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

Getting a new puppy is just the beginning of all the fun to come. There will be a few frustrating days intermingled with the over abundance of excellent ones, so don’t let these get you down. Training a new puppy takes time, patience, and consistency. Having a daily routine is the best way to get started with training, as well as remaining focused on the type of training at hand. It will be easiest for both of you if you start with one task at a time, instead of throwing a bunch of new commands his way. The following are some very basic puppy training tips.

Housebreaking: Some people are able to keep an eye on their puppy all day long, to make sure that he doesn’t make a mess in the house. This takes some careful watching for certain signs.

The most common sign of a puppy looking for a bathroom area is when his nose goes to the ground. He will usually do a bit of searching before he relieves himself, but it doesn’t take long. Being able to spot him when he first starts looking will give you a few seconds to scoop him up and take him outside. After he’s done his relieving outdoors, praise him and bring him back inside.

When people aren’t able to watch their puppy all the time and this method is sometimes used at night as well, a crate can be used to contain the pup. This isn’t used for punishment, but as a place for the puppy to remain for an hour or two at a time.

Praise is always a good thing to give after the puppy is finished with relieving himself outside. This will let him know that going to the bathroom outside is the best thing to do. Having a regular schedule for bathroom breaks will provide a better idea as to how long it is between times when the puppy really needs to relieve himself.

Chewing: This is a natural pastime of puppies. They are often working their new teeth and simply need something to chew on. Give the puppy his own supply of toys. If you catch him chewing on something that he shouldn’t be, firmly say the word ‘no’ as you take it away from him.

Excessive chewing usually means that his gums are feeling a bit sore. A great remedy for sore puppy gums is by providing a sock with crushed ice in it. This can be placed in the freezer when he isn’t using it.

A daily routine is going to help a lot with housebreaking; taking him outside as soon as you get up, right before bed, and 20 to 30 minutes after he eats, will be times that he will become familiar with. Once he knows that these times are set, his body will adjust to them as well. Consistency with chewing issues, as well as housebreaking, is going to make these puppy training tips much more valuable. Don’t let frustration get the better of you and think about how well-adjusted this little guy will be in the future, form all your hard work.

Discover how to train a puppy the easy way with these simple yet highly effective puppy training tips from some of the top pros. Training a puppy just got a whole lot easier thanks to these insider secrets.

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