Dog Packs - A Dogs natural state, plus how to chose a dog sitter

Recently Roxane and I went to Texas for Christmas tp spend time with her family. This meant hiring a dog sitter, as our favorite kennel filled up. Remember book your kennel space early over the holidays. Our trainer was able to recommend a high quality dog sitter. Hiring a dig sitter is somewhat different than hiring a trainer as this person will need to quickly introduced into the dogs. Ruthie our dog sitter, visited the dogs three seperate times. For us this is quite important as we have a Tibetan Mastiff; a large powerful dog which is naturally suscipious of outsiders and is highly protective of our home. By the third visit Bodhi had accepted her as a new family member. The initial visits are important and are something you should look for in selecting a dog sitter. Does the sitter allow the dog to approach? Does she have experience with your breed of dog? Any good dog sitter should want to spend some time beforehand to feeding your dogs, giving them treats and making sure the experience is a pleasant one for the dogs. It's always a good idea to check references. With Ruthie she came with the best reference possible, our own trainer with whom we have worked some time. It's generally a good idea to follow up with the dog sitter to make sure they are available during the time they are supposed to be there.

When we returned, the dogs were simply over excited and quite surprised to see us. They had already settled routine without us and the their pack dynamic had changed significantly. Watching them over the next few days was quite interesting as they had clearly continued their development as a pack. While excited to see us, they also played together more, and when it became time to settle down and sleep, they went their own beds and went to sleep. I found it simply amazing that they went about their dog pack business while we spoke with the dog sitter every day, making sure that they were all right, deeply concerned about our dogs emotional state. In the pack they are seemed fine and I think they came out of our trip better than we did! They are playing together all the time, are less focused on us and more focused on each other. We are a welcome distraction but we are not the primary show any more.

Crate Training Your Dog: Housebreaking the easy way.

Crate training your dog may take some time and effort, but can be useful in a variety of situations. If you have a new dog or puppy, you can use the crate to limit his access to the house until he learns all the house rules – like what he can and can’t chew on and where he can and can’t eliminate. A crate is also a safe way of transporting your dog in the car, as well as a way of taking him places where he may not be welcome to run freely. If you properly train your dog to use the crate, he’ll think of it as his safe place and will be happy to spend time there when needed.

Selecting A Crate

Crates may be plastic (often called "flight kennels") or collapsible, metal pens. They come in different sizes and can be purchased at most pet supply stores. Your dog’s crate should be just large enough for him to stand up and turn around in.
The Crate Training ProcessCrate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog’s age, temperament and past experiences. It’s important to keep two things in mind while crate training. The crate should always be associated with something pleasant, and training should take place in a series of small steps - don’t go too fast.

Step 1: Introducing Your Dog To The Crate

Put the crate in an area of your house where the family spends a lot of time, such as the family room. Put a soft blanket or towel in the crate. Bring your dog over to the crate and talk to him in a happy tone of voice. Make sure the crate door is securely fastened opened so it won’t hit your dog and frighten him.


To encourage your dog to enter the crate, drop some small food treats near it, then just inside the door, and finally, all the way inside the crate. If he refuses to go all the way in at first, that’s okay – don’t force him to enter. Continue tossing treats into the crate until your dog will walk calmly all the way into the crate to get the food. If he isn’t interested in treats, try tossing a favorite toy in the crate. This step may take a few minutes or as long as several days.

Step 2: Feeding Your Dog His Meals In The Crate

After introducing your dog to the crate, begin feeding him his regular meals near the crate. This will create a pleasant association with the crate. If your dog is readily entering the crate when you begin Step 2, put the food dish all the way at the back of the crate. If your dog is still reluctant to enter the crate, put the dish only as far inside as he will readily go without becoming fearful or anxious. Each time you feed him, place the dish a little further back in the crate.
Once your dog is standing comfortably in the crate to eat his meal, you can close the door while he’s eating. At first, open the door as soon as he finishes his meal. With each successive feeding, leave the door closed a few minutes longer, until he’s staying in the crate for ten minutes or so after eating. If he begins to whine to be let out, you may have increased the length of time too quickly. Next time, try leaving him in the crate for a shorter time period. If he does whine or cry in the crate, it’s imperative that you not let him out until he stops. Otherwise, he’ll learn that the way to get out of the crate is to whine, so he’ll keep doing it.

Step 3: Conditioning Your Dog To The Crate For Longer Time Periods,

After your dog is eating his regular meals in the crate with no sign of fear or anxiety, you can confine him there for short time periods while you’re home. Call him over to the crate and give him a treat. Give him a command to enter such as, "kennel up." Encourage him by pointing to the inside of the crate with a treat in your hand. After your dog enters the crate, praise him, give him the treat and close the door. Sit quietly near the crate for five to ten minutes and then go into another room for a few minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time, then let him out of the crate. Repeat this process several times a day. With each repetition, gradually increase the length of time you leave him in the crate and the length of time you’re out of his sight. Once your dog will stay quietly in the crate for about 30 minutes with you out of sight the majority of the time, you can begin leaving him crated when you’re gone for short time periods and/or letting him sleep there at night. This may take several days or several weeks.

Step 4:
Part A/Crating Your Dog When Left Alone

After your dog is spending about 30 minutes in the crate without becoming anxious or afraid, you can begin leaving him crated for short periods when you leave the house. Put him in the crate using your regular command and a treat. You might also want to leave him with a few safe toys in the crate (see our handout: "Dog Toys and How to Use Them"). You’ll want to vary at what point in your "getting ready to leave" routine you put your dog in the crate. Although he shouldn’t be crated for a long time before you leave, you can crate him anywhere from five to 20 minutes prior to leaving. Don’t make your departures emotional and prolonged, but matter-of-fact. Praise your dog briefly, give him a treat for entering the crate and then leave quietly. When you return home, don’t reward your dog for excited behavior by responding to him in an excited, enthusiastic way. Keep arrivals low key. Continue to crate your dog for short periods from time to time when you’re home so he doesn’t associate crating with being left alone.

Part B/Crating Your Dog At Night

Put your dog in the crate using your regular command and a treat. Initially, it may be a good idea to put the crate in your bedroom or nearby in a hallway, especially if you have a puppy. Puppies often need to go outside to eliminate during the night, and you’ll want to be able to hear your puppy when he whines to be let outside. Older dogs, too, should initially be kept nearby so that crating doesn’t become associated with social isolation. Once your dog is sleeping comfortably through the night with his crate near you, you can begin to gradually move it to the location you prefer.

Potential Problems

Too Much Time In The Crate

A crate isn’t a magical solution. If not used correctly, a dog can feel trapped and frustrated. For example, if your dog is crated all day while you’re at work and then crated again all night, he’s spending too much time in too small a space. Other arrangements should be made to accommodate his physical and emotional needs. Also remember that puppies under six months of age shouldn’t stay in a crate for more than three or four hours at a time. They can’t control their bladders and bowels for longer periods.

Whining

If your dog whines or cries while in the crate at night, it may be difficult to decide whether he’s whining to be let out of the crate, or whether he needs to be let outside to eliminate. If you followed the training procedures outlined above, your dog hasn’t been rewarded for whining in the past by being released from his crate. Try to ignore the whining. If your dog is just testing you, he’ll probably stop whining soon. Yelling at him or pounding on the crate will only make things worse. If the whining continues after you’ve ignored him for several minutes, use the phrase he associates with going outside to eliminate. If he responds and becomes excited, take him outside. This should be a trip with a purpose, not play time. If you’re convinced that your dog doesn’t need to eliminate, the best response is to ignore him until he stops whining. Don’t give in, otherwise you’ll teach your dog to whine loud and long to get what he wants. If you’ve progressed gradually through the training steps and haven’t done too much too fast, you’ll be less likely to encounter this problem. If the problem becomes unmanageable, you may need to start the crate training process over again.

Great Expectations: Too much for dogs?

My last post covered the role of positive reinforcement in training. While positive reinforcement is an important tool in training, it's important to remember that as a dog owner you need to be firm in correcting and controlling your dog. Dogs need to feel comforted in the fact that you provide security and safety.

While dogs have evolved to mimic human emtions such as love, sorrow and excitement, it's important to remember that they are just dogs and cannot be expected to fufill some of the emtional roles they are now being expected to play. Increasingly people are asking their dogs to fufill an emotional role that has been previously filled by the extended family. This places additional stress on a dog as this new role is not one they have traditionally played. Dogs have always played functional roles in human history. From herding to retrieving to guarding the roles that dogs have in our lives are extensions of their natural instincts. Expecting too much from your dog can stress you and him.

My training philosophy - A contextual and historical framework for understanding dogs

I haven't really mentioned my general dog training philosophy. My dog training philosophy stems from understanding the evolutionary history of dogs. Dogs are the first domesticated animal in history. Based on tests of mitochrondial DNA which indicate a 1% divergence from Canis Lupis, which places the date of divergence from wolves at more than 100,000 years ago. You can find the original study here and a less technical overview published by the The Atlantic here. Based on the mitochondrial DNA divergence occurred at least 100,000 years ago and possibly more than 135,000 years ago. This means that dogs have evolved around humans, have depended on humans for survival. Dogs have a intuitive understanding of what humans wants. Dogs generally want to please their humans who provide security, food and a safe environment. The symbiotic relationship between human and dog is a close one. Humans can use this evolutionary relationship to their training advantage. Dogs can be trained with positive reinforcement. More aggressive negative reinforcement is generally not necessary and can be even detrimental to your relationship with your dog.

• For initial training use a treat that you only use for training - Make sure these treats are only used for training.
  
• Use positive reinforcement. Enthuisastic praise goes a long way. Men generally need to be more enthuasistic in their praise, raising the register in their voice.
  
• When correcting your dog, lower your voice. This is often a problem for women who need to lower their voice and don't.
  
• Work slowly, taking a five minute break every 15 minutes or so. Dogs have a greater attention span than many animals but they still need breaks to absorb what they have learned.
  

Today's Topic - How To Choose a Dog Trainer
With so many people involved in the field of professional dog training today, trying to determine who's truly qualified can be a difficult task. For those trying to decide on a professional dog trainer, the American Dog Trainers Network offers the following criteria concerning what to look for:

• An excellent reputation. Shop around and get recommendations from your vet, the ASPCA, the city's other humane societies, other reputable trainers, or your breeder/breed club.
  
  
• Widespread experience. Inquire about his or her training background, years of experience, and areas of expertise. You deserve to have your questions answered, so don't be timid about asking them. (Also, see consumer warning at the bottom of this article.)
  
  
• Humane training methodology and gentle, effective handling skills. Reputable trainers are concerned about their dogs' welfare. They also know that harsh or abusive handling methods are not only unnecessary, but are often counter-productive as well.
  
  
• A genuine love of and devotion to dogs. When you find a trainer with this important quality you'll know it. The joy of living and working with dogs makes this person shine.
  
  
• Extensive behavioral knowledge. Dedicated trainers keep themselves up-to-date by attending dog training and animal behavior courses, conferences, seminars and workshops whenever possible.
  
  
• Good teaching and communication skills. Trainers who have this gift make the learning process quicker, easier and more enjoyable for their students.
  
  
• A sense of humor. Training can and should be fun for both dogs and owners. A positive attitude and a little laughter goes a long way.
  
  
• Affiliations with reputable associations, organizations and training clubs. While this is not mandatory, it's certainly a plus.
  
  
• Ethics before profit. Is monetary profit his or her primary motive for training dogs? Is everything this trainer does geared towards making money? While financial success is great, ethics must come first.
  

A NOTE OF WARNING: Unless a dog trainer comes highly recommended to you by *at least* one reputable source, the bottom line for the consumer is BUYER BEWARE!

Remember, absolutely anyone can call himself a dog trainer or behaviorist. Slick ads with inflated claims, grandiose self-descriptions, and impressive sounding titles can be very deceptive. Investigate any stated affiliations a trainer lists on his or her brochure, Yellow Pages ad or web site. If a trainer claims to be affiliated with an organization (past or present) or claims to have "studied" with well-known dog trainers or behaviorists, ask for their telephone numbers and contact them to be sure. NOTE: A common ploy for some trainers, is to attend a couple one-or two-day seminars or workshops with a well-known dog expert (or University), then claim to have studied with that person (or at that institution).

Also, verify how many years the trainer you are considering has been training dogs professionally. While years alone are not enough to determine a trainer's experience level in and of itself, it's certainly says a lot.

A FINAL NOTE: Beware of dog trainers who care more about publicity, public relations, and celebrities, than they care about your dog and the quality of training they provide. Many professional dog trainers have worked with celebrities and high-profile people. But take note if the trainer seems totally pre-occupied with dropping names, and bills himself as the "Trainer To The Stars", something that says little or nothing about his ability as a dog trainer.

This web log is devoted to another interest of mine - dogs and dog training. Look for more information. Today's topic loose leash walking. Today I want to talk about loose leash walking. Many people find walking their dog a real chore. The dog constantly pulls against the leash, runs all over the place in general makes the experience unpleasant. If you have a larger dog, walking is nearly impossible as a dog that is as strong (or even stronger) than you pulls you all over the place. You may look at other people walking their dogs in a easy pleasant fashion and wonder,"How do they do that?" Well in just a few easy steps, I show you how to eliminate that pull problem and walk the dog on your terms.

When initially training your dog for walking, I would recommend that you start with a short leash, preferably no longer than 6 feet try this lead for example, a 6 foot leather leash. Avoid retractible leashes for the time being. Until you and your dog have developed a rapport walking, too much freedom is not a good thing.

The collar can be your standard collar. In a later segment I will cover the use of choke collars and choke chains. For a beginner these can be dangerous tools which can injury your dog. I don't recommend prong collars.

Remember that pulling is a learned behavior. A dog gets a reward when he pulls. He gets to go where he wants to go, be it further down the street or to the park. This behavior can be unlearned but the longer the dog has been pulling, the longer he might take to unlearn.

1. Find a comfortable area to work with your dog free from distractions. This can be in front of your house or a park. I would not recommend a dog park or a street that is too busy. You will need your dogs attention and need to be free from distractions. Your own driveway might be a good place to start.
   
   
2. Now, although what I am going to describe is simple, it doesn't work quickly for most dogs. The longer the dog has been successfully pulling, of course, the harder it will be to convince him that it is no longer going to work. So, you want to set yourselves up to be as successful as possible. The first thing you want to do is get him tired. Be sure your dog is not wearing any kind of choke or prong collar - just a plain "buckle" collar. Then you are ready for your training walk. Warm him up a bit with that first. Then start walking, just holding the end of the leash. Within a second or two he will probably hit the end of it and dig in to start pulling. YOU STOP (remember... you are teaching him that pulling no longer works to get him where he wants to go).. Give him a short correction sound, an "Uhn Uhn" should be enough when he pulls.
   
   Once he stops pulling and looks back at you, praise him. Praise & continue walking forward. And as soon as he hits the end of the leash STOP again with a small correction sound. Try to imagine that your dog pulling on the leash steps on your brake! This will take several sessions depending on the dog.
   
3. Some dogs get the concept pretty quickly, others have the pulling habit ingrained so well they have a more difficult time. They are not stubborn, just well trained pullers!! Eventually, though, your dog will figure out that pulling no longer gets him where he wants to go. Now, to get there he must not pull.
   
4. To be successful you are going to have to be as consistent as possible. That means never letting him pull you anywhere EVER (unless you actually have a harness on him for carting or tracking, of course). I think it's important to try to get several good long walks in at the beginning of the training. By long I mean time, not distance. People with hard core pullers may not get more than down the driveway the first few times! I believe the dog needs the many repetitions of him pulling-you stopping so he gets the point & can make the connection. At that point he can decide to alter his behavior to get what he wants, which is to move forward.