Having Dog-Friendly Holidays.

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.

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!

Juliet the Great Pyrenees/Lab Mix

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

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!

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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!

Molly the Adopted Beagle.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Indy the Jack Russell Terrier.

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.