New puppy 101 part 2: What is He Thinking?

What does your puppy think about?  Well we all know that dogs are smart, right?  Well what would do if you had 18 plus hours of being able to do nothing other than observe those around you.  If you had all the time in the world to figure out how to get something you want, which is most often food, or play, or to check out that new smell.

Puppies develop in stages, and each new stage brings with it it's own new set of challenges.

The "new home" stage is where you pick up your puppy and take it away from everything that has ever been familiar to it.  It may sound rather traumatic, and can be for quiet a few puppies, but most adjust fairly well, because of the exploratory stage they are in (or just coming into).  When you first bring that cute furry bundle home, try to keep things quiet.  Most puppies are still mommy clingers at this point, and not having their mommy to cling to, they will look for something warm, and quiet.  

Most pups are about 8 weeks old at this age.  They are just starting to venture out and explore the world.  At this stage the most important thing for their long term development is leaning that new things are not scary.  Wear hats, glasses, scarves, have them meet with calm children, and lots of men and make sure they get lots of good things (i.e. treats) to help them learn that these things can bring great things, no possible bad thing will happen just because that guy has a hat on. 

 These seem to be the biggest challenges that most dogs have as they get older.  Between the ages of 6 to 12 weeks your goal should be to expose them to at least 100 new POSITIVE things.  The big key here, in case you missed that, is positive!  If they have a run in with a kid who pulls their whiskers, or tail, I would not consider that positive.  Take them to a park where you know there will be lots of kids and have those who want to pet the puppy line up or sit quietly on the grass as you bring the puppy to them.  

This is also the age where you will be needing to get them their shots (and keep up on them).  That means a trip to the vet.  After your initial visit, take your pup back and let him explore during a quiet time (lunch time is probably a good time to shoot for).  Give lots of treats and belly rubs to show that the vet is not always a bad place.  Continue that as often as you can, and you won't have your dog hiding from you every vet appointment.  What this teaches is that yeah, sometimes crappy things happen there, but not always.  

As your puppy continues to grow and get older, they will want to start exploring more and more out of your range.  Between weeks 12 and 14 most puppies begin what I call "selective hearing."  They may have been heeling perfectly up till that point as well as running to you the second you called them, but now things start to be a bit different.  Now they enter into a phase similar to your pre-teen phase in us humans.  I have had many people tell me how much they love how well behaved their dog is, to a week later coming to me in tears wondering what went wrong, and is there a way to fix it!  Trust me, this is normal puppy behavior.  Just like your kids push and test your rules and limits, now that your new pup has learned them, they will begin to push and test too.  This is where you will make or break your relationship.  Yes you can always fix thing later, but if you want your dog to believe you when you say something, this is where being consistent pays off in the long run.

If you say "Sally, here Sally!" and Sally turns tail and runs, have no fear, simply turn and run the other direction while calling her name.  For most pups this presents an irresistible game of tag/chase.  90% of the pups will turn around and chase you.  Let them catch you, when they do, make sure you treat them or praise the heck out of them at the very least.  Never scold your dog for coming to you.  Especially at this age, you do not want them thinking that coming to you is ever a bad thing.  When they weigh the options of coming to you in their head, you don't want any negative times tipping the scales on the "keep going" part.

Remember your pup has a lot of time on his paws to simply sit back and observe.  They learn your routine, they learn your body language, and they learn how to manipulate it.  Now they don't do this so they are the "dominate" ones in the "pack," not every dog has the leader type personality.  They do this because this is what all creatures do.  If you want something you learn how to get it.  If your pup learns that you cave in all the time to his demands, he is going to get very bossy very fast.  Even shy laid back pups learn that if all they have to do is demand something and they get it, they will.  This is where leash pulling comes into play.

This is Bella, she is about 12 weeks old.   Do you notice anything?  Do you see how big she is?  Guess what, at this age if she pulls she is going to get where she wants to go.  The only reason a dog pulls when being walked is because it accomplishes it's goal.  In other words, your dog pulls because she can.

The best way to prevent pulling, and one of the ways to teach your dog that you are not a push over, it what I call the "hour block walk."  That means I take my dog for a walk, but I only plan on making it up and down the street, or around the block in anywhere from a half an hour to an hour.  Why in the world would I do that you might ask?  Because I stop and call my dog back to me every time she pulls.  Every.  Single. Time.  And guess what?  Your dog gets just as tired of it as you do.  The next time you go for a walk and you start that up again, your dog will quickly learn not to pull.

Now if your dog already pulls, you will have to break that habit, so it may take you a week or so of the "hour block walks," but if you do this when they are small, they never learn that pulling gets them what they want, only walking next to you.  It sounds so simple, and really it is.  There may arise other issues you will have to deal with, such as a cat that darts in front of you as you are out walking, but it will help lay the foundation for that as well.

Now back to that all important issue of socialization.  I know a lot of you out there are going to hear  your vet tell you not to let your pup play with other dogs till the vaccination series is complete.  Well, unless you have a Boxer, Pit Bull, Doberman, or Rottweiler, (those breeds were found to be more susceptible to Parvo) I would wait only a couple of days after your first round of shots.  They will still have the antibodies from their mother's milk in their system to help protect them, and now you have just given those anti bodies a boost.  Socialization is just as important, if not more so almost, than those vaccines you have just given.  This is the age where their brain takes and processes as much information as possible.  Now is the time they are hardwirering things for their future lifetime.

Your pup needs to know the dog language in all it's forms, from big dogs to little dogs.  He needs to know that kids are not always scary, that wheel chairs and bikes are not scary.  The mail man or the UPS man will not bring evil to the house.  Hopefully you know some people around you who have dogs that you can take your puppy to meet.  Have your pup meet the mail man regularly and have him give your pup treats each time.  Go to a skate park and stay at a distance where your pup won't get hurt, but can see what is going on and give out lots of yummy treats while you are there.  Walk on a route that takes you past a school with kids coming out, and have your pup sit while the kids stream by on foot, bike or scooter.  Every time make sure your dog is getting treats and good treatment.  Then down the road if something scary does happen (whether or not you are aware it has happened) your dog will understand that it was more or less an isolated instance and not what to expect.  

When you do have play dates with other dogs try to make sure the other dog is friendly and wants to play.  If that dog has good social skills they will help in teaching the same to your pup.  This is really not something you can teach as well as another dog can.  If your pup bites too hard, the other dog will let him know.  The other dog should also let him know what types of attention getting play behavior is appropriate, and what is not.  Poorly socialized dogs are the ones who tend to use the "humping" method as a way to try and get another dog, or person, to play.  This type of play can be tolerated by some dogs for a bit, but if the other dog is tired and needs a break and your pup continues this behavior, the other dog will more likely to put a quick end to this.  If the other dog's message is not getting across this is where you may need to step in and take the pup away for a small time out.  Sometime a puppy will get over stimulated and have a hard time calming down.  To prevent problems simply move the dog away, yawn and look away.  You may need to leash  your pup or put him in a crate if he does not start to calm down after doing that.  This will help teach your pup calming signals and he will start to learn what happens if he pushes those limits.  Just as you would not allow your child to push the other children around at the playground, your pup sometimes needs help in learning not to do the same.

Remember, even though your puppy may not look like a puppy at 6 or 8 months old, he still is.  Don't expect your puppy to not be pushing some of those limits until he is at least well on his way to being 2 years old.  However the older they get, and if you are consistent with your rules the testing, and pushing will not happen often, or for very long when it does happen the older they get.  Most of the time once your dog reaches the 1 year mark they have learned enough to be considered an adult, albeit a young adult.  Think of your 1 year old dog as you would a 20-21 year old in human terms.  Sure they are adults now and know and understand the rules, but that will not stop them from occasionally testing them to see if they will hold up all the time.

Don't forget they do want to please you, it's just the laws of nature at work when they are young.  The stages they go through aren't much different than what took you 18 years to go through, just be glad they get theirs done within one year.  When in doubt love them and they will love you back.  Then get a good trainer to help you work out what you might not be able to.

  

New Puppy 101 Part 1: The Basics

 Puppies!!! Everyone loves puppies!!!! Right? The minute you see one, your heart melts and you start daydreaming of what it would be like to have one...until you remember the house breaking, the chewing, the biting, the training, the list goes on and on.  However if for some reason you don't remember all of those things, or you have never had a puppy of your own before...remember one thing, they are worth it, and you can get through this.

 At first you are like, "how can this cute little ball of fur be any trouble?" Right?

 Then you get them home, and they can't seem to understand that peeing outside in the wet, muddy grass (or if you don't live in the NW as I do, freezing, snow) is what they are supposed to naturally want to do. They seem to prefer to potty on your rug.  Next they start jumping, and at first it's cute, they are so short and it only seems natural that they should jump to get your attention.  Then a couple of months go by and your "little" one is now 30 pounds and is leaving large muddy paw prints all over your clothes when he does come in from pottying outside, and you either go to work now covered in paw prints, or you are late because you are always having to change clothes, and your laundry just keeps growing.....

 Well enough of the problems we and our new found best friends have, if you don't know them you soon will.  How do you fix the problems, or even better, (if you are smart and are researching all this before you bring home that new bundle of joy) how do you prevent such issues from occurring in the first place?

 First off, figure out what motivates your pup.  (and let me give you a little hint here, food will almost always, as in 99% of the time, work the best.  If the treat or food that you are using is not working try something new.  I like to use wet dog food, and I have found the Nutro brands which use chicken broth to be the best, Greenies Pill Pockets are also a huge success in the treat area)

Second.  Pick up a clicker before you leave that pet store.

If you want things to go as smoothly as possible with your new adopted family member, you need to make sure the communication between you two is as solid as it can be.

A clicker is there to help reduce miscommunications.  Sounds great right.  It is.  Lets say you are working on potty training, you take your pup outside, she potties on the grass (or wherever you want her to), you click the clicker as soon as she is finished, then she gets a treat (you know the ones that will motivate her).  The click is telling her what she is getting the treat for.  It's faster, and more accurate than a word is, and it also bypasses the frontal cortex of the brain to go straight to the amygdala to be processed.  In other words it just works better, and the information is retained longer. I also highly recommend using a crate or playpen to house your pup when you are not going to keep a direct eye on her.  Keeping a food and water schedule is also a great way of preventing those slippery accidents on the floor.  Put water out once an hour, then take her out to potty.  Offer food two or three times a day, then put it up out of reach.  You will soon learn how long your pup can go between meals and drinks.

 I know you really want to get that puppy as soon as possible, but let me tell you, you will be much happier in the long run, if you wait to get your pup till after it is at least 8 weeks old.  The longer they get to stay with their mom and other litter mates, the more they learn through them, and the less they have to try on you.  You don't speak dog as well as their mom does, so trust me, somethings mom is better off teaching.  Bite inhibition is one of those critical things that they learn from playing with their litter mates.  If they bite a litter mate too hard they get a squeal and the fun ends temporarily.  So they learn not to bite as hard, their little milk teeth are just as painful to each other as they are to you and I.  Let them learn on each other and not you,or your children.  If you do get a pup who is hell bent on seeing just how hard he can bite you, squeal just like his litter mates would have, stand up, end the fun by placing the pup in a crate for a minute or leaving the room.  Another thing to do is have a tug toy near by, if your puppy starts to try and bite your hand (as cute as it may be, don't allow it) offer the tug toy instead.  Show your pup that toys are for chewing and playing, not human body parts.

If ankle biting becomes an issue, play freeze tag with your dog and click when he does not go for the feet, or hands.  It helps if you be "a tree" as shown here.  I also ask for a sit as soon as I stop, then click and treat for the sit.

Walking.....Do Not allow your puppy to pull on a walk when you first get him!  The only reason a dog pulls is because he has learned that it gets him where he wants.  The leash is something all dogs have to learn, and the sooner they learn it the better off everyone is.  Start when they are small.  If you have a large breed, trust me, in a couple of months they will be bigger than you think.  Not that I have anything against having your dog off leash, it's just that they will need to be on leash at some point in their lives, and more likely than not, that will be most of the time they are out in public.  You don't have to drag your little friend all over the floor to teach him to walk with you either. Nor will you need to resort to pinch collars to keep your pup from dragging you down the block.  

To teach your pup that walking next to you on the leash, I use a treat on a spoon that I can hold down and then pick back up out of their reach.  So when I click I hold the spoon down, let him take a lick or two, them walk a few steps, and if your pup stays with you click and let him have a lick.  You can use big wooden or plastic spoons, or these little baby food spoons.  Once your pup seems to have the right idea you can try to put more steps in between each click.  You will be the marvel of all your friends who have dogs when they see how well yours is walking on leash.

Here are a few tips to remember:

 Puppies keep those sharp daggers till they are about four months old, then they fall out and they grow new ones.  At that time they start to chew on whatever feels good on their gums.  If I were you, I would invest in several different dog toys that are different textures to see what it is your puppy likes.  They will teeth on and off till they are about 11 months old.  They start growing in molars after they replace their milk teeth.

Don't chase your puppy if he runs off with your favorite shoe, skirt, or toy, etc.  Puppies LOVE the game chase, once they learn how to get you to play with them, they will use it as often as they can get away with using it.  It's better to teach your puppy the cue for "drop it" and Leave it" then calmly walk up and retrieve the item.   You can use this chase game to your advantage though, if your pup escapes the house or yard and will not come back.  Run in the opposite direction calling your puppy's name, he will think you are playing chase, and most often will follow you.

 Do Not try and tug an item from your puppies mouth unless it is a tug toy.  Once again, puppies love to play tug, and if they think they know how to get you to play their game, they will do it all the time. Tug is a wonderful bonding game that you can play with your puppy it will not make them think that they are top dog if they win.  If you have ever watched dogs playing tug you will see that polite dogs both win and lose, the one you may perceive as "dominant" does not always win.  Unless he has very bad doggy manners. So feel free to play tug with your pup using whatever clothy like substance you deem worthy (socks, rope toys, toy animals)

Inside Your Dog's Head: Why the clicker works

Ever wonder why, when you click that little button on a clicker, your dog lights up like it's Christmas time?

  Lets put it this way, why do you like facebook?  How easy is it to write your woes as a facebook status versus telling them personally to all your friends or acquaintances.  The lack of emotional response can be quite freeing.  That's why it's so easy to say the wrong thing or take things the wrong way.  Lack of ability to convey emotion.  Now what if you were only able to get positive feedback and happy, good feelings from everything you saw and read on Facebook?  The fact that your computer screen can not give you any real emotional feedback makes it a perfect way to show how your dog sees the clicker.  The clicker is just like your computer screen, only you can give it any ties to emotion.  When you pair the clicker with yummy treats and good times from you, you suddenly have that magic happy feeling button.  It never means scary, or bad or grumpy growls.    If you use it often enough your dog will begin to see you in more of the same way.  If you use it (paired with yummy treats, or a fun toy) around places or things they find scary, your dog will quickly learn to associate more happy, positive feelings with those that were once scary.

Pretty simple. Yet very powerful.

 Not taking wet food from a spoon until clicked,

 not jumping all over you when they are very excited to see you,

Doing what you asked, when you asked it.

All thanks to the power of that little clicker in a box.

Out with the Old and In with the New!

At this time of the year we are busy setting new goals for ourselves, have you stopped to think about setting some for your 4 legged companion?   It's really very similar to teach them to stop doing that really annoying thing, such as jumping all over you nice work suit as you get ready to walk out that door.  So how do you do it?  Well I just finished reading an article on how to succeed in your own personal goals and I was surprised at how much is exactly the same for dogs as it is people (in fact I had to double check I wasn't reading about dog training).

First off everything we do has a cue.  All our habits can be trace back to some sort of a trigger.  The same is true of your dog.  Why is it you are always craving that dessert after dinner?  Is it because that was what your family always did, so you do it too?  Why do we eat comfort food when we are upset?  Because it triggers good feelings and memories.  It literally makes us feel better. 

 Your dogs are no different.  What triggers your dog to jump on you?  Watch closely, notice the patterns that set life up.  A lot of times you dog knows when they hear the sound of your car, it makes it's own unique sound on the road.   When they hear that they get excited.  When a dog is happy to see someone instinct tells them to lick the lips or mouth of the one they are happy to see, just like we  give someone we love a hug.  The only problem is that our mouths are so far away.  So they jump.  When you are getting ready to leave you probably go through a routine, you dog notices that, and so starts to go through their own.  

If your dog is feeling lonely or bored and wants to play, but you are glued to the t.v. set, what's a dog to do?  Well they always get you up on your feet when they pick up an item that is either forbidden (your understanding, not theirs ), or if they pick up some new, novel thing.  Then they get you to play that beloved game of chase.  Even if it ends with them getting into trouble, they think it's worth it.

So how do you fix that?

This is where you get to choose new cues, what they are to mean, and when they will be implemented.  Lets take the issue of chewing on things he shouldn't.  You will need to teach the "drop it" cue and the "leave it" cue.  Then work on the "come" and the "fetch." Here's how it would go.  Take a tug toy and start playing.  Grab a yummy smelling treat and hold it right up to his nose.  He will drop the toy to open his mouth in order to eat the treat.  Right there is where you would click and then let him have the treat. The click tells him what he just did is correct, and that is what he is getting the treat for.  Then you repeat.  Play tug, say "drop it" while holding the treat up to his nose, then click and treat as soon as he drops the toy.

Next work on the "leave it" cue.  Hold a treat in your hand and tell your dog to leave it.  He will most likely try to get it.  It is most important that he does not.  Close your hand around the treat and if you need to pull it in close to you (not above you which will induce jumping).  As soon as he settles back down away from the treat, click and he can have it. Slowly try to get the treat down between his paws, this might take some time.  Don't go any faster than  he can resist.  You want to set him up to succeed, not fail or he will get frustrated and not like to play this game anymore.

So now you have your dog dropping things  and leaving them where they were dropped for you to come retrieve.  Now call your dog to you for a nice pet, or a treat.  That will then reinforce the come.

 Now to teach your dog to play fetch, so that when you are tired, your dog can still play with you without getting into trouble.  See how we are replacing the triggered behavior?

Here is a short clip of how to teach your dog to play fetch.  Note that your dog will take a bit more time, as Roxy knows how to fetch, she is simply being taught to fetch an item she does not normally fetch.  The teaching method is the same though.

So remember if your dog is needing some help with his New Years goals this year, you now have the know how to help him.  Don't just try to stop bad behavior, replace it with something you want your dog to do instead! 

Here's to a Happy New Year!

Punishment vs Positive

I know how tempting it can be.  Trust me.  We have all been there.  At the end of our ropes or leashes as it may be.  Most of the time it's with a puppy, though yours may be full size and not looking so puppyish anymore, (under the age of 2 all dogs should be considered either a puppy or the teenage/young adult version.)

You wouldn't think twice about stopping someone jerking their child around on a choke chair or worse using a shock collar on them, why is it any different with your dog?  We get extremely upset with our own children and they speak our language.  Even spanking your child now a days is seen as a last resort instead of the first step as it was 20-30 years ago. (which I think shows a lot of progress on our part).

How is it rational for someone to adopt a new addition to the family, then proceed to choke, shock, or use other implements of fear and intimidation to teach them our language.  Really the more I think about it the more absurd it sounds.  You would be calling the cops and reporting child abuse if you saw such a thing.  Well how is that any different when you treat your dog the same way?  They don't speak our language, yet they try to please us even when we use pain to stop their natural behaviors.  The sad thing is that we don't bother to learn any of their language, we expect them to learn ours and simply follow our lead.  How many of you knows what it means when your dog looks away from your face when you are staring at them? Or when they yawn or blink slowly?  Really it's simple, yet there are only a handful of people who bother to try and understand what their dogs are saying to them.  Instead of trying to work with their dogs as you would anyone else who didn't understand your culture or language, we submit them to a barrage of intimidating treatment.  

Even if your dog doesn't seem to be phased by the constant choking or tugging on the leash it still is affecting them. Dogs don't live in a static bubble.  They are either moving forward, loving the interaction you have with them or their environment, or they are learning that every time you interact with them, you could turn into a pain inflicting irrational person.  What is normal and expected in the dog world, does not always mesh with our own view of the world.  It still surprises me when I hear people thinking that rubbing their dog's nose in their poop or pee puddles will teach them not to do it again.  How quickly we forget that they don't understand what we are trying to tell them unless we take the time to teach them.  If you rub their nose in something unpleasant they will learn to fear you, not respect you.  They will still try to please you in other ways, they will just have learned that you are unpredictable and if they think you might fly off the handle they will simply hide from you.  Having your dog afraid of you does not make them behave any better for your sake, only to keep from being abused again.

  Having watched dogs from all different backgrounds that need help with behavior I can see the dogs who have been trained using harsh methods.  They tend to not listen or want to pay attention closely to their owners. They don't have any real good reason to, if they are not wearing their training devices they know they are out of your reach and so you have not really fixed the bad behavior, you have only taught them to respond to you when you are in control of their punishment devices.

The goal with positive training is to teach your dog the good behaviors you want them to offer you.

Does this look like the face of a dog who is scared of listening to you?  Just like people, puppies go through stages and phases as they grow.  You might have a perfectly trained dog at 12 weeks of age.  Then at week 18 your dog is not listening to anything you say.  Makes you want to pull your hair out doesn't it.  It's because just like us when we were younger, they test the limits of the rules periodically.   This is what I mean when I say, until they are 2 don't expect 100% from your dog at all times.  Just like raising kids it's not over with 6 weeks of successful training.  There are the terrible twos, the    pre-teen, the teenage stage, and then they become an "adult" and they still make stupid mistakes or don't always get things right the first time.  When you adopt a new furry member of your family please remember and keep that in mind when you step in that cold puddle on the floor for the 5th time in a week. (and if you are doing that there are a few things you should and should not be doing such as a food and water schedule and using a crate or play pen when you can't keep an eye on your puppy or dog).

 Would you really think of putting a shock collar on this sweet face?

The problem is they don't keep these cute faces long enough to get through their childish phases but they still feel like this on the inside.  

Think carefully about the methods you choose to train your dog.  What does this say about you and the relationship you want with your dog?  This is for people who want control, but are afraid they can't have it.  The reason people use fear tactics in training is they themselves feel fear.  Fear based training gives you a false sense of control over any given situation.  What you are really doing though is setting the scene for a possible tragedy as the more anxiety your dog feels in situations the more likely you are to loose control in the future.  Not from a rebellion necessarily, but because fear eventually spills into aggression.  It's the next step on the negative emotion ladder. So in reality you are only just staving off the inevitable, you have created a ticking time bomb whether or not you can see it.

Pain free, positive reinforcement training does take time, and it does take patience, and it does take treats.  Time and effort though pay off big time when your dog will do what you ask simply because you have asked.  Not because you have forced or scared him to.  Your dog is happy to do what you have asked because it has always been worth it.  You now have a teacher student relationship,or parent child relationship with your newly adopted.  As the two of you continue down life's road you will find you have created the best of friends in your furry companion. Consistent, and one who seeks to live in harmony with you. In my book that is better than a ticking time bomb any day.  They may not always be perfect, but neither are we.  You will however have a true friend and companion, who sees the same in you that you do in him.

Happy training!

Redirecting, the "How To" and "Whys"

First things first.  Redirecting, what does it mean?  Simply put, it means to ask your dog to do something else in place of what it is doing.  Say you have a chronic jumper.  You may not mind it all of the time, but lets say you are in your nice work clothes, or your frail elderly neighbor is coming over to say hi. How do you get your dog to not jump on everyone, every time? (to understand why they jump on you click here) 

 The best way is to simply ask them to do something else every time they are going to want to jump.  Note, you need to ask them before they jump. Asking for a sit before they get to you is what usually works the best when it comes to jumping, just remember to praise, and pet for good behavior.  Your dogs is simply happy to see you and is asking for your attention, don't forget that negative attention is still attention, and if your dog is so anxious for it they will take the negative attention as reinforcement for their behavior.  My suggestion is to make your dog's default behavior a nice sit at your feet, then if you would like your dog to put it's paws on you, you can ask for it.

When it comes to the mounting behavior, which has very little to do with social climbing or dominance behavior, you will need to watch your dog and get to know the cues he or she displays before the mounting behavior commences. To see why they do this, and how to fix it read here.  To use a "redirection behavior" here, you will need to get your dog's attention and ask for a sit, or maybe play tug, then offer the other end of the tug toy to the other dog (if the other dog is social).  I also suggest some well timed yawns, as well as glancing away from your dog to help your him or her calm down. Those are calming signals that dogs use on themselves and those around them to help them calm down. If you use them the can also help them to calm down as well.

Another way of looking at redirecting is breaking an old habit, and replacing it with a new habit.  Don't forget the rule of thumb 30 days to break an old habit and 30 days to make a new one.  Now this doesn't mean that it is going to take two months, nor does it mean that it will take only one. Think of it instead as 30 to 60 training sessions.  Now your dog may catch on faster than that, but please remember to give your dog the benefit of the doubt and don't expect too much of him or her too fast.  The younger the dog the less "set in" the habits will be and they will generally be easier to change.  However, don't despair if you have an older dog with bad habits you want to change, they can be, it might just take a bit more patience on your part.

 Now to the why, why bother with all that work of redirecting when all you want is the behavior to stop.  Have you ever tried to break a habit that you had and wanted to get rid of, smoking, nail biting, eating too much junk food?  What helped the most?  Simply stopping cold turkey?  Did you use replacement behaviors, such as snapping a rubber band on your wrist, or eating something else that maybe wasn't quite as bad for you?  You are much more likely to be successful at changing your habits, as well as your dog's if you replace it with something else.  It's as simple as that.  Here's to you and your dog's new behaviors!

Happy Thanksgiving

My "I'm Grateful for" list...on a sort of wordless Wednesday...

I am grateful to live in such a beautiful area!....

 For my current and past dogs....and all the people who have allowed me to get to know their dogs, and help them in one way or another...

 For the places that allow me to train in their facilities such as The Pets Stop Inn,

 and the Chehalem Park and Rec.

The dogs themselves and their goofy antics!

For my wonderful family and the bond we have together!

Happy Thanksgiving from all of us here to all of you out there! Feel free to leave what you are thankful for in the comment section below!