Drama Diva Queen, Featuring Capall

Meet Capall!

Capall is a 2 year old Bouvier DeFlanders! He's a bundle of love, with a big heart, big paws, and big teeth! He has a habit of getting "mouthy" when playing with his family. Our job was to teach him that polite dog's don't put their teeth on humans!

With dogs over 5 months, we recommend you do not allow any teeth on humans. Some people like to rough house with their dog, however, a child playing with a mouthy dog might jerk her hand away, causing a scratch which may be mistaken for a vicious bite! Also, a dog who learns to communicate with his teeth could take it too far and hurt someone!

Dogs are very aware of what their teeth are touching -- they can feel even the slightest graze of a single tooth touching human skin. We use this to our advantage and teach that -- no teeth to human contact will be tolerated by playing a game called Drama Diva Queen!

Drama Diva Queen is a shun game. To play -- start a regular play session with your dog. 

If he nips or bites you (any bit of a tooth touches your skin) -- say "Ouch!" and dramatically turn your back! 

Shun your dog -- withhold all attention -- break any eye contact (don't even look at him) young children can cross their arms and turn their body away. Do not touch or scold your dog, just wait silently.

After 5-10 seconds return to playing with him as before. Repeat as necessary.

If you play this game correctly most dogs will 'get it' in as soon as 2-3 training sessions!

Some tips on playing Drama Diva Queen:

• A drag line or tether are effective management tools to use during this game. They prevent your dog from trying to follow you or jump up while you are shunning him. 
• Try this game 3-5 times in a row. If your dog isn't getting the message, you may need to try a more advanced game like Out of the Pack, which you can find on Zen Dog Training Online. 
• Allow minor playbiting with puppies under 5 months, play biting is an important learning stage. 
• Use volume control -- for minor playbites a low level "Ouch" may be in order, but harder bites should result in a more dramatic "OUCH!" and you might result in you leaving the room for 30 seconds!

For more tips on how and when to use Drama Diva Queen and Out of the Pack, please visit Zen Dog Training Online. 

Training Tips for Traveling with your Dog

Planning a trip with your dog?

Traveling can be an exciting adventure for you and your dog, but a long car ride with little to no activity can also be stressful for your canine companion! Increasing your dog's activity before a long trip is a great way to make your trip a bit easier!

Tiredness can really take away from some of the worry your dog may experience during a long car ride.  Remember: A tired dog is a happy dog! Play and physical activity are great ways to exercise your dog's body and mind before a long trip. The morning before a planned trip, take your dog for a longer play session. Ideas for play and increased activity include:

• Take him to his favorite park to play fetch
• Bringing him to play with his friends at a local doggie daycare
• Take a jog together around the neighborhood
• Throw around a frisbee for him at the beach
• Set up a play date with another of your dog's doggie-friends
• Play tug-of-war together
• Run him up and down the stairs!

The point is -- amp up your dog's activity level before a long trip to help him relax. This can be done with any form of play and activity you can think up!

For more on physical activity games, exercises, and video solutions, visit www.ZenDogTrainingOnline.com!

A bit on Housetraining, featuring Appa

Meet Appa!

Appa is a 4 month old Havanese puppy with a fluffy coat and a zest for life! He's still adjusting to the rules of his new home, including proper house training. 

There are many important things to consider when house training your new puppy. For a complete list (and helpful videos) visit: www.ZenDogTrainingOnline.com better yet, set up an appointment with a Zen Dog Trainer!

In the meantime, here's an important thing to consider regarding using Puppy Pee Pads. 

  Puppy Pads/Training Pads/Pee Pads: If you ultimately want to train your dog to go outside -- then do not use them! It's OK to leave one for a young puppy in his confinement area, especially when leaving him alone for longer then he can "hold it". However, if you want to teach your new puppy to eliminate outdoors, then make sure that he goes outdoors as often as possible!

Encouraging a puppy to go on a pad indoors (and outside too) only confuses your dog to your rules. Dog's have a powerful instinct to keep their den clean. Essentially, allowing your dog to go indoors goes against his natural tendency to perceive your home as his den and not pee inside the house.

Every time your puppy goes inside, it confuses him to your rules. Only use pee training pads if you are planning on using them for the rest of your dog's life!

Think about it like this: It's winter time in cold Boston area, you then ask Appa, would you rather use your pee pad or go outside in the snow? It's the human equivalent of asking Appa if he would rather use the indoor plumbing (toilet) or go outside in cold outhouse! 

If you had the choice, you would probably continue using the indoor bathroom because it's more comfortable and that's what you grew up doing. If you teach Appa to go inside first, then it will be way harder to convince him to start going outside later. 

To learn more about house training, using treats, and positive reinforcement, visit Zen Dog Training Online. Also, check out our Housetraining eBook and other online resources!

Socialization to Touch, featuring Ernie

Meet Ernie!

Ernie is a 12 week old Field Spaniel, he's not shy in the slightest and is as friendly as can be! There are lot's of things to work on with a new puppy. One area people often forget is to teach their dog to tolerate human touch. At Zen Dog Training we do this with the game Socialization to Touch.

What:
Socialization to Touch is time spent teaching your puppy to be accustomed to any human touch. Even uncomfortable touch like being handled by the vet or groomer.

Why:
This game is great at preventing problems in the future, like aggression, and is important for emergencies. Not only should your dog should be OK with uncomfortable touch at the vet and groomer, imagine when you need to to pick a thorn out of his paw, cut his nails, or even brush his teeth!

How:
Pick up and touch your dog every day. Have friends (and kids) pick him up and hold your puppy in their arms like a baby. Give him treats yourself or have your friends give him treats as he accepts being touched, picked up and held by others.

At home, you should be more systematic. Hold him with his head facing out and his belly facing up. Your puppy might fight this and wiggle around, but don't let him go. Take a Yoga Breath. If you are relaxed, your puppy will relax.  Again use treats to make a positive association to human touch.

Over time you can touch different body parts as you hold and treat him. Think about what he might have to tolerate in the future: touch his paws and between his toes, his teeth, belly, legs, ears, etc. Remember: You should keep feeding him tasty treats throughout the process.

Tip: Play for only a few minutes at a time and keep feeding him treats! You want him to really love being touched!

For more on Socialization to Touch, Love, Yoga Breath, and other puppy training games, visit Zen Dog Training Online! 

Directions to Charlestown Crate Escape from Sullivan Square

Zen Dog Training

Directions to Crate Escape Charlestown - From Sullivan Square

  Here are step-by-step directions to classes held at Crate Escape’s Charlestown location. The brand new facility is off the beaten path, this should guide your way to finding the Charlestown Maritime Center.


Crate Escape - 200 Terminal St, Charlestown 
Note: GPS is NOT great at finding this location. We recommend you search for the intersection of Chelsea and Terminal Streets.
 
 

Located just 3 minutes from the Schrafft’s building in Sullivan Square.


 Step 1.) Take the left onto Medford St.


Step 2.) When you see this…


Step 3.) You’ll be at the intersection of Medford St. and Terminal St…
Follow the sign labeled “Truck Route”

Step 5.) This sign means you’re on the right track! Take a right and you’ll see…


... an enormous mound of salt with the Tobin Memorial Bridge in the distance.


Step 6.) Take a left onto Chelsea St. at this sign and you will see…

Step 7.) Follow the red arrow and drive directly under the bridge.

Step 8.) At this sign, take a left into the parking lot!



You have arrived! Plenty of Free Parking!

 

Directions to Charlestown Crate Escape from USS Constitution (N. End)

 Zen Dog Training

Directions to Crate Escape Charlestown - From USS Constitution        

Here are step-by-step directions to classes held at Crate Escape’s Charlestown location. The brand new facility is off the beaten path, this should guide your way to finding the Charlestown Maritime Center.

Crate Escape - 200 Terminal St, Charlestown 
Note: GPS is NOT great at finding this location. We recommend you search for the intersection of Chelsea and Terminal Streets.  

 

Step 1.) At this intersection, take Chelsea St. away from I-93 and towards…

…the USS Constitution. At this point, you’re just 3 minutes away!




Step 2.) Follow Chelsea St. until you reach the Charlestown Maritime Center.
Take a right onto Terminal St. and you will see the Tobin Bridge!

Step 3.) Drive directly under the Tobin Memorial Bridge! Follow the red arrow and go directly under the bridge.

Step 4.) Continue until you see this sign. Take a left into the parking lot.

You have arrived! Crate Escape in Charlestown. Plenty of Free Parking!

Impulse Control, Featuring Vinnie

Meet Vinnie!

It's a bird! It's a plane! No, it's Vinnie, and she's running straight for us on the couch!

This spunky 5 year old English Bulldog's owners have a baby on the way -- so it is important for Vinnie to re-learn the house rules before the baby comes! Just imagine Mom and Baby quietly cuddled on the couch, when out of nowhere rambunctious Vinnie decides to join them -- it's an accident waiting to happen!

Now, imagine a dog who politely waits for your cue to join you on the couch. Zen Dog Training has a solution for this and the answer is quite simple and very effective -- Nothing for Free!

Nothing for Free is a relationship-changing game which teaches her that the fun of the couch is controlled by you! Up until now, Vinnie has learned that she controls the couch, jumping up on it whenever she pleases!

Nothing for Free is a game that can also be played with food, your affection, and other things your dog finds fun! For a full explanation of when and how to play, visit www.ZenDogTrainingOnline.com. Here are some tips for teaching your dog Nothing for Free with the couch!

-Always Ask for a Sit before calling your dog up on the couch. Use a release word like, "OK" to invite her up.

-If she jumps on the couch without waiting for your permission, Interrupt her by using your Interrupt marker word, "Hey!" and gently grab her collar, then take her off the couch.

-Over time, you can Ask for an extended Sit/Stay before inviting her on the couch.

To your dog, coming up on the couch should be a privilege, and Nothing for Free will teach her just that!

For more activities to add to your Nothing for Free program, and more on our 3-Step-System: Ask, Shun, and Interrupt, please visit www.ZenDogTrainingOnline.com!

Leash Step, featuring Chip

Meet Chip!

Chip is a 2 year old doxie mix who is tremendously cute and showered with love in his home. However, he is also fearful, particularly with children and joggers on walks. Chip’s owners adopted him when he was 9 months old, and soon realized that his fear barking and nipping was trouble.  Chip was in need of some Zen Dog Training! 

Teaching Chip there is nothing to be afraid of when strangers pass by during walks is a great method to preventing aggression. We started the training plan by making sure to be extra aware of our surroundings. We don't want to get caught off guard by someone and end up with a scared, barking and lunging dog.

We made sure his owners weren't making things worse by trying to correct a scared dog or holding the leash too tightly. Leash tension can translate into feeling of nervousness. The dog might think, "My owner is nervous -- could it be that person running by? Maybe I should be on guard!" Nervousness can turn to fear, and if not addressed turn into aggression.

A method we use when stopping to talk with a friend on the street, is Leash Step, stepping on the leash while keeping no tension on your dog’s neck. The reason this is better than just simply holding the leash is because your tight grip might cause tension on the leash.

A Leash Step will not create tension yet it can quickly help stop a dog from lunging at any people passing by, which, in Chip's case can mean the difference between preventing a bite or an injured, angry jogger!

Use leash step when waiting to cross the street or in the elevator to prevent your dog from jumping up or running into traffic. However, it is important to never leash step in a way that traps a scared dog. Allow uncertain dogs to hide behind your legs or make distance between himself and a scary person, place, thing or other dog.
  Management and prevention are key in quickly solving these kinds of problem behaviors. For more information on Leash Step and Shy / Fearful Dogs, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Using a Confinement Area, featuring Monroe

Meet Monroe!

Monroe is a 13 week old Puggle mix with a lot of things in life to love; his new family, his bed, his treats, and the couch (which he isn’t supposed to go on)! When you bring a new mischievous puppy into your house, it's often hard to teach them our rules!

Zen Dog Training helped Monroe quickly learn the rules of house and rules of the world outside with an In Home Visit. Successful puppy training depends on having the proper Management Tools. With a new puppy full of innocent curiosity, a confinement area is a must!

A confinement area is a small, gated off, puppy-proof area where your dog can be restricted from wandering unsupervised. You should find a room with easy-to-clean floors and decide how best to puppy proof. For smaller or younger dogs an exercise pen or plastic play area works great!

In some cases we put up baby gates around the kitchen (a high-traffic area). It helps to remove books or anything low to the ground. Be careful with wooden furniture, wires -- remove anything tempting for a puppy who loves to explore the world with his mouth!

Confinement Areas bring many benefits. They prevent mischief by restricting your puppy to an area without too many things for him to destroy. They also prevent house-training accidents because we can more easily watch him. Finally, mistakes can be quickly cleaned and easy to see since they are limited to just one room.

Having a confinement area also helps teach independence, as soon as you bring a new puppy home you should start leaving him alone in his  confinement area for short intervals of time while you are home to get him used to not being the center of attention all the time. 

Finally, having a confinement area is a MUST if you have small children or other animals, like cats. Play can be limited to the confinement area and if rough puppy behavior gets out of hand -- small children can simply leave the room!

The idea is to encourage good behaviors by preventing them in the first place! Monroe now stays in his confinement area at times when it is difficult to monitor him, like: when answering the door, getting ready for work, or cooking dinner.
The best part is that housetraining, home alone training and even rough play with children can be managed with little effort from our part! 

For more information on Confinement Areas, Management Tools, and Puppy Training, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

My Walk, featuring Sully

Meet Sully!

He's a puppy Labradoodle who is growing fast and pulls hard on walks. If walking on a leash is a challenge now, it will be much harder when he's a full grown dog! Sully's owners often take him on walks with the baby in a stroller so if Sully thinks he controls the walk, it might be dangerous for the baby!

A game we call My Walk can mean the difference between a frustrating experience and a care free outing. To teach Sully how to walk on leash, we imagine that a tight leash means "red-light" and we stop the walk. A loose leash is a "green-light" and the walk continues. This teachs Sully that -- his pulling makes the walk stop!

The trick to this game is noticing every time Sully reaches the end of the leash. The instant he starts to pull, we say "UGH" and stop walking! 

Once Sully makes the decision to make the leash loose again (walk back a step), we say, "YES." Using clear sounds and words helps him understand what we want. Remember: if leash is loose -- continue to walk at a fun, brisk pace!

If Sully sits down, it's OK to slowly step back to encourage him to come back a step and make the leash loose. This is important because the behavior you want to reinforce is walking! It is essenital to continue walking and not stop and sit down every few minutes.

This simple overview is nice, however, to learn all the rules and tricks that make walking your dog easier, see My Walk, on Zen Dog Training Online.

How to Hold the Leash During Walks, featuring Penny

Meet Penny!

Penny is as sweet as they come. She is a gentle, lovable, cuddly 8 year old chocolate lab with owners who give her all that love right back. It wasn’t until they moved to the city, that they realized Penny had a problem. She pulled hard on walks. In fact, she pulled so hard, she even knocked her owner to the ground! 

In a case like this, we teach a solution called My Walk; a game designed to show Penny she must listen to the rules of the person holding the leash. The game is pretty easy to learn, anytime Penny pulls on the leash, the walk stops. Doing this teaching teaches Penny that she doesn't lead us on walks. It's "my walk" and she doesn't get what she wants by pulling.  

Learning how to handle and hold the leash on walks is the foundation.  It is especially important to hold the leash correctly considering Penny's past history with dangerously pulling so hard.

In order to prevent falling over, we hold the leash with both hands and stand with our feet shoulder width apart and knees slightly bent. The idea is to use our center of gravity (our core) for strength. When we stop, we take a grounded stance, essentially, instead of using your arms, stopping the force of the pull with your entire body. 

Additionally, if we hold the leash with both hands and rest our arms on our body, we can depend less on our shoulders and more on having good balance and a strong foundation when she starts to pull.

It takes practice but if you are conistent she'll learn who’s walk it really is: it's your walk - not her's! 
 

For a complete explaination on  How to Hold the Leash and My Walk, including how to interrupt unwanted behaviors and how to walk a dog who doesn't want to walk - please visit Zen Dog Training Online.

When to Start Dog Training, featuring Brody

Meet Brody!

Look in the dictionary under the word "cute," and you should find Brody’s picture! Brody is a 9 week old Boston terrier pup who's too cute for words! His owners made the right move and called us immediatly after bringing him home.

Why is starting early so important? If you look through the eyes of a brand new puppy, who was just taken away from him home, him Mom and litter mates -- you'll see the world can be a scary place if you don't know what to expect. It is important to mention that the first few weeks of your puppy’s life will determine whether or not he grows up to become a well-adjusted adult. This is why at first puppy socialization is more important than teaching commands like Sit, Down and Stay.

For a new puppy, typical city life, a car driving down the street, the UPS driver or even your crazy Uncle Gordon -- might be scary! Like any puppy who just left his mom and litter mates, a young puppy may be wary or fearful of new people, places and things.

That is why we need to be proactive and make the world a less-scary place for our dogs, with lots of socialization. To socialize your dog play Treat For Confidence, a game where we identify things that upset your dog. The game is to act calm and use treats to help our dog cope with new "scary" experiences.

Soon, your dog will associate formally scary things with something good, like a tasty treat! It is so important to do this early on in your puppy's life. Remember: the socialization period typically ends at the 13 week! In other words, the ideal time to expose your dog to everything you want him to be comfortable with as an adult is between the 8th and 13th weeks.

Many people wait too long before getting their dog used to city life. Set your puppy up to succeed by getting him accustomed to all the noises, sights and sounds of the outside world before the socialization period ends. It's not too late! Dogs under 6 months are still ideal candidates for more socialization.

For more information on When to Train, Socialization, and Treat for Confidence, visit Zen Dog Training Online.

Bringing Treats on Walks, featuring Chance

Meet Chance!

Chance is an alert 2 year old cattle dog mix who just loves his owners, but that doesn’t stop him from trying to take control during walks. Chance gets a lot of his exercise off-leash at a local park but tends to not pay attention and disappears when he gets the chance! We needed to teach him that it pays to stay close to his owners off-leash, that's why Chance’s owners must bring treats on walks.

Bringing a variety of different value treats on walks will teach Chance that it literally pays to listen! Practicing calling his name and surprising him with an extremely high value treat when he comes will teach him to be on high alert when someone calls his name.

There are a few tricks to remember. Most importantly, you have to actually remember to bring the treats with you! It's also great if you bring 2-3 different kinds of treats in your treat bag so you can reward better actions with higher value treats. This way you can keep it interesting and save the higher-value treats for rewarding really good behaviors.

Food is the dog equivalent of money to humans. Would you go to work if you were not going to get paid?! If you won the lottery and had a huge weekly paycheck would you even work at all? Teaching your dog that good things happen when he listens to you will help him understand that it pays to listen! 

For more information on Treats on Walks and Treat Bags, visit Zen Dog Training Online.