Training A Well Behaved Dog

Posted on December 20, 2011 by ryanpaddock

Training A Well Behaved Dog

When teaching dog owners how to train their dog, I like to take a 2 step approach to developing a well behaved dog. This process is; practice develops habits, habits develop behavior.
The first step to having a well behaved dog is to practice. This can come from working with your dog at home or getting some formal training done. Teaching the basics is what we are looking for. Work with your dog on the commands of come, sit, down, and heel. At Sit Means Sit Dog Training, we teach stay is implied “sit means sit”. Virtually any issue you would ever have with your dog can be solved with a few basic commands. Example if your dog is jumping on you or others, tell your dog to sit every time they come up to you or another person.
Now that we have the basics down we want to work on developing habits . Habits are made through repetition. At this point we don’t need to focus so much time on working with the basics, but rather make sure that your dog is being reminded of what they should be doing. No different than a kid being reminded to say please and thank you. Habits will typically start to form after a few weeks of practice. There is no time table for this stage in training, depending on the age of your dog behaviors you should start to notice after a couple months.
We have done all the hard work to develop some good habits with our dog, now we get to enjoy a well behaved dog. At this point your dog should know what is expected out of them. Spend your time still working on the things that give you a hard time. For the most part you should have to do minimal work with up keep of the training. However, you should continue to teach your dog new things and further their training to reach your dogs max potential.

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How To Potty Train A Dog

Posted on December 19, 2011 by ryanpaddock

How To Potty Train A Dog

Potty training can seem a difficult task to teach a dog, but it is actually pretty easy. Accidents do happen but if you follow these guide lines you should be able to have a potty trained dog in a matter of a few short weeks. Some dogs may take a little longer, but every dog can learn not to go to the bathroom in your home.

Pick up the food and water. Sounds pretty simple, but make sure that your dog does not have access to additional water sources (toilet, water dispensers, hoses, ect.) or food (garbage, counter food, ect.). Get the dog on a schedule that they get food and water a few times a day. If the day is a hot day or the dog is active more water will be required, but there should not be more then what you would be able to drink at one point. Smaller dogs will require less
Input, output. Following the first guide line is very important. If we know when and how much is going into the dog, we can guess when and how much should be coming out of the dog. Dogs will generally need to go to the bathroom 30 minutes to an hour after they have drank or eaten. Some dogs are faster some are slower. I like to get dogs on a schedule to go before or after their meal, then a few hours later throughout the day.
The crate. The crate or kennel can be a very useful tool in helping house break your dog. Give your dog the opportunity to go potty out side, 5 to 10 minutes. Some may need less some may need more. This is all about giving the dog a reasonable amount of time to go to the bathroom. If the dog goes, they can be out. If they have not gone, they can go back in the kennel. Dogs naturally do not want to soil where they sleep or lay. Give the dog some time, and then bring them back outside to go to the bathroom. Repeat this step until the dog has gone to the bathroom. Then supervise the dog.
Limit space. Some owners do not kennel the dog, that’s okay. This does not mean that potty training cannot be accomplished. Simply limit the space that the dog is in. You might keep the dog in a kitchen, bathroom, laundry room or other smaller spaces. This should be a space that you do not mind that the dog will go to the bathroom, because accidents are going to happen. Once you can trust the dog with one room give them more space, until you can trust the dog to be out.
Don’t make a deal of it. No one like when their dog uses the house as a toilet. Correct the dog, but don’t make it a huge deal. I have seen too many dogs afraid to go to the bathroom in front of their owners, the dog holds it until they can’t or they sneak off and go to the bathroom in your home. If the dog goes in the house correct it and bring them right outside.
Look for the signs. Most dogs give some sign that they need to go. Some wait at the door, whine, get more active, bug you, paw at the door, sniffing more. Most dogs show some of these signs. Some dogs might be subtle in how they show they need to go, but almost every dog does.
Put it to command. Every time you do go outside to bring the dog to the bathroom say go potty or some variation of the command. Just like we can teach our dogs to sit, come, and stay, down. We can also teach them to go to the bathroom on command. Start by saying “go potty, go potty” keep saying this until the dog has gone to the bathroom. If they do, make that a big deal like they won the super bowl. If they don’t go to step 3.
That’s the spot. Every time you bring your dog out to go, use the same spot in the beginning. This spot is familiar in smells and tends to lead to less distraction. Spots that other dogs have gone are a great way to start. The dog then can smell that this is a place that others have gone, must be okay for me. Once the dog gets the hang of it. You can start by bring them other places.
Be patient. Not all dogs get this right away. Be patient though. If you give this enough time it will work. Also have some good cleaner on hand to make sure that the smells of the dogs elimination has been removed.

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The Art of Attention

Posted on September 9, 2010 by ryanpaddock

By Fred Hassen & Toni Drugmand

Sit Means Sit www.sitmeanssit.com

A Good Foundation

Whether you are working with a puppy, an adolescent or mature dog, everything you teach your dog STARTS with attention! Attention to your command is the best foundation. There is a bit of an art to teaching attention however.

Training Aids

Using a long line that is attached to the pups collar both helps in leash training and acts as a guide to direct the puppy’s attention from the wrong things he may choose to do. The long line gives the handler the ability to reach out and interrupt an incorrect behavior such as chewing, jumping etc. Be sure to give the pup something he can do such as chew on a safe bone or toy to help manage his idle time.

Motivation & Balance

Finding something that motivates your dog to focus on your command in the face of distractions can be challenging! A leash and collar might be one way to do this; another might involve an enticing food reward or toy. Try Teaching your dog to do something you want before he gets something he wants, such as sit before a meal, or heel correctly for several paces and reward with a ball toss. Training should be both motivational and balanced in order for your dog to learn. Our system can include all or any of the mentioned aids along with the cue of a remote training collar. This tool gives us the ability to clearly communicate to our dog and enhances reliability. If faced with a strong distraction such as a cat running, we want immediate response to our command ;enough to call our dog back from the cat temptation!

Supervision

Usually, When we bring a puppy home we have enough sense to recognize the need for supervision. Attention starts at this early age, both your attention to supervise and recognize the need for a safe containment area (crate, dog run see last months article for fuller description) is important. Teaching your dog or pup from day one should start with easy attention exercises or games. An example is the “come” game. One person calls the pup and the long line helps guide the puppy if needed while a lot of praise is given and maybe a treat or toy. Using a helper take turns rotating who is calling the puppy.

Age doesn’t matter

Many clients that call us fail to realize an adult dog still abides by the same training consistencies a puppy does. If an adult isn’t house broken, OR has learned to dig and be destructive for instance, we need to be fair by giving clear boundaries, no different than with a puppy. A safe containment and management system is important so positive learning happens. Over see all of your dogs free time to be sure your dog or pup doesn’t learn the wrong things, such as digging up moms garden!

Attention

Because it all comes down to attention, you need to decide what training techniques make the most sense for your needs. A clicker gives the dog the ability to have a reward when he does the right behavior. This can be helpful to mark the correct behavior, however it may not be a strong enough motivation if your dog really wants to chase that cat! A leash and training collar can be effective for getting attention, some dogs might even respond well to a toy or food lure. A remote collar is another safe humane technique that works like an adjustable tap on the shoulder to get your dogs attention. It has adjustable settings that can be changed to meet the environmental stimulation.

A remote training collar helps us keep our dog’s attention.

Don’t Change The Rules!

If you are working with your dog at home and your dog just needs clear boundaries, then don’t change the rules! Be consistent every time you ask for a behavior or supervise every step until it is a reliably set pattern. Your dog may amaze you at how smart he really is. If however you have a difficult problem with your dog, especially aggressive tendencies, you may want to seek a professional trainer to help you gain the control necessary to help keep your dog a happy and safe pet. Teaching attention is the art of presenting your dog with choices and letting him compare them. The old saying which states you can’t know short without knowing tall applies.