The Dog Crate Training Game

By Jean Cote | Posts , Training , Tricks

Dog crate training doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or even frustrating task. When you use the right methods, you can successfully crate train your dog without using force or punishment.

The first step to crate train your dog is to create a positive association with his crate. This will help your dog to learn that his crate is a place of rest and comfort, not a place intended for punishment.

Conditioning Using Treats & A Clicker

Instead of throwing your dog into a crate to let him get used to his new environment, use a clicker with reward-based training to help your dog acclimate and make a positive association with his crate.

This is a truly smart way to approach dog crate training; you will lure the dog into the crate with delicious treats. Once your dog goes into the crate willingly to receive the treats, you can use the sound of a clicker to reinforce the action and encourage good behavior.

1. Place a handful of treats in the crate with the door open.
2. Wait for your dog to notice the treats and enter the crate to eat the treats.
3. As soon as your dog goes into the crate, click the clicker to mark the behavior and give him another treat. (You can let him eat the treats that are in the crate. Eventually your dog will understand that getting into the crate is the behavior that earns him the treat.)
4. Leave the crate door open so that your dog can come and go as he pleases. Each time that he enters the crate to get another treat, click the clicker & give him a treat to reinforce the behavior.
5. Continue this activity for several days until your dog becomes comfortable with the crate.
6. The next time that your dog goes into the crate, close and open the door. That will get him used to seeing the door behind him. Always give him a treat to keep this a positive association.
7. After closing the door for a moment, let the dog out immediately.
8. After several days of this activity, increase the amount of time that the door is closed, starting from 30 seconds up to 2 – 5 minutes. You can give your dog some treats through the door while he is in the crate so that he associates pleasure with the treat.
9. The next step will be for you to step away from the crate. Place your dog in the crate and walk away, then turn back and give your dog a treat. You can do this a few times in a row, but don’t leave him in there yet.
10. In the last exercise, you will combine the amount of time he is in the crate with the door closed and also with you walking away (to another room). Gradually increase the time that your dog is in the crate before rewarding. When letting your dog out of the crate, make it fun by going outside or for a walk.

This is by far the most effective method in dog crate training to use to reinforce a positive association with a crate. Instead of feeling like you are locking your dog in a crate for hours at a time as a form of punishment when you leave the house, your dog will start to see dog crate training as a game.

When this method is used properly, your dog will love spending time in his crate – believe it or not. After this method has been used for successful dog crate training, you can leave the door of the crate open all day long so that your dog can enter as he pleases. You may find that your dog will enjoy resting and taking a nap inside of the crate because he feels comfortable, safe, and protected.

Once this happens, you will know that you have used dog crate training successfully! The entire point of a crate is to give your dog a safe, restricted area to spend time in whenever you leave the house. This will set clear boundaries for your dog so that he feels secure and is not anxious about doing something wrong and getting punished.

Leash Training Tips to Enjoy Your Walks

By Sally Gutteridge | Behavior , Posts , Training

Taking your dog for a walk on a leash shouldn’t mean that your dog is pulling you down the block! Proper leash training will make walking your dog on a day-to-day basis a pleasant experience. As your dog learns how to walk obediently on a leash, he will remain by your side at all times without any tension or pulling.

Before You Begin Leash Training

Before leash training even begins, teach your dog to remain calm when you put his leash on. Many dogs will get excited the second that they see their leash because they know that they are going to go outside on a walk. Command your dog to sit and stay quietly when you put on the leash so that he becomes obedient to you before beginning a walk.

If your dog begins to jump and react to the leash, wait to begin the walk until he sits down calmly for at least a minute. Most dogs learn how to quickly master the “sit” command. When you use this command as a requirement for starting a walk, your dog will understand that he must obey if he wants to go out on the leash.

How to Stop Pulling: At Home

You can practice leash training at home first of all to teach your dog good behavior on a leash. Attach the leash to your dog’s collar and stand still while holding the leash next to your body. Your dog may start jumping with excitement, but when you stand still, your dog will start to calm down.

As soon as your dog calms down, give him a treat and praise to reinforce the good behavior.

When your dog sits or stands at your side for a moment without jumping, reward and say “go” while taking a step forward. After you take the first step, stand still again. If your dog begins to jump or get excited, wait for him to stand still until you continue. Once he stands still, praise and reward with a treat.

Repeat this behavior several times until your dog learns to calm down each time that you take a step forward.

How to Stop Pulling: On a Walk

If your dog is new to leash training or is a puppy, his most common instinct is to pull at the leash. If your dog is pulling on the leash, do not walk, instead go in the other direction.

As soon as your dog responds to you and begins walking without pulling on the leash, praise him and give him a treat for his good behavior. This positive reinforcement will show your dog the correct way to walk on a leash; because of the reward, he will be likely to repeat his good behavior again and again.

Leash Training Mistakes to Avoid

• Do not continue walking if your dog is pulling ahead. This will only reward your dog for negative behavior. Stop walking immediately when your dog is pulling and wait for him to calm down next to you before you continue. You can also go the other direction, I recommend that you train in a park in the beginning as it allows you to go in any direction. Remember to reward with a treat for good behavior.
• Do not pull on your dog when he is on the leash. This will cause your dog to pull even harder.
• Do not use a retractable leash for better control. The problem with retractable leashes is that they always pull on the dog even if he is walking nicely, so it makes it impossible to train a dog to not pull.

If your dog is new to leash training, patience is the best tool to have on your side. Any time that your dog pulls or runs ahead, he must understand that his behavior is unacceptable. You must stop in your tracks or turn in the other direction until your dog corrects his bad behavior.

Once your dog calms down and walks by your side, he can be rewarded with a treat to positively reinforce the action. When walking on a leash, it’s you – not your dog – who is the leader!

Positive and Reward-Based Dog Training Schools

By Sally Gutteridge | Posts , Training

According to the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior, punishment should not be used as a primary approach to dog training.¹ When an animal is punished, it indicates that the dog knew exactly what was expected of him and disobeyed on purpose. But in most cases, dogs are simply confused and have not been given the proper reinforcement to behave well in the first place.

A dog cannot be successfully trained when he is constantly afraid of making a mistake.

With that being said, choosing a dog training school that uses positive reinforcement can make a world of difference in successfully training your pet. When your dog is rewarded for good behavior, he will make a positive association with the actions he just performed. Once your dog understands that he will be given a treat or reward for good behavior, he will naturally want to repeat the action again and again because of the positive reinforcement.

When you are looking for a dog training school, it’s critical that you understand this concept. There are many dog training schools online and in your local area to choose from, but the style of training that a school uses will determine whether or not your dog can learn new, good behaviors in a short amount of time.

How to Find Positive Dog Training Schools

If you have already started looking online for dog training schools in your area, make sure that you are searching specifically for keywords like “positive”, “rewards”, and “reinforcements”. You can’t just assume that a dog training school will use positive reinforcement. You must actively seek out local dog training schools that use rewards-based training methods to ensure that your dog is in good hands.

Observe a Class

If you still have questions about the style of teaching that a dog training school uses, ask to observe one of their classes in progress. This will give you the chance to understand the process that a training school implements to reward good behavior and discourage negative behavior in a pet.

All methods used by dog training schools should be humane and positive.

It’s also important that class sizes in dog training schools are small enough to provide each dog with the individual attention that they need. If a class is large, it is essential that a dog trainer has multiple assistants to observe and facilitate training in the class.

Most importantly, look for dog training schools that have an attentive, respectful trainer leading the class. Any trainers that use physical force, like pushing, alpha rolling, choking with a collar, or hitting, should be avoided at all costs. Additionally, watch for trainers that talk down to pet owners whose dogs aren’t making progress. A trainer must be patient and willing to use positive techniques to give a dog the opportunity to learn new associations with good behavior.

Here are a few more questions that you can ask yourself when observing classes at dog training schools:

• Are the dogs happy, or do they look stressed?
• Are the pet owners talking to their dogs in positive, happy voices, or are they scolding and yelling?
• Are the dogs’ tails wagging and upright or tucked between their legs?

These visual cues will help you better understand what type of environment a dog training school is creating. Even if a school claims to use positive reinforcement training, if a class environment feels negative, tense, or harsh, it should be avoided.

Finally, take a moment to talk with current students after class. This is your opportunity to get testimonials and receive personal recommendations. Ask students how they are enjoying the class and how they feel that their dogs have progressed so far.

If the pet owners and dogs appear happy and comfortable in a training class and give you their recommendation, then congratulations – the odds are that you have found a positive training class to teach your dog good behavior!

Sources:
1.    “American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior.”www.avsabonline.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2011.

10 Crate Training Tips

By Sally Gutteridge | Posts , Tips

The ultimate goal of crate training should be to provide your dog with a safe, cozy, and content environment that they can go to throughout the day and to sleep in at night. Once you acclimate your dog through crate training, it will also make it easier to travel and transport your dog to the groomer or the vet.

If you’re new to crate training, here are 10 basic guidelines you can use to have a positive, productive training experience:

1. Use the right size crate. The crate should be big enough for your dog to stand up and turn around in comfortably, but it shouldn’t be so big that they can run or jump inside. If the crate is too big, the dog will not see it as a bed and will be more likely to soil in one corner and sleep in the other.
2. Don’t reward barking. When you first approach crate training, your dog will probably bark or whine to get out. Do not under any circumstance let your dog out of the crate if he is barking because this will reinforce bad behavior.
3. Always leave a water bowl inside of the crate. The whole purpose of crate training is to provide your dog with a secure, comfortable environment. It’s also important to give your dog access to water when he is crated for several hours at a time.
4. Don’t leave your dog in the crate for too long. This is where crate training can quickly turn from a positive to a negative experience. Do not leave your dog in the crate for more than four hours at a time. If you have a puppy, don’t leave it in the crate for more than three hours. If you work long hours, consider hiring a dog walker or checking your dog into doggie daycare so that he doesn’t remain confined in a crate all day long.
5. Take your dog outside immediately. Crate training can be used for several purposes, but it should always go back to housetraining. Even as your dog gets older, he should be taken outside immediately after opening the crate to reinforce this behavior.
6. Keep the crate in a quiet place. This will help to teach your dog that his crate is a place for comfort and rest. Loud noises and distractions will only be likely to agitate and upset your dog while he is in the crate.
7. Choose a comfortable dog bed. Your dog will need something comfortable to sleep on in the crate; a soft, plush dog bed will make your dog more attracted to his crate as a place of rest.
8. Don’t let children or other animals play in the crate. Your dog must see the crate as his sanctuary, and once he does, he will likely become territorial. Respect your dog’s private space by keeping children and other pets out of the crate at all times.
9. Choose a simple command to encourage your dog to enter the crate. You may want to use clicker training to train your dog to enter the crate or a short command like “House”. Once your dog enters the crate, praise and reward him with a treat.
10. Don’t rush it. Crate training is a process that will take time and will provide the best results when it isn’t rushed or forced. If your dog seems uncomfortable entering the crate at any time, back up in your crate training method to allow him to acclimate.

Start slowly by keeping the crate door open with treats inside. After several days of this, close the crate door with the dog inside, and then let him out. After several more days, leave the dog inside for longer and longer periods of time until he becomes comfortable in his new environment.

How to Deal with an Aggressive Dog

By Sally Gutteridge | Behavior , Posts

When you talk to another person in day-to-day life, you pick up on hundreds of body language cues without even realizing it. But did you know that your dog gives off the same cues regarding their temperament, mood, and behavior by using their body language?

When it comes to managing an aggressive dog, understanding body language is key. Assessing the body language of an aggressive dog can mean the difference between getting bitten and stopping a violent situation before it starts.

Here are several basic body language cues in an aggressive dog:

• Ears – Back or forward, pulled close to the head.
• Eyes – Narrow or staring.
• Mouth – Open lips, snarling teeth.
• Body – Tense, rigid, in a dominant position.
• Tail – Fur sticking up, tail sticking straight out.
• Behavior – Snarling, growling, barking.

Some of the behavioral cues listed above are obvious, like snarling or growling. Other behavioral cues from an aggressive dog are more subtle, like narrow eyes and a rigid body position.

Defensive Aggression versus Aggressive Attack

There’s a dramatic difference between defensive aggression and an aggressive attack. If a dog feels like they’re in danger, they will exhibit a fight-or-flight response, similar to humans. An example would be if a dog is on a leash and becomes frightened by another dog. His natural instinct will be to flee, but he may be forced to go on defensive attack if he is held captive on a leash.

Many people believe that a dog this situation is an aggressive dog, but this dog is actually fearful. This behavior is what is known as defensive aggression.

Here are several behavioral cues to make a distinction:

• Ears – Back
• Eyes – Pupils dilated
• Mouth – Tense, teeth exposed
• Body – Tense, fur raised
• Tail – Down and between legs
• Behavior – Snarling

Clearly, the body language between a defensive and an aggressive dog is quite different. A defensive dog is reacting out of his flight instinct; an aggressive dog is reacting out of his fight instinct.

How to Prevent a Dog Bite

Whether a dog is defensive or aggressive, he may be prone to bite if he feels threatened or attacked. Understanding both of the behavioral cues listed above will make it easier to manage a situation if a dog is snarling and showing signs that it may bite.

According to the Humane Society, the worst thing that you can do when faced with a defensive or aggressive dog is to turn your back and ran away.¹

This again plays into the natural instinct of a dog to chase you, catch you, and bite you. Another fairly obvious tip to prevent a dog bite is to never disturb a dog when it is eating, sleeping, chewing on a toy, or caring for puppies.

If a dog has shown aggressive behavioral cues, you can use the following tips to prevent an attack:

• Do not scream or run away.
• Keep your hands at your sides, stay still, and avoid eye contact.
• Allow the dog to lose interest.
• Slowly back away from the dog.
• If the dog lunges to bite, throw a jacket, bag, bicycle, or another object in his path.
• If you are knocked to the ground, curl into the fetal position, place your hands over your ears, and stay still. Try to react as little as possible.

If your dog is showing signs of aggression, the best thing that you can do to prevent him from biting or attacking is to socialize him. Find a trainer that works well with aggressive dogs in order to slowly condition your dog to accept new dogs and strangers.

Additionally, if your dog has not been spayed or neutered, this could greatly reduce aggression and make it easier to socialize your dog in new situations. A routine procedure like neutering will make your dog less likely to fight with other dogs and bite strangers.

Make no mistake – aggression is a serious issue that needs to be addressed immediately. Avoiding or ignoring the behavioral signs listed above will only make the problem worse and could endanger those around you.

Sources:

1. “How to Avoid a Dog Bite: The Humane Society of the United States.” The Humane Society of the United States: The Humane Society of the United States. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2011.

How to Train a Puppy During Your First 30 Days

By Sally Gutteridge | Posts , Puppies

Bringing a puppy home for the first time is a fun and exciting occasion. That is, until reality sets in, and you realize that you have quite a bit of work on your hands when it comes to house training and stopping a brand-new puppy from chewing and barking.

The first 30 days are the most critical when it comes to how to train a puppy after introducing it to your home. These 30 days will make or break the relationship you have with your pet for the rest of its life. The good news is that you can use helpful training tips to greatly reduce a number of common behavioral issues in new puppies, like:

• Biting
• Chewing
• Barking
• Housetraining accidents

But where to begin? You must start training your puppy from day one. To train a puppy, you need to communicate in a way that it can understand – which is always in the moment. A puppy can only learn by what you reinforce with a reward or when you punish it for doing something wrong.

Chewing: If your puppy is playful and spends time playing with its new toys, you can use that opportunity to reinforce. Give a treat and lots of praise and petting to show your puppy that its good behavior has been rewarded.

On the other hand, if your puppy starts to chew on your sofa, punishment is important to stop the behavior in its tracks. Punish by saying an “AHH!” word to startle it and redirect attention to a chew toy. Once the puppy starts chewing on the toy, reward it immediately.

 

Housetraining: The only way to stop a puppy from soiling in the house is to catch it in the act. This is then the opportunity to punish by startling the puppy in the same way with an “AHH!” word and then take it outside. Once the puppy successfully uses the toilet outside, it should be rewarded with a treat, praise, and petting each time.

Crate training can be used to effectively establish a housetraining routine for your puppy. Puppies naturally won’t want to soil their sleeping area, so keeping your puppy temporarily crated will make it easier to place it on a toilet schedule. When your puppy doesn’t soil the crate and instead uses the toilet outdoors, praise and reward to reinforce this action.

Biting and Barking: In order to avoid aggressive behavior toward humans and dogs, your puppy must be socialized as soon as possible. Then it can learn how to interact with other dogs and humans of all sizes. This can be best done by taking puppy training classes and even spending time in front of a public place like the supermarket so that your puppy can learn to meet strangers.

Once again, reward all good behavioral interactions immediately; punish the puppy by startling and redirecting attention when you catch it in the act of biting or barking at a stranger.

It’s important not to punish your puppy with hitting or harsh words. Instead, focus most on rewarding good behavior and use the startling technique to redirect and punish bad behavior.

 How to Train a Puppy: 3 Important Rules

Timing: As you learn how to train a puppy, keep in mind that timing is of the utmost importance. Make sure to tackle the task of training within at least the first 30 days after bringing your puppy home. If you put it off, your puppy is going to dominate your house and further solidify any bad behaviors it has learned.

Even though you may want to cuddle with and pamper your puppy, training from day one in your home is critical. When it comes to timing to train a puppy, make sure you steer clear of training if your puppy is overly excited, tired, or exploring. If you don’t have the complete attention of your puppy, you will be wasting your time in your training sessions.

• Balanced Diet: What does a balanced diet have to do with how to train a puppy? Everything!  If you’re giving your puppy table scraps regularly, not only will this affect its health, but it will cause it to have serious problems with household accidents.

Feed your puppy high quality, nutritious dog food three times a day; reduce feedings to twice a day as the puppy grows older. This regular feeding will make a puppy’s bathroom use more predictable so that you can schedule times to take it outside to prevent accidents.

• Short and Sweet: When it comes to how to train a puppy to sit, heel, or go outside to use the bathroom, you can liken your puppy to a small child. Puppies have a short attention span of only 5 to 10 minutes. Use these short blocks of time to train a puppy two to three times per day for the best results.

So … What’s next?

Here at the Dog Trick Academy we’re a bunch of dog lovers who enjoy helping new dog owners like you, learn how to train their dog. And we don’t limit ourselves to the basics, oh no, we train all sorts of cool tricks and behaviors that would make your friends amazed.

For more information on how you can start training your dog today, visit our Dog Forum!

7 Reasons to Teach Your Dog New Tricks!

By Sally Gutteridge | Posts , Tricks

Teaching your dog new tricks might not be the easiest thing in the world, but it’s highly beneficial to you and your dog. Teaching your dog new tricks can help strengthen your relationship with your beloved pet in many ways. Below are some great reasons why you should start teaching your dog new tricks.

1. Make everyone safe– While learning to teach your dog new tricks, you learn many training techniques which can also be used to gain control over your dog. Teaching him basic tricks like sit and stay can also be used in life situations like crossing the street or entering a store.

2. Give Your Dog Something to Do– It doesn’t take long before your dog gets bored and decides to take on a new hobby of chewing anything in sight, including your brand new sofa. Teaching your dog new tricks will keep him focused on the task at hand, and will entertain him for hours!

3. Help Keep Your Dog’s Mind Sharp– Training your dog will keep his mind active and responsive. As dogs get older they become less physically active, but learning tricks will keep his mind active and alert.

4. Help Create a Better Bond between You and Your Dog– Your dog will look up to you as being the pack leader, and will listen to you instead of trying to get your attention in destructive ways. Best of all, once you teach your dog new tricks, the both of you will become a team.

5. Show Off– You can show off your dog if you teach it some cool tricks, and your dog will get people’s attention. Dogs love attention and they love being in the spotlight so they will like performing in front of your friends and family. Of course, you will also get the recognition of being a star trainer.

6. Make Vet Check Ups Easier– Both the veterinarian and you dislike it when your dog can’t control itself during a checkup. If you teach it to be calm during the check up, it will make both of your lives easier and you won’t be embarrassed that your dog is acting up.

7. Gives Your Dog a Hobby– We all have hobbies we like to do such as watching TV or playing games, but dogs also need things to do. Training your dog new tricks is a great way to pass the time on a rainy day when you can’t take him for walks.

If these reasons have inspired you to teach your dog tricks, then you’ve come to the right place. We have a great dog forum that is full of dog owners training their dog new tricks every day!

 

Foods Poisonous to Dogs

By Sally Gutteridge | Food & Treats , Posts

With the recent food recalls in the news, and E.Coli infections, it’s obvious that food poisoning can happen to humans. However many dog owners don’t know that certain food can also be poisonous to dogs. Although a lot of owners love to give their dog table food, some different types of food can be poisonous to dogs and very dangerous. Here is a list of some of the major foods poisonous to dogs:

1. Chocolate– While most of us enjoy eating a delicious piece of chocolate, chocolate can be very lethal to your dog. It’s not the chocolate itself which is harmful to your dog, but rather the theobromine contained within the chocolate. Theobromine can cause different reactions in dogs; if your dog has epilepsy, then theobromine can trigger epileptic seizures. Other effects include cardiac irregularity, internal bleeding, cardiac arrhythmia and death.

2. Walnuts– Walnuts are considered a very healthy food for humans; however walnuts (amongst many other kinds of nuts) can have harmful side effects on dogs and are considered poisonous to dogs. Because of their high phosphorous content, walnuts can potentially give your dog bladder stones.

3. Onions– It’s not like your dog will enjoy eating those stinky things anyways, but you should definitely avoid feeding your dog onions. Onions, especially raw ones, are known to cause hemolytic anemia in dogs. Hemolytic anemia is where red blood cells are removed and destroyed from toxic compounds.

4. Potatoes– Poisoning from potatoes have been known to occur for both humans and dogs. This is from the Solanum alkaloid that is found in green sprouts and green potato plants. However, this doesn’t mean that all forms of potatoes are bad for your dog. Mashed and cooked potatoes are actually quite nutritious and healthy for your dog, but stay away from raw uncooked potatoes.

5. Turkey Skin– When Thanksgiving rolls around, the last thing you want to do is feed your dog leftover turkey. Turkey Skin has been found to cause acute Pancreaitis in dogs. Pancreaitis is where the pancreas becomes inflamed and can lead to bleeding in the gland, tissue damage and infections.

6. Sugarless Candy– Candy may be a great treat for kids, but they are definitively a big no-no for dogs. Some candies contain a compound called xylithol which can lead to liver damage and death in dogs.

7. Sugar-Free Gum– Another one that most people don’t know about is sugar-free gum, specifically those that contain xylitol as the artificial sweetener (xylitol can also be found in human toothpaste and mouth wash). It can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) for days, thereby causing seizures, and sometimes even liver failure. Both of which can cause death in severe cases.

8. Grapes– One grape wouldn’t be toxic to your dog, however one study which was done by the ASPCA handled a study of 140 dogs and the effects of grapes on the dogs. A third of them developed symptoms of vomiting to kidney failure – however they say that the dog had consumed between 9 ounces to 2 pounds of grapes.

If you’ve fed any of these foods poisonous to dogs recently, it’s recommended you contact your veterinarian as soon as possible. It is important to note that different types of foods can have different effects on your dog. Some dogs may be more tolerant than others, so please be very cautious when giving your dog any type of food that he doesn’t regularly eat.