July 23rd, 2012
By Eric Letendre
Got this email over the weekend:
“Hi Eric, Love your emails. Very informative and fun to read but I have one problem. I have a little four month old yorkie that my husband and I adore but she has one problem. She still poos inside the house. We need her 2 poo outside, any suggestions?”
No fun having a yorkie that poos in the house.
This would be described as a behavior problem by many of the dog training “experts.”
Let me make this very clear – This is NOT a behavior problem. Your dog peeing and pooing is a normal, natural function that all living creatures need to perform.
When your dog pees or poos in the house it is a LOCATION PROBLEM.
Sorry for the all the captial letters but I really want you to understand this because when it is called a behavior problem it is often lumped in with bad behavior and bad behavior is always viewed through the lens of punishment.
When a dog poos inside it is not bad behavior and a dog should not be punished.
In fact, punishment can quickly backfire and cross associations can develop.
A cross association is when your dog makes a negative association with your presence, not the event you were punishing for.
For example: A dog pees in the house. The owner gets mad drags the dog over to the urine and stuffs his nose in it and yells “BAD DOG.”
The dog now learns to hold it when the owner is around. They hold it in the house and they hold it when they are outside with the owner.
The dog has to eventually go so guess what the dog does?
He hides.
He finds a place where no one can see him and he pees behind the couch, under the table anywhere he can’t be seen.
Instead, we need to think of this as a location problem and apply the M.U.T.T. Method as discussed in Friday’s email.
So if your dog still pees or poos inside the house, remember that housetraining is like real estate:
Location, location, location.
Teach your dog the right location and your dog will be housetrained faster than you can say “Amazing Dog Training Man.”
BTW – The Housetraining Handbook is included on The Dog Training Inner Circle which shows you the step-by-step method to teach your dog or puppy the right location.
Get all the details here:
All the best,
Eric
July 23rd, 2012
By Eric Letendre
Many of you know that I was not the brightest bulb in the tanning bed when I was in school.
I wish I had put more effort into learning, because after high school I did continue my education by going to school to learn how to train dogs.
There was a lot to learn and I was in trouble every time there was a test.
Luckily, I came up with a way to help pass tests.
I didn’t cheat but I did use acronyms to increase my ability to pass tests.
I continued coming up with acronyms when it came to dog training and I developed one that I have been teaching to dog owners for years and I am going to share it with you today.
The M.U.T.T. Method is what you can use whenever you have a behavior problem.
Here’s how it works:
When you have a behavior problem, the first thing you have to do is Manage the behavior.
The next step is to figure out what the Underlying problem is.
Next, you need to Teach your dog new behaviors and the last step is
Time.
For instance if your dog digs, the first step is to manage the behavior by not allowing the dog outside by himself.
The next step is to figure out what the underlying problem is.
Is it breed specific?
Is the dog bored?
Frustrated?
Once you determine what the underlying problem is, you can now start to teach a different behavior.
One of my dogs loved to dig so I built him his own sandbox. He could dig as much as he wanted because I would fill it back up.
It took me about a week to teach him that was the only place he was allowed to dig.
Following the M.U.T.T Method can help you with ANY behavior problem.
Try it out and see for yourself, and if you really want to learn more about fixing behavior problems, you’ll want to dig in to the Good K9 Manners course
You’ll be able to stop begging, jumping, stealing and more.
All the best,
Eric
September 18th, 2011
By Eric Letendre
Here are some puppy training tips:
October 14th, 2010
By Eric Letendre
Get this… Hungarian scientists are working on computer
software that analyzes dog barks so people can better
recognize their emotions.
It’s true.
And get this… the researchers tested the software in 6
situations: when the dog is alone, when it sees a ball, it
fights, it plays, it encounters a stranger or it goes for
a walk.
But here’s the best part: The computer correctly recognized
the emotional reaction of the dogs based on their barks and
yelps in 43 percent of the cases. People had judged correctly
in 40 percent of cases.
Scientists said the software could be improved.
Why is this important to you?
Imagine if your dog could let you know that they need to go
outside to pee, or if your dog could let you know that they
are pent up and need some exercise before they chew your shoes.
Unfortunately, we have to make do without the software and we
have to communicate what is acceptable and un-acceptable behavior
in the house.
It is one of the reasons I developed the Good K9 Manners course.
The course will help you communicate to your dog that:
* Chewing
* Jumping
* Stealing
* Unruly Behavior
* Barking uncontrollably
are all un-acceptable behaviors.
In case you missed it in yesterday’s Train Your Dog TV, you
can get the Good K9 Manners course for less than you think.
Go to Good K9 Manners and type DOGTVMANNERS and you’ll
get the reduced price.
This won’t last long.
Good K9 Manners and don’t forget DOGTVMANNERS.
All the best,
Eric
December 17th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Went for a walk with my pups this morning
and all I can say is, “IT’S COLD!”
December mornings here in chilly Western
Massachusetts are not fun. Maybe I’ll take
my Mom’s advice and go visit her in sunny
south Florida soon.
Won’t she be surprised when I show up with
Jimmy, my German Shepherd, Izzy, my pitbull
and Martini, the maltipoo – haha!
Anyway, as I was walking around this morning, I
thought back to when I used to do K-9 patrol
in Hartford,CT.
I used to work 8 to 9 hours outside with my
partner Jocko, a long haired German Shepherd
who never seemed to mind the temperature.
Back then I started giving it some thought
to becoming a full time dog trainer. The
thought of working all day long in a nice,
heated room working with dogs seemed nice.
What I didn’t know was that becoming a dog
trainer was like entering a life in politics.
Dog trainers are very opinionated about the
right way and wrong way to train dogs.
Spend some time on the Internet or watching
some of the popular dog training TV shows
and you’ll see what I’m talking about.
One trainers says to use a choke collar, the
next says to never use a choke collar, never
use a treat, always use treats, and on and on.
The problem for the new dog owner is that they
become confused, frustrated and in some cases
depressed.
I know, I have talked to thousands of dog owners
over the past 20 years.
It’s one of the reasons I have put up so many
videos on YouTube and articles on the Internet.
It’s also the reason I developed the Dog Training
Inner Circle. I wanted a place where people could
go and get quality information and a place where
you can go and ask your questions.
The forum has over 1700 pages of questions asked
and answered. The forum is a dog training encyclopedia
all by itself!
Add to this, The Good K9 Manners course, The Housetraining
Handbook, monthly video seminars, breed of the month
profiles and your dog training and behavior problems are
SOLVED!
If this is the kind of information you’d like to get
your hands on…now you can.
All the best,
Eric
P.S. You’ll be amazed at how simple and easy it is to apply
all of the dog training techniques.
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 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.”
