 After a slow start Oakland finally realized what fun our recall games were and we had her
running back and forth between 4 different people. She did even better when we went outside where she had more room to run.  Finn, a 14-week old Miniature Dachshund, is doing well with potty training but needs help
with his chew training and nipping. We will also be teaching him his basic manners. He's so cute!  TIP #1: BE ANIMATED
If you tell your dog to “Come” using a boring voice while standing still like a tree, no wonder your dog does not want to listen. Call using a high pitch voice and make unusual sounds (e.g. Woot woot woot! or Pup pup pup!), immediately start praising (“Good Boy” or “Good Girl”) as soon as they start to move, and begin slowly walking backwards. These animated actions will help foster their excitement to come to you. TIP #2: FOOD FOR HEALTHY EARS If your dog experiences chronic ear infections it is important to remember that many ear infections are associated with allergies. Consider performing a food-elimination trial to investigate particular foods as a potential cause of the allergies. Choose high-quality foods that do not contain artificial preservatives, flavorings, or food colorings, or consider making a home-prepared diet. - Whole Dog Journal  We began our session with Linus by teaching him Leave It. He sort of knew it already so the
training went quickly. We then had time to take him outside where we encountered kids, a dog, and a stranger cutting the grass, which enabled us to work on some desensitization and counter-conditioning to his reactivity.  Oakland learned how to Leave It today. First we practiced with food, but eventually we used items she likes to steal, like socks and flip flops. She didn't pick up any of the items when cued to leave it!
 TIP #1: TRAIN FREQUENTLY BUT NOT EXCESSIVELY
The secret to improving any behavior is repetition, so practice multiple times each day. Just don’t overdo it to the point of your dog becoming disinterested in training and ignoring your cue. Maintain interest and engagement for the best success. TIP #2: THINGS TO DO WHEN YOUR DOG STARTS LOSING HIS HEARING If we're fortunate enough to have them live to old age, at some point, most of our canine companions begin to lose their hearing and may eventually be, for all intents and purposes, deaf. It's painful to watch a beloved dog become less and less responsive to his environment because he's unaware of what's going on around him, and even more so when it limits your ability to communicate with him. The thought of a hearing-impaired dog wandering off and not being able to hear your calls is frightening. Here are some things you can do if your dog's hearing isn't what it used to be: Use hand signals. Every time our dogs reach the old-age-can't-hear stage I appreciate having taught them basic hand signals as well as verbal cues. Since dogs communicate primarily through body language, hand signals are easy to teach, especially if you do it when your dog can still hear well. As your dog ages, it's a great opportunity to expand your visual cue vocabulary. Some owners use American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate with their hearing- impaired dogs. Run interference at home. This is all about management. If you have a multi-dog household, one or more of your other dogs make take offense when your geriatric pal doesn't respond quickly enough to their signals - because he doesn't hear them, and therefore doesn't look and notice their body language. Manage your household to prevent encounters that cause tension due to his lack of hearing and subsequent lack of response. This often includes keeping potential problem dogs separated when you are not home. - Whole Dog Journal  Beau learned Leave It faster than any other puppy I have taught it to. He was brilliant! We
then had time to teach him Drop It as well as work on Stay outside with distractions. Well done Beau.  Because Monte is so young (12 weeks) I thought his short attention span would hinder him learning how to Stay, but he actually did really well. We had to take several breaks to potty and
play and that helped him stay focused. |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
December 2023
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