General Rules for Dogs - sorry it's long but helpful! ;)
Dogs are pack animals, which means to able to live in a balanced “family” they have to have rules. With rules, dogs feel safe, relaxed and mentally and physically balanced. Here are some tips on how to reach these goals. 1) Dogs have to be on the “NO FREE LUNCH” policy! • This means they are NOT allowed to get any food/treats for free. They HAVE to obey an obedience cue – sit, down, etc. 2) They need a lot of physical and mental exercise. • Walk/Jog with them every morning and evening (before feeding them!) for at least 30 minutes. • Instead of jogging, purchase a doggie backpack (Petco, PetSmart for about $40) and put that on the dog during walks. Dogs can carry 30% of their body weight! • With the backpack the length of the walk doubles for the dog (15 minutes walk = 30 minutes, 30 minutes = 1 hour) • Purchase the Kong for mental exercise – fill it up with treats (cheese, kibble, hot dog, peanut butter, etc.) and let him work hard to get the treats out. • Play fetch in the backyard – you can just sit on the porch so you don’t have to exercise with him; let him do the work 3) Rules for a walk! • Make sure he sits down before you open the door. You have to step outside first and your dog has to stay sit while you are opening the door and stepping outside! • When you are outside, say “Boni Come”. • During the walk it does not matter whether he is walking on your left side or your right side, but do make sure he is always on the same side! • Don’t let him walk in front of you! He can walk a little bit behind you or next to you. • Do not let him sniff/pee or poop during the walk! If he starts sniffing, the dog is not getting any exercise and you will not be able to control him! Let’s say, you love to dance so much that if you start dancing you can only stop when the music stops. You didn’t even realize that you have been dancing for 8 hours! You didn’t feel tired at all. This is how dogs feel when you let them sniff on walks. Sniffing has to be a reward! • Use the Halti or Head Collar, which is very human and very affective (Petco, PetSmart for about $15-$20) • When he starts to pull, stop, make him come back to you and ask him to sit. When he does, praise him, then carry on walking. Dogs pull because they get where they want to go. If he wants to sniff at a tree and he pulls you there, he is being rewarded for sniffing at the tree. • He is allowed to sniff/pee/poop after walking for about 10 minutes. Then and only then he can be rewarded for walking nicely. Give him about a 5-minute reward (sniffing) and then start walking again. • When going home, make sure you walk through the door first and then him in. 4) Feeding Rules! • Make sure he sits down before you put his food bowl down. • Start putting the food bowl down and if he gets up, say “No” (only once) and lift the bowl back up, then ask him to sit again. • Repeat this until you can put the bowl down, without him getting up. • When the food bowl is down and he remains in the sit position, tell him he may go and eat. You can say “O.K.” as a release word. • You can practice taking the food away from him and putting it back to him as explained above, so he will learn that you control his food, you can do whatever you want with it. This is a great exercise to avoid “food aggression”! • When he finished eating, make sure he ate all of his food. If he leaves his food after 10 minutes, put the food bowl away and only feed him the next day. Do not leave food out for him! 5) “Go potty!” •It is a great cue to teach him – any dog – to go potty. You can just tell him to go potty when you are in a rush, on the road, etc. • First wait until he starts doing his business and while he is doing it, say, “Go potty!” When he is done, praise him. • Every time you take him out, take him to the same spot (this is going to be his potty area) and when he is doing his business say, “Go potty!” • He will learn it very fast what this means. • Also, after he potties play with him at least 5-10 minutes so he will learn to potty fast so he can play. Some owners make the mistake to do it the other way round, so the dog learns to hold it because he wants to stay outside and play. When they take the dog inside, he has an accident. Training Tips and Hints • Consistency – Consistency is critical when teaching and maintaining behaviors. The dog will only be as consistent as you are! • Tone of Voice – The tone of your voice has meaning. -Praise using positive, happy tone of voice -Cues should be given in a neutral tone -Verbal Correction (no reward marker “no”) should be said in a low firm tone of voice • Obedience Should Be Fun – The easiest way to get off-leash control of a dog is to make obedience a fun and rewarding experience. Make a list of everything the dog likes (food treats, toys, car rides, walks, a scratch on the chest, etc.). These “goodies” should not be given for free. Instead, give your dog an obedience cue before giving him anything he likes. • Never say a cue if you can’t get that behavior. • Always offer something the dog finds rewarding for proper behavior. • Say a cue only once before expecting and/or helping the dog to comply. - If you say the cue over and over and nothing happens the dog will soon learn that the cue has no meaning and that a reward is not forthcoming. - When saying a cue you should not elongate the cue, for example “STAAAYYY”. This will confuse the dog when you ask him in a normal manner later. Always use the voice level, tone and enunciation that you intend to use outside of training sessions. - When giving a cue, say the cue only ONCE! If you say, “Stay…Stay…Stay…STAY”, the dog will learn that he doesn’t have to stay until you have said the cue 3 or 4 times and raised your voice. Some dogs are only obedient if you yell the cue. They do this because they have learned that the handler will not enforce the cue until after they have to yell. - Avoid this pitfall by giving cues in a clear and positive speaking voice, enunciating the cues properly and only saying them 1 time before expecting and/or helping the dog to comply. Enjoy!  |
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| Boy!!! Kata....Very well written and to the point!! Thanks for taking time to get this on the forum. |
Thanks, Kata! You always have such helpful advice for me.  |
| Val, Stephanie!
I'm glad I can help!
Ps: I do think I have the best job in the world!  |
| Thnak youI have been hesitent to bring up that most of the behavioral issues people are lamenting are due to poor training.
One thing - when I met with the new (highly paid) behaviorist this weekend, one of the first things she brought up was the need to train the dogs past the head collar. Apparently there have been a number of reportd instances of cervicle injuries due to the head collars. SHe also pointed out that they are tools and not crutches etc. thiwas not good news to me I LOVE MY HEAD COLLAR!! oh well. |
| Thanks Kata very informative. We do most of this but there were a couple of things that I learned. |
Thanks for all the useful info ........Kathy ......Chauncey  |
| Kerry, I love the head collar! I always tell my clients that training tools can be very useful and very harmful at the same time. If you don't use them properly, you can injure the dog - head collar, no pull harness, choke chain, e-collar, etc. All of them can injure physically and mentally the dog and can cause other behavior problems if the correction is not timed correctly. Having said that, if used correctly these can turn "Marley into Lessie" |
kerry wrote: One thing - when I met with the new (highly paid) behaviorist this weekend, one of the first things she brought up was the need to train the dogs past the head collar. Apparently there have been a number of reportd instances of cervicle injuries due to the head collars. SHe also pointed out that they are tools and not crutches etc. thiwas not good news to me I LOVE MY HEAD COLLAR!! oh well.
I'm glad that you brought that up because that's how I have always felt about use of the head collar as well. I don't want to have to depend on any specific item to keep my dog under control in case, for some reason, it isn't available. I always feel much safer planning for the worst case scenario! |
Prof. Boni wrote: Kerry, I love the head collar! I always tell my clients that training tools can be very useful and very harmful at the same time. If you don't use them properly, you can injure the dog - head collar, no pull harness, choke chain, e-collar, etc. All of them can injure physically and mentally the dog and can cause other behavior problems if the correction is not timed correctly.
She told me the movement is back toward the prong collar. We used on with our previous OES, it actually seemed to make him better behaved even when he was off the collar - he actually got some training from the use of the prong collar, unlike my experience with the head collar. |
| The head collar scares me. What it if comes off while I'm walking them? Any suggestions. |
| Thanks for the great info, Kata! |
Prof. Boni wrote: From reading many of the posts on the forum about behavior problems I thought it might be helpful if I posted some of the things I've learnt through my dog training education and experiences.
( 4) Feeding Rules! • Make sure he sits down before you put his food bowl down. • Start putting the food bowl down and if he gets up, say “No” (only once) and lift the bowl back up, then ask him to sit again. • Repeat this until you can put the bowl down, without him getting up. • When the food bowl is down and he remains in the sit position, tell him he may go and eat. You can say “O.K.” as a release word. • You can practice taking the food away from him and putting it back to him as explained above, so he will learn that you control his food, you can do whatever you want with it. This is a great exercise to avoid “food aggression”! • When he finished eating, make sure he ate all of his food. If he leaves his food after 10 minutes, put the food bowl away and only feed him the next day. Do not leave food out for him! Enjoy! We do a lot of the same! The only thing I do extra with the food part above is I wait until she looks at me then I tell her okay. Just trying to reinforce the checking in with me. |
Mony & Laci's Mommy wrote: The head collar scares me. What it if comes off while I'm walking them? Any suggestions.
I use this: http://www.premier.com/pages.cfm?id=75 I swear by it! She isn't a huge puller but what a difference she is by my side with this harness. I like it better than the one for the face because well it isn't on her face. I give it 10 stars! I use it so the lease is clipped on the chest so it pulls slightly on the chest if she gets ahead. You also have the option to put it on so the clip is on the back for times when I go cross country skiing or biking with her. Love it!!! Anyone else use this? |
| Kata thanks so much. That is the same as my trainer has taught me. It all does work when used. Again thank you for taking the time to write all that. |
Kerry, every dog is different. If I want Lumpi my lab/greyhound mix behave on leash and I don't have the head collar on him, I wrap the leash around his waist/chest or if he is on my left, I put his leash on his left side and under his belly so I'm holding it on his right (does this make sense?  ) He doesn't like it when anything touches his belly or around his 'private' area so he stays in the heel position without any force.
This doesn't work with Boni though. For him the best is the prong collar. The choke chain doesn't even get close to his skin because of his hair. Mony & Laci's Mommy wrote: The head collar scares me. What it if comes off while I'm walking them? Any suggestions. You are supposed to put a buckle collar on the dog (normal collar) and the head collar. When the head collar is on and you attach the leash to it, you attach the leash to the buckle collar as well. You can also attach two leashes for double safety. sapcegirl21 wrote: We do a lot of the same! The only thing I do extra with the food part above is I wait until she looks at me then I tell her okay. Just trying to reinforce the checking in with me.
Very good! I meant to write that too but thank you for mentioning! I do that as well, I make both boys look into my eyes for at least 3 seconds. My only problem with this is that Lumpi starts drooling so I try not to make him wait too long. |
| can i print this out and stick it on my fridge? boy does einy need some serious training he shocking!!
i'm a bad mummy he sits when asked but for about 1 second and thats about it (well not all but not much more ) i did get a gentle leader today at the bargain price of £1 so i bought 2 !!!! zoe and einy |
Mony & Laci's Mommy wrote: The head collar scares me. What it if comes off while I'm walking them? Any suggestions.
I have the same feeling about the Gentle Leader (which I love ) so I also use a choke , big enough that when I want to use the Leader the choke doesn't tighten on her throat but is there for saftey |
| the head collar doesn't come off. if they slip it off the nose the chin strap stays on. |
| Thank you, Kata. Very informative and right on target.
There's a book I need everybody to read. It's called The Dog Listener, written by Jan Fennell (published 2004 by HarperCollins ... no, I have no financial interest in this author or this book). She explains how dogs are born to think -- we can't breed this instinct out of our dogs. What this book is about is explaining all these rules you laid out, Kata, and more. Since I've read this book and applied it to my family (err, pack), uprights and canines all seem to be much happier. I'm a little old now; but I wish I'd known this when I was 20 -- some of my long deceased pack members might have had happier lives. Be the pack leader. You'd be surprised how calm even these clowns can be, not to mention how peaceful our lives can become when we don't have to worry about or stress out over our furballs. |
Einstein wrote: can i print this out and stick it on my fridge? boy does einy need some serious training he shocking!!
i'm a bad mummy he sits when asked but for about 1 second and thats about it (well not all but not much more ) i did get a gentle leader today at the bargain price of £1 so i bought 2 !!!! zoe and einy Of course you can! If you want him to sit for longer than a second, treat him while he is sitting. What you do is, you ask him to sit and as soon as he puts his butt down, start pushing treats in his mouth. Use both hands and just shoot the pea sized treats in his mouth so he doesn't have a chance to lift his butt. Slowly when both of you get more comfortable he will sit for 2 seconds, than 3, 4, etc. and you can treat him at the end.
The Dog Listener is on my wish list. I hope Santa will bring it to me. |
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