Dog training help now. Online Consultations!

No matter where you are...

"I need help, right now" the email said.  The woman was having some huge canine issues with her new puppy and needed HELP!!!!!!  I replied right away "I can help right now."  I sent her the questionnaire and we began immediately.  

The new canine guardian had been ready to pitch everything.  She was starting to regret ever getting a dog and was ready to give up.  Sometimes you need help right away; and that help can come in many forms.  One form of help that I offer is my online canine consultations and I have to say that "I LOVE IT."  I love being able to connect with people right away.  The ability to get them started on their very personalized remedy to their problem with their dog, instantly is wonderful.

So what does my online email consultation look like and who can benefit from this service?  First it is a very cost effective remedy to your canine behavior issues.   We work via email which enables us to communicate back and forth over a period of time.  This lets you, the canine guardian get to work right away.  We can span the emails out as far as you like.  As you and your dog make progress we walk through new things that arise until you have a handle on your problem.

And it doesn't matter where you live, which is the greatest thing EVER.  

Online canine consultations are geared to those who want to address their problems.  That means that I tell you how to help your dog.  Then you tell me how its going and we work on fixing more, until you are happy with your dog's behavior.  Sound good?  

I offer local hands on behavior modification but I'm not limited to local anymore.  I love helping people all around the world with my online canine consultations.  

Often a couple of emails are all that's needed for a canine guardian to be on their way to complete success.  And I might add, they did all the work; which I believe is essentially important for the best possible outcome.  This is because a guardian needs to understand what's going on. With the personalized give and take of an online consultation, that happens very naturally.

So wherever you are and whatever your canine problem, shoot me an email.    

Puppies and testing temperament

I love doing temperament test on puppies.  I also love hearing about temperament tests that  have been done and the differences in how they are done and the results.  Most tests are pretty much the same.  Tests are done in an area where the puppies have never been before; and with someone who they have never met previously.  It is amazing how quickly puppies acclimate so it must be a new place and person to get the best results.  

I have seen a lot of puppies in all of my years.  I have tested many and watched even more.  I am always watching, closely.  I think temperament testing is extremely important; but, even if a breeder, rescuer or foster does not want to temperament test, they should know their puppies.  Knowing an individual puppy helps to ensure that they will go to the best suited home for them and their new family.  I believe the best scenario is to know your puppies well and do temperament testing.  Knowing your puppies is going to mean something entirely different to each individual breeder or person who raises a litter.  The distinction will factor in with what the puppies have been subjected to.  Even then, each puppy raiser has their own level of assessing results.  

Day to day, small, boring and mundane activity needs to be watched as far as action/reaction readings.  There is much that can be learned from watching the reaction of puppies.  How do puppies act around new people, new surfaces, noises, dogs?  

When I test, I like to have a bit of background.  What have the puppies been up to before I came into the picture?  This will help me to understand their responses.  If a puppy has had a solid socialization background vs. been in a litter box their whole life, will factor largely in the test scores.  

Puppies need to be on their own to get a true reading.  Not just for temperament testing but simply knowing your puppies.  Puppies act very differently when they have their backup pose with them.  Pull them out on their own and everything changes; this is very important to understand.  

What am I personally watching for when I test a litter of puppies?   I am looking at sociability with dogs as well as humans and confidence.  

Does a puppy want to be with people?  This interaction is fairly easy to see; although I do see puppies being read incorrectly all the time.  A puppy must seek out human contact and respond accordingly with body language.  Puppies who have not had a great deal of human contact will display this when tested.  But not all dogs desire human contact even if they have been surrounded by humans. 

Some puppies may follow but aren't interested in an actual interaction.  Other puppies may get under foot while following and be a biting, humping fool when you get down on the ground with them.  There are so many different combination that can unfold when tested and watched extensively.  But the dropped ear, wiggly butt of a puppy who desires human contact is nice to see.   

As far as confidence, that is a much more difficult read; and one aspect that is misread often.  Personally I like to see apprehension to new things.  Depending on the startle factor of the new experience, you should allow for different levels of apprehension and see many degrees of alarm. Here is where the life experience will factor in.  Knowing if the puppies are socialized or not makes a big difference in reading. 

Recovery time is extremely important.  When a puppy startles at new sounds and sights, it is the moment after that needs to be watched carefully.  The degree of startle needs to be surveyed but the recovery time is even more important.  Breaking the recovery down even further, each step and time lapse should be taken into account.  But I want to see startle; this allows us to see that a puppy is aware of his/her surroundings.  The different levels of startle and recovery are vast. 

As far as the actual testing, there are many different tests within the test itself.  I believe strongly in reading between lines as well as get initial scores and recovery time scores.  There is so much more about each puppy then a number on a test can tell  

The whole nature vs. nurture thing that many breeders throw out there is moot to me.  Both factor extensively in the development of a puppy into adulthood.  I have seen litters who are very close as far as scores in a temperament test; but, they are all very much individuals in the personality department.  

I believe we owe it to our dog to see these individual traits and acknowledge them.  Yes there are aspects that can be changed once a puppy goes to live in a new home.  Much will be learned and unlearned.  There will be issues that are easy to change and some things that are very much there to stay.  Knowing each puppy as the individual that they are will give them the best chance to thrive in their life to come.  

  Canine temperament, personality and behavior is fascinating and diverse.  It is often given little notice, under valued and pushed aside in lieu of color, pattern or number in a waiting line.  

A litter of puppies is more than a box of puppies.  A litter holds within it, a plethora of temperament traits and personal idiosyncrasies.  Seeing the uniqueness of each takes time, knowledge and desire.  

Getting to know that dog of yours

Do you understand dog behavior?  I mean real dog behavior?  Many people think they understand it but few actually do.  If you live with a dog you should do some reading and find out about your dog.  Over the years I have met many, many people who have no idea about dog behavior.  Even people who have lived with dogs for years, can still know nothing about dogs.  Why?  Because if we don't do some research and learn how dogs are different from us; then we typically just take what our dogs do and put a human twist on it. How many dog behavior articles have you pushed aside, thinking that you didn't need to read them?

There is a great deal of information out there; much of which can be misleading.  I recommend sticking with the material that is either scientifically based or comes from someone who is into the positive form of behavior modification.  You see the old ways of doing things, attempting to change behavior by the yank and choke method teaches little to either dog or human.  Yanking on the dog was and is for some trainers still a method to stop the dog from doing something that the human doesn't want.  It gives no option of an appropriate alternative; stated by the yank as a "just stop" order. 

In our day to day life with dogs, we need to be able to read what they are saying and get our message across to them.  If you do not understand how dogs communicate then you are not going to be able to do any communicating. When humans treat dogs as humans, everything goes awry.  We, as in humans tend to see canine behaviors and interpret them into human.  Even some dangerous behaviors are seen as cute when humans turn the situation into human.

There are so many canine videos out there being posted as cute that are simply not cute.  Many are seen as cute because the human does not understand canine communications.  Like the one of the Siberian husky objecting to going in his crate by vocalizing.  The owner continues to push so that we can all see the adorable objections from his dog.  So many people thought that this is just adorable when it is anything but. 

Don't even get me started on all of the baby and dog videos.  Sure there are cute ones out there but many people see dangerous ones as cute because they don't understand canine behavior or signals.  Unless you learn about canine behavior, signals and communications then you cannot understand what you are seeing.  Most recently I watched a dog trying to shake a baby from his dog bed as the parents sat laughing.  Nothing cute about it. 

Almost everyone has a dog; but very few take the time to really learn about dogs.  It is the one "pet" and I hate to even use the "pet" term but use it to make a point.  If you were getting a pot bellied pig, you would do a ton of research about pigs.  If you were to add a miniature horse to your family; you would probably do a great deal of research on these little guys, correct?  You would want to know all about your new addition.  But not dogs, dogs have been by our side for so long that many don't even think about them being so different than us. 

Dogs are very different from us.  They are not little furry humans.  They are highly intelligent, far more intelligent than most people give them credit.  They can adapt to living in our crazy human world; melding with ease and do for the most part, what we ask of them. We should at least learn a little bit about the dog we live with.  

Do you know what your dog is saying?  Do you know how to properly communicate with your dog? 

Leave a comment, I love to hear from you.  

Pick up sticks

Dogs are so smart, far smarter than we give them credit.  Almost weekly, I have a "wow" canine moment.  This past weekend when we had our little foster guests at our home; Elsa was on a mission.  Her mission was to get this little, tiny canine to play.  As you all know Elsa loves to play; she loves to play more than anything else.  She doesn't care if you are canine or human; she's up for a good rough and tumble.  So when she was faced with a dog who wanted nothing to do with her, she had a big job in front of her.

First they had to get the "how do you do's" out of the way and then it was play time.  Each and every time Elsa tried to play the puppy sat staring at her.  If Elsa made a playful leap in the puppy's direction she went running for cover.  Sprout had obviously not had a great deal of play experience in her life thus far.  This was going to be a lot of work for Elsa; not only did she need to break through the fear factor of Sprout, but there was the huge size difference to consider.  If Elsa had been closer to Sprouts size it might have been a little less daunting of a task.

So she tried and she tried; Elsa tried everything she knew to get the little puppy to play.  She threw her toys in the air, across the room and down the stairs.  She shook the toys until I thought that she would give herself whiplash.  Elsa jumped and leapt around making it look like she was having the best time of her life; but the puppy wasn't buying it.  Sprout sat safely under a chair watching.

Before the first day ended there was a glimmer of play in Sprouts eye.  She was starting to understand what all this crazy behavior was from Elsa.  I had Elsa lay down so that she wasn't quite so large comparatively.  This really helped as Sprout came out from the chair and had a sniff; she even made an almost play bow but then ran for cover again.  By the next day things were changing; Sprout was not running for cover nearly as much.  Of course when Elsa came charging and pouncing in her direction, she hid.  But Sprout was following Elsa around and Elsa was quite enjoying being the boss; she's a pretty bossy girl. 

Then the breakthrough moment appeared.  Elsa stood staring, watching Sprout intently; as she had done since her arrival, she got an idea.  We were all sitting outside under a tree.  Luke was laying peacefully in the shade; Sprout was sniffing around with Elsa watching.  Sprout picked up a stick, a tiny stick; fitting for a very tiny puppy.  I took it away as she started to chew it.  That was Elsa's moment; she saw what the puppy wanted and knew then what to do.  She immediately picked up a stick and brought it over to Sprout.  Backing away as Elsa loomed over her; Sprout stared at the stick.  Sprout looked shocked that Elsa had brought her a stick and when she reached out to get it, Elsa grabbed it and ran off.  She immediately brought it back and tried again.  She reached down, offering Sprout the stick in her mouth and she took the bait, finally.   The game was on.

The whole process was amazing to watch as it unfolded.  Elsa was beyond dedicated in her pursuit of a game.  Her thought process was undeniable and her ability to teach another, impeccable.  The two shared a stick moment; with Elsa picking all the sticks up and offering them to Sprout.  Finally Elsa lay down beside Sprout as they enjoyed a bit of stick chewing together.  A tiny stick had been the key that would break down the wall.  Elsa saw the tiny stick as an opportunity and took it. 

They are truly amazing; aren't they?