Puppy training is more art than science. When you are dealing with 8 to 12 week old pups patience is a must have. That being said, they can achieve some amazing things.
I had the pleasure finishing a set of lessons with a wonderful 12 week old Golden puppy this morning that managed to begin working off leash. At 12 weeks this a a very impressive feat and I was amazed that these owners had practiced all of the lessons and used the techniques so effectively. Their pup was heeling off leash, sitting when the handler stopped and moving in whatever direction they moved without delay.
This of course bodes very well for these owners as they can move onto much more advanced work with their dog and begin practicing this off leash obedience everywhere. After all, isn’t that what everyone wants, a pal that can go with them anywhere off leash?
Congratulations to these owners, they are excellent dog trainers and a model for everyone.
Stephen Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
One of my favorite clients told me last week that he had just read that Turin Italy’s city council had passed a law that required dog owners to walk their pets three times a day or be fined. I like that idea and here’s why.
Here is the post from Reuters:
ROME – Dog owners in Turin will be fined up to 500 euros ($650) if they don’t walk their pets at least three times a day, under a new law from the city’s council.
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I will admit that it’s a shame that something like this really has to be put into law, but every week when I talk to people who are having behavior problems with their dog and tell me that they "try to take the dog out two or three times a week for a walk" I can certainly understand where the Turin city council is coming from. As I’ve said before and as I’ll say again, a walked and tired dog is a good dog. They need the mental and physical stimulation as well as the obedience practice of walking on a leash to keep them happy. You wouldn’t believe how many small behavior issues can be overcome by just exercising your dog for an hour a day. I know it would be impossible to enforce the walking law here in the U.S. but I can sure get on board with the sentiment.
The speech I’ve been giving people lately goes something like this. Get your dog trained AT LEAST enough to be able to walk on a leash decently with you. If you don’t do anything else do that! Please. It’ll make life so much more pleasant for you and it breaks the Catch 22 that goes like this….the dog is bad on the leash so I don’t walk it…so it’s bad on a leash so I can’t walk it…. Get it.
Take that first step even if you can only afford one lesson and have the trainer help you teach the dog to walk nicely and get out there and tire that pup out.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
512.231.8095
Clicker training An amazing dog training tool.
When I’m ready to teach my dogs a new command the first tool I reach for is the clicker. Now, that’s pretty strong praise from a dog trainer. For it to be the first thing I reach for means it’s got to be powerful and it’s got to work fast and if you understand this technique and use it correctly there is almost nothing faster.
Unfortunately, it’s rare that I have a client call me and say "I want to do clicker training exclusively." Lucky for me, I had one of those clients this week. Elizabeth had a new Terrier dog that was a rescue and was 4 years old. She’d had the dog for a little over a week and had already gone through the conditioning phase of clicker training when I got there and had already gotten a very fast sit and down with the pup. After the introductions we started using the clicker to get a longer stay in the sits and downs which was one of the things she wanted to practice. It worked like a charm and the pup got the idea very quickly.
After working on the static commands, we took the pup outside where it was paying attention to everything but us. The first exercise we did was to click the dog when it paid any attention to us by looking our way. After a few minutes of that Kusco (the dog) got the idea that paying attention was a good thing and we started to move with him. To make this blog posting short enough, let’s just say that in the course of four, count them 4, blocks we had a dog that went from pulling on the leash and darting every which way to heeling, and we did this WITHOUT one single leash correction! Even though I train lots of dogs every day, it still amazes me to see a pup go from knowing nothing to getting a strong basic idea of a command that quickly. If you have the patience for it and don’t mind taking the time to do the initial clicker conditioning, clicker training is an amazing tool to work with your dog.
Click, click….treat…good dog!
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
512.231.8095
www.fideliodogs.com