Look At Who? Look At Me!

👉👉Pro Training Tip Tuesday👈👈 Look At Me is a useful cue for your dog. Helping your dog build his ability to look at you instead of getting caught up in staring at something which may be triggering for him.

This cue will put the attention back on you!

The 🔑 for any training is practice. Practice is structured into our daily routine. The same goes for you! 3-5 minutes a few times a day!

✅ In between binging Netflix shows, practiced with luring Jack to do a head turn away from something to me
✅We practiced during our walks-he looked at a person, bird or car go by-lured his head turn back to me
✅We practiced at meal times-Red Porter would get him distracted (Jack turns his head towards him) and I lure Jack back to me.

This is how I coach you to spend time with your dogs! Sprinkling in bits of training and bonding throughout the day is:
🐾 manageable
🐾 includes real life rewards
🐾 establishes a routine for your dog

🤔🤔You may be wondering what is a lure? A lure is anything your dog sees as the high value-food, toys ect AND your dog’s attention goes to that object! If your dog is so excited for something use and save it for training! The goal is twofold: the more you incorporate what your dog automatically loves, you will then become the best thing because you give the best thing to your dog #Pavlov #bellequalsfood

Shaping behavior is also important because we are aiming for precision rather than perfection. As we are teaching new behaviors we want to keep distractions, distance and duration to a minimum. We then reward for any behavior towards the end behavior, in this case the slight head turn in Look At Me (shaping).

Have you ever learned something new? Did you fumble and get confused? Well, this is the same for our dogs 😁.

Rewarding the slightest of movements toward the goal behavior is encouraging for our dog! This will help him be motivated to keep working and that is what we want!

Once we become precise with praising at the time of the behavior occurring and our dog becomes better responders because of our praise, then we move towards incorporating more Distraction, Distance and Duration!

The video demonstrates practicing with higher levels of Distraction, Distance and Duration.

Increasing complexity after practice, practice, practice!

We are also having lots of fun which you can see Jack 💕

Get started and together we can help your dog understand what you want 🤩.

Beware of Thunderstorms No More!

Summer is upon us and we are going to focus on helping our dogs feel more comfortable when thunderstorms happen. Does your dog hide, bark, shake or show body language signs like tail tucked, head down, ears back or pursed mouth when thunderstorms happen? Then your dog is feeling distressed and scared. Since Mother Nature does her own thing when she wants, therefore we must set up the environment for practice before the main event happens! Now is the time to get started.

Step 1: Find storm sounds you can play from your computer, tablet or phone. YouTube has some great options which allow for a variety of experiences. One suggestion is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVKEM4K8J8A. Once you find a few you think are good for you, you’re ready to get started.

Step 2: Get prepared with something super high value. Many dogs love food. Food is necessary for survival and one that our dog’s inherently understand. A long lasting chew is great and there are many varieties. One I know is a cut above the rest are Himalayan chews https://www.himalayan.pet/. These are great since they are long lasting and help with keeping your dog’s teeth cleaned. You can also use a kong stuffed with food works well, freezing it is even better!

Step 3: When ready with your high value reward, play the storm sounds and a low level and pair the sounds with the long lasting chew or Kong. When your dog continues snacking, you know he is comfortable with the sounds. Do this for 5 days. Varying the time you’re playing the sounds, but keeping the volume the same.

**If your dog is extremely sensitive to thunderstorms or suffers from panic attacks, consult a positive reinforcement trainer or behaviorist**

Step 4: Move to this step only if your dog was comfortable and relaxed while you played the storm sounds at the low level. This step moves to increasing the volume little bits at a time and repeating the above steps. You always want your dog to be relaxed when the storm sounds are on. Move between increasing and decreasing the volume of the storm sounds (never just increase the sound alone-this can be too overwhelming). Repeat this for 5 days. If at any point, the volume was increased too quickly or the sound was too startling, stop the session and try again later-repeat step 3 at the lowest volume or move the device into another room.

Step 5: Once you’ve played the storms on a variety of volume levels, move to increasing the length of time of the sounds from lower volume to higher volume. Follow Step 3 and step 4, but you’re focusing on the length of time the sound is going on for during each session. Increase time slowly with each volume change and if you’re dog stops snacking or shows distress, stop the session and progress more slowly the next time.

The key is practicing often and consistently, so our dogs become accustomed to the sounds and feel more relaxed during storms. Follow our dogs lead when progressing. Your dog will tell you when to keep moving along.

Puppyhood: Do’s and Don’ts

I met the cutest Chow/Husky mix named Maple. When I met her, she was this reddish/orangish puff ball excited about life and her humans wanted the best for her. Better than what their respective dogs had growing up. They looked for a different approach in training all things puppies. They chose a positive reinforcement/reward based trainer and they were open minded and ready to implement Maple’s training plan. YES!

Meet Maple

In considering all the aspects of raising a puppy, there are more do’s than don’ts. Yes, consideration needs to be paid for ensuring a puppy doesn’t contract any diseases such as PARVO and Distemper since they are not fully vaccinated by the ideal time of going to their furever home at 8 weeks of age. On the other hand, this can be mitigated by keeping a careful and structured socialization plan. The humans taking in a puppy for the first time may need a little guidance and education for effective puppy upbringing.

Here’s our approach.

The Do’s of Puppy Training

  • Do find a reliable positive reinforcement/reward based trainer-if this is not in your budget look for reputable sites like Dunbar Academy. They offer well developed content which some is free!
  • Do prioritize getting your puppy around 100 different places, people (of all ages and sizes), environments, experiences (sounds, ground textures) within the first 100 days of bringing your puppy home. *8-14 weeks of age is the ideal time to do this! This will make your puppy grow into a well adjusted adult dog.
  • Do have puppy parties at your home. Invite others to come by (leaving shoes at the door) and allow for everyone to touch on and all over your puppy. Most dog bites happen because dogs weren’t socialized to have their collars grabbed, their paws played with, their tailed touched. Most dogs hate hugs, but a puppy who learns this is ok at an early age will have a better chance of accepting this from people, in particular from children.
  • Do get your puppy vaccinated at the earliest intervals recommended by your veterinarian.
  • Do include basic obedience training early-especially integrating real life rewards quickly after your puppy learned what words like “sit, stay, down, leave it, take it, focus” means. Food is a tool like a collar and leash are and integrating other things like doors opening and pets from you will become the things your puppy desires from you.
  • Do set up a success station(s), especially if you have children. The success station will be an area where you puppy can have down time in a confined space near you that is not a kennel or closed off room or backyard. Think of it like a Pack ‘N Play for a dog.

  • Do kennel train your dog. If nothing else, kennels may be needed in an emergency situation. Remember the reports of the fires in Australia? There were countless pictures of dogs both muzzled and kenneled while they were evacuated with their families. Emergencies like wildfires are unpredictable and raises the stress level of any person or animal for that matter. Also, for those who are part of a military family, having a kennel trained dog will serve you and your puppy well during frequent moves, temporary lodging and travel.

The Don’ts of Puppy Training

  • Don’t be afraid of getting your puppy out there even if getting out there means bringing people into your home. Vaccinations are necessary, but not having them doesn’t mean your puppy has to forgo necessary and early socialization.
  • Don’t miss out on early socialization. Waiting too long will only make possible problems like reactivity, biting, fearfulness to be the mainstay of your dog’s behavior repertoire. Let me tell you, an ounce in prevention in early socialization will save you a pound of behavior modification later in life. The latter is more challenging, time consuming and sometimes frustrating. Why put yourself and your puppy through this when early puppy socialization is fun and enjoyable!
  • Don’t use harsh training methods on a puppy or ever! There are other means of helping a dog learn which is least invasive and minimally aversive. Rubbing your dog’s nose in its urine or poop only teaches your dog to be afraid of you. Why would you want a dog who is afraid of you when your goal was having a companion animal brought into your family?
  • Don’t forget to take pictures and videos! Puppies grow very quickly, having those pictures and videos may be good reminders of how cute and cuddly your puppy is when they chew on something they should not have when they were accidentally left unsupervised.

If you’re looking for guidance with any of this, reach out for Four Paws and You Dog Training-we can set up a virtual training appointment.