This is a great article on using shock collars as a training aid
Apr 282013
Mar 142011
The crate is an invaluable training tool. It will keep both your pup and your possessions safe while your dog is learning what is expected of him. Dogs are den animals so the environment that a crate creates is a comforting and cozy one. Crates are extremely beneficial while teaching your pup his house training skills; dogs are very clean animals and won’t soil where they sleep, so keeping his crate space small will help in house training. Your dog’s crate should be large enough for him to stand, turn around, and lie down in. Although your pup will grow into his crate, right now it is much too large for him. Make it more puppy friendly by decreasing some of the size. You can add a box in the back, and cover everything with a blanket. Make sure there are no gaps in the sides; you don’t want your pup to get stuck.
Your dog’s crate should be a warm safe spot that he has access to all the time. The crate should be kept close to the family activity, at least until he is comfortable being left alone with the door closed. If you can teach your pup that the crate is a great place to be, you will never have issues of him not wanting to go in. If you introduce your pup to the crate right away, chances are good that he will be happy to go in and use it. If he does go into it happily, tell him he is a good boy and give him a treat. Make it as comfortable as possible with blankets and a toy or two. When he shows complete comfort in the crate close the door, if he is still relaxed praise and/or treat and open the door. Increase the amount of time the door is closed, until you can close the door for twenty to thirty minutes at a time. This may go very quickly.
Next, you are going to want to teach him to be alone while he is in the crate. Once you can keep the door closed, you can start adding distance from the pup/dog. Close the door, and leave the room-just for a second- come back into the room and praise and treat if pup/dog is still calm and content. If he becomes upset, wait until he is once again calm before you praise, treat, and open the door. It is very important that you don’t let him out of the crate when he is making a fuss. * Increase the time that he can be in the crate while you are not in the room. If you have progressed slowly, and only moved to the next stage when your pup is ready, you should have eliminated any fears or concerns your pup had of being left alone in the crate. *
If your pup or dog does not accept the crate right away, you may have to train him to accept being in it. If he already has a negative association with being inside the crate, you will have to teach him that the crate is a GREAT place to be and not scary at all. You need to flip his association from a negative one to a positive one. You are going to use the clicker to re-teach him that the crate is great. Read or review the process in “Introduction to Clicker Training” before you begin.
To start with, leave the crate door open, anytime your dog interacts with the crate you are going to click and toss a treat (toss slightly away from the crate). Interaction means looking in the general direction of the crate, moving in the general direction of the crate, accidentally walking past or into the crate. At first, he will have no idea why you are clicking and treating, that’s o.k. – eventually he will learn that it is connected to the crate. If you have been clicking repeatedly for looking at the crate, you are going to raise the criterion for the click. Just looking at the crate will no longer earn a click. Your dog must do more, or have greater interaction with the crate to get the click and treat. He may take a step towards the crate, click for that. Keep clicking for a step until he takes that step then turns to look for his treat. If he is looking for the treat he has made the connection that a step towards the crate = a treat.
Once again you will raise the criterion, he needs to take two or more steps toward the crate to earn the click and treat. Then three steps, then moving his face or head closer to the crate, to putting one paw into the crate, sticking his head into the crate, two paws in, three paws in, his whole body in, etc. Once he is walking into the crate, you can start naming the behavior. After he goes in the crate, but before you click say ‘crate’ then click and toss the treat. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Now ask him to go into his crate – if he goes in, click, and have a party! He has learned that when you say ‘crate’ he is to go into the crate.
Now you are going to want him to stay in the crate for longer periods before you click. So when he goes into the crate wait a second or two before you click. Slowly increase the amount of time before you click. When he is happy being in the crate for a few minutes, close the door-don’t latch it, just close it, click , open the door, and treat. Repeat that a few times, if he is calm with the door closing, try latching it-click, opening, and treating. Slowly increase the amount of time he can be calm with the door closed. Once you get to this point, you should be able to progress quickly. When he can be in the crate for long periods, 20-30 minutes, you are going to teach him to be alone in the crate (paragraphs with *). Your dog or pup should now be crate trained. He will go to his crate on request and be comfortable with the door closed and left alone for longer periods. Congratulations!
Feb 212011
Running with your dog is great opportunity to bond, and share an activity that you both love. Your dog will burn off excess energy, and a tired dog is a good dog. To make running with your dog a success there are some things to do before you start. If your dog is a puller, you are going to want to teach some leash manners before you start running. As with walking your dog, running will be much more enjoyable and safe if you are in control.
Before you Start
Being in control means that you decide when, where and how fast you get somewhere, your dog follows your lead not the other way around.
Leash Manners to teach your dog before you start running:
- Staying on one side – if your dog is moving from side to side it increases the chances of an injury
- Following your lead – you want your dog to follow you, not the other way around.
- Keep the leash loose – it will be more enjoyable for you and your dog if the leash stays loose rather than constantly having tension on the leash and pressure on your dog’s throat.
Teaching the running rules to your dog should be done separately; set up training sessions to work specifically on the running rules. The concepts for teaching your dog the rules are relatively simple; it just takes consistency and repetition.
- Every time your dog pulls STOP and wait for him/her to release the tension on the leash. When the leash is loose, give a cheerful “let’s go” cue and start again. By stopping as soon as the leash becomes tight you are teaching that s/he will only get to move forward on a loose leash. Loose = Go, Tight leash/Tension = Stop.
- Every time your dog crosses in front or behind you STOP and reposition yourself on the correct side. Give a cherry “let’s go” cue and start again. If you stop every time your dog crosses sides they will learn that to keep moving forward s/he needs to stay on one side.
- Keep the leash short. You will have better control of your dog if you keep the leash short. Ideally you only want the leash long enough for your dog to be beside you with a little slack in the leash. If you allow more distance you lose some control. When you keep a short leash you are able to respond to your dogs movements mush faster, which will speed up the learning process.
- Teaching dogs anything is all about reinforcement and association. The reinforcement should be something your dog really likes, and especially what he really wants NOW. When you teach your dog running rules, the assumption is that your dog really wants to run with you. So the reinforcement for good leash behavior is that s/he gets to continue running.
- If your dog either pulls or crosses you, stop running and only start again when the leash is loose or he/she is on the correct side. Your dog will learn the association of tight leash = stop and loose leash = go, it just takes a lot of reinforcement and repetition.
Helpful Equipment
Obviously you can run with your dog using pretty much any leash and collar you want, but some equipment will make the run more enjoyable and safer for both you and your dog.
There are a lot of dog boots available. A good dog boot will protect your dog’s feet from the harsh summer heat, the freezing cold in the winter, and dangerous debris, such as sharp rocks and broken glass when you are running off road. If you choose to use boots, make sure they fit well and have good support.
Collars
- Halti/Promise collar – these self correcting collars are a great way to teach your dog not pull. I don’t recommend using these while running with your dog as they may cause damage to the neck and/or spine if there is a sudden stop.
- Corrective collar – such as a pinch or choke collar should not be used when running as you may cause serious damage on sudden stops.
- Body harness – these are great for taking the stress off the dog’s neck and spine, but they can encourage a dog to pull as they are able to use their entire body to pull forward. You may want to teach your dog how to walk/run without pulling before you use a harness, or you may find yourself being dragged down the path. There are no pull or self correcting body harness out there that will discourage your dog from pulling ahead of you.
- Regular buckle collar – works well for running as there will be some pressure on the dogs neck if they get to excited and start to pull, but it won’t tighten and choke them if they get carried away.
Leashes
- Flexi/ retractable leash – I don’t recommend these as they don’t allow you much control. If the flexi is extended then your dog will be all over the place and you won’t be able to react quickly enough if needed. It is also dangerous for you as your dog will be able to tangle you up in the leash.
- Regular nylon/ leather leash – these work fine as long as you are able to shorten the leash to whatever length is best for your height. If you can hold the leash in a way that enables you to keep the length as short as needed to remain safe and in control, a regular leash works great.
- Hands free leash – these leashes attach to your waist and allow you to keep your hands free. These can be great as you don’t need to worry about hanging onto a leash, or having your arms pulled as you run.
Keep in mind:
As with people, some dogs just can’t handle strenuous physical exercise. Make sure your dog is able and willing before you take him/her out for a run. Just like with people you will need to build stamina and endurance in your dog. So start slowly, and don’t push your dog to do more then he can. If you take your time and do this right, you will have a willing and enthusiastic running companion for years to come.
Okay all you dog people out there, maybe you can help me with something. It has been brought to my attention that Clicker Training may have a bad reputation in Regina, so I would love to hear your thoughts on that. Both the good and the bad.
I personally don’t understand why anyone would choose a different method of training. Dogs are really very good at learning, especially when it makes their worlds better. Since they don’t come wired to understand our language, why not use a devise that simplifies the learning process for them.
Let’s say you were living in a world where everyone spoke a foreign language and exhibited counter intuitive behavior. How would you prefer to learn their rules? Would you want a teacher that just assumes you know what the rules are and gets mad when you don’t? or maybe one that just raises their voice and repeats themselves when you don’t do the right thing ?or would you like a teacher that communicates those rules in a way that you can understand and makes sense to you.
The clicker is the tool to help your dog learn your rules in a way that makes sense and is easy to understand. It speaks to them in a language that they CAN understand. When you eliminate the language barrier, learning is much faster and way less frustrating… for both you and your dog.