Austin Dog Trainer Blog

Preparing Fido for Baby

After the arrival of your new baby, new responsibilities and lack of sleep can leave little time for your four legged first child.   To help your dog learn to love and not just tolerate your baby, the Austin Dog Trainer recommends the following simple tips once you bring your baby home.

1. Have your spouse or a friend bring a blanket with your baby’s scent home for your dog to sniff while you are still at the hospital.  After they sniff it, follow it up with a high value treat like beef liver or cheese.   When you get home from the hospital, let your dog sniff your baby briefly while you are holding him and ask for a sit or down and follow it up with a treat.  It is important to communicate positively that your pup can show initial interest in baby, but should then move away. 
2. Ask for help.  The first few weeks after your baby’s birth are all about you bonding with your baby.   Your only job should be to take care of your little one so asking for help is important.   Friends and family can bring food, take your dog for walks, run errands, and stuff kongs or other food dispensing toys.   If you need to, hire a dog walker or if your dog likes playing with other dogs, take them a few times a week to a reputable doggy day care. 
3. Provide plenty of positive, controlled interactions between your baby and dog.  Play games that associate your baby with things your dog loves.  An easy game you can play while feeding your baby is Find It.  Ask your dog to sit, say “Find It,” throw a treat, once he eats it, ask him for a down, and say “Find It,” throw another treat.  
4. Supervision is key component for a good relationship between your dog and your baby.  Never leave your baby and dog in the same room without supervision.  Using baby gates, tethers (do not use tethers once your baby is mobile), and/or crates are helpful tools to ensure everyone is safe and happy.  
5. If any problems arise, get help as soon as possible.  If your dog is stressed or showing signs of aggression, the sooner you intervene, the better.  Do not give your dog to practice this behavior.  Consider Austin Dog Behavior Lessons to help you.

Finally, join us at the Austin Dog Training Center for a one-time class, "Babies, Kids, and Dogs" presented by Austin Dog Trainer Tina, our Dogs & Storks instructor.  Or consider an A La Carte class focusing on a single topic that specifically targets your training needs.

Socialization - People in Your Puppy's World

Join Austin Dog Trainer's Free Puppy Class, and you'll hear us explain that exposure does not equal socialization. At least it doesn't equal good socialization. Present your puppy with new experiences, people and places in a low pressure way, pair new things with food, praise, and petting, and let your puppy move at his own pace. By doing so, you're providing your puppy with an opportunity to experience new things in a positive way.

Here are a few tips specific to introduing your pup to new people:

1. Allow your puppy to approach the new person rather than the person approaching your pup.

2. Food makes most things better for puppies, so have new people who interest your pup feed a few tasy tidbits.

3. Scary things are less scary from a greater distance. If your pup is overwhelmed, take a few steps back.

4. Accustom your pup to some of the more challenging "people" that you'll encounter by creating them in a safe environment. A few things you can simulate, an altered sillhouette (carrying a large purse or boxes), hats, sunglasses, altered gait (crutches, cane, or a walker can alter gait, for example,) facial hair, and uniforms.

Remember, new people, places, and things are stressful enough for puppies, so keep it upbeat, positive, and as low pressure as possible! Questions? Join our Austin Puppy Class!

Preparing For Baby

Preparing for a new baby brings joy, excitement, and nerves.  So many things are happening, that we rarely think about how this life change is going to affect our first four-legged baby.   New noises, baby equipment, lack of time with their trusted companion, can lead to stress for your dog.  To help your dog prepare, the Austin Dog Trainer recommends the following simple tips in the months before you bring baby home.

1. Learn to recognize dog body language.  Before dogs bark, lunge, and/or growl, they throw out subtle signs of stress like licking their lips, yawning, pacing, panting, and shaking off.  Catch these signs early so you can intervene on your dog’s behalf and take him out of stressful situations.  
2. Pinpoint any behavioral problems early on so you can work through these issues before you bring baby home.  Does your dog bark and lunge at people? Does your dog bark at the doorbell?   Is your dog scared by loud noises?  Consider Austin Dog Behavior Lessons to help you.
3. Refresh your dog on his manners.  Take an Austin Dog Training Class before baby arrives.   Having a dog that reliably responds to your cues helps them cope with new situations as well as get them out of situations that can be hard for them to handle. 
4. Practice their obedience cues in different baby related scenarios.   Think about how you want your dog to handle himself when you are walking with your baby in a stroller or carrier or when your baby is in a swing.   Practice these behaviors before baby with an empty stroller or a baby doll in a carrier or swing. 
5. Prepare your dog for a change in his normal routine and his environment.  Walk and feed him at different times.  Get him accustom to a kid-free area like a crate that he will use in the future.  Instead of that being a place of isolation, create a positive association with this area early by giving him a food dispensing toy and a chew toy to keep him occupied.   

Finally, join us at the Austin Dog Training Center for a one-time class, "Babies, Kids, and Dogs" presented by Austin Dog Trainer Tina, our Dogs & Storks instructor.  Or consider an A La Carte class focusing on a single topic that specifically targets your training needs.

Fixing Fence Jumping

Why do dogs jump their fences? There are a number of reasons: boredom, to get to the other side where something enticing awaits (squirrels, stray dogs, birds, the garbage man or postal worker, and so on…), and anxiety to name a few. Pinpointing the why can be helpful in resolving your dog’s fence-jumping. A Private Behavior Session with the Austin Dog Trainer is a great option for pinpointing the underlying causes of your dog's will to wander.

Here are a few tips for fixing fence jumping:

1. Manage the dog and his environment so that he cannot practice the bad behavior. More importantly, this will also ensure the dog’s safety by eliminating roaming. Frequently, this involves more indoor time or a climb-proof kennel inside the yard.
   

   Kennel with an enclosed top.
2. Alter the fencing and landscaping to inhibit jumping. There are a number of ways to do this: planting shrubs near the base of the fence, extending the height of the fence, angling the top of the fence inward, and adding rollers to the fence top.
3. Change the dog’s routine regarding outdoor time. Typically this means supervised time outdoors in the yard. Most importantly, change when and in what ways your dog spends time in the yard. You're trying to break old patterns of behavior and build new patterns.
4. Teach the dog an alternative behavior to investigating and jumping on the fence. Actively playing with your dog in the yard, training in the yard, and teaching your dog an automatic check-in whenever your dog shows interest in the fence are a few different options. For help with this, contact the Austin Dog Trainer for In-Home Training.

 

Is Competition For Me?

You may be surprised by the answer! First, let's look at a few reasons you might be interested in competing:

1. You're competitive. Some folks are just plain competitive. If you like to show others what you (or by extension, your dog) can do, or just like the feeling that competing against others gives you, then competing with your dog may be for you. In my experience, you're pretty unique :) but revel in that uniqueness and get out there, train with your dog, have some fun, and show off your skills.

2. Competition offers an opportunity for structured training. In obedience, you've got a number of options for titling and optional titling classes: Beginner Novice & Pre-Novice, Novice, Graduate Novice, Pre-Open, Open, Graduate Open, Pre-Tility, Utility, Versatility. If you want to stair step your dog's training through a series of ever-increasing difficulty, following these class requirements is one option for doing so.

3. Your dog needs a job. For those of you with high energy dogs that need an outlet, training new behaviors and increasing reliability of known behaviors is a great way to burn some mental energy! And that's really what competition is about - training new behaviors and then getting that rock solid, reliable response in a strange and distracting environment.

4. You're goal-oriented. You like to sign up for the 5K because it gets you off the couch and training. If that's you, then competing can be that goal on the horizon taht gets you out of bed and training with your dog. You can even plan around show schedules to give yourself a solid timeline.

There are a number of other reasons you might find competing a rewarding endeavor. Think about it, and decide if it's for you. If you're not sure whether your dog is a good candidate, ask the Austin Dog Trainer!

Austin Dog Training Center offers a number of training options, group and private, for owners interested in getting started with competition. These Austin Dog Training Classes are especially geared toward the owner who has never competed before.

Finally, if you're just not sure if it's for you, but you'd like to get a taste - try taking the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test. You're competing against yourself (not others) and the behaviors are simpler than obedience competition, but there are some of the same pressures and distractions that you'll encounter in competition. Check out the upcoming CGC test scheduled for September 15th at Buddy's Chance in North Austin. Proceeds benefit Travis County Search and Rescue's K9 Unit. Register for the test here.

 

 

 

Dominance or I Want the Best Spot!

The idea of dominance can be very confusing, because there are so many different contexts in which the term is used, and it is frequently mis-used. When discussing domesticated dogs,  the idea of dominance can be boiled down to a simple concept: I want the best spot!

The human's bed is frequently perceived by pet dogs as the highest value, or best, resting spot.

The concept of dominance is actually quite fluid and is very context specific. Make a list of the resources available in your home, including food, water, space, toys, etc...all that stuff that your dog needs and likes. Now create a list of the dogs (and even the people) in your home. Add in the different locations and situations in which your dog encounters those resources. Now multiply that all out. Wow - that's more math than I can do! That's how many different responses your dog may have to competition for specific resources. And that's what dominance is really about - who controls the resources.

Dominance isn't typically about conflict. Consider the dog who through stealth aquires the abandoned bone. No conflict involved, but the bone resource is now controlled by the stealthy dog. So the next time someone tells you to assert dominance over your dogs, there's a simple answer. "Sure - I do it daily. Who do you think buys the kibble at my house? Opens the back door for potty breaks and play sessions? Distributes treats and pets for good behavior? That's me!" The beautiful thing about being human and posessed of both an opposable thumb (handy for opening those doors!) and an ability to reason, is that we humans can easily control the resources without creating conflict.

Not sure you're up for the challenge of a conflict-free household? The Austin Dog Trainer can help you to create a positive relationship with your dog via our dog and puppy training classes and private behavior modification lessons.

Dogs on the Furniture, To Allow or Not To Allow

Should you allow your dog or puppy on the furniture?

Here are a few points to consider before you decide:

1. Does your dog guard his favorite resting places? If so, then furniture access is a privilege that your dog isn't ready for. Contact the Austin Dog Trainer to set up private behavior modification training for dogs that resource guard space, toys, and food.

2. Has your dog already learned that the furniture is off limits? The Austin Dog Trainer recommends teaching no access to furniture first, then teaching an invite cue for getting on the furniture. For help teaching these behaviors, check out our Free Puppy Class or Teenage Terrors class.

3. Be aware that you can most easily impact behavior that you see and are supervising. If you leave your dog or puppy unsupervised around the furniture, your dog is likely to invite himself to that comfy sofa.

 

 

Nose Work, Guest Starring Jason Heng, CNWI

Austin Dog Training Center is hosting Guest Trainer Jason Heng's K9 Nose Work Vehicle Class this month. Nose Work is great for confidence-building, burning some extra energy, and decreasing environmental sensitivity - and it's great fun for you and your dog!

Check out Austin Dog Training Nose Work Class pictures...

Jason Heng, CNWI teaching vehicle class.

K9 Chance finds some birch!

K9 Vegas getting his reward for finding birch!

Get your dog ready for the Austin area December 7, 2013 K9 Nose Work Odor Recognition Test (ORT) by registering for an Austin Dog Training Nosework Class or just get rolling with a fun new game. Start with an introductory class or continue your education with our Guest Trainer Jason Heng's next class starting late September/early October. Beginning or advanced - Austin Dog Trainer has a Nose Work class for you!

Why Crate Train?

Why crate train? Here's a great example! The German Shorthaired Pointer crew are pictured below relaxing in their crates between classes.

Having a relaxed pup that can calmly crate in a variety of situations makes boarding, grooming, traveling and a variety of other crate-friendly situations so much less stressful for your dog. Attend Austin Dog Training Puppy Classes for help crate training your dog!

Stuff That Kong!

You've bought a Kong - everyone says you should, so you did. Now what do you do with it? Austin Dog Trainer says:

Start with an easy win. Try filling the Kong with kibble so that the kibble falls out easily.

 

The following are some suggestions for increasing the difficulty level of the puzzle. Your dog is ready to move to the next step when your dog is emptying the Kong with no help. The video shows the use of canned food, but anything tasty and with a high moisture content will work. Peanut butter, pumpkin, and cottage cheese, are a few you can try! Notice how quickly you can prep your dog's Kong's.

Next Steps:

Kibble filled Kong with a bit of canned food to seal the top...

 

Kibbled layered with canned food...

 

Kibble and canned food mixed together...

 

 

You can also freeze the Kong to make it more difficult. For example, before you begin layering the kibble and canned, you can freeze the Kong that is filled with canned food and topped off with kibble.

The most important thing to remember is that this is a puzzle. Make the game challenging enough to be fun and interesting, but not so challenging that you're frustrating your dog and he walks away from the toy. So start with an easy win and work your way up to more difficult wins.

Looking for more challenging puzzles? Check out Austin Dog Training Scent Classes!