When selecting a new member of the family, special attention should be paid to what breed.

Even if the dog is a mix breed

Yes we love the fluffy dogs, Yes it has short legs, Yes it is intelligent, Yes it can pull your household apart!

Dont be selfish, this is a dog's life that you are controlling, is it fair for the dog?

Can you offer consistent exercise, social interactions, mental simulation and training to the dogs needs?

Do you understand what the breed was originally bred for?

What do you want from the dog for? Companion? Working dog? therapy dog?

The common example of the Border Collie.

This is just to name a few, please don't pick a dog because it will look good or it will be a good accessory, this is a dog's life, not a toy or a disposable item. choose a dog that is most suited to what you want from the dog.

If you need help choosing the right breed for you, talk to  me a professional dog trainer

You can email me at

[email protected]

Can be near to the best interaction you can have with your dog!

Tricks help your dog to 'learn how to learn'. If your dog can learn tricks, then she can learn obedience and good manners.

The best way to teach your dog a trick, is to make it fun for him. Use praise and small treats to reward your dog.

Practice new tricks only a few minutes at a time. You never want your dog to get bored when learning new things.

Dogs love to learn. Tricks keep your dog alert and energetic. They give your dog a chance to play and have fun.

I have people ask me all the time, “I want to spend more quality time with my dog, but I don’t want to do anything to over the top” or “what is the best way to prepare for agility/ obedience training” and I always tell them to spend the time teaching the dog a trick!

Tricks are great way to learn about how your dog ticks.

And he will enjoy working for you,

But usually the next question is “how do I tell him what I want?”

And my answer is; break it down into small chunks and succeed at those first then start putting it all together, and once you have mastered that, you will be able to move on to harder training techniques including varied reinforcement schedules.

I often get asked “why would you teach a dog a trick if it has no practical value?”

And my reply is; personally they always have a practical value, you are building up the dogs tool box from which he will be able to learn new things quicker and also he will be able to understand what you want from him better. And lets face it, dog love to please and WANT to earn that reward

A few words on Positive Reinforcement Training

By: Sarah Kalnajs CPDT-KA / CDBC

Recently I've heard from trainers referring to themselves as "balanced" that Positive Reinforcement trainers use no form of correction or punishment, think all "positive punishment" methods are "evil" and are only about flinging cookies.

This is not at all an accurate representation.

If you're looking for a dog trainer, and you're confused by all of the controversy, hopefully this short piece will help you.

Positive Reinforcement Trainers / Dog Friendly Dog Trainers / Clicker Trainers / Science Based Trainers -

Those are a few of the phrases commonly used to describe the group of trainers who promote dog training through the use of a thorough understanding of the science of learning theory. They use both classical and operant conditioning techniques to train dogs and while food is used in training, when done properly, reinforcement training is about just that - REINFORCEMENT, and not, as some would put forth BRIBERY.

Keep in mind that POSITIVE DOES NOT EQUAL PERMISSIVE (thanks Susan Garrett) and the trainers in this category DO IN FACT use punishers in training, including some positive punishers. The distinction is that their preference in training is whenever possible to use Positive Reinforcement and Negative Punishment (the removal of something the dog wants in order to decrease the frequency of a behaviour) and when necessary use the tools of Positive Punishment (the addition of something unpleasant to the dog that will reduce the frequency of a behaviour) and Negative Reinforcement.

Positive trainers fully understand that there must be consequences in learning but see no need for those consequences to be harsh physical punishers in order to have a wonderfully trained and well mannered family (or performance) pet. While they may sometimes opt to use Positive Punishment as a tool, their choice of punisher would be perhaps clapping their hands and making a noise or moving just a bit into the dog's space.

My personal rule is this: If you wouldn't do it to a pre-verbal child, then please don't do it to your dog. Why? Because your dog doesn't have the cognitive capability of understanding what you are doing any more than your pre-verbal child would understand that his drawing on the kitchen wall produced a sound spanking.

I am a crossover trainer. This means that many years ago (goodness how time flies), I used the metal collars, holding a dog on the ground, forcing them to "face their fears" etc.

Was I able to train dogs that way? Yes... BUT - The dogs didn't get excited about training and many became fearful of the collar, the leash, the car, dog class (the list goes on and on). You CAN train a dog through force and intimidation but mostly you are training them what NOT to do with a good dose of "be afraid of the person on the other end of the leash".

It is true that some dogs are much more sensitive to the use of the quite harsh physical methods than others, but the point I learned...the reason I switched training methods and did not look back?

WHY TAKE A CHANCE WITH A DOG IF YOU DON'T HAVE TO?

In other words, if you can get a wonderfully trained and well behaved dog using positive reinforcement and negative punishment methods, why on earth would you want to use a technique that at best the dog wouldn't exactly love and at worst could create more problems than you started with?

Reinforcement trainers avoid the use of metal training collars, shock collars and physical manipulation methods (alpha rolls, scruff shakes and the like) that have been shown in an impressive quantity of scientific research and literature to have no merit in dog training. (See David Mech, take a glance through "Coercion and It's Fallout" by Murray Sidman or Google Scholar search - studies of the use of shock collars on dogs - to learn more about this).

To state it plainly, both experience and science have shown us that it is erroneous to think that by rolling a dog over on their back we are "showing them we are dominant" and they will then change their behaviour. It simply isn't true.

There is a very large difference between an offered behaviour and a FORCED behaviour. One can not force an emotional state on another mammal by placing them in a physical position. Clients who come to my office having done this to their dog report the same things:

1. THEIR DOG BECAME MORE AROUSED AND MORE AGGRESSIVE in response

or

2. THEIR DOG BECAME VERY FRIGHTENED of them and shut down.

What didn't happen as a result? LEARNING! (At least not what the handler INTENDED the dog to learn.)

Is it possible that an experienced trainer using those methods might get different results than those clients arriving at my office in droves by nature of having better timing or knowing when to back off by having a good understanding of canine body language? Of course. But that's the point. If the tool you use to train has the capacity to do harm in the hands of the non-expert, then it should not ever be advocated for use by the non-expert!

People should NOT be able to walk into a pet store and walk out with a remote controlled shock collar to place on their dog's neck shocking the animal each time they "misbehave". Many times the damage of this type of, hmmm, I can't even call it training....so INTERACTION then, is so severe that the dog must be euthanized. Also, we need to call it what it is. It is a collar that uses an electric shock as an aversive to the dog. It bothers me greatly that some put "gentler" names on these devices calling them "e sitm" or even "training collars". I've never had to disguise the term "liver treat" after all!

A final comment on the shock collar, anticipating the typical response by it's advocates, is the following...

"Well the dog is only shocked once or twice and then it's ONLY a beep".

Remember Pavlov's dog everyone? The dog that began salivating at the sound of the bell since it came to predict food? That is an example of classical conditioning and it is exactly what happens with the shock and the beep.

To Pavlov's dog, the bell BECAME the food in the dog's mind. The bell produced the same physiological reaction in the dog as the food. In the use of shock collars and shock fences, the BEEP becomes the SHOCK. The dog experiences the same physiological reaction to the beep as they did to the shock. They become one and the same and THAT IS WHY IT WORKS! (That is, until the dog is sufficiently motivated to break through to follow a deer or rabbit and then too fearful to return as they'd have to endure the shock to enter back in to their own yard.)

For those that say the shock isn't painful? Look, if it wasn't painful, it wouldn't work. Is it the most painful thing ever experienced? No. But how many of you would be willing to put it on a three year old and try it out? Enough said.

Am I biased towards this type of training? Absolutely! Proudly so! Am I passionate about this subject? Certainly! Do I hope that others will take time to learn about these issues and cross over as I did? I very much do.

At the same time, I believe firmly that everyone who works with dogs, LOVES DOGS. I don't think any trainer of any method is clasping their hands thinking...."hmmm, how can I hurt a dog next". All I'm saying now, all I've ever said is this:

If there is a way to train your dog JUST AS WELL IF NOT BETTER and without the risk of any fear, without physical discomfort and without the potential of fallout (such as the development of behaviour problems from training)...

WHY WOULDN'T YOU WANT TO DO THAT?

It bears repeating... if you can get a wonderfully trained and well behaved dog using positive reinforcement and negative punishment methods, why on earth would you want to use a technique that at best the dog wouldn't exactly love and at worst could create more problems than you started with?

When training your dog to do a certain behaviour the most important thing to keep in mind is that you are TEACHING the dog the behaviour not just showing the dog the behaviour. Dogs and humans alike learn better from trial and error rather than from just being shown what to do. Think about teaching your child to tie his shoe laces: you could show him every morning, but because his own muscle memory is not there he will still make an error when tying his shoe laces. Let him hold the laces in his fingers, then get him used to manipulating the lace and folding it over, let him bring the two hands together and get the two hands working together, and let him actually tie the bow, and if he makes a mistake undo the mess (go back a step) and start from there.

So when teaching your dog a behaviour please, for the sake of dog please TEACH the behaviour.

Repetition

Dog training requires a load of repetition, especially when the dog is moving through the proofing stage. Don’t just assume that the dog will be able to apply the knowledge to a new place, make rewards easy to gain to start the session of then continue with your regular expectations.

Consistency

Consistency or the lack there of, I believe, is the root of all evil when it comes to dog training.  We as humans are often inconsistent, we may be consistently inconsistent or work on a variable consistency; meaning depending on certain variables we are consistent.  Dogs don’t understand inconsistency they need black and white, right and wrong especially when they are learning.

There needs to be consistency from yourself (the trainer), the family (household) and with strangers.

Your dog does not understand the differences in these situations he lives for the moment he gets to do what he wants or what comes naturally for him; jumping up on you, laying on the comfortable sofa, and barking.  He does not understand the variable or contingent to the situation, he only remembers he gets to do it sometimes, and that keeps him consistently trying.  If 9 out of 10 times you keep him out of the bed but on that 10th time you relent, it is that moment of success and enjoyment that he remembers and will make subsequent attempts worse!

You need to pick a plan and an ideal that you as a family.  Sit down and come up with consistent commands that mean the same thing to everyone and that everyone will utilize. Here are some examples that often confuse the dog “down” and “lay down”; “down” and “off”; “sit down” and “sit”; “come” and “get over here” pick one command and everybody stick to it, write the commands out and stick it to the fridge so that everybody including yourself remembers what command and what the command means. Decide whether or not you will allow your dog on the furniture, and what behaviours you will reward and what behaviours you intend to change and come up with a plan for how you will install the changes as a family.  Explain to everyone in the family how inconsistency hurts your dog’s ability to please everyone and therefore leads to him getting in trouble.

Dogs recognize very quickly when we don’t want to exert the time and effort needed to work on their training and their behaviour. Don’t let them have the upper hand.

The key to dog training is to be consistent, especially in the learning stages, with your dog.  Your dog cannot reason or understand the minute differences.  In order to set your dog up for success, you must make sure that you remain consistent, always.  Make a plan and stick to it, make sure everyone in the household listens and accepts responsibility for training and working with your dog.  And, when you have company or there are distractions let them know that you must devote some time to your furry friend to be consistent so he learns to obey and becomes a good family pet.

Inconsistency is unfair.  One minute your dog gets away with or is rewarded for a bad behaviour and the next minute he is chastised and/or punished for the same act.  This type of environment makes it hard, if not impossible to learn.  You must be firm but gentle; have fun and be CONSISTENT.

Think of all the different types of products there are currently on the market to “correct” your dogs behaviour.

The various forms of head halters,

Harnesses,

Choke, Slip, Prong collars,

Anti barking collars (Electric, Citronella, etc),

Electric collars of all descriptions,

Even “wacky” sticks (rolled up news paper)

– Almost magically, they stop the undesired behaviour, but have you ever stopped to think what they are actually doing? These products are just a quick fix, they stop the behaviour in a way which is usually uncomfortable to the dog. For this example I will use the head halter:

How does the head halter teach the dog?

-          By negative reinforcement.

-          They usually break or interrupt behaviour. Not teaching the dog the behaviour that you are wanting (unless used properly*)

-           Either by closing the dog's mouth, or turning the dog's head away. This can be very uncomfortable for the dog and make the behaviour worse. You try going on your most much-loved walk around the streets with your mouth closed and not being able to look at things that you want to.

So where is the training in that?

-          There is no real training in the use of these products as they seem to fix the problem instantly, but  the dog doesn’t actually learn what you want from him.

-          The dog learns that his, previous, best time in the day has now turned into something to avoided; he doesn’t want to put his nose into the head halter, so he is forced. He doesn’t like the pressure on his nose, so he tries to rub it off on the ground, then he is pulled up from the ground, he doesn’t like the upward force so he pulls backward or doesn’t move at all.

So remind me where is the training in that?

If you seriously need the use of one of these “aids” think very carefully before you put it onto the dog. As these are TRAINING aids, so please use them as such.

-          Have you tried everything you can using positive methods to teach the dog the behaviour you are after?

-          Is it a safety issue?

If a head halter has become the only option remember:

-          You need to teach the dog to accept the halter before you put any pressure on it, I do this with a clicker, and I get the dog to willingly offer the behaviour of putting his nose into the halter by himself when I am holding it up. (Remember with the clicker you want to reward successful approximations towards the end goal rather than just asking for the end behaviour, therefore I want him to be completely happy with offering me his nose into the halter before I move onto the next stage.)

-          Then I let the dog move about the house with it on, always supervised.

-          After that I put a light lead with a light clip onto the halter, and reward for him accepting that.

-          Next I may ask him to walk forward a pace, with no pressure on his nose. (On his own accord) rewarding him for his offered behaviour.

-          Still in the house – I would ask him to walk beside me.

-          Then outside, in the yard – I would ask the same thing. If he was not progressing I would go back a couple of stages until he became ok with what I was asking of him.

-          Then we would exit the property and go for a walk, but not on the same walk as the previous, undesired behaviour occurred as we want to teach him from fresh rather trying to break two habits in one.

Remember to always reward for successful approximations towards the final goal, but don’t let yourself go backward, unless you have made the decision to. Be an active trainer, work with your dog, no one way will work for all dogs, this is just a rough guide to how I train accepting the head halter.

The availability of these products to the domestic market has just made dog training seem easier without actually having to put the work in. These products should be a specialty item and used under the instruction of a professional, rather than “off the shelf” solutions.

*Don’t get me wrong I understand the use of products on dogs when used in the correct manner for training purposes, but not as an everyday solution.

When I was training my pup I was walking around with a head halter and collar at the same time, with a lead on each.