See if you can pick out the body language or things that reveal stress? Add them to comment section. Dog experts please just list one thing to give others a chance. Pardon my atrocious video skills. I am learning how to do video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46TjGhoXKXY
Posts Tagged ‘positive dog training’
Pick Signs of Stress in Video
Monday, November 16th, 2009Great weekend with our rescue dog Charlie!
Monday, October 26th, 2009
Charlie has lived with us for eight months now and the past weekend was the best I can remember. We hiked with Charlie on wooded trails he was familiar with and took photos. I don’t think he barely barked at anything even a jogger on trail!! He seemed pretty relaxed compare to the nervous way he used to behave. It was a beautiful fall day on Sunday and we got to enjoy time with our dog after many months of preparing for just that with lots of behavior modification. I didn’t have to do much to keep him on track and happy in the house and yard this weekend. Of course, you could still see some of his anxious behaviors but it has gotten much more manageable on the day-to-day stuff of an ordinary weekend. After we had Charlie for several weeks it became clear he had a set of complex problems and he was going to need help beyond basic training and even basic behavior modification. After consulting many other behavior experts and researching online and books, which frankly are really lacking when it comes to the complex dog most are geared towards dog that simply need training or have fears that are pretty simple to address, I have concluded Charlie has generalized anxiety and some kind of separation anxiety like attachment to my husband and several other lesser behavior issues. This is as close as I am going to get to putting a label on his issues. Hey, real life is messy at best. With so many issues to address and a dog that was anxious within the home we decided to simplify his life as much as possible. We simplified his schedule and kept his routine as calm as possible. We cancelled trips, guests, and forgo our usual dog outings to new places. We gated house so he would stay away from front windows and obsessing about outside activities in neighborhood. I added blinds to one room so he would have a calm room without distraction for his crate. We decided to work on his problems in the house before any others. I will add more of what worked for us next post but we had a great weekend. Yeah!
Week Five with Our Adopted Dog
Friday, April 3rd, 2009If you have adopted an untrained and unsocialized dog, let me just say you’re entitled to be tired and drained and maybe emotional. I am an experienced dog trainer and at week five I am tired, drained, and emotional. It is easier for me since I know how to deal with all the issues that can come up with an adopted dog so my hats off to all of you that take this on and have learn all this stuff along the way.
What helps me is to set dates on calendar to check in and see how things are going with our new dog Charlie. It took him a year to become the dog I adopted so we are going to redo the first year of his life from this point forward and it will probably take at least twice that time. Yes, we have missed that oh so important socialization stage of his development when he was a young puppy but we will do our best to have a do over. We will have to take it very slow since the world is very overwhelming for Charlie right now. My alarm clock even concerns him. I try to jot down a few words each day to record how it is going.
If you have adopted a dog or puppy be sure to mark your successes down on the calendar or keep a journal to see how far you have come. Sometimes we forget how things were on day one. We have achieved many things in five weeks but it could be easy to lose track of the successes with so many things still to achieve.
Some of our successes at five weeks are: being able to walk nicely and quietly by a horse, coming in the yard off lead when called, many weeks without any pee or poo in house, laying quietly in house and yard most of the time without barking at outside activities, not being afraid of stairs, the coffee grinder, the fire truck without siren, distant gunshots, trucks outside when riding in car. He is gradually getting better about being brushed. Learning some training basics at home and on walk like keeping leash loose, eye contact, sit and wait at door, retrieve, target hand and lid and Steve, come, and follow and lots more.
I have come to conclusion that it will be a long time until Charlie is able to go to big hectic dog events with me as I planned but that is okay. That is real life you have to adjust your expectations when the real nature of your dog is revealed, which took a few weeks for Charlie. Your new dog will change you and change your family just as any new member would and usually in the end it is for the better. Whether you end up being a more patient and sensitive person or even a more social person as you find yourself meeting people as you find avenues for your dog’s energy and intelligence.
Mix It Up!
Thursday, September 11th, 2008Okay, I am going to tell you the secret dog trainers know and many dog owners don’t usually grasp that creates huge obstacles in training your dog to be well mannered throughout her life. That is what we want, a well manner delightful dog at 1yr and at 18 yrs. old and every day in between. Oh, and of course to have fun with our dogs!!!
Okay, you took a few positive training classes and learned some basic skills. It worked in class but now you have to apply those skills to every day life. Always think Mix It Up! Mix up the Where, What, When, and How.
Where-Take your dog training to many different locations. I have heard many people say they forgot to bring their training tools when they go on walks, or to the vet, on trips, that is EXACTLY when you must have the head halters, reward toys, reward treats, and clickers, whatever you used in class for training and I would say that is when your rewards should be even better. Always keep in mind if anything NEW is happening the dog may not understand the training because it is out of context. If you always wore your sneakers during training sessions, your dog may not understand you because he was looking for the sneakers to say it is training time. Do some retraining in NEW situations and the more you do this the quicker your dog will learn in all situations.
What-Don’t ask your dog to do the same thing all the time. If she always sits at the door, ask her to lie down. Before doggy dinner have your dog to all his behaviors for the great reward the meal. Sometimes use only hand signals. Sometimes use only voice signals. Never do the same thing in the same order. I would do some heeling with my dog around to house and then tell him to go up to the landing and wait until I released him for his meal and then the next meal we would do other tricks. He loved it so much I had to tell my sitters to play this game with him when I was away so he would eat!!! Make it different and always a bit more challenging for your dog. Keep them guessing. It makes life interesting for you and your dog.
When-Avoid ruts. I have seen the control shift from person to dog with ruts. Some people will feed the dog at 5 pm everyday because this behavior rut has been so ingrained that the dog fusses and actually gets upset if she doesn’t eat at the same time! Yes, feed the dog but mix up the times, sometimes 5 pm, sometimes 6:30 pm or 7 pm and always at your decision not because your dog is prompting you for dinner. This type of behavior rut can create a dog that cannot adapt to little changes and that is bad for the dog and you because of course you in turn worry about the stress of the dog. Mix up when you do your training behaviors. It will make life more interesting for your dog. You want an adaptable dog because we live in an unpredictable world. This is why very short training sessions randomly throughout the day are better than a set training time. You want your dog to be trained all day long not just during training sessions so keep it as random as possible.
How-Mix up how you ask your dog to do behaviors. Try lying on the floor or sitting if you always stand, remember at first your dog may be confused because you always stood before when training. Stand out of sight and ask for behavior and then check if she did the behavior. Ask your friends or different family members to signal the dog to do the behaviors so she learns to listen to people besides you. Wear different clothes; ask for behaviors while you swim in the pool for a ball throw reward. Bringing me to next thing to mix up, your rewards, mix up different food rewards, different toy rewards, different game rewards. I was walking my friend’s adorable Cavalier and I was out his treats so I would stop each time a car went by and wouldn’t start walking again until he looked at me. Sometimes, I would run a few steps as a reward and he loved it! Avoid ruts here too, your dog should think you are a magical creature and he will never know whether he will get a piece of steak, a new toy, a game of tug, a regular treat.
Just think Mix It Up and you will be glad you did. I promise!
