The best time to start training your dog is right from the beginning. There is no need to wait a certain amount of time before you introduce your new dog/pup to obedience training. Of course, with puppies, because of short attention spans, it's best to keep training simple, quick and fun. Adult dogs are able to work longer, but when starting with a new adult dog it is best to do the same as the above.
We start off teaching commands by luring and with positive reinforcement Sometimes we also utilize placement techniques for those dogs who are not interested in the lure.
Below is a video of a pup in the initial stages of training.
So have some fun training your new dog/pup - and remember to keep it fun!
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Monday, April 2, 2012
New Group Dog Obedience Classes Starting!
Our next group session of Smart Dogs Basic in Milton will be starting on April 18th from 7:15-8:15pm. Session runs for 7 weeks and cost is $180.00. ONLY THREE SPOTS LEFT!
We help you train your dog in all of the basics; sit, down, stand, stay, recall, walk nice, leave it.
The best thing that you can do for your dog is train him/her. It builds a bond with dog and owner, and allows you, the owner, to gain and maintain control, which is extremely important for a happy relationship with your dog.
Contact us today to sign up or visit the website for details dogtraining101@hotmail.com
We help you train your dog in all of the basics; sit, down, stand, stay, recall, walk nice, leave it.
The best thing that you can do for your dog is train him/her. It builds a bond with dog and owner, and allows you, the owner, to gain and maintain control, which is extremely important for a happy relationship with your dog.
Contact us today to sign up or visit the website for details dogtraining101@hotmail.com
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Drives ... and what to do with them - Dog Training in Milton Ontario
Most dogs have them, a few lack them, but you might as well take advantage of them.
We're not talking Sunday morning outtings in the car with the family, rather, the drives that motivates your dog to work.
Play drive, prey drive, pack drive, food drive etc. are all extremely useful tools to help you train your dog. Some dogs have higher, more intense drives than others, that can be, for the average owner, a bit difficult to control. Your dogs drives are what you can utilize to help them in their training.
If you have a dog that's "nuts for balls or toys", then you might want to think about utilizing that as a reward for a job well done, rather than a cookie or a pat. That being said, it is key first to work on gaining control of these drives before entering them into your training routine, especially for those dogs with intense toy/prey drives (see pictures in post for examples of intense toy drives).
Tug toys are an excellent tool for training dogs with prey/toy/play drives. First thing is first, if you are utilizing a toy as a reward, you need to first teach a "give" or an "out" so that you can maintain control during the reward and training.The easiest way to teach an "out/give" is to trade up. As you say the command, trade the dog for something else that's really high value. If you work through this properly, you'll end up with a dog that enjoys giving you things, rather than thinks your taking the fun away.
Once you've got the "give" down pat, you can add in a tug as a reward for a job well done. Tugs are great because you maintain a hold on them, that way the dog never takes off to go play (ie. when using a ball or another such toss/fetch toy), rather he stays with you to play the game, offering you more control.
If you've got a highly food motivated dog, take advantage of that by utilizing treat rewards when teaching. In the beginning stages of training (while teaching), dogs should be rewarded fairly frequently. Once you see your dog start to understand what you are asking, you can start to remove the reward for every single instance of obedience and only reward the really good performances. Keep 'em guessing though. It's great to intermitently reward because it builds up the drives even more, and keeps the dog on his toes because he never knows when that reward is coming.
If you have one of those dogs that just enjoys being with you and having attention paid to him (pack drive), you can utilize this in training by rewarding with praise and affection. Not all dogs are motivated by treats and toys, and you need to learn what works for them in order to help the dog learn.
So, experiment with your dog to find out what motivates him or her and take advantage of that while training.
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Give Your Dog the Whole Picture - Dog Trainer in Milton
And there is a reason for this. Dogs learn, as do people, from both positive and negative consequences. If you are only providing feedback from one of the above, you are not providing the student, in this case, the dog, with the full picture.
Of course, we take steps to teach the dogs in a positive manner before corrections are added, but at the point when we are sure the dog understands what we are asking, corrections are added for not responding properly to a command. This ensures that you have a dog that knows you mean what you say. Dogs know when you don't mean it - and they will work that to their advantage.
Remember when training your own dog to give them the full picture, rather than a partial snap shot, and you will end up with a more reliable, well behaved companion.
For more in depth detail on how we train, why not check out one of our classes and see the results for yourself.
Monday, March 26, 2012
Start Off Small - Dog Training in Milton Ontario
Baby steps for lazy bullies, but this one is a natural retirever. Natural retirevers make lovely dogs to train, but we don't want to over-do it with a young pup. First step, basic obedeince, next step, let's see what she can do (fingers crossed for agility, but she's a pretty heavy girl), for now, baby steps for puppies.
Friday, March 23, 2012
Got the Agility Bug? Dog Training in Milton
We are now offering some equipment for sale for those who would like to practice at home. Affordable agility equipment to suit small spaces and backyards. Please see the link below to check out what we have to offer our clients:
http://www.smartdogsk9.com/the-store.html
Of course, we also offer our Smart Dogs Fun Agility Class, so that you and your canine pal can learn and become confortable with the sport of dog agility. It's a course for beginners - for fun and for those looking more seriously into the sport. New courses starting soon!!
If you are interested in purchasing equipment or want to sign up for our next Fun Agility Session, please contact dogtraining101@hotmail.com or visit the website for more details www.smartdogsk9.com
Thursday, March 15, 2012
How to Fit a Prong Collar - Dog Training in Milton
I will start off by saying that a prong collar is an excellent training tool if used and fitted correctly. Any tool, no matter what the type, can be harmful to your dog if not utilized correctly. If you are unsure how to use a training tool, please seek the advice of a professional before "experimenting" on your dog.
Prong collars are an often misunderstood training tool, but are one of the best out there to help gain control back on your dog, especially on walks. Over all, they are a safer and more effective alternative to choke chains, head halters and no-pull harnesses when used correctly. Prong collars are training collars ONLY and are NEVER to be left on a dog unattended.
Prong collars DO NOT slip over your dogs head like a martingale collar. Slipping a prong over your dogs head can severly damage an eye if the dog decides to buck while you manuver the collar. Slipping a prong collar over your dogs head also means the collar is not fitted correctly.
A prong collar should not be worn like a necklace. In other words, the prong collar should not be hanging around your dogs shoulder while in use. This is liable to cause damage to your dog wearing it this way and it will not work the way it is meant to. The prong should fit snuggly at the top of the neck, just below the jaw of your dog. You will find that some dogs aren't quite built to have the collar riding right up under the jaw, and my recommendation is, if you have to struggle to put the collar on and you feel it's too tight, add an extra prong. This may be the case in dogs with a lot of extra skin or a lot of extra fur. Just ensure that it isn't too loose and flopping around or riding down on the neck. It should stay in place when fit correctly, even if you have to add an extra prong for an inbetween size dog.
Prong collars have removeable pieces (prongs). In order to put on and remove the collar, the prongs are squeezed at the top (the bend in the prongs) and compressed so that they slip out from the loops in the prong to which they are attached. Once appart, you simply place the collar around the dogs neck, and reattached the prongs together (once again, squeeze where the bend is, and insert the prong into the other on the collar). Adding and removing links is done in the same way.
Don't get a collar that is too large for your dog. Prongs come in small, medium and large with removeable links. It's always better to err on the side of small for your dog, rather than going with one that is too big and cumbersome. You can always buy extra links if the length is not the correct size.
The below article from the Leerburg Website www.leerburg.com, is an excellent illustrative piece on how to fit and properly use the prong collar.
If you have any questions about this, or any other tool, please feel free to contact us and we would be happy to speak to you about training tools for your dog - dogtraining101@hotmail.com.
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