorly. End on a good note and remember: have fun with your dog. That's why you have a dog, after all!

21/01/2023

A sharable version of a post that originally appeared in the group Pandemic Puppy Raising Support Group.

One of the most common bits of advice puppy owners get to help them with puppy biting is the Be A Tree method.

This is a great method for reducing motion triggers instinctive puppy biting (so for puppies under 12 weeks or so) and while it also has great value for juveniles and adolescents, that value is increased when we use Be A Tree thoughtfully and carefully avoid the most common pitfalls.

The most common pitfall IMO is we allow the puppy to “reactivate” us by trying harder. This quickly and naturally teaches the puppy what nature intends, that if they escalate and shake more, bite harder, grab more determinedly, that things get fun again. This would be great if we were teaching good tug toy skills, but it’s not great when it comes to undesirable mouth manners.

The reason we accidentally teach this, and allow the puppy to reactivate us is usually because puppy bites hurt, so we yelp and shout and otherwise act like prey. We can prevent this by dressing appropriately around puppies (real puppies, so under 16 weeks). Tall garden boots are a lifesaver and good puppy footwear, as are cowboy boots, riding boots, and any tall footwear without a tempting surface (sorry, no uggs!) for the puppy to bite.

Slim cut jeans that aren’t tight, sweatshirts, and a lack of grabbable sleeves, hair, earrings, and etc are also good puppy attire.

With proper clothing and by training ourselves not to vocalize, dance about, and otherwise act like the best thing to grab in town, our puppy will find it easier to calm down and disengage.

Calmer, disengaged puppies, have more thinking ability, and a thinking puppy can make decisions.

Once our puppy has disengaged and started to calm down it’s our time to reactivate and distract the puppy then redirect into a different behavior.

I most often choose a kibble toss, followed by click/treat/repeat for walking along and looking at me (a skill I use for leash walking) to practice voluntary attention skills.

Since I KNOW my young puppy will grab at my legs I can work to prevent this by being prepared with a flirt toy and kibble at the ready. A kibble toss, followed by flirt play is a great option for teaching puppy to bite and tug at something more acceptable, and with a pocket of kibble my puppy can “eat and learn” while I click/treat/repeat for walking along and looking at me.

While puppies do outgrow puppy biting, how we handle puppy biting and what our puppy learns predicts if poor mouth manners will still be a problem in our juvenile or adolescent dog.

20/01/2023

What do you do with your puppy first thing in the morning?

We recommend starting the day off with some training! Take all or a portion of your puppy's breakfast and work on whichever behavior or cue you want to. Take their breakfast on their morning walk and use it to reinforce nice leash manners, have your puppy do some tricks, use food as a reward for them bringing their ball back to you, or feed it to them as they relax on their "place" while you get ready in the morning.

Starting the morning off with training will tire your puppy out mentally and have them ready to relax when it's time for you to get to work.

09/01/2023

02/01/2023

We all have a vision in mind when we decide to get a puppy. We want a dog who will join us on walks peacefully after a stressful day, lay by our feet silently while we work, become a champion in a chosen sport, cuddle with us when we need it the most, and be our best friend through major life events over the course of a decade and longer.

We dream of that best friend before we even pick our new puppy up. We are all guilty of it, even those who know dogs very well. Then the day comes, and that dream is nowhere near in reach. We have a rambunctious puppy who can't focus, takes off with our belongings, has accidents in the house, won't settle for longer than a few minutes, nips us when we try to play, and is, well, a little terror. A cute little terror, but certainly not the loving friend we envision when we set out to get a dog.

As months go by, though, that dream gets closer and closer to becoming a reality. Your once bouncing-off-the-walls puppy takes their first nap at your feet and you smile. The foundational skills you have worked on for months start to pay off with leash manners becoming more and more manageable, accidents becoming less and less, and your puppy beginning to focus on you more than the rest of the world because you've spent a lot of time showing them that you are the best thing ever.

It's been a lot of work - it is a lot of work for many months, and honestly, many years. Depending on your individual dog, their breed, and their maturation rate, you may not see everything fully come together until your dog is 2...3... maybe even 4 years old. But your dog will get there, and they can get there no matter the pace you move at. Be patient. Laugh at your and your puppy's mistakes. Take a lot of videos and pictures of their antics. Enjoy every second of it and just remember, your dream will become a reality and you will very likely miss some of the absurd behaviors your puppy did while little.

Be patient. Enjoy the journey.