Communicating with your dog

Dog training really has little to do with training a dog. Dog's aim to please. They love their owners and want nothing more than to do their every whim. However, it's common for dog owners everywhere to not fully understand how their dog is communicating with them. While dog's possess an amazing ability to be our favorite companion, they don't actually speak our language. Many dogs are re-homed because owners refuse to change their own life style or insist on poor communication with their dog because of their own laziness and selfishness.

Speaking to your dog is very easy. And I don't expect anyone to know how to do it. But, that's why there are personal dog trainers. And as any dog trainer would agree, dog training is people training, in reality. Never assume your dog's bad behavior is caused because the dog itself is not capable of being good. Seek out a trainer who understands dog language and be willing to make the changes necessary.

Humans speak primarily through words. But, even still, we are quite familiar with the importance of eye contact, hand gestures and actions. Dogs are slightly different. Instead of speech being their first form of communication, it is actions that definitely speak louder to dogs. Offering a reward for good behaviors and ignoring bad behaviors is a way to start communicating with your dog with out saying a word. It's also important to use many words around your dog. The average dog with minimal training can learn up to 165 words (according to animal discovery). But, with massive amounts of daily training, Chaser, a border collie, holds the world record for recognizing over 1000 words.

How much time you put into your dog is what will make the difference. And dogs do need a lot of your time. Spending time exercising, playing with and training your dog are all important parts of a dog's daily routine. Those three actions are a great way to communicate to your dog that you enjoy spending time with him and he, in turn, will be a more well-behaved dog.

Shelby Dog

Training the family dog is sort of my pet project while I'm in Arizona. Her name is Shelby and she is a Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier. She's a very interesting sort of dog. Has a depressive demeanor most of the time. The only time I've really seen her "smile" is when she's running outside. She seems to be very serious about actual work or down time. She is high strung, like all terriers, and needs a lot of attention. But, you wouldn't know that unless you know terriers because Shelby is actually very good in the home. She doesn't get overly excited unless someone is coming home from being gone a long time. Every now and again I can see her need for needing more activity when she chews on the occasional non-dog-toy. I've noticed she also likes to get the families attention by doing undesired bodily functions inside the house. She's very jealous of other dogs that come over to play. As submissive of a dog as she is, she tries to assert her authority around other dogs. (Who mostly just ignore her.)
Shelby is very smart, however. I'm doing mat training with her right now which, in the end, is going to teach her to sit and wait quietly at the door when a visitor knocks. I have a specific place on the floor that I make her sit. She receives treats for good behavior at this point. Terriers are distracted very easily so the slightest noise or movement will completely throw her off and I have to re-position her. The great thing is, even after a few days with no training, she'll always remember what she had learned previously. I almost never have to take her back to kindergarten (as they call going back to basics). I think this largely has to do with her breed, being the sort of dog that is always aiming to please their master.
The funny thing about training Shelby is, the cat, Spooky likes to come and join in the fun as well. Spooky will run after treats, come back to the mat, and lay down just like Shelby is supposed to do. I'm curious to try some treat training with Spooky since he seems interested.

Therapy Dogs

Dog lovers and especially an individual's love for their own dog, I'm sure at some point has considered getting their dog a therapy jacket so they can take their dog with them everywhere they go. I admit I've wished I could take my dog with my everywhere and wondered if there's any disabilities I could conjure up. But, in all honesty, don't do it. It's illegal. ha ha

With that being said, as a dog trainer, I am going to look into becoming a therapy dog trainer. The thing I love most about dog training is how helpful it is for the owner. Sometimes the dog isn't the problem at all. Some owners simply don't know how to handle a dog, what to do with their particular breed, and they certainly don't understand the way a dog's mind works. I love being the one who comes into a home with wild, disobedient dogs and showing the owners how they can be the alpha dog of their pack, as well as teaching them how their dog can work for them, not against them.

I think it is because of this that I'm interested in therapy dogs. Thinking about someone with an actual disability in need of man's best friend is exactly what I'm here for. I would get to spend a lot of time with my favorite breeds of dogs (mostly), and best of all re-homing those dogs with someone who is really in need.

You may contact me for more info on training or getting a therapy dog.

Hank The Cow Dog

I got to work with a real live version of "Hank, The Cow Dog" today. Coincidence that those were my favorite books growing up as a child. Turns out, they were the favorites of another family too. Fortunately, a family in need of dog training.

However, I was pleasantly surprised to find Hank's owners were extremely honest about their dog's behavior. He was exactly as obedient as they said he would be. What a great pup he is! I haven't met a dog, yet, who wasn't in need of basic meet and greet protocol when a guest arrives. But, Hank was very in-tune to his masters and it didn't take him long to settle down. I could even sit on the floor to write my notes with out being trampled on.

What a blessing it was to work with someone who actually KNEW their dog. So many people think they have such great insight to their dog and their dog's behavior when in fact, as a trainer, I see they really can't control their dog at all.

I felt great about my training session with Hank today. As any trainer I'm sure would agree, it's the owner that makes the session good or bad. And the owners I worked with today had a real grasp on their dog's personality, character traits, and behaviors. They were extremely willing to do what I told them needed to be done. I almost felt like I didn't do enough work to earn my paycheck.

Let this be a note to all you owners out there who are seeking a dog trainer. The dog trainer (if you find a good one) knows best. Dog trainers are usually knowledgeable on dog breeds and dog behaviors. So, please, just listen to what they have to say. Apply it to your dog, and you'll be living "The Good Dog Way of Life" before you know it.

Why I do what I do

I was doing exactly what made me happy as I drove away from a clients house after a dog training session. I was helping someone with their dogs and in turn helping them with their own personal life. This client has three ratchi puppies at home plus the sire and dame. She lives alone, but has many outside influences in her life that are stressful on her. She works at a fast food restaurant to pay for culinary school and the hours are not great. Her financial stability is a steady, steep slope in the downward position. To top it off, six puppies were born to her female rat terrier. Being the kind of person that she was, my client was not about to just give the puppies away to the first person to show an interest on craigslist. Nor was she willing to pass them off to a shelter. She took extra time, money and effort out of her already busy, stressful life to take care of all the puppies proper.

I've been giving her training tips since the puppies were old enough to start obedience training. She appreciated the tips and we even met in person several times to go over, in detail, how to give her dogs "The Good Dog Way of Life." But after only being able to re-home three of the puppies she was starting to get worn out. I met with her the beginning of this week as I was going to be leaving town for a while and wanted to give her a final lesson. Little did I know, I would be sitting down with her, scheduling her day to incorporate the puppies schedule, re-arranging her house to better fit the puppies needs and in turn giving her a more relaxing, stress free atmosphere.

Three hours later, as I drove away from what was suppose to be an hour class, I felt really good about what had happened. I taught my client about the importance of not only being the alpha dog of your pack, but also the alpha dog of your own life and home. Twenty minutes later she text me to say that the dogs were quiet and obedient and she was so thankful!

It was then that I KNEW I was doing exactly what I should be doing and I was counting my blessings that my business was growing and I was able to help others with their dogs at a low cost.