Posts Tagged ‘Dog Training Orlando’
It’s that time of year. The Christmas pups are 16 to 24 weeks old. “Now what do we do with him?” the person on the other end of the phone begs for mercy. The calls are coming in and people are in a panic. With so many “ways” to train, which direction do you turn? TV shows have to sensationalize dog training to keep their ratings and anyone in the brother can call themselves a trainer. Look for someone that shares the same ideals and philosophies you do. Your new dog and family “coach” should have an education in the theory and process of learning and comprehension not just a “certificate” in dog training. They should have years of experience training and handling dogs and not just a person who needs extra money after their day job making pizzas. This is serious business. After all, this is the dog you will be keeping for the next fourteen years. Let’s not mess his head up before he is even a year old.
I for one, am tired of hearing about the “pack”, being the “leader” getting “control”, showing him who’s “boss” etc., etc. Yikes! What a bunch of control freaks! Dogs are perpetual toddlers. Show them, teach them, set them up for success, have limitations, boundaries and reasonable expectations and stick to it! Don’t change the rules. Have all the members of the household participate in their education, follow a plan and live happily ever after. Sound too simple to be true? Dog Training is crazy simple…it’s teaching people how to behave that’s difficult.
Get help with house training your pup. The process is not difficult but too lengthy to approach here. Patricia McConnell has a great little book, Way to Go, that really explains all the details. Go to http://www.patriciamcconnell.com/ for more info. All of Trisha’s books are great! Once you are on the right track with that, be reasonable with the length of time you expect your dog to stay by himself. Dog’s by the way are not “pack” animals and there is plenty of scientific evidence to prove this. But, they do live in extended family groups. So that one is easy, they live in families just like us, so they understand our basic social structure. Providing your family is an emotionally healthy unit all should go well. Let’s talk about being the “leader”. How about being a good “parent”? A good parent is not a bully, does not go around controlling and intimidating and certainly tries to provide a healthy environment. So, set the pups up to be right, do not place them in an area where they will constantly be able to get in to trouble and be yelled at for every step they take. Provide a “baby” safe area, such as the kitchen for the pup to play with his toys. Everything on the floor is his. Pick up your things. Now is not the time to teach him “No” because you are too lazy to pick up your shoes and socks. Interact with him, play with him, pet him and when you are finished, put him back in his crate or out of doors if he is not completely house trained. If your house has an open floor plan and is too hard to section off for the pup, then the pup should wear a harness and a “drag line”. The line can be an inexpensive piece of clothes line or the like. Cut the line about twelve feet in length and tie it to the harness. The pup can now go about the house with you. The line prevents him from getting into trouble. You still should be playing and interacting with him, distracting him away from trouble. Prevention is not the cure, but it will teach him the right way to live in your house while you are teaching him puppy obedience exercises. Make sure he gets enough “doggie play time” and not just walking….slowly next to your side, under control. BORING! UGH! Dog’s travel at a much faster pace than we humans do. They naturally want to hustle and move out at a nice trot. We need to save that thought for another article. Play time should be out of doors. Don’t rough house in doors if you expect your pup to have “house manners”. All the chase games, ball tossing and in general “fly around and be crazy” should be out of doors games. If your pup starts to “boogy butt” in the house, tell him, “Not inside” and take him out and play with him until he is tired. Go back in side and expect him to settle.
Hope that helps. Until next time, hug the pup and remember how much you wanted that little guy!
Norma Najorka
Posted in Articles by Norma, Dog Training Orlando | 
Tags: Dog Boarding Orlando, Dog Training Orlando | 
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The first step is to immediately STOP using the come command. Let’s face it, he’s not going to do it anyway. Every time you say “come” and he ignores you, you are reinforcing the fact that he does not have to do it. I like to place a pup/dog on a body harness (yep, the ones used for walking) and attach a “drag line” to the harness. The drag line is an inexpensive piece of clothes line or an old leash with the handle removed. If left intact the handle of the leash can get caught as your dog drags it about the house or yard. The line should be about six to eight feet in length. The line enables you to stop chasing your dog, yelling and being frustrated. When your dog does not respond to your verbal cue to “come”, quietly approach your dog, step on the line and regain control of your dog’s movement. Do not be angry, just bring your dog to the area you wish him to be and praise him when you get there. You should be positive and confident in your actions. Your attitude should project, “We are going over here and I’m not arguing with you.”
The second step is to teach your dog to respond (show favorable reaction) to his name. People are surprised when I ask them to quietly call their dog’s name and he does not respond at all. It’s sort of silly to believe Fido will come when he is out in the yard when he won’t even look at you! Begin in a quiet area with little or no distractions. Have several very tasty treats for Fido. The treats should be cut in to pieces the size of Cheerios, be chewy and smelly. Dogs eat mostly by smell and not taste. Try not to use treats which will crumble. Fido should be on his drag line to prevent him from leaving. Pick up the drag line and hold it near the end. Call Fido’s name and if he makes eye contact, immediately say, “GOOD!” and give him one treat. If he does not look, use your line to bring him toward you as you back up. When you move him farther away from the distraction and closer to you, he will be able to focus on you. As you bring him closer, continue to quietly call his name. If he responds, offering eye contact, immediately say, “GOOD” and feed him one treat. If he does not look, position the treat close to his nose. Do not feed it to him. Let him smell the treat to get his attention and then move the treat up toward your face. As he looks toward the treat and makes eye contact with you, quietly call his name. Say, “GOOD” and feed him the treat. Repeat this two more times and wait until later and repeat the exercise. Repeat this several times during the day in very short sessions for one week. You may gradually add MINOR distractions as Fido’s focus becomes better.
You’re probably thinking, “he’s only responding because of the food.” True, but at least he is responding! We are establishing new behaviors and are setting your dog up to be right and not fail. This is only the beginning of his training and certainly not the end result. Another great exercise is to hand feed your dog his dinner. Attach your “drag line” to your dog’s harness. Measure out your dog’s dinner in a small bowl. Show your dog what you have and move away from your dog toward another room in the house. As he is moving TOWARD you, call his name and say, “Come!” Always use a happy, playful tone when calling your dog to you. NEVER use a harsh tone when asking him to come to you. Even if your dog is staying with you and following you, call his name and “Come” before you feed him. Again, you are conditioning your dog to have a positive response to his name and the verbal cue, “Come.” Continue this exercise, moving about the house, every now and then stopping to feed your dog a handful of his food. If your dog does not follow you and his food or refuses to eat in this manner, put the food bowl away and do not ENTICE your dog to eat. Wait at least a half hour and try it again. It certainly will not hurt your dog to miss a meal. After all, you are offering and HE is the one who is refusing or walking away. Remember, he who controls the food source is certainly the adult or the controling member of the group. Practice the above two exercises until it is impossible to move away from your dog. Add distractions and change locations (example: indoors to outdoors) slowly and don’t hesitate to remove distractions if it appears too difficult. You will have to use your line to move your dog away from the distraction. If your dog becomes over stimulated, restrict his forward motion using the line. Begin walking directly away from the distraction, using assertive (not aggressive) body motions. You will be calmly pulling your dog away from the distraction as you observe your dog’s behavior. As soon as your dog mentally “lets go” from the distraction you MUST praise, “Good Come” and reward (feed) him. Use the environment and it’s distractions to teach your dog to come in a variety of situations. Once your dog is being successful while he is on his short line you should increase the length of your line to fifteen or twenty feet. Letting Fido drag the line at the park of other places ensures you can always step on the line to begin the “come” exercise and ALWAYS be successful. Do not be in a hurry to eliminate the line. It takes canine maturity and many months of practice in a variety of situations before your dog will be truly reliable at “coming when called.”
For additional training information visit: www.thecaninecenter.com and our blog at www.dogboardingorlando.com
Brody and Norma did a great job showing off their Dog Agility Training Skills.
Posted in Dog Training Orlando |
Tags: agility training, dog agility, Dog Training, Dog Training Orlando |
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Wayne Roth Photography
So what do you do on Valentine’s Day…….How about have some fun! That’s just what Brody, Norma and I did. We played around in The Canine Center’s – Dog Training Orlando’s Agility Ring! At this point, I’m not sure who had more fun but I bet he has four paws! It was amazing to watch what Brody would do for Mr. Cow. You know, the puppet, cow looking stuffed animal, stuffed with an empty plastic bottle. Wish I would have thought of that one! We got all kinds of great pictures and some short videos too. Look for the video….it Rocks! I should have it posted some time tomorrow. Wayne
Wayne Roth Photography
Posted in Dog Training Orlando |
Tags: dog agility, dog photography, Dog Training, Dog Training Orlando |
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Welcome to our new blog, ( Dog Boarding Orlando ) featuring Dog Training and boarding in Orlando here at The Canine Center, Inc.
Our blog will cover great posts with helpful information on training, boarding, grooming and general health issues for your puppy or dog.
The Canine Center offers several training programs to help you and your dog get started on the road to a healthy person/dog relationship.You’re off to a great start! The fact that you have searched for information is admission that you want to learn. Good for you! Every person and every dog will be different. You may be sorry that you have a puppy/dog right now or you may think you have the next canine star of Hollywood! What ever your situation, you will reach your goal following The Canine Center Pawsitive Partnership Program. Remember to take your time, don’t assume your pet knows how to complete daily tasks and most importantly HAVE FUN! It’s understandable you may be confused or bewildered by all of the information that flood bookshelves, the internet, TV and the like. A good guideline when your are filtering through information and advice is to ask yourself whether you would apply the technique to a three year old child. If you answer is a quick “No!” than do not apply it to your puppy/dog. Training should make sense, be kind and humane.
Dog’s of any age, breed and size can successfully complete the training program. Of course they will need a little help from a caring owner! Pups as young as 8 weeks and dogs older than ten have successfully completed this program. Both the young and the old should be given special consideration. Keep your sessions short and fun with all ages of dogs. Quick training sessions should take place through out the day, the more the better. The best success is achieved when the environment is heavily managed. Placing a pet in a situation where failure is immanent is extremely unfair. Any pet who is having behavioral problems will benefit from a six week change in environment and behavior routine. Eliminating your pets ability to “trash” your house, drive your neighbors nuts, scratch holes in your walls, potty all over your rugs etc, etc , etc. is the first step towards success. There are many reasons why drug rehab centers, Weight Watchers, Alcoholics Anonymous and a variety of other programs exist. Most eliminate the undesired behavior from occurring. You have to STOP the old behaviors in order to replace them with new ones. Sometimes the old “just say no” or “take back the island” is the way to go. I don’t consider this tough love, I consider it SANITY! There is absolutely nothing about this program that can be considered mean or cruel. Every social creature thrives in a structurally organized, predictable environment. Life is difficult if you never know what’s around the corner or who will change their mind. Changing the environment can mean giving your dog a location where he is confined and safe when not supervised. This can be a crate, laundry room, spare bedroom or an outdoor doggie enclosure. He needs a place where he is never in trouble and can relax and be a dog. I would rather see a dog out of doors, in his own space ,than being kept indoors where he is constantly being scolded for being wrong with every step he takes! My idea of a perfect “retraining” situation is: Fido has an out of doors, covered, 8′ x 20′ enclosure. The bottom of the enclosure has patio tiles or fencing covered with mulch (keeps him from digging). There is plenty of water, shade and non destructible toys for him to entertain himself. Several times during the day he is allowed to exit the enclosure on a long line attached to his collar. He visits the house and explores the outdoors. His owner is close to him to show him how he is expected to behave and respond to his environment. He is restricted when he is incorrect and rewarded for trying to act appropriately. Any effort in the right direction is noticed and reinforced. He is not given overwhelming tasks and the sessions always end on a successful note.
