Understanding How Your Body Language Effects Your Dogs Drive

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was watching a Wrestling match on the tube the other night
and one of the competitors was the guy we all know as…
“The Rock” aka. Dwayne Johnson.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I enjoy watching him wrestle, and yes I am well aware

that it is all scripted and fake as hell.

But..I still find it entertaining none the less.

Now I know you’re thinking what has this got to do with dog training.

Bear with me and it will all become clear in a minute or so..

What I like about the Rock is how he is able to use facial expressions
and body language to let his fans know what is coming next.

For example..he has a move called “The Peoples Elbow” a devastating blow
delivered by smashing his elbow into his opponent’s chest and in most cases is
the move that finishes them off..

You know what is coming not because he says anything but by the way he
stops, and looks out at the crowd,slides his elbow pad off,
then stares down at his opponent, and after a couple of springs off the
ropes delivers his signature blow.

He is what you could call a Master in using facial expressions and body
language to communicate his intentions..

Over the years I have learned and perfected how to use my body language
and tone of voice to have a powerful effect on how my dogs behave.

Let me break it down for ya…

You see your dog has three main drives,a defence drive,pack drive,and
a prey drive.

1- Guard Drive

This is a dogs instinctual reaction to a stressful situation, and of the three
drives this is the most diverse because it is determined by the dogs temperament
they will either fight or run away depending on their temperament.

If you have a confident dog that is not easily spooked by noise, other dogs or people,
they will most likely fight if cornered or pushed.

If you have a dog that is easily frightened by noise, other dogs or people
then this dog will likely run away in the face of adversity.Sometimes they will
just freeze and not move a muscle.

2- Pack Drive

Pack drive is the drive that your dogs are in when they work with you or interact with
a group of dogs. This is the drive you want your dog in when you work obedience exercises
or go for walks.

3- Prey Drive

This is the drive that causes your dog to want to chase sticks or squirrels.

This is the drive that you want your dog in when you call them to come.

Now how does your tone of voice and body language kick in these drives?

I’m glad you asked.

Have you ever layed down on the grass and notice that your dog almost immediately
runs to you and jumps and rolls on you having a great time. That’s because when you
lower your body to the ground it kicks in your dogs prey drive..they instinctually
are driven to play, because you pose no threat to them when you are on the ground.

You want your dog to be in prey drive when you call them to come..so make sure you
squat down and use a high-pitched happy tone of voice when you call them to come.

If you stand tall and lean in toward your dog and use harsh tones then you will
shift your dog into guard drive and they will most likely not come to you or
be very hesitant and almost crawl to you on their bellys, because they are unsure
of what is going to happen to them.

When you stand straight, and use calming even tones you will kick in your dogs pack
drive and this is the drive you want them in when you go for walks or teaching
obedience.

So to sum this all up..

It’s important to understand how your tone of voice and body language switches your
dog’s drive..because when you are working obedience commands you will want to change
your dogs drive to have success with different commands.

If you want to work with your dog or go for walks, then stand straight, use normal
even tones in your voice to kick in their pack drive, and your dog will follow you
and be very willing to work with you.

If you want your dog to come, squat down, or lean back, use high-pitched happy tones of
voice, this will kick your dog into prey drive and in most cases your dog will come
running to you.

If you want to kick in your dogs guard drive..stand tall, lean in toward the dog and
use a stern tone of voice.

This is a good drive to use when your dog is a little too excited and out of hand, not
responding to your commands.

Stand up tall and lean toward your dog and in a harsh low commanding tone of voice say,

“Hey, that’s enough!”

and in most cases the dog will hunker down, and start paying attention to you.

So remember if you want your dog to come then guard drive is not the drive you want..
a dog will find it very hard to come to you if you have kicked in their guard drive.

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all the best,

Harley

Dog Training Questions and Answers About Using Metal Prong Collars

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fact: Prong collars are designed to do one thing and one thing only

Their purpose is to cause pain to a dog to get him or her to stop any
number of behaviors, such as pulling on the leash or becoming aggressive
towards dogs or people.

Question: Do they work?

Answer: Prong collars do work if you are into the quick fix, but in the
long run they do nothing to address the underlying reason your dog is
pulling on the leash, and once the collar is removed the behavior comes
back.

Question: Can they be used by the average dog owner?

Answer: Yes, but unfortunately it’s been my experience that if not used
correctly,( timing has to be perfect every time to be effective) a metal
prong collar will only increase the likelihood of the owner getting
bitten by their own dog, and at the very least the dog will begin to
associate pain with whatever else is close by at the time when the pain
comes..ie, another dog, a child.

Question: Is it safe for my dog to interact with other dogs in a social
setting like the dog park while wearing a metal prong collar?

Answer: I have witnessed many dogs in play and at times they will tug on
the collar of another dog in play..if this is a metal prong collar and
the dog feels pain when the other dog tugs on his metal prong collar the
likelihood of a fight increases 10 fold.

My advice is if you plan on taking your dog to the dog park, (which by
the way I think is very risky for you and your dog,) be sure to take the
metal prong collar off before you let your dog go. This will be one less
reason your dog might get into trouble.

I feel strongly that this should be a rule to gain entry to any dog park,
or area where other dogs are going to be running around off leash with
little or no supervision. A big sign that reads..

Absolutely No Metal Prong Collars Allowed!! One Strike And You Are Out.

What I hope you take away from this post is that it is never a good idea
to cause your dog pain. Your dog will live in fear, and nobody wants that
right.

I have a technique that I use to convince people that using these
contraptions are hurtful to their dog, and unnecessary.

When I meet a client that uses a metal prong collar but is still having
issues with behavior, I first point out the scar tissue that has built up
around the dogs neck which makes the use of the collar ineffective, and
then I ask them to put the collar around their arm and then tell
them to give it a good yank.

As they rub the pain away and check for bleeding and bruising

They often comment that they had no idea how much they were hurting their
dogs and most of them promise to not use them again.

There are more effective methods for modifying your dogs behavior that
don’t use force,fear,or pain.

I recommend putting in place the 4 laws of nature that govern all dogs,
and once you have won your dogs mind, then you can influence their
behavior, without having to resort to gadgetry or other adversive
methods.

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Facebook Page, click here to like.

All the best,

Harley

The #2 Reason Your Dog Won’t Obey Your Commands, He or She Is A “Willy Wag Junkie”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have talked about how getting your dog to focus on you is critical to having a well-mannered dog that pays attention to you and obeys your commands. Today I will talk about the #2 reason your dog is being “bad” or “disobedient.”

The reason is too much adrenalin, or “Willy-wag juice”.

We have all heard the stories about the 110 lb Mother who lifted a 2 ton car off their child, and other stories of incredible feats of strength or endurance. This is all possible because of one thing, and that thing is a sudden burst of adrenalin.

All animals have this primal urge to survive, and when faced with danger, all animals including us
humans have that survival response that tells us to fight or run away.

The moment that the decision is made to either fight or run,the brain gives the body a short burst of
adrenalin. It is during this short burst of drug induced, increased strength,stamina and
focus, that these amazing feats we read about take place.

The burst is short-lived and then the body is usually spent of energy and slowly returns to normal.

But that being said just like some of us humans are adrenalin junkies who live for the rush of
impending danger, most dogs I see are adrenalin junkies too.

I hear dog owners say their dog is being “disobedient” when he pulls on the lead, or is “bad” because he barks non-stop, but the reality is, these dogs are simply living life in the willy-wags.

Unfortunately a lot of dogs live a very sedentary life, they just lay around the house with not much if any mental or physical release.

This is a very stressful way for a dog to live.

What happens is, one day the stress gets to be too much and the dog starts to whine, or turn circles,
or bark with intense focus. These behaviors will be easy to recognize because they are different from
your dogs normal behavior.

The will have a distinct pattern to them, like the beat of a drum.

The barking would be like, woof,,,woof,,,woof,,,woof,,,all while staring at nothing, and if you give them a command it will most likely go unrewarded.

They will be that focused on what ever is stressing them out.

The adrenalin kicks in and the dog gets a high off the dopamine, runs off into the willy-wags and
quickly learns to create 90 degrees turns in their lives so they can get their fix and feel better.

Once your dog has gone into the willy-wags, it’s too late for you to give any commands, your dog is
just not going to hear you. The part of their brain that helps them think and make good choices, simply shuts off.

He is now just reacting to the situation he’s in.

You will not be able to engage your dog until you get him back under control, and for most dog owners this can be difficult at best, and down right impossible, not to mention dangerous in some cases of aggression, because the dog has gone, he’s not aware of you right now.

When dogs are this crisis mode, extreme physical correction is needed to try to prevent harm to any
people or dogs that are nearby, and this is when it becomes very dangerous for the dog’s handler.

What you need to do is make sure your dog never goes off into the willy-wags, and keep him there. It’s that simple.

Think about it like this:

If you were driving down the highway and saw a sign that said,

DANGER! 90 DEGREE TURN AHEAD!!

Would you slow down as soon as you saw the sign or would you wait until your car was skidding in
circles before you did anything?

You would most likely slow down as soon as you saw the sign, and maneuver your car safely around the turn and not skid off into the willy-wags.

It’s the same with your dog, let’s say he’s dog aggressive.

You are out walking him and suddenly he sees another dog.

From past experience you know he is going to react,

so what do you do?

Do you let your dog pull you straight toward that other dog at 100 miles and hour and end up in the
willy-wags? Or do you read the signs of aggression, ie the sudden focused staring and whining/barking at the dog that triggered his stress, and interrupt your dog and slow him down?

The answer is obvious, you read the signs of the impending adrenalin rush, and put the brakes on your dog to slow him down, get his focus back on you by moving the dog away from the trigger and working some obedience training, or engage your dogs prey drive in a high spirited game of tug of war.

Then safely maneuver him past the other dog, thus avoiding the #2 reason your dog  won’t obey your commands.

Here is something important to understand, I think I’ll bold this.

You only have about 2-4 seconds from the time your dog focuses on a target until he goes into adrenalin overload. Don’t hesitate take action before your dog reacts.

It’s imperative that you learn how to interrupt the adrenalin rush before it happens, if you don’t, you’re going to have behavior troubles and it’s not going to be good for you or your dog.

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All the best,

Harley

The Number One Reason Your Dog Won’t Obey Your Commands

Regardless of what kind of behavior problem you are having with your dog, be it jumping up,barking,
pulling on the leash, or being aggressive toward people or other dogs/animals, it has nothing to do
with them being “bad” or “disobedient.” Today you will learn the number one reason your dog won’t obey your commands.

I used quotation marks around the words bad, and disobedient, because when clients tell me that they
need my help because their dog won’t come when called, I always ask them what they have been doing to
get them to come when called and they usually answer I yell come. It’s like they expect the dog to come
just because they told it to, and when the dog blows them off and chases the ninja squirrel across the
road, they get angry and call me to tell me their dog is “bad” and “disobedient.”

There are three main reasons why your dog might seem like he is being “bad” or “disobedient.”

But for today I am going to concentrate on only one. I’ll get to the other two in later posts.

“When You Compete With The Ninja Squirrel Your Dog-Fu Better Be Strong Grasshopper.”

The first thing I do is to explain to my clients that in fact their dog is not being bad or disobedient
when he won’t come to them. It’s because he hasn’t been taught to keep his focus on them. He might have
been forced to come, or to sit, and he might do it occasionally because he has heard the words so many
times and been forced into a sit position, but the owner did not take the time to teach the dog what
come really means, or what sit really means. A dog can’t learn from us just by talking to them. Telling
them to come,or forcing them to sit, won’t teach them anything..the owners are just talking to their dogs and dogs
don’t understand what they are saying.

If your dog don’t see you as the most interesting person in the world who makes everything fun and
rewarding for them, then when he sees that ninja squirrel, he’s going to leave you in a cloud of dust
wondering what just happened.

Likewise if you have a dog that shows aggression toward the mailman and he is not focused on you and sees the mailman, then your dog could get into trouble and so could you.

Teaching your dog to focus,..or to watch you, starts in the house under no distractions.

Your goal should be to have your dog move when you move and to pay attention to you at all times. Be aware of how far away your dog is and work to keep him looking at you and close by. My bubble is 4 feet, if my dog is more than four feet away from me that’s too far, and I call him inside the 4 foot radius around me.

You begin by saying his name, and when he looks at you, give him a tasty treat, do this for a couple of
days and then start moving around the house and this time,every 10 feet or so, say your dogs
name,”Rover” and when he looks at you say,”Come,” and when he gets to you give him a treat and praise
him “Good Dog.” Do this for a couple of days and then add a hand gesture to the mix, ie, Rover,come, and wave him to come closer with your hand, like you were beckoning a friend to come here.

Within a few days you should be able to get your dog to come 100% of the
time with just the hand gesture, no words at all. Then it’s time to move on to the sit command.

You would follow the same pattern as teaching him to come. Hand gestures are used for every command because you want to be able to command your dog even if there is too much noise for him to hear you well.

Once you have taught your dog to come,sit,down and stay reliably inside then you move outside in the
yard on leash and provide some distraction, like someone throwing a ball around near where you are
working with your dog. Then teach him these same commands under this low-level pressure. Keeping him
focused on you will be a little more difficult so I would suggest you use high value food rewards like
cooked chicken,ham,cheese, or last nights left over steak.

Regular old kibble is not going to make him think of you as more enticing than that ball that’s rolling
around or the butterfly that’s calling his name to give chase, and he will lose focus on you and go for the ball, or the butterfly, probably both.

If he does this and you can’t get him focused, go back inside and work some more distraction free
exercises, or step up your food rewards to something that holds his interest perhaps a favorite toy.

This link will take you to the video I made showing how I work with my dogs.

Training Video

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All the best,

Harley

The Best Way To Discipline Your Dog

 

 

 

 

You’ve read many dog training books and a lot of them tell you that in order for you to control
your dogs behavior you must be physically forceful with them…. WRONG!

Science has proven that using force is definitely not the right way to treat your best friend.

The Best Way To Discipline Your Dog

You want to discipline your dog but you are really confused about what to do. You know you have to
do something to let your dog know that what he is doing is wrong..but what?

I like to teach my dogs how to think for themselves, by providing consistent positive guidance and
letting my dogs have choices and the freedom to express their emotion….to put it simply.. show
them the way to good behavior.

Never and I mean NEVER..kick,hit,yell,poke or roll your dog on it’s back or side and hold them
down until they stop moving…just so you can feel like you have shown them that you are the boss.

This will only ruin your dogs trust in you and in most cases make the problem even worse, using
force will only make your dog shut down, and maybe even become dangerous because some dogs will
react in a negative way to being punished in this fashion.. in other words..violence begets
violence.

I discipline my dog’s using the “behavioral interuptus” method..I coined that phrase just now..I
use my voice to re-direct my dogs onto the appropriate behavior. I also use time outs where I
remove the dog for a short period of time to allow them to regain composure and them re-introduce
them to the task at hand..and sometimes I just ignore the behavior.

This is the only kind of discipline you will ever need to lovingly guide your dog onto good behavior.

The size or age of your dog does not matter, or if you are training for basic obedience or rehabilitating
red-zone dogs who have a history of aggression.

One of the biggest mis-conceptions about dogs is that they are out to take over your house.

That everything they do is a direct challenge to your dominance..and because they are
behaving badly they are trying to be the alpha, the boss, the big cheese..Nonsense.

Your dog doesn’t get up everyday and plot with the family cat…ways to take over the
world..no..they are just trying to figure out how to cope and live in a domesticated world that we
brought them into..and it’s our job to teach them how to cope.

One form of discipline that you might have heard about that is really very destructive.. but people
think it works because that’s what they were told..it’s called the alpha roll over, or flooding.

This is an outdated theory that tells you to toss your dog on it’s back or side and hold it there
until it becomes submissive or stops moving..actually your dog is not calming down, even though it
may look like it.. in fact your dog is shutting down.

This is a instinctual survival behavior that dogs will do in order to get the threat to go away..

If you could see the dogs stress levels you would discover that they are through the roof..and in this moment your dog is not learning anything.. it is just hoping you will go away.

What you have effectively done is to show the dog that you are a bully, that you are the violent one,
and if your dog was already insecure..the stress you put on the dog will surely make matters much
worse.

Use discipline wisely..guide your dogs to help them make the best choices..instead of making them
afraid of you.

Harley

5 Warning Signs That You’re About To Get Bitten By Your Own Dog

 

 

 

 

You train your dog often. Bloody often.

You feed him the best foods. You take him to the dog park. You rack your brain to come up with new
and exciting things for your dog to do.

But that’s not all you do.

You take good care of his health. You take him to the groomers for the latest doggie hair do’s. You

hug him everyday.

Yet you can’t help feeling something is wrong.

Yesterday you told your dog to get off the couch and he growled at you.

It was so scary, and now you’re worried about your kids.

You want to know what this means. Should you give your dog away. Is there anything you can do
about this?

The short answer is Yup.

You can learn about the signs your dog is giving you. Learning these signs and what they mean can
prevent you from getting bitten by your own dog.

These 5 signs are predictors that your dog don’t like what you are doing and if you don’t pay them
heed, the consequences can be tragic.

1. Growling or snapping.

You need to give your dog space when this happens. What was he doing when he growled. Was he eating,sleeping, or on the couch. You need to learn what causes him to growl or snap and if you don’t know what to do to change this behavior, get professional help.

2. Hackles up.

Your dogs fur is raised up all along his back. This is a sign you should pay attention to and back off.

3. Wagging tail.

You might be surprised by this one. When a dog is happy his tail wags his whole body. A dog that is about to bite will be rigid. His tail is high up and wagging quickly.

4. Yawning,lip licking, won’t look at you.

You should know that this is a sign your dog is not comfortable. He may not bite, but this is a warning. Find out what is he worried about and alleviate his discomfort.

5. Tail tucked under,slinking low to the ground.

You need to give this dog space. Let him come to you. His fearful nature can lead to aggressiveness. He might not bite but if cornered or stressed, he could react with aggression.

Now you can begin to relax. You now know what your dog is trying to tell you. Take action today to help your dog change his behavior. Tell your friends and family about the 5 signs that you are about to get bitten by your own dog, and help them understand how to prevent getting injured.

Before you get back to your busy day.

Leave comments and subscribe to my blog.

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Harley

 

Dog Training Methods and Ideas

 

 

 

 

I will start by saying there are ways to talk to your dog, that increases your leadership levels,and ways that have a negative effect on training. The correct use of his/her name will reinforce staying on the task..Ie say “Sit Lola” , and if she doesn’t, repeat the same command,,this time raise your energy level..and if she breaks focus and doesn’t sit, then you gently show her what you want her to do..you approach her with calm energy,( it is extremely important that she does not feel as if you are about to punish her), lift up on the chin while gently pushing down on her rear end. When she is in the sit position and looking at you ,say.. “good girl”, with enthusiasm.

Method 1

Reward Based Positive Reinforcement and Motivation Training/Whispering

What I believe makes a successful “positive dog trainer/Whisperer.”

A keen understanding of exactly what positive dog training/whispering really is.

“Positive” is a word with many meanings, but when I say I use “positive dog training techniques” it simply means I prefer to use positive reward based reinforcement and motivation/(Whispering), rather than negative reinforcement and punishment to train my dogs. I believe that it is kinder, more fun, less abusive, and even more effective than alternatives. We all have our reasons for choosing whatever style of dog training we endorse.

While my training methods are ‘softer’, make no mistake. There are no fewer boundaries or rules. In fact, you can set as many boundaries or rules as you like, just as with any other style of training. “Positive” does not equal “permissive” and “Whispering”, does not mean “too shy to speak up”.

Dogs still require leadership, they need to know what they can and can’t do, but with positive training I don’t focus on what my dogs can’t do , I focus on what I want my dogs to do. This is what all good leaders do. The real reward is that as a positive trainer/Whisperer, I set my dogs up to get what the dog wants in return for doing what I want because I have taught them to think for themselves. Everybody wins and has lots of fun too. I spoil my dogs rotten and still have obedient, polite dogs, who knows and gives me what I expect. That is a great working relationship.

Positive Reinforcement: Training Your Dog with Treats and Praise Which do you like best?,praise or punishment. Everyone will undoubtedly pick praise,the same is true for your dog, and that’s the theory behind positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement means giving your pet something pleasant immediately after she does something you want her to do. Because your praise or reward makes her more likely to repeat that behavior in the future, it is one of your most powerful concepts for shaping or changing your dog’s behavior.

Timing is essential when using positive reinforcement.

The reward must occur immediately—within seconds—or your pet may not associate it with the proper action. For example, if you have your dog “sit” but reward her after she’s already stood back up, she’ll think she’s being rewarded for standing up.

Consistency is also essential.

Everyone who interacts with the dog on a daily basis, ie Grandma, dog walkers,doggie day care workers, should use the same commands. It might help to post these where everyone can become familiar with them.

The commands I train my dogs with are:

•”watch me”

•”sit” •”stay”

•”down” (which means “lie down”)

•”off” (which means “get off of me” or “get off the furniture”)

•”get up”

•”come”( I also incorporate hand signals,)

•”let’s go”

•”leave it”

•”settle”.

“hurry hard”(which means come quickly, dig in) it has nothing to do with curling ,,I just like the way it sounds.

Consistency means to always acknowledge the behavior you want and ignore, disagree with, unwanted behavior.

Using Positive Reinforcement

For your pet, positive reinforcement may include food treats, praise, petting, or a favorite toy or game. I find food treats work especially well for training my dogs. A treat should be irresistible to your pet. It should be a very small, soft piece of food, so that she will immediately eat it and look to you for more. If you give something has to be chewed, or that breaks into bits on the floor, he’ll be looking around the floor, not at you.

Small pieces of hot dogs, cheese, or cooked chicken or beef is what I use and have had proven success. Experiment a bit to see what works best for your pet. You can carry the treats in a pocket or fanny pack. Each time you use a food reward, you should give it power with praise. Say, “Good dog,” in an enthusiastic, happy tone.

When your pet is learning a new behavior, she should be rewarded every time she does the behavior, which means continuous reinforcement. It may be necessary to use a technique called “shaping”, which means reinforcing something close to what you wanted, and then gradually demand more from your dog before she gets the treat. For example, if I’m teaching my dog to “shake paw,” I may initially reward her for lifting her paw off the ground, then for lifting it higher, then for touching my hand, then for letting me hold her paw, and finally, for actually “shaking paws” with me.

Staggered reinforcement can be used once your pet has reasonably learned the behavior. At first, reward her with the treat 3 out of every 4 times she does the behavior. Then, over time, gradually decrease the giving of treat, replacing food, with praise and life rewards, like going for a walk, getting fed, going out to sniff the grass, until you’re only rewarding her occasionally with the treat. Although once your dog has learned the behavior, your praise can be less exuberant, such as a quiet, but positive, “Good dog.” Mix up your training schedule of reinforcement so that she doesn’t get wise to the fact that she only has to respond every other time.

By understanding reinforcement, you’ll see that you do not need to carry a 50 lb bag of treats with you wherever you go. Your dog will soon be working for your kind words and praise. Use any and all opportunities to reinforce her behavior. You may have her “sit” before letting her out the door, which with time will mean for her that an open door does not mean bolt out and down the street.

It’s a good idea to make your dog sit or lie in a calm and submissive state before she gets anything…this means before the leash goes on, calm and submissive is the key, before she eats, before she is invited into the car for a ride, before she plays, when play time is over ect. This exercise will strengthen your leadership status and build the bond with your dog.

The Pros and Cons of Punishment

Punishment means giving your pet something unpleasant immediately after she does something you don’t want her to do, ie, sharp jerk on the leash. The punishment makes it less likely that the behavior will occur again. To be effective, punishment must be delivered while your pet is engaged in the undesirable behavior—in other words, “caught in the act.” If the punishment is delivered too late, even seconds later, your pet will not associate the punishment with the undesired behavior.

If you punish your dog, it will only undermine your authority and your dog will start to not trust you. If you’re too late in giving it, punishment will be confusing to your dog. She’s likely to become fearful, distrustful, and/or aggressive, which will only lead to more behavior problems. What we often read as “guilty” looks are in fact submissive postures by our dogs. Animals don’t have a sense of right and wrong, but they do key into your (energy), and the “feeling” of impending punishment.

You should definitely stop using punishment and use only reward based positive reinforcement/whispering instead.

Never use physical punishment that involves discomfort or even pain, which may cause your pet to bite . Holding by the scruff of the neck, and shaking your dog, or performing “alpha rolls” or flooding methods.. (forcing your dog onto her side and pinning her on the floor), are likely to end with you getting bitten.

Also, your dog may become focused on other things that are there when the punishment is given, including people. For example, a dog who is punished for getting too close to a small child may become fearful of, or aggressive to that child. That’s why physical punishment is not only bad for your pet, it’s also bad for you and others.

That’s all for now

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Good luck, and keep training!

Harley

Top 5 Reasons To Train Your Dog To Sit

 

 

 

 

 

The most important thing you can teach your dog is to reliably come when called, this is the foundation of a well-trained dog. I have also learned that teaching your dog to sit will effectively eliminate at least 100 things your dog can’t do, to get in the soup. The following top 5 reasons you should train your dog to sit is only the tip of the iceberg, I’m sure you can come up with many more when you look around your house or go for walks.

Top 5 Things Your Dog Can’t Do When Sitting 

1- Can’t jump up and knock Granny down.

2- Can’t ram his nose in your under business.

3- Can’t chase the alley cat that rampages through your trash.

4- Can’t run out the door when it’s open

5- Can’t run out into traffic at busy intersections

How To Teach Your Dog To Sit

You have the power to move your dog’s body into different positions without ever touching them. This is accomplished by utilizing their highly developed sense of smell to your advantage. It is very easy to train your puppy or dog to sit reliably in a very short amount of time.

Step 1- Use a treat or some of your dog’s kibble, and put it about an inch from your dog’s nose. not to far back as to make them come forward, and if they back up find a corner to back your dog into and use it to help you keep your dog in place.

Note: Your dog may feel trapped in the corner,become fearful and try to get away, do not physically force him to stay, simply block his attempts to come out, stay calm, and do not speak,,in time he should settle down and focus on the smell of the treat. If the fear begins to turn to panic, remove the dog from the corner and go for a walk or play, something that the dog loves to do. The lesson would be that the corner is not going to work, so adapt and overcome, get someone to help you, ect.

Step 2- Move your hand back and forth to make sure he is engaged as his head will follow his nose, which is following your hand.

Makes sense right?

Now move your hand slowly up the bridge of your dogs nose and raise it above his head so that when he tilts his head back and looks up at the treat it is about 1-2 inches above his nose. Not to high or he will be tempted to jump up.

Step 3- Now slowly move the treat back towards his tail, and watch his body react, he will hesitate and maybe jerk, and fidget while he is figuring this out, or maybe he will just plunk his bum on the floor like he’s been doing it all his life. All dogs learn at different rates, so be patient and celebrate the small things.

When his bum hits the floor say, “Good Dog” in a happy tone and give the treat.

Once you know he gets it, you can begin to phase out the food, replacing it with life rewards, like going for a walk, getting fed,playing fetch, sniffing the grass. Every so often it is good to use a high value food reward like sausage, it helps to keep your dogs engaged and attentive, it’s important to not be boring, they will lose interest in you and training. Dog’s don’t do boring very well.

There you have it, the top 5 reasons you should train your dog to sit. From now on every time you call your dog to come, have him sit when he gets there, teach him to lie down and work on having him hold the stay command ( standing, sitting,lying down) for at least 1 minute, and he only moves from that spot when you say “go play”, or what ever command you use to release your dog, accomplish this and you will be well on your way to having a well-trained and obedient companion dog. If you are consistent with daily training, this can be accomplished in about 30 days.

That’s it for now

Harley

How To Train A Dog The Right Way For Protection

 

If you are thinking about training a dog to bite,.. you are only setting yourself up for a law suit. If you feel the need to be protected for any reason my advice is to get a human body-guard.  Only the most highly skilled trainers like law enforcement or military personnel should be engaged in this kind of training. Having a dog that is trained to attack and take down perps is a life long commitment and should not be attempted by the average dog owner. That being said, you can learn how to train a dog to protect you.

Having a dog with you when you go for a walk can help make you feel safer, and in most cases if you have a Rottweiler, German Shepard, or a Doberman, chances are no one is going to test you to see if the dog will bite.

Looks can be a very effective deterrent in and of itself.

 

 

 

If you want to train a dog to protect you it is imperative that you begin training as soon as you bring your puppy home, usually around 8 weeks of age. Proper socialization will be a life long and continuous endeavor, not only to people but other animals as well.

Not all dogs are suited for protection work, you won’t know if yours is until you actually begin to train him. Your dog’s temperament will determine how he behaves in public, but regardless of temperament, if you properly train your dog he should be fine. If you are not sure as to how to properly train your dog you should contact a local reputable trainer to help you.

I have trained many dogs, and it is my experience that when you train a dog to be obedient and loyal, and provide them with everything they need to be happy and healthy, they will defend you to the death if the occasion calls for it.

For example I never trained my dog Lola to bite and she is very friendly with strangers and other animals, but I would not want to be the one who jumps out of the bushes and tries to take my wallet or cause me harm, it would not end well for them, just sayin.

Because she is so well-trained I am confident that she will obey me when I say quit, no matter what. I know this because I trained her to stop immediately when she is in full prey drive, and her excitement levels are off the chart, when I say quit, she puts the brakes on and immediately comes to me.

So there you have it, you can learn how to train a dog for protection without teaching them to bite. They will protect you naturally if push comes to shove, and as long as they are highly trained and your relationship is strong, you can feel at ease the next time you go for a walk.

Remember training your dog to bite is not cool, and you are only asking for trouble, for you and your dog.

That’s all for now…

I hope you found this post helpful, and if you did please share it with your friends, and leave me a comment and let me know what you think. I’d love to hear from you.

Good luck, and good training

Harley