Doorways are exciting places for dogs—who knows what is waiting on the other side! As a result, many dogs get overly excited and rush the door, creating a danger for themselves as well as for whomever is entering. Door rushing can be a challenge to manage, especially if you have multiple dogs and your door is constantly revolving. Fortunately, there are simple ways to prevent door-rushing behavior.
Walking with your dog can be a very rewarding experience for both you and your dog. It is also a great way to strengthen your bond. How do you teach your dog to walk with you? Like teaching any new behavior, the path to happy dog walks is paved with many successive approximations (tiny steps)!
Many dogs are afraid of getting into a car. This common fear occurs for many different reasons. Some dogs have had no experience riding in a car or associate car rides with unpleasant events (such as trips to the vet). Other dogs may not mind car rides but may be intimidated by the height of the jump required to get into the car. Fortunately, you can counter these fears by making getting into a car fun and rewarding—with targeting!
Does your dog listen to you when you are at home but ignore you at the park? That’s because training indoors with minimal distraction is very different from training outdoors where you are competing with a myriad of scents, sounds, and other environmental distractions. Before you take your dog out into distracting environments like the park, it’s best to practice training in a quiet, safe outdoor space.
Building strong foundation behaviors is an investment that will demonstrate value throughout your dog’s training. For example, targeting is an essential foundation behavior that can be used to teach many useful and complex behaviors, such as guiding an animal to a particular place (into a kennel or onto a scale) or around objects—a foundation for many dog sports.
Being out and about with your dog is one of life’s greatest joys, but only if you have a dog that can behave well in public. Maybe you’ve already experienced the horror and embarrassment of your dog jumping up on a passing stranger as you struggle to gain control!
If you have a dog, you have probably heard of clicker training. But what exactly is it? Is clicker training right for you and your dog?
If your dog is sensitive to people or dogs, it can make everyday activities like walks, vet visits, and group classes stressful for both of you. However, when your dog is engaged with you instead of the nearby trigger, you can sing in the rain!
Does your dog go berserk when you come home? Do you wish your dog would greet you calmly rather than barking or jumping on you? Having your dog greet you (and your visitors) politely is a worthwhile behavior to train—and it’s easy!
In Teach Your Dog to “Leave It,” Karen Pryor Academy (KPA) faculty member Juliana Willems demonstrated the first step to teaching the “leave it” behavior: rewarding eye contact. In Part 2 of this series, KPA CTP Imogen Poropat works with her client and her client’s dog, Lou, to demonstrate how to use this skill in a real-world setting.
