Tuesday Training Tips: 7 Steps to Introducing Dogs

1. Go to a neutral territory, at least away from your yard/driveway.

2. Go for a pack walk with human bodies between dogs.

3. Act casually and converse among yourselves, allowing the dogs to relax and pack up.

4. Once they have not been paying attention to each other for at least 15-30 minutes and and are just busy sniffing, walking, etc., turn around so human bodies are not between dogs.

5. Walk at a distance that does not bring out any aggression and close in as long as all is going well. Continue to act casually and keep walking!

6. If all is well, bring them into the backyard to connect.

7. Go back to any previous step if needed.

Sylvie Pleasant
Certified Dog Trainer and Behavior Consultant
K9 Solutions LLC
www.nck9solutions.com

Tuesday Training Tips: 7 Steps to Prevent Cat Chasing

1. Put your dog on the leash (supervised) so you have something to step on if your verbal correction fails.

2. Do early, early verbal corrections. As soon as the dog just looks at the cat, tell him firmly “No!” Don’t wait for the chase and then just participate yourself in the chase!

3. Practice 1-min Sits and/or Downs on a leash in the same room as the cat about 1-3 times per day at a distance that the dog can handle.

4. As the dog progresses, close in on the distance between dog and cat.

5. As the dog progresses, drop the leash.

6.  As the dog progresses, weane off the leash.

7. Practice Heels on a leash around the cat.

For most dogs, it’s just a question of allowing them to get used to the cat so the obedience training will help in making the cat not be such a “new” thing. You want the cat to become old hat and a part of the family pack.

And the rules in your house are “we just don’t chase the cat” so use your leadership skills.

Sylvie Pleasant
Certified Dog Trainer and Behavior Consultant
K9 Solutions LLC
www.nck9solutions.com

Friday Canine Friend: What do we give up when we give up our pet?

Micheal and Max

I adopted Max, a Golden Retriever, many years ago. Max was a sweet, beautiful Golden Retriever who turned out to be severely thunderphobic.

The first time I walked into the house after a thunderstorm, I found my dog still in his crate but with blood everywhere, in and out of the crate, and several wires bent. I worked a full time corporate job and I admit seriously considering returning this boy to the rescue. I just didn’t know what I was possibly going to do for him with my hours. After a couple of days of pondering, I committed to his rehabbing.

The next 3 years was honestly the most difficult 3 years of my life as anyone dealing with canine thunderphobia knows. The sleepless nights holding a Golden to keep him from hurting himself, the sick feeling in the stomach as you hear him coming up the stairs after that first thunder strike knowing your sleep is over, checking the TV every morning deciding whether to board your dog, drug him, supplement him, crate him in the dark bathroom with the vent on, have your neighbor run over at lunch time with supplements, etc. We even considered soundproofing one of the closets!

I early on decided against medication after seeing his reaction to them. So I embarked on the usual desentization to sound, association with yummy treats, herbals, and yes even animal communications.

What I discovered in the process was a whole new world of alternatives. Today, I am a healthier person physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually thanks to this Golden boy. I often wonder where I would be today if I had given up on him, and I know that I would have given up a precious part of myself.

P.S. If you are dealing with thunderphobia, see Tuesday’s Training Tips on thunderphobia tips.

Sylvie Pleasant
Building Lasting, Empowering Relationships
K9 Solutions LLC
www.nck9solutions.com

Friday Canine Friends: Bitsy’s Career

 

Bitsy with sister Amy Beth

Hi, my name is Bitsy Dog Walker but everybody just calls me Bitsy. I was born on Thanksgiving Day in 2007 and came to live with my human family when I was 7 weeks old. My Great Grandma was a Cocker Spaniel and my Great Grandpa was a Poodle and that makes me a Cockapoo.

The first time Dad took me to the doctor she said that I was so smart and confident that I needed a job. That was a polite way of saying I had waaaay too much energy. So Dad called Sylvie at K9 Solutions and started taking me to school and I loved it! When I graduated I heard people say I was the youngest dog that they ever known to graduate from dog school.

I didn’t know what I wanted to do when I grew up, but Dad knew I liked people so after a while he took me to back to school with Sylvie where I learned to be something they called a therapy dog. After I got out of that school we started going to places where people sit around and wait for me to come visit them. Boy, that’s cool! People talk real sweet to me and hold me and rub my fur and I show my appreciation by doing tricks for them.

A little later we got into a program called “See Spot Read” where children read to a dog named Spot. Spot must be real busy because he never has shown up so the children read to me! That’s like heaven because children are my favorite people! And that’s how I came to have my job!

My favorite pastimes when I’m not working are spending quite time with Mom while she reads, taking long walks with Mom & Dad, playing games and doing dog agility training with Dad.