Zen Dog Training Blog

Shunishment.

2012-02-09T10:00:00.002-05:00

Meet Omar!

He's a super cute Shepard mix that has successfully completed our Zen Dog Puppy Classes. During our in-home visit with Omar and his family we discovered that Omar's owner had retained most of the material from puppy class and possessed a good understanding of those techniques. Omar's extreme curtness however, was particularly distracting and made it rather easy for Omar to regress back to old habits.

A brief review of motivators and a reminder about timing, helped pave the road to more advanced methods of training for Omar and his family. First off, Omar needed to learn how to become independent of constant attention and Omar's owner needed to practice averting her adoring gaze when his behavior became very demanding. When ignored, Omar would gently mouth or nudge his owner for attention. In these situations it's best to remove all forms of attention -- this includes dirty looks and scolding! Don't give in until your dog gives up. Your dog will come to understand the connection between his behavior and your lack of reaction.

If your dog is like Omar and is used to getting your attention when being demanding, then he may resort to more extreme behavior like mouthing. Even gentle mouthing cannot be ignored, so we taught Omar's owner how to play Out of the Pack. This is a way for Omar's owner to indicate that his behavior is unacceptable and that she won't tolerate it. Remember, when you suddenly change the rules, your dog will be confused at first and may act out of frustration. Be Patient and consistent; pretty soon you'll see the light bulb go on!

For more information on Shunishment and Zen Dog Games, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Recalcitrant Waiter.

2012-01-26T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Ollie!

Sturdy and dapper are this yellow Lab's middle names. Ollie is just about a year old, which is entirely to old to be climbing on top of the dinning room table! But that's exactly what he did at Grandma's house. He also thinks the trash can is more like a treasure chest full of delectable treats just for him. Why wouldn't he think that? After all it is at his level and teeming with discarded food. His owners have yet to address these issues because, well, it happens when they are not at home.

Dogs are binary creatures, so in their world things either get better or worse. In order for them to learn that the trash can is not a buffet, there has to be a consequence attached to the act... which is impossible if you are not at home! Ollie was in the habit of doing whatever he wanted when no one was around.

As you can imagine this kind of behavior led to a prompt visit from Zen Dog. One of the ways we got Ollie to understand that his owners were in charge was to insist that he do thing their way. He can't simply help himself to whatever he wants whenever he wants! A good way to show your dog that compliance reaps great benefits is to practice eliciting appropriate behavior, such as laying down calmly while you partially fill his food bowl, in order to receive the reward. This is what we like to call Recalcitrant Waiter. At feeding time you can make it clear that helping yourself and being pushy just won't fly with you. Ollie had to learn that food came from his owners when he was being polite.

For more information on techniques like Recalcitrant Waiter, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Addressing Demanding Behaviors.

2012-01-26T10:00:00.000-05:00

Meet Simon!

This a tall and dapper young shepherd mix was in several different homes before we had the pleasure of meeting him. Needless to say Simon didn't really know whether he was coming or going. Once we entered the courtyard at his home, we were greeted by loud and macho barks. Once inside it was abundantly clear that Simon was mainly interested in being the center of attention. His persistence almost always surpassed that of his new owners. Simon's biggest challenge, however, was his aggressive behavior towards other dogs.

Right off the bat we introduced a tool called the drag line. A drag line is simple a leash that you use indoors to. The drag line would help manage Simon's habit of guarding the front door and prevent any possible incidents from occurring. Simon also had a tendency of harassing everyone in the room for attention with such behaviors as mouthing and pawing. As a large and still growing dog, this behavior could pose a serious problem down the road. Making sure that Simon was not dictating his owner's behavior was accomplished by implementing a Nothing For Free policy. Simon would have to learn to earn peoples attention by exhibiting acceptable behavior.

Simon's dog aggression is an all together different issue and will take time to recondition. For help with dog on dog aggression or information on techniques like Nothing for Free visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Implementing an Ask Strategy.

2012-01-24T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Sammy!

This terrier cross is a new and young addition to the household, where he lives with Bailey the older cock-a-poo and Ziggy the chow mix. All three dogs have very different needs and personalities, so the big challenge for Sammy's owners is controlling their dogs' environment.

Sammy had been showing extremely reactive behavior towards people when they try to physically handle him. A routine visit to the vet turned into a very stressful episode for poor Sammy. Sammy's owners had the good sense to understand that he needed some help adjusting to their busy household.

Sammy's reaction to the vet was clearly fear based and so playing games like the Name Game with him was perfect to help build a bound between him and his owners as well as accustoming him to being physically handled. The Name Game is an exercise in which you help build a positive association to when your dogs name is being called. You can also use this game as an Ask Strategy, to elicit a different behavior when your dog is showing signs of apprehension. We also talked about creating confinement areas for the dogs to help control and manage situations like when visitors enter the house and when the dogs needed to be separated from one another.

For help with your multi-dog household, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

My Walk!

2012-01-19T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Gunner!

Picture a massive ninety pound ball of energy and affection, then put it on stilts... now you have Gunner. This exceptionally handsome Pitbull/Great Dane cross was the one calling the shots in his household. Now think about this: Gunner's owner is a lovely woman who is absolutely no match for his strength.

The fact that Gunner is part Pitbull unfortunately means that he and his owner may fall victim to discrimination from ignorant and fearful people. Because of this Gunner will be expected to uphold a greater level of obedience and manners. To add to the dynamic of his situation, Gunner's owner has brothers that like to rough-house with him. Fortunately Gunner's owner was keen to recognize that changes needed to be made before Gunner's conduct got out of hand.

It was plain to us trainers that most of Gunner's delinquencies were predominantly juvenile responses. He would, with proper adjustments, grow out of these behaviors. The first suggestion was to modify the rough-housing to structured games of Tug of War. By enacting specific rules and maintain consistency, Gunner's relatives could still play with him but without the effect of riling him up. Another solution that helped Gunner's owner gain more control during walks was the Red Light Green Light exercise. This taught Gunner that he was not in-charge and in fact he would have to look to his owner for approval.

For more information on Zen Dog games like Tug of War and Red Light, Green Light visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Setting up Your Puppies Confinement Area.

2012-01-19T10:00:00.000-05:00

Meet Izzy!

This eight-week-old Golden Retriever puppy will melt your heart!

Izzy's owner was mindful in doing some research about Goldens and even purchased a few highly recommended books prior to our visit. All in all Izzy was making good progress; her owner just wanted to be certain that he was making the right decisions in regards to her training and that they both were on the right track.

Although Izzy was doing quite well she still had an occasional accident in the house and one of the first things that we noticed was that there was no confinement area set up for her. It is very common to give a new puppy too much freedom right away. Most people only confine a dog after they have an accident and then confinement becomes punishment. Confinement areas also teaches your puppy that she doesn't need to be the center of attention all the time, this in turn preps your pup for being home alone.

Training your puppy to be in a confinement area has a multitude of values. Pick an area in the house such as the kitchen or mud room and make the area comfortable with a bed, blanket and toys. Then start out with short training time like 2-5 minutes at a time while you are in a different part of the house. Who doesn't want to spend every minute with a brand-new, super-cute puppy? Still, at some point you'll need to prepare her for your normal routine. You want your pup to be relaxed and settled when alone. Remember: dogs are social animals and being by themselves doesn’t come naturally to them. Using a confinement area will help ease your puppy into your everyday life and teach her the value of a little "me time." Creating a space for your puppy can be made easy with a visit from a Zen Dog Trainer.

For more information, check out Home Alone Training and House Training at Zen Dog Training Online.

Addressing Problematic Behaviors -- Barking.

2012-01-17T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Kiley!

Picture a classic black lab and cross it with a Dachshund. Then add playfulness and an insistence on being the center of attention an you have Kiley!

Kiley is also very sharp and has a lot of energy. Kiley's owner is a student and the Resident Assistant of her dorm. Her owner regularly visits with other students in her dorm room throughout the school year. Kiley's attention-seeking behavior can get pretty intense. She has been barking excessively at the door and even biting/mouthing visitors! Over time this behavior will get worse. Not only disruptive to other students but it is very uncomfortable for visitors who aren't familiar with dogs. Kiley's owner decided to take control of the situation before the new school year and called Zen Dog Training.

Having the right tools for the job is key. One suggestion for Kiley's owner was to install a tether in her room. A tether is a leash or cable that is attached to a safe and secure place, away from the door while you let visitors enter your home. This is a good way to ensure that your company doesn't get bombarded by an excited dog. This also helps break your dog's habit of charging the door! It's OK to let them see the front door, but by making sure Kiley has calmed down (the barking has lulled for at least 2-3 seconds) she can teach her the right was to greet company.

To learn more about how to manage a barking dog when you have guests, check out Barking at the Door at Zen Dog Training Online.

Treating for Confidence

2012-01-12T10:00:00.003-05:00

Meet Madison!

You can't quite help yourself around this adorable seven-month-old Shih Tzu puppy. Everything about her says "LOVE ME!"

Madison lives with three humans and a ten-year-old Shih Tzu sister named Lindsey. At home, Madison is a playful and curious pup, quite typical for her age but when her environment expands or changes, she becomes very shy and tentative. Madison's owners wanted to fine-tune a few behaviors but also understand how to build her confidence in new situations.

Puppies start out with pre-established behaviors that we as humans tend to forget are completely normal. Behaviors such as playbiting or or peeing in the house. It is our responsibility to teach the puppy how we would prefer them to behave. Puppies under six months easily accept and attempt new things; beyond that age your pup becomes more and more resistant to new things if not regularly socialized.

Madison's wariness when around a large group of strange people or dogs is most likely attributed to a lack of socializing. She has reservations about new things and places and in order to change that we have to provide a positive association to these new elements. Giving your pup treats at random intervals when she is confronted with unfamiliar circumstances help largely to create a positive association. We call this Treating for Confidence. Allow your pup to investigate things and people at her own pace, being particularly careful not to force things on her. Pressuring your pup to do something before she's ready to can result in making your pup even more fearful. Be calm and reassuring and your dog will learn to follow your lead.

For more information on Socialization and Treating for Confidence, please visit Zen Dog Training Online.

The Importance of Early Socialization.

2012-01-12T10:00:00.002-05:00

Meet Zeus!

This cuddly black, floppy eared and very bright Belgian Shepherd puppy was enjoying an afternoon nap under an end table when we arrived.

Zeus's owners had previous experience with Belgian Shepherds and had welcomed this little guy into their home just two weeks prior to our visit. They were very familiar with acclimating a new puppy to their home and had a good handle on house training. Zeus was very comfortable being in his crate when he needed to be, and he was comfortable with leash walking too. Everything seemed to be on the right track for Zeus but his family was taken by surprise when Zeus had a tentative interaction with the neighbors puppy.

Socialization is incredibly important -- especially before the age of six months. This is the ideal time to introduce your pup to the world around him to ensure that he's comfortable and confident as an adult dog. When meeting other dogs, use your discretion. Allow the dogs to figure out things on their own. When meeting other dogs on leash remember to move with the dogs to allow the leash to be slack. We like to call this Leash Tango. The lack of tension on the leashes, allows the dogs the sniff and play without creating a source of tension that may interfere with the socialization process.

To learn more about Leash Tango and other Socialization techniques visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Preventing Unwanted Elimination Habits.

2012-01-10T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Cassie!

Cassie is an old English sheepdog puppy. She just turned three months and is taking in all life has to offer. Her day start and ends with an amazing off lead romp through the Fells. On one hand this is great. Her owner has committed to giving Cassie the opportunity to; as I like to say "Be a Dog" but as an unintended side affect of this extremely consistent ritual, it has made the process of going the bathroom for Cassie a very exclusive event.

Cassie has become very picky about where to do her business. Because her only experience of going to the bathroom is in the privacy of a hidden bush or tree off lead in the the woods. I guess you could say she now has a bit of stage fright. Noises like cars and people talking make it far too distracting for her to concentrate on the task at hand. Being on leash inhibits her from finding a secluded location and just forget even trying to make anything happen on pavement! Although the Fells is not to far away, Cassie is technically a city dog, This kind of behavior can lead to frustrating problems in the house training department. What happens when it rains or snows, what happens when you leave your dog with someone who cannot provide daily trips to the Fells?

Exposing your puppy to all kinds of condition and situation when eliminating will help to make your pup comfortable doing their business ANYWHERE!! For a multitude of reasons, your presence is essential during this time. One is to provide reinforcements after the deed is done, (this helps to communicate to your dog what you expect) and another is to make certain that your dog did the deed. This helps you establish a an idea of what kind of schedule your pooch is on.

For more information on what to do and what not to do while House Training your puppy visit, Zen Dog Training Online.

House Training your New Puppy.

2012-01-05T10:00:00.001-05:00

Meet Prancer!

Prancer reminded me of a circus poodle aspiring for applause by leaping through a sparkeling hoop. This ecstatic apricot toy poodle is a gem! At sixteen weeks, his lust for life is admirable and his energy impressive. Prancer's owner called us to make sure that Prancer was headed in the right direction. She wanted to be able to bring Prancer to work with her but wasn't sure he was ready for the responsibility.

One thing that we noticed right away was the wee-wee pad in Prancer's kitchen. Prancer was trained by his breeder to go the bathroom on a pad inside even though his owner preferred that Prancer pee or poop outdoors. This proved to be very difficult since she worked a few days a week for a couple hours at a time.

Training a puppy to eliminate outside when he's already doing it in the house is highly confusing for the puppy. Either it is okay to go the bathroom in the house or it is not. The secret to successful housetraining is in 100% supervision. Remember, when a puppy has to go to the bathroom he will do it where ever he can get away with it! If you're unable to provide 100% supervision, then having a confinement area or a crate can help prevent accidents.

We helped Prancer's owner set up a crate in the kitchen for times when he couldn't be supervised. This freed up his owner to do things she needed to do without the stress of worrying about Prancer's comings and goings.

To learn more about Housetraining your puppy, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Kratos the Husky.

2011-09-13T12:40:00.001-04:00

Meet Kratos!

Kratos is one adorable, feisty ball of Husky energy. But like any puppy, he doesn’t know the household rules yet, and doesn’t have any way to learn unless we teach him. Puppies are naturally curious, inquisitive and pre-programmed to explore their world. Kratos is like any animal -- people included! -- if a tactic is successful, he’s likely to do it again. If he's running around, biting and exploring, and he has to go to the bathroom, he'll just go wherever he feels is a good spot. After peeing, he feels instantly better! In his little puppy brain, going to the bathroom inside makes him feel great! So why shouldn’t he do it again?

This is the point where we have to step in. Any time a puppy goes to the bathroom, he feels great! If a puppy is able to go to the bathroom whenever and wherever he wants, what’s the point of going outside to pee when there's a perfectly good rug in the bedroom? One vital part of housetraining a pup is to teach them that going to the bathroom inside does not work. And the only way to do this is to watch them like a hawk!

The goal is to be able to have 100% supervision of your pup. This means that he will be with you, in his crate, or in a puppy-proof confinement area at all times. When you are home, keep your pup with you as much as you can. Set up baby gates to keep him in the room, use a dragline to keep him nearby, or simply tether his leash to whatever you are sitting on. This way you can keep an eye on him and if you see him start to sniff around, you can whisk him outside to use the bathroom.

If you just need to get something done without your pup or if he needs a nap, just pop him in his crate. Dogs are den animals and are naturally inclined not to go to the bathroom where they sleep, so the crate makes a fantastic training tool. Also, when he’s been napping in his crate for a bit, you can guarantee that once he's awake he’s gotta go, so you can take him straight outside to do his business.

Any time a puppy is able to go to the bathroom inside, it will set back how long it takes for him to become housetrained. By managing where your pup is and keeping an eye on him 100% of the time, you can prevent any accidents from happening inside and housetraining will happen that much faster.

To learn more about Housetraining and to read our complete Housetraining eBook, check out Zen Dog Training Online.

Olive the Pit-Mix.

2011-09-09T13:55:00.000-04:00

Meet Olive!

Olive is one energetic and joyful pup. She just about wagged herself to pieces when she met us, and continued the entire time we were there. We had to ask her owners to send us a picture because she was just too excited to stay still! While she was thrilled to be with us people, when around other dogs happy, bouncing Olive unfortunately became very unsure of herself.

When Olive would see a dog from a distance, she would first get very tense. As the distance grew smaller she would continue to stare and start to bark, and if the dogs met, Olive would run straight up to the other dog. This may not seem like a big deal to us, but in doggy language, Olive was being very, very rude. If she were human, it would be similar to pushing her way through a crowd, stomping up to a stranger, and yelling in their face “HI! MY NAME IS OLIVE! WHO ARE YOU?”

That doesn’t sound like someone you’d really want to stick around and meet, does it?

While Olive learned to be more confident and proficient in dog communication, we decided to teach her and her owners how to Leash Tango. The dance is simple:

When you see another dog, walk briskly towards him while keeping your own dog relaxed with Jolly Talk. If your dog pulls ahead, stop, take a step back and turn your dog back around to face you. Once you’ve spun your partner, head briskly back towards the other dog. Repeat this as often as the leash goes tight until you reach the other dog. A brisk walk-to-jog does help, but you want to avoid your dog rudely meeting strangers, so make sure to Leash Tango once or twice.

Playing Leash Tango accomplishes many good things at once. First of all, it keeps your dog from going straight at a stranger, and teaches them more appropriate behavior. It also helps the dog you are meeting; for dogs, turning to the side and not approaching straight on is the polite way of saying, “I’m friendly and I would like to meet you!” On top of that, Leash Tango keeps your leash loose. Since the leash is a direct line of communication, a tight leash signals tension. If the leash is loose, your dog is more likely to be relaxed as well. The first step of proper play is a good greeting, so use Leash Tango to help your pup get off to a good start!

To learn more about Leash Tango, as well as how dogs communicate, check out Zen Dog Training Online!

Maggie the Bernese Mountain Dog.

2011-09-06T10:13:00.001-04:00

Meet Maggie!

Maggie is one of the nicest, most loving dogs we have ever met. So what's the problem, you ask? Sweet, friendly Maggie always needed to be the center of attention.

She didn’t just ask for her owner to pay attention -- she demanded it loudly. At home, her owner had a hard time making dinner without Maggie interrupting. Just sitting down to eat peacefully was almost impossible!

Maggie’s humans were just like most other dog owners: when the dog came over to say “Hi!” they would instantly give Maggie some attention. On top of that, Maggie learned to do something naughty so all eyes would be on her.

To help teach Maggie to be more polite we played one of our simple (but very powerful!) relationship changing games: Rewarding with Love. Our goal was to help Maggie learn that she couldn’t always get attention when she wanted, and that before she got her way, she had to do something for her owner first. Most importantly, we needed Maggie to understand that when she tried to be demanding, she would get ignored, shunned and sent "out of the pack," so to speak!

At first Maggie was confused. She tried and tried to get our attention, and was surprised that her old tricks weren't working like they used to! She got louder, and more frustrated but she was learning. When she finally settled down, Maggie got the attention she craved so much and quickly learned the rules of the game.

Playing a game like Rewarding with Love is transformational. Rather than a dog being able to get what she wants whenever she wants, we use attention and love as an important reward, not just something a dog gets all the time for free.

To learn more about Rewarding with Love and other strategies to manage demanding behaviors, check out Zen Dog Training Online.

Chewing Rocks and Mulch

2011-05-04T14:27:00.000-04:00

Video Blog Post - Cute Puppy Video

2011-03-24T15:51:00.002-04:00

Ollie the Schnauzer.

2011-02-17T10:46:00.000-05:00

Meet Ollie!

This guy is a wonderful bundle of Schnauzer energy but something his parents wanted to address was Ollie using pee-pee pads when left alone in the apartment. He had learned to use his pee pads very well, but the problem with these pads is that it's tricky to use them in the beginning of a relationship and then ask your dog to start to going to the bathroom outside. This is because dogs don’t get the idea of “sometimes." The word just isn't in their vocabulary!

By using the pee pads, Ollie had learned that it was okay to go to bathroom indoors. When left to his own devices, it's likely he’ll just go inside the house. It is possible to teach a dog to use pee-pads, but only if you want to use them for the rest of the dog's life!

If you want to train your dog to go outside, it's better to teach your puppy that going to the bathroom inside is never okay. Make sure he's supervised 100% of the time, or use a crate or gated-off confinement area to minimize mistakes. Diligently interrupt accidents and rewarding (with lots of praise and treats!!) your puppy whenever he goes outside, and he'll learn what you want to teach him.

We provide our clients with our Housetraining eBook along with our Simple Summary highlighting the important things to remember. In addition, we include a Housetraining Log so you can:

track your puppy's pee and poop "activities,"
identify your puppy's "problem times" when mistakes happen most frequently, and
share with your household whether your dog is full and needs to be taken out.

By understanding your dog's natural tendencies, communicating with everyone in the family about what needs to be done, rewarding good behavior, and, er, "eliminating" the chances that your dog can make a mistake, you can have a new puppy house-trained in less than one week!

To learn more about housetraining, crates and confinement areas, visit Zen Dog Training Online. Check out our Housetraining eBook, Simple Summary Housetraining and our Housetraining Log.

Berkeley the Spaniel Mix.

2011-02-08T10:45:00.001-05:00

Meet Berkeley!

This is one fantastic and friendly all-American mutt. Unfortunately, he's not the most confident of dogs and recently his life got turned around on him — not only did his family move to a new and strange place, but his parents are expecting a new baby!

One stressful day, Berkeley was munching on his favorite bone. When his mom came over to him, Berkeley decided he didn't want anyone to take away his bone and so he did what many stressed out, grumpy dogs do: he growled at his mom to back off!

The snarling made his mom leave Berkeley to his chewing. Berkeley growled, so he got to keep his bone on his own terms. In other words, Berkeley won! He figured out that he was able to get his way… by using drastic methods.

The incident left the family feeling a bit shaky and a bit unsure around Berkeley. Our first goal was to make sure things were safe and manageable; we recommended leaving a drag line on Berkeley or at least having one easily accessible for the next few weeks while training. Though we wanted to work with Berkeley on sharing his toys and food, our most important goal was to make sure that the family learned how to set up safe training situations.

At Zen Dog Training, we focus on understanding and communication, but we also want dogs to know that their human parents are in charge. When people speak to dogs, those dogs must listen to the rules (and should be rewarded for good behavior). For rules to stick, your dog has to always do what you say — he won't learn if sometimes he can get away with not listening to you.

For resource guarding, our solution is limiting our dogs' freedom with drag lines and tethers if they gets grumpy about having their bone taken away. This way, we can safely teach them to share. The good news about resource guarding is that it responds well to treatment. The bad news is that if it goes undiagnosed people — especially young people and children — are at risk of getting bit or injured by a dog who doesn't understand our rules.

If you want to teach a puppy to share, please check out Preventing Resource Guarding at Zen Dog Training Online. If you have an older dog who makes you feel scared or worried, call a Zen Dog Trainer right away!

Having Dog-Friendly Holidays.

2010-12-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

Another holiday season is upon us, which means days full of decorating, shopping, visiting loved ones and a whole lotta eating. (It does for me, anyway.) While we here at Zen Dog Training hope you're able to enjoy these last few days of 2010, we ask you to keep your dogs in mind as you prepare to ring in the new year.

Decorating and Spreading Holiday Cheer

If you're anything like my family, you've got lights strung up around your home and favorite ornaments hanging from your tree. Take an extra minute or two to tape down the extra light cords; by doing this, you're also taking away what may look to your dog to be a tempting — and dangerous — chew toy. After all, no one wants to spend a wintry evening in the emergency vet's waiting room while a furry companion is treated for burns or electric shock.
Similarly, make sure to move low-hanging ornaments from the bottom of your tree to a safe out-of-reach place. While you're at it, move those few strands of tinsel too — they're a choking hazard!
Believe it or not, some of the festive seasonal plants we bring into our homes in December could also bring trouble if you're not careful. Poinsettias, mistletoe, holly, ivy, amaryllis, many types of lilies and several variety of bulb plants are poisonous to our pets, or can cause digestive issues. Oh, and don't forget that Christmas tree — those needles are hard enough to clean up after the tree's dried out, so imagine what they'd be like to clean up after going through your pet's system.

Carolers, Guests and Santa's Visiting Elves

Dogs are creatures of habit, so they love to have structure in their lives. Well, we know that routine is going to pretty much fly out the window for the next few weeks. While it may take a bit more planning to do so, try to stick to the schedule you've established for your dog as much as possible.
All those people traipsing in and out with warm season's greetings may be cheery for you, but your pet may think otherwise. Try to prevent increased stress caused by increased traffic flow by finding a quiet, calming place where your dog can relax while you revel. This may be a closed-off bedroom, an out-of-the-way study, anywhere your dog can chill out.
Speaking of chill, keeping the front door shut doesn't just jack up your heating bill — it also jacks up the chances of your dog slipping out into the cold. This might be a good time of year to make sure your pet's tags are up-to-date with all of his current information.

Eating and Feasting

My dad is known for spoiling the family dog silly, especially when it comes to feeding Winston food from the table. This bad habit gets even worse around the end of the year, when we're likely to have not only more food out to gorge ourselves on, but also fattier options. Anything unhealthy for you is almost always guaranteed to be even worse for the Winstons of the world, so it's smart to start practicing moderation even before you make your new year's resolutions.

Happy holidays!

* Photo taken from Lucky Dog Animal Rescue

Woody the Daschund.

2010-12-13T11:30:00.000-05:00

Meet Woody!

….But be calm and unthreatening when you do.

Woody’s family got him at eight-months-old from a breeder who assured them that their puppy was friendly and socialized. They were told that Woody was going to be a great pet since he was already past the most difficult of the puppy months. Unfortunately that wasn't exactly the case.

It was a huge shock for Woody, to be taken from his brothers, sisters and quiet backyard and brought to a new home. There were so many new sights, sounds, and smells that confused and frightened him.

Even though our dogs are domesticated, their primary instinct is still survival. When presented with a new frightening situation, that instinct kicks in and completely takes over — dogs go into fight or flight mode. The only thing dogs in these circumstances are concerned with is either getting the heck away or making whatever frightens them go away... which usually means barking, snapping and being as frightening as possible themselves.

In Woody’s world, two men like me and Gordon coming into his home was very scary. As we stood in the entry, we felt legitimately nervous. Since Woody was beyond the point of reason, we wanted to make ourselves as unthreatening as possible so we sat down; sitting made us smaller, and by being smaller, we were a lot less scary.

At that point, we began to earn Woody's trust quickly and easily: we had a Treat Party! By giving Woody Treats for No Reason, we stopped being a threat and became a source of food. Suddenly we weren’t so scary anymore! Ten or fifteen minutes after we sat down, Woody began to sniff around our chairs and even sniffed us, looking for more food. It was a major step, but it was only the first of many Woody needs to take in order to be comfortable with his world.

By giving a dog food when he is scared, we help him associate good things with what was once a life-threatening experience. Though it may seem otherwise, doing this doesn't reward our dogs for being scared — at that point, dogs are too scared to do any training exercises. Many terrified dogs won’t even take treats once they're scared and panicked. We want to teach our dogs to connect something they're frightened by (men, loud trucks, rolling chairs, etc.) with their favorite treats. If you train slowly while your dog isn’t too freaked out, you can work to change his feelings and associations enough so, while he might still be nervous, your dog can handle things he doesn't like.

For more information on Treats for No Reason and Treat Parties, check out Zen Dog Training Online.

First Video Blog Post!

2010-12-07T13:11:00.000-05:00

Juliet the Great Pyrenees/Lab Mix

2010-11-17T12:43:00.000-05:00

Meet Juliet!

Juliet is one beautiful lady! Unfortunately she was found abandoned and severely malnourished on the side of a road. Unfortunately, while Juliet is living in a wonderful and loving home, what she learned on the road (food guarding) was a hard lesson to unlearn.

Shortly after adopting Juliet her new family discovered that she was protecting her food. This is understandably a serious problem which was compounded by having a young child in the house. If not first managed, then actively trained - one wrong move to create a very bad situation– especially if it happened when young children were visiting!

Before we got started on a training plan we checked to make sure that the environment was safe. We suggested tethers and baby gates in various locations throughout the house but especially near the dining room. If Juliet came to the dinner table trying to scrounge for food her owners could simply Ask her to go to her bed (reward her when she did), or Refocus her and physically take her to bed (tether her there) and rewarding her for "staying" by giving her a special bone/toy.

We also recommended using tethers for the food guarding training as well. By working with Juliet near the end of her tether her owners could remain safe if anything happened. Next, we suggested hand feeding Juliet, playing Taking Treats Gently, as well as, sharing bones with her (low value at first) and practicing Leave It and giving her fantastic treats when she complied – of course giving her the bone back!

We wanted Juliet to learn that she was now safe and would be cared for without having to hunt or guard food. However, this is not an easy behavior to work on without help.

If you have a dog who you suspect is getting possessive over food, toys, bones or even the couch, please call Zen Dog Training to get help. More information about Resource Guarding can be found on Zen Dog Training Online, as well as homework sheets for Ask, Refocus, Leave it, and Taking Treats Gently.

Myth Busting: Waiting until the 6th month to train a dog

2010-11-16T16:05:00.003-05:00

Nothing riles me up more than hearing someone say,"a trainer told me you are not supposed to train a dog until they are 6 months old."

What a crock! Absolute rubbish!! Hearing people say something like that makes my stomach turn.

First, do you really think the dog isn't learning from the very first second they open their eyes and start to hear? Seriously, by the 6th month, the dog is now the human equivalent of a 7 year old child! At that point they have already made up their minds about how the world works - in my book if we start at 6 months we are "re-training" them.

Actually, good breeders (and I mean the REALLY good one's) are not only housetraining puppies by the 5th week, they are teaching them to 'sit' and pre-socializing them by exposing young puppies to lots of people, kids, loud noises and otherwise preparing the youngsters for success in our noisy, busy world! Cool huh?

Why do people recommend that you can't train a dog until they are six months old?

The most plausible reason I have heard is that trainers who use 'corrections', metal prong collars or employ "startle-techniques" (jerk the collar, pop-the-leash kinds of things) have to wait until the dog has bonded with humans first so they don't "break the dog's spirit" when training them.

Bottom line here, your dog starts learning what works and what doesn't in your house the very first second they walk in the door! Waiting to train them (especially if you have kids!) sounds ludicrous to me, but strangely I still hear about it!

Those of us who train dogs with peaceful methods (dog training methods that depend on communication and understanding) it is - completely reasonable - to have a 12 week old puppy mostly potty trained, doing simple 'sit', 'down' commands and even walking on a loose leash!

Of course, those are not my first objectives - my priorities with new puppy training are:

1. Teaching them bite inhibition - they should learn not to bite people!
2. Teaching them to accept their home as safe - including the mailman, visitors and strangers, outside things like joggers, bikes, scooters, trucks, kids, and strangers. (Socialization)
3. Teaching them to NOT protect food from us and to accept ANY touch at ANY time, from kids at the park, to the groomer, brushing their hair of teeth, or even mild-restraint at the vet or during an emergency.

Phew! That's a lot - a better summary of the essential puppy training lessons would be:

- Housetraining
- Playbiting
- Home Alone Training
- Socialization (People, Places, Things and other Dogs)
- Preventing Food Guarding
- Socialization to Touch

Remember, your dog is a learning machine! Who over hundreds if not thousands of years has learned to successfully live and co-exist with human. They are masters of learning what pushes your buttons and how to get what they want. That's why training them you rules needs to happen right away!

Gentle training methods like our Zen Dog Training system to interrupt problem behaviors can be used immediately upon getting a new dog. In fact, the ideal time for us to start In-Home Training is 2-3 days after the new puppy has arrived.

The most important training tools for puppies are the ones that create an environment for success. Confinement areas, chew toys, crate, bed, housetrining and feeding schedule, playbiting with kids or chasing cats...all potential problems that can be avoided from day 1 with good training tools!

For more information visit www.ZenDogTrainingOnline.com - See: Outsmarting your dog, and all the PDF's and Video's under "Your New Puppy"

We Have a Winner!

2010-11-12T08:29:00.002-05:00

Well, it took a while but I'm very pleased to announce that we have a costume contest winner! Sure, I suppose we could've deliberated faster and narrowed down the participating pups sooner, but you try picking one adorable dog out of a crowd. Here's what was at stake for the top five costumes: $100 from Zen Dog Training, a $100 gift certificate from Durty Harry's, a $50 gift card from Pawsh Dog Boutique and Salon, two $50 gift certificates from Beacon Street Grooming, and a fantastic prize from Cause to Paws. The top ten favorites also received free access to Zen Dog Training Online, our video solution center. Members can view dog training videos and learn our Zen Dog tips and tricks — remember, training is never over!

And our membership winners are...

Clockwise from the upper left: Daiquiri, a four-year-old English Setter from Wood Hole, Illinois; Wally, a two-year-old mini Dachshund from Brookline; Reuben, an eight-year-old lab/shepherd mix from Somerville; Junebug, a five-year-old pug from Roxbury; and, in the center, Brownie, a thirteen-month-old chihuahua from Marshfield.

And now for our top five...

In first place and in the lower left: Oreo, a one-and-a-half-year-old spaniel/hound mix from Somerville.
Tied for second and in the upper left: Sebastian, a five-year-old Boston terrier/pug Frog Prince and Annabell, a one-and-a-half-year-old Boston terrier Princess from Brookline.
In third place and in the upper right: Eddie, a nine-month-old Cavachon from South Boston.
In fourth place and in the middle right: Bogart, a thirteen-week-old mini beagle from Boston.
In fifth place and in the lower right: Rosie, a one-year-old Boston terrier from Somerville.

Thanks you to all who entered our contest! To see all of the participants, visit our Facebook page.

Stella the Yellow Lab.

2010-10-26T11:49:00.003-04:00

Meet Stella!

A four-month-old puppy and, as we were told, a bundle of Lab-ish mischief. Before we arrived at their home, we pictured the typical lab greeting: incredibly excited puppy anxious to jump all over us, smothering us with attention... then trying to chew off our shoelaces.

When we arrived, Stella’s dad came out to meet us; we had a fantastic “nice to meet you” chat and slowly made our way inside. Immediately, we realized that something was wrong! Where was the whirling dervish? Why were our shoes still tied? And why was it so darn quiet and peaceful?!

We took a look around the living room and finally saw a pair of emerald eyes looking at us from a crate next to the couch. And even though she was dying to meet us (and boy was she excited when we let her out) Stella knew that during crate-time she was expected to be calm, settled and quiet. Wow! What an easy, fun visit it turned out to be! The hard work was already done for us!

Starting from her first night home, Stella had been introduced her to the crate and understood the ground rules. The crate was to be her happy place. She was fed meals in her crate. Her crate had a towel to block out the light. Inside she had a soft washable bed, her favorite chewy, and a food dispensing toy (Busy Buddy).

Since dogs are den animals, they tend to want a safe, quiet place to call their own. By properly introducing Stella to her crate, her family had created a place for her to feel safe and — best of all — those "tough" new puppy problems were easier to solve!

Housetraining becomes a breeze since you know when your dog is full. If they've just had water, then went to sleep in their crate for 30 minutes....than you know they probably have to go pee? Now you can show them where you want them to go and reward them when they do!
Independence training, the most important (but often overlooked) skill to teach a young puppy is almost effortless if you practice sometimes leaving your dog in the crate — while you are home. That new puppy over-the-top, nervous, attention-seeking, whining and crying for attention can be safely ignored.
Destructive chewing becomes easier to stop because you don't have to think about your dog all the time. With puppy in the crate, you can put in a movie or make dinner without worrying if your dog is chewing the cable wire or peeing behind the couch.
Separation anxiety can be avoided because your dog learns that when you are around they are not always the center of attention. Of course, crating a dog who already has Separation Anxiety can be harmful! (Call your Zen Dog Trainer for help!)

Bottom line, the crate is an invaluable tool when living with a puppy — or with a dog of any age. It is instrumental to house training, and a place where a wound-up, over-tired, puppy can learn to settle-down and take a nap.

To learn more about crate training your dog check out our Separation Anxiety or Housetraining eBooks at Zen Dog Training Online.

Tito the Shepherd Mix.

2010-10-20T12:50:00.000-04:00

Meet Tito!

Tito is a handsome and sweet fellow, in spite of poor eyesight. Tito still happily goes out for walks, visits his parents' vacation home, and loves being brought to work. His favorite place to be is in the center of attention! But more than anything, he loves his parents and just hanging out around the house.

The difficulty was that Tito was not at all confident when left alone. As soon as they went out, he would lie directly in front of the door, or he would watch the door like a hawk to make sure no one left. More recently Tito began to throw a fit when his parents would leave... Tito would try to bite his parents and their clothes in order to get them to stay with him.

When Tito was a puppy, he never quite learned that biting a human was NEVER EVER ALLOWED. When he would play bite, his well-meaning parents would look him in the eye and yell at him to stop. Now, this wasn’t a very pleasant experience for young Tito but to him it was still attention from the people he loved. He learned that when he bit them, his parents would pay more attention to him. Even though that attention was a bit scary it was still better than no attention at all... so he never stopped biting.

A year and a half or so later, when Tito didn’t want his parents to leave him alone he tried the same tactic which worked when he was a puppy: he would bite at them to get them to stay and to pay attention to him.

Bottom line: puppy play biting is natural! It's a good thing — up to a point. Minor play biting should be allowed until the sixteenth to eighteenth week. Young puppies learn that hard bites hurts, and that they need to have a gentle mouth (what we call "bite inhibition.") However, dogs older than five months need to learn that they can NEVER put their teeth on a human. Even though wrestling and rough-housing may seem fun, all it takes is one scared child to create a situation no dog owner ever wants to face.

To learn more about with puppy play biting and adult dogs biting, check out our Playbiting Summary, Out of the Pack, and Out of the Pack Advanced on Zen Dog Training Online.

It's a Halloween Costume Contest!

2010-10-16T07:43:00.012-04:00

There's few things, I think, that are cuter than puppies and dogs — so once they're dressed up in ridiculous and adorable Halloween contests, I go a bit nuts... which is part of the reason why we decided to have a fun contest of our own.

Our fabulous prizes include $100 from Zen Dog Training, a $100 gift certificate from Durty Harry's, a $50 gift card from Pawsh Dog Boutique and Salon, two $50 gift certificates from Beacon Street Grooming, and a fantastic prize from Cause to Paws!

Entering is easy! Just send an email to zendogtrainingevents@gmail.com with the following info:

a picture of your costumed dog
your dog's name
your dog's breed
your dog's age
your name
your hometown

We'll take a look at the submissions and post them on Facebook (become a fan here!). The last chance to enter is November 1, and winners will be announced at the end of that week.

And because Halloween is the season of giving, we're also throwing in free membership to Zen Dog Training Online, our video solution center. With access to our site, dog training advice and Zen Dog tips and tricks are a few clicks away.

I know I'm excited to check the Events email, so start sending us your photos! In the meantime, hope you're enjoying the autumn weather — it's a great time of year to go for a nice long walk and do some leaf-peeping with your four-legged friends. Just make sure no one's pulling on the leash...

Chewy the Yorkie.

2010-10-07T08:08:00.002-04:00

Meet Chewy!

I know what you're thinking: what a shy little dog!

Well, I hate to tell you that you're wrong as wrong could be. This little girl is as bold as brass. She just looks shy because I happened to snap her photo as she took a breather after running round the grassy garden while Gordon and I spoke with her parents.

(Before you complain about the lack of full-frontal puppy cuteness, let me just say this: you try taking a picture of a nine-week-old Yorkie that's not out-of-focus and get back to me.)

Chewy's parents had a lot of "New Puppy" questions, but something they were especially interested in was teaching their girl things like sit and down. Lucky for them, we had just finished updating Zen Dog Teaching Commands notesheet — after our editing spree, Gordon and I still had all of our tips and tricks fresh in our heads.

With a frisky pup like Chewy, finding something that will hold her focus is key; for her, it was a meaty treat. We showed her mom and dad how to turn that treat into a food lure that will help them coax Chewy into sitting, lying down and rolling over. After a few minutes of practice, this smart little girl was showing us how eager she was to learn, and showing her parents how consistent training is key. In time, she'll be ready to move on to understanding hand signals and verbal commands.

To learn more about Teaching Commands and food lures, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Nora the Pit Mix.

2010-10-05T09:00:00.002-04:00

Meet Nora!

Nora is a sweet, playful girl...with her family. Once she is outside, everyone she sees is greeted with snarls and barking, outside she became a ferocious ball of teeth and noise! This didn't just happen overnight — Nora was a skittish and shy puppy, but she grew older and bolder. Over time, instead of hiding and tucking her tail, she began to bark, growl and lunge!

Many people would write Nora off as aggressive, dangerous, protective, or say she was downright vicious. But Gordon and I knew better. Nora wasn't born a mean or a bad dog. She was just afraid.

Nora was afraid of the noises on the street, of the people she saw, and especially of fast movements and unusual shapes. When dogs get scared their primal fight-or-flight instinct kicks in — either get to safety or do something to make the "threat" leave.

It's hard to understand but Nora's barking was a tactic to make scary things go away and it worked — every single time. The people who scared her, the kids, the bike, the car, all passed her by (quickly) when she barked aggressively — she had learned what to do to make them disappear!

Our plan for Nora was straightforward, but also challenging. The first mission: Nora's family was to make new, positive, memories of the things that scared her in the outside world. We recommended a "desensitization and counter-conditioning" plan that included Treating for no Reason, obedience training to help her focus during stressful encounters, (using food as a reward), better tools and new leash handling techniques.

Of course, the hardest part of training was our homework for Nora's parents: not punishing or "correct" Nora, but instead acting relaxed, jolly and confident — even outside — when her barking was at its worst!

At well over a year-and-a-half, Nora will take longer than a puppy to become okay with new experiences, people, places and things — after all, she's the dog equivalent of a twenty-year-old human! But with the right training plan, the proper tools, time and consistency we hope to see Nora exploring and enjoying the world around her with a new sense of confidence.

To learn more about Treating for No Reason and for additional info on shy and fearful dogs, please visit Zen Dog Training Online.

For a simple-to-understand guide on desensitization and counter-conditioning, please read The Cautious Canine by Patricia McConnell.

How Zen Dog Training Cured my Dog!

2010-10-01T13:40:00.001-04:00

Molly the Adopted Beagle.

2010-09-21T10:34:00.003-04:00

Meet Molly!

This wonderfully gentle Beagle was welcomed into her new home only a few short weeks ago. Her adopted family loves her to pieces, but Molly turned out to be a bit of a handful.

You see, Molly came from a home where she was able to do just about anything she wanted. She chewed on whatever she wanted — including the childrens' toys — demanded attention, jumped up on the couch, and jumped all over the toddlers!

Now, we knew this wasn't Molly's fault, but that doesn't mean her behavior was acceptable. Our goal was to help Molly learn what was okay in her new home. We also wanted to make this transition as easy as possible by simply being clear with the new rules.

The problem is, if Molly is allowed to jump on a human just every once in a while then she will never learn that jumping is not okay, so consistency is key! But with young children, visitors and, yes, even with Mom, having our dogs follow our rules is tough! That's why in order to train Molly, we had to find ways to Outsmart her.

To outsmart Molly, we asked her family to simply call her to them. When she ran up to them, her family rewarded her with praise and a treat. While they were doing that, they attached a drag line to Molly's collar so they could have immediate control. Another option was to simply attach a tether to both Molly and the sofa (or near to her bed). The next time Molly tried to bark at the window or chase after the kids, she was either quickly stopped by the drag line, or just tethered to Mom. This way this little Beagle can't get into trouble in the first place! We know that the fewer mistakes a dog makes, the faster they will learn.

By Outsmarting Molly, her family is able to help her behave correctly around the house more quickly, easily, and with much less stress!

To learn more about Outsmarting Your Dog, Drag Lines and Tethers, please visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Housetraining puppies can so frustrating!

2010-09-17T12:52:00.006-04:00

We understand that housetraining puppies can be frustrating! The good news is, if you are extremely diligent you can get through this very quickly — however, it will require work from you! Here are some Zen Dog Training tricks to help you out.

Prompting Behavior

When you bring your pup outside, make sure you clip a four to eight-foot drag line onto her leash. This way, if she's not listening to you during Name Game, you can gently "coax" her along with the leash. Don't forget to reward her with a ton of praise and a treat when she gets to you.*

Housetraining

100% supervision is a must. If a mistake happens, you want to be right there to catch it in the act. Continue to interrupt these mistakes, and then race her outside to finish.
Create a schedule that you and your family can follow. This way, you'll all know when your puppy has peed, pooed, how much and how often. This will help you identify her "problem times" of the day. More importantly, you everyone in the family will know when your dog is "loaded" or "full."
What do you do with a loaded or full dog? If you've taken your dog outside and they just won't go, you should take her back inside, then immediately put her in her crate with a chew bone or food toy. Wait. After she's been in the crate for about 15-20 minutes, carry her outside. Again, spend about 5-10 minutes trying to get her to do her business. If she still doesn’t go — put her back in the crate for another 15-20 minutes. Repeat this as often as you need to until she goes.
When you're outside for a potty break, try not to play with your dog or act too excited — no "Come on, it's pee-pee time!" Instead, just act like it's time to get down to business. And, I can't stress this enough: AVOID EYE CONTACT. Look away from her in a way so she can't tell you're watching what she is doing. When she finally does pee or poop, reward her when she's finished with your attention — at last! — and some high-value treats.
If your puppy insists on playing around and eating stuff outside, physically prompt her to a new location — remember that drag line! — and stoically wait her out.

I hope this helps!

To learn more about our housetraining tips, drag lines and Name Game, and to download our Housetraining eBook, please visit Zen Dog Training Online.

* Don't use the drag line to reel your puppy back to you. You want her to know that the experience of coming to you to is always fun!

Lucy Mae the Yorkshire Terrier.

2010-09-13T12:00:00.002-04:00

Meet Lucy Mae!

Lucy Mae is a real Southern Belle: sweet, dainty and with an eye for fashion! She moved up north with her mother for the summer but ended up having a rough time adjusting.

The problem was that Lucy Mae was a real momma's girl. She would trail her mom around the house, snuggle up on the couch without permission, and demand to be held whenever possible. The real issue was when Lucy Mae's mom left the house. This belle was so used to being with her mom at all times that she became anxious when left alone. When her mom went out Lucy Mae would get worked up, cry and drool excessively. These are all signs of potential separation anxiety.

To help Lucy Mae conquer her fears, our goal was to turn this worried Southern Belle into a confident, independent Southern Lady. We needed to get Lucy Mae used being alone and not having her mom around.

We had a few simple solutions: increase Lucy Mae's levels of mental and physical exercise, practice home alone training, and build independence. First, we needed to give Lucy Mae more things to keep her occupied when she was at home by herself. We recommended some Busy Buddy toys from Premier; when stuffed with treats toys teach Lucy Mae to play on her own. Second, we asked Lucy Mae's mom to practice basic games at home during TV nights. Finally, we increased independence by using our step-by-step guide to Preventing Separation Anxiety.

By teaching her to be okay on her own, this little Yorkie made huge strides. By our second appointment we already could see that she was becoming a real independent lady!

To learn more about Preventing Separation Anxiety, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Letter to New Dog Owners.

2010-09-09T06:36:00.000-04:00

Congratulations on the newest addition to your family!

Whether you have adopted a dog in need or purchased a pedigree pooch, owning a dog is a journey filled with love, excitement, and responsibility. If you’re reading this, then you’ve already taken the first step towards being a responsible dog owner by recognizing the need to teach your dog good manners.

Zen Dog Training is based on the idea that dogs communicate and learn differently than humans. In the past, this language barrier has made the training process frustrating for both dog and human partners. That’s why we created Zen Dog Training Online. Members have access to over eight hours of videos in 2-3 minute clips that cover everything from separation anxiety and housetraining to “The Six Puppy Essentials” and why it’s so important to start training as soon as your puppy arrives in his new home.

In our Theory section, we break down how to teach commands in a way that has been scientifically proven to be the fastest and easiest way for your dog to learn. By watching videos, reading our eBooks and playing our games, your dog will learn to understand you faster than you imagined possible! With Zen Dog Training Online, we have provided you and your family all the tools you’ll need to create a training program that is simple, effective, and dog-friendly:

Printable eBooks to read and share with other members of your family
Videos to help you learn subtle training secrets
Our Five-Step Solution to Problem Behaviors
Over 45 specific solutions to common problems!

Our website is dedicated to teaching people how to humanely and gently communicate with their dogs to simply and effectively reach their training goals. We hope you join, learn new ways of understanding your dog and discover how to peacefully get the behaviors you want from your dog. Go ahead, log in, sit back, relax and start watching!

Have fun training,
Gordon

p.s. Although all dogs speak the same language, your dog is unique. If at any time you feel threatened by your dog or just think your dog may need special attention, contact a professional.

p.p.s. If you are lucky enough to live in the Boston area, call us to set up an In-Home appointment!

Sidney the Deer Chihuahua.

2010-09-07T07:57:00.000-04:00

Meet Sidney!

This striking six-year-old is great with people and loves the grandchildren that visit his house in Arlington on the weekends, but when it comes dogs he doesn't know — watch out.

We had a quick and easy solution to Sidney's anti-social and aggressive behavior at the ready. We recommended that Sidney go on walks with a leash that's at least six-feet long. This is a small dog — he is a Chihuahua, after all! — but a longer leash actually gives his family more control while on walks.

Here's the deal: Sidney will need lots of patience, time and training to undo six years of naughtiness — so our first focus was tools. A six-foot leash can be held close at three feet, can be stepped on for more control, or at full length give Sidney room to sniff and walk around without leash tension! (A four-footer's short limit, on the other hand, makes it trickier for a walker to not have it tight all the time.)

Another recommendation was the Premier Easy Walk harness, but really any anti-pull harness with a clip on the chest will do the trick. It stops leash pulling in its tracks and gives even small people control with big, unruly dogs.

With better tools, Sidney can be quickly prevented from jumping up, lunging or pulling, and his family can work on socialization and dog/dog relationships without the leash getting tight all the time.

Sometimes something as simple as the right equipment can make all the difference.

Lilly the Great Dane/Border Collie Mix.

2010-09-01T08:24:00.001-04:00

Meet Lilly!

When I heard Gordon had an appointment scheduled with a Great Dane/Border Collie mix, I all but begged to come along — I love a dog I don't have to bend over to greet.

In other words, I can be lazy.

In all seriousness, Lilly is a Big Dog, and one who still behaves like a puppy. She often demands attention by whining and barking at her parents, and by both pawing and nudging at her their hands.

The Zen Dog solution to this behavior is simple; we call it shunishment. Our dogs love us, and want our focus on them all the time — taking that attention away can be utterly devastating for our pets. Lilly was no exception. After a only few instances of having her parents literally turn their backs on her, she soon realized that in order to get the attention she craved she would have to behave calmly.

If Lilly learned this quickly in an afternoon, imagine how fast she'll catch on with consistent training! Soon she could be the picture of politeness, and not a Great Dane in a china shop.

To learn more about Shunishment, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Rascal the Labradoodle.

2010-08-27T09:09:00.001-04:00

Meet Rascal!

How adorable is this twelve-week-old's face? I just want to give this hairy guy a hug — or I would if his mouthiness was under control because I don't want those little teeth anywhere near my hair, or my glasses, or my earrings, or my lip...

Rascal's at that age where a bit of biting is not only normal but also necessary; he's literally getting a taste of this crazy world. That said, Rascal's family wants to keep their house intact and as free of tooth-marks as possible.

As strange as it sounds, our advice was to first watch what Rascal was going after. Was he interested in gnawing the leg of a wooden coffee table? Was he headed towards the soft corner of the sofa?

After Rascal's family figured out what their pup was in the mood to chomp, we suggested refocusing his attention on a toy with the same "feeling." By getting Rascal to chew on a tough bully stick, for example, the coffee table was spared any more damage. A soft plushie to nibble saved the sofa.

By having a wide variety of toys, Rascal's family will have a range of tools at their disposal — not to mention undamaged furniture. And after he's gotten past the mouthy phase, I'll be first in line for that hug.

Check out the sidebar for our Zen Dog Shopping List of our favorite products, including bully sticks and other toys.

Preventing Separation Anxiety in Dogs.

2010-08-19T10:32:00.003-04:00

Indy the Jack Russell Terrier.

2010-08-10T17:03:00.001-04:00

Meet Indy!

This little terrier looks innocent and shy, but he's really a dog-shaped bundle of unrestrained and excited energy. Indy's mom gave us a call because she knew that having a brand-new puppy in the apartment was going to be a lot of work.

It's never too early to start training a puppy, and eleven-week-old Indy was no exception. Gordon and I arrived in the North End armed with pages of Zen Dog notes and puppy-specific guides to help this young dog's family welcome their newest member.

One of the areas Indy's parents needed our advice on was nipping. Of course Indy doesn't mean to do anyone harm with his little puppy teeth, but a responsible dog owner needs to teach his or her companions that touching teeth to people is never okay. Since this Jack Russell is so young, playbiting is natural and necessary — Indy is literally getting a feel for the world — so we allow puppy playbiting until the sixteenth to eighteenth week.

To get some of his nippiness under control, we played a game called Taking Treats Gently. We wanted to teach Indy that, no matter what, all food or treats are given to him by people — not taken or stolen from them.. By playing this game with Indy anywhere from twenty to thirty times a day, our point will definitely be made. not only that, it's a great way for his parents to feed their happy little dog parts of his meals... all the while teaching him something new.

To learn more about Taking Treats Gently, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

The Argument Against The Dog Whisperer

2010-08-05T21:14:00.010-04:00

I love this article from Time Magazine. It really gets down to the crux of what people in the dog world are arguing about.

Finally, the public is being let in on the debate. Word is out that the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) is against alpha-dominance dog training. The article quotes the former AVMA president as saying "We are on record as opposing some of the things Cesar Millan does because they're wrong."

Last year on Zen Dog Training we posted the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior (AVSAB) position statement explaining the scientific perspective against dominance theory and submissive techniques. These are the methods recommended and used by Cesar Millan and others who teach that people need to be their dog's "alpha" in order to train.

It's no secret that the scientific community has been debunking "alpha-dog" and "dominance" training for decades now! Positive reinforcement is used by trainers at Sea World, for birds of prey, and with animals on movie sets and television shows. Why? Because it works. Period.

Positive reinforcement techniques like ours use motivators that are not pain-inducing or depend on startle-response techniques to work. The bottom line here is realizing that yes food, love, fun and fear all motivate your dog.

Alpha training methods that rely on: startling a dog, scaring a dog, or causing pain (choke chains, prong collars) absolutely make a negative association to a behavior. Used correctly — in a way where the dog does not perceive that a human doled out that punishment — these methods can work.

But the pitfalls of using "direct-confrontation" or "alpha-dog" training methods are many:

Reason 1: Unwitting owners who rely on the "fear/startle" techniques often find themselves missing the critical timing (about 1 sec) to make successful connection required for training.

The problem is that dogs live in the present moment, so successfully connecting that negative feedback about your dog’s behavior to each specific act is extremely difficult.

Reason 2: Worse-case scenario — if you are perceived by your dog as the one delivering that negative consequence, he won’t learn that chewing furniture is bad, he will learn that sometimes “humans comes around and get really mad and scary!” This can be confusing to your dog because punishment seems random and inconsistent. This breaks the dog/human trust — to your dog the crucial dog/human bond is in question. Are humans to be trusted or not? So how do we define domestication? Our goal is to co-exist with this once wild animal, but if your dog learns that sometimes they need to fear you... then what?

Reason 3: Having a punitive relationship with your dog creates more situations where we tend to "act angry” or yell as a response to unwanted behaviors. Assuming your goal is to calmly have your dog listen to you, then practicing more yelling is not the right solution.

Reason 4: The dog starts to think that we too are upset by these situations. Think about it. If we yell or get angry every time the doorbell rings, your dog will think that — you too — get upset by the UPS guy or when visitors come over. Bad association to the doorbell!

Another example is using prong collars and choke chains on walks, often they are the cause of leash aggression. The first time a dog gets excited to see another dog — they get a painful pinch on the neck and a “correction” from an uptight owner. Pretty soon, meeting other dogs sure takes on some negative associations.

Lucky for us, after many years successfully co-existing with humans dogs are experts at learning what we are trying to teaching them… in spite of ourselves!

Unfortunately, some dogs — often the smarter, more sensitive types — can have their spirit broken by this kind of training. So when it doesn’t work, it really doesn’t work. The consequences to a confused dog who finally lashes out can be life-threatening.

At Zen Dog Training we promote positive-reinforcement methods that do not rely on pain or fear to motivate a dog. We train with understanding, communication, consistency and love.

Otis the Goldendoodle.

2010-07-28T22:04:00.001-04:00

Meet Otis!

Recently, this ruggedly-handsome fellow suddenly started acting up. See, his outdoorsy family used to love take Otis hiking and on long, rambling off-leash walks... until he started dashing off after every bird, squirrel and stick that caught his eye. His mom would call call call his name, but to no avail. So she called us!

Gordon and I learned that this Goldendoodle had just celebrated his eighth-month-birthday, which in dog years is the equivalent of turning twelve. Now I don't know about you, but some of the twelve-year-olds I've met have a tendency to be — well, kinda bratty. I'm not trying to be mean, but I remember what I was like as a pre-teen: a little obnoxious, a little angsty, and trying my hardest to stake claim to my independence... which is a nice way of saying I started questioning my parents' rules. (Sorry, Mom and Dad. I know you were only looking out for me.)

Otis is going through the same thing, and ignoring his family's calls is his way of trying to be his own man — or dog, if you want to nitpick. Unfortunately, Otis has to learn what I did back in the day: sometimes our parents know better.

To make learning this lesson fun, we got back to basics with Otis and taught him that coming when called is a good thing. We do this with an activity we at Zen Dog call Name Game; we were able to show him that responding to his name is awesome.

For a shaggy adventurer like Otis to get the hang of recall, his family is going to have to play Name Game several times a day. Hopefully our friend here will master this technique soon; summer's already winding down, and I know he's eager to get out there and enjoy the sunshine. I'm going to do just that right now — with sunscreen, of course.

To learn more about Name Game, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Kuma the Corgi Mix.

2010-07-22T10:00:00.016-04:00

Meet Kuma!

Kuma, a recently-adopted former stray, has a lovely name that means "Little Bear" in Japanese. Don't let this intimidating-sounding fool you — this little girl is sweet as sweet can be. And she loves living in Central Square and exploring Cambridge. In fact, sometimes she loves it a little too much... because Kuma is, I'm sorry to say, a leash-puller.

Teaching dogs how to properly walk on-leash is just one of the many fundamentals we at Zen Dog explain to our clients. So even though Kuma is clearly an extraordinary girl, she has an ordinary problem.

This is a good thing, because we have a solution: a game we call Red Light, Green Light. It's very similar to the game I played as a kid, except this version has leashes. It sounds easy at first, but getting the specifics right can be a bit difficult. After learning a few tricks from us though, Kuma and her parents got the hang of it.

By playing this game every time they go for a walk, Kuma and her family will enjoy their time outside that much more.

To learn more about Red Light, Green Light, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Templeton the Hound Mix.

2010-07-15T19:46:00.004-04:00

Meet Templeton!

This little guy was adopted at four months old and now lives happily in Arlington. Gordon and I got to spend a couple hours with him to work on his leash-walking and overly-excited greetings.

See, Templeton's the kind of dog who's so thrilled to meet new people that he jumps up all over them with the hopes of planting a kiss on their faces. Unfortunately, not everyone enjoys a sloppy lick hello as much as Templeton — not to mention fresh pawprints across a nice article of clothing. We needed to show this guy that he's more likely to be greeted enthusiastically himself if he behaves calmly and politely with friends, guests and people he meets on a walk.

Speaking of going on walks... Templeton may look small and unassuming, but he's actually 100% muscle. He particularly enjoys resistance training... especially when he's building strength by pulling his owner down the street with his leash.

Though Templeton's a special dog, his issues are actually quite common — which meant that we had easy Zen Dog solutions to help him drop his bad habits. By doing a few simple exercises every day, Templeton can learn to behave properly with people, even if he meets them on-leash.

Why Dog Training Can Be SO Hard!

2010-07-05T13:09:00.012-04:00

In a nutshell, changing a established behavior or teaching a new behavior is difficult!

Think about how hard it is to stick to a New Years resolution, to eat better or get to the gym. It's even harder to try and teach a child, spouse or friend to listen! Things get even harder when it comes to dogs, because of the human attitude, "darn it! This is my dog and he needs to learn my rules!"

In our efforts to make an animal understand we may miss the importance of truly understanding our dogs and communicating with them rather than forcing our wills on them! At Zen Dog Training we focus on understanding our dogs first, then trying to communicate with them. Our focus is on teaching people how to be consistent and smart about getting their dogs to listen.

Why things get confusing is that dogs are not rational animals (like us?), instead they are still hard-wired to first feel safe in their environment before they we can expect them to want to participate in 'listening' to us or 'obeying' our rules. For what most certainly will become a future post on its own, its Pavlov vs. Skinner - first having to meet those primal dog needs of feeling safe and confident before expecting B.F. Skinner like Operant Conditioning. "Sit" and you will get a treat.

What's so hard to understand is that when it comes to dog training and especially, new puppy training, just spending time getting our dogs used to the crazy, noisy world we live in is as important (if not more important) then teaching, sit, heel or come. At Zen Dog Training we call this "age-appropriate training". Focusing on the right thing at the right time. Puppy-hood is the ideal time to socialize really domesticate your dog to your particular lifestyle. Its surprises me how most people would never expect a wolf to be fine with living inside our homes but get a dog and don't put any conscious effort towards puppy socialization. Textbook "socialization period" is a stage of puppy development that technically ends at the 12-13th week!

The dilemma becomes: when to push your will on to your dog and when to listen to your dog and understand that at this very moment - your dogs natural instinct for survival (fight/flight) must be met before they can be in a place to listen to us.

Its difficult because it requires the human to not focus on 'instant results' but rather take a look at what their dog needs. Training paths for dogs not yet comfortable with the world require counter-intuitive methods like, treating a dog when they are barking out of fear. Some say you would reinforce 'bad' behaviors however, if the dog is barking because they are uncertain and feeling 'scared' there is no evidence that you can reward or punish them since they are in no place to listen to you anyway. They are too worried for their survival.

Here is where true understanding is key to our success. Try to force a scared dog to listen and they may listen but become shell-shocked and skittish from the experience. Try to punish a dog by staring them in the eyes and yelling at them and you just might break that ever important dog-human relationship where they learn to trust and love humans.

More on this in future posts but as we learned in the dog training academy, the first question is 'is the dog upset' from there you can determine if they are 'acting out' or just being demanding or if they are coming from a place of fear and uncertainty (with dogs amazing sense of hearing, smell and who-knows-what-other kind of senses your dog has) I'm often amazed at how well they cope with strange training 'techniques' or just the sights and sounds of the world: trucks, busy intersections, construction noises, fireworks, traveling by car, traffic, etc.

The solution, do yourself a favor and research people like Turid Rugaas, "Calming Signals" to try and better understand what your dog is feeling and saying by reading their body language. Try and be more patient with your goals and try to determine the difference between "disobedience" and a failure on behalf of the owner to clearly communicate rules and expectations.