October 24th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Did you know that most of what WE call behavior problems in dogs is incorrect.
Most of the behaviors that we don’t like are really just location problems.
When your dog pees on the carpet we call it a behavior problem. When your dog digs in your yard we call it a behavior problem. When your dog jumps we call it a behavior problem.
If we show the dog the right place to do the behavior it is no longer a behavior problem.
What if your dog pees outside, what if your dog starts digging on the beach, what if your dog jumps during an agility trial.
No longer problems.
Here is a video to help you solve any behavior problem:
July 12th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
TWO MORE DAYS.
My wife is the BIGGEST Harry Potter fan and she is in full Hogwarts mode. She is re-reading all the books and watching the movies. I’ve enjoyed the series but nothing like her. I guess I am just your everyday average muggle.
Anyway…
…I got a call from a nice lady not too long ago about her dog’s jumping problem.
She was very concerned because everything she had tried did not work. It was a big problem because her elderly aunt came over every week and she was afraid her dog was going to hurt her.
I pulled out my bag of tricks and she was right.
Her dog loved to jump and everything we tried did not work. That’s when I decided to do what I call the “Cha Cha” technique.
You see, when a dog jumps the person being jumped on will push and back away.
The “Cha Cha” is done by doing a quick Cha Cha step into the dog.
To do this correctly you need to keep your arms at your side and use your body to walk into the dog as the dog moves towards you.
As you can imagine timing is everything.
Your friends will think you are a little wacky as you do Ricky Ricardo style dance steps with your dog, but it is very effective.
Done correctly, it’s like waving a magic wand that stops jumping.
All the best,
Eric
P.S. I cover this in great detail and show you how to do it in the Good K9 Manners Course. Get all the details here: Good K9 Manners
June 21st, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Yes, today I am miserable.
Life is good, no problems with the wife, dog is healthy, business is good, family is safe.
So why an I miserable?
Well my dog loving friend, it all has to do with a weed whacker and a BIG patch of poison ivy that I did not see.
I sit here with it on my face, legs, arms and back.
BUT…
…that is NOT going to stop me from helping you solve your dog training and behavior problems, so let’s mush on!
Many dog owners wonder about being the “alpha” or the “pack leader.”
Dogs are extremely social animals, and it is the reason why we need to establish some order. Your dog can develop big problems if you are not seen as the one in charge.
Aggression, destructive behavior, housetraining, barking, jumping and chewing are just a few of the behaviors that can develop when the owner is not the pack leader.
Why would a dog develop some of these behaviors, you ask?
I can answer that question with one word:
STABILITY!
It is kind of like a kid in the house. Kids that grow up in houses with strong parental guidance tend to be more stable adults. The guidance has to be fair and consistent and it is the same with dogs. A strong leader does not hit, scream, yell or threaten.
Dog trainers used to teach dog owners to be tough with their dogs and to hit, scold, scruff shake and do alpha roll-overs.
Not good, because when you use aggression it is just a matter of time before your dog will get aggressive with you.
Being a strong leader is simple.
Instead of using force, you control the activites that are important to your dog. You control:
Food
Sleeping areas
Social contact
Games
I can take just about any dog and within about a week, I can teach the dog that I am the one in charge without ever touching the dog.
If you’d like to learn more about teaching your dog that you’re the pack leader check out this DVD:
All the best,
Eric
May 12th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
I mentioned not to long ago that I had just finished reading the book, “Marley and Me,” by John Grogan.
Great book and I really enjoyed it because I have met many, many Marley’s in my career as a dog trainer. Marley was a big, happy, hyper, lovable yellow lab that turned into a real handful for his owners.
Marley had a lot of fun chewing, digging, stealing and dragging his owners every where they walked. Labs are great dogs but they get into trouble because they are full of energy and a love of life. I’ve had many dog owners come to me with their dogs and have listened to them as they tell me how much they love their dog but don’t know how to stop the bad behavior. Keep Reading…
March 17th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Snow is finally melting here in Western MA and I CAN’T wait to get outside and do some hiking and biking.
Anyway, in my last message I shared with you a simple solution I came up with when my zipper got stuck at a most inopportune time (if you missed it you can get the full story below this post).
A big problem for many dog owners is the hectic, crazy dog. The dog that literally blows a gasket every time he sees another dog, person, bird, squirrel or leaf blowing by.
When it comes to calming the hectic dog, it’s important to understand how reinforcement works.
Webster defines reinforcement as: An event, a circumstance, or a condition that increases the likelihood that a given response will recur in a situation like that in which the reinforcing condition originally occurred.
Basically, when we reinforce a behavior, the behavior gets stronger.
What most people don’t understand is that reinforcement comes in two forms:
Intentional reinforcement and UN-intentional reinforcement.
A lot of the behaviors that we don’t like have been unintentionally reinforced by the owner. For example, the dog starts to bark and pull and become uncontrollable. The owner starts to pull back on the leash and starts to say things like:
“Stop that,” “Stop pulling,” “Bad boy,” “No,” “Don’t pull,” ”Quit it,” and on it goes.
Same thing happens with jumping. The dog jumps and gets some form of attention. Barking is often reinforced by the owner shouting at the dog.
My friend and psychotherapist, Gena, tells me often that negative attention is better than no attention.
So we have to be very careful about unintentionally reinforcing the behaviors we don’t like.
When I walk into a classroom full of dogs and their owners, the first thing I have the owners do is to stop talking to their dogs UNLESS the dog is doing exactly what they want the dog to do.
If their dog is standing politely at their side and there is no tension in the leash, if they are not straining and barking at the other dogs, then and only then do they talk and pet their dog. If the dog pulls, I instruct them to simply pull back on the leash and to put some slack into the leash. Pull back and get the leash to go slack.
The amazing thing that happens when you do this is that the less you struggle, the faster you gain control.
So your homework is to go to a park or a place that is not too busy (you don’t want to make it too difficult in the beginning) and practice with your dog. Find a spot and just stand there with your dog. When your dog becomes excited and starts to pull, don’t say anything, don’t get ruffled and simply pull back on the leash and put some slack into it.
Repeat this and in a few minutes you’ll see a big change in your dog. Once your dog relaxes, then and only then do you turn on the verbal and physical praise.
Give it a try and see for yourself.
I guarantee you’ll be impressed with your dog and yourself.
All the best,
Eric
P.S. I got a nasty email from one reader this week saying that I should not promote my Dog Training Inner Circle in the P.S. That I should just come out and ask the readers of this blog to buy it without “dangling a carrot(?)”
P.P.S. I do like to help as many dog lovers as I possibly can and offer a lot of advice at no charge, but this is how I make my living. So if you’d like to become a member of the Dog Training Inner Circle and get the really good stuff please consider joining The Dog Training Inner Circle.
P.P.P.S. If that offended anyone please let me apologize in advance. I still hope you find my email newsletter informative and fun to read. Even though it is free, I do put a lot of work into it.
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.”
