Dog Training Tips

The Leash Connection dog training tip  of the month should help you with your dog obedience training problems,  dog housebreaking and crate training problems and dog behavioral issues.

January 2023 - Separation Anxiety

Dogs do not come in the world with separation anxiety. What is it? When you cannot leave your dog alone or when home dog whines, barks, tries to escape crate, and does not know how to relax.
Biggest issue is when puppies are 7 weeks to 6 months of age. Most people do not use a crate correctly. It is not just for sleeping in at night. It seems that people think just because you are home all day puppy needs to be out and about in your house. You cannot watch a puppy and they either get into trouble chewing the wrong things or have accidents making it harder to housebreak. Puppy under your feet all the time can be the beginning of separation anxiety (when you are not right there by them they don’t know what to do). We practice this with Snickers, our 4 month old puppy. He is in the crate when we are busy and comes out for playtime and puppy training time. Time will always vary. He can be out for an hour then in crate for 30 minutes then back out for 20-30 minutes, etc. Just depends on what we are doing.
Crate should be in a main part of the house, living room, kitchen, dining room so when dog is in it they can see you, hear you and know all is well. Most dogs will fuss when you first put them in a crate – of course the first 3-4 nights are always an adventure! Let them fuss for 5-8 minutes then start letting them know barking is not going to get you out of the crate. Once they are quiet is when they come out.
I deal with a lot of dogs with separation anxiety and there are different levels. Most dogs I deal with I can fix pretty easy by putting them in a crate, make them be quiet and soon they learn to relax. Once they are quiet I will bring them in training room and tether dog on a bed so they can’t come off and they soon learn to relax in a new situation. It seems best way to cure this is with long down stays and is the reason I tether them so I don’t have to watch every minute but I am always moving around near them and they are learning to relax.
I will bring dog off bed for some training and/or playtime then put them back on bed. When on their Place bed they still have to be quiet just like in a crate. This seems to help the separation anxiety.
Below is a list of things that I think can cause separation anxiety. It is a long list but don’t get overwhelmed by this. I think the biggest reason they get anxiety is because we never crate them when we are home, we always think they have to be under our feet.
· Pet your dog, all the time
· Talk to your dog, all the time
· Allow your dog to follow you all the time
· Allow your dog to be on your lap or laying on your feet, all the time
· Pet, soothe, comfort your dog when it whines or barks for attention- or is simply anxious
· Allow your dog to demand affection/interactions
· Be emotionally dependent on your dog
· Allow your dog to do whatever it wants, whenever it wants
· Provide no structure or rules
· Refuse to crate train your dog
· Refuse to correct your dog when inappropriate behavior occurs
· Refuse to train your dog to be calm,relaxed,independent by using a “Place” command and/or “away” time in the crate
· Allow you and your home to be a free-for-all, where your dog has zero leadership and guidance
· Let your dog out of the crate when it whines or barks (unless a puppy needs to go potty)
· Avoid training or anything that makes your dog uncomfortable or unhappy
· And many, many more…
· Basically, baby, soothe, allow, enable, lean on, and create a toxic dependency…so when you leave, your dog is a mess, because you haven’t prepared them to be strong, resilient, robust, independent, and alone.
Be proactive with this. Always make your puppy/dog quiet in a crate or on “Place” bed. Below are 4 things to do to keep puppy/dog quiet in crate. EXCEPTION is a new puppy being in a crate for the first time. They are going to fuss the first 3-4 days/nights. Let them work through it. After that you can start using the ideas below to teach them to be quiet.
Keeping A Dog Quiet In A Crate - It is a command so give it a word , we use HUSH.
1. Fill a spray bottle with water and set it on stream - squirt dog in face near mouth (it’s only water!) say HUSH. Be consistent and squirt every time dog barks.
2. Bang/hit top of crate or front of door with your hand, crate will rattle, tell dog HUSH.
3. Dog is in crate with leash and collar on, run handle end of leash through door, make sure door is closed, when dog barks pick up leash and do a correction (pop and release) saying HUSH.
4. If barking is persistent and dog is very stubborn, reach in crate, grab fur behind the neck and give a firm squeeze like a mama dog does with unruly pups. HUSH

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December - 2022 Puppy Imprinting

 Puppy Imprinting. From their arrival in your house at 7-8 weeks of age to 6 months of age is a very, very important time. A puppy is all consuming – their life is now your life. Puppy imprinting is guiding your puppy through the first 6 months of its life. Our 8 week old golden retriever puppy, Snickers, arrived in our house Oct 26, 2022. We have done some videos of Snickers learning new things since he came into our lives. Right now your puppy is a sponge and can learn more than you think. Below is a list of things I have started imprinting with Snickers.

Me being a leader is first. During our training classes I ask people – right now in your relationship with your puppy are you the student or are you the teacher? Most people will admit they are the student, so learn to be the teacher of your puppy. They are looking for a teacher in you. Doing nothing during their imprinting age is the worst thing to do. If you do nothing you get nothing. Dogs are very forgiving and can overcome some mistakes we make with a new puppy. We talk to a lot of people and it is funny how humans think puppies (and dogs) should know what to do when they come in to your home. You had to teach your children manners and how to do things like eat with a spoon and fork, tie shoes, brush teeth, etc. So why would a puppy be any different? You have to teach them to learn their name, leave things alone, not bite, walk on a leash, potty outside, etc. Be in charge or they will walk all over you (which is fine in playtime – but not all the time!). This is the time to start establishing rules of the house. Walk on leash, sit, down, leave it, wait at doors, be quiet in a crate, go in crate when told, no jumping. Of course this does not happen overnight but better to start at the beginning when puppies are a sponge than wait till 8-9 months when it is harder. During the imprinting time get your puppy walking over different surfaces. Along the lakeshore, ocean, playground areas, any street grates, rocks. Let them sniff and check out new surfaces or objects then encourage them to move over a surface – remain calm and be patient. If it is not too cold teach them to swim, a great way to wear them out! Sounds are important too. If they stop to listen – let them – you have 1-2 minutes. Sirens, trucks, motorcycles we take for granted but they don’t know what is happening. You be calm, not talking all the time and let them realize – okay part of life outdoors.

They are dogs not humans (member of the family yes but still a dog).

They are not little people in a furry costume.

Love them but their needs and training are different than ours.

Ideally enroll your puppy in a group puppy class, it will help you check off lots of items on the “to do” list!

August - 2021 Off Leash Recall

Don’t make it harder on you and your dog than it has to be.  You need to train this exercise in this order and do not move ahead until your dog is solid at each part.  Remember correct as light as possible but as firm as necessary.  What you will need for this lesson: 6ft. leash (5/8 wide for dogs 35 lbs. and under a 1” wide nylon leash or ¾” wide leather leash for larger dogs), training collar properly fitted for your dog (Slip collar or pinch collar) and some cut up hotdogs about the size of your pinky finger nail.  

Part 1
Release Command: The use of a release command is to let the dog know when it is working and when it’s okay to relax. It does not mean he can pull you – that is no longer ever allowed. When you want to end a command once your dog has done it, tell him OK and play for a minute.  While doing this remain standing upright – do not bend way over to praise. You want your dog to learn to LOOK UP to you and make eye contact.

Goal For This Exercise: When you tell your dog OK he can play or just hang out.  The Food Magnet Game: To teach this game you will need some cut up hot dogs (cut into small pieces about the size of your pinky nail.) and a hungry dog. If you are going to use food as a motivator your dog needs to be HUNGRY. Take a piece of food in your right hand. Show your dog the treat by placing your hand in front of his nose. When he realizes the treat is there, move your hand SLOWLY to right or left. As your dog follows your hand give him the food reward, praise then release him.

Goal For This Exercise: To have your dog follow your hand in both directions.  

Dog Responds to Name:
Put your dog on a 6 ft. leash and let him wander ahead of you.
While he is distracted, call his name, hesitate (count 1–2 to yourself), pop the leash (a correction), move backwards, and praise him as he is coming to you.
Back up about 6 to 8 paces, stop, give your dog a piece of food, and praise when he catches up to you Tell him OK and let him get distracted again. Repeat the above steps. . When playing this game I am always trying to sneak away from my dog so I can call him to me. When your dog starts watching you and wants to stay by you this is a good sign.  Continue this until your dog no longer distracts himself but stays near you.
Now it’s time to add tougher or different distractions. While he is checking out the new interests – call his name, hesitate (count 1–2 to yourself), pop the leash, and move backwards. Praise when he reaches you. I like to call this “Beat The Jerk”. Your dog learns to come when he hears his name.
If you see him turn away from the distraction and come towards you as soon as he hears his name, you do not have to correct. Instead, just move backwards a few steps and praise. He did not get the leash correction and therefore “Beat The Jerk”. After 4-5 days you shouldn’t need the food anymore because your dog should be coming to you off of your praise.  Goal For This Exercise: Your dog should respond to his name under distractions on the first command. Your dog should want to stay closer to your side and not wander as much.

Proofing Ideas:

1. Have someone just start praising your dog but not using his name
2. Roll a ball
3. Have someone clapping their hands and praising the dog
4. Squeak a toy
5. Have someone with a piece of food in their hand and let the dog smell it but not eat it, now sneak away and call him
6. Have another dog on leash to distract him while you sneak away to call him.  Think of your own proofs. Anything your dog locks in on can be used to proof him.  

Remember correct as light as possible but as firm as necessary.  

Part 2
What you will need for this lesson: 20 ft. long line or a 20 ft. piece of rope (about the diameter of a pencil) with a bolt snap and a training collar properly fitted for your dog (Slip collar or pinch collar). I always prefer a pinch collar, less work for me.  Dog Responds To Name With More Distance Away From You:

By now your dog should, for the first time in his little furry life, be starting to pay more attention to you and where you are at and where you are going. You have a 20 ft leash and we are going to play “Beat the Jerk” game as we did in part 1 but without the food.  Start at about 10 ft of the line, the other 10ft of line can be on the ground do not worry about it right now.  Too much distance too quickly might confuse the dog.  Now we are starting at 10 ft then increase to 15ft then 20ft.  Any time you are training an exercise and your dog gets confused go back a few steps, build success then move forward with training.

Now let’s get to work.   Have your dog on the 20 ft leash but you are at the 10ft length to begin with and let your dog wander ahead of you.

While he is distracted, call his name, hesitate (count 1–2 to yourself), pop the leash (a correction), move backwards, and praise him as he is coming to you.
Back up about 6 to 8 paces, stop, give your dog a piece of food, and praise when he catches up to you.
Tell him OK and let him get distracted again. Repeat the above steps.
Continue this until your dog no longer distracts himself but stays near you.
Now it’s time to add tougher or different distractions. While he is checking out the new interests – call his name, hesitate (count 1–2 to yourself), pop the leash, and move backwards. Praise when he reaches you. I like to call this “Beat The Jerk”. Your dog learns to come when he hears his name.
If you see him turn away from the distraction and come towards you as soon as he hears his name, you do not have to correct. Instead, just move backwards a few steps and praise. He did not get the leash correction and therefore “Beat The Jerk”. After 4-5 days you shouldn’t need the food anymore because your dog should be coming to you off of your praise.
Goal For This Exercise: Your dog should respond to his name under distractions. Your dog should want to stay closer to your side and not wander as much.

Proofing Ideas:

1. Have someone just start praising your dog but not using his name
2. Roll a ball
3. Have someone clapping their hands and praising the dog
4. Squeak a toy
5. Have someone with a piece of food in their hand and let the dog smell it but not eat it, now sneak away and call him
6. Have another dog on leash to distract him while you sneak away to call him.  Think of your own proofs. Anything your dog locks in on can be used to proof him.

Part 3
What you need for this exercise:  Buckle collar on dog and to do the exercise in a fenced in area 50x50 or larger. But the larger the area the more work for you.

Bring your dog, on leash with collar on, into the fenced area with no distractions so it is just you and your dog.

Turn your dog loose and let him get about 20 feet away from you.  Now call your dogs name once.  If your dog starts to come to you back up and praise just like you did in part 1.

Part 2 coming to you is the goal of this exercise. Now let your dog go again in the fenced area.  If your dog does not come to you after calling his name once, do not say anything and start walking toward your dog with a smile but no words.  Your dog will likely do one of two things. 1. Stop and wait for you to come to him or 2. Start running away from you and have a romp in the fenced area.

If your dog waits for you to come to him, keep walking towards him without saying anything. Once you are in front of him, cup your hands and put them under the buckle collar below the dogs ears. Lift his front feet just off the ground and you start walking backwards while holding onto the collar and his feet are still just off the ground. Using your praise voice keep talking calmly to your dog till you are back at the original spot in the area when you called him. It is not really important what you are saying as long as it is a calm voice and calm facial features.  When you are at the original spot, still holding onto collar, put his front feet on the ground and praise him calmly with your voice and slight pressure on the collar.  Release your hands and let him go to run around the fenced area again.  After 1-2 minutes call his name and start over.

If your dog is a runner start walking straight towards him. He will zig and zag and think it is a chase game. Keep going toward him slowly, with a smile, and not talking. Do not move quickly but turn in his direction as he runs around and keep walking towards him.  First time you do this you may be moving for 10 seconds or 10 minutes. Patience! Keep going towards him. Sooner or later he will think What game is this? Dogs usually start to worry and stop running wondering this is not how we play the chase game. Does not matter where he stops running but when he does you will walk up to him and cup your hands and put them under the buckle collar below the dogs ears. Lift his front feet just off the ground and you start walking backwards while holding onto the collar and his feet are still just off the ground. Using your praise voice keep talking calmly to your dog till you are back at the original spot in the area when you called him. It is not really important what you are saying as long as it is a calm voice and calm facial features.  When you are at the original spot, still holding onto collar, put his front feet on the ground and praise him calmly with your voice and slight pressure on the collar.  Release your hands and let him go to run around the fenced area again.  After 1-2 minutes call his name and start over.  Here are some things that might happen or will happen:

You call his name, saying it only one time, and he stops – go get him and walk backwards to the spot where you called him from.

You call his name and he comes ¾ the way to you then stops – this IS an improvement but not the right answer, stop praising and go get him and walk backwards to the spot where you called him from.

You call his name and he comes ½ way to you then stops – same as above, go get him and walk backwards to the spot you called him from.

You call his name then he lays down – go get him and walk backwards to the spot you called him from. This could be an improvement if he was a runner.

Your dog runs from you – go get him and walk backwards to the spot you called him from.

You call his name and he acts like you are not there – go get him and walk backwards to the spot you called him from.  All of this exercise of part 3 up until now was done with no distractions so lets add some slowly. These can also be used for part 2 with 20ft line.

1. Another person just walking around but not talking.
2. Another person with treats in their hand but not given to the dog.
3. Another dog on a leash.
4. Some children running around.
5. Dogs off leash running around but start with just one dog at first.  Remember correct as light as possible but as firm as necessary.  

July - Go To Crate - Puppy Training 

Step One - Will need treats. Dog is on leash for this exercise. Tie door of crate open. Position yourself on opposite side of open door, dog is on leash in front of the crate next to you, get on your knees (if not able to kneel sit in a chair but you will move on & off chair) hold leash in left hand 2-3 inches from snap, with right hand toss a treat just inside the crate so dog can reach it but whole body does not need to go in. When dog gets the treat, PRAISE, tell him Okay as he moves toward you. You are both still next to crate, toss another treat just inside crate, let dog get it and PRAISE, say Okay. Repeat 6-7 times.

Throw food a little further into crate so dog has to start going in to get the food, if only front feet go in crate to start with that is fine. PRAISE when dog gets treat and let dog come right back out (say Okay so dog starts associating the word okay with coming out of the crate). Going in and out of crate is the game -does not need to stay in crate at this point in training. Each time toss food further into crate so dogs whole body will need to go in to get treat. Use dogs name and say CRATE each time you throw food into crate. Say Okay when dog comes out.  Repetitions occur as you throw the food a bit further into crate, should be at least 5-6 times.

Step Two - Crate door is still tied open. Have treats on top of crate, easy to reach. On your knees (or bend over if you can’t kneel) Dog is on your left, hold leash in left hand about 6-10" inches away from snap - depends on size of dog. Guide dog all the way into crate with left hand, your arm can go into crate (up to your elbow if necessary) say CRATE as dog goes in and with right hand give dog a treat while in crate. Tell dog OKAY and let her come out. Repeat 7-8 times till dog is going in without you tugging on leash to put dog into crate.

Now untie crate door. You can be on your knees or bent over. Dog is still on leash, you are next to crate. Say CRATE dog should go in, give treat, close door (do not latch it just close it) and say WAIT so dog cannot come right out. Pause for 5 seconds then open door – if dog tries to bolt out, quickly close door and repeat WAIT. Pause 5 more seconds, open door and tell dog OKAY and she can come out of crate. Repeat 7-8 times.

Step Three - Next progression you are standing up and dog is on leash at your left side. Start out 4-5 feet away from crate and as you get to about 1 foot away from crate say dogs name and CRATE  as you continue toward crate and guide dog in to crate. If crate door does not stay open - tie door open again. You may have to put dog in using your arm since you are now standing up and different site picture for your dog.  Your dog can come right out of crate at this point (say OKAY).  Getting the idea of going in crate with command is what you are teaching. Repeat 7-8 times

Step Four - Do the same work as Step 3 but do not let dog come right out of crate - say WAIT.   If dogs paw comes out of crate just tap it and say No - dog backs in to crate and repeat WAIT.  If dog gets all the way out of crate just put her back in with CRATE command and WAIT.

Be consistent with command and dog will easily go into crate when asked.

June - 2021- Attention Training For Your Dog  "Where Are Your Eyes" ..... by Richard Martinez  
watch me, watch me, pay attention. Do these words sound familiar? Go to almost any training class and this is what people will be chanting, but this is what your dog will be hearing *@#$!@%#*%, and this is what your dog will be thinking (WHAT in the Hell do you want me to do). Believe it or not dogs do not understand English. It seems that when we teach the other exercises in obedience we always put an action with the word that we use as a command. When we start training a dog it seems that we automatically think that our dog should give us its undivided attention or that our dog will just do it. WRONG! Attention work is just like any other exercise it is definitely a trained response. Dog attention solves so many of your problems that if you dedicate yourself to teach your dog this basic exercise you would wonder how you trained so long without it. But it takes hard work and a mental picture of what your final goal should look like. With out the mental picture how do you know when you have achieved your goal.  

Release Command:
The use of a release command is to let the dog know when it is working and when it's ok to relax. It does not mean he can pull me over to what ever distraction that catches his eye. When you finish giving your dog a command and he has completed the act - tell him OK and play for a few seconds. While you are doing this stay standing upright - do not bend way over to praise. You want to start getting your dog used to LOOKING UP and making eye contact with you. With your praise voice or by stroking upward under your dogs chin your dog might start thinking that it is not so bad to look upward at you.

Goal For This Exercise: When you give your dog the OK command your dog can play with you or just hang out.

Week 1 - RESPONSE TO NAME:    The first thing we teach in the attention work is to get the dog to respond to his name. Put the dog on a 6' foot leash and let him wander ahead of you or get interested in something else besides you. When the dog is not paying attention I will call the dogs name, give a pop on the leash and start moving backwards for about 8 to 10 paces while praising the dog in hopes that the dog will try to catch me. The second your dog reaches you, you should give him a treat or piece of food with a lot of praise for doing the correct response. After a few seconds we start this catch me game or Beat The Jerk as I call it all over again. If you play this game right you will start to see the dog looking up at you and not wanting to leave your side. When we can no longer fool the dog we need to start adding distractions. A distraction can be anything your dog finds more interesting or appealing than you. One distraction that you can use is another person or dog. Let someone call the dog and when he gets close to the person call the dogs name, give a pop on the leash and move backwards while praising your dog for coming. Within a week it should be very hard to fool the dog into not coming on leash to you. Remember the timing of the pop and praise is the KEY to keeping the dog up and happy. You should only use enough force with the leash pop to get the response of the dog coming to you eagerly and happy. End the session on a happy note.

Stationary Attention: Stationary attention is when your dog can sit on your left hand side and watch you regardless of distractions around him. When teaching attention you must give this exercise a name so your dog will know when it is supposed to be watching you. I use Ready or Watch. It really makes no difference what word you use for this exercise just remember to use the same word every time so your dog will start associating a word with an action.

Week 2 - SHOW:    During the first week you should introduce attention without distractions or corrections. Have food readily available so you can reward your dog for doing the correct behavior which is to look at you. You can have your dog sitting in front of you or on your left side in the beginning. Some dog find it easier to sit in front of you. At the end of the week you should be able to do this exercise on the left side if you started with your dog sitting in front of you. With your dog in the sit position show him the food, now draw the food up toward your face so that the dog is now looking up at you. Now the second your dog gives you eye contact give him the Ready or Watch command as you give him his food reward while calmly praising the dog for watching you, then release him and play a few seconds and start over again. After a few times of getting eye contact with a single piece of food we start with the same game but we also start trying to expand the time the dog has to watch us by using the food and praise to keep the dogs attention on us. Remember when praising the dog you should talk to your dog not at him. At the end of the week you should be able to have your dog maintain eye contact with you while you feed him for at least one minute.

Week 3 - REINFORCE:    We are still working in a distraction free environment and the food is still being used. Now we are ready to start adding mild corrections which are no more than a light pop straight up on the leash if your dog starts to look away. Anytime you have to correct your dog it should be followed with a food reward and praise the second the dog is watching you. At the end of the week most dogs will start to respond when they hear your watch command.

Week 4 - ADD MILD DISTRACTIONS:    Never over power your dog with distractions. If you can't keep your dogs attention on you simply put some distance between the dog and the distraction. Some examples of mild distractions are another dog and handler working at a distance, someone clapping their hands, someone whistling, cars going by on a road at a distance etc.. Remember to correct for any lack of attention with a light correction followed with food and praise.

Week 5 - MOVE DISTRACTIONS :    We are still CLOSER TO DOGl using a mild correction with food and praise. Now it is time to see if all of your hard work is starting to pay off. When the distractions start getting closer your dog should keep his eyes on you. Be creative with your distractions but remember if the distraction is to strong back up and make it a little easier so your dog can have some success and win the game by paying total attention to you.

Week 6 - FIRST CORRECTION IS GIVEN WITHOUT FOOD:    Now we are going to start weaning away from the food. If while doing the attention exercise your dog looks away you simply give your dog a straight up pop on the leash followed by praise the second you have your dogs attention back on you. Remember it is very important to give the correction the second you dog starts to move his head and not wait until he has turned his head completely away. Be critical of head position.

Week 7 - SIT AND EXPECT PRAISE:    Sit and accept praise is the next step we teach. When we start teaching this exercise I like to be in a distraction free environment so that the dog can focus on watching me instead of everything else. This exercise teaches the dog that he can be praised but still be under control, which is helpful in advanced exercises. With the dog sitting on your left side begin praising your dog lavishly. Correct the dog for ANY movement or lack of attention with a quick jerk up on your leash. The minute your dog quits moving or is doing the response you want start praising again. You need to determine how much of a jerk you will need to give as a correction, every dog is different so learn to read your dog. After a few seconds of praising and while the dog is doing the correct response give your dog his release command. Play with your dog a few seconds then start the sit and accept praise exercise over. At first if you can only get 10 seconds that should be a easy starting point. Over the course of a few days try to expand the time up to a minute before you release your dog.

Goal For This Exercise: To have your dog sit at your side and be praised for a minute without moving or getting up until released with your OK command.

Week 8 - MOVING ATTENTION:    Teaching the moving part of attention work is where most people start having problems. Straight line heeling is the first thing we teach in the moving part of attention work. It is also the most important part of heeling. If a dog can't heel in a straight line with total attention the change of pace, turns and the halts will all suffer. With your dog on your left side and LOOKING UP at you start walking in a straight line trying to keep the dogs eyes on you. Your goal is for the dog to walk with his head up paying attention to you. If you lose his attention you MUST DO SOMETHING!

What you do when you lose attention should depend on why you lost attention and at what level of training you are at. You can break the exercise off with your OK or Release command or correct for lack of attention with a light pop straight up on your leash or take a side step to the right where you would pop toward you, praise and release. In the beginning only try to go a few steps while maintaining your dogs attention. Break the exercise after a few steps and praise, then get the dogs attention and start playing the game again this time trying to increase your distance a few more steps before you break and praise. When you can heel in a straight line with TOTAL attention for about 100 or so feet it is time to start adding distractions into your straight line heeling. We now teach the rest of the heeling parts in the following order, slow pace, fast pace, left turn, right turn, about turn and the halt. As always we will teach each separate part of heeling as a individual exercise. We will not start on another part of heeling until the dog has mastered the one we are teaching. I know we didn't talk a lot about heeling but this article is about DOG ATTENTION. I hope this will help with some of your training problems and until next time remember WHERE Are Your Eyes!   

May -  2021 -  My Dog Doesn’t Listen To Me

That statement is one of the top 4 reasons people put on their registration form when signing up for class.
Now, is your dog not LISTENING to you - or is it your dog does not UNDERSTAND you?  Big difference.

I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but I will.  Dogs do not magically know English! Let it sink in – dogs do not know English.
The good news is they can be taught English.  We are taught what objects are called (chair, lamp, shoe) and how to communicate using English when we are little. Same for dogs.
By putting an action with a word you are teaching your dog English. For example Sit: butt goes on floor. Down: whole body goes on floor. Wait: do not move forward.  Leave It: back away from object, etc.

After hundreds of repetitions and lots of patience your dog will understand you…and Listen…because you spent the time to teach him/her English.  When training your dog get in the habit of using their name before each command. It will definitely help your dog to LISTEN to you as he/she knows you are talking specifically to them. Remember dogs hear us jabbering all the time – how do they know you are suddenly talking to them unless they hear their name? Keep it simple though, your dog knows WORDS not lengthy sentences so no need to carry on lengthy conversations.  Unless of course your dog is your therapist then talk away, but don’t expect your dog to understand. You will feel better and your dog will be glad for the time spent with you!

Okay how many of you are saying “No, my dog knows what I am saying”   Test him/her. Open the back door, tell your dog to go to the right corner of the yard and do a Sit Stay.  If your dog does it – film it and become a You Tube star!  If your dog doesn’t-  then it is likely lack of understanding. Simple commands you have taught your dog are the best way to have your dog LISTEN to you.

April - 2021 - Dogs Need To Chew It is in their DNA. Our job is to provide them with  natural dog chews designed to satisfy that craving. Chewing on natural  products can clean teeth and help with tarter build up. Beef bones,  rawhide bones, sterile bones, cow hooves and dental chew products will  keep them occupied and happy. Supervision of your dog is important when  you give them a bone or other chews until you know how they chew on  individual items. Rawhide might last one dog days or weeks but another  dog may chew it up very quickly. Rawhide can be okay as long as he or  she chews it up very well and does not try to swallow big pieces.  Aggressive chewers will do better with a natural bone or sterile bone.  Supervision is still necessary with natural bones until you know how  your dog chews them.
Rawhide and Pressed Bones – Rawhide bones are  made up of rolled rawhide, pressed rawhide and what is called munchie  rawhide (pieces of rawhide pressed into shapes).

Natural  Cow Bones – At the Leash Connection we carry saddle knuckles, L bones,  2” and 7” center bones, kneecaps, rib bones, sterile bones and large  Dino bones. Something for every size dog.
Cow  Hooves – One of my favorite natural dog chews. I call it the Sugar  Daddy Sucker of dog chews. Dogs wear it down but unlike rawhide dogs  don’t bite off large pieces. Great for puppies that are teething.

Pig  Ears, Cow Ears and Buffalo Ears – These are a quick chew for most dogs  but other dogs will make an ear last.. Great as a treat.

Dental  Chews – Since 1955, Nylabone has been manufacturing nylon chew products  for dogs.  Nylabone products are the most recognized dog chew product  and carry the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals  seal of approval.

Chewing  is an important part of your dog’s well being but it is not the only  thing. Regular exercise is necessary so have vigorous playtime with your  dog, it's good for you too.

March - 2021 -  Customers ask I have a question.....How do I fix......(Dog  Problem).....But I don't want to hurt him. I wish I had a dollar for  every time I heard this. If all it took was to hurt your dog nobody  would have dog problems. Now I said HURT your dog not CORRECT your dog,  Big difference. What is A Correction: It is a quick pop and release on  the leash, not a pull. It is IMPORTANT to use only the amount of  pressure necessary to achieve the proper response to your command. We do  not punish dogs for being wrong, we just correct them. Your dog  understands a correction when it is quick and to the point, then praised  for doing the command you gave. Unlike a correction, punishment is long  term and abstract to your dog so this is why we NEVER PUNISH a dog.

The Three Steps of Training:
1. SHOW is putting a word with an action (SCOO-BA-NOG)
2.  REINFORCE they must do the action every time you ask. (Dog knows the  command now we give a correction when dog doesn't comply with the  command or breaks the command)
3. PROOF is to have them do the command anywhere and under any circumstance. (Adding distractions)
When  training your dog sometimes you need to know when to help your dog and  when to correct your dog because he is blowing you off.

February - 2021-  Back Yard Dog - Front Yard Dog - When you first start training your dog  it helps if you train in a low distraction area so you are not trying  to teach a command and trying to keep your dogs attention on what you  are doing. So now we have a few commands that our dog knows like Easy -  Leave It - Heeling With Turns - Come When Called on leash and the dog  seems to be doing pretty good. Now we go to a new place where the dog  has not worked before and it seems like he just lost half of what you  taught him, so whats up ?? New smells new distractions new sight  picture, but the good news is it shouldn't take very long to get your  dog locked back in to the commands you have already taught him. Your  goal should be to work in new locations and get the same results that  you have in your backyard or the place where you do most of your  training. 

January - 2021 -  Let's  play a game called SCOO-BA-NOG. Now we are going to teach our dog his  first command. You will need a willing partner (human). Now face your  partner and command him to do SCOO-BA-NOG, if he does not comply command  him again SCOO-BA-NOG. If he doesn't comply this time take his arm by  his wrist and raise arm and hand above his head now when his arm is  raised command SCOO-BA-NOG and release his wrist. If your partner lowers  his arm back down say NO and take his wrist raise his arm again and  repeat command SCOO-BA-NOG then release wrist and see what happens. Once  again if he drops his arm down repeat by raising his arm and repeat  command. If your dog (human) keeps his arm in the air release your dog  (human) with the command OK (now he can drop his arm because you gave  him the release command). If he keeps dropping his arm down repeat  raising his arm then giving the command SCOO-BA-NOG until he will hold  arm in the air without dropping arm. Then give the release command OK  and praise your dog (human). Now give your dog (human) the command  SCOO-BA-NOG and see what happens. Your dog (human) should raise his arm  when he hears the command. Why didn't your dog (human) comply the first  time he heard SCOO-BA-NOG, you both speak English? He didn't comply  because I used a made up word so you would have to put an action with a  word.

1.  Your dog does not understand English (If he did when you gave him a  command he would obey).  When you first start training your dog and you  say SIT your dog hears SCOO-BA-NOG, when you say COME your dog hears  SCOO-BA-NOG because you have not put an action with a word.
2.  When training your dog you must put an action with a word (SCOO-BA-NOG  means in this case to raise your arm when the command is given).

December - 2020 -  Be Consistent - Be Consistent - Be Consistent ........Dogs learn by  repetition – doing the same thing over and over. Therefore, you must do  the SAME action and use the same command over and over consistently when  training. We have all heard the saying “practice makes perfect”…I  believe in “perfect practice makes perfect”.

Make  sure that all family members are all on the same page when training the  dog, If you are telling your dog “off” when he jumps on the couch and  someone else is saying “down,” while someone else is letting him hang  out up there, how on earth is he ever going to learn what you want?
Consistency  can be your best friend or your worst enemy when training. Your dog is  always watching you so pay attention to how you interact with him.

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