March 28th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
This episode we will be discussing fear aggression and Scaredy Dogs. Many dogs show fear of other dogs and or people. This can be simple fear of everything or fear of one thing or object.
Dogs can fear men, vacuum cleaners, other dogs and just about everything else.
March 13th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
It is easy to make mistakes when it comes to dog training and I’ve made a bunch which reminds me of…
…one of my first jobs out of high school was changing oil in one of the those quick lube joints that are in many towns.
Funny I took the job because I am terrible with tools.
Anyway, second week on the job I got under the car and emptied the transmission fluid and then pumped in four more quarts of oil.
The owner of the car knew there was a problem when he could not shift the car into gear.
HUGE MISTAKE on my part and I did not last long on that job.
Anyhow…
Making a mistake with a car is one thing but with your dog it can lasting effects. To many dog training mistakes can lead to all types of problems – aggression, separation problems, housetraining issues, etc.
So let’s look at some of the glaring dog training mistakes that you want to avoid.
1. Starting too late. Start dog training as early as eight weeks old. Your dog can learn the basics at that age. DO NOT wait until your dog is six months old. Worst advice ever!
2. Using to many negatives. Teaching is all about being positive. Train your dog using rewards and the results will be much more impressive.
3. Training when you are stressed, angry or rushed. I always do my training sessions in the morning. I am a morning person and have a lot of energy and patience at that time of the day.
Dog training around six at night is not a good time for me. Figure out the time of day that is best for you.
Onward…
4. A person that I used to work with would call me on a regular basis and basically yell at me during every conversation. I couldn’t stand talking to this guy.
It got to the point that I ignored his calls. Good point to remember when calling your dog to you. NEVER punish your dog for coming when called. Always reward.
5. My eighth grade gym teacher scared the heck out of me. Made me uncomfortable to be in the same room with him. This can happen when the owner shoves the dog’s nose in his mess to correct “mistakes.” The dog will become uncomfortable and confused to be around the owner and prolong the housetraining process.
6. Novelist Horace Smith stated: “Inconsistency is the only thing in which men are consistent.” Which is why people have dog training problems. In order for a dog to learn the trainers have to be consistent meaning the whole family.
Usually when I go into the house to work with a dog the family is not on the same page. One person allows the dog to jump, the others push the dog down. One person will allow the dog on the couch and the others punish for getting on the furniture.
It all adds up to one confused dog and very poor training results.
7. Un-Intentional reinforcement – Dogs do certain behaviors and get rewarded by the owners without them realizing that they are making the behaviors stronger. For instance, the dog barks and the owners yells, “Quiet,” “Shut up.”
This is giving attention to the behavior. If the dog jumps and the owner pushes the dog and says “Get off” this is giving attention to the behavior. The more attention a behavior gets the more you’ll see the behavior.
Avoid these mistakes and you’re on your way to great dog training results.
December 16th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Okay, some days I am a complete bonehead.
This week it happened twice.
BONEHEAD MISTAKE #1: Earlier this week I told you about the big, mean Rotti I had pinned to the ground using training techniques I learned in my younger years.
I never finished the story.
BONEHEAD MISTAKE #2: I forgot to add the link to yesterday’s post for the great resource I mentioned at the end of my email (thanks Kay)! Keep Reading…
October 11th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Last week I got an email from a subscriber that was extremely frustrated.
She was upset because she had been researching dog training and was confused by all the different methods being taught.
“It can get confusing.” I wrote back.
There are a lot of “experts” on the internet claiming to be dog trainers. The unfortunate fact is that dog training on the internet is a very popular niche with a lot of people that have never trained a dog in their life.
A few years back, I saw the internet explode with a huge influx of dog training gurus and decided to write my book, “The Amazing Dog Training Man”.
The book was written in story form to explain the reasons behind the methods.
You see, a good dog trainer will explain WHY he uses a certain technique.
For example, this excerpt is from Chapter 2 of “The Amazing Dog Training Man”:
“Confusion is probably the biggest problem faced by new dog owners. I see the look of frustration on the faces of dog owners coming through my doors very often when they decide to bring their little terror in for training.
“The sad fact is that confusion and frustration often lead to anger. Anger often leads to punishment.
Punishment often leads to problems between the dog and owner.
“Once the relationship between the dog and owner goes sour, things quickly disintegrate.”
I could tell that he was genuinely troubled when this happened.
“Over the next few weeks,” he went on, “I’ll show you how to develop a great relationship with your dog. I am not a guy that is going to regurgitate the same old theories and methods that you read in most dog training books.
“Instead, I am going to explain the reasoning behind why I train the way I do, and why you should apply the same methods.”
————————————————End of excerpt
You can get the first four chapters of The Amazing Dog Training Man Book here:
All the best,
Eric
September 15th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
I LOVE getting emails like this:
“Eric,
Thought you might like to have a story
that has a happy ending. About a year
ago I adopted a Leash Aggressive, Dog
Aggressive, Man/Boy Aggressive Glen of
Imaal Terrier.
I joined the inner circle about a year
ago and have been reading and following
your advice.
He was certified AKC Canine Good Citizen
in August, has achieved his Rally Novice
title and we’re working on his Beginner
Novice title (we’ve got one leg).
I still have to manage his space and make
sure other dogs don’t get in his face. He
will never be a dog I can relax with when
out an about but he’s on his way to becoming
a calmer happy dog.
Positive training does work! This dog was
on his way to becoming another statistic
for unmanageable dogs that are put down
because no one wants to take the time to
look at the world from his point of view.
Thank you for the tons of good information
available on your site.
You saved my dog’s life!” Mary H.
Getting an email like this does not make my
day it makes my month!
Become a member today:
All the best,
Eric
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Eric Letendre is a professional dog trainer from the United States. For more than 20 years, he has been developing dog training "hacks" that have worked for dog owners all over the world. Eric operates from a home office or a laptop while traveling and draws on his experience and passion for dog training to show others how to develop a dog that is truly “Man’s Best Friend”.
Eric is the author of numerous reports, the E-Book “101 Ways to Hack Your Dog’s Behavior,” “The Amazing Dog Training Man Book,” and produced and stars in his DVD “Secrets of a Professional Dog Trainer.”
