June 4th, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Not too long ago I was working with a dog and her owner this when the 3rd biggest dog training mistake reared it’s ugly head.
During the training session, I quickly observed a big problem between the owner and her dog.
It was the second time meeting with and I knew what she was going to ask me.
You see, we were outside and her dog was not listening to her. Her dog was grabbing the leash, not coming back to her when she called and could care less when she said "Stay."
About 20 minutes into the session she turned to me and said: "My dog listens to you but she won’t listen to me. How can I get her to listen to me?"
Instead of telling her how to fix the problem I asked her some questions. I asked her:
"Do you have your dog do a sit stay for meals?"
"No."
"Do you let your dog win tug games?"
"Yes."
"Do you ever chase you dog around the house?"
"Yes."
"Do you ever tell your dog to get off the couch?"
"No."
I thanked her for being honest, and then I told her what the problem was.
Leadership!
Her dog did not look to her as the leader, and when this happens, your dog will not respond to you the way you want him to.
It really is easy to teach your dog that you are the leader. All you need to do is control the food, games, sleeping areas and social contact.
The next time your dog is not listening to you, stop and evaluate your relationship with your dog.
Are there steps you could take to become a stronger leader. You’ll see big changes in your dog’s behavior.
Good Luck!
All the best,
Eric
P.S. If you’re looking for more info on how to become the pack leader, hop on over to the Dog Training Inner Circle – complete with videos, audio and articles on the best ways to teach your dog. http://dogtraininginnercircle.com
January 22nd, 2009
By Eric Letendre
Monday night I was doing an interview with a good friend of mine.
The interview was on how to be your dog’s pack leader. One of the questions he asked me was how long have I been training dogs.
I told him my first job was way back in 1988.
Over 20 years ago!
I thought about how much dog training has changed and evolved since I began training dogs. Luckily some of the old myths are starting to fade away. Here is a top 10 list of them:
1. Never start training until your dog is six months old.
2. Never play tug o war with your dog.
3. Always use a choke collar to train your dog.
4. Never use treats to train.
5. If your dog does not respond to a command give your dog an alpha rollover.
6. Dogs learn that you are the pack leader by scruff shaking and growling at them.
7. Never allow your dog on the furniture.
8, Never feed your dog "people food."
9. You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.
And thankfully this last myth is going away…
10. Stick your dog’s nose in his mess when you find it in the house.
But…
Some old myths die hard.
Not too long ago I got an email from someone that was told to shove her dog’s nose in his mess every time he has an "accident." I decided that it was time to sit down and put together a complete guide on housetraining.
My new HousetrainingHandbook will show you:
Check it out:
All the best,
Eric
P.S. The "How To Be The Leader" interview is included with the Housetraining Handbook.
November 18th, 2008
By Eric Letendre
I got up at 4:00AM this morning to write this and what I’m about to share with you really is the secret to crate training, so if you have any friends or family that need help with this please pass it along.
So why did I get up this early to write to you?
I’m taking the day off. You see, Rach is in Las Vegas all week with some girlfriends. When my friend Tony found out he thought it would be a great idea for us to go to Foxwoods casino in Connecticut.
I’m not much of a gambler but we all need to have a little fun once in a while.
Anyway, crate training and going to the casino have something in common and I wanted to share it with you.
What’s the difference between going to a casino or going to the dentist? You can answer this question with one word:
DESIRE.
Not too many people have a strong desire to go to the dentists office but nobody has to hold you back when someone suggests going to a casino, or the movies, or an amusement park – you get the picture.
So what does all of this have to do with crate training?
The secret to crate training is all about building your dog’s desire for going into the crate. Most puppies look into the crate and hit the brakes, they resist going to that scary place where they will be separated from everyone and everything.
So we sometimes make the mistake of using force and shove the puppy into the crate. Which will only teach the puppy to hate going into the crate. This can all be easily changed by building the puppies desire to go in.
Here are some step by step instructions to do this:
Step 1: Have a friend hold your dog’s collar.
Step 2: Right in front of your dog’s nose start stuffing a kong toy with peanut butter, cheese, treats, whatever your dog really likes. The trick is to do this close enough to your dog so she gets
excited.
Step 3: When you dog is real excited and wants the kong toy, toss it into the crate and close the
crate door but don’t latch it shut.
Step 4: Your dog should be pulling and trying to get away from your friend, instruct your friend to
let go of the collar.
Step 5: Your dog should run to the crate to get the kong but the door should be shut with kong on the inside. Your dog will paw at the door and trying to get the kong.
Step 6: Don’t let your dog get the kong right away. This is where we are building desire. Your dog now wants to get in the crate.
Step 7: Let your dog go in the crate and get the kong, but don’t close him in there. Repeat this process over a few days until your dog gets more comfortable going in there.
There you have it, it is all about building desire. Hope this helps you out and don’t forget to pass it along to anyone you know that needs help crate training.
February 6th, 2008
By Eric Letendre
Okay, so I’m still a little depressed over the Superbowl.
But…
I know the cure for feeling down. Want to know what it is? Here it is in two words:
GET BUSY!
So yesterday I got busy and put together a new video newsletter for you.
The video is a cure for your housetraining problems. I get a ton of email asking about housetraining.
I wrote an article about this about a month ago and decided to make a video explaining the steps.
I’ll show you the video in just a second but I wanted to say that unfortunately I can’t personally answer every email anymore.
I try to but I get so many that I would have to spend the entire day answering them.
The subscribers to this newsletter is approaching 15,000. Which is not surprising because you won’t find any dog trainer on the internet that shares as much valuable dog training advice, behavior tips, and videos as I do.
Please don’t take this the wrong way. I love getting emails from all of you. What I am in the process of doing is putting together a Frequently Asked Questions page.
A lot of the questions that I get are the same:
Jumping, housetraining, puppy biting, mouthy behavior, barking etc.
I will let you know when the FAQ page is ready and please keep sending me your questions it will help me develop this page.
Anyway, this week’s newsletter is a great one to pass on to any friends or family members that are having a difficult time housetraining their dogs.
Check it out:
Your friend,
Eric
P.S. You still have five days left to take advantage of my “I’m Not A Sore Loser” package. The package includes: The Ultimate On-line training course, Good K9 Manners course and my ebook “The Amazing Dog Training Man”. Click here: Good K9 Manners
January 11th, 2008
By Eric Letendre
I got a lot of email in regards to my “7 Ways To Cure Your Dogs Housetraining Problem” post. In the post, I wrote that a good step to take is to teach your dog to give you a cue. One very popular way is to hang a bell on the door and teach your dog to hit the bell to let you know that your dog needs to go out.
One reader, Jen, asked this question:
How would you use the bell technique?
I had ALOT of trouble housetraining my last min pin and I think that the bell idea would be great for my next little one. Miniature pinschers are THE hardest dogs to housetrain and I found that when you clean up the mess, if you rub the spot with a tad of vinegar, and the dog isn’t attracted to that spot anymore.
With min pins (for other owners) It’s easy to overlook little messes, as they are so small. You always have to check thoroughly to make sure you can clean it up and not let them think that its appropriate for them to go to the toilet inside.
Here is the answer for Jen.
The easiest way that I know is to put a little peanut butter on the bell while your dog is not watching. Then bring your dog to the door and close to the bell. As your dog starts to sniff the bell, say, “Good girl” and open the door and bring your dog out.
Repeat that a couple of dozen times then every time you go out the door, hit the bell and bring your dog out. Your dog will start to get the picture.
Good luck!
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 "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.”
