April 5th, 2010
By Eric Letendre
“I’ve seen a look in dogs’ eyes, a quickly vanishing
look of amazed contempt, and I am convinced that basically
dogs think humans are nuts.” – John Steinbeck
______________________________________________
Hope everyone had a great weekend. The weather here in
Western MA was awesome and the Red Sox beat the Yankees on
opening day – It doesn’t get any better than that!
Anyway, Rach and I had a pile of people over for Easter
Sunday and we had four dogs here to share it with us. Our
two, Rachael’s parents brought their dog and we had my
friend Ted’s beagle.
The subject of dog training always comes up and Rachael’s
cousin started asking me questions about punishment. He
said that all of this positive reinforcement stuff is good
but every once in a while you have to “teach a lesson.”
I informed Rachael’s cousin that you don’t have to go
negative to “teach a lesson.” Lessons can be taught using
positive or negative reinforcement.
I added that the problem with negative reinforcement is
that when we use it, it usually confuses the dog.
For instance, let’s say the dog has a chewing problem. Every
time we leave the house the dog finds something to chew.
When we come home and find that the dog has chewed our shoes,
couch or some other item, we punish the dog. We yell, maybe
smack the dog’s bottom and become very threatening.
The problem is that OUR timing is all wrong. We are punishing
the dog long after the behavior occured. The dog will start
to associate the punishment with homecomings.
The dog watches you leave the house. When you come home he
knows that you are going to turn into a raving lunatic and
start yelling and screaming.
This will cause stress in the dog. Guess what dogs do when
they get stressed?
THEY CHEW!
Now the very behavior we were trying to prevent gets worse.
We get madder and madder, increasing the amount of punishemnt.
The dog basically thinks we are nuts.
Punishment can be very effective when you want to stop a
behavior, but it has to be used properly. Used improperly,
you can confuse your dog.
All the best,
Eric
P.S. If you’d like to learn more about the correct way to
use punishment, check out: Dog Training Inner Circle
January 31st, 2010
By Eric Letendre
Exercise for dogs is an important topic to discuss. One of the main reasons we have behavior problems with dogs is there lack of exercise. Pent up energy in dogs can create havoc in most households. It’s important to understand that there are two types of exercise for dogs: Mental exercise and physical exercise.
It’s good to give your dog mental activities to do when you are away for long periods of time. In the videos you’ll see my two favorite types of mental exercises for dogs.
September 10th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Had a great labor day weekend up at Sebasco Bay in Maine. Nothing like taking a few days off and relaxing on the coast of Maine.
What a beautiful place.
The problem is when you come back. Email, phone calls, meetings, it all takes a few days to catch up.
Anyway…
While going through hundreds of emails, one stuck out like a sore thumb. "Army Dog Swallows Bomb…And Survives" Talk about getting your attention.
I had to stop what I was doing and read the story. Turns out an Army dog named Toby ingested a toxic substance when sniffing out Taliban improvised explosive devices on the front line, he was picked up by a medical emergency helicopter and whisked back to Camp Bastion.
The story went on to say that Toby is fine and in great spirits – Thank God.
This story got me thinking…
Eating, chewing and destructive behavior is a big problem for a lot of dog owners. I know, because I been working with dogs for 20+ years and chewing is at the top of the list.
Coming when called, walking on leash, jumping and housetraining are also at the top of the list.
That’s why I put together the "Back To School" special which includes…
The Back To School ends tomorrow. So don’t delay go to Back To School!
All the best,
Eric
September 4th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Wow, when I talked about Back To School for your dog I never thought I would hear about a dog getting a degree from college.
Here is the story:
Ada, Ohio (AP) – A well-trained golden retriever will receive a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Northern University today along with the rest of the graduating class. Zeeke, a 1-year-old dog, will earn his bachelor’s of science degree in canine companionship.
The canine has spent thousands of hours training as a Canine Companion dog as part of a senior’s honors project. ONU President, Kendall Baker, said he believes this is the first time the university has ever awarded a diploma to an animal.
In any event…
I’m sure most of you aren’t looking to get a college degree for your dog. You probably want your dog to walk on leash without pulling, to stop jumping and come back when called.
Am I right so far?
That’s why now is the best time for you to take advantage of my "Back To School" special. The Back To School special includes some of my most valuable lessons that I have taught over the past 15+ years to thousands of dog owners.
You get…
Here’s what you’ll learn:
Click here to take advantage of this incredible offer:
All the best,
Eric
P.S. You’ll be amazed at how simple and easy it is to apply all of these techniques. Your reports and ebook are instant downloads. You’re DVD will be sent within 48 hours…
September 3rd, 2009
By Eric Letendre
I dreaded this time of year…
As a kid, I hated this time of the year. You see, this is the week before I had to go back to school. School was more than a chore for me – it was hell.
I spent most of my school life in "special" classes and at one point went to a technical school to learn a trade – disaster.
I was worse with tools than I was with spelling and grammer. Funny thing is, I love to learn (I actually signed up for a college course yesterday) and I love to teach, especailly dog training.
The best part of my job is to help people train and develop better realtionships with their dogs.
How can it get better than that?
Anyway, all of this back to school talk got me thinking. Why not do something really special for all the readers of this blog.
Check it out:
All the best,
Eric
Can you let your dog off leash?
Want to be able to do more things with your dog? BRAND NEW TRAINING COURSE - FIRST TIME OFFERED
Get all the details: Ultimate Online RECALL Course
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.”
