House Training A Puppy: Dog Training, Northern Virginia

Bringing home a new puppy is like Christmas every morning, until you realize that you need to house train your puppy. You know, those mornings when you wake up to a mess in your floor. House training a new puppy can be emotionally and physically exhausting. Between getting up at night to take them potty, to learning proper ways to teach them how to potty outside, and not in the house, it can become overwhelming for new owners. At our puppy training classes in Northern Virginia, we do a puppy consultation to help get you and your dogs on the right path.  Here are some helpful hints to ease the transition from new puppy to house trained pet.

Hint #1: Practice Makes Perfect: Like little kids, potty training a puppy is all about perseverance. If at first you don't succeed, try try again. Taking your puppy out once an hour, and more often they smaller they are, will give your puppy a chance to relieve themselves outside. It will also teach them, with continued success, that going potty outside is preferred. 

Hint #2: Be Prepared: Have a crate readily available when you bring home your new puppy.  A crate is imperative in the house breaking process.  Your dog should be in the crate unless he/she is being "directly" supervised.  A new puppy should spend a good portion of their life in the crate.  So, ensure during the phase of house training your puppy, if you do not have DIRECT supervision, they should be crated.

Hint #3: Get Help: Like most humans, we all think we need to be the doers of everything. We don't want to appear weak, needy or incapable; so instead of asking for help when we need it, we overload ourselves. If you're schedule is packed, and you don't have time; or if this is your first puppy, get some professional help. Find a puppy trainer in Northern Virginia to give you some advice on how to get your puppy trained and house ready. You may find you even want to give your pup a few obedience lessons as well just for good measure. Never be afraid of what other people think, if you need it, get some extra help. House training a puppy  is a science and a lot of things you can do wrong, so find a trainer!

Hint #4: If He Goes, You Go: Puppies usually aren't the only ones who need a little training. Especially if you've never had a pup before, it will inevitably do you some good to learn a lesson or two. Your best option, and your first one, should be to find a qualified dog trainer in Virginia, who can coach you and your new pup on how to interact with each other. While your puppy is learning everything he needs to know to be a great pet, you'll be learning the tools you need to be a great master and companion.

Whether this is your first attempt at training a puppy, or you're an old pro, it never hurts to have some help along the way. Whether that's an extra pair of hands to clean up, a pair of legs to run your pup outside or a trainer to help you both out, you'll both be better off in the end. To find a qualified professional in your area, try an internet search for K9 Trainers in Virginia, or go to www.offleashk9training.com

Nick White

Dog Training with Electronic Collars! Dog Training, Northern Virginia

5 Common Misconceptions about Dog Training

Ever since we’ve opened our training school for dogs right here in Northern Virginia, we’ve come across all sorts of inquiries—and misconceptions. We do feel bad about the latter because dog owners miss a very important service all because they’ve been misled for the longest time. 

So we opted to clear all these myths today:

“It’ too expensive!”

Definitely there are a lot of trainings that are terribly expensive they can surely break the bank, but it doesn’t have to be that way. If you’re interested in dog training Northern Virginia, you can look for training schools around the area and compare their prices. As for us, we charge around $600, which covers everything you need. Succeeding sessions will be only $100. 

More than the costs, you need to think of the value of the program. A dog training isn’t just to develop obedience and control. It’s also about building a strong relationship with your pet through more effective communication. 

“I have an e-collar, thank you.”

E-collars have become a well-known device for dog owners lately, and we at Northern Virginia dog training also use them. However, our goal is not to let those dogs wear these devices for the rest of their lives. Moreover, e-collars should not be utilized to develop submission but to foster obedience, excellent communication, and better change in behavior. The e-collars therefore are usually worn during the first phases of training. After that, they are removed since the dogs would have already been more responsive to commands even without them. 

We always say that e-collars are mere taps on their shoulders, our way of telling them that we see something wrong or aware of their bad behavior, and we want them to pay attention to us so we could correct it. 

“It’s meant for K-9s only.”

It’s true that most dog training schools around country have managed K-9 dogs from various defense departments. But that doesn’t mean the services are meant for the K-9s only. After all, all dogs need to be disciplined and nurtured properly. Nevertheless, since no dog is the same, we always try to make sure to customize the training according to the dog’s temperament and even your relationship with the pet. 

“I still have a puppy with me.”

I remember how my mom used to say, “Never underestimate people, including babies.” It’s exactly the same thing with pets. A lot of people think that only large and old dogs can be trained. In fact, on our side, we think it’s best to start very early. That’s why we have puppy training Northern Virginia! Puppies, like babies, have fewer bad habits, so they are much easier to train.

“As they say, you can’t teach old dogs new tricks.”

Again, it doesn’t really mater how old the dog is. If you have a good trainer, he or she will always learn something new and change for the better. We have trained numerous old dogs that have been into several nasty habits for many years, and yet they have changed within a short period of time. 

Nick White

Off-Leash K9 Training

www.offleashk9training.com

Dog Problem Solving: Dog Training Northern Virginia

Whether your dog eats your house while your away, doesn't travel well or gets snippy with invited guests, most behavior issues come from two possible sources.  Sometimes dogs are received from places that did not breed very well, and sometimes as their owner it can be hard to know what to do to teach them, and so we do the wrong things. Here are some useful bits of information on behaviors. If you puppy or dog is displaying any of them, you'll be more informed if you decide to talk to a trainer.

Behavior #1: Separation Anxiety: I have a Eurasier, and he can't stand to be left inside when my family leaves. He is a family oriented breed, and doesn't appreciate being left behind. To show his great disapproval, he would chew the corners off our walls, and eat our doors until we had to replace them. Separation Anxiety in dogs is a very common mis-behavior in dogs, and is easily fixed.

Cure: While no behavior issue can be solved overnight, there are some steps you can take to help your pup adjust better when he's left behind. If your dog has a crate, try putting them inside it, during the day. Even when you're home, they should spend time throughout the day in their crate. If you don't have one, you can use a bedroom to enclose them. This will help them learn to “be alone” even while you're still home and this is one of the many ways you can deal with separation anxiety training in Northern Virginia

Behavior #2: Aggression: While some people think that aggression is bred into dogs, it in fact is not. No dog wants to be aggressive, and will usually only exhibit this behavior when needed. There are some simple steps to help you deal with the aggression in your dog to return it to a easy going, loveable member of your family

Cure: Start by leading. If a dog doesn't see it's owner as a “pack leader” it will assume that role and try to dominate the situation by showing aggression. Don't show fear. Dogs are very sensitive to fear and will react accordingly. Your dog needs to feel secure in your leadership, that you can be in control of yourself, him and the environment you're both in.  We do a lot of dog aggression training in northern virginia and are able to help fix these issues by teaching the owners steps they need to take and teach the dogs how to interact with other dogs properly.

Behavior #3: Disrespect/Bad Manners: Dogs can sense that their “leader” isn't really leading. If they sense this from you, they may act out by showing disrespect for your attempts to lead. If you catch your dog taking food off your table, for instance, more than likely he doesn't respect your leadership role.

Cure: Learning proper correction techniques, and assertive leadership will help you curb this behavior in your dog before it becomes a bad habit. Talk to an Off-Leash K9 Training trainer in order to learn more about how to correct this bad behavior in your dog, and how to learn how to be an effective leader.  We will teach you pack leadership techniques to start working on at your house as well as incorporating our dog training in Northern Virginia.

Whether your dog is showing aggression, disrespect or simple bad manners, these behaviors can be turned around. Contact your local trainer for more information. For those of you who live in Virginia, you can contact the qualified trainers at www.offleashk9training.com

New Puppy: Essentials To Start

So you have decided to take a big leap, and pick yourself up a new puppy. You find the cutest, fluffiest, most adorable puppy ever, and you bring him home. The next morning you wake up to find that your cute puppy chewed through all your shoes, and is nosing his way through your garbage with a string of toilet paper trailing behind him. And you can't call puppy trainers in Northern Virginia fast enough! Here are some tips for boosting your puppy's overall success. 

Tip #1: Train Well: Every well behaved puppy starts with great training. Puppies and dogs, just like humans, have to start out with learned behavior. And there's no better way to train a brand new puppy, than our puppy training in Northern Virginia.  This is where we discuss pack leadership, confidence building, house breaking, and many other things!

Tip #2: Bonding Time: Puppies need to know who's in charge. That's why people who own dogs have always been referred to as the pack leader. Puppies grow up to be dogs, and dogs run in packs. If a dog is going to integrate well into your life,  it needs to know that you are the pack leader, so that it will obey when you give it a command and respect your higher position.

Tip #3: Eat Good, Be Good: Proper nutrition is just as important for your new puppy as it is for you. If you've ever binged on chocolates and other sugar filled foods, you'll know how true this is. Talk to a vet or your puppies trainer if you need help determining which food(s) are appropriate for your puppy.

Tip #4: Play Time: While training is a vital part of helping a puppy develop the skills needed to be a great companion, play time is vital to their overall growth too. Be sure, in the midst of your busy schedule, that you take time to play with your new puppy. Both of you will benefit from the general activity of play time.  You will see that your new puppy will become very tired and will sleep for a couple hours after your interactive sessions.

Tip #5: Location: Wherever you live be sure to find a reputable trainer, preferably one who has references, to train your new bundle of joy. If you happen to live in Northern Virginia, there's no better place to take your pup, than Off Leash K-9 Training. We teach your dog everything it needs to know in order to be your best friend.

Whether your new puppy is starting out on the right foot or not, sometimes specialized training is needed to help them reach their ultimate potential. Find a great trainer, remember to play around, feed your pup the best, and most importantly enjoy every minute of your new friend's time.  If you're having trouble locating a trainer, ask friends and family for a reference, and always talk to a trainer before scheduling any sessions. Ask for their credentials, references, and videos. This will undoubtedly put your mind at ease, to know that your puppy will be well trained, and well taken care of. To learn more about training your new puppy or to get important information you can visit: www.offleashk9training.com.

Nick White

Off-Leash K9 Training

www.offleashk9training.com

www.facebook.com/offleashk9

www.youtube.com/offleashk9training

Training A Dog with Distractions: Northern Virginia

Off leash dog training Northern Virginia, ensures that a dog behaves just as well when off the leash as they do when they are on it. If you attempt to train a dog to be obedient off a leash without passing through the on leash training, you will be faced with a hard task.

As I tell people on a daily basis, "If your dog is not near flawless without distractions, why try doing distraction work?"  That is literally just setting your dog up for failure.

Dog Obedience Training Northern Virginia

By the time you finish off leash Northern Virginia Dog training, the dog should be good at responding to basic commands when on the leash such as come, place, sit, and heel among others. The key is for the dog to respond to basic commands even when there are distractions around on and off a leash. The leash should be on the dog at the beginning to ease it into the off leash training session gradually. There should be a successful and gradual progression from one command to the other.

Introduce distractions

The last step is to introduce distractions into the off leash K9 training session. You can choose a place where there are other dogs, cats and people such as a park. Follow the same pattern outlined above and if the dog gets distracted then get back to the earlier training ground until you are sure they have regained focus, before getting back to training in the area with distractions.

If your dog isn't focused when in an off leash distracted area, than that means you need to go back to the basics of on leash or an area without distractions. 

Remember, if your dog isn't near flawless on a long leash or with distractions, then you shouldn't even attempt off leash or distracted training.

Nick White

www.offleashk9training.com

www.facebook.com/offleashk9

Separation Anxiety in Dogs: Dog Training in Northern Virginia

Nervous dogs, or those which have had a history of abuse, often exhibit anxiety when left alone. This can manifest itself as barking or whining, chewing furniture or simply cowering away somewhere it feels more protected. The general term is separation anxiety, and can affect many animals and even humans. For most dogs it is easy to cure. Separation anxiety is caused in most cases by the dog not being confident that it is an accepted part of your 'pack'. In our Northern Virginia dog training sessions we can show you how to gradually correct separation anxiety and in the process make a happy, well adjusted dog which is a pleasure to own instead of a liability.

If a dog is properly treated from birth, then you are unlikely to have any problem with separation anxiety. It is a learnt behaviour, and never a natural, inbuilt characteristic of a particular breed. As such, and as with any learnt behaviours, it is possible to correct if you are prepared to put in the effort. In our Northern Virginia dog training courses we have specialists who are very experienced with separation anxiety cases. They will work with you to show you that it is not difficult to correct, as long as you have patience.

Take small steps and never allow your dog to become stressed.

Every dog is slightly different and requires slightly different approaches to the separation anxiety problem. Some dogs get anxious as soon as the owner is out of their line of sight. Some are OK as long as there is a person somewhere in the house. Still others only become stressed after a certain time of separation. The symptoms of separation anxiety also vary widely, as discussed above. In all cases, though, the same basic principles apply, though the way they are best applied require expert assessment. This is why you need advice from experienced trainers such as those at our Northern Virginia dog training courses.

The breed of the dog is not significant. Large dogs can suffer just as easily as smaller dogs. However rescue dogs seem to suffer from the symptoms of separation anxiety more than most, probably because of some past physical or mental mistreatment. This should be born in mind when taking on a rescue dog. Furthermore the behaviour of the owner when leaving can significantly stimulate anxiety. Consequently, eliminating this problem is as much about training owners as it is about dog training.

Generally, dogs with separation anxiety need more separation.  Meaning, you should put them in their crate or in another room all throughout the day, even when you are still home.  Just to get them accustom to being alone and separated throughout the day while you are still in the home.  Also, try to make it a positive experience, such as giving them a favorite toy or treat.

Nick White
Off-Leash K9 Training
www.offleashk9training.com
www.facebook.com/offleashk9
www.youtube.com/offleashk9training

Training for Competition Obedience: Obedience Training, Northern Virginia

Once you have gone through the processes of house training and basic off-leash training, why not go one stage further? Competition obedience training can be fun, interesting, and best of all your dog will really enjoy it. Dogs are made to be active, and competition obedience training fits the bill perfectly. Our obedience courses in Northern Virginia will exercise your dog physically as well as mentally. Mental fitness is very important for an animal that is naturally inquisitive and has a huge capacity for learning new things

If competition obedience seems beyond your capabilities at the moment, then just remember back to when your dog was a puppy. Did you think then that it would never be the happy, well adjusted animal that it is now? (if this is not the case, then you certainly need to attend one of our general obedience courses in Northern Virginia). Well, if you engage in competition obedience  training you will discover a whole new way to enjoy time with your dog. Competition obedience puts you in contact with very interesting people some of who might become firm friends, gives you the opportunity to travel and socialise, your dog will enjoy it immensely, and best of all you will experience the thrill of competition.

Don't attempt competition work until you are confident.

The only way to judge whether you and your dog is ready to escalate to the competition obedience training level is to seek expert advice. Come along and watch one of our obedience courses in Northern Virginia and seek the advice of an expert. One of our trainers will soon be able to tell you whether you and your dog is ready. If not, they can suggest an additional training program to bring you up to the necessary level. Your dog must be willing to train and enjoy training with you more than it enjoys all the inevitable distractions around it.

We have taken many dogs up to championship level competition obedience and believe that most dogs can achieve a level which allows you to enjoy attending trials, whether they be just local fun events or more serious competitions where you will be up against some very competent dogs and owners. When you reach this level, you will find that progress becomes very rapid and the communication between you and your dog will become almost instinctive.

Nick White

Off-Leash K9 Training

www.offleashk9training.com

www.youtube.com/offleashk9training

www.facebook.com/offleashk9