Dog Obedience Training For Your Pet Dog

I had an interesting client last week. These people had a very fine lab that I had worked with before for various issues and have always been quite pleased with it.

The issue was that in the past this pup had ‘eaten’ a couple of the family birds, and had been corrected (as it should have been) to the point that it was now scared of any bird in the house. She was fine with birds outside but in the house, not so much. In any case a new Solomon Island Eclectus arrived in the home two weeks ago and I was called to work on the fear issues.

When working on something like this the basic starting point is plain old behavior modification and desensitization works. Getting the dog to ‘do it’s commands’ when it gets nervous is a fabulous way to start.

So, after about 5 days of training here is the note from the owners:

“We all seem to be getting along! ”

Mission accomplished for the dog trainer.

My wife always says that my job as a dog trainer places me somewhere between the psychologist and the pool boy. The difference is not as great as one would think.

Today, however, I am the pool boy. See the photo below. My entry point.

Location:Marshall Ln,Austin,United States

Yikes. One of my trainers just saw a dog die of heatstroke while walking around town lake. Please be careful with your pups when it’s this hot and humid outside. Jog with them at night, not at noon.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Lady Bird Lake Trail,Austin,United States

Great lesson with two kids 8 and 9 years old. They handled their two gigantic ridgeback puppies amazingly well. I see a bright future in dogtraining for Lucy and James.

And, even more amazingly, they asked if they could work with the dogs ‘lots’ during the day. Guess that gets rid of the second week of summer boredom.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Redbud Trail,Austin,United States

So far the pup has met every TSA employee within 150 feet of him at love field. Seems like lab pups are very popular with TSA people.

After his initial round if barking in th check in line (dogs can’t use early check in apparently) he’s been pretty quiet.

Here he is waiting for the plane.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Dallas,United States

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve flown commercial. Over the past few years every time I’ve travelled to get a puppy I’ve had the luxury of flying on my client’s private plane.

What I’m wondering is how is that new pup goin to do today on a full Southwest flight home? I’m prepared for all of the smell and fluid issues but I hope the little guy doesn’t bark the whole way home.

The food news is that even on the way out everyone whe sees the empty carrier wants to ’see the puppy’ so we’ll be busy greeting new people the whole way home.

So all in all I guess the socialization aspect of flying comercial outweighs the ease of flying home in the family Gulfstream.

On to to puppy land!

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:On the plane

Flying out this morning to pick a puppy for a client. The TSA lady was intrieguied by all the puppy testing gear in my bag.

Poo bags
Towels
Treats
Rope
Tinfoil
Bouncy toys
Chewy toys
Ziplock bags
Baby wipes

And most of all, no laptop. They thought that lack of a laptop was weird.

– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.

Location:Aldford Dr,Austin,United States

Well, today I get to train a border collie to activate it’s new tennis ball launcher. Yep, self directed tennis ball fetching for a border collie. We probably won’t get it completed today because there are so many steps but this dog is on it’s way to fetch nirvana.

If you are interested here are the steps:

Drop tennis ball in the holding hopper

Have dog move to the launch button on the launcher

Press launch button to launch ball(s)

Repeat until utter exhaustion.

Sounds fun huh!

Here is a short video from youtube of a dog doing a similar job.

Border Collie and tennis ball launcher

And this one with the whole routine:

Lab doing retrieve and drop for tennis ball launcher

Hi Steve,

I just had to tell you what a wonderful job maddy is doing! This morning I got up and said “Maddy, Run!” she went right over to her treadmill and jumped on. She then ran 3 miles, after which I put her on her place bed so that I could shower and get ready for my day. She slept there for 1.5 hours before I released her!

Thank you, thank you for helping Maddy be the BEST she can be!

Best,

Jen and Maddy

Dogs are smart, making them easy to train. Whether training a puppy for the first time, an adult dog new to your home, or revisiting training with your resident dog, getting back to basics is the most efficient approach to assuring you have a well-adjusted, well-behaved pet.

Those of us who have learned a second language know all too well, if you don’t use that second language regularly, you will eventually forget the language. Training your dog is the same as teaching him a second language. Without consistent reinforcement throughout the dog’s lifetime, even the smartest of dogs will forget even the best training. When this happens, it is best to go back to the basics. Training commands are a form of communication. If your dog is forgetting to listen, go right back to ground zero. Start training as if your dog has never been trained before.

For instance, if your dog is no longer coming when you give him the command, dust off the long lead and start over. Use a 40′ lead (available at your local pet or feed store). Tie knots in it at 2′ and 5′ before the end. Add a tied handle and you have your training lead. Begin by calling your dog: name and come. While saying the command, quickly begin by running backwards After about 5 feet, stop once the dog has caught up to you. Reward with a snack. Repeat a few times.

After about 5 or 10 minutes of training, do a bit of agility, play with your pup. It is very important to remain cheerful, and get excited when they perform the behavior correctly. The dogs forget the repetition. Many breeds get bored with repetitive activities such as ball chasing. So it is important to play a little bit, do about 10 minutes of training and play some more. Puppies especially have a low attention span and get tired after about an hour of training. Also, when training a dog to come, you should never ever ask the dog to come from a sit-stay command. This will contradict the stay command.

When teaching a dog the sit-stay command, hold a favorite treat out in your fingers and have the dog sit. Reward with a small piece of the treat. With the dog still in sit, make a stop hand signal and simultaneously say the word stay. Once the dog has performed the command correctly, take a few steps back to the dog to reward him with the treat. Never have the dog come to you to retrieve the treat once you have put him in a sit-stay. The simpler, the better; back to basics dog training will do the trick.

If you have lost a pet recently then you know how hard it can be, and at Pet Urns Online we are here to offer you the highest quality Pet Urns at discounted prices, we have large selection of pet urns including vase, rock, photo, and of course Dog Urns, so feel free to stop buy and check out our store.