Category Archives: best dogs

21 Days to a new dog training habit

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Fran on Friday

Teddy practicing tricks

Teddy practicing tricks

Does your dog have a behavior that you don’t like? Does he bark at the mail carrier? Does he resist when you tell him to sit? Does he ignore you when you call him? These are annoying traits, but they’re not insurmountable characteristics. If you want to, you can change them!

It just takes consistency. I always tell my students that the three keys to dog training is patience, practice and consistency. Patience, because you’re dealing with a dog. Someone who doesn’t even speak the same language as you do (although sometimes I wonder if they’re just putting on a blank look to watch us make fools of ourselves). Practice and consistency because you as the trainer need to get better, and get to know your dog better.

It takes 21 days to form a new habit. If you start training your dog for just 5 minutes every day, at the end of those 21 days you’ll look forward to training. And you’ll be amazed at what 5 minutes a day can accomplish. You and your dog will have formed a bond like no other. Your dog will sit when you tell him to. He’ll come when you call. And you can start thinking of new tricks to teach him!

A breakthrough … almost

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Fran on Friday

081216_tangoTango is non-stop. Always on the move. You would think that at 7 years old, he’d want to stay still on occasion. Nope. This has served us generally well in agility and we coped through Rally Novice. But the higher levels of Rally and Obedience require a “sit-stay” and “stand-stay.” That means not moving. At all. For multiple seconds at a time. This is really, really hard for Tango. He can do the “down stay” very well. But the stand? On occasion, and more often than not in Advanced Rally, the dog is required to stand still while the handler walks in a circle around him. This has been impossible for Tango. He has insisted on following, or at least pivoting to watch me.

But today I tried something a little different. We were practicing our Rally moves and I put him in a stand position from the sit, which is how the sign I described above usually starts. I told him to “stay,” and I started walking around him, keeping my hand with a piece of cheese in front of him. When I was about halfway around I gave him the cheese. And he didn’t move! I’ll keep it at this for quite a while and then eliminate giving him the cheese halfway around, and then try bringing my hand to my side and standing up straight while I walk around him.

Slow steps. Baby steps, actually, but steps nonetheless!

While Tango’s away …

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Fran on Friday

Booker

Booker

Tango is at the groomer’s for a much-needed haircut. So Booker and I are here at the shop by ourselves. That means that Booker gets uninterrupted training and play-time. He seems to enjoy the one-on-one time with me.

I’ll take more but shorter training breaks with him. So hopefully he’ll be very tired when we go home later! I know that Tango will be tired (after his initial crazy puppy zoomies when he gets back) when I bring him back to the shop later. I know that at first he and Booker will race around the ring like lunatics, like they haven’t seen each other in years!

There’s nothing better than having tired dogs in the evening. They’ll be sprawled out on the couch or the floor, and Hope and I can watch TV in peace. Or take a pre-bed nap with our sleepy dogs. Yes, I’ve reached the age when I fall asleep on the couch after dinner. The thing that makes me feel better is that on the evenings that I go out for dog training, I’m wide awake when I get home. And usually stay that way until I decide to hit the sack.

Am I Proud of My Dogs?

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Fran on Friday

0620_tngo_mail1You dog owners who are somewhat active on social media have probably seen posts by people who have been “tagged” to post a picture displaying their pride in being a dog owner. I was tagged today, and I had a hard time with my comments.

As most dog owners do, I have tons of pictures of my dogs and I post lots of pictures of them. Sitting, lying down, chewing on stuff, jumping, you name it. But how does my pride in being a dog owner enter into it?

Merriam-Webster’s simple definition of “pride”:

  • : a feeling that you respect yourself and deserve to be respected by other people

  • : a feeling that you are more important or better than other people

  • : a feeling of happiness that you get when you or someone you know does something good, difficult, etc.

The second definition doesn’t apply here – more important or better than others? I don’t think so. The first one – well, that goes without saying. So it comes down to the third definition. I do get a feeling of happiness when my dogs do things that are good or difficult.

I train my dogs so that they can be happy just “being.” With me, or in their crates, or at home with Hope when I’m not there. I want my dogs to be that independent, but still know that I’ll be there when they need something. I think that’s hard for some dogs.

I train my dogs to do what I tell them to do – both in the competition ring and outside of it. I think that might be easier than the hours we spend happily in each others’ company, just being.

I bring my dogs to work sometimes, and I’m lucky that I get to do that. Most of the time at work I don’t ask anything of them. Just to be. Or sometimes pose on a stupid mail table so I can take their picture (that’s Tango).