What is my dog saying?

Have you ever wondered what your dog is thinking or if they "talk" to each other?  Some of you may be saying, "of course they talk to each other" while others of  you aren't quite as sure.  Let me assure you your pets do "talk" to each other and even to you and your other pets, it's just that it's not a language they teach in high school.

For those in the Chehalem Valley area I am holding a seminar on Monday, May 6th at 7pm to teach you how to "speak" dog. I will be showing you how to use your own body to also communicate with the dogs around you to help them feel more at ease or to help them calm down if they are stressed, and how to tell when they are stressed.

The cost is 15.00 for the evening (that will be per family if a spouse or interested child would also like to attend) and will be held the same place as classes: 1009 Hulet Ave. Newberg

So put it on your calender! I look forward to seeing you there!

Teaching your dog Herding skills

Ok so you may or may not have a dog like Roxy who loves to work and has a natural skill at herding.  Well there is a new game in town called Trieball, it uses the same skills that the dog would use against sheep, but they use big yoga balls instead of livestock.  So thus began my wanting to teach Roxy how to push a ball with her nose, and the need for her to learn the commands "come by" and "away." So here I am teaching Roxy both! (and you get to see some "raw training").  I use treats to lure her around first, and then I give her a big "yay" with her ball.  Then I start using the ball after I click her so it got her more excited, which is good and bad.  I had to work at keeping her more focused when I brought the ball out.

I am hoping to get some other dogs involved here and have some competitions later on maybe near the end of summer.  Let me know if you are interested in teaching your dog how to play!

Here are other dogs learning to play the game...

To tug or not to tug...

I have had many people ask me if it's ok to play tug with their dogs, or will that make them feel aggressive or cause them to become more aggressive?  To answer that simply, no.  Dogs love to play tug with each other as well as with their human friends, in my experience I have found it to actually decrease a dog's aggressiveness in most cases.

 Take Conner here, he's a big puppy, but he is still intact and very interested in Roxy.  However when we get them playing tug, it seems that most of his hormone issues regarding her seem to diminish and he is more interested in playing than in other activities.  The same has held true with many other dogs who have had the same issues when we are in class.

 Dogs know that tug is a game, in fact that is why I try and make sure everyone who has a class with me knows that you never chase your dog or try to pull things out of their mouths, because they think it's a game.

 Unless your dog has other issues that are at work, like becoming overly aroused very easily, or tends to resource guard and considers his toy something to guard, or has had past negative experiences with tugging (as in abuse issues), then you should have no reason not to play tug with your dog.  Remember there are always exceptions to every rule, but as a rule of thumb, tug is a great way to play with your dog and bond better.  Let your dog win sometimes, and you can win sometimes, (don't worry about keeping count).  I always think it's best to watch your dog, if he is giving up to often, let him have it more often and chase him around while he is running with it, the dogs loves this! (Just make sure it's a toy you are playing chase with and not your best dress)

How to train your dog to not bark or jump on people coming over

Good manners is what you would like from your dog when someone knocks on the door right?  How often do you get them?  This is the first step in teaching your dog that it's ok to have people knock on the door without them "singing you the song of their people" aka barking or getting really excited.  Now at first I am really excited when I say the word "people" because I want the training to be fun, but as I do it more and more often soon it will be like the word "sit" and she will know that I want her to lie down and wait for me to call her.  Right now when someone knocks on the door she gets to it before I do, then it's a problem to get her back up stairs and out of the way, meanwhile someone is left standing outside not knowing if I am home (unless they hear the ruckus).  So this is what I decided to to and I thought I would share it with you! http://youtu.be/wYa761-xaYo

Embarassing dog behavior?

So you take your dog out to the dog park and what's the first thing he starts doing? Mounting the other dogs at the park.  You (or the other dog) break it up, and as you are walking back to where you were you are slightly blushing and thinking to yourself, "how did I end up with the overly sexual, or highly dominant dog?"  However what you may be thinking to yourself is not all together true.  Just because your dog likes to be "on top of the world" does not mean that he is necessarily feeling sexual, or top dog. Don't just take my word for it

"Well what then is wrong with my dog?" you may still be wondering, well have you ever considered that there may be many different reason for a dog to act the way he does? Believe me it is a behavior that has caught the attention of several people who study animal behavior, specifically dog behavior.

(dogs that are intact do have more of an issue with being overly aroused than those who have been spayed or neutered.)

Patricia McConnell, Mark Bekoff, and Julie Hecht have all recently written articles about their observations and studies of such behavior.  To sum up in a nut shell what they have to say about it goes something like this; we don't.  No really, they can't pin it just on hyper-sexuality, being "intact", dominance, or aggression.  What does seem to be a common thread through most of it is being excited, or highly aroused.  Being highly aroused does not mean only sexually either, to quote Webster aroused means "to evoke strong emotions" which is exactly what all their studies do show.  If you watch your dog carefully and take note when your dog tends to start mounting ether objects or other animals, you will most likely notice that your dog happens to be rather excited by something before moving on to the mounting episode.  Excited is another word we need to be clear about defining as well.  Excited can mean scared, happy, or nervous.  It means that he, or she, is having strong feeling being evoked.  "Most of the time it is what is called a displacement behavior," states Mark Bekoff in one of his articles.  It also seems that as far as aggression issues go, mounting is one of the least likely things a dog will do to display aggression   The other dog might get aggressive because they don't like being mounted, but that does not mean that the dog mounting is being an aggressor.

 It could be that as a puppy (when the behavior is noted to start sometimes as early as 6 weeks) he found it as a way to get others to play with him and so it persisted without proper correction by other litter mates into his adulthood. (I highly recommend waiting till your puppy is at least 8 weeks before you pick it up so it has time to learn dog manners from it's mother and other litter mates).  It could also be that your dog learned that mounting a stuffed animal when it was nervous or had excess energy was calming, or had the capacity to wear him out a bit on his own.  It could also be that he is overly sexual or has a hyper sex drive, but don't always simply jump to that conclusion, and further more even if that is more of a driving factor for your dog, it still boils down to the fact that he is being over stimulated and needs help calming down.

So, you might say, what my dog is doing is not necessarily something to be embarrassed about, but is there anything I can do about it?  Fortunately for you the answer is, yes there is.  Since it is most likely that your dog is being highly aroused (remember my definition from above here, and no snickering) you need to find a way to lower your dog's arousal level.  This will be most beneficial to you and your dog anyway since dogs who have lower arousal levels are more likely to be the good and well behaved dog you are looking for.

 I would start by finding out what seems to be the trigger and go from there.  If it seems like it is just about everything, you might need help from a professional, and whatever you do you will need to take baby steps at first.  Say you find that it tends to be when your friends come over for a visit, well the next time you have your friends over, get your clicker out and ask for an easy behavior, click and treat.  Make sure that you keep your voice more even toned than not so as not to get him any more excited than he already is.  Keep your friend outside until your dog is under control, and only then move on to the next step. *note you will need to have worked with your dog and the clicker and be able to ask for the behavior and fully expect it to be given, such as "sit"

Once you are able to bring your friend in, if possible have your dog heel to you and calmly walk away from your friend, or have your dog go to his bed or crate for a relaxing and calming lay down. If this goes smoothly allow your friend to pet and let your dog smell and get to "see" your friend.  If at any time your dog gets too excited go back a step and work on it from there.  It is possible to turn your "horny beast" into a calm and less anxious pooch.  And as always never feel bad if you need to ask for help, that is what we trainers are here for, and don't feel obligated to stick with one if you don't feel comfortable with how he or she is training, (by the way that goes for vets and groomers too), there are many people out there with varying degrees of doggy understanding, so do your homework and don't be afraid to stand up for your dog if needed.  The best ways to train your dog are to keep it simple and take things only as fast as your dog is able to go, there should never be a ridged set schedule, every dog is different and will come with a different time table.

I hope that this was able to put your fears to rest and give you a new view of your dog, no he is not that "horny beast", but just a dog in need of help calming himself, or needing to learn better doggy manners.

(and neither does your dog) :o)

Potty Training Class!

I am now offering a new Puppy Potty Training class!  It will be held on every Tuesday night at 6 pm for 10.00 for those who want to start their training off on the right paw! Call Aliesha to set up your spot in class! 971-282-5721 or email at info@SitSpotClick.com  Bring the family! All are welcome!

Teach your dog to play Fetch!

http://youtu.be/9zT0r_4KM7A
This is a 3 step video that shows you how to teach your dog how to play fetch.  First throw the toy and chase it, this shows your dog that the toy is fun and interesting.  If you grab it first, then play keep away with it that also increases your dog's desire to grab it.  Continue with this step until your dog picks the toy up with his mouth, or if you need to increase the desire for your dog to run after the toy with you feel free to break the step down even farther into micro steps where you are clicking your dog and giving a treat just for running with you then build on that.
The second step is clicking when your dog picks the toy up in his mouth, they will then run to you to get the treat which sets up your third step, click when the dog is bringing the toy to you.
So the third step is when your dog is running to you with the toy in their mouth (which is more likely to happen because you have been clicking for them picking the toy up, so they are excited and will sometimes forget to drop the toy as they run to you for their anticipated treat)  You then Jackpot them when they bring the toy back to you!
Roxy did these steps so quickly because she already knows how to play fetch, don't count on your dog catching on as fast, but don't be surprised if they do either. Some dogs, just like people, are better at learning certain new things than other, so give your dog the benefit of the doubt and be patient and consistent.  Remember to break things down into smaller steps if you need to, these are just the basic steps, some dogs will need more encouragement, but take heart, Roxy had zero interest in playing fetch for the first couple of months I had her and I taught her in the same way I am showing you. Teach your dog how to play fetch!