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Recently, I overheard someone call their dog over to them, and then heard them proceed to punish the dog for something it had done a few seconds beforehand. What do you think the dog actually learned? Did it learn not to do that thing it was being punished for? NO! It learned NOT to come when it's called! Think about the steps that went into training this dog NOT to come when it's called: The dog did a bad thing. It's master says "come Fido" Fido dutifully obeys, coming over to it's owner. Fido gets smacked (this is how this particular dog was punished, more on this later). Fido learns that when he hears "come Fido", if he goes to his owner, he'll get punished. Oy. When disciplining (verbally, PLEASE!) bad behavior, you must think like a dog. Dogs are very linear. If they do some thing, and something good happens, they'll do that thing again. If they do some thing, and something bad happens, they will NOT do that thing again. You cannot dis...

Last night around 2 a.m., I heard a dog barking in the far off distance. It didn't bother me because it was so far away, but I really felt for any neighbors that live next-door to that inconsiderate asshole neighbor. What a jerk. So, for those of you that may live next to an a-hole with dogs that bark into the night, I decided to repost this training tip. Good luck! UNWANTED BARKING Granted, all dogs bark. A lot of us appreciate the guard-dog in our pups, even if it is just barking at the UPS guy. But unwanted barking is a nuisance, for us and our neighbors. This traning technique can actually be used for training a neighbor's dog to stop barking. THE STEPS: Unwanted barking occurs Shake the can hard and yell " NO BARKING!! " When barking stops, praise the dog "good no barking". Pretty simple, eh? I've used this technique to train my neighbor's dogs thru the privacy fence. They can't see me and I can't see them, but I can sure...

A few days ago I went out with a friend (hi Lara!) to Petsmart. I worked Frankie , and she wanted to take Willie , my retired Service Dog. It was kind of cute to see Willie just lay on the couch and basically ignore Lara when she called him over to put his collar on. He's so used to being retired now that he just thought he'd stay home as usual and relax. One of the comments Lara had while I was dressing Frankie was how she enjoyed the way I whisper commands to my dogs. As a Service Dog handler, whispering commands is much more desirable than yelling them. I find that whispering commands tends to make the dog calm down and really listen to what you are saying. Plus, it's very impressive as a handler to have other folks see your dogs respond to a whisper when they have to yell at their dogs all the time. So, for your next training session, give whispering a try. See how your dogs respond and post here with your results. Hey, you might as well save your voice for somethin...

Ahh, finally a town that gets it. If they only could enforce the law during the day also! Here's my Training Tip for curtailing barking in your dog (or your neighbors dog if you're so bold!). Norwegian Town Plans Curfew for Dogs May 5, 8:14 AM (ET) OSLO, Norway (AP) - A small Norwegian town has grown so tired of its barking dogs that it plans to pass a curfew forbidding noisy animals from leaving their homes late at night, an official said Friday. Erik Schult, the head of forestry for the municipality of Fjell in western Norway, has proposed a new regulation stating that "barking dogs have to be indoors 10 p.m. at the latest every weekday." Schult said the curfew is aimed to prevent noisy dogs from keeping neighbors awake by barking all night, although it will not make it illegal to take quiet dogs on a late-night walk. "It is the notorious yelping dogs that we are aiming at," Schult said. "Those that stay out and bark through the night." Dog own...

I took Frankie for another bus outing yesterday afternoon. Although it's obvious he still needs more practice, he was much improved. Much less shivering, wasn't as afraid of the mechanical bus ramp beeping , and was able to settle down quicker. In fact, I think his biggest problem is with the constant motion. I can see that he's trying so hard to "grab" onto the bus floor with his claws while still maintaining a down/stay. He's such a good boy. I don't know why, but these bus rides wear me out. Maybe it's because yesterday some guy got on the bus with a chainsaw. No lie. Austin is weird. PS. For all you worry-worts: That guy turned out to be a nice guy!

When you drop a piece of food on the floor, does your dog go for it like it was the last piece of food it'll ever eat? Does your dog hover around the kitchen while you cook waiting for your clumsy hands (sorry, that's me) to drop a snack destined for your dog's mouth? What if it wasn't edible food you dropped? What if it was your blood pressure medication? What if it was your pain meds? What if it was your crack? (hey, someone out there might drop some crack, ok?) One of the most life-saving commands you can teach your dog is the "Leave It" command. First off, let's be clear as to what "Leave It" means: it means nose and mouth off the object and leave it alone. It means they can't sniff or eat the object. I even go so far as to sometimes have it mean "don't even look" at the object. To teach the command, you are mainly going to setup the condition: Go to a park or a parking lot with your dog on leash. Use a slip collar, or i...

There are two primary things that I wish prospective new dog owners would realize before choosing their dog. They are: That all breeds are different and each breed has it's own influence on dog behavior. The supreme importance of Pack Behavior and the humans role within the pack. I've provided some links for each of these items below. The more a dog owner knows about their dog's breed (or mix of breeds) and about pack behavior, the easier it will be for that dog owner to evaluate a puppy/dog before bringing it home. The simpler it will be for that dog owner to assimilate the new puppy/dog into their family. And the easier it will be to train, solve behavior problems, and to have an overall good doggie living in their house. Making a Breed Choice links FAQ's on lots of different dog breeds Choosing A Dog Choosing the breed that's right for you Breed selection: One size doesn't fit all Dog Personality Profiler - a test to help you choose a breed Another test to ...

I just got off the phone with my bestest friend in Houston, Miss Kathy Lee! She rocks... we're a lot alike and a lot not alike, and we get along famously! (happy now, girl?!) Anyway, she was frantic on this call. Her young neighbor just got a 3 month old puppy from the pound that was supposed to be a lab/terrier-mix but turns out to be a lab/chow-mix. And it seems to have all the bad traits of the chow, including aggression. The pup has actually bitten her neighbor on the lip and has exhibited aggression towards her children. Time for an immediate intervention by.... The WillaWoman! Here's the advice I gave to Kathy Lee to give to her neighbor: First, the dog is now considered to be "on probation". Pack leadership MUST be established by the parents and then the kids. Subordination Exercises MUST be started immediately. Here's a couple of links for Subordination Exercises: Subordination [This link has "Exercise 4 - Subordinate Position" (see below)] ...

You know you've done a good training job when a store owner notices the improvement and makes a big deal over it. Today, Frankie and I went to the pet store. We hadn't been there in a while, mainly because it just wasn't a good place to train initially. Since I was now doing the final "polishing up" training, I needed to eliminate as many distractions as I could at first so I could concentrate on the actual training. We went to the store today to get some lizard stuff, but also I wanted to see if Frankie had improved enough to deal with all the distractions that come with a pet store. A pet store with a puppy for sale, with a loose "store terrier", and with a big bird named Big Head that has a sign that says "I bite fingers off!". Frankie did great! Even one of the store owners, Sam, noticed. Sam has known Frankie since we first started training him. At first, Sam noticed how attentive Frankie was being towards me. Before, Frankie was so distra...

Yesterday, Frankie and I went to Petco. I needed to get some supplies for the tank I'm putting together for my soon-to-be-new-pets, some Crested Geckos (thanks, Kati !). Frankie did very well. I hadn't taken him to a pet store in quite a few weeks. I'd found that I really couldn't "train" in a pet store because it's so distracting. What with all the sights and sounds mixed in with all those smells, it's hard to keep him going in the direction I need to go rather than the direction his nose is leading him. Don't get me wrong, pet stores are great training grounds. But your dog has to have the basics down solid before throwing in that many distractions. When I started taking over the training of Frankie, I was at a disadvantage. My only physical "connection" to Frankie is via a short lead attaching his harness to my wheelchair. I basically have no "leash" control like you would normally have... I don't have a leash from my ha...

I took Frankie out shopping today at the mall. Yeah, I know, it's "black Friday", but that's the point. This day is a great one for "proofing" your service dog. The crowds, the tight maneuvers... they all contribute to helping you determine how your service dog is performing under stressful conditions. I'm please to announce that Frankie got an A+ today! He did very well. He did not react to the crowds any differently today than he does on a "normal" day. He did very well in a couple of stores that were particularly crowded (Bed, Bath and Body Works had some GREAT sales!). All of his subtle maneuvers were spot-on. I could whisper a word or two and he would respond immediately. He was very good with his own leash control. If he got tangled up in the short leash that connects him to my wheelchair, he managed to untangle himself without panicking and without making it worse. I decided that today is Frankie's Graduation Day! I will be removing...

Here's a great game to play with your dogs. It helps teach the "down/stay" and "come" command all at once and it's a lot of fun. This is also a great way to exercise your dog on a rainy day. I usually begin by asking my dogs "wanna play Hide and Seek?". They now know what that means and get all excited. Take your dog to one end of your dwelling, and put them in a "down/stay" Go to the other end of your dwelling and hide. At first, don't hide too well, you don't want the dog to get frustrated and give up looking. Yell "Jack, Come" (or whatever your dog's name is) It's really fun to watch them sniffing all over the house to find you!

LL said... ok...cool I will try the leash by the door for unexpected visits. Now...for the roommate, what should she do when she comes in BESIDES ignore him esp when he is nipping at her hands/clothes. Its really hard to ignore that. She is more than willing to heed advice for training. The WillaWoman said... What is she doing now? I wanna know what's not working. LL said... She comes in and trys to calm him down. Saying sit or off. Usually off, over and over and he isn't getting off. She makes her way into her room (where there is a gate to block him from getting in. Thats all we've done to solve it. Jack has bonded with her more than any other previous roommate. He gets REALLY excited when she comes home and if my door is shut and she comes home (he even knows the sound her car makes when she locks it) he gets really upset when I don't open the door so he can see her. She also puppy sits quite a bit (about once a week they spend all day together). I can tell a hu...

LL writes: Newest issue I don't know how to deal with: when people first come into the apartment [Jack] is a maniac. Jumps sometimes 6 feet into the air just cause he wants to lick them all over their face. Also he will nip at their hands or purse or clothing. Its not an agressive nip but more of 'hey lets play'. He doesn't do this with me because he is coming out of a kennel when I come home...but when I have had my roommate pup sit...and he's already out when I come home, he DOES do it to me. Also he does it EVERY time to my roommate. She is a dog lover so is able to deal and doesn't get mad or anything, but I would like to be able to invite people over without putting him up and then leashing him when they first are introduced. When I do that, it usually still takes him a few minutes to calm down. He is just so people oriented. Its not that bad when we are out of the apartment believe it or not. (maybe because I am able to correct with a leash!) I've...

Since I've taken over the training (and bonding) of Frankie, I've primarily taken him out to only two places: Petsmart and another pet store called Pet Connection, which is a small pet store with reptiles, rodents, fish and birds. Both of these stores are chock full of distractions, smells, sights and sounds. Frankie is highly distracted at these places, and unfortunately I found myself getting very frustrated with him. And as we all know, these frustrations go right down the leash to the dog. It's just not a good training environment to start with. Finally a lightbulb went off in my head. Why am I making this so hard? Why am I starting my training with the most difficult places? Because I'm a dummybell, that's why! Doy! So, yesterday, I took Frankie to a nice, normal WalMart. And it was great! He pulled consistently, his turns were spot-on, his down/stays were solid. The overall experience was one of happiness and fun for both of us. And I actually was able to do ...

Currently, Frankie and I are going thru our bonding period . It will probably last at least 6 months, mainly because of the fact that he's VERY bonded to the hubby. Since Frankie's trainers have been primarily male (the hubby, our SWAT friend), and because up until now I've been mostly hands-off when it came to his primary training (I was only doing retrieval work), this new bonding period may be prolonged. But that's ok, I'm enjoying it and it's going well. Recently tho, I noticed that occasionally we'd have some set-backs. There would be occasions where suddenly Frankie was back to his tunnel-vision ways when it came to the hubby. I'd feel like second fiddle again. I thought these set-backs were just part of the process. But then one day I looked out into the backyard and saw the hubby kneeling down talking to Frankie. WTF?! That's against The Rules! The hubby isn't even supposed to look at Frankie, let alone speak to him! When the hubby comes ...

My current dog-training prodigy, LL, has a Boston Terrier named Jack. A while back, when she was learning some basic training commands, she complained that she had an issue with the "Off" command. She got ridiculed when saying "Jack, Off". Understandable. I suggested she only say Jack's name with the "come" and "heel" commands. So, what's in a name. Maybe this joke will help explain: Everybody who has a dog calls him "Rover" or "Boy." I call mine Sex. Now Sex has been very embarrassing to me. When I went to City Hall to renew his dog license, I told the clerk I would like to have a license for Sex. He said, "I'd like to have one, too." Then I said,"But this is a dog!" He said he didn't care what she looked like. Then I said, "But you don't understand. I've had Sex since I was nine years old." He said I must have been quite a kid. When I got married and went on my honeymoon...

Since Frankie has been with us (he was 9 weeks old when we first got him), The Hubby has been his primary trainer. He's been the one doing most of the exposure and socialization training, and most of the formal obedience training. That training entailed The Hubby taking Frankie everywhere he went. He would take Frankie to work once a week for the afternoon, and he would take him shopping whenever he went out. Frankie's been to Home Depot, HEB, Wal-Mart, the mall, a tire store, Subway... you name it. The dog got out way more than I did. Last weekend, The Hubby and I took Frankie out to do some training. Here's the story. It didn't go well. But it turns out that the experience was an indicator to us that it was time to begin The Transition. Time to start the process of transitioning Frankie from being The Hubby's dog to being my Service Dog. It doesn't mean that Willie is retiring anytime soon, it just means that we need to start forming a bond between me and F...

We had an interesting training experience yesterday. The hubby and I went out to do some Frankie-training at the mall. I left Willie home with a peanut-butter-filled toy. That can usually keep him busy for hours. When we arrived at the mall, I wanted to have Rick work Frankie a bit first before we started the wheelchair work. I was hoping it would calm him down a little so that when I took over he'd walk a little slower. I had Rick do some different pacing exercises, slow and fast, and they worked together for about 10 minutes. On a side note, Frankie is no longer working with a prong collar. Rick now hooks the leash up to Frankie's harness, right at the spot where I hold onto it when he pulls my chair. He's walking great with a loose leash, maintaining a heel position and responding well to reverses if he gets too far out front. So, Rick works Frankie for a bit, and then we switch. Rick pushes my chair, I have Frankie on leash, and I issue commands that both Rick and Frank...