Nothing For Free.

Meet Jayden!

This extremely affectionate and cute Yorkie-poo really wants nothing more than get tons of attention but due to his owner's busy schedule he hasn't received nearly as much exercise and training as he would prefer. With that said he has decided to speak up on the matter -- quite literally, I might add!

Jayden and his owner just moved from a quiet suburb to the big city. Unfortunately, when he was a puppy, he did not get enough time socializing with other dogs.With this setback and the long hours of studying that Jayden's owner regularly puts in, has added up to a bit of frustration on Jayden's end.

The main complaint is Jayden's behavior on leash walks, which is his main source of exercise and attention. When approached by other dogs, Jayden starts to bark very assertively and pull at the leash. Needless to say, this has resulted in shorter and fewer walks for Jayden and his owner! Upon observing this behavior it appeared that Jayden is more frustrated than anything. He is simply so excited to see other dogs and has so much energy that he over-expresses his excitement at seeing another dog.

Jayden needed to understand that acting obnoxious is not the way to receive attention. The first steps are simple: better tools and equipment on walks, having a plan for what to do when seeing (and hopefully meeting) another dog, and implementing a Nothing for Free attitude in the home.

For example, asking Jayden to sit calmly before walking out the door will help teach him to earn the walk. By withholding attention from Jayden when he acts out and giving him attention for desired behaviors we can communicate to him how we would like him to behave.

We'll be following up with Jaden soon to see how the training is going! Success in a case like this depends on how much time his owner has to exercise and train Jaden himself. Even with the right plan, working with an under socialized dog takes time!

For more information on socializing your dog visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Shunishment.

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.

How to Speak Dog.

Meet Cody!

Cody the cockapoo is handsome as they come. He loves to have company because he loves being the center of attention! In fact he is so accustomed to the limelight that he absolutely demands it.

When we visited Cody's home, he exhibited one attention-seeking behavior after another. When no one responded to his attempts, he quickly escalated to being extremely pushy and somewhat brash. While sitting on the couch he would throw himself into someone's lap and when they tried to remove him he would retaliate with a growl or a nip. This behavior was totally unacceptable especially since Cody's household includes two children.

It can be very nervewracking to have an extremely cute dog that is unpredictable. Everyone wants to interact with him, but you can't be certain of how he's going to behave. If your dog is protesting your directive with aggressive behavior, you may want to just give in to your dog's demands simply because you're unsure of the proper way to handle the situation. This will unfortunately give a dog the false impression that he's the one calling the shots. In short, there is a lack of balance between you and your pet, and it's unclear to your dog what exactly is acceptable and what is not.

Communicating to your dog can be difficult since they don't speak English! They do, however, understand some of our words. Using simple words like "YES!" or making noises like "EHH!" or "AHH!" can help establish clear positive and negative indicators for your dog. Words are fine and dandy, but they need to be accompanied by reinforcement in order for dogs to understand the words' meanings. Praise should be immediately followed with rewards like treats or attention, and reprimands should have consequences like being ignored or excluded from what's happening at that moment.

For more information about establishing clear means of communication with your dog, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Recalcitrant Waiter.

Meet Ollie!

This sturdy and dapper yellow Lab 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 but then again, 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. 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.

Treating for Confidence

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.

Maggie the Bernese Mountain Dog.

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.