Happy Tails Dog Training Calgary

“I’ve Been Set Up!”: Set up situations to practice with your dog

Wed, 02 Jul 2014 00:31:51 +0000

Many dogs have problem behaviors that predictably occur in certain situations—for example, dogs that tend to jump on people when greeting or dogs that bark excessively at passing dogs or people. While owners are not surprised when their dogs engage in these behaviors, they may feel helpless in the actual situations, because they don’t know what to do, have been caught off guard, or feel social pressure which can prevent them from doing what should be done to help the dog be successful. So, dogs repeat the problem behaviors and obtain outcomes that reward and strengthen these inappropriate behaviors. It is possible to change your dog’s behavior in these situations. However, you can’t just wait until the situation randomly presents itself in real life to work on it, because when you are unprepared, you often are not able to manage it well. To increase your chance of success in preventing your dog’s problem behaviors in real life situations, you need a plan of action, and practice in dealing with this situation repeatedly, so that both you and the dog can perfect your skills. The best way to do this is to arrange “set-ups”, or practice scenarios, where you can approximate [...]

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Preventing Your Dog From Getting Over-Excited With Visitors at the Door

Tue, 27 May 2014 02:34:10 +0000

Entertaining guests in your home often makes people become more aware of their dog’s behavior toward visitors. Many dogs have difficulty in this situation, and may experience over-stimulation, high arousal, over-excitement, and even stress. However, there are some things you can do to make sure everyone enjoys the visit. Many of these focus on proactive management of situations. Let’s start with the doorbell ringing and entry of the guests. If you know that your dog is likely to be overly friendly, jump up on the visitors, bolt out the open door, or feel uncomfortable with guests arriving, avoid having your dog in the entrance way while the guests come in. There are many strategies to keep your dog away from the door while you are greeting your guests, and your plan of action can be thought out well ahead of time. When guests arrive, you may want to have your dog in the yard, crated or in another room. You can have a family member hold the dog on its leash a distance away from the door, or if alone, tether the dog’s leash to a solid stationary object. Using a baby gate will prevent your dog’s access to the [...]

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Practice Makes Perfect: Prevent Opportunity for Problematic Behavior

Sun, 18 May 2014 13:57:53 +0000

When dealing with dogs’ problematic behavior, it is often possible for owners to predict that the dog is likely to misbehave in particular situations. Many owners are not overly surprised when their dog engages in behaviors often referred to as “bad habits”, since they have come to expect or anticipate these responses. However, if we can predict it, we can, and should, prevent it. Like people, dogs behave in ways that have worked for them in the past. Behaviors, problematic or otherwise, continue because they are being somehow reinforced. Reinforcement for the behaviors can come from how others respond, or possibly just by the internal state created in the dog. The more the dog has the chance to engage in their problematic behavior and earn the resulting rewards, the stronger the likelihood that they will repeat this behavior in the future. Allowing a dog to continue to engage in problematic behaviors over and over again can strengthen bad habits. Practice makes perfect when it comes to behaviors such as barking when other dogs pass their yards, jumping on visitors, or even bullying other dogs in the dog park. While some problematic behaviors are minor annoyances, others can actually put people [...]

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How Can I Stop My Dog From…

Sat, 03 May 2014 19:39:40 +0000

A question I am frequently asked is, “How can I stop my dog from ….?” People are often focused on stopping the problem behavior, as quickly as possible and with minimal effort. Looking for “the easy button” is perfectly understandable, but often leads to reliance on correction or punishment of the dog for misbehavior. This can cause distress for the dog, negatively influence your relationship with him, and often is not effective. Punishing the dog for misbehavior does not teach it what an appropriate alternative behavior might be for that situation. Punishment may be able to interrupt or temporarily stop a behavior, but the dog may substitute one problem behavior with another, potentially worse behavior, if we have not taught it what to do instead. If the dog doesn’t know what behavior is desired by us, it is very difficult for it to comply with performing that desired behavior. It is unfair to subject the dog to unpleasant treatment or cause it distress when it may not even understand what arbitrary rules it is breaking and being “corrected” for. We need to teach the dog which behaviors we would like it to perform and reward this, instead of focusing on [...]

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Teaching kids to be safe and considerate around dogs

Sat, 26 Apr 2014 14:26:18 +0000

As we look forward to warmer weather and more time outdoors, it may be timely to think about how to behave safely and considerately around dogs. Parents should teach their children how to behave around dogs, even if they don’t own dogs. If you do have a family dog, recognize that not all dogs will behave as your dog behaves. Some dogs are not comfortable around children and vice versa. Direct supervision when your child is interacting with a dog is important. The following tips should be reviewed with your children, to keep all interactions safe and comfortable for everyone. Make it a practice to give dogs lots of space. Activities like running past, biking or skateboarding directly alongside the dog may startle him. This may cause him to snap, nip, bark or lunge. Behave calmly when around dogs. Screaming, running, jumping, waving arms, squealing, or surprising and erratic movements can also agitate or scare the dog. A frightened dog may react aggressively. Screaming and running away from a dog may trigger the dog to give chase and can be dangerous. No dog should be teased, agitated, or otherwise bothered, including dogs in their yards. Some children pester dogs by [...]

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Avoiding Aversive Methods in Dog Training

Fri, 18 Apr 2014 14:04:10 +0000

As a certified professional dog trainer, I am often contacted after clients have already tried aversive training tools or methods to “correct” their dog’s behavior. Most clients do not understand the principles upon which these methods are based. They haven’t given much thought to how a tool or training method is intended to work and are just focused upon stopping the problem behavior. Aversive techniques may appear to have “worked” on TV or for other people they know. Some aversive tools or training styles are promoted using clever marketing messages about stopping problem behaviours quickly, with little effort required, which appeals to busy dog owners. The distress the dog experiences from these tools or techniques, is, of course, downplayed. Aversive measures involve applying an unpleasant consequence, such as physical harm or threat of physical harm, after the dog engages in problem behavior, to decrease the probability of the behavior occurring in the future. For example, leash yanks, pinning or forcing a dog to the ground, or the use of choke, prong or shock collars all involve applying physical discomfort to the dog. Electronic fencing means that the dog wears a collar which delivers a shock when the dog crosses the [...]

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Train Dog to Come when Called by Becoming More Relevant

Sat, 12 Apr 2014 13:32:13 +0000

Many people struggle with having their dog come when called, especially around distractions. Some dogs are highly motivated by social interactions with other dogs or by watching things happen in the environment. They find this much more rewarding than coming when called, despite being regularly rewarded with high value rewards. Practicing recalls in increasingly challenging situations and motivating them using high value rewards is still important in working with these dogs. However, there are other aspects to consider which are important to building a successful recall. Dog trainers often advise owners to try to “be more exciting than the environment”, and this does work to improve recall. However, sometimes, we simply can’t out-excite the environment and some dogs will always find environmental rewards such as sights, sounds and smells more valuable than what we can offer. It becomes increasingly important for them to view us as the “fun-holders” who control their access to the good stuff in their environment. When they do what is asked, permission is then given to go enjoy the rewards the environment has to offer. This makes us much more relevant to them because they need to go through us to get what they want. Accomplishing [...]

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Training your dog should be enjoyable, not stressful for him

Tue, 15 Oct 2013 03:06:54 +0000

The other day I saw a lady training her young puppy. She was teaching him to walk on leash by pulling him around, while he was attached to her waist. She was using leash yanks and contact with her foot to “correct” the dog for trying to sniff, explore, and be a normal puppy. It seemed to me that she was trying to do what she had been taught by her dog trainer, but it bothered me that the puppy was being treated this way, knowing the negative effects this type of training could have on him. As discussed in previous articles, the first few months of a puppy’s life are a critical time for shaping his future temperament or the way he will relate to people, other dogs, and his environment. Early negative experiences and the associations the dog may form can contribute to behavioral issues, such as fear, aggression, and reactivity. Our dogs have no choice in how they are treated and trained, yet they are greatly impacted by our decisions. It is our responsibility to ensure that our dogs are well adjusted, safe and secure. As their guardians, we certainly don’t want to cause unnecessary distress for [...]

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Early Puppy Socialization is Critical

Fri, 30 Aug 2013 16:25:26 +0000

Whew! My husband and I have just successfully emerged from the first couple of months of raising a new puppy. Things are starting to settle down now. Our puppy is very enjoyable, but of course, there are some exasperating and humbling moments, even for a professional dog trainer! Our puppy seems intent on pointing out the things we overlooked in our puppy-proofing and supervision (such as the closet door left ajar leaving shoes at risk, or the accessible i-pod cord which didn’t fare very well). The puppy is also making us aware of things we have inadvertently trained him to do. We rewarded these behaviors with our attention and did not teach or provide an alternative appropriate behavior. While it was sort of cute to see him running into the living room from the bathroom with the toilet paper roll still attached, we eventually had to put a stop to his little game by using better management to prevent his practice of this behavior. It is second nature for me as a dog trainer to understand why my puppy is engaging in these behaviors and know how to successfully redirect his energy and set him up for success, but I [...]

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Dog Behavior: Dog to Dog Interactions

Fri, 31 May 2013 00:03:17 +0000

Dog Behavior: Dog to Dog Interactions: Off leash or uncontrolled dogs approaching your dog who is on leash can be very difficult to manage, especially if the leashed dog is reactive or fearful. My neighborhood dog walks are beginning to feel like I’m in a video game, trying to safely get through all the unleashed dogs, although I choose to walk in areas where dogs are supposed to be leashed. My “mission” is to keep my dog safe and free from harassment from other dogs, as she does not enjoy having her personal space invaded by dogs trying to make contact with her. As a professional dog trainer, I am very serious about my responsibility to protect my dog, maintain her trust, and never leave her feeling the need to protect herself. However, the other dog owners in my environment appear to be unaware of my perils, and some seem to be thwarting my attempts. I encounter dogs who are supposed to be leashed, running loose, on a regular basis. Although this is against the law, I would not strongly object if these dogs were immediately recalled to their owners upon sight of another person or dog. However, many of [...]

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