Whew! Just finished an outside lesson with a client
and the car said it was 102 when I got inside. The dog was hot after the lesson, the owner was Really hot after the lesson and I was sunburned to a fare the well. Forgot the sunblock 70 again.
On the way out of my clients’ neighboorhood I saw one of those street corner guys selling cold water from coolers he had. No shade in sight for this guy at all and it made me feel really lucky that all of the dog I’d worked with today got to go inside to the AC and a cool tile floor after the heat of the lesson. Long and short of it is that I would rather be training dogs outside than selling water like these guys. THAT is a hard way to earn a living.
– Post From My iPhone. Dog training on the go.
Which command for your dog is most useful?
Well, I guess that varies with every client and dog but I can tell you what previous clients thank me for most often when I run across them in the grocery or a restaurant.
It’s the PLACE command.
For those of you not really familiar with the place command (you’re probably not one of my clients if you don’t know what it is), it’s where we teach to dog to get on a dog bed and stay put until we release it. It sounds amazing and most clients are just astonished when their dogs pick it up after ten minutes or so. The applications for this command are enormous and I’m constantly amazed when people tell me how they utilize this command with their dogs. Some have the dog stand on it whenever they open the front door for deliveries or guests, others use it at their kids soccer games to keep the dog in one place while the watch the game…. just tons of uses really.
Teaching the command isn’t so easy though. Most of the books and videos that are out there make it seem as though you can teach a dog using just a rug, blanket, or towel, and you can, but it’s not simple to do. The dogs have a hard time differentiating the “rug” from the carpet underneath it. Professional trainers use a special tool (bed) that has textural differences, color differences, and height differences so that dogs can more easily learn where they are supposed to keep their feet when learning the command.
I’ve tried all sorts of beds and there is only one type that I consider a true Place bed. We keep them in stock here at Fidelio for clients that need one fast, and using one of them just makes learning the command much quicker for the dogs.
So, if you need your dog to stay in one place for more than two seconds, place command is the one for you! Give us a ring and we’ll get you fixed up.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
The NYTimes reported today that Gov. Schwarzenegger passed quite a bit of pet related legislation this week to protect our dog and feathered friends.
The legislation is quite similar to some that the Austin City Council is contemplating and with which we at Fidelio strongly support. Dogs should never be left tethered to an object for any longer than one hour and that shouldn’t even happen if the temperature is about 90 degrees.
So, take a look at the Times article above and shoot an email to the city council members to remind them to support the ordinance against tethering dogs.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
Back in my corporate days I had to go to conferences (trade shows) on a regular basis. Usually I was one of those sad people standing behind the counter in a booth tyring to get you to buy something.This week we Dog Trainers got to attend one of our annual trade shows/conferences and it was quite a change
First things first. It’s a good trade show when you can bring your dog! No doubt about it, having your bud there helps things tremendously and with roughly 100-150 dogs that I saw in the conference area we didn’t have one altercation. I guess that’s what training does for you.
Second.The speakers are a lot less stuffy. Cesar Millan was one of the headliners this week and his talk was along the lines of something we don’t see often in the dog training world. Cesar’s philosophy centers around the energy that people put out and how it affects their dogs. It’s a very valid approach and the most difficult thing for us trainers to get our clients to understand is how to “project” a different attitude to thier dog. Most times, if I can get the client to change their attitude we can change the behavior of the dogs. Easily said, but difficult to do.
Cesar’s other main point is that dogs don’t get enough exercise. Say it again brother! Dogs don’t get enough exercise! I can honestly tell you that if everyone walked thier dogs enough every day I would be looking for a job back in a cubicle somewhere. Most trainers estimate that fully 60% to 80% of the problems we see could be solved by getting the dogs out for a walk for at least an hour a day.Simple? Yes.
In any case the conference has been an enjoyable experience and it’s always fun to rub elbows with other dog trainers and “talk shop” even if the word “SIT” is used far to often.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
Lots of my clients are feeding their dogs a raw food diet these days. I’ll never claim to be a vet and go one way or the other on recommending such a diet, but there is an interesting article on Salon that I just read. It talks a bit more about the Raw food movement and what risks are involved when you go that direction with your pet’s diet.
Interesting reading at the very least.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
It’s really cold out there for Austin tonight but you should really suck it up and take your dog out for a walk. Even for 10 minutes. They’ll appreciate it!
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
Dog training is all about attention….and a little bit of timing.
This morning I was working with one of my clients under the MoPac bridge at Lake Austin. We were teaching her nine month old Golden how to behave with all the people, bikes, dogs and other doggie chaos that’s down there. The pup we were working with was going a great job. He was sitting politely when people walked up to him, wasn’t straining on the leash to get to the other dogs that walked by a couple of feet away, and was generally paying good attention to his owner. We’d worked on that for WEEKS beforehand.
Everything came clear to the owner when another dog walked by who was dragging it’s owner behind. The lady stopped to say what a good dog we had with us and then proceeded to show us the blisters on her hand from the leash the dog had been dragging her by. I felt really sorry for this lady because it just doesn’t have to be that way. If she had spent some time on the basics of getting the dog to pay attention to her she wouldn’t have been pulled all over the place on her first visit to the hike and bike trail. I mean, after all, my client didn’t have any trouble today and it was that pup’s first visit as well.
There are lots of ways to teach attention to a dog. Most of them involve a good amount of patience which is in short supply these days for most people. Taking the time on this though will pay HUGE dividends with every other training activity you and your pup embark on. Basically, taking the time to teach the pup how to pay attention will teach them how to LEARN. I know that’s a lot of capitalization in a blog but it’s that important. Do not skimp on this activity.
Dog training is all about attention. If you have your dogs attention you can do almost anything.
I’ll be writing more about training and attention this week because I’ll be working with a young Brittany pup that will need a LOT of help.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
www.fideliodogs.com
ph. 512.231.8095
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
Is your dog destructive when you’re not home?
I just was introduced to perfect dog toy if your pup is doing things like chewing on the furniture or otherwise being destructive when you’re away.
Kong has long been a favorite recommendation I’ve given for dogs that get bored during the day and the company has taken that toy and gone the next step. They’ve created a Kong dispenser that drops Kongs out at timed intervals so that your pup is always getting a fresh one during the day. It’s a brilliant idea actually because this is what will happen. The dog will get it’s first Kong and work on it for a while until it gets all the goodies out, then right as it’s dropping off to sleep for it’s afternoon nap, Plonk…. there comes another fully loaded kong out of the dispenser. Wonderful!
I’ll be recommending this thing to clients on a regular basis, I can see it already.
For those of you who are interested in seeing this thing in action, here is the video from the company.
Enjoy and seriously think about this Kongtime toy if your dog has chewing tendencies while you are away at work.
Stephen Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
www.fideliodogs.com
512.231.8095
<category>[Austin Dog Trainer]</category>
Well, a couple of months ago I put in a blog about Pooch Potties which are these wonderful boxes that you place sod in so that dogs can go to the bathroom on natural grass anywhere.
The client that I got these for has had utterly amazing results! They have been taking the pup out to the little grass islands on a regular basis during the day and in the evening and as of now have not had a single accident in the house in the week that she’s been in the new home. This is incredible for a puppy that is all of 13 weeks old.
Needless to say, I’ve started recommending these things to my clients that are having specific bathroom issues.
Not everyone needs one, but if you work lots of hours and don’t have a doggie door, it’s worth a try with these so that your pup doesn’t develop kidney stones or other problems related to holding it for LONG periods of time.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
www.fideliodogs.com
512.231.8095
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/austin+dog+trainer" rel="tag">austin dog trainer</a>
Austin has always been a dog friendly town and, compared to most is still one of the doggiest cities in the country but I’ve recently noticed a trend that is disturbing…more and more places don’t want your dog there with you.
As a trainer I’ve always recommended that my clients take their dogs to different public places so that they could practice thier commands and manners. Usually these involve dog friendly restaurants or coffie housesAustin has always been a dog friendly town and, compared to most is still one of the doggiest cities in the country but I’ve recently noticed a trend that is disturbing…more and more places don’t want your dog there with you.
As a trainer I’ve always recommended that my clients take their dogs to different public places so that they could practice their commands and manners. Most times these places are dog friendly restaurants or coffee houses. This hasn’t been a problem until lately. One of my all time favorite places to recommend to clients "Austin Java" has recently shut their doors to four legged friends because a patron was complaining that having dogs there was "unsanitary". Well, what a loss… for them that is. I wonder if that person has ever been to Paris where dogs are welcome and most eating establishments.
As of this moment forward I’m recommending that all of our good dog owners around Austin begin patronizing Mozarts on Lake Austin Blvd. They are still pet friendly and allow dogs on their entire patio area. They deserve the business of the dog community for standing up to silly pressure against "unsanitary" dogs.
Find these restaurants and establishments that allow you to take your dog and give them your business. If we keep supporting them we’ll keep Austin a great town for pet owners and a very "doggy" city indeed.
Steve Haynes
Austin Dog Trainer
Fidelio Dog Works
512.231.8095