Many dogs tremble at the vet. While you and your dog may have practiced exams at home, the sights, sounds, and scents at the veterinary clinic often evoke anxiety in even the most well-prepared dogs. What do you do when you find your dog trembling underneath your chair in the waiting area? Try training!
Does your puppy try to run away when you reach for her harness? Hands reaching toward a harness often signifies to puppies that playtime is over. However, it is very important for puppies to feel comfortable when their harnesses are grabbed.
Repetition is a powerful key to learning. Children learn new skills by repeating a behavior or piece of a behavior again and again until the skill is committed to memory and becomes a habit (like practicing piano). The very same principle works for dog training classes. By repeating the same skill or exercise enough times, the handler becomes better at delivering cues and the dog understands more quickly what the desired behavior should be. However, if learning becomes too repetitive, it can become boring (once again, like practicing piano!). So how do you use repetition in dog training classes without boring your learners? By making it fun!
Teaching an old dog a new trick is not only possible, it’s beneficial! Training older dogs helps keep them in good shape both physically and mentally. Think of training as Sudoku for dogs! Learning new behaviors is also enriching and fun for you and your dog. It is a great way to spend time together and strengthen your bond.
Does the sound of the doorbell send your dog into a frenzy? It is natural for dogs to become overly excited when guests arrive. However, you can control the chaos by teaching your dog to be calm when the doorbell rings. The first step in teaching polite door greetings is to teach a few alternate behaviors that you want your dog to do when he hears the arrival sound. These should be simple behaviors that your dog knows well such as place, come, touch, get a toy, and go outside.
Teaching dog training classes is not easy. Not only do you need to be a skilled trainer, but you must also keep a group of dogs and people focused and motivated. How do you garner broad smiles and wagging tails? By making learning fun! Try incorporating games in your classes to help your learners retain what they learn and become enthusiastic students.
When you ask your dog for a sit or down, does he pop up immediately? For many dogs, behaviors that require them to hold a position for a longer length of time can be challenging. So how do you add duration?
Lost your keys? Maybe your dog can help! Teaching your dog to identify and retrieve specific objects, like your keys, is not only helpful but can enhance your dog’s problem-solving abilities. Rather than simply learning to retrieve an object, the dog learns to distinguish a specific object from other objects.
Can you teach your dog to offer two opposite behaviors? How… and why?
Teaching paired, opposite behaviors accelerates the learning process by helping the dog understand a behavior in context. It also teaches the dog a concept that can be applied to future learning.
Introducing your dog to different surfaces is essential for dog-sport training. Dogs that compete in dog sports must have the confidence and stamina to tackle novel, unstable surfaces and surfaces with different textures and of different heights.
