Dogs are a joy to have around you, underfoot and at your heels, but sometimes even the best-trained dog just needs some crate time, for their sake as well as yours.To ensure quality crate time, make the dogs’ crate (or crates) special. They go in when you say, and how you say, and do not come out until you say! Train your dog to love their crate. I give my dog a special bone that is only for crate-time. No matter which crate she’s in, she gets her treat-bone. She has the fastest ‘kennel-up’ around, and in the past, when she’s escaped, hollering “Nova! Kennel up!” has, sadly, worked far, far better than “Nova, COME!” I’ve worked to get both my dogs used to the popup kennels as well, so I don’t have to lug a really heavy folding crate with me.
-
20Dec
Tags: dog training
-
11Oct
Q. My dog doesn’t come when I’m leaving for the day! I let the dog out before breakfast (we live on 100 acres, she can go out off leash) and when I go out to call her in, she takes off! Sometimes I have to go to work and leave her out all day, and that worries me sick! Any ideas how I can get her to come back? She’s not chasing anything, she’s just running away for the fun of it.A. Oh dear! There are many ways to combat a runaway dog, and the simplest one is to invest in a cable, kennel, or really long line. Don’t give your dog opportunity to run!
While that will solve the problem, that won’t deal with the issue of your dog viewing ‘come’ as ‘run and play’! ‘Come’ may need to be replaced with another word, such as ‘here’ or ‘c’mon in!’, or a whistle,(Famously, getyerbutthome has worked with a certain dog of mine…), and retrained.
Don’t let your dog fail at all ever with their recall. Start from the basics again, six foot leash, treats and all! Graduate to a longer leash and continue to retrain. Now is a great time to have a partner! Let the dog drag the leash, and call the dog back and forth, giving plenty of treats and love.
In case of failure (which you shouldn’t allow) or escape, here are some tricks to lure your dog home.
- Go back inside.
- Sit down and turn around, back to your dog.
- Pretend there is something OH SO AWESOME! In the grass.
- Scream bloody murder (Please note this does not work at all ever on certain dogs, while it works like a charm on others.)
- If your dog is ball-minded, throw a ball and have them fetch.
- If your dog is a travel lover, open your car and say let’s go!
- Rattle the food bowl.
Never, ever, ever, scold your dog when they have returned to you! They were playing. They thought it was fun! The only way to win with your dog is to make coming to you more fun than running away.
Tags: dog safety & health, dog training
-
29Sep
It’s all in what you call your dog- studies show that if you name your dog ‘fang’ or ‘Killer’ they’ll act like it! So, think carefully when naming your new agility buddy.For instance, don’t do what I did! I have three pets; Quick, Impulse, and Nova. Quick is what his name says- Quick to learn, move, and obey. Impulse is a chained windstorm with no control. Nova means literally ‘no go’. Guess what? She doesn’t go! She’s a wonderful and sweet dog, and I love her but she can occasionally stick in the mud. The other moral in this story is don’t name a dog with ‘no’ in the name. They’ll think ‘no’ IS their name, and ignore it. Nova thinks her name is Nova-no.
Think of a name you can shout and not sound stupid, something you can shout and not mix up, not something that can be misheard to something else and be embarrassing. Don’t name the dog something that can be mistaken for a command (which means ‘Rum’ might not be the best name ever, even though it’s a wonderful name otherwise), and something you like and fits your dog.
Dogs deserve unique names that fit them- and be careful that you don’t choose a name that they’ll learn to fit. What’s your dogs name? Why?
Tags: agility beginners, dog training
-
07Sep
With the kids going back to school, it’s quieter around the house. My dogs are a little worn out from a long summer running in the sun, but now is not the time to rest on our laurels!You’ve worked all summer on skills- what have you worked on? How can you improve on it? Was there something you neglected in favor of new skills? How are the perfect weave entries coming? (Quick’s ‘wait’ is no longer reliable. Shame on me!)
Take five minutes a day (I work with Quick from 7:05 to 7:10, and Nova from 4:10 to 4:15), and work on that one skill or trick for a week. Then check back in and let us all know how you’ve improved, and what you’ve been working on!
Quick is going to be working on nose touches. Nova’s going to be learning a new trick!
Tags: agility training, dog training
-
17Aug
You have two hands- remember you have two sides!Work your dog off both sides at every level of training. That way in a trial situation it will not be startling to your dog when you switch sides. Practice walking at your side on and off leash from both sides. Personally I have found that ‘heel’ for left and ‘side’ for right work beautifully for my dogs. I also tilt my head to where I want them to be as an additional cue. From there, work your way up to sending over jumps and through tunnels from both sides. After you have that down pat, try send aheads from either side! Soon you’ll have an ambidextrous dog!
Tags: agility training, dog training
Recent Comments