My Clever Canine Dog Training

Play interruption! 📣 This is something we LOVE to practice with small groups. It helps improve recalls to a whole new level, even during play. Usually, just 2 dogs is best. Once our campers are reliably off-leash trained on an individual level, this "game" teaches them that they still have to come even if we recall during play. It's very important that BOTH dogs disengage once they're called. Otherwise, it creates too much conflict if one is still trying to play. Then, the reward for coming back is, "YOU GET TO PLAY AGAIN!" Practicing this at a dog park or uncontrolled environment is very difficult, which is why we do it so much with our campers when they're with us.

Is it difficult to leash your dog up? This is great for dogs that have “conflict” about the leash coming on. Conflict can be fear, avoidance, or even if your dog is just too excited and won’t sit still. Reward expectation will help “channel” their focus into something! Make sure to do this for reps. Don’t always be “one and done”. The idea is that with each repetition, your dog will start having more “expectation” (i.e. leash = food!). Seeing the leash will become a cue that a reward is coming, AND your dog should actually start OFFERING the behavior we want: for them to proactively stick their head through the opening of the leash. This will come with time and reps! Having the SECOND leash helps if your dog is evasive, avoidant, won’t lure, is running away from you, or is just overly excited. You can use it to block them from moving away, OR to control them if they’re jumping all over you and won’t sit still. Of course, BE SMART about how you put that first leash on. Don’t chase your dog around! If you crate your dog, then you can put the first leash on while they’re still in their crate. DO NOT do this with an aggressive dog. If an aggressive dog feels like they can’t escape from you, then they might choose to bite. Happy training! #myclevercanine #timcutterson #cuttersondogtraining #onlinedogtraining #onlinetraining #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainersofinstagram #dogtrainingtips #puppytrainer #puppytraining #behaviormod #behaviormodification

Goose, Dexter, and Mochi are 3 new campers just finishing up their first week here. These are a few basic commands, behaviors, and skills we generally work on with new campers (especially puppies) during their first week or so: ✔️Name recognition, Pay attention and/or come back when you hear your name! ✔️Markers, “Yes”= reward is coming, “Good” = keep doing what you’re doing, ”No” = don’t do that. ✔️Luring, Moving with and following our hand ✔️Leash pressure, Moving with and yielding to the leash ✔️Waiting at boundaries ✔️Not jumping, Good things happen when you don’t jump Every dog learns at a different rate, and there are many factors that determine how fast they'll progress with us: Temperament, how quickly they’re acclimating, and intrinsic motivation levels are just a few. But, our goal is to always progress at a rate that is both fair and considerate to the dog we’re working with, but that also keeps them on track to accomplish our goals.🚀 So far, Goose, Dexter, and Mochi are being super students, and we’re excited to help them continue to learn! #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #boardandtrain #boardandtrainprogram #rewardbasedtraining #labradorretriever #labsofinstagram #lab #goldenretriever #goldenretrievers #bayareadogs #bayareadogtraining #solanocounty #bayarea

Big congrats to our trainers this month! 🎉🎊🎉 MCC trainers Tim and Rachele both competed with their dogs and had some impressive results 🏆🏆🏆 Rachele and her dog Hamilton (yes, named after the play) placed in the top 5 at the National Championship and qualified for the Worlds! She had one of the highest obedience scores in the competition. A truly beautiful routine. What’s even MORE impressive is that Hamilton is Rachele’s first competition dog. To have accomplished this with your first dog is a truly impressive feat and is a testament to the talent and skill of our team. Also competing this month, MCC trainer Tim and his dog Croc passed their BH with flying colors! The BH is the first level you must pass in the sport of IGP (formerly called “Schutzhund”). In German, “BH” stands for Begleithundprufung, which translates to “traffic-sure companion dog test”. It’s an obedience and temperament test, where the dog and handler must perform a series of exercises that evaluates the dog’s control and temperament around people, dogs, cars, bikes, and other traffic-related things. Tim & Croc showed off some beautiful obedience and made a resounding first step towards their competition career together 🚀🚀🚀 You might ask, how does training for IGP help with pet dog training❓️ IGP is a sport with VERY high standards. To score well, not only should the dog show perfect precision, but they ALSO must show the right emotion. Quite simply, the judge wants to see that your dog LOVES to work. Is the dog open, free, active, and attentive? Or is the dog stressed, pressured, and disengaged? These are all things that are evaluated, and to do well, the trainer needs to understand how to read their dog’s emotion AND how to shape it. To be successful in ANY discipline, whether it be pet dog training, scent detection, behavior modification, or agility, you NEED to be adept at this skill. And IGP is one of the best disciplines to hone and p

Reward placement!! 📣📣📣 If you’re using food to train heeling, this is a really important concept to understand. Our dogs will naturally gravitate in the direction of the reward. So, wherever they expect the food to be given is where they’ll want to walk! Make sure you’re feeding them in the precise spot that you want their HEAD to be in, which, for heeling, is in line with our leg. There are, of course, MANY other things you’ll need to do if you want reliable heeling with your dog, but this is one thing that will really help 🙌 #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #dogtrainersofinstagram #obediencetraining #obediencetrainer #puppytraining #puppytrainer #bayareadogtraining #solanocounty #boardandtrain #rewardbasedtraining #positivereinforcement

M names in the house! Seriously, is it the season for M names or something? What's the dealio 🤔 I think our owners are trying to confuse us 😆 ------- ➡️ A healthier more balanced relationship is just around the corner. 🔥 Learn about the My Clever Canine difference. 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com 📧 [email protected] ☎️ 707-999-8389 ✅ Puppy camp ✅ Family Dog Manners ✅ Off-leash Freedom ✅ Behavior Modification Camp ✅ The PupStart Turnkey Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! 📍Northern California San Francisco Bay area to the Greater Sacramento area and beyond! 🚀 #myclevercanine

My dog just growled at me over its food. What do I do?! Meet Teddy. Teddy is a 4-month-old bully mix. Since he started his program with us about a week ago, we’ve noticed some behaviors that need addressing. One such behavior is resource guarding. Although Teddy is starting to show some early signs of this, luckily, his owners reached out to us while he was still young, and before this behavior became well-established. While there is likely a strong genetic component, early intervention can make a world of difference. So we wanted to show you one piece of the puzzle that can help certain dogs at this stage. When dealing with potential aggression, it is always best to consult a professional about how to move forward. But for many dogs, this can be a good first step, as it reduces conflict around valued resources. #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #ResourceGuarding #behaviormodification #rewardbasedtraining #rewardbaseddogtraining #bullybreed

At MCC, we give you more freedom and opportunity to enjoy life with your dog. This time of the year is one of our favorite times to practice group hikes. It’s a great opportunity to work on important training skills, such as recalls and impulse control around high-level distractions. These experiences help solidify their training and will help the owners be able to take their canine companions to a variety of places and have reliable off-leash control. Off-leash training is one of the most important skills any dog can learn. The ability to call your dog back and have clear communication without needing the leash so you can enjoy life with your dog! ❤️ ------- ➡️ A healthier more balanced relationship is just around the corner. 🔥 Learn about the My Clever Canine difference. 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com 📧 [email protected] ☎️ 707-999-8389 ✅ Puppy camp ✅ Family Dog Manners ✅ Off-leash Freedom ✅ Behavior Modification Camp ✅ The PupStart Turnkey Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! 📍Northern California San Francisco Bay area to the Greater Sacramento area and beyond! 🚀

We're gonna miss this guy! Puppy camper Tango went home this week. He came to us at just 4 months old and was with us a total of 8 weeks. It was incredibly rewarding to see him develop from a baby puppy to a pre-teen. ❤️ Our team was also impressed to see how fast he progressed! An exceptional learner and very mature for his age. Malinois are intelligent, determined, and very driven, which means they require consistent training throughout their life. It's important to keep them mentally and emotionally satisfied. Without it, they will often develop dangerous and destructive behaviors. Lucky for Tango, his owner is an experienced Malinois owner and hopes to pursue SAR with this young man. Every puppy is different. Breed, temperament, drives, and the owner's individual goals determine how we approach training with them. We always adjust our training so that it is fair and reasonable for the individual we are working with. #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #malinoislovers #malinois #malinoisofinstagram #malinoistraining #boardandtrain #dogtrainingsanfrancisco #dogtrainingbayarea #obediencetraining #obedience #socialization

Kodak ridin' in style!! Trainer Rachele getting this little camper used to the Polaris rides 🚗❤️ #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #Terrier #terriermix #terriersofinstagram #bayarea #solanocounty

Great training field trip with the boys today! 🚶🐕🏙 Started off with a nice stroll through downtown Vacaville and capped it off with a stop by the bar! Such a great experience for our campers: Hudson, Sebastian, and Rico 😁🙌 #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #obediencetraining #socialization #packwalk #grouptraining #labs #labradorretriever #bayarea #solanocounty

Meet Tango! This little guy just started with us about a week ago and is in our 8-week puppy camp. Here, trainer Tim is working on building several skills, including: 🔷️ Marker charging, "yes"=food! 🔷️ Charging praise, "good"=keep going! 🔷️ Name recognition 🔷️ And shaping heel With highly motivated puppies like this, you can accomplish A LOT with just reward-based food training. Tango is learning that when he gets in to heel position, good things happen 🙌 Over time, we can refine this into a "focused heel," or we can just stick to a traditional heel. But regardless, Tango will have a strong foundation to build off of 🚀 ---- 🐾 Puppy camp for puppies 8 weeks to 24 weeks! 🐾 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💥 Now offering started puppies!  Looking for your new best friend? We can help. Trained puppies hand selected from breeders and rescue, complete vet exams, DNA health profile, started on training and matched to your family! Ask us for more details. 💥 ✅ Potty training foundation ✅ Crate training ✅ Early Socialization ✅ Family dog manners ✅ Obedience Foundation ✅ Off-leash foundation ✅ Confidence Building ✅ Owner Education ✅ Relationship Based Training ✅ Trained Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com ☎️707-999-8389 📧 [email protected] #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #malinois #malinoisofinstagram #malinoislovers #obedience #obediencetraining #bayarea #solanocounty

Outings, outings, outings! -—— As many of our campers approach the end of their stay with us, we are heading out on field trips to practice all their new skills in new places. We’re so proud of all of these pups on their hard work! -—— ➡️ A healthier more balanced relationship is just around the corner. 🔥 Learn about the My Clever Canine difference. 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com 📧 [email protected] ☎️ 707-999-8389 ✅ Puppy camp ✅ Family Dog Manners ✅ Off-leash Freedom ✅ Behavior Modification Camp ✅ The PupStart Turnkey Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! 📍Northern California San Francisco Bay area to the Greater Sacramento area and beyond! 🚀 #fieldtrip #outandabout #dogtraining #dogtrainer #puppytraining #fallvibes #myclevercanine

Our newest Puppy Camper Pearl is hard at work already! ——- 🐾 Puppy camp for puppies 8 weeks to 24 weeks! 🐾 ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💥 Now offering started puppies!  Looking for your new best friend? We can help. Trained puppies hand selected from breeders and rescue, complete vet exams, DNA health profile, started on training and matched to your family! Ask us for more details. 💥 ✅ Potty training foundation ✅ Crate training ✅ Early Socialization ✅ Family dog manners ✅ Obedience Foundation ✅ Off-leash foundation ✅ Confidence Building ✅ Owner Education ✅ Relationship Based Training ✅ Trained Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com ☎️707-999-8389 📧 [email protected] #myclevercanine #dogtraining #dogtrainer #puppytraining #puppy #australianlabradoodle #labradoodle #labradoodlesofinstagram #fall

A little fun in the afternoon sun with some of the guys! -—— Koby, Walter, and Elvis ❤️🐾 -—— ➡️ A healthier more balanced relationship is just around the corner. 🔥 Learn about the My Clever Canine difference. 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com 📧 [email protected] ☎️ 707-999-8389 ✅ Puppy camp ✅ Family Dog Manners ✅ Off-leash Freedom ✅ Behavior Modification Camp ✅ The PupStart Turnkey Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! 📍Northern California San Francisco Bay area to the Greater Sacramento area and beyond! 🚀 #myclevercanine #dogtrainer #dogtraining #sunshine #fall #bernedoodle #goldendoodle #labrador #offleashlife

Group training

These 4 campers have been with us for the last few weeks and are close to going home! Once we've established a strong training relationship with each dog individually, we start to incorporate group training sessions towards the end of each dog's program. These group sessions are great for proofing and generalization. It really helps take their skills to the next level 🚀🚀🚀 ------- ➡️ A healthier more balanced relationship is just around the corner. 🔥 Learn about the My Clever Canine difference. 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com 📧 [email protected] ☎️ 707-999-8389 ✅ Puppy camp ✅ Family Dog Manners ✅ Off-leash Freedom ✅ Behavior Modification Camp ✅ The PupStart Turnkey Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! 📍Northern California San Francisco Bay area to the Greater Sacramento area and beyond! 🚀

Puppy Socialization 101

Bruno the bernedoodle joined us at camp this Wednesday. He's already settled in and getting the hang of this whole farm life thing. Puppies like Bruno, who aren't quite old enough to go on off-site field trips, can still get plenty of socialization to new and exciting experiences at the ranch. 🐏🐓🐐 Socialization isn't just about exposure to other dogs. Proper socialization is the controlled exposure to novel sights, smells, sounds and social experiences. Exposure in a controlled setting is important so that we can make sure nothing overly frightening or overwhelming happens. Bad experiences during this critical stage in development can set a puppy's training way back. Much of this critical window in puppy development occurs before the puppy is fully vaccinated at 16 weeks. That means we have to work extra hard to carefully and safely expose puppies to new situations at home. 🏡 Teaching a puppy how to overcome stress is a critical piece of all of our puppy training programs. This important task helps puppies grow into dogs that are more easily able to handle life's ups and downs. Early puppy training is much more than obedience training! We take puppies as early as 8 weeks old from approved breeders. All other puppies must be a minimum of 12 weeks old. Interested in getting your future puppy into one of our training programs? Send us an email 📧 for more information ---- 🐾 Puppy camp for puppies 8 weeks to 24 weeks! 🐾 ✅ Potty training foundation ✅ Early Socialization ✅ Family dog manners ✅ Off-leash Training ✅ Confidence Building ✅ Owner Education ✅ Relationship Based Training ✅ and so much more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com ☎️707-999-8389 📧 [email protected] #myclevercanine #puppytrainers #puppytraining #puppytrainingtips #doodlesofinstagram #newpuppy #puppysocialization #puppiesofinstagram #bernedoodlesofinsta #bernedoodle

From reactive dog to playing the roll of "neutral dog" during a BH temperament test. Kaia showing off her new skills around other dogs 💪🏽 The BH or Begleithundprüfung translates to English from German as "traffic sure companion dog" is a basic obedience and temperament test. It is the first evaluation a dog must pass before it can go on to any other phase in Schutzhund/IGP. Schutzhund was developed in the early 1900's as a breed test for the German Shepherd Dog. Today it is known as IGP and is a highly competitive dog sport that tests the abilities and characteristics of a good working dog. In Germany an IGP1 is a required title before a German Shepherd is allowed to be bred. ---- 🐾 Puppy camp for puppies 8 weeks to 24 weeks! 🐾 ✅ Potty training foundation ✅ Early Socialization ✅ Family dog manners ✅ Off-leash Training ✅ Confidence Building ✅ Owner Education ✅ Relationship Based Training ✅ and so much more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com ☎️707-999-8389 📧 [email protected] #myclevercanine #offleashtraining #offleash #dogtrainingknowledge #dogtrainer #dogtraining #schutzhunddog #germanshepherds #germanshepherdsofinstagram #gsdsoftheworld #gsdtraining #k9training #germanshepherdtraining #temperamenttest #reactivedogrehab #reactivedogsunite #reactivedog #germanshepherd_corner

Patience, patience, patience ⏳ Teaching baby puppies takes a lot of patience. With training sessions like this we try to "capture" the puppy making good choices on his or her own. Eventually we will add verbal to visual commands but we want to teach the puppy that making good choices on their own can be quite rewarding. These training sessions aren't always the most exciting, although we do try to mix them up a bit with the more fast paced active sessions, but they are important for a well rounded foundation. Here trainer Amy is working with 9 week old Australian Labradoodle, Vito, on settling in his own. 🥰🥰 This guy is so smart and such a great student 👏🏽 👨🏾‍🎓❤ ---- 🐾 Puppy camp for puppies 8 weeks to 20 weeks! 🐕 Off-leash training camps 🐕‍🦺 Family Dog manners 🎓 Grow With You Programs 🔥 Learn about the My Clever Canine difference. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 💥 Now offering started puppies! Looking for your new best friend? We can help. 💥 ✅ Potty training foundation ✅ Crate training ✅ Early Socialization ✅ Family dog manners ✅ Obedience Foundation ✅ Off-leash foundation ✅ Confidence Building ✅ Owner Education ✅ Relationship Based Training ✅ Trained Puppies available for sale! ✅ and so much more! ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 🌐 www.MyCleverCanine.com ☎️707-999-8389 📧 [email protected] 📍Northern California San Francisco Bay area to the Greater Sacramento area and beyond! 🚀 #myclevercanine #puppyplaytime #puppytrainer #puppytraining #puppytrainingadvice #puppytrainingvideo #dogtraining #dogtrainingvideo #dogtrainersofinstagram #australianlabradoodlepuppy #goldengatelabradoodles #australianlabradoodlesofinstagram #australianlabradoodle #aldpuppy #vacaville #sanfranciscodogs #walnutcreek #napavalley