Dogmantics Dog Training Blog

What not to do when training your dog

2012-01-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

Beginner Dog Training Videos!

2012-01-19T08:02:00.000-08:00

I have decided to create a series of beginning dog training videos. How to train new puppies or adult dogs! I will be uploading the videos to my youtube channel www.youtube.com/kikopup
and also creating a list of videos on my website: www.dogmantics.com

Here is the first video in the series: How to charge the clicker and muffle it so that it is not too loud.

If you can't or don't want to use a clicker this is a video of how to use the same tutorials without using a clicker yourself!

Invisible Barriers Tutorial is Finally Out

2011-11-11T14:00:00.000-08:00

www.dogmantics.com

Awesome trick by Kyra Sundance and Jadie

2011-10-26T16:08:00.000-07:00

I got to see some of Kyra Sundance's tricks while she was here in San Diego, and my favorite trick by far was this highly complex one :)

Splash goes "Boing!"

2011-10-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

www.dogmantics.com

Halloween Three- Splash's Revenge

2011-10-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Halloween Cometh! And Kikopup is working on a new video...

2011-10-06T11:13:00.000-07:00

We are shooting Kiko, Splash, Tug and Trisch while they act in "Halloween 3" today. I'm really excited to start getting it edited!

Is your dog scared of Halloween decorations?

2011-10-04T14:14:00.000-07:00

This video shows how you can teach your dog the game "go check it out" to build your dogs confidence around weird things- such as halloween lawn decorations

Pet365's nice post on Dog Development

2011-09-25T10:54:00.000-07:00

Dog Development graphic created by Pet365 - a UK stockist of stunning dog beds and brands like Hamish McBeth. Click here to view the full post.

Building Attention Game 3

2011-09-23T17:54:00.000-07:00

Chase games

2011-09-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Chasing games are a great way to play and interact with your dog and build your reinforcement value to your dog. However, the easiest game to play is to have your dog chase you, rather than you chase your dog. Some dogs can find chasing so reinforcing that they might start offering running away whenever you approach them. If you put rules on the game where you chase your dog, you can make sure your dog will not run away from you every time you run towards your dog. One way of doing this is to have a cue to mean "run away, we are playing the chase game". Another option is only play the chase game in one particular place- like around a sofa in your house, or in a certain place in your house, and never encourage the game anywhere else.

Adult dog mentors- Raising a puppy

2011-09-15T23:25:00.000-07:00

Having your puppy around sound adult dog mentors is a great way for puppies to learn the skills of living in a modern world. This does not mean, letting the adult dog correct the puppy constantly, but instead setting the puppy up to succeed in the presence of the adult dog by reinforcing calm choices and preventing the puppy from practicing undesirable behavior. A lot of puppy classes focus on puppies learning to learn from other puppies, and this can lead to some unwanted behaviors- like over excited play, or no impulse control around other dogs, etc, so make sure your puppy has some adult dog mentors as well as playmates!

"Everything you can imagine is real."-Pablo Picasso

2011-09-09T23:09:00.000-07:00

"Our truest life is when we are in dreams awake."
-Henry David Thoreau

Use the weather to your advantage:

2011-09-08T13:03:00.001-07:00

Use the weather to your advantage:

Depending on the dog, there can be an extreme difference in behavior in relation to different temperatures. So use it to your advantage to yield faster results.

Hot weather- Work on separation anxiety, handling issues, reactivity, and any training situations where you want your dog to be calm and relaxed. However keep in mind that you don’t want your dog to overheat. An example: Working on separation anxiety with a Chihuahua by leaving the dog alone in a room lying in a patch of sun, rather than on a chilly evening. Or counter conditioning your dog to nail trimming in the yard in the sun while he’s laying in your lap spread out.

Cold weather- use the evening zoomies time to your advantage to work on a trick that needs speed and enthusiasm.

Reach for the sky...

2011-09-07T20:43:00.000-07:00

“The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.”- Michelangelo

Splash and Tug train some GSD pups

2011-09-06T20:56:00.000-07:00

Splash and Tug teach Bella and Bear that hanging out with other dogs can not only be fun but also relaxing

Behaviors Are Like Notes on a Piano

2011-09-04T13:45:00.000-07:00

“Think of your dog’s repertoire of behaviors as keys on a piano. To create variety you will need to play songs of different length, tempo, and tune- Never play the same song repetitively. Never play all the notes just because they are there!”- kikopup

The Art of Trick Dogging- Set of 4 DVDs

2011-09-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

Here is the link to 'The Art of Trick Dogging' DVDs:
http://www.tawzerdog.com/product/info/1017/The-Art-of-Trick-Dogging--Emily-La...

Produced by: Tawzer Dog LLC

Copyright© 2011, all rights reserved

Run Time: 7 hrs 40 min

The Art of Trick Dogging: Two Day Workshop by Emily Larlham

Trick Dogging is not only a great way to bond with your dog, but it increases your dog's confidence, strength, fitness, balance, flexibility, and bodily awareness. It is also a great way to increase one's own training skills.
In this DVD you will learn how to teach the core positions, movements and placements of trick dogging from which to build very simple to the most complex tricks and behaviors.

Some topics covered are teaching backwards tricks, advanced object holding, paw work and double dog tricks.

This DVD also goes over the most important skills for getting your pet into commercials, movies and magazines, as well as how to train your dog fun service dog skills such as putting laundry away, and turning on light switches. It also covers the basics of getting the perfect start in teaching Freestyle Frisbee.

Article on Progressive Reinforcement in Dutch Dog Mag

2011-08-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

Last month an article written on Progressive Reinforcement Training by Esther Teunissen was published in Me & My Dog. I am very pleased to see interest in Progressive Reinforcement growing!

Seminar DVD released!

2011-06-03T14:36:00.000-07:00

Click here to order the 5 set of DVDS from Tawzer Dog LLC

Manufacturer: Tawzer Dog LLC

5 DVD Set (plus 1 handout CD-Rom)

Produced by: Tawzer Dog LLC

Run Time: 9 hrs

photography by: Dennis Fehling

On this seminar dvd, you'll learn creative ways to teach dogs new skills as well as how to deal with problem behaviors. If you are new to training or feel like your training could use some spicing up, this dvd is for you! It should be great for freestylers, agility and obedience competitors, dog trainers, even regular pet lovers with shy dogs who need a boost or boisterous dogs that need calming.Emily takes your dog training creativity and precision to the next level. From building calm foundation to default behaviors (ones the dog just does without being asked) to advanced trick training like hand stands, Emily is awesome! Great training can make any dog look brilliant and this seminar will also help you create a great bond and excellent skills around the house, too!

Let's go surfin now.... everybodies learnin' how....

2011-02-28T19:40:00.000-08:00

Come on a safari with me!!!!

Pamela Johnson and I : the SD Canine Freestylers were helping out at a 4 H event teaching children how to teach their dogs in a humane respectful and safe way, as well as how to teach them some cool tricks!
At the next event booth over, they were teaching the kids how to teach their dogs to stand on a surf board. Splash and Pam's dog Izzie gave it a try!!!

A fun day was had by all!

(it was a very muddy day- we had some unusual San Diego weather the night before)

Bulldogs!

2011-02-04T00:03:00.000-08:00

Not dog training related, but just finished painting my friends bulldogs!

http://www.berrywood.de/

Cool Article on the Origin of Small Dogs

2011-02-01T19:56:00.000-08:00

Origin of Small Dogs Pinned Down

This article from LiveScience states that origins of small dogs points to middle east several thousand years ago, as well as the fact that little dogs have a gene that larger breeds of dogs don't possess: IGF1 gene.

Introducing Kikopupextras- my second youtube channel

2011-01-28T17:53:00.000-08:00

I have created another youtube channel where I can upload videos more frequently without worrying about annoying my subscribers of my main channel.

www.youtube.com/kikopupextras

How to Train a Dog: the two basic concepts

2011-01-25T20:09:00.000-08:00

Tug gets part in NBC commercial

2011-01-21T13:24:00.000-08:00

Tug gets a part in an NBC commercial, the trick they wanted was a dog chasing his tail. Splash tried out for the same commercial, but she did her tail chasing in too of a sophisticated manner, and so the gig went to Tug who does it in a very demented fasion.

The key to complex tricks- rear end awareness

2011-01-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

www.dogmantics.com

2010-11-30T23:23:00.000-08:00

2010-11-09T21:30:00.000-08:00

2010-11-09T21:28:00.001-08:00

How to teach a sit down or stand stay

2010-10-15T15:21:00.000-07:00

PROGRESSIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING MANIFESTO

2010-10-08T19:12:00.000-07:00

By Emily Larlham

The Need for a New Term:

A type of animal training exists that involves no forms of intimidation, confrontation, violence, reprimands, or domination.

This non-violent type of training has gone under many names: “Clicker Training,” “Positive Training,” “Positive Reinforcement Training,” and “Reward Training,” among others. However there is a need for a more specific, more accurate, more inspirational term. This is because the above terms have been used so loosely in recent years that they may soon lose their original meanings altogether. How has this happened? Trainers who use compulsion methods may incorporate a clicker (a noise maker to mark desirable behavior) and refer to themselves as a “Clicker Trainers.” Trainers who use painful or intimidating methods may include food or toy rewards in their training and refer to themselves as “Reward Trainers” or “Positive Reinforcement Trainers.” It is already possible that a member of the public may seek the guidance of a trainer who claims to be “Positive,” only to find out that this trainer routinely uses physical violence towards animals.

I propose a new term that trainers and members of the general public can use to refer to this type of modern training – a training system that is not only humane, compassionate, and reliable, but is also based on the latest scientific studies. Because this form of training constantly incorporates the latest and most reliable scientific findings, and because it furthers an evolutionary movement toward a more harmonious relationship between humans and the animals who live with them, it shall be referred to as Progressive Reinforcement Training.

READ THE REST OF THE MANIFESTO BY CLICKING HERE

CLICK HERE IF YOU HAVE READ THE MANIFESTO AND WANT TO USE THE PROGRESSIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING LOGO ON YOUR WEBSITES

Tug in Dog Fancy October Issue

2010-08-21T01:11:00.001-07:00

Do you have a hyperactive dog?

2010-08-21T01:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a few reasons why one shouldn’t use Positive Punishment:

2010-08-01T22:44:00.000-07:00

Positive Punishment is defined as adding anything that will decrease a behavior (this could mean anything from saying “no!”, “eh eh”, or using physical Positive Punishment- choking, shocking, kicking, smacking etc)

Here are a few reasons why one shouldn’t use Positive Punishment:

1- Without perfect timing, intensity and consistency, the intended positive punishment actually becomes abuse.
2- The dog learns to avoid the punisher in order to do undesirable behavior.
3- It can cause irreversible emotional damage to the dog or human, even irreversible changes in the brain.
4- Positive Punishment is scientifically proven to increase stress hormones, arousal and aggression.
5- Animals habituate to positive punishment – meaning the intensity will have to keep increasing.
6- You cannot make children, dogs or anything for that matter reinforcing for a dog using Positive Punishment, you can only suppress the behaviors punished.
7- Positive Punishment causes dogs to hide their warning signs before a bite.
8- Dogs trained with punishment feel trapped when with owners, as leaving a ‘stay’ or leaving the owners side to escape from a child can cause punishment. Dogs that feel they have no escape tend to bite rather than move away.
9- Intended punishment can actually INCREASE the behavior you wished to extinguish. As attention was provided.
10- - The punisher becomes less reinforcing to be around for the dog. If you use punishment with your dog, there is no way to compete with the reinforcement value of other things in the environment. Your dog will find other stimuli in the environment more reinforcing than you because the dog has a history of punishment with being near you.
11- Dogs who are punished do not offer behaviors as readily, so they are harder to teach new obedience behaviors, sports or tricks.
12- People who use positive punishment will punish more readily in the future as it is positively reinforcing to use. Using punishment causes ones own behavior patterns to change towards dogs and people. Some people will find that they cannot stop using positive punishment even if they want to, and will need to seek help to change their behavior.

-Emily Larlham

2010-07-25T14:52:00.000-07:00

How to solve:

Barking at the door towards visitors

1- Counter condition the dog to the sound of the gate and the door (knocking, doorbell, the handle moving, the door opening)

2- Change your dog’s emotional response to a person coming in the door (you, family, friends and strangers)

3- Management- avoid triggers to promote a less arousing entry

Dogs bark at the door when guests arrive because they are aroused, excited, fearful or startled.

1- Counter condition the dog to the sound of the gate and the door (knocking, doorbell, the handle moving, the door opening, footsteps outside)

Counter condition your dog to triggers that happen prior to a visitor walking through the door. This means basically create a positive and calm association to all the sights and sounds that happen before and as a visitor arrives.

The sound of the gate- Get someone to go and make the noise of the gate, while your dog is watching on leash. A millisecond after the noise occurs FEED a treat. Make sure the NOISE is the predictor of the food and not your hand movement. So be sure to only make any movements AFTER the noise occurs to deliver the treat.

Next proceed by closing the front door and continuing the exercise while the dog cannot see but can still hear the gate.

The sound of the door- Knock on the door while on the inside of the door with your dog. Knock softly and drop a treat. For some dogs this is such a trigger that you may need to start with the dog on the outside of the open door, so the dog is in a different situation than the trigger situation where the door is closed. Some dogs might even need you to knock on a table or the floor first before moving to the door because it is such a trigger already. Repeat this step until the dog is happily expecting a treat. You can then knock louder and louder, feeding a treat for each knock. Now have a friend or family member knock on the door while they are still in the room with the door open. If that is successful, have the person go on the outside of the door and knock while the door is closed. Opening it every once in a while so the dog can see it’s their favorite person on the other side of the door.

The doorbell- Ring the bell while the dog is outside with you. Feed a treat directly after the bell rings, making sure that the bell is the first predictor that a treat is coming and not your body movements. Repeat until the dog is comfortable, then move the dog back inside. Get a friend or family member to ring the bell while you are on the inside of the doorway. If the dog is relaxed and succeeding have your friend ring the bell with the door closed. Feed the dog after the sound of the bell for remaining calm. If the dog barks you can say “lets go” and move the dog away from the door on leash. Barking is reinforcing so you must not let it continue or you will literally be training the dog to always bark at the sound of the bell. This goes for any of the counter conditioning exercises.

Opening and closing of the door- Touch the handle, click and treat or drop a treat for the dog while he is remaining calm. Turn the handling click and treat- or simply feed the dog a treat. Jiggle the handle, click and treat. Go back a step if your dog gets too aroused. Or start with the door open as you make noises with the handle of the door. Obviously if your door leads to the street always have the dog on leash or a long line so that he doesn’t rush out the door.

Footsteps outside- For some dogs it’s the sound of footsteps coming towards the door that is a trigger. To solve this, go outside, and practice different walks up to your door with your dog at first, feeding the dog for watching and listening to you stomping and shuffling your feet. Then have a friend or family member do the same- feed the dog for staying calm while the noises happen. Feed the dog for orienting to the noise rather than just staring at the treats you are holding. Next close the door and feed the dog after each noise that occurs outside of the door. Open the door every once in a while to show the dog that it is just their friend or family member.

Ring the doorbell, knock on the door, make heave footsteps when you return home from work each day, so the dog has a positive association of you returning home with the sounds.

2- Change your dog’s emotional response to a person coming in the door (you, family, friends and strangers)

Start off with someone you live with (if possible) leave and come back through your front door without closing the door. Click or simply feed the dog for watching then come through the door, while standing calmly and doing nothing on a loose leash.

Next have the person leave, close the door and come back in immediately- you can feed or click your dog for remaining calm and relaxed for each of the triggers (the door noise, the person entering etc). Have the person go in and out, multiple times. You can feed or click the dog for the person leaving as well if your dog has issues with people leaving the house as well.

Now have the person ring the bell or knock (make sure you have worked on counter conditioning your dog to these sounds first before adding them into the mix) before he comes in. You can feed your dog for the noise of the bell, the door opening, as well as the person entering for remaining calm and relaxed. If the dog barks, simply say ‘lets go!” and walk the dog away from the door.

Now repeat all these steps with different family and friends, and then complete strangers to the dog. Make sure you keep the dog on a secure leash if your dog is reactive to people to avoid the dog biting the person if startled. When the person comes through the door, have the dog as far away from the door at first so that he doesn’t get overwhelmed. Also have the new guests first meet the dog on the street (as outlined in the management section) before beginning the more surprising greetings.

When you do have REAL guests. Getting them to leave and come back in the door multiple times can really speed up the process of calm behaviors when guests come over because you will be habituating the dog to people entering the house. Your dog should think that people come and go and it happens all the time. Not that they just come in once, and that is when the dog should get very excited.

Enter the house when you return home through the door guests will enter through, so it no longer abnormal to the dog to see people enter through that door.

Make your own daily greetings towards your dog calm and mellow. If you allow your dog to get excitable every day when you come through the door, how do you expect your dog to be calm when a visitor arrives? If you must have an excited greeting with your dog, enter the house, wait 5 minutes and THEN greet your dog excitedly. Firstly you will find your dog will be much calmer and secondly you will not be making ‘a person entering a doorway’ a trigger to get excited.

3- Management- avoiding triggers to promote a less arousing entry

Ask your guest to call when they arrive. Go into the street with your dog on leash and have the guest walk into your house while you follow the guest at a distance that your dog can cope with and be calm and take food at. For some dogs that might be 10 feet, for others that might be 20 feet at first. The guest can ignore you, or offer calming signals. They should not stare directly at the dog or shout “WHAT DO YA WANT ME TO DO NOW?” etc. They can speak in a soft friendly voice if your dog is ok with that. If you have more than one person living with you, you can get that person to go and greet the visitor in front of the dog while you stand back with the dog on leash. You would be feeding the dog for calmly looking at the two people greeting each other.

-Emily Larlham

VOTE FOR PAM!!!

2010-07-16T23:43:00.000-07:00

My friend and co organizer of the SD Canine Freestylers is in a competition of the best dog trainer in San Diego! I did not enter because last year there were so many shock collar franchises in the competition that I thought it would be traumatic for me. PLEASE vote for Pam to promote POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT TRAINING to help make humane and the most effective training the new trend in san diego! Go Pam! You are brave!!!!

http://kgtv.cityvoter.com/pam-s-dog-academy/biz/155802

SD Canine Freestyle Meetup- June

2010-06-21T16:41:00.000-07:00

Izzie milliseconds from licking me in the face!

Wataru doing rear end awareness! He looks so happy!

What Splashers thinks of the other members! A big star!
Spirit does a downward dog
Rally's cute mug
Angelo struts his stuff

How to teach your dog to scratch your back

2010-06-10T19:24:00.000-07:00

Newbear95 from youtube has some really inventive tricks that she does with her chihuahua. Here is a tutorial on how to teach your dog to scratch your back.

I gave the trick a try with Kiko, she simply loves scratching my back now!

First 2 Weeks with a puppy

2010-03-06T10:10:00.000-08:00

My new puppy is a terrier/chi mix. He is about 20 weeks old, 5 months.

His pre existing issues were-

separation anxiety

house training

Timid with handling

SO most of our training has been building the crate as a safe and wonderful place to be, as well as counter conditioning to me leaving the room while he is in the crate or loose.

His initial behavior to being left alone for 10 minutes the second day that I had him was barking and howling and peeing and pooping in the crate and smearing it around on the crate walls with his paws. Now after 2 weeks of tons of training, he settles and sleeps, and the other day I had to lure him out with a treat! So I am very happy with how that is going!

The puppy hates grass, so I have also spend long hours standing in the yard patiently waiting. The patience has paid off! :)

Handling exercises

What issues he didn't have but would be very important for a new puppy in the first two weeks would be-

1- Restraint games

2- Reinforcing calmness rather than mouthing and biting

3- Bite Inhibition

The first games we have been playing in these two weeks are-

1- default leave it from treats and bait bag while not working

2- positive interrupter/attention noise (I can call him away from playing with my other dogs already with the kissy noise)

3- Recalls

4- * Counter conditioning to handling!!!! * (the puppy was very hand shy)

5- Confidence on different surfaces using counter conditioning

6- How to follow a treat lure- (he would just pounce on my hand like it was prey rather than just follow it like a lure)

7- Crate games

8- Mat games

9- Settle

10- Loose leash walking

11- Touch with nose

12- Targeting with front paws

13- Building the tug and toys as secondary reinforcers

14- Basics of fetch

I constantly reinforce calmness and wonderful interactions with my other dogs, and interrupt him with the positive interrupter when play starts to get too aroused.

So far so good!

Training Tip for Reactivity and Barking Video

2009-12-31T16:48:00.000-08:00

Here's a tip for those with reactive dogs- when counter conditioning a new emotional response to dogs and people, sometimes its better to walk the dog in a new location to train. This could mean driving the dog there, but it is well worth the effort. This way you can start fresh and don't have to work against the areas on your walk that your dog has become sensitized to (like the dog behind the gate on the corner that ALWAYS sends your dog over the top).
Also when in the new area, you don't necc. have to walk far, back and forth will do, also giving the dog permission to sniff and check things out- check out those new smells and other dog smells. Practicing settles in new areas also can help lower arousal.

How to Fade A Lure- when training with food

2009-12-16T09:19:00.000-08:00

1 Get RID of the lure as soon as you can! The goal is within 3 trials.

2 If you don't have a clicker use a very short word like "yes!" or "yep!"

3 Always make it harder and harder, don't get stuck at the same level of criteria

4 If you go to far to quickly you can always go back a step

5 If your dog is not following the lure, get a smellier lure- real meat!

Splash and Emily's Dog Party/B-day party

2009-11-28T22:29:00.000-08:00

Mickey the Mal watches over the Pupcake table to make sure no one takes one to many.

Kiko and Splash share a Pupcake before the guests arrive.

Splash and Kiko got to see their best doggie buds.

Splash hangs out with her wise mentors, who trained her how to be a real Border Collie! SOMEONE THROW THE FRISBEEEEE!!!!!

Kiko's most favorite friend in the world Einstein shows off his tricks!

Bark Magazine Pupcake Recipe:

by Diane Porter

Whip up three dozen bite-sized carob mini-cupcakes in less than an hour with this original recipe.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup honey

2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cup sugar-free applesauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

3 tablespoons carob powder

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 cup warm water

1 teaspoon vanilla

-----------------------------

There was no icing on the Bark Mag cupcakes so I made the icing from a mixture of low fat cream cheese, with a little bit of flour to thicken it. And put non-sweetened carob chips on top to decorate the cakes.

Help Ashlyn awesome young trainer fulfill her dream!

2009-10-26T22:32:00.000-07:00

16 years old and already a compassionate and awesome trainer! Vote 5 stars!

Obedience Heel- for large and small breeds

2009-09-08T00:33:00.000-07:00

Img 1 Img 2

Img 3

Step 1: Use a wall as a barrier so your dog doesn’t swing out in front of you at first-you are on one side of the dog the barrier on the other.

Step 2: do a little warm up of the cue “Touch” (getting your dog to target your hand) in the way you usually do it to get the dog on the right track. Now stand with you hand against your leg at the point where your dog can just reach it without having to jump (img 1). Cue “touch” and click ANY motion towards the hand. Try to feed the dog in the position you desire them to be in(img 2). Stand with your legs together at first, but also stand in many different positions- with a foot pointing out, with a foot pointing behind, crouching, bouncing slightly, shuffling your feet etc, teaching the dog this is the position I want you to be in no matter what my legs are doing (img 3).

Step 3: Once your dog is a master at this, try taking a tiny step. Two inches forwards. If the dog scoots forwards click and treat! If your dog can master tiny adjustments it will really fix it in their minds that “this is where I’m supposed to be, head up, glued to your leg”.

Step 4: Repeat all the exercises in the sit position as well (img4). If you have a small dog you can also start beginning to lift your hand up to the final position, the dog may start to jump to reach your fingers, ignore this, instead click the dog for having all 4 feet on the floor. Sometimes if you click AS you remove your hand, that can speed up the process tremendously (img5)

Img 4 Img 5

Step 5: Take a normal step and click the dog for moving with you. Now add steps (img6). If the dog looks down, or lags or is too far out, try to encourage them to return to the hand, and click when they are back in place. If they don’t seem into it try again later, and take less steps. This is hard work, especially because they will be using new muscles than just normal walking and trusting you completely that you won’t walk them into a wall! Do this exercise on flat ground with nothing to trip and stumble over. Practice turning right and left in little increments to begin with. This “trick” can take months even years to perfect, so take it easy, it’s a great exercise for just building focus and understanding.

Img6 Img7

The adventures of Splasherpup and Keeks

2009-07-06T11:12:00.000-07:00

The faces of innocence!

Until....

Grrrrrrr!...............

Keeks- 'How DARE you compete with my cuteness!'

Splasherpup- "Take THAT to your cuteness!"

Keeks- "I'm warning you!"

Splasherpup- "Ok! Ok! You win!'

"Phew! That was exhausting!"

Kikopup- "Ha ha! I have this pup wrapped around my little paw!"

Making an escape proof x-pen and toilet training ideas for crates

2009-06-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

If you have a Precision exercise pen, doesn't matter what the hight, and you buy one of the size of 24 inches in hight, you can take apart the 24 inch pen- so that you have two segments consisting of 2 panels. Then if you zip tie the two segments together so they form a square of 4 segments, you can then zip tie this 'roof' to the top of your original x-pen when it is in the shape of a square- you will leave one segment free of zip ties to be used as a 'door'. Once you have completed zip-tying, remember to cut off the hanging bits. You can use the fasteners that came with the x-pen to lock the 'door' when you leave the dog alone.

If your dog is not yet house trained you can try this method of preparing the base of the crate, this particular method is for a dog that doesn't like chewing and tugging. For a dog that might eat the base, you could use a piece of linoleum. AND for dogs that are strong and learn how to lift the crates up and squeeze uder, you can create a secure base in the same way you created the roof- making sure to line it so the dogs feet aren't on the metal grate. You can buy tops to the pens, but they are 50$ a cover, and the medium size 24 inch pen is 63$- which you can make 2 tops (or a top and a bottom from), so is a better deal.

If you need to leave your puppy in a safe environment but are unable to return to let the puppy out to use the bathroom, you can put a square of grass sod in one corner of the pen (preferably in front of the door, as that is were they will be most likely to go, bed to the back), or a pee pad in a litter box. Grass is way better to use than pee pads as pee pads can actually train your dog to pee on anything that resembles a pee pad- for instance white t-shirts on the floor of your bed room, your pillows, your sheets, your bed etc.

Here you can see an example of what do with a little dog with extreme toilet issues. You can create a crate that only has a bed and a toilet. You can also create a exercise pen that consists of one small bed and the rest of the pen- pee pads. Then all you have to do is reduce the pads to just being in one of the corners of the crate.

P.s. Crates are a training tool. The goal is to train your dog to be calm and loose in your house. The more choices a dog has during the day, the less hyperactive and frantic the dog will be when you return home. Crates are useful when you don't yet trust the dog to not destroy your house, or your dog is not house trained. It is essential to teach your dog to love crates regardless of if they need one at home so that they are comfortable when they have to stay at the vet or in an emergency situation- like Hurricane Katrina.

My dogs are both loose in the house now that they are trusted.

Creating Super Puppies- Early Neurological Stimulation

2009-06-05T21:52:00.000-07:00

The U.S. military did studies on raising puppies, and they found that doing certain exercises with puppies during the time of rapid neurological growth, between the puppies third and sixteenth day of life would increase the pup’s performance in later life. They created a program called the ‘Bio Sensor’ program consisting of 5 exercises to be done once a day with the pups. They found that not only were puppies able to cope more with stressful situations, and problem solve better than other puppies, but that they were actually physically healthier with higher cardiovascular performance, stronger immune systems, adrenal glands and heart beats.

The exercises should only be repeated once a day, as the point is to add mild stress. More than once, and it could be overwhelming and could have the reverse effect on the puppies. Natural handling should also be a big part of rearing puppies, and these exercises are not a replacement for that! These exercises should be followed up by environmental enrichment, and socialization as the puppies grow. Thanks to Dr. Carmen Battaglia who published an article on this subject, many breeders have started implementing “early Neurological stimulation” in their breeding programs.

Google: Early Neurological Stimulation and Dr. Carmen Battaglia to find his article on the Internet, which explains the exercises in greater detail.

THIS IS VIDEO IS NOT MEANT TO PROMOTE BREEDING DOGS IN ANY WAY!

Tues Night Puppy Class at Windan Sea!

2009-05-27T22:45:00.000-07:00

For more info click on this flier to enlarge:

Doggie Birthday Party with Trix!

2009-05-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Kiko and I did a tricks lesson at a doggie birthday party at a dog park yesterday. Louis the Maltese turned 1 ! It was loads of fun, and surprisingly not too chaotic, with about 30 dogs off leash. Hootie the Pug won the tricks contest with his awesome version of "Crawl". It was a hard to choose a winner as all the dogs in the contest rocked! We also did an agility obstacle coarse.

Louis showing everone how to do "targeting"

Dance Dance Dance!

Mini Agility Obstacle Course!

"Tunnel anyone?"

Bandit and Splash! at Fiesta Island

2009-05-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

To fetch or to herd? That is the question!

Best Buds!

Dog is Love: Heath and Fitness Expo

2009-04-26T21:53:00.000-07:00

Splash did her 'Slumdog Millionare' routine at the Dog is Love Expo, and I was very proud of her. She funnily enough made up a new move while we were performing....

Seminars in Spain

2009-04-12T01:05:00.000-07:00

I have just returned from 2 weeks in Spain. I had a wonderful time! I made some very close friendships in such a short period of time and had the opportunity to see the best of the best dog trainers at work! I also had the opportunity to visit Guide Dogs For the Blind as well as the facility of Action Fauna that trains animals for film and video. The AEEC hosted my seminars and was very generous and welcoming to me. They made my time in Spain a complete joy.

Madrid March 28 29

Barcelona April 4 5

Emily demoing counter conditioning to handling with a shy pup

Gaudi!

PUPPIES! Future guide dogs!

Natural Dog/ Dog Fancy Flip Issue- Splash and Emily

2009-03-24T00:17:00.000-07:00

One of Splash's prizes for winning Canine Runway finally came about! She was to be on the cover of Dog Fancy, but I think cause she is not part of the American Kennel Club or for whatever reason, they decided to have her on the back cover. So I am very grateful for Splash and I being on the Flip Side of Dog Fancy- Natural Dog... but being a photographer myself, I can't believe they did the biggest error that even casual photographers avoid- making your subjects stare directly into the sun... I am so picky! I am a control freak! I actually sent them pics that I thought would be good for the cover (just of Splash of course!).

Video Finalist for the Canis Film Festival 2009!

2009-03-13T01:58:00.000-07:00

Winner will be announced at the Clicker Expo at the end of this month! Darn! I will be in Spain!

http://www.canisfilmfestival.com/

Doggie Street Fair- Performance "Slumdog Millionare"

2009-03-04T21:41:00.000-08:00

Creeping and Crawling

Rolling in the Money!

"We fly like paper..."- MIA Paper Planes was the song

1st Annual Doggie Street Festival- Freestyle Performance March 1st

2009-02-20T11:34:00.000-08:00

Come by and check out Splash's new routine!

Pam with her talented Border Collie Bandit will also be performing amazing tricks!

vistit this site for more details!: doggiestreetfestival.org

Abby and Splash play date at the beach

2009-02-11T23:18:00.000-08:00

Splash taught Abby to swim! Now Abby can swim fearlessly like a true retriever! Abby taught Splash (not previously a fan) that tennis balls are pretty cool!

Abby is very photogenic!

Dirty dirty dog...

Positively reinforced settle- it works!

2009-02-11T23:14:00.000-08:00

Here is Splash practicing the 'default settle' among friends at the mall.

Here is a 'how to' to get this behavior

Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore!

2009-02-09T14:18:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw a production of Wizard of Oz, my clients dogs did AWESOME! When the 5 heros get sleepy in the poppy fields, Klitie popped down and became motionless, head on the ground. Stellar performance from both talented dogs. Tashi will have her oppertunities in the future no doubt!

Diva!

2009-01-27T15:23:00.000-08:00

Sunday- Had a blast down in Mexico with my friend Omar and his Mal girl- Diva!. We were working on 'go out's - building her speed on going to the mat, where she would offer a default down, unless asked to do another behavior.

We also played a game - 'Around'- to go out and around objects (here the bar stool).

Diva on my youtube channel

Divas own youtube channel

Dog Fancy/Natural Dog Photo Shoot and treats!

2009-01-14T14:45:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Splash!'s photo shoot for Dog Fancy/ Natural Dog. She will be on the full page cover of the June issue of Natural Dog, which is on the flip side of Dog Fancy. I was so impressed with my little girl, who had to pose for what seemed FOREVER perched on rocks in the river and above little waterfalls, without getting to touch the water even once. WATER is irresistible to Splashers, so she did very well. At the end of the shoot, she got to dive into the water and then preceded to have major Border Collie Zoomies while the camera crew stood back in awe.

I was also sent some treats in the mail regarding the Starpet contest in NY, cute! There she is with Milo the kitty on the label.

Bandit and Splash Playdate

2009-01-04T19:14:00.000-08:00

2008-12-31T14:38:00.000-08:00

2008-12-30T20:51:00.000-08:00

Kiko surveys her territory

Desert wonderland

Splash strikes a pose

Sedona portrait

2008-12-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

Icicles!

Kiko's not digging the cold weather!

Splash totally digs the cold weather!

Group photo!

Kiko wearing a leg warmer for a scarf!

2008-12-30T20:47:00.000-08:00

Nothing quite like a good game of fetch the stick!

Finding her coyote spirit!

Mission Trails Park

2008-12-24T12:31:00.000-08:00

WHY TEACH TRICKS?

2008-12-09T11:55:00.000-08:00

WHY TRICKS? A question I get asked a lot!

1- Dogs need not only physical exercise but mental exercise as well, a tired dog is a good dog!
2- It builds communication skills. The dog is learning how to learn. Great if you want to do obedience
3- You are building your relationship with your animal. So your dog actually WANTS to do what you ask them to do.
4-It actually makes your dog smarter!
5- It is a fun way to interact with your dog, besides sitting on the couch together. If your dog isn't a fan of the rain, you could do a trick training session inside instead of a walk.

Splash! the 'Puppy Picasso' flaunts her talents on the news

2008-12-05T23:02:00.000-08:00

Splash! was on the news a couple of times. She will be on Channel 6 tomorrow.

This is my all time favorite news broadcast! I love the story that they edited together, about a dog that paints, and an owner who paints dogs. I love that they included Kiko in the piece!

Here is another cool newscast, on Channel 8.

House Training a Puppy

2008-12-01T20:56:00.000-08:00

House Training

House training consists of essentially 2 things: prevention and teaching the dog where to go.

Starting today there must be ZERO mistakes, as every time there is a mistake the dog is learning that the best toilet area is actually indoors. It’s easy to understand, if a person had an outhouse in the garden and a bathroom indoors, the person would pick the indoors toilet (it’s more reinforcing).

Depending on how the puppy was raised, some will prove harder to house train than others. Puppies that had a separate toilet to their whelping box will find the concept easier than puppies whose toilet area was in the same room (very often the case with toy dog breeder setups). Small dogs are notorious for being hard to house train! There are many people in the same boat.

1- MANAGEMENT/PREVENTION

The key is management! If you are not there to see the mistake, then the dog is reinforced for peeing in the house because relieving the bladder feels good so it’s as though they received a treat for going indoors. It’s a big pain, but if you can’t watch them 100% of the time, put them in a safe area.

If your dog is peeing in the house, they are not trying to teach you a lesson, get back at you for leaving them all day or drive you up the wall; they just are not 100% house trained. A dog that pees in the house cannot be left alone for 1 second because a mistake can be an enormous setback. So instead have the dog tied to you on leash, leave them in a pen, leave them in a crate, hold them on your lap, or have your eyes GLUED to them the whole time. Just because they went to the bathroom 1 minute ago does not mean they won’t go again at any second.

Leave no evidence- Clean the spots that have been soiled with an enzymatic cleaner like Natures Miracle or XO, other cleaners will still leave the smell of urine which is an invitation to pee on again.

Hang out in areas that were peed on, train and play with them on that spot, put a bed over it, or a food or water bowl telling them this is not a toilet! It’s the den!

Home Alone- One option is leaving a puppy in a exercise pen with a bed, toys and water, as well as a toilet area- a square of grass in a shallow tub. The problem with newspaper or pee pads is that they teach the dog to pee on substrates that are similar (like the bed! Or white t-shirts etc). Another option is to have the puppy in a crate, with a dog walker to come by to let the puppy out to exercise and use the bathroom. I prefer the exercise pen or safe area, over a crate, because the puppy has choices throughout the day of what to do and will essentially be less energetic when the owner returns from work.

2- TEACH THE DOG WHERE TO GO

REINFORCE THE RIGHT LOCATION
Bring the puppy to the location you wish to be the bathroom, let them sniff around, if they don’t go to the bathroom, put them back in their puppy safe area, have them attached to you by leash, or watch them like a hawk. If they DO go, click and treat with tons of praise.

Keep in mind that many dogs prefer to pee and poop in different locations.

Putting the behavior on cue- This is very helpful if you travel, or if you are late for work and need your dog to go immediately!

Go to the location you prefer with the puppy on leash. BEFORE the dog starts to pee as they are just about to squat, say your cue whatever it may be “Hurry up!” if you wish. When the dog is peeing you can praise your dog and click then feed the dog an amazing treat afterwards. You are essentially conditioning the dogs neurons to tell it “THIS IS THE BEST PLACE TO PEE!”

THE PROBLEM WITH PUNISHMENT- Punishing the dog for going to the toilet in the house can be confusing if there is at least one time when the dog goes in the house when you are not there- they learn it is bad to pee in the house if a person is around, but when a person is not around it is perfectly ok. Secondly there is the issue of the dog learning never to pee in front of human beings ever. It is very hard to house train a dog that won’t pee in front of you.

What to do if the dog does pee- If you see your dog starting to pee, say “outside!” or any cue you want, and rush them outside by their collar or carrying them, this is punishment enough. Better to catch them when they start to sniff rush them outside and reward them profusely.

A trick that I love is- When the puppy has a FULL bladder, have them on leash in the area that they are prone to go in the house say “outside” and quickly escort them on the route to the RIGHT location. Some dogs just don’t seem to get that when they are upstairs they should go all the way down the stairs and out the door. By showing them the way, they will be more likely to think of it on their own.

Two timers- Some dogs need to pee twice in a row. So if you are blessed with a puppy like this, you must praise and reward the dog for peeing and then wait another minute. Some people find that bringing the dog in and then going directly out again can speed up the process.

Teach the dog to ring a bell- If your dog doesn’t figure out a way of letting you know they need to go out, you can teach them to ring a bell on the door.

Miyako youtube addict

2008-11-12T23:05:00.001-08:00

A very shy and sound sensitive Border Collie Miyako rescued by Tracy, was very worried about the noise of the clicker among other noises. While watching a youtube video with a clicker in it, her owner noticed Miyako seemed interested, so she started conditioning the noise of the clicker on the computer with treats! I think that is such a cool thing to do! A great game to play with a sound sensitive dog. The cool thing is you could raise the volume incrementally with just a click of a button.

It's so wonderful to see a dog blossoming when she is in the right situation and given the right information.

'Her confidence is building in many ways and this shows in her posture in the last photo. She looks relaxed, content, and no longer fearful of the camera.'

Gosh, had to post the pics too, because Miya is so darn cute!

Splash! wins Starpet 2008 in New York!

2008-11-12T23:04:00.001-08:00

I will come back and post a video and more info. But Splash! and I had a blast in New York City!

Kiko update: Eye 100% better!

2008-11-12T23:03:00.000-08:00

I am so grateful! Kiko's eye is better!

Splash learned to say 'No'!

2008-10-29T00:09:00.000-07:00

Keeks continues struggling along...

2008-10-18T17:50:00.000-07:00

This morning I woke up to find Kikos right eye black and cloudy. So I rushed to the ER. I am hoping that its temporary and that its just from bumping into something and not the beginning of blindness. Poor little girl. Just recently I found out that her back legs have no joints at the ankle and I am in the process of making her braces. *Sigh* What next? Hehe, no mater what happens nothing will change her attitude for life! and for food! My little crippled toothless Keeks! If she can survive Distemper she's got the will power to pull herself through ANYTHING! Below is a video I made when I was feeling glum today, of the last time she ran a lure course. I will no longer be able to let her run like that. Gosh she used to love chasing the lure! She gave the big dogs a run for their money.

Playdate with Jack-Fiesta Island

2008-10-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

Jack strikes a nobel pose.

Haha! Splashed ya!

Splash does her imitation of a Golden Retriever.

Chihuahua beach adventure

2008-10-16T17:34:00.000-07:00

'No swimming today thank you very much!'

'Now that's more like it!'

'We are determined not to have fun at the beach.'

'WTF just happened to us!'

2008-10-15T20:21:00.000-07:00

Thank you for voting for Splash! She is one of the two semi-finalists picked to go to New York to compete for Starpet 2008 with host Montel Williams. The event will be a fund raiser for Bideawee- an animal welfare group.

APDT 2008 VIDEO CONTEST WINNER- all 4 categories!

2008-10-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Four of my videos won the 2008 Video Contest of The Association of Pet Dog Trainers. Check out their home page (www.apdt.com) to see my Loose Leash Walking Video and click on 'more training videos' under that video to see my other winning entries.

2008-10-12T01:21:00.000-07:00

Over hill, over dale,
Thorough bush, thorough brier,
Over park, over pale,
Thorough flood, thorough fire,
I do wander everywhere,
Swifter than the moon's sphere;
And I serve the fairy queen,
To dew her orbs upon the green.
-william shakespeare

Kiko crate trains Max

2008-09-27T16:17:00.000-07:00

"I'm not so sure about this..."

"I can't believe she likes it in here!"

"Actually it ain't so bad!"

Max came to stay for a couple days. I worked on crate training with him, and Kiko helped out. I would not advise others to put two dogs in a crate! Especially unattended! But in this case Kiko really helped Max to realize it wasn't a punishment, but a safe place to relax.

Splash! wins Canine Runway in Las Vegas!

2008-09-13T20:32:00.000-07:00

Splash! won Canine Runway- "The search for America's most paw-pular pooch" in Las Vegas on Sept 9th. She was on the Las Vegas news the day before. And was supposed to be on the news again on the 10th but there was a mix up. Instead there was a segment on pet products, so Kiko ended up being on the news advertising a doggie car seat :)

The winnings: The cover of Dog Fancy, her face on Bamboo pet products, A years supply of Natural Balance, a year supply of NuHemp treats, 3 nights stay in Sedona Arizona at a dog friendly hotel, and a gift basket.

We drove up from San Diego on the 15.

Kiko and Splash! loved staying in the lush hotel!

Kiko got to see one of her favorite people in the world. Alex, a guy that works at South Bark Dog Wash.

Splash! enjoyed the car rides through the strip.

Splash's Summer Vacation

2008-09-12T21:34:00.000-07:00

I was in New York for 4 days in August, so Splash! got to stay with a good friend of mine. Here are the pictures of her "Summer Vacation"

What is better than 1 Border Collie?

"FOUR!"

Splash! learned to 'hang out' in style.

And get very dirty!

She even learned how to hang out with kitties.

Ancient Dog Training/Worship

2008-09-03T23:07:00.000-07:00

I was at the Met in New York and this Roman Mural caught my eye! It was buried by Vesuvius in 70 A.D. This was an all black bedroom with just this little image. The dog bears a striking resemblance to Kiko!

Splash! wins second level of Canine Runway

2008-07-20T21:41:00.001-07:00

Splash! was one of 4 Finalists chosen yesterday to compete in the final Third Round of Canine Runway yesterday. I really couldn't believe my eyes when we were told we were to perform in front of a line of 8 aussies! (4 of them looked a lot like Splash!) so my hopes of getting through to the next round seemed suddenly dependent on her tricks. Luckily Splash! was happy to give it her best. The MC was one of the guys from Greatest American Dog, Michael with his dog Ezzie. Check out the youtube video.

Splash! tests the waters

2008-07-20T19:03:00.000-07:00

Splash! tries out dock diving at Wags for Wishes in San Diego. The first day she had a blast, but the second day she jumped off and landed on the ramp. This scared her and we couldnt motivate her to jump from the dock again, so we went to fiesta island and practiced there where she really got into it again. :) I believe she will be awesome at dock diving someday, as she loves to do crazy things. Kiko watched on with disgust. Sadly I have no video of her first jump. :(

Ventura Nightmare!

2008-07-20T18:53:00.001-07:00

Kiko and I accompanied a friend to Ventura CA to do 3 days of rally, the day we arrived Kiko came down with stomach trouble. That night I was lucky to wake up in the motel at 2 AM. I heard Kiko wake up and start scratching, so I thought 'yay! she's feeling better!' When I turned the lights on I was horrified to see her distorted face. We rushed her to the emergency room where we spent most of the night. I could have lost her! I am so grateful she woke me up.

The last picture is how her nose should look. Poor Kiko!

CANINE RUNWAY- First level Finalist AND runner-up!

2008-06-28T20:32:00.000-07:00

Splash! was picked as one of the two finalists in Canine Runway from San Diego. The next level is in Los Angeles and finally Los Vegas! Guess who was one of the two runners up? KIKO!

Keep paws crossed for Splash!

Kiko sucks up to one of the judges after the prizes!
My friends Pom Libby should have one if it was based mainly on Fashion (which it should have been according to the rules), as she is awesome at making dog leashes and harnesses... Not to mention how ADORABLE Libby is being only 2 pounds.

A fellow youtube clicker trainer and friend Nan Arthur filmed the event, check out the videos-

Kiko gets a perfect score and 1st place again!

2008-06-22T15:46:00.000-07:00

Rally trial day one of two- Bahia Kennel Club

2008-06-14T14:49:00.000-07:00

KIKO ROCKS! With a perfect score of 100 and a first place.

I was very pleased. My friend filmed for me but instead of recording during, she had the camera on standby by mistake! I thought that was hilarious. I was horrified today about how cruelly the other owners treat their dogs. One mans dog ran away from him in the ring, and ran right out of the ring. Someone caught it and when he got it back he basically beat the crap out of it, and I started to yell "hey! What are you doing?' while the judges looked the other way, when some friend of his pulled him away. That is a great way to teach your dog to never come to you when he runs away. Another man grabbed the hair on the top of his dogs skull and yanked it before entering the ring while the dog was doing nothing wrong, I suppose like an 'or else' and of course, the dog didn't listen and they didn't qualify. Someone consoled him afterwards saying "Don't give up!" and I was thinking 'Oh no! Don't say that!' There were so many dogs there that looked like their one wish in life was to get as far away from their owner as possible and especially NOT do rally with them. I felt proud of my little Kiko, who did all these silly exercises for me, not because I MADE her, not because she wanted to please me, but because she ENJOYS doing them and playing our games. She was the only dog in Rally Novice A who ENJOYED being in that ring (there were two other clicker trainers in the higher levels, who you could see the dogs were dancing through it like Keeks).

Tomorrow we do our 3rd Leg. Fingers crossed, but who needs luck? And who cares if she chooses not to do anything? She will still want to come home with ME at the end of the day! :)

Happy training to all!

Splash! learns to paint!

2008-06-09T23:30:00.001-07:00

Today was Splash's first training lesson in painting. 4 days ago she painted the living room with blue ultramarine paint that she had taken from my studio. I took it as a sign she was needing a bit more creativity in her life... :) Check out the youtube video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwO9nJGnstg

Confusion about crate training...

2008-05-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

'One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do...'

'Two can be as bad as one...'

Kiko was not enthused about Splash's preference for HER crate!

Thought I would post some pics since I missed out on blogging when I first got my pup! She is seven months at the moment but these pics are back when she was around 9 weeks.

2008-05-15T17:59:00.000-07:00

May 11 Cabrillo Dog Show- Kiko rocked the rally course with a score of 98 out of 100. She left all the shepherds, rottie and other herding breeds in the dust (no offense Splash!). I got told off for picking her up in the ring to receive our ribbons. She's got two more legs in Novice before we can move on to being off leash, which is when she will really strut her stuff as we mainly practice off lead.