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How to Teach your Dog or Puppy to Go To Place

bentley2

Go to Place is one of my favorite behaviors. I use it to keep Bentley, my AKC registered, Australian Terrier. from licking the dishes while I load the dishwasher, irritating my guests, pestering me during dinner, or any other times I want him to relax in one spot.

Before you begin training your dog, you’ll need to learn a bit about communication and motivation. Please visit the Dog Training Start Here Category. There you will learn about markers and rewards, two excellent topics for communicating and motivating! A prerequisite for “stay” is “Attention on Cue”. It doesn’t hurt if your dog already knows “Sit” too!

You can have more than one “place” for your dog. Bentley has 2 places in my 14X14 den! I have a crate pad placed on top of a ottoman, and he has a comfortable dog bed on the floor. I like to use a dog bed because it’s portable. I can place it in my car, on my back patio, in a hotel room or wherever my dog is welcome.

Here’s a good crate pad type of bed made of synthetic sheepskin. I like these because they are easy to wash and have a raised edge for the dog’s head. Hey, those guys like a pillow too!

Purchase an inexpensive bed, like this one, if your guy or girl is still a puppy.

The more expensive beds are for dogs that don’t treat the bed as a toy.

Before I teach any behavior, I always like to outline the steps necessary for success.

What are the individual behaviors that make up go-to-place? The dog must go to the place, then lie down and then stay. You could break it down into many smaller pieces.

For example, before the dog can go to the bed, he must first look towards it. Before he can lie on the bed when asked, he must know the command “down”. And, before he can stay on the bed for say, 15 minutes, he must be able to stay for 15 seconds.

There are many ways to teach go-to-place. Some require more thought than others. I have written a short description of how to teach your dog to go to place AND how to use Classical or Pavlovian Conditioning to condition your dog to like his or her place!

 

Go-To-Place

There are many ways to teach go-to-place. Some require more thought than others. I’ve found that luring is the easiest for most of my clients.

Feed the Birds

Before we start, I say, “Think about feeding pigeons in the park”. First you toss bird seed. Before long, pigeons find the food, land on that spot and start feeding. Then you toss more seed as they are feeding. Do this every day at noon.

After a few days, the sight of you approaching will attract the pigeons. They are already in place waiting for the food! Do the same with your dog and your dog’s bed.

Get your dog’s dinner out and instead of placing the bowl on the floor, place it next to you on the dinner table, coffee table or kitchen counter.  Place the dog bed in a spot a few feet away.  Toss a few pieces of dog food on the bed.

Do not speak to your dog during these steps.

While your dog is eating, toss a few more pieces to keep him busy looking for food.  As soon as he finishes and starts to walk off the bed, toss more food on the bed.

After he eats all the food on the bed, your dog will come towards you. Before he reaches you, toss a few more pieces over his head and onto the bed. Say nothing.

Repeat this sequence a few times. Wait until he starts to walk towards you and toss a few pieces over his head, onto the bed.

Soon your dog will be on the bed waiting for the food to rain down around him!

Add the Cue

After your dog catches on, speak your “go-to-place” cue when your dog is walking towards you and before you toss any food. Some of the commands I like are “Your Spot” and “Cozy Mat”.

You may need to help your dog by walking towards the bed and pointing to it or touching it with your hand.

When your dog gets all four feet on the bed, mark the instant (with your reward marker) and then toss a food treat. Walk a few feet away. If your dog follows, give the cue and move towards the bed. Mark the instant he gets on the bed and then toss a few pieces of food.

Once he is going-to- place on cue, ask him to “down”. Toss a few pieces of food after he goes down. Over several trials, increase the periods of time in-between tosses of food.

Condition Go-To-Place

Chewing helps dogs relax. At this stage you can add a special chew treat into the routine. After your dog is on his bed, give him a long lasting, high value, unique, chew treat.

Here’s the best treat for conditioning GO-To-Place. This free range chew will not stink up your house, nor will it stain your carpet, like the ones you find at local pet supply stores. CAUTION, This chew has the potential to turn Fluffy into Cujo! Read about Food related aggression by clicking anywhere in this sentence.

By pairing a special chew treat with the bed, you are taking advantage of classical or Pavlovian conditioning. The bed will elicit the same physiological calming response as chewing.

If he gets up from the bed, say nothing, just take the special treat away.

The sequencing is important. The dog must be on the bed before receiving the unique chew treat. The instant he gets off the bed, remove the treat.

By following this sequence, you are teaching your dog that lying on the bed predicts the delivery of the chew treat, and leaving the bed predicts the loss of the chew treat.

At first, you’ll always give your dog the unique treat once he is on his bed. After several sessions, you won’t always give the special chew treat. Sometimes you will, other times you won’t.

The act of lying on the bed will elicit the same calming effect as the chew treat, even when he does not have the treat.

A common mistake is to give the dog the special chew treat when he is not on the bed.

In order to maintain the association, the unique chew treat should only be delivered when the dog is on the bed.


Happy Training

Alan J Turner

Companion Animal Behavior Counselor & Trainer

Private and Group dog training services in Memphis TN

http://howsbentley.com

 


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Teach Your Memphis Cavalier King Charles Spaniel Puppy Additional Commands (cue, signal) for the Same Behavior

Cavalier King Charles Spaniel

I always suggest that my clients teach their dogs and puppies two commands for each behavior. Sit is a god example. One command should be audible (word “sit”) and the other can be visual (folding of arms across chest).

Once you’ve taught your dog to obey one cue or command for a particular behavior, you can teach another cue for the same behavior in 6 trials – or less than 2 minutes!

Cavalier King Charles spaniels are great family pets!

Before you begin training your dog, you’ll need to learn a bit about communication and motivation. Please visit the Dog Training Start Here Category. There you will learn about markers and rewards, two excellent topics for communicating and motivating! A prerequisite for “stay” is “Attention on Cue”. It doesn’t hurt if your dog already knows “Sit” too!

Trial 1: give the new cue, wait one second, give the old cue. Mark the instant she performs the behavior and deliver a food treat.

Trials 2 and 3:  same as Trial 1. Add one second per trial to the elapsed time between delivering the new cue and delivering the old cue. So the 2nd and 3rd trial will have a 2 and 3 second delay between the new cue and old cue.

Trial 4: give new cue only and wait for her to perform the behavior (several seconds if necessary). Mark the instant she performs the behavior and deliver a food treat.

Trial 5: give old cue and wait for her to perform the behavior. Mark the instant she performs the behavior and deliver a food treat.

Trial 6: give new cue only and wait for her to perform the behavior. Mark the instant she performs the behavior and deliver food treat.

Now you can use either cue. In areas with high distractions, you can use both cues. If you do use both cues, pause a second or two between the cues.  In other words, do not use both cues at the same time.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner – Companion Animal Behavior Counselor & Trainer, Canine Specialization

How’s Bentley – Private and Group Dog Behavior and Obedience Training

Memphis, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova, Germantown, Arlington, Jackson, Olive Branch,Oxford, MS, TN

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iPhone 3Gs Video ** Memphis Goldendoodle, Rosie, Loves to Swim

RosieToday,  I met with a marvelous pup, Rosie, the Goldendoodle. Rosie loves to swim!

I used my iPhone 3Gs to make the video.

Click the words below this sentence to see a video of Rosie swimming.

Rosie the Goldendoodle Loves to Swim

Here are the steps for teaching a dog anything you want.

  1. Condition a reward marker, a signal to tell your dog the instant he or she has succeeded.
  2. Establish a Rewards System, so your dog will be motivated to cooperate.
  3. Get the dog to perform the behavior (or some portion of the behavior) during very short, practice sessions.
  4. Mark the instant your dog succeeds.
  5. Reward your dog, reinforce the behavior.
  6. Refine the behavior through repeated, very short, practice sessions in many different areas.
  7. Add distractions so your dog will always perform the behavior.
  8. Practice the behavior in real life.

Basic Obedience Commads that all dogs should learn:

Attention, Sit, Here, Down, Stay, Go-to-Place, Leave-it, Walk on Lead

Alan J Turner – Dog Trainer

Animal News Network

Private and Group Dog Training in Memphis TN

How’s Bentley

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Neutrality, Patience, Observation, Adjustments – the Keys to Successful Dog Training

ATNeutralI am just like you. I want my dog to perform well.

But, I am neutral to success or failures when training an animal. What I mean is, during training sessions, I don’t care if the dog obeys, or does not obey.

It’s okay if the dog performs as asked. It’s okay if the dog does not perform.

If the dog obeys, great! I know that with this dog at this point in time, in this context, my current training plan, methods and strategies are effective.

If the dog does not obey, great! I know that with this dog, at this point in time, in this context, my current training plan, methods and strategies are ineffective. Now I know what does not work and I’ll make adjustments and try again.

Emotions interefere with thinking. One must separate the two in order to be an excellent animal trainer. If I become emotional, frustrated, it clouds my ability to think, observe and adjust.

Voluntary behaviors are like common stock. There are 3 possible “directions”. Over time, a behavior can increase (in frequency of occurances and magnitude), decrease or remain the same.

Observe, analyize, adjust.
All good trainers log instances of the target behavior and record the frequency of the behavior over time. Then we make adjustments until the frequency of the behavior is as desired.

If the behavior is increasing or maintaining the same frequency today as yesterday, I know that something in the environment is triggering the behavior. I know the immediate consequence is a reinforcer.

If the behavior is decreasing in frequency (occurs kess today than yesterday), I know that something in the environment is distracting the dog or triggering another behavior, and/or I know the immediate consequence is a punisher.

If you want to modify a behavior (increase or decrease the frequency), you will make adjustments in the environment before the behavior, and make adjustments in the consequences during or immediately after the behavior.

If the behavior is unwanted, naughty behavior, you should ask youself exactly what do you want the dog TO do and where should she do it? This is the alternate behavior. Identify all the components and teach and practice the alternate behavior.

For instance, let’s discuss “dog jumps up on guests” behavior. The behavior is strong and occurs as often today as it did yesterday.

Your first step is to prevent the dog from practicing this rude greeting.

Identify the triggers in the environment. Dog is untrained, in the same area as guests, and is not restrained. Change any one of these three triggers and the behavior will be reduced in frequency.

Identify the immediate consequences. Guests probably touch or praise the dog, or reach out with their hands and
push. You may be grabbing the dog’s collar and / or saying “off”. All of these immediate consequences are not helpful, because the behavior is strong.

If your response is anger or frustration, you are off track, and will have a difficult time fixing the problem.

The solution for “jumping up on guests” behavior:
Prevent the behavior by attaching a leash before guests enter your home. Set aside time to train your dog, when you can control the distractions. Teach and practice an alternate behavior such as go-to-place, sit, spin, “parade with toy”.

Most importantly, be neutral so you can observe, think, adjust and succeed!

Happy Training!

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Vacuum Chasing Dog:My Dog Barks and Attacks the Vacuum!


JavaBedDoes your dog or puppy hide from, bark at, chase, bite, your vacuum cleaner?  It seems there are a group of dogs who protest whenever we try to clean up!

If you have a puppy under 12 weeks of age, now is the time to gently expose him or her to everyday events and noises. During the critical period of socialization, these exposures teach our dog lifelong coping skills.

If you are reading this, I imagine your dog is beyond 12 weeks of age. That’s okay. You can still teach your dog to relax when you vacuum.

First off, forget about stopping “barking and attacking the vacuum” behaviors. You will spiral into an abiss of failures if you try to punish these unwanted behaviors. And, even if you succeed, you have not taught your dog any useful skills that may come in handy in other situations. Spend your energy and time teaching your dog an acceptable behavior, which will be incompatible with the unwanted behavior.

And, kindly prevent your dog from practicing “attack the vacuum” behaviors! Have a family member take your dog out for a walk when you vacuum or place the dog in another area with a chew toy. Practice makes perfect! Yikes!

Before you can teach your dog anything, you should identify the components that make up the target behavior. Exactly what does “relax when I vacuum” behavior look like? I picture the dog lying on his or her bed and calmly resting while I vacuum. That’s why you should teach and practice Go-To-Place before you work on “relax for vacuum” behavior.

Anytime you catch yourself saying “NO” or trying to stop any behavior, ask yourself these two questions:

At this instant in time, exactly what do I want my dog to do?

Where do I want my dog to perform this behavior?

The answers are your next training goal!

Teach your dog exactly what to do when you vacuum, and where to do it. I like to use Go-To-Place for the replacement behavior.

You cannot teach your dog to Go-To-Place when you are vacuuming your floor. Set aside time for training sessions to teach your dog Go-To-Place.

Here are the steps for teaching a dog anything you want.

  1. Condition a reward marker, a signal to tell your dog the instant he or she has succeeded.
  2. Establish a Rewards System, so your dog will be motivated to cooperate.
  3. Get the dog to perform the behavior (or some portion of the behavior) during practice sessions.
  4. Mark the instant your dog succeeds.
  5. Reward your dog, reinforce the behavior.
  6. Refine the behavior through repeated practice sessions in many different areas.
  7. Add distractions so your dog will always perform the behavior.
  8. Practice the behavior in real life.

Once you have a conditioned reward marker and a Reward System in place, and you have taught your dog to Go-To-Place, you are ready to teach your dog or puppy to relax when you vacuum your floors. The general idea is to expose your dog to the sounds and motions of the vacuum, in such small doses that your dog will remain in his or her place. Each cycle the vacuum is closer to the dog than the previous cycle.  Reward your dog for Go-To-Place and NOT BARKING when the vacuum is moving, then when the vacuum is far away and powered on, when the vacuum gets closer, et cetera. Here’s how

Place the vacuum cleaner in the room with your dog nearby. Plug the vacuum cleaner into the outlet, but do not turn it on. Tell your dog to Go-To-Place.

Reach for the handle. If your dog does not bark, or get off his or her place, deliver your reward marker. Toss your dog a food treat. Repeat 3 times. Each time you touch, mark, and toss treat is called a cycle or trial.

Reach for the handle and push the vacuum a few inches. If your dog does not bark, or get off his or her place, when you push the vacuum a few inches, deliver your reward marker and toss your dog a food treat. Repeat 3 times for a total of 4 cycles. If your dog barks or attacks the vacuum cleaner when you push it, go back to the previous step (touch the handle, mark and treat) and perform several more cycles.

Reach for the handle and push the vacuum (the vacuum is still off, not turned on) a few feet. If you dog does not bark, or get off his or her place, when you push the vacuum a few feet, deliver your reward marker and toss your dog a food treat. Repeat 3 times for a total of 4 cycles. If your dog barks or attacks the vacuum cleaner when you push it a few feet, go back to the previous step (push the vacuum a few inches) and perform several more cycles.

Once you can push the silent vacuum around the room while your dog stays quietly in his or her place, you are ready for these next steps. You’ll need a helper.

Have your helper take the vacuum in another area of the house, as far away from your dog’s place as possible. Close the door to the room (if applicable). You stay with your dog in the same room as the dog’s bed (or place). Have your helper turn on the vacuum for a few seconds and then turn it off. As soon as you hear the vacuum, tell your dog to Go-To-Place. Mark the instant he or she gets on the dog bed. Toss a food treat. Praise your dog. Coax your dog off the bed.

Again, instruct your helper to turn on the vacuum for a few seconds and then turn it off. This time it will be on for a few more seconds than before. Tell your dog to Go-To-Place, mark and treat. Repeat several times, each cycle the helper will keep the vacuum cleaner running for more seconds. Repeat until the helper can leave the vacuum running and your dog will calmly remain in his or her place.

Repeat the sequence from the beginning (vacuum on for a few seconds, then off), but open the door to the room with the vacuum or move it closer to you and the dog. Continue to practice in cycles, each cycle the vacuum is closer and closer to you and the dog.  After several carefully planned practice sessions, your dog will know exactly what to do when the vacuum is running and where to do it.

When you start vacuuming in the same room, don’t be greedy. 🙂 Run and push the vacuum a few inches and then turn it off and reward your dog for staying in place. Gradually increase the duration of the vacuuming before you reward your dog.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner – Dog Trainer in Memphis, Collierville, Germantown, Cordova, Bartlett, Arlington, TN

How’s Bentley –

Private and Group Dog Training

In the picture, Java the Papillon is resting in his “Place” or bed.

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How to Teach your Dog to Drop or Give

Australia Terrier Bentley
Australian Terrier Bentley

Description:

The dog releases an item from his or her mouth.

Function:

Final step in “Fetch”, or anytime you want the dog to release an item from his or her mouth. When teaching fetch, teach give or drop first, and the other steps like carrying the ball and finding the ball will naturally fall into place.

Before you begin training your dog, you’ll need to learn a bit about communication and motivation. Please visit the Dog Training Start Here Category. There you will learn about markers and rewards, two excellent topics for communicating and motivating! A prerequisite for “stay” is “Attention on Cue”. It doesn’t hurt if your dog already knows “Sit” too!

Considerations / Prerequisites:

Where do you want to dog to place the item? –  on the floor, on the table, in your lap, in your hand, in a basket, in another’s hand, in another room?  Do you want to dog to sit or lie down before the drop?

Some dogs quit “holding” items after 2 or 3 trials. You may need to teach “Hold”, “Sit”, “Place”, Down”, “Leave-It”, or, try again later.

The balance between the value of the item and the value of the treat is important.  If your dog is not dropping the item before you open your fist by trial 5, reconsider your item and treat choices. Begin practicing with a tennis ball or other fetch toy and use high value treats. When your dog “catches on”, use other items that do not belong to the dog and lesser value treats!

Your task is to mark (or click) the instant the dog releases the item. When following the instructions, be ready to click regardless of where in the sequence the dog releases the item. Many dogs will release before you finish the sequence of steps.

These instructions are a sort of guide. You can adapt the instructions to fit you and your dog. You may not need all the steps. The goal of this post is to teach a concept. The general concept is:

  1. Get the Behavior to Occur
  2. Mark the Instant it Occurs
  3. Deliver some sort of reward


Visual Cue: Handler holds his or her fist directly in front of dog’s nose. 

Audible Cue: Handler speaks, “Drop” or “Give”.

Teach Drop

Trial 1:

  • Say “Drop”, pause 1 second.
  • Present fist with treat (visual cue), pause 1 second.
  • Push your fist forward (palm down) until your fist is directly in front of the dog’s nose, pause 1 second.
  • Rotate your fist until it is palm up, pause 1 second.
  • Open fist to reveal treat. Mark the instant the dog releases the item. Give treat.
  • Pick up item and give it back to the dog.

Trial 2:

  • Say “Drop”, pause 2 seconds.
  • Present fist with treat (visual cue), pause 2 seconds.
  • Push your fist forward (palm down) until your fist is directly in front of the dog’s nose, pause 2 seconds.
  • Rotate your fist until it is palm up, pause 2 seconds.
  • Open fist to reveal treat. Mark the instant the dog releases the item. Give treat.
  • Pick up item and give it back to the dog.

Trial 3:

  • Say “Drop”, pause 3 seconds.
  • Present fist with treat (visual cue), pause 3 seconds.
  • Push your fist forward (palm down) until your fist is directly in front of the dog’s nose, pause 3 seconds.
  • Rotate your fist until it is palm up, pause 3 seconds.
  • Open fist to reveal treat. Mark the instant the dog releases the item. Give treat.
  • Pick up item and give it back to the dog.

Trial 4 -xx:

Follow the same sequence, but omit the treat in your fist on trials 4 and above.  Add 1 second to the sequence of pauses.  Most dogs learn this very quickly, and will drop when you say “drop” within 2-3 trials. That’s okay if your dog doesn’t, just add 1 second every new trial. For example, if you make it to Trial 7, you will have 7 second pauses in the trial.

Once your dog learns to Drop or Give on command, practice with items and toys of all shapes and sizes. You can discontinue the marker and food treat reward. The reward is you throwing the ball again!
Happy Training
Alan J Turner – How’s Bentley Memphis
Private Dog Trainer, Group Dog Obedience in Collierville and Downtown Memphis
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Does Your Dog Get too Excited to Attach a Leash? Teach Leash Time!

JavaLeash

The goal of this exercise is to teach a dog to sit patiently while you attach a leash. This is for dogs that like to have the leash attached, but are so excited that it’s difficult to snap on a leash. If your dog is shy or afraid of the leash, visit this page.

Most dogs become very excited at the sight of a leash. Dogs bark, jump and wiggle which makes it very difficult for us to attach our leashes. Some young dogs bite and mouth while we try and attach the leash. With theses guys, I usually place a chew toy in their mouth before I attach the leash.

There are several different approaches we can use to solve this problem. Here’s one that’s easy to follow and effective!

It helps to understand why your dog gets excited. The reason dogs become excited when they see the leash is because the leash predicts an outing. Therefore, if the leash does not predict an outing, the dogs will not become excited at the sight of the leash.

Step 1)

Get your leash. Do not speak to your dog. Hold the leash land walk around the house for a few minutes. Put the leash away. Repeat this sequence several times within a few hours. Repeat (several days if necessary) until your dog is not excited by the sight of you carrying the leash and then perform S tep 2.

Step 2)

Get your leash. Do not speak to your dog. Hold the leash for a few minutes. Tell your dog “leash time” and then attach it to your dog’s collar. Hand you dog a food treat. Drop the leash and let your dog drag it around the house.

After several minutes, tell your dog “leash time” and remove the leash. Hand your dog a food treat. Repeat many times within a few hours.

Step 3)

If your dog fails to sit during this step, just walk away with the leash in hand and try again later. If your dog fails again, go back to Step 1 and start over.

Get your leash. Tell your dog “leash time” and then immediately tell your dog “sit”.  Praise your dog for the sit; attach the leash, and then give your dog a food treat. Let your dog drag the leash around the house for several minutes.

Tell your dog “leash time”; “sit”. Praise your dog for the sit and remove the leash. Give your dog a food treat. Repeat many times within a few hours.

After several of these sequences, your dog will know exactly what to do when you say “leash time, sit”! You can discontinue the food treat once your dog is reliable. Of course, if you have a treat handy, why not reward your dog for sitting politely?

When you are going to take your dog on an outing, tell him or her before you get the leash. Say something like “Let’s go out” and then say “leash time, sit”.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner
Companion Animal Behavior Counselor and Trainer
Private Sessions for Aggressive, Fearful Dogs
How’s Bentley- Memphis, Collierville, Germantown, TN


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Separation Anxiety in Dogs is Often Misdiagnosed and Misunderstood

Memphis PyramidSeparation anxiety is one of the most misdiagnosed behavioral conditions. The hallmarks of separation anxiety are: 

Excessive vocalization
Salivation
Inside Elimination (for a house trained dog)
Destructive behaviors directed at entry and exit points



For separation anxiety to be considered, some or a combination of these symptoms must occur ONLY in the absence of people. The behaviors most commonly occur within 45 minutes of departure. 

If your dog destroys your furniture when you leave, it is less likely due to separation anxiety and more likely due to too much freedom and not enough exercise. Dogs with separation anxiety destroy items that are in the path of their escape, not couch cushions in the middle of the room! 

If your dog barks and whines in the crate this may or may not be separation anxiety. Does your dog bark and whine in the crate if crated at the same times of day when you are home? 

Elimination in the crate or in the house is not necessarily a sign of separation anxiety. Is the dog house trained? Will the dog eliminate in his or her crate when you are home? 

Treating dogs with true separation anxiety is challenging. It will take several days or even weeks. It depends on how much time you have to dedicate to the treatment. The main obstacle is that every instance of separation perpetuates the condition and offsets progress. For example, suppose you make great progress over the weekend, but you go back to work on Monday and leave your dog alone. Your progress will be lost. 

Treating separation anxiety is a process not an event. First you’ll teach the dog to relax before you leave the house. Then you’ll leave for very short increments while your dog relaxes. As the exercises progress, you’ll leave for longer and longer periods. If you decide to treat your dog for separation anxiety, you’ll need to make arrangement to never leave the dog alone during the treatment period. Day care, friends’ homes and other babysitters can be helpful during this period.

Click here for detailed instructions for treating separation anxiety in dogs , compliments of the ASPCA virtual behaviorist.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner – Companion Animal Behavior Counselor & Trainer, Canine Specialization

How’s Bentley – Private and Group Dog Obedience

Memphis, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova, Germantown TN

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Dog Training is a Process, Not an Event

bentleypupRaising a puppy and training a dog is a process, not an event. It’s not much different than raising a child (except in 3 years your puppy will be an adult dog). Suppose you hire me to come to your house and teach your child to be polite. I can tell the kid which words to use ,what they mean, and when to use them. That teaching session is an event. But later, I will not be with your child to praise her for polite gestures, or to remind her to be polite. That is a continual process.

I have potential clients who would pay me whatever to come to their homes and train their dogs. I would gladly accept these lucrative offers if I believed the dogs would be responsive to them afterwards. Some dogs will obey without a lot of practice. But these are rarely the dogs that prompt people to seek out a trainer.

Don’t get me wrong, I can teach your chocolate labrador retriever commands for sit, down,come, stay, go-to-place, leave-it, et cetera much quicker than their owners. Initially teaching dogs to obey without distractions is the easy part. Those initial lessons are events.

Your dog is always learning, even when you are not holding practice sessions. Every interaction throughout the day teaches your puppy or dog something. If you are unaware of how your responses throughout the day shape your dog’s behavior, no amount of event training by me will override your daily mistakes.

Dogs learn by repetition. Practicing while adding distractions, in very controlled training sessions, and working with the dogs, every day, in real life situations, is a time consuming process.

If you want to begin a training program for your dog, please visit the START HERE category.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner – Companion Animal Behavior Counselor & Trainer, Canine Specialization

How’s Bentley – Private and Group Dog Obedience

Memphis, Collierville, Bartlett, Cordova, Germantown TN

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Pet Dogs for Protection Dogs?

OdenGSDOn How’s Bentley Private Services Enrollment Form, the box labeled “For Protection” is often selected as one of the reasons my clients acquire their pet dogs. I understand why people select a pet dog for a protection role.

I have worked with more German Shepherd Dogs in the past year than the previous 3 years. I believe the current political and social cultures are responsible for people choosing dogs like German Shepherd Dogs, Doberman Pinchers, and other guarding dogs with “vicious” labeling. We are more fearful as a country than we were 15 years ago. That is reflected by the breeds of dogs that we choose. OOPs, this is off topic. I’ll talk about dog breed selection trends in the suburbs of Tennessee at another time.

Many people expect their dogs to be natural protectors and body guards. Too bad it’s not that simple.

It’s not that dogs won’t protect. Some dogs will naturally growl, snarl, bark, snap and bite when anyone approaches.

That’s the problem. Some dogs protect us from everyone. Dogs growl, snarl, snap and bite family members, house mates, friends, children, neighbors, cable guys, even pizza delivery couriers. That’s just rude. I need my pizza. Please Killer, spare the Domino Pizza guy.

Our pet dogs are not any better at determining who is a threat than the average Joe. We have these opposable thumbs and large brains, yet very few of us can determine which people in a busy suburban mall parking lot are about to attack us. Our untrained dogs have a solution. Bite them all and let the alpha dog sort them out!?

YIKES! The point is, you must take time to obedience train your dog before you can have a dependable protection dog. The last thing you want is a dog that decides every stranger is a threat and acts without your input!

True personal protection dogs are very well trained in all aspects of basic and advanced obedience and many participate in Schutzhund, a dog sport that originated in Germany. True protection dogs will stop attacking when their handlers command them to disengage.

Before you select a breed of dog genetically bred for natural, protective tendencies, talk with a trainer who can help you teach the dog basic obedience. For if you have a pet dog that is aggressive towards everyone, and will not stop when you call, you do not have a protection dog. You have a liability.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner
Companion Animal Behavior Counselor and Trainer
Private Sessions to Help Aggressive and Fearful Dogs
How’s Bentley- Memphis, Collierville, Germantown, TN

Canny Collar Supplier

USA Customers PURCHASE CANNY COLLARS CLICK HERE – $32.90 USD includes shipping.

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Do Dogs Perspire? How do Dogs Stay Cool?

JavaCotSmallCIn the picture, Java is one cool Papillon! So, you may wonder, how do dogs stay cool? Dogs do not cool off by sweating, they regulate their body temperature by panting.

Panting is your dog’s cooling system. Dogs breathe around 35 times per minute. A panting dog may breathe in and out 400 times a minute! When dogs become overheated, their personal air conditioner kicks in and they start to pant. In order for panting to be effective, the dog must be hydrated (have sufficient water in his or her system).

While panting, the dog only uses the upper portion of the respiratory tract, causing air to move very quickly over the moist mouth. This air flowing over moist cells is what provides the cooling effect. Just like wind moving over sweaty skin lowers your body temperature, air moving over moist mouth and respiratory cells, cools your dog!

Many believe that dogs sweat through their paws. This is correct. Heat will cause a dog to release fluids through the eccrine glands in their paws. However, the eccrine glands do not release enough perspiration to facilitate cooling or thermoregulation.

In comparision to cows sheep and horses, the amount of cooling via sweat glands in dogs is negligible.

Dogs also sweat through their paws when stressed or anxious. This is why your dog may leave behind damp paw prints when he or she is not overheated.

The normal temperature for a dog’s body is around 101.5 -102.5 degrees Fahrenheit. If the body temperature rises, dogs start to pant. If the dog’s temperature rises to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, there is a true emergency.

Happy Training!

Alan J Turner
Companion Animal Behavior Counselor and Trainer
Private Sessions for Aggression, Fearful Dogs
How’s Bentley- Memphis, Collierville, Germantown, TN

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New WordPress Plugins – Search Hilite and Search Everything Features Added

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I just added two new feature to this dog and puppy and behavior and training and help  informational web site. I added two free WordPress plugins to enhance the built in “search this site” feature. Search Hilite and Search Everything are available at the WordPress Plugin page.

The “Search This Site . . . ” input box is located on the upper right of your screen. Type a few words and then press “go”.

When you get your search results, now the search words are highlighted in the search results. And every single word on the site will be included in your search. If you use enclose your phrase in quotes, you’ll get results with that specific phrase. For example, search house training and then search “house training”.

Try it!

Type one of these specific phrases with the quotes:  “dog bump target”, “barking at cars”, “shake cans”, “house training”, or “newspaper swats” .

Alan J Turner – Private and Group Dog Obedience and Behavior Training

How’s Bentley – Memphis, Collierville, Arlington, Cordova, Bartlett, Germantown, TN