Trying to fit training into your hectic schedule? Our custom dog training programs are the perfect way to meet your obedience goals! Your dog will enjoy multiple daily sessions with our experienced trainers. While learning behaviors expected from well-behaved members of your family, your dog will have daily play times and the pampering Fur and Feathers wins awards for!
This is not the same as taking your puppy to a music festival or the bar and just exposing him to new things. Formulas such as “100 new people in 100 days” are well-meaning and might be right for some dogs. However, for a shy puppy, meeting that many people could backfire. It’s not enough to just expose your puppy to new things - you’ve got to make it positive.
The idea of using treats to train is often equated with bribery. Truthfully, dogs do what works. If using treats gets them to do what you want, then why not? You can also use the world around you as a reinforcement. Every interaction you have with your dog is a learning opportunity, so when you think about it, you probably don’t use food very often except during active training sessions. So why does your dog continue to hang out? Because you reinforce him with praise, touch, games and walks. Just remember, the behavior should produce the treat; the treat should not produce the behavior.
I’ve walked our dog just about every night since we got him about 2 years ago and dearly miss it. I know he does as well because he’s still quite active and loved it when I said let’s go for a walk. He’s been through thunder storms before but he was always inside, he’s been in a camp hunting for 3-4 nights with gun shots sounding off causing him to shake and shiver but he always seemed to get over it.
Derived from the theories of symbolic interactionism, relationship based training exploits the patterns of communication, interpretation and adjustment between dogs and their trainers. Building on a positive relationship between them, the method sets out to achieve results that benefit both the dog and the trainer, while at the same time enhancing and strengthening their relationship. The basic principles include ensuring that the dog's basic needs have been met before beginning a training session, finding out what motivates the dog and using it to elicit behaviours, interpreting the dog's body language to improve communication between dog and trainer, using positive reinforcement to encourage desired behavior, training incompatible behaviors to replace unwanted behaviours, and controlling the dog's environment to limit the possibility of unwanted behaviours.[74] A relationship-based approach to dog training is not reliant on using particular training aids or treats, the relationship is always there, and the connection between dog and trainer is sufficiently powerful to achieve the training goals.[75]
For example, what did she do during thunderstorms? What is her usual routine like? What type of training is she used to? Previously, did she enjoy being outside? Did she enjoy being with people and other dogs? Did something unusual happen in the last few months? Were there changes in schedule? Unexpected visitors? Unusual noises? Did anything different occur during her walks?
“Down” can be taught very similarly to “sit.” You can wait for your dog to lie down (beginning in a boring, small room such as a bathroom can help) and capture the behavior by reinforcing your dog with a treat when he lies down, giving him his release cue to stand back up (and encouragement with a lure if needed) and then waiting for him to lie down again. When he is quickly lying down after standing up, you can begin saying “down” right before he does so.
There is nothing inherently wrong with telling your dog “no,” except that it doesn’t give him enough information. Instead of telling your dog “no,” tell him what you want him to do. Dogs don’t generalize well, so if your dog jumps up on someone to say hello and you say no, he may jump higher or he may jump to the left side instead of the right. A better alternative would be to ask him to “sit.” Tell him what you want him to do in order to avoid confusion.
Similarly, while it helps to have one adult assert themselves as the pack leader, your dog should also be trained by every member of your family. Part of puppy obedience training is simply learning where your pet falls in the order of the pack, so everyone needs to be involved. This also teaches your pet to follow commands by all humans and not just one leader.
Practice everywhere, with everyone If you learn that two plus two equals four in a classroom, you’ll take that information with you wherever you go. Dogs, however, learn very specifically and don’t automatically apply their knowledge in different situations and places as well as people do. If you teach your dog to sit on cue in your kitchen, you’ll have a beautifully kitchen-trained dog. But she might not understand what you mean when you ask her to sit in other locations. If you want your dog to perform new skills everywhere, you’ll need to practice them in multiple places-your home, your yard, out on walks, at friends’ houses, at the park and anywhere else you take your dog.
NOSEWORK (scent detection training): $300 – Are you looking for a fun, positive, and challenging game to play with your dog? Our Nosework program is designed to build your dog’s confidence while utilizing their keen sense of smell to detect odors! This program includes 5 private lessons. ***Be prepared to bring a high value reward to each session in order to motivate your dog to perform thorough and accurate searches.***
Socialization should begin as soon as you get your puppy and often this means at 7 weeks of age. Puppies naturally accept new people, other species and introduction to new situations during the socialization period which occurs between 7 and 14 to 16 weeks of age. This period provides an opportunity for a myriad of introductions that will provide positive memories that last a life time. Puppies are eager, exploratory and uninhibited during this period and it is important to take advantage of this enthusiasm. Be sure to protect your puppy during this period and ensure that all experiences are positive, fun and not fear evoking.
Your dog is not the only factor to take into consideration when you are training in basic obedience; you also play a huge part in your dog’s training process. If you are considerably impatient or easily frustrated, then you are going to want to approach teaching your dog obedience in short lessons that focus on one command at a time. You can also benefit from enrolling in a small obedience class that will allow you a reprieve if you are feeling overwhelmed.
When teaching new skills, keep training sessions short and sweet Like kids, dogs don’t have long attention spans. There’s no hard-and-fast rule, but an ideal average training session should last 15 minutes or less. Within that session, you can work on one skill or switch between a few different skills. To keep things interesting, try doing 5 to 15 repetitions of one behavior and then doing 5 to 15 repetitions of another behavior. You can also practice new skills and keep old ones polished by doing single repetitions at convenient times throughout the day. For example, before giving your dog a tasty new chew bone, ask her to sit or lie down to earn it.
Our methods focus on creating a positive relationship between you and your dog to improve your dog's behavior and obedience. Our expertise is in understanding how a dog naturally thinks, learns and communicates and then using this to show you how to be your dog’s leader. Once this relationship is established, behavior change is a natural next step. Our techniques work with any age, any breed, any issue. You and your dog get one-on-one attention, an individualized plan to suit your family AND guaranteed support for the life of your dog.
Among the many important responsibilities dog owners have, training a dog is among the most important. Well-trained pets are easier to care for and love, cause less damage to your home (and theirs), and live happier lives. In this article, we cover many of the basics of dog training. But we also cover some important facets of dogs themselves -- which you need to be familiar with in order to communicate with your pooch.These include how dogs communicate to you through body language and noises. Dogs send myriad messages with their bodies and their voices -- this is one reason why they're so fascinating and beloved. The more you understand their messages, the more you understand them and how your own messages are being understood. Read this entire article carefully -- there are three sections after this one -- and then put the wisdom into practice. Here's what we'll cover:
NOSEWORK (scent detection training): $300 – Are you looking for a fun, positive, and challenging game to play with your dog? Our Nosework Program is designed to build your dog’s confidence while utilizing their keen sense of smell to detect odor! This program includes 5 private lessons. ***Be prepared to bring a high value reward to each session in order to motivate your dog to perform thorough and accurate searches.***
