In week 1 of Puppy Kindergarten Atlas the mixed breed, Hunter the German Shepherd, and Kingsley the Collie mix learned how to properly greet other dogs and they learned how to sit on cue.
TIP #1: BEHAVIOR IS DRIVEN BY ITS CONSEQUENCES If an action is performed and the consequence satisfies a need (hunger, thirst, comfort, play, rest, etc.), then the consequence is positive and the odds of that behavior being repeated in the future increase. If the consequence fails to satisfy a need, or is downright unpleasant (hurts, causes fear, insecurity, loneliness, etc.), then the odds of the behavior being repeated in the future decrease. TIP #2: PREVENTING INAPPROPRIATE CHEWING Puppies chew to explore their world as well as to relieve the pain and irritation of teething. Mature dogs also need to chew to exercise their jaws, massage their gums, clean their teeth, and to relieve stress and boredom. It comes as an unpleasant surprise to many owners that chewing doesn't end at the age of six months when all of the dog's adult teeth are grown in. Redirect your dog's inappropriate chewing to approved chew toys at an early age and manage him well to prevent access to your stuff. In this way, he'll earn house privileges much sooner in life. - The Whole Dog Journal Met with Kyle and Stanley, 2-year old Miniature Pinscher siblings who bark at anything that moves! Part of that is their natural terrier instincts, but their barking at strangers is from fear and anxiety, so we will be working on desensitizing and counter-conditioning those fears.
Darby already knows Sit very well, so we skipped that and went straight to Down and Leave It. Down took a little while because her owners use the word down to mean 'get down' from something, but she figured it out. Leave It was a piece of cake!
Rigby did very well at today's session. Leave It was no problem for him, and he did very well at Stay. Rigby loves to go outside so I thought Wait, especially at the door, would be a problem but after just a few reps he did great.
We met Porter today, a 6-month old English Bulldog. Porter has already had group puppy training but needs some brushing up on some cues. He is very smart and picked things up very quickly.
Darby, a very active, 7-month old mixed breed, gets along very well with her multiple dog and cat siblings but needs some help with her basic obedience, which we are very happy to provide.
Duke, a 5-year old Pit Bull, and Jax, a nearly 2-year old Pit Bull, each have their own individual guarding issues. Duke guards his balls while Jax guards his bones and food. In the coming weeks we will implement desensitization and counter-conditioning measures to decrease and even eliminate these behaviors.
TIP #1: TRAINING ALL THE TIME Your pet is always learning, so be attentive to how your behavior may be influencing your dog. It's easy to unintentionally reinforce inappropriate behaviors if you aren't careful. TIP #2: YOUR BODY LANGUAGE IS IMPORTANT Animals are masters at reading body language. They actually respond to that more than your words. So focus more on what your body is saying and how your dog responds, and limit the words you use. |
AuthorJeff Dentler, CPDT-KA, IAABC-ADT, FFCP, CTDI Archives
May 2024
Categories |