Why Crate Training Your Dog Could Save Their Life

I want to talk to you about crating your dogs.

A lot of people I talk to struggle with this concept and think its cruel and unusual punishment, or they did use a crate when housebreaking their puppy but no longer use the crate.

I get emails almost daily from people whose dogs are chewing stuff, destroying the furniture and peeing and pooping every where..

This is taking place when they are away and when they are home..

Now I am a huge supporter of crate training your dogs.. it is the best way that I know of to keep your dogs contained and safe when you are away or too busy to watch them.

I always crate my dogs when I am away.. because there is just too much stuff that they could get into that has the potential to kill them..

Poisons, clothing, electrical wires, plastic bags, that could potentially suffocate them if the bag gets stuck on their heads..and if these things don’t kill the dog it could get stuck inside the dog and require very expensive surgery to remove it..

I don’t want to have to dog proof my home every time I leave .. so I put them in crates..

Not only are crates a great way to contain your dogs, it’s good for your dogs mental state of mind..

Just think about it..

What is your dog doing if not in a crate?..

Running back and forth barking at every widow?..

Searching from room to room?..

Getting into the trash?..

Building up stress and anxious behavior that is counter productive to having a calm and well-balanced dog..

I feel it is much better to train your dog to go in and out of the crate on command..and stay there. and to be quiet..

This is great structure training and a great way to build your leadership skills.

The one thing the crate should never be used for is punishment..if your dogs behaves badly..correct them.. sending them to the crate is not like sending a child to their room to think about what they did.. in my opinion it don’t work like that..

So my tip for today is practice having your dog go in the crate, lie down and stay there..leave the door open so the dog learns that just because the door is open don’t mean they can come out..only the command from you will release them to come out..do this many times..and your dog will learn that the crate is for calmness and quiet time..

If you have any questions or need help just let me know and I will help you sort things out..have a great weekend…and all the best.

Harley

Obedience Training Your Dog Is Not Enough

Raising a dog is hard work, you take them to obedience class and things seem to be going great..you even got a blue ribbon hanging on your wall.. and yet..

When you are at home your dog seems to have forgotten everything they learned.. they run out the door ahead of you..they anticipate your movements and rush past you..sometimes nearly knocking your down.

It upsets you that your dog is obedience trained yet seems so pushy and rude.

What you think of as bad behavior is really just your dog doing what dogs do.. unless..

You begin to put that obedience training to work for you in your every day life.

The solution is not going to be quick so don’t expect miracles over night..but if you begin to put expectations for behavior on your dog ,..things like sit before going out the door..or sit and stay while you go up and down stairs ., and then follow you when they are invited.. you will begin to see that now your obedience trained dog is making you proud.. and this pride will follow you the rest of your life.

Have a look at this short video as I explain a little more about what I’m talking about..

If you have questions leave them in the comments section below..

all the best,

Harley

 

How To Train Your Dog To Lay Down

 

 

 

 

 

In this video post you will learn how to train your dog to lie down.

 

This is a very good command for your dog to learn as it will help you tremendously when faced with dogs behind fences, squirrels that are tempting your dog to chase them and a whole host of unexpected encounters that will require you to have control over your dogs behavior. Remember to leave comments, and let me know how you will use this training to enhance the relationship with your dog.

Here are the written instructions on how to train your dog to lay down.

Step 1

Get your treats ready and call your dog to come, then have him sit.

Step 2

Hold the treat on your dogs nose and slowly lower it straight down to the floor. Your dog will follow it down. Be careful not to move your hand too far out in front of your dogs nose or it will cause him to break and stand up to move forward..just go straight down from nose to floor. The second your dogs belly and elbows touch the floor, then give him the reward. Make sure his belly and elbows touch the floor, this is important.

Repeat this exercise until you are sure your dog knows what you want and then add the command down.

Step 3

You will repeat the exercise once you add the down command and reward every time. You will say, “ Rover, Down“ and follow step 2. Once your dog knows what you are asking, then you can begin to phase out the food rewards.

Step 4

The process of phasing out the treats goes like this. You begin to stagger the rewards, one time you will give a reward and the next two times it is just praise, a “ good boy“ will do just fine. Then you will treat every other time, and then no treat for three times but a chest rub somewhere in there.

You get the idea, just make it unpredictable, so your dog will know that if he is to eventually get the treat he must lay down.

After you watch the video leave me a comment and tell me how using the down command can improve your dog training program.

talk soon,

Harley

 

 

How To Get Your Dog To Come Without Saying A Word

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this training video I demonstrate a handy dandy dog training technique that will show you how to get your dog to come without saying a word.

You might have experienced a situation where your dog was off-leash and refused to come when you called them.

I know how this can grind your gears. 🙂

You might get angry and maybe even tempted to chase your dog.

There is a shortcut to getting your dog to come to you without saying a word that works in most cases because it builds desire in your dog.

Building desire for something is key to any successful dog training program and in this short video I will show you how to get your dog to come without saying a word.

I would love to hear what you think about this little know dog training technique and if you try it let me know how it worked out for you.

Leave a comment and let’t talk about it.

Talk soon

Harley

Find Out Why Your Dog Jumps Up On You And Other People: Also How To Stop It

 

Find Out Why Your Dog Jumps Up On You And Other People: Also How To Stop It

 

I lost a tooth.

To be totally accurate, I lost a tooth and a half.

Not today, but a few years back when I was just starting to go into people’s homes to teach them how to train their dogs.

I will never forget this Golden Lab, her name was Clementine, a beautiful dog full of life and energy, friendly as they come and eager to play with the humans in her pack.

But that’s not what comes to my mind when I think of Clementine.

I’ll get to the what-n-why in a minute.

Clementine’s energy was the problem, it was unharnessed and unfocused, and like many dogs I have met, had no idea what to do with it, at least not in a constructive way.

I worked for ten minutes or so building trust with Clementine which wasn’t a problem she loved people to a fault and was eager to interact with me, but it was clear she was used to things being on her terms.

However she had never met someone like me before and it wasn’t long before I was making progress, I began to set the rules of engagement, and she was calming down and going with the flow much better.

I had her so she would sit for 10 seconds before moving in anticipation of the food reward. Before I came on the scene sitting was something only the people of the house did.

Clementine was not the sitting kind of dog.

Bouncing off the walls, knocking stuff over kind of dog, yes,

Sitting kind of dog,. no, her chaotic behavior knew no bounds.

If she was asked to sit, she would, but only for the fraction of a second it took for her butt to hit the floor and bounce right back up, as if her bum was spring-loaded. 🙂

I remember thinking this is going to be a piece of fried chicken, ( I know the saying is, “It’s going to be like a piece of cake”,.. but I don’t like cake”, I do however,.. looovve fried chicken.)

My cholesterol level not so much,

but it they will never know, as we are not on speaking terms right now.

But I digress…

Any hoo,..just when I thought I had this one in the bag, out comes Clementines owners who up till this point had been watching from inside the house.

The lady of the house hit the yard like a tornado, she almost ran toward me saying that she would never have believed that Clementine would be able to sit still like that if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes.

Her excitement was electric, even I felt it.

It took all of one second for me to figure out where Clementine learned to be so hyped up and excited.

One Reason Dogs Jump Up

Dogs feel what we feel, and Clementine was expressing in a physical way (jumping up, running hog-wild around the house ect),  what her owner lived everyday, and that was a chaotic life style with periodic high levels of excitement and anxiety.

It was in that moment of Clementines owner coming into the backyard that Clementine picked up on her energy and exploded from her sit position in front of me, straight up into my face.

More precisely, her big hard head,. met my pearly whites,.. in a head on tooth collision that didn’t end well for one and half of my front teeth. 😦

How To Stop Your Dog From Jumping Up

One of the best ways that I know of to get your dog to stop jumping up on you is to not reward him for the behavior, either intentionally or unintentionally.

When dogs are little we tend to meet them with excitement and joy and when the pup gets close enough we go down on one or both knees and coax him up on us to play and rough house a little.

Maybe we pet them when they jump up on us, while saying things like, who’s a good boy, what you want?, wanna get the stick?, and we throw a ball or give him treats just because he is so damn cute,..

That is the human thing to do, but in a dogs eyes this is a humongous reward and you can bet he is going to remember all the good things that came when he put his cute little paws up on you.

Fast forward 18 months and things are not so rosey, he now weighs a heck of a lot more than he did when he was 12 weeks old, and now when he greets us by jumping up, he can hurt us and wreck clean clothes.

Your friends and family stop coming for visits.

You try your best to get him to stop, you try every thing you can think of,

Yelling, scolding, turning your back, maybe even giving him a scruff up side the head, but nothing works.

All these attempts to stop your dog from jumping up on you are in and of themselves,..rewards..all be it..unintentional and negative in nature.

One of the ways to begin to fix this problem, is to take stock of the situation and make changes in your behavior in order to influence your dogs behavior.

Remember I said earlier that your dog feels what you feel, so with that in mind ask yourself these questions.

1- Do you act excited to see your dog when you come home?

2- Are you getting angry with your dog in those times when he jumps on you?

If you answered yes to either of these questions then you have to do some inward looking and try hard to not give your dog attention either positive or negative when you first greet them.

Instead of acknowledging your excited dog when you come home, ignore him and go about work with other chores, like getting supper ready or making a cup of coffee.

Ignore your dog like he was not even there, don’t look at him, don’t talk to him, and don’t touch him.

When you dog is calmer then you can say hello, don’t look them straight in the eye because this will cause more anxiety in an already hyper excited mind.

Call your dog to come and at the moment you know he is going to jump on you, look him right in the eye and say,.. “NO!! .. in your best I mean it voice, show your teeth, turn sideways, and don’t move.

When you show a dog your teeth it speaks volumes to the dog in his native language.

You see,..

 

Dogs are repelled by predators, especially if they are showing teeth and looking them right in the eyes,..

As far as predators go, humans are top of the pile.

Don’t take a step backward because this will only make him want to jump on you more.

Stand still,.. be the rock,.. and if he jumps up,.. let him,.. and when he gets no response,.. either positive or negative,.. he will soon learn that there is no reward in jumping up and he will stop.

Remember the more a dog gets rewarded for a behavior the more likely he is to repeat that behavior often.

As long as you stay consistent with minding your own energy,.. and be aware of the way you feel,.. couple that with providing no reward for your dog,.. before long jumping up will be a thing of the past.

If your dog is rebellious and refuses to respond, then remove him from the room and give him a 1 minute time out in a place where he has nothing to do but wait for you to come and get him.

Short time outs are a very effective method of learning for a dog.

Dogs are very social animals,.. and they don’t like being isolated from the rest of their pack, this will help the learning process move more quickly.

Teach your dog to sit, there are literally a hundred things your dog can’t do when he’s sitting,.. and you guessed it,..jumping up is one of them.

Your friends and family will be so impressed, and relieved,.. they will once again want to spend time with you and your good dog.

Be sure to teach everyone how to do this exercise with your dog.

If your dog is behaving like Clementine and has free run of the house,.. your first order of business should be to crate train your dog.

Not only does crate training allow your dog to have place of their own to sleep and feel safe, the crate is a great tool for managing unwanted behavior while you teach your dog the rules of the house.

Talk soon,

Harley

 

 

 

 

 

Are There Gaps In Your Dynamic Dog Training Program?

 

You’ve heard it more than once.

The key to getting your dog to pay attention, come when called, and to not be a raving crazy canine is to show them who’s the boss.

Toss em’ on their side.

Hold em’ down.

Create a atmosphere of dominance that rocks your dogs’ world and he’ll live happily ever after.

It’s almost a dog training mantra, but I might just spray the next person who says it right in the mug with citronella.

Because while everybody tells you how great your dog training program must be, almost nobody tells you how to do it.

Which makes any advice they gave you next to useless.

The “how” of dynamic dog training has a secret known only to a few celebrity dog trainers. And they’re keeping it to themselves.

That’s about to change…

Why Epic Dog Training Is Like A Trained Olympic Athlete

We’ve all watched them, along with millions of spectators from around the world. And marveled at the physical skill and sheer talent of these athletes.

What’s even more impressive than the physical feats of these athletes is the even more impressive mental strength that through endless practice has developed to block out stress, and the distraction of 10’s of thousands of screaming fans.They are indeed at the top of their mental game.

What separates these athletes from others is in the fact that when you see them perform you know they are the real deal.

High caliber dog training programs are the same if the person who is teaching you really knows his or her stuff , you will know it when you see it, because your dog will begin to transform right before your very eyes.

The Rewards That Await Followers of Dynamic Dog Training

When you follow a proven dog training program, you can expect both you and your dog to be handsomely rewarded.

A Dynamically Trained Dog Gets Attention

 

Almost everyone you know will compliment you on your dogs behavior. More opportunities will arise for you to include your dog in you daily life. People will ask your advice on how to train their own dogs.

Those are some of the results my training program has achieved.

When you get your mind right and train your dog properly, people take notice.

Dyamic Dog Training Breeds Loyalty

 

When you train your dog properly, he or she will become bonded to you. And they feel compelled obey you.

Then instead of just hearing sound of crickets (or its close cousin “the stare”) when you say come, you’ll have a dog that is eager to come to you.

Responses like those are clues you’re now a dynamic dog trainer.

Want some more tips on how to be a dynamic dog trainer then go here NEXT!

5 Tips To Improve Your Dogs Behavior Starting TODAY!

Talk soon,

Harley

Why Dogs Run Hog Wild Crazy Around The House

 

 

 

 

 

 

My dogs are not inclined to run hog-wild around the house.

I believe that it’s because I work hard to make myself the moose that attracts their emotions, and therefore I’m able to help them bring the fear they have accumulated just by virtue of day-to-day living, to the surface, so that it can now become useful energy.

I accomplish this through games that engage their prey drive and urge to hunt, like tug of war, and hide and go find.

Once the fear energy is under control they can use it to connect with me in a meaningful way.

For example, when we take walks through the woods, play tug of war, hide and seek, and other useful avenues of co-operation, like herding and hunting.

Some people mistakenly think this seemingly out of the blue behavior is humorous, and reinforce their dogs fear by chasing them around in a game of sorts,.. thus bringing that initially invisible threat that set them off in the first place,.. into reality.

For most people this is something they will regret doing later on.

Even though my dogs don’ t behave in this hectic, bouncing off the walls way..I have rescued a few dogs that did.

I always thought it was about the stress and confusion of the new environment, memories of past life experiences, and having to deal with my dogs exuberant social behavior.

I was aware of the “fear factor”, because I observed the way they hauled their buts in low to the ground when they ran in random zig- zagging geometric patterns, as if to protect it from getting bitten by what ever was chasing them in their mind.

I gave it very little thought because after a few days of bonding, ie,  walks in the woods, and playing games designed to engage prey drive.

The crazy hog-wild running around just disappeared.

There is only one down side to my dogs not running hog-wild around the house..I don’t have a video to show you..but thankfully there is YouTube.

I found this short video that shows the behavior I am talking about..and you will see the person with the camera is under the false impression that this is funny, and inadvertently reinforces the dogs fear by chasing him around trying to film the action.

This person doesn’t understand that the dog is trying to connect with him, but don’t know how.

If you have questions about this post or anything that is on your mind , I would love to hear from you, leaving a comment here is a good place to start.

All the best,

Harley

Resource: Natural Dog Training.com

 

The Key To Understanding Your Dog, Is In Knowing It’s Nature

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have been called worse, but I guess you could call me a self educated naturalist.

I find it very interesting and quite frankly grounding, to observe nature in action without outside influence.

The fall reminds me of the times as a young boy when the leaves changed colors
and could no longer cling to the trees, and there was that nip of winter in the
air, my  Uncle Eldon would say,

`Well it`s time to get the traps out and lay the line for winter.“

We would spend hours walking through the woods looking for signs of our quarry
and discussing the best spots to set the traps.

We would look at an old log that had fallen over a
natural animal trail, and ponder if it was high enough off the ground to
ensure a bobcat would have to go under it and not jump over..

Because the nature of the bobcat is to be stealthy, so that means low to the ground
and when faced with the option of jumping over something and possibly giving away
their position, or belly crawl under something they will inevitably go under the
log, thus our reasoning for placing he trap under the log to increase the likelihood
of success.

Now I don`t trap and kill anything for any reason, that was the way my Uncle lived
out of necessity and he provided well for our family.

What I learned about the animals that lived in the woods around where I live, gave
me the knowledge to be able to communicate with our family dogs in the way nature
intended, by observing how they interact with one another and how their instincts
dictated how they behaved.

I learned how to think like a dog..

 

I learned from and early age that it is not possible to teach a dog to think like
a human, they are not that complex, but when you take the human factor out, and think
about your dog as an animal, with instincts and needs that are very different than that
of humans, then it becomes much easier to know what they instinctively and naturally need
to feel safe, protected and have a sense of well-being.

Dogs crave physical and mental exercise as well as strong leadership that sets clear and consistent
rules, boundaries, and a structured way of life.

When a dog’s natural needs are being met, they will feel that the pack is safe and not have
to deal with any stress.

Dogs have evolved to have a close bond with people, but I believe most people, (not all, but most)
have forgotten or don`t think about the dogs natural instincts, and relate to their dogs in a
very human way, and in my experience this is where people create the stress that causes their dogs
to develop behavior problems that for most dog owners is unmanageable.

But when I am called to come and help someone with their dog troubles, and I tell them that the
reason their dog is acting out is because of the way they interact with the dog on a daily basis,
and that the dogs natural instinctual needs are not being met, and that their dog`s temperament
is a direct result of the relationship they have formed with their dog,and that they simply don`t
understand their dogs needs, they look at me like I have three heads.

Here are a couple of tips for having well-behaved happy and balanced dogs..

 

Teach your dog to respect your personal space, at the door, on the stairs
and when you are watching t.v. or eating supper..

Don`t worry so much about if your dog sits before going out, but be more concerned about how your
dog behaves at the door., is he polite and gives you room to open the door, or is he jumping,and
pushing at you, nose right up against the door waiting to bolt out the door?

Teach your dog to have respect, for example if you get up to move through the house does your
dog get up in anticipation of your movements or do they lie in your way and force you to walk
around them or step over?

If you answered walk around or step over, you can be sure that something about your relationship
with your dog has gone wrong, and you will need to re-evaluate how you interact with your dog.

If you liked today’s post, then let me know by liking my Face Book Page

River Valley Dog Training

all the best,

Harley

Does The Thought Of Training Your Dog Make You Want To Pull Out Your Hair?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s no wonder that people are totally confused about how to train
their dogs, they need only do an internet search using the key words
dog training..there are literally thousands of so-called experts
giving advice to everyday dog owners about the right way or wrong
way to train their dogs.

Trouble is most of these people have little or no experience with
actual real dogs to back up what they may have learned in a book,
or in a 3 minute video on You Tube, yet there they are steering people down the wrong path.

Then, if that’s not enough to spin your head around..

Head on down to the local post office or barber shop, and there you
will find plenty of people to give you advice about the way they
train their dogs..and as well-meaning as these people are, and
convinced, as well that they are right, sadly, most of these people
are wrong too.

I understand that sometimes our dogs behavior can be frustrating
and can very easily make you angry, even make you cry..and I can
understand the desperation that comes with having an out of control
dog,that you love, but have absolutely come to the end of your
leash.

I urge you to take a step back, don’t just take the first piece of
advice that anyone gives you and apply it to your dog, take the
time to search out a reputable trainer, or behaviorist, who has had
many years of experience dealing with dogs and their behavior and
has a proven track record of success..this might take a few days,
but no doubt the behavior that is causing you stress has been going
on for some time, so what’s a few more days to be sure to get it
right.

One more piece of advice, I always ask my clients when they tell me
that they tried some training advice and it didn’t work, from whom
did they get their advice. It surprised me how many responded that
they got the advice from their vet.

I always respond with the same thing..I ask them, You wouldn’t ask
a dog trainer to spay or neuter your dog would you..and they always
say no..to that I reply well it probably is not a good idea to ask
your vet how to teach your dog to not be aggressive to other dogs..

Let me know if you liked this post by liking my Face Book Page River Valley Dog Training

All the best,

Harley

All Positive Dog Training, Is It Really Enough?

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am not one to be controversial, or stir up sh*t, and I might take
some criticism for today’s post but hey, I promised to always speak
my mind and tell you the truth as I see it, thus today’s post is
about all positive dog training…is it really enough?

Nope, I don’t believe it is.

It’s good in theory.

But has a couple of fatal flaws.

Now don’t get me wrong, for some dogs all positive training does
work, but for the vast majority of dogs that I have worked with,
all positive training does not go far enough.

I think having a positive approach to dealing with your puppy or
dog is very important, and the use of treats comes in very handy
when teaching your dog to come, sit, down, stay..however that being
said I believe that sometimes you have to control your dogs
behavior and in some instances that means using a negative
consequence to modify emotional state and behavior.

This doesn’t mean you have to hurt you dog, but I think using a
tool like the time out works wonders for a dog who is a little bit
out of control.

It effectively modifies the behavior and changes the emotional
state of the puppy or dog.

For example if I am working a dog on a long line and suddenly he
gets too excited and begins to bully a dog he is playing with..I
will first step on the long line and then pick it up and give a
little tug..just enough to get his attention..the tug is his
warning..settle down now or I will reel you in and you will have to
sit by me for 5 minutes and watch the other doggies at play, in
other words I will take away your freedom.

This is very powerful and the dog is much better behaved when I
release him again to play.

Or, perhaps your 4 month old puppy is biting a little to hard and
you know that he knows better because you have taught him to use a
gentle mouth..then taking him by the collar and giving him a 3
minute time out is very powerful in sending the message that biting
people is not acceptable, and if he does it he will get a negative
consequence for his actions.

I have learned a lot about being a parent from dog training. The
German Shepherds I have raised are very intelligent and have the
learning capabilities of a 3-year-old child.

Most times my children were well-behaved but there were times when
things got a little to out of control and I or my wife had to step
in and put an end to it.

It wouldn’t make any sense for me to say to my children, “If you
stop pulling hair and slapping one another I will give you a
popsicle..my god they would be slapping and pulling hair 24/7.

Instead I always give them a warning by going in the room and in a
stern voice I would say, “Now if you don’t settle down and quit
hurting one another I am going to sit you in a hardwood chair in the
middle of the floor and you won’t be able to play with anyone or
anything for 10 minutes.”

This is very powerful..no child wants to sit and watch other kids
playing and having fun while they sit on a chair watching..so the
likelyhood of that child slapping or pulling hair is less apt to
happen again.

I did not hurt my child with the negative consequence, but their
behavior was modified and the emotional state was changed.

The other flaw that I have observed, and I have tried many of these
positive reinforced methods of training..classical conditioning,
threshold training, counter conditioning, ect.

While I have no doubt that they work in most instances..the problem
lies in the amount of time it takes to get results..

The average dog owner does not want to spend a lot of time training
their dogs, they want it to be quick and they want it to work.

If the training takes up to much of their already stretched thin time..they will not be consistent enough and many will simply give up.

That’s why I believe that my method of training works the best..I can accomplish in days what positive reinforced training takes weeks if not months to accomplish, and once I have shown people the steps they need to take to put the laws of nature that govern all dogs in place, they too see positive results in a very short order.

That’s all for today, if you liked this post let me know by liking my Face Book Page River Valley Dog Training.

And if you have any questions or comments, put them in the spot below.

All the best,

Harley