August 22nd, 2012
By Eric Letendre
My wife loves to sleep in on Sundays.
Last Sunday I brought some coffee to her in bed and she was watching the old “I Love Lucy” show.
I loved watching the re-runs of that show when I was a kid but she had never seen it.
I told her that Ricky Ricardo would be a great dog trainer.
She asked why? I answered that Ricky could really dance and his little “Cha Cha” step can really help anyone that has a dog with a jumping problem.
You see, I’ve been training dogs for a long time and I know first-hand that one of the biggest problems experienced by dog owners is jumping.
I would say that about 80% of dogs jump when they greet and the problem is not really the owner’s fault.
Dogs get very excited when anyone comes over the house. They are extremely social animals and love to greet.
Most of the time we either intentionally or UN-intentionally reinforce the jumping behavior.
We either push and yell at the dog to get down or we call the dog up and reward the jumping.
For years, dog trainers have advised to knee the dog in the chest – NOT good advice.
The dog learns to avoid the knee or gets hurt.
All you need to do is watch Ricky do a few dance steps and do the same. A quick “Cha Cha” movement towards your dog as he jumps will discourage the behavior and most importantly it will not in any way reinforce the behavior.
Here’s the rub – this won’t work on every dog. Not one technique does. It is also the reason I show four different ways to stop jumping on the Good K9 Manners course.
There are video instructions, clearly showing how to stop jumping, begging, barking, stealing, and a whole lot more.
If you’re ready to end unwanted behaviors with your dog check out
You’ll be glad you did!
All the best,
Eric
July 30th, 2012
By Eric Letendre
“Are some dogs un-trainable?”
That is a common question that I get. Some people really believe that their dog is un-trainable.
I have never come across a dog that was un-trainable.
I have come across plenty of dogs that were very difficult to train but not un-trainable.
I am going to share a big secret with you if you are having a difficult time training your dog.
You see, in most cases if the dog is really giving the owner a hard time, I can bet you that it is NOT a training problem.
It is probably an EXERCISE problem.
I know when I was in school I had a very difficult time in class because I wanted to move. Still happens to this day.
My wife bought me a DVD on yoga and I can’t stand it. Moves way too slow for me.
Anyway, many obedience and behavior problems can be solved with a good dose of exercise on a regular basis – key word regular.
Once your dog’s energy needs are taken care of, obedience and behavior problems are much easier to deal with.
BUT – all the exercise in the world won’t stop a dog from stealing food off the counter, stop jumping on everyone that walks through the door, stop begging at the dinner table.
If your dog is stealing, begging, jumping, or barking and nothing has worked so far, head on over to the Good K9 Manners course and END these annoying behaviors today:
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
August 25th, 2008
By Eric Letendre
Imagine coming home and finding a dog in your house that did not belong to you.
Not only does the dog not belong to you, but the dog has also chewed your chews, destroyed your couch, and peed on your floor.
This happened once with a dog that I was hired to work with. Let me back up a little and explain the situation.
More than a few years back I got a call from a very exasperated women who sounded very frazzled. As she was talking, I could tell she was on the verge of tears. She began telling me all the problems that she was having with her dog, that she loved her dog but after what had happened today she was not sure she would be able to keep him. I agreed to meet her the next day and added that I would do everything I could to help her keep her dog.
When I arrived the next day I met Tyler, a great looking ten month border collie. Tyler was a litle aloof, like a lot of border collies, but did warm up to me and came over to say "Hi". As I sat there petting Tyler, I knew that I had my hands full and I keep thinking that maybe she would have to find Tyler a new home. Not the kind of advice I like to give but if it’s in the best interest of the dog I will recommend it.
You see, Tyler lived in a very small apartment and his owner worked ten, sometimes twelve-hour days. If you know anything about border collies, you’ll agree with me that they are extremely active dogs – mentally and physically. Border collies love to work long hours. They live to round up and herd anything that moves, even if it takes them all day to do it.
A bored border collie can wreak havoc and this one did.
The problem started months ago and became progressively worse. Tyler started chewing and digging up her carpet. She tried to crate him, but could not do that when she was gone for ten hours at a time. Her house looked like someone had walked in, dropped a hand grenade, and walked out – it was a disaster. Most of her furniture was wrecked, the linoleom and carpet were gone and she had nothing on the counters or tables. She said that she had been living like this for a while and would continue to. She loved Tyler and did not want to get rid of him but… What he had recently done was the last straw.
With tears in her eyes she took me into her bedroom. Her bedroom looked like every other room in the house, but there was also a large blanket nailed to the wall. She walked up to the blanket and pulled it back. What I saw even made me blink twice.
Tyler had chewed a hole through the wall into her neighbor’s apartment.
This was too much for her and she really started to cry, she told me that she could not bear the thought of giving him away, that even though he had this terrible problem, she wanted to keep him and would do what ever she had to do.I told her that this was not an easy case. She had a young active dog that was left alone for long hours. I added that she did not have a behavior problem she had an exercise problem. We were going to have to develop a mental and physical workout. She assured me that she would do what ever it took. I looked her straight in the eye and said I hope so because her poor dog really was suffering and it was not fair to him to continue living like this.
Stay tuned for the program that I came up with and how we helped Tyler.
Best,
Eric
Dog Training Inner Circle
July 31st, 2008
By Eric Letendre
Digging is a common behavior problem for a lot of dog owners. If the problem is not fixed, digging can make your yard look like a war zone and become a hazard for anyone walking through. Here I will discuss the M.U.T.T. Method to remedy the situation. You can use the M.U.T.T. Method for any behavior problem. The acronym stands for the steps you must take to solve the problem: Manage, Underlying, Train and Time.
Manage the behavior. Managing the behavior will not fix the problem, but will prevent the problem from getting worse. Managing the behavior requires the owner to not give the dog the opportunity to dig.
Figure out the underlying reason for the behavior. Every behavior problem has an underlying reason. The main reasons for digging are: frustration, boredom, heat and breed.
Is your dog frustrated because he can see another dog or cat but can’t get to it because a fence is preventing it? Is your dog bored hanging out in the backyard all day? Is the dog hot and digging to find a cool spot? Do you have a dog that is part of a full breed terrier? Terriers have a strong need to dig.
Once you figure out the underlying problem you can train a new behavior or provide an outlet for your dog. If your dog is digging because of boredom you can give your dog more exercise, bring her to dog daycare or perhaps have a dog walker help out. If your dog is digging because he is hot provide a cool area for him to lie down.
If you have a terrier and feel that your dog really just loves to dig you can build a sandbox and teach her to dig in that area. A sandbox can be built with (4) 6-foot 2×4 pieces of wood and some dirt. Bring your dog to this area every time he starts to dig.
The last T in the M.U.T.T. Method is for time. Give it some time for your dog to change the behavior. If you built a sandbox for your dog it will take a little time for him to learn that it is the only space where he can dig.
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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 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.”
