Paws In Progress: 2013

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Remote collar / E-collar

Remote Collars can be a great tool when you use the right brand and they are used correctly.
You may have heard them called a "Shock" collar.
They do not harm the dog. Once you train the dog with the collar it is just another form of communication with your dog. It is a lot less force full and actually is kinder on your dog than physical corrections from any other form of collar. It is a gentle reminder of what they are supposed to be doing. Anyone that truly wants their dog to be off leash should invest in an ecollar. It allows me the confidence and safety that no matter what I have control of what my dog is doing. You can train all day every day and there is still a % that your dog can make their own decisions. There are things that we can't train or prepare for. I want to have control of that %. I am a safe driver but I still wear my seat belt. That's how I think of my ecollar. It's there if I need it but the majority of the time it isn't needed once the dog is trained.
The brands that we recommend are
Einstein / E-collar Technologies and Dogtra.
Mini Educator/Einstein Collar is the ecollar that we carry that is included in training plans. It is considered at "small dog collar" but I have yet to meet a dog that needed anything more.
Both of these collars are great and have a wide range of options.
The lowest level "Small dog collar" is all that is needed on most pet dogs.
Mini Einstein/ Educator + Dogtra 280
Has 100 levels of momentary or continuous. If we decide this is the right tool for your dog I have you feel it 1st. Most people feel it between an 8 - 20. I almost guarantee you your dog will feel it between a 3-7.
It has a boost button for emergencies and has a vibrate option.
There are other good brands out there like Tritronics and Garmin but those tend to work at a higher level than most dogs need and are a little more tricky to work and switch between dogs on a multi dog unit.
We DO NOT recommend most of the E-collars that you can find at your local pet store like Petsafe and Sportdog collars. Most of those collars have a very limited selection of levels like 4 or 5 and the levels jump quite a bit because it has so few options.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Dog Nutrition articles

A few great Articles on the importance of good nutrition in Dogs

http://files.championpetfoods.com/ORIJEN_White_Paper.pdf

http://www.volharddognutrition.com/healthy-dog-conference-2014-phoenix.html

Decorating the dog door

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Puppy Mouthing/Biting

Yes it is natural for puppies to play with their teeth with other puppies.
It is NOT ok for us to tolerate it on us and by ignoring it teach the puppy that it is ok for them to put teeth on people. This is not something that puppies just grow out of over time. This is something that gets worse over time if you allow the dog to continue practicing this behavior.
You want to start from day 1 teaching your new pup the rules of the house and setting structure. It's more fair to set the rules from the beginning than it is to allow something for 4 -6 months then tell them its not allowed anymore. It's always possible to fix later, but far more fair and easier on your puppy if you start with rules from the beginning.
For most puppies using a taste detterrent is the best way to cure puppy mouthing.
Bitter Apple is a product made for dogs. It is sold in almost all pet stores.
I use Bitter Apple as a direct consequence for teeth on me. They put teeth on me and I spray some bitter apple in their mouth. You are NOT mad, yelling or angry. Just a direct consequence. You do this.. this happens. Make sure that you are CONSISTENT. Every time puppy mouths the bottle is handy.
Make sure that the bottle doesn't become a threat. If you bring the bottle out.. you use it..
NOT: bring bottle out... puppy stops.. i set bottle back down. Then you always have to have the bottle out.
I go to Target or Walmart and get the little travel size spray bottles it makes it alot easier to carry the bitter apple around or put it in my pocket.
Some people have heard from other sources to "Yelp" when the puppy bites. For a rare % of puppies that have a really soft personality it can work. But if you have a puppy with a stronger personality and you YELP... your puppy can see that as you submitting to them. This is not something that you want to do.
Another possible solution to the mouthing that I believe I heard this idea from I think Ian Dunbar but I could be wrong is that if the puppy puts teeth on you.. to be dramatic stand up walk away from the puppy and slam the door behind you... I could see this working for many puppies... but then I'm leaving a puppy in a room by itself unsupervised and I really dislike to leave a puppy unsupervised EVER.
Start with the Bitter Apple...

Monday, December 2, 2013

Crate tips

Teach your dog to love the crate.

Don't hesitate putting the dog in the crate, don't stop and explain to them that you will be back.
Make it matter of fact and make the crate part of life.
1. Tell your dog "Crate" / "Kennel Up" / "House"
Then proceed to put your dog in the crate. Lead them in with a leash or physically help them in.
2 Once they are in you can give them a treat.
3. When you go to let them out, they need to wait to be invited out. (No barging out the crate door)
If they go to rush out of the crate, close the door on them.
Start to open the door again, if they try to rush out shut the door again.
I do this until I can open the door all the way without them rushing out.
4. Then invite them out with their "release" word ("free") or an invitation command "Let's go".
Then repeat starting at step 1 until your dog goes into the crate without help.
Then Gradually increase the amount of time that you can open the door before inviting them out, also start increasing your distance with the door open then return to them to release them.

Other tips:

REMEMBER: Crate the dog when your home too. NOT just when you leave.
Take your dog and their crate with you to a friends house and crate them in another room while you visit with a friend. It's good practice for them to be comfortable being crated in a different place.
It always helps to cover the crate with a sheet or towel.
If your dog whines in the crate and you think they need to go out for a potty break you can take them out ON LEASH but take them straight out to potty and right back to their crate - whining and barking gets you out for a potty break not time to be free or fun time. Otherwise they will learn to bark or whine anytime they want out.
Feed your dog a few of their meals in the crate. Use the above 4 steps for putting the dog in the crate. Once your dog is in the crate instead of a treat give them their food bowl. Close the crate door and walk away. When they are done eating and it is convenient for you, you can come back by and take the bowl out and let your dog out calmly (Still don't allow rushing out).

We have found that more dogs do better in plastic crates than wire crates. Lots of dogs are able to destroy wire crates if they are stressed or anxious. Plastic seems to hold up better and tends to be more den like for the dog.

I will post a video later today on how to put the dog into the crate and teaching them to wait there.

Friday, November 22, 2013

Your dog only mirrors you

This week I read and shared a facebook post by Sean O'shea can be seen on his business page: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=687645261259678&id=133978373293039
"Remember folks, what you pet is what you get.

If you pet a nervous, fearful, insecure dog, you get more nervousness, insecurity, and fear. If you pet a pushy, disrespectful, bratty dog, you get more pushiness, disrespect, and brattiness. If you pet a hyper, overly-excited, manic dog, you get more hyperactivity, excitement, and manic-ness.

If you pet a calm, relaxed, respectful dog (and do it in a calm, relaxed fashion) you'll create more of that too.

Learn to become super aware of your dog's true state of mind, and use your affection and interactions to cultivate the behavior you want - not what you don't want!"

This is VERY true. I wanted to post about this and add a little more.

Save your praise and affection for what you really want. Make your praise and touch valuable to your dog. Not something they get all the time.

We are setting a leadership role for our dog to follow.

If you aren't calm and consistent how to do you expect your dog to be?

The calmer, clearer, and relaxed we can be... the more your dog will be. Your dog is a direct mirror for what you are doing and teaching them. If you don't like the dog you are looking at in the mirror. It's us that needs to take a closer look at we are or aren't doing that we can change to get our desired results in our dog.

Praise

Physical touch or pet

Calm, slow, soothing

Eye Contact

Can be praise in itself
Don't give eye contact to a mis behaving dog

Play with a toy
Verbal "Good" / "Good dog" / "That's it"

Reserve for awesome - make it special not expected

Verbal

Calm voice - don't raise your voice
Say a command once and follow through with it
NEVER give commands that you have no intention or way to follow through with.
When your dog is holding a command try not to say anything additional until you release them from a rare and occasional "good".

Attitude

Relax! Be positive and confident about your ability to work with your dog.
The calmer more confident you are about working with your dog the more comfortable your dog will be to follow your lead. If your nervous and unsure your dog will be too.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Birdie on place

Birdie is so tired from a long day of training. So proud of this little pup. She held a 30min place this afternoon.

Dogs live in the moment. Don't dwell on their past

My own Personal Quote of the day:
Came about when commenting on a post about Mr. Hank. It is very true.
"So many people that have a rescue dog want to focus on and put emphasis on what the dog has been through.
I disregard their past and work toward their future. Dogs live in the moment. They aren't thinking about their past and we shouldn't either. I find we far too often dwell on their past and treat them differently because of what they might have been through and when we do that we are hindering their ability to move forward and to become a better dog. The more confidence you have when working with your dog the more your dog will feel more confident knowing you are in control."

11.19.13

UPDATES on Yesterday

Last night before day training dogs went home we had out Crickett, Daisy, Birdie and Sookie. I then decided to try introducing Paige to the group. Paige and Crickett PLAYED! I was so proud of them.
Sookies parents came early. I forgot to remind them that playgroup wasn't until 7pm since we recently changed the time. I let Daisy sit playgroup out since she was tired but we had Tessie, Fenway and Clyde, Crickett, Paige, Nala and Sookie. Nala and Sookie of course were crazy and had a blast. But I was very HAPPY to see Crickett and Tessie play. Sookie left a little early because she was so worn out. After Sookie left I was impressed by how well Nala played and respected the other dogs which are not as puppy as she is.
And one of our foster kittens is 2lbs YAY - gets to go get spayed then adopted!

TODAY
Day Training dogs - Just Birdie today
But we have lots of other dogs staying here that need the work.

Lesson with Sweetie at 9:30am - She is a Shepherd through GSGSR. I did their home visit before she got adopted. I look forward to meeting her and working with this family.

Makeup lesson with Finn the doodle at 2pm

Worked with Hank this morning.
Loose leash walking is getting much better, Sit is getting more reliable, Down is in progress
He is currently on place and has been for the last 30 min. in the living room while I am answering emails and updating social media.

Read a great post that Jeff Gellman of Solid K9 put up yesterday about improving business and yourself. I have a ton of books he has recommended. I'm going to really try to start making some time in my day to read some of them. Cant wait till they have another T3 workshop in CA.

Back to the dogs....

Monday, November 18, 2013

11.18.13

MONDAY
Start of a new week.

We took in Hank yesterday. He is a foster through Second Chance Rescue based out of NY. They wanted to pay for him to come to training with us as he has some serious dog aggression. We offered to comp 1/2 of the training and include overnight stays to help the rescue out with costs. We have to charge some for training just because we already have 3 other fosters in the house.

DAYTRAINING
Sookie is here and held a beautiful place this morning until Stripey kicked her off pic.twitter.com/DJDzocyeDJ Poor Sookie

Daisy + Cricket are also here for the day. They will get to have fun and cricket and I will start working on more obedience.

Birdie is also here. She is growing and doing awesome at all of her commands. I did realize at Puppy preschool that her Leash walking isn't awesome. We have done so much without the leash that I will need to get her on leash today and work with her.

Jason will get the 4 of them out to play while I head down to a lesson and we will do more training when I get back.
LESSONS
Riley - is having trouble being protective at their apartment.... lets go see....

Kramer is coming by this afternoon for some pointers on walking well on the leash.

Playgroup tonight at 7pm. Really hoping it won't rain until after 8 so the dogs can be outside

11.17.13

I know I haven't had time to update this blog.
Im thinking if I make it more of a journal and keep everyone up to date on the dogs we have for training and what we have going on it might be easier.

Yesterday/Sunday
8am Reactive Rover at Miners Ravine with Rosie, Rose, Dexter, Io and Bryndle. I was very proud they all seemed to be doing much better. We passed 3 dogs. 1 on leash with the owner. 1 Running with owner and none of my group reacted. YAY. And 2 Samoyeds walking with their owner. Very proud!

Agility 4 Fun with Bentley, Flanna and Io - great fun brough Ritter out too and he did awesome.

Agility week for Combo Class - Elsa, Kinsey, Diego and Bryndle they all did awesome for their 1st time. Kinsey was the most confident about the Teeter Totter.

Lesson with 4 dogs after in Auburn https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=608211039227662&set=a.239896419392461.53602.187585221290248&type=1&theater&notif_t=like
Great dogs learning Place and owners learning how to walk all 4 together. Really wish I had my phone charged and was able to get a pic of her walking all 4. Great leash handling.

Ended the day with a new client lesson "Johnny" a 10month old Newfie.
He will be a lot of fun.

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Sleep tight

shared from "All About Dogs" facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/pages/All-about-Dogs/402634146448692

Friday, August 23, 2013

Water Play in Roseville area

It's summer time where do you take your dog to play in the water?
Where are good places to cool down with your pup?
What should I worry about or watch out for?
....

There are lots of great water places for your pup but I want to discuss a few other things 1st.
Warnings and things to be careful of:

Leptospirosis read more about it here Has your dog has the vaccine?
Giardia is very common around here in any water that isn't "fresh". Here is more info on giardia.
Rattlesnakes like to hang out on the same warm rocks by the beach that you and your dog like to lay on so just watch out for them. Rattlesnake Aversion Training is available by THIS company. Great option to help reduce the chance of your dog running into one.
Horses - there are lots of horse trails around our area and it is not uncommon to come across a horse on most trails.

These warnings are just things to be aware of. STILL take your dog out and have fun but just be aware of these things. Remember we do have leash laws and technically all dogs should be on a leash at any public location so unless your dog has a flawless recall and will come the 1st time you call do not allow your dog off leash.
PLEASE be respectful of others! Dogs are being banned at many locations all over because owners aren't being responsible.
Make sure to

Pick up your dogs poop and dispose of it properly
Don't allow your dog to run up to another dog or person. Let them come ask you or you can ask but not while your dog is 1/2 way there.
Keep your dog under control. You can buy 20 - 30 - 40 ft long lines :)

Now.. where to go?

Hidden Falls in Auburn off of Mears Place rd - Great little swimming hole but if you can go on a weekday it gets packed on the weekends. Not so hidden anymore.

Folsom Lake again on the weekdays are better even in the evenings after work is nicer than a packed weekend. Lots of entrances. Granite Bay, Beals, Folsom Point etc.

Dry Creek Trail is right near Walegra and PFE rd. great little creek runs along most of the trail nice to cool off your pup not enough water for a full swim though.

Sacramento River

American River

Rollins Lake up towards Colfax. Nice Lake - great for boating but they charge $3 a dog.

Where do you take your dogs in the area?
Welcome all input.

SHEPHERD

Came across this on Facebook today and had to share
Posted by: https://www.facebook.com/germanshepherdtips

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Found dog in Citrus Heights 8/6

FOUND TODAY! Do you know this dog can you help him find his way home?

Found a dog? What now?

Ok... So.. you found a dog.....
Now what do i do?

Step 1
Can you catch the dog?
No... Call animal control so they can catch the dog
Yes
Step 2
Does the dog have a collar on? Does the dog have tags?
Yes... Call all the numbers on the tags and wait then call them again and leave another message
No...
Step 3
Take the dog to vet and get him scanned for a microchip. Does he have one?
Yes... Vet will help to put you in contact with the owner
No...
Step 4
Post information and make flyers
Post as much information as you have about this dog everywhere. In order to reclaim the dog they must have a picture of the dog. On flyers and information post breed mix, approx. age, intact, any special markings or features, where found and your contact information.
Step 5
Where to post?

Another dog found just last week.

Flyers in your neighborhood and local vet offices
Facebook

Craigslist

Make a post under community and pets.

Shelter Found Forms are a MUST

Thank you for helping this dog that has lost his way!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Roll Over - Trick Tuesday.. belated

Roll Over Rover. Every good dog needs to know Roll over as a cute trick to show off to friends. Start with getting your dog into a down position. Do NOT say down. Once they are down you will take your treat and get their attention on their nose and get them to follow your treat with their nose over one side of their shoulder until they roll over. This can be a tough one for some dogs so remember: Slow down...stop talking.. and praise for small progress. The fast we go the more excited they get and they can't focus The more we talk the more they have to be on constant alert waiting to see if they are supposed to respond to a different command If you don't praise and treat for some progress and your pup is having a hard time with it he/she will just give up and stop trying. I want to keep them engaged and wanting to work with me so if they are having a hard time it is always ok to treat for small increments than gradually ask for more. The dog in the video is Harley. As far as I know she has never learned roll over before.... here is how it went. So 1st video is persistent patience... 2nd video is treating and praising for some progress 3rd video is all done :)

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Crawl - Trick Tuesday

Crawl / Be sneaky / soldier
Whatever you would like to call it it all means the same thing... to crawl on their belly across the ground.
Start teaching this from a down position. Use a treat to get your dog down - do NOT say "Down". (You don't want to lure your dog out of a down command as they don't understand the crawl command yet and they shouldn't leave their down command) Anyways.. so use your food to get them into a down do not say "Down" inch the food from their nose out away from them just a little bit and very slowly. If you go to fast they will get up. Treat on the 1st little inch forward and mark it with a word "Good" / "yes" until they are confident and continually inching forward for you then start having them go a little farther each time until they get the treat but you want to start with reinforcing fairly quickly as you want your dog to have fun with it and not get bored and give up. Once they have the concept down then start saying the word "Crawl"
Good luck! Send us your pics and vids of working with your dogs.
Here are 3 videos of me starting to teach it with Buddy, Clover and Ritter

Dog Fact about the song "A Day in the Life"

Dog Fact for the day found on Animal Planet's facebook page.

Sunday, July 21, 2013

Etiquette for greeting people

Elsa waits politely before going to "Say Hi"

Your dog should ALWAYS wait for your command to "Go Say Hi"
I use this at the front door, out in public, anywhere except with members of the family who live in the home.

When dogs have no rules for greeting people they are...
a.) Excited, Rude and overly exuberant in the greeting
b.) fearful / anxious / not sure what to do
c.) Reactive / Aggressive
d.) Aloof and just don't care about people

What are these Rules?

When someone approaches and wants to pet or see your dog. Stop the person 1st and tell them your working on training or manners and to wait just 1 sec. Tell them you will have the dog come to them. You are having the dog go to them so that your dog has a choice if they don't want to, much more comfortable than having this person come at them tower o

ver them and corner them. Even if you have the friendliest dog in the world there will be 1 person your dog may be unsure of and its not fair to force your dog in a position where they cant get away or back away if they feel the need to.
Get your dog to settle. Ideally you have the dog in a calm sit next to or even behind you. Your dog is holding their sit here on a loose leash you do not need a death grip on the leash, you are not just restraining the dog the dog is required to practice impulse control and hold the sit on their own.
IF and ONLY when your dog is settled down and in a calmer state do you make the decision to allow them to greet a person. If your dog is still overly excited and not able to sit on their own, do not allow your dog to go greet the person. *Straining at the leash... you give in.... dog gets what they wanted... dog is learning tight leash gets me what i want you are reinforcing your dog pulling on their leash and now they are more likely to pull next time*

Io is shy so her owner hands the stranger a treat.

Tell your dog to go "Say Hi" / "Make friends" / "Visit" allow your dog to go forward and greet. Correct for any jumping on people. If your dog is meeting children I HIGHLY recommend getting down with your dog and holding on to your dogs collar so that you have extra control.

Io greets and allows petting. Although this person is petting on the head when at all possible try to encourage people to pet from under the chin and on the chest. Also notice she is bent down next to the dog not hovering over the dog. Io's owner is also engaging and making sure Io knows this is a team effort shes not just out on her own greeting this person.

By making the dog wait and then putting a command to go say hi helps with general greeting manners as well as showing the dog you are in charge and making it clear that you have already checked it out - now they can go say hi. Almost all dogs start off friendly and happy go lucky and we encourage them to socialize when they are young but the problem we run into is as they get older it turns into a habit of running up to people and as they get old and turn into teenagers and mature... they are running up to a person out of habit but then trying to make their own decision if this person is ok or not. Do not let your dog decide who is and isn't ok. That's up to you.

Stewie is very well behaved as the kid pets him but his owner holds his collar.

For a Shy dog while you get your dog calm beside you, you can hand the stranger a treat and ask them to "Please offer this treat out to my dog, Please DONT pet him, hes shy" This will help to make positive associations with people without anything negative or scary like a hand reaching out too.

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Wait to feed the dog!

Quick training tip:

DON'T FEED WHEN YOUR DOG WANTS TO BE FED. If you get in the habit of feeding your dog every morning as soon as you get up many dogs start anticipating you getting up means that they get breakfast as a result lots of dogs over time will start trying to wake you up earlier to get fed earlier. I know of a number of dogs whose owners wake up at 4 or 5am to feed their dog then go back to bed. This is NOT necessary.
Instead:
Get up, start your day, Feed your dog on your time. Don't feed them at a set time every day so that they aren't expecting it at any particular time. My dogs get fed twice a day and every day is different. Some days they eat at 5am some days 7 or 8am. In the evening same plan... sometimes its 4 or 5pm sometimes its closer to 7pm. If you take your dog with you on a vacation or to a friends house it will be alot easier for you to enjoy your vacation or for the person taking care of your dog if they are ok with eating at any time and not demanding to be awake and fed at 5am.

With these tips your dog will still get fed but you can enjoy a morning to sleep in once in a while.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Nose Touch - Trick Tuesday

Weve decide to challenge you to teach your dog a new trick every week and practice and post pics and vids.
I want to start with something very simple that some of you may already know.
Nose Touch - Teaching your dog to touch their nose to your hand.
You will use a marker word that catches the exact second their nose touches your hand - we use "YES". Some people like to use a clicker and you can we just dislike the need for an extra tool.

Start with treats in one hand then transfer them to the other hand so your empty hand will smell like treats.
Hold your hand flat out near your dogs face and encourage your dog to touch your hand with their nose. Do not do it for them but encourage them to do it even by accident the 1st time is ok.
The second their nose is in contact with your hand say "YES" and treat immediately.
Continue this and trade and switch hands until your dog understands and has the hang of it
Once they understand this you can start raising or lowering your hand so they have to jump for it or lean down low. Still saying "Yes" when they do it and treating each time.

Simple Fun Trick to start with.

Other uses for Nose touch - shy dogs encouraging them to go greet someone. If your dog already knows and enjoys this game and you have a shy dog it can be a great ice breaker to have the person just hold their hand out and have your dog go touch for something positive.

Harley: the lab
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&list=UUUcqW_f8ZqmHni8Pk0Eq7GQ&v=KhngiBykieo

Vader: the shep
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_T6vJxYQdMQ&feature=c4-overview&list=UUUcqW_f8ZqmHni8Pk0Eq7GQ

Stripey + Blackie: cats
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quXYzHaymiI&feature=c4-overview&list=UUUcqW_f8ZqmHni8Pk0Eq7GQ

Share your pics with us!! #tricktuesday #pawsinprogress or @pawsinprogress These hashtags can be used on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Monday, July 8, 2013

Tally up of Fosters and Transport

39 Dogs whos lives we have helped save from Jan 2011 to July 2013

Many of these dogs were on death row when we pulled them from the shelter.

Please consider fostering. You could save a life.

Knowing where they go and getting to meet their new family makes it easy to see them go from the shelter to a great home.

Dakota January 2011 (1st Foster 4 GSGSR)

Ozo March 2011 (Foster 4 GSGSR)

Lily April 2011 (Foster 4 GSGSR)

Link May 2011 (Transport 4 GSGSR)
Took Link from Shelter in Grass Valley to Vacaville.

Cubby May 2011 (Foster 4 GSGSR)

Luke August 2011 (Foster 4 GSGSR)
Came from a hoarders house that got busted in Loomis that had 80+ animals.
Luke was such an awesome dog. I will never forget the family coming to meet him and he walks up to the daughter and nestles his head into her shoulder and I knew that was the right home for him.

Reese September 2011 (Foster 4 GSGSR)
I evaluated and pulled Reese from the Sacramento City Animal Shelter. He was a matted, filthy, stinky long haired shepherd that had not been taken care of. I gave him a bath and spent 3+hrs brushing him out before he started to look like the beautiful shepherd that he is.