February 16th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Yesterday I posted a video on this blog. You can watch it below this post.
The video was from the 1930′s Little Rascals.
When I was a kid, I would watch The Little Rascals every morning after I did my paper route. LOVED that show and found some old videos on YouTube.
I laughed at the way Spanky grabs the other kid under the table like a dog and gets a dose of Tabasco.
Taste deterrents are used in some situations – chewing, begging, etc.
You can find commercial taste deterrents in most pet stores. They come flavored as bitter apple, sour grapes,
etc.
In the dog training world, there are STRONG opinions on using any type of aversive in dog training.
What I have found in 20+ years of training dogs is that there are times when you use positive reinforcement and there are times when you can use a negative consequence to get the desired result.
Now, before I get a flood of hate mail, please let me explain.
Using a negative consequence does NOT mean you hurt or harm your dog. For instance, I have used breath spray for years to teach dogs to stop barking on command.
Would you think breath spray is harmful to a dog?
NO, it is not, but it is a negative consequence and the dog quickly learns to stop barking on command.
And that is what dog training comes down to. TEACH your dog by positively reinforcing behaviors. Sit, down, stand come, etc, are ALL taught by rewarding the behaviors. These commands used to be taught with a choke or prong collar which is wrong, wrong, WRONG!
You stop behaviors (jumping, barking, begging, chewing) by using a negative consequence.
A negative consequence is NOT hitting, slapping, shocking, choking or anything harsh.
A negative consequence can be water, sound, spray, etc.
You can apply a negative consequence that will stop the behavior without hurting your dog.
Here is the last bit of advice I’ll give you on applying a negative consequence. The negative consequence should NEVER be associated with you.
All negative consequences come from the environment, everything positive comes from you.
I discuss this much more in depth on the Good K9 Manners website.
You can get $10.00 off the regular price by using the coupon code: 10-OFFK9MANNERS
You can think of it as a late Valentine’s gift from your friend, The Amazing Dog Training Man.
All the best,
Eric
January 26th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Well, it’s official.
Another 4 to 12 inches of snow expected tonight into tomorrow morning.
We already have two and half feet of the stuff and I had to shovel out a place for my dog to take care of business. It would also be nice to take a long hike in the woods, but I think I am going to have to invest in some snow shoes.
Anyway, the last time we had a winter this bad I got a call from a very distressed border collie owner.
She worked long hours and because of work and weather conditions her poor dog was really going nuts. Every dog needs exercise but border collies need jobs. They really have an incredible desire to work and run.
By the time I got called in, things had gone from bad to really, really bad.
You see, she lived in an apartment and her dog had chewed a hole in the wall and gone right through it. Her dog was in her neighbor’s apartment when she came home. The neighbor was none too happy and that’s when I got the call.
I put together a program for her that included a lot of exercise for her dog. Luckily, there was a dog daycare in the area that her dog could go to a few times a week. We also taught her what was acceptable and what was UN-Acceptable to chew on.
Within a few weeks, the neighbor got over the hole in the wall and the border collie responded very well to the training.
The scary part of all of this was what was going to happen if the training program that I recommended did not work. She knew that she was going to have to find her dog a new home which would have broken her heart.
But, it all turned out good.
A lot of what I showed her to do is in the Good K9 Manners program that you can still get at a reduced price for two more days.
Hop on over to Good K9 Manners and use the code 10-OFFK9MANNERS to get the special discount.
All the best,
Eric
January 21st, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Here I am sitting in my house watching the snow falling at a very rapid rate.
I really don’t a mind some snow but this year we are getting nailed here in Western MA. The big problem is that after the last snow storm, it rained which put a thin sheet of ice over all the snow making it next to impossible to walk in.
Yesterday I was going to go for a walk with my pup but by the time I made it to the backyard I felt like I had run a marathon.
This can be a tough time of the year to exercise your dog.
As I was sitting here watching more snow dump on us, I decided to make a list of all the ways to exercise your dog inside and I am going to share it with you.
Dogs need physical AND mental exercise. I’ve included both in my list. Here you go:
Search and Rescue - Especially good if you have kids.
Tell your kids that you going to play a game with your dog. They have to go and hide somewhere in the house.
They have to be very quiet and let them know that their dog is going to rescue them. Hold your dog as they go hide.
Once they are hiding tell your dog “Find them” and let him go.
Your kids will love playing this game. Make sure you tell the kids to make a big deal when the dog finds them.
Find it - A variation of the above but done with toys.
Stuff a kong toy with some of your dog’s favorite treats right in front of her. Tell her to stay and go hide the toy. Once it is hidden release your dog from the stay command and tell her, “Find it.” As your dog gets good at this make it more and more difficult to find the toy.
Tug o war - One of my favorite games. Can be played in a very small area and really gives your dog a good work out.
Retrieve up stairs - This was a favorite for my Belgian Malinois, Suede. I would stand at the top of the stairs and drop a ball down them. He would run down, retrieve the ball and haul back up the stairs.
Ten minutes of this can wear out any dog.
Tricks - What better way to give your dog some mental stimulation than tricks. Teach your dog to roll over, sit pretty, shake and play dead. These are easy tricks to teach and it will tire your dog out.
Obedience - Another great way to mentally stimulate your dog when he is bored. Work on sit, down and stay. Start working on the time your dog does a stay and distractions.
Work on nagging behavior problems - What better time to finally put an end to those behavior problems you’ve been putting up with. Now is the time to teach your dog to stop barking on command. End begging at the table. Teach your dog to never steal anything off the table ever again.
Turn a snow day into a productive day with your dog and if you need help ending those pesky behavior problems check out the Good K9 Manners Course.
Good K9 Manners Course has videos showing you step by step how to stop annoying behavior problems. Use this course to change your dog’s behavior and for a short time I’ll even offer it at a special discount price.
Use this code to get the special price: 10-OFFK9MANNERS
All the best,
Eric
December 21st, 2010
By Eric Letendre
December 17th, 2010
By Eric Letendre
One of my favorite things to do is to read. I read books on everything. I read books on dogs, relationships, psychology, fiction, and business.
One book that I read a few years back was “7 Habits Of Highly Effective People,” by Steven Covey. I personally thought the book was okay but I loved the title.
I always thought that a great title for a book would be “7 Habits Of Highly Effective Dog Owners.” I thought that it would be a great title because I have worked with dog owners that were highly effective dog owners and all of them followed the same basic steps.
In fact, for years I have been teaching that…
In Order To Have A Good Dog Your Have To Learn To Be A Good Dog Owner.
On Saturday I got to work with a great little lab puppy. He was a lot of fun to work with. The owners, who I have known for a long time (I helped them train their last dog who recently passed away) are perfect examples of this principle.
Here are the seven habits all good dog owners have in common:
1. Training
All great dog owners spend some time training their dogs. Training is the best way to communicate with your dog. Your dog has no idea that they are not supposed to pull on leash, to not jump on guests, or to come back when you call them.
2. Exercise
Our dogs spend a lot of time waiting around for us. We go off to work, we’re busy, we have appointments to keep, and our dogs are just hanging out waiting for us to do something with them.
Dogs are extremely social and want to interact with us. Every dog needs two forms of exercise – mental and physical.
3. Good food
Not all dog foods are created equal. Feeding your dog a good diet is very important. Look at some of the labels on dog food. Some of them are loaded with chemicals, dyes, sugar and low grade products.
Just last night I had my niece and nephews over for dinner. Just spending a few hours with them I could see the effect food had on their behavior. The same holds true with dogs. A poor diet can result in bad behavior and poor health.
4. Leadership
Dogs are social pack animals. They survive by living together in packs. In order for that pack to survive they need to develop a social structure with a leader. When you dog comes into the house, you need to become the pack leader.
By becoming the pack leader your dog will know where they fit in. Becoming the pack leader does not mean that you have to be forceful. It simply means that you need to control the activities that are important to your dog which are sleeping, eating, playing, and social contact.
5. Play
Dogs live to play. Ever watch a group of puppies together? It is one of my favorite things to do. A group of puppies will jump, run, tug, and have a great time together. Playing with your dog is a great way to exercise and bond with your dog. It will also fulfill an important need in your dog.
6. Management
Good management skills are crucial. When a dog is young they usually get into a lot of trouble by chewing, stealing, jumping, etc. The owner, as the leader and teacher, needs to manage the dog’s behavior when they are young. As the dog gets older and learns how to live with us humans, we do not need to manage as much.
7. Patience
Some of the best dog owners I know are the ones who are patient. Having a dog, especially a young one, can be very trying.
Follow these steps and you’ll be a highly effective dog owner.
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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.”
