January 9th, 2013
By Eric Letendre
Peaches was one of the sweetest dogs I ever met.
She came to my classes as a puppy and continued her training as she got older.
Around two years old, Peaches’ owners contacted me with some concerns. She was starting to show some signs of aggression.
I could not believe what I was hearing.
Peaches was a really sweet dog and I asked them to bring her to me immediately so I could evaluate her behavior.
When I saw her she seemed fine. The owners told me it was hard to pinpoint when she became aggressive.
They added that it seemed like a light switch. One second she was her sweet, normal self and the next she was aggressive.
As soon as I heard that I had a pretty good idea of what the problem was.
I informed them that they needed to set up an appointment right away.
I also made one point very clear to them.
I said, “You have to request, maybe even demand to have her thyroid checked.”
A dog with thyroid problems can display different behaviors and a thorough vet check is usually step one when I am dealing with aggressive behavior.
A dog with a screwed up thyroid is going to exhibit abnormal behavior.
Once the dog has been checked out and it has been determined that there is an abnormality, there are thyroid medications can do a lot to help.
In Peaches case, it completely changed her behavior. Once she was on medication she was fine. Never had a problem again.
If the thyroid is NOT the problem, then a behavior modification program has to be followed. The program I developed is The M.U.T.T. Method.
The M.U.T.T. Method uses a combination of Management, finding out what the Underlying problem is, Training a new behavior and then taking the Time for the new behavior to kick in.
Bottom line:
If you’re tired of your dog jumping, stealing, barking, begging and more, then give The Good K9 Manners Program a look see.
It covers the M.U.T.T. Method in detail and you can get it with a discount.
Just use coupon code: 10-OFFK9MANNERS
Good K9 Manners
Best,
Eric
October 4th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
“A quick temper will make a fool of you soon enough.”
Bruce Lee
I don’t talk about aggression too much in my emails.
There is a very strong reason for this.
Aggression is a very difficult, sometimes dangerous behavior to deal with.
Temper and ego should NEVER enter the arena when you are dealing with an aggressive dog.
Recently, my good friend Jim Helems from Dog Pals showed me a video of a TV dog training guru dealing with an aggressive dog.
Watching this “expert” I was floored. He actually tried using force with the dog. He also lost his temper and once his ego kicked in, the dog nailed him leaving a big bite wound on his hand.
Bruce Lee’s quote was what I thought of as I watched this video.
This trainer literally thought he would overpower the dog using force to make the dog better. It reminds me of a place I used to work at where there was a big sign that said, “The beatings will continue until morale improves.”
Asinine.
Here’s the deal.
A dog with an aggression problem needs to be dealt with by a professional who has experience working with this behavior and knows how to DEFUSE the situation, NOT escalate it.
You see, whenever you use aggression to combat aggression, you are going to ESCALATE aggression.
Every dog that displays aggressive behavior has a trigger. A good trainer will find that trigger and condition the dog to behave differently.
It takes patience.
It takes experience.
The best course of action is to work at training your dog to never become aggressive.
This is done through proper socialization, positive training and interactions.
All of which are covered in detail in The Dog Training Inner Circle.
Easy, fun and positive.
Check it out here:
Best,
Eric
June 29th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
Yesterday was my fourth wedding anniversary.
Went by fast, and I have to say, it’s been a great four years and we are now expecting our first child.
Rach and I have a great relationship because a very wise man taught me the secret to a good marriage.
The secret is only one word.
Do you know what the word is?
I’m going to share that word toward the end of this email.
Anyway, being a dog trainer is an interesting profession. I have been in the middle of many husband/wife arguments more than once.
They have a disagreement about their dog and then turn to me and ask who is right. If I take his OR her side, I become the chump.
Dogs do a lot of things we don’t like, just like our wives and husbands sometimes do things we don’t like.
A dog comes into the house and chews your favorite pair of shoes, pees on your expensive carpet and digs a huge hole in your garden.
We get mad at the dog and hopefully put a training program in place to teach the dog how to live with us in the house. We teach the dog our rules for successfully living under the same roof.
Success all comes down to communication. Communication is the training you use use to teach your dog to pee outside and to chew on toys that you have given to him.
Good communication between husbands and wives also goes a long way to create a happy marriage.
BUT…
…there is also one more step that you need to take.
Forgiveness.
You have to forgive your dog for chewing your favorite pair of shoes, for peeing on your expensive carpet and all the other bad behavior that he has done.
It does NOT mean that you let your dog continue to chew your shoes and pee on your rugs.
It means that you teach your dog the correct behaviors (according to you) and then forgive your dog.
I know, it sounds metaphysical and woo woo, but I have seen people that are just constantly angry with their dogs and it’s not a good situation.
So the choice is up to you. Continue being mad at your dog or, forgive, move on, follow a training program and watch your dog’s behavior change for the good.
So the secret to good relationships with humans or canines is simple (communication and forgiveness) and as Jimmy Buffett said:
“Relationships, we all want them, we all need them, what we do with them?”
What are you going to do?
All the best,
Eric
P.S. Please forgive 
but this is a LAST day to take advantage of the special discounted price on the Good K9 Manners Course. Use the coupon code 10-OFFK9MANNERS to learn how to STOP unwanted behavior using the correct communication:
June 28th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
The secret that I’m going to discuss in this email really is a secret that has never been revealed to the best of my knowledge.
It has nothing to do with crates, leashes, collars, treats, clickers or anything else associated with the normal dog training process.
After training dogs for the past 20 years, I have discovered a crucial step that you need to take before any training will be successful.
Most dog trainers will never admit this but I will. Being the brave guy that I am, I don’t hold anything back.
I give you the truth even when it hurts. Anyway, here it is:
A lot of the clients that dog trainers work with are NOT successful.
Yikes, why would I admit that?
All over the internet you’ll read “Train Your Dog In 36 Minutes or Less,” A Fully Trained Dog In 7 Days,” “Train Your Dog While You Sleep,” and on and on.
Here’s the truth – Dog trainers are really not dog trainers, we are people trainers.
Sure, most dog trainers can train dogs but they are not good at training people. To be a successful dog trainer you have to understand dog AND human psychology.
One of my favorite quotes is: “If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re right.”
And that statement sums up dog training in a nutshell. Let me explain:
Many of the clients I have worked with who never had success always make the same statements:
“My dog will never learn this.” “My dog will never stop jumping.” “My dog will never stop chewing.” “My dog is always going to be a barker.”
Do you see the thread in those statements?
I always explain to this type of client that the statements we make, and say over and over again, become true.
If you are trying to housetrain your dog and thinking and saying that it’s impossible, that your dog will never learn, your statements will become fact.
If you’re the one training the dog, then you need to believe that you can train your dog.
So my favorite dog training quote is:
“If you think you can train your dog, or if you think you can’t train your dog, you’re right.”
If you ready to STOP dealing with unwanted behaviors you can get started with the Good K9 Manners course.
To help you out we are offering it at a discounted price for one more day. Just use the coupon code 10-OFFK9MANNERS
All the best,
Eric Letendre
June 27th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
Being a dog trainer is interesting.
We get to work with a lot of different people and dogs.
At parties, people like to talk to us because most people are dog lovers. People wonder how we became dog trainers. Dog trainers are asked a lot of questions and we get emails like this:
Should I stop my dog from humping the pillows?
My answer: “Yes.”
I think dogs should be taught to walk on leash without pulling, to greet with all four paws on the ground, to be friendly and to pee and poop outside.
BUT…
…that is MY idea of a well behaved dog and I want to make this very clear. Dogs do NOT have behavior problems.
All dog behavior is very normal and natural to them. Chewing on your table is no different than your dog chewing on a stick. It’s all wood to the dog. The only difference is your table has value to you and the stick doesn’t.
A behavior problem is also what the owner determines is a behavior problem.
I know a lot of dog owners that don’t care of their dogs jump. An owner of a junk yard may want an aggressive dog.
Some people want their dogs to bark. Some people want their dogs to pull on leash. I know a person who rollerskates with her dog and she loves to have her dog pull her around.
Don’t let anyone tell you how your dog should behave. If you like your dog jumping up to greet you, if you like your dog pulling, if you want your dog to sleep on the bed, go ahead and let your dog do these behaviors.
But, I do want to make it clear that the behaviors you like may not be appreciated by your friends and family. At some point you may want them to watch your dog when you are on vacation.
So it is a good idea to have a dog that does not steal food off the table, that greets without jumping and stops barking on command.
The best place to learn about stopping unwanted behavior is The Good K9 Manners course. With the summer months in full swing, this is the best time to train your dog and you can take advantage of the discounted price for the next two days.
Just use the coupon code 10-OFFK9MANNERS
Stop unwanted dog behavior 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 techniques 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.”
