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

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

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The Art and Science of Off Leash Dog Training: Dog Training, Northern Virginia

One of the most important training factors in producing a well-rounded, confident and happy dog is to have your dog under control both on the leash and running free. If your dog is nervous around other people or dogs in the park or other open space, it is probably because it does not yet accept you as the pack leader and therefore is not certain how to behave. Off-leash training is a fundamental part of the process. As soon as you become the pack leader, your dog will mirror your own behaviour towards other people and animals.

Off-leash training is a vital aspect of the training process, but one of the most difficult to achieve. At our dog training sessions in Northern Virginia and throughout our other venues in the USA we aim to teach owners how to quickly gain the skills needed to control the dog no matter what the distractions. One of the main qualities you need is patience. Full control of your dog will not be gained overnight, though at each dog training session you will see a marked improvement. You can take a private session with one of our expert trainers. They include some of the best ex-military trainers in the country and really know their stuff. Off-leash training of dogs used by the military has to be done to the highest possible standards, and all this knowledge and experience is at your disposal.

E-collar training

Many people regard e-collar training as a last resort for difficult dogs. We believe that it has a role to play in the off-leash training of any dog. It must, though,  be used sparingly and in conjunction with marker training if you want to get the best results in the shortest time, and so realize the full potential of your dog. Dog training is as much about training the owner as it is about training the dog. In our courses we insist on using an e-collar in the proper manner, not to punish in any way but to bring the dog out of a bad state of mind, such as aggression, nervousness or excessive playfulness. It is used simply to divert the dog's attention back to you, it's owner, rather than something in the environment that is disturbing it.  As you will see in our 400+ Youtube videos, with our proper training techniques, we produce highly confident, obedient, and happy dogs.

Your dog will quickly learn that it does not need to try to control situations itself, but that you are in control both of the dog and anything that is happening around you. Instead of trying to deal with problems itself, it will learn to look to you for guidance. Your dog will then naturally become attentive to you at all times. This is really why successful off-leash training is the only way to achieve a fully happy and confident animal.

Nick White

www.offleashk9training.com

www.youtube.com/offleashk9training

Learn the Art of Controlling Your Dog Off Leash

A badly behaved dog off the leash is a very stressful experience for both the dog and the owner. If your dog is ignoring you once it is allowed to run free, then it is time to do some serious additional training. Our off leash k9 training sessions involve a step by step, well proven technique for keeping your dog fully under control at all times, whether on the leash or off.

With patience and the right approach it is possible to have any dog respond quickly to a recall, regardless of whether it is interacting with other dogs or distractions. It will be always attentive to your voice and will always find your company a better alternative than what it is doing at the time, no matter how interesting. This is the primary aim of our off leash k9 training courses, and we have plenty of experience of difficult dogs in our Northern Virginia dog training courses.

The first essential is not to allow your dog off the leash until it has learnt to respond immediately while on the leash. The secret is to get your dog into a calm, unexcited state even before it enters an open space. For example before getting out of the car or leaving the house make sure that your dog is reminded who is the pack leader. A dog that never gets overexcited, that is the essence of successful off leash k9 training.

Step by step training

Once we have shown you how to be confident that your dog will respond while on a short leash, it is time to progress to long leash training. This takes time to achieve if your dog is used to running free and wild as soon as it is released. Off leash k9 training must start with long leash training before you even think about allowing free running. Our Northern Virginia dog training  sessions show you all the techniques that will work best with your particular dog, so this difficult phase of the training can be accomplished as quickly as possible. Soon you will begin to understand what motivates your dog to respond unfailingly to the return command, and be confident that it will return even when it is free running and appears to be thoroughly absorbed in some interesting doggy activity.

Nick White

www.offleashk9training.com

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Crate Training A Dog: House Breaking A Puppy

First off, congratulations on your new perfect puppy! Many people do not realize how much work some puppies can be for the first six months of their lives, and that’s just the beginning. Essentially, it is like having a newborn baby in many ways as you may have already figured out. Puppies require constant attention and, just like babies, are more than likely waking you up in the middle of the night.

In general, with crate training for your dog, your puppy should be almost completely housebroken by the age of four to five months. This age can vary depending on how effective you are throughout this process. Remember, your dog does not decide how long it takes to be house-trained, you do.  We go over this subject daily for our puppy training in Northern Virginia.

You are probably wondering, “Where do I start?” First, get a crate, preferably one with a divider so you can expand the living space for your pup as it grows. It is nearly impossible to house-train a puppy without using a crate. Housebreaking a puppy is based entirely on the crate-training system. Crate training teaches a puppy the crate is its spot to go; it’s the equivalent of its home. More important, it becomes a location to hold your puppy during the housebreaking process when he cannot be directly supervised.

Pick a crate big enough for your dog to lie down, stand up (without his or her back touching the top of the cage), and spin around in a circle. Do not put a small puppy inside a large crate. They should have not have much more room than described above. I always recommend getting a large crate that has the adjustable divider in it. This way, you only need to buy one crate and can adjust the space as your puppy grows. If you find your puppy is going to the restroom inside the crate, you may want to reduce the size of the space. Often, if the crate is too large in relation to the size of your puppy, he does not have a problem going in the back corner of the crate because he can get far enough away from the mess that it doesn’t affect him as much.

Your puppy should be in its crate a lot for the first couple of months it is home with you. Don’t feel bad about keeping him in the crate. To put it into perspective, a crib is simply a crate for babies. You put babies in their cribs to protect them from themselves. A puppy should be looked at the same way.

Take the initiative with your puppy. As a general rule, your puppy will have to go outside approximately 30 minutes after eating or drinking. So if you know he just ate or drank a lot of water, take the initiative and take him out; do not wait for him to go in the house. Also, it is a good idea to take him out after a good play session in the house. If you are playing tug, chasing the ball, or getting the puppy really excited, it is always a good idea to take the initiative and take him out after these sessions, as well.

Using a keyword phrase during housebreaking is very important. From the first day you get your puppy, start to implement a keyword while your puppy is going to the restroom outside. Most people prefer the phrase “go potty.” So any time your pup is sniffing in the grass when you take him outside, repeat the key phrase “go potty.” As soon as your pup uses the restroom, immediately praise him (verbally, physically, and/or with a treat). Over time, he will associate the key phrase “go potty” with the act of going to the restroom, about a month into the housebreaking process. After this period, if you see your pup start to display that he is going to go to the restroom in the house (tail up, sniffing around in circles, etc.), repeat that phrase he has been hearing from day one, “Do you have to go potty?” He will recognize that key phrase he has associated with going outside and will run to the door, indicating that he does indeed have to go out. This is the first step of progress for housebreaking.

Use a bell on a string to teach your puppy to let you know that he has to go outside. Tie a bell to the end of a string and hang it from the doorknob at approximately your pup’s chest level. Every time you take your pup outside, ring the bell with his paw. Praise him immediately and open the door. Doing this every time you go out teaches the dog that ringing the bell equals the door opening. Over a period of time, your pup will learn: “If I have to go outside to the restroom, I ring bell and the door opens.”

The most important thing to effectively housebreak your puppy is total supervision. I will state it again, because it is that important: total supervision..What does that mean? Simple; it means if your puppy is not inside its crate, you or another member of the household should be directly supervising him. Until the pup is completely housebroken, there should never come a time when he is in a room alone. To put it into perspective, if you are downstairs with your puppy and decide to take a shower, even if it is just five minutes, put your pup inside its crate. Again, think of your pup as a baby. If you have a baby and you are going to jump in the shower or leave the room to fold laundry, would you leave a baby just sitting in the living room by itself? No, you would put it in the crib. Again, a crib is simply a crate for babies.  When doing our puppy training in Northern Virginia, we generally realize this is people's biggest mistake, lack of supervision. 

If, while supervising your pup, you see him squat and start peeing or pooping, immediately give a loud verbal, “No!” Pick him up, immediately take him outside, and set him down in the yard. Then repeat that key phrase, “Go potty.” As soon as he finishes, give praise (verbal, physical, and/or a treat) and take him back inside. There should never be any punishment involved. Rubbing his nose in it, hitting him, rolling a newspaper—these are all things that are proven ineffective. More important, it just breaks down the bond between you and your pup. Physically punishing a puppy for going to the restroom in the house is like spanking a one-year-old for going in their diaper.

Many people ask, “What if I didn’t catch him in the act, but noticed he went to the restroom in the house?” Very simple, do absolutely nothing. That’s right, do absolutely nothing. Write it off as a failure on your part, clean it up, and move on. Again, do not punish the puppy. You failed him, he did not fail you. You violated the biggest rule in housebreaking: You failed to give him total supervision. This is so important it is worth mentioning once more: If you do not physically catch your dog in the act, chalk it up to a loss on your behalf and move on. Make it your goal to catch him every single time. For every time your pup goes in the house without being caught in the act, you add a few more days to the housebreaking process. So, if he is going in the house a couple times per day without getting caught in the act, the housebreaking process can be really prolonged..

Your puppy should sleep in the crate every night when you go to bed (again, because if you are sleeping, you cannot directly supervise him). When you first wake up in the morning, take him from the crate straight outside and use the key phrase (“Go potty”). If your puppy does not go to the restroom, take him back in the house and put him back into the crate. Approximately 15 to 20 minutes later. take him out of the crate, back outside, and repeat the process. Repeat this until your puppy does go to the restroom outside. This does two things: It prevents him from coming back in and minutes later going to the restroom in your house and will teach your puppy that he has to go to the restroom or he will keep going back into the crate until he does. After a few days of this, he will just go outside the first time you take him out. After he goes to the restroom outside, bring him back into your house and leave him out of the crate, remembering to directly supervise him.

We recommend that you do not put padding in the crate until the pup is housebroken and more mature. We stress this point daily at our dog training in Northern Virginia, Off-Leash K9 Training. We feel this is important for a couple of reasons. Most important, if you are gone, your puppy will more than likely chew, shred, or eat this padding/bedding at some point, which can become a choking hazard for a small puppy. Additionally, often puppies who have padding in the crate will still urinate in their crate because the padding acts as a sponge and absorbs the urine. Therefore, it does not bother them to urinate there; the padding acts as a diaper.

What about puppy pads? I think puppy pads are a bad idea, especially if you have a puppy that will grow into a large dog. Puppy pads teach the puppy it’s okay to go to the restroom in the house, however, only in this specific area. I find it much easier to teach them it’s never acceptable to go to the restroom in the house. Additionally, as the pup grows into a larger dog, do you really want them going to the restroom inside your house? They may go in a specific spot, however, the smell usually permeates the whole house.

Another important thing to remember is to never let your dog out of the crate if he is actively barking or whining. This will teach your dog that if he barks and whines long enough, you will let him out. It is like the child who throws a fit in the middle of the toy store, and then the parents buy the kid a toy. The child simply learns that if he makes a big enough scene, he will get his way. Dogs learn the same way. So never let your dog out of the crate if he is actively barking or whining. Doing so rewards bad behavior. Your pup should learn that he gets out of the crate only when he is quiet. Just to clarify, your new puppy may whine in the middle of the night to let you know he has to go out. It is then acceptable to let him out of the crate, take him outside, use the key phrase, then come back in. However, once your puppy is old enough to hold it throughout the night (generally around three to four months of age), never let him out based on whining or barking.

During the housebreaking process, we usually recommend cutting off food and water around 7 p.m. This is done to ensure that all of the water has passed through the pup’s system by the time you go to sleep (assuming you are going to bed around 9 p.m. or later). If you cut off food and water at around 7 p.m., it will minimize having to go in the middle of the night. Additionally, do not put food or water in the crate with the pup; again, this will cause him to have to go to the restroom in the middle of the night.

Never use the crate as a place to punish your puppy, as hard as it sometimes may be. If you start using the crate as a place of punishment, the pup will start to hate it, will not want to go in, and will no longer see it as its “home.” Rather, he will see at is a prison. The crate should always be looked upon as something positive. The crate should be seen by the dog, as you see your bedroom, as a place to go, get away, and relax. It is also a good practice to feed him in the crate or give him a treat every time he goes in, again, associating it with something positive. 

If you follow all these principles, you should have a very short housebreaking process and a dog that loves going into the crate.

Nick White

www.offleashk9training.com

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How Northern Virginia Dog Trainers Can Teach Your Dog to Respect You

One problem many dog owners experience is that their pet dogs don’t seem to respect them – as a consequence, these dogs will never follow instructions even when you have exhausted your storehouse of patience teaching them. This may be the best time to seek help from Off-Leash K9 Training.

At Off-Leash K9 Training, we can help you learn to assert yourself as the pack leader for your dog. Your dog has to learn who is at the top of the totem pole in your family hierarchy and that person should be you, not your dog. Dogs can exhibit a range of rude behaviors that stem from lack of pack leadership on your behalf.

One example of very bad behavior is when your dog steals food from the dining table when your back is turned. Your dog might even resort to tearing up garbage bags in an effort to get kitchen scraps. Unless your dog is malnourished or underfed, there should be no reason for your dog to do this.  One of the things you will learn in your first lesson at our dog training facility in Northern Virginia is pack leadership and proper correction for the unwanted behavior. 

Take note that you are also being trained when you enroll your dog in at our dog training in Northern Virginia. This is because you are viewed by your dog as the “parent” in the family – and like human kids, you can expect your “child” to misbehave at times.  But that doesn’t mean you don’t love them. It just means your dog has to learn better manners than he already has. This is where we step in and teach you proper communication so that you can set clear communication and boundaries for your dog.

At Off Leash K9 Training, we cannot produce miracles overnight. However, we can help your dog (and you) drastically progress in a very short amount of time as you will see in our 400+ before/after videos on our youtube channel. 

Nick White

www.offleashk9training.com

Off-Leash K9 Training, LLC

Train your puppy quickly and effectively with positive reinforcement techniques

Train your puppy quickly and effectively with positive reinforcement techniques

The modern approach to puppy training, and indeed dog training in general, is a far cry from the old methods of punishing bad behaviour. It is now know that using positive reinforcement, such as treats and praise, works far better and will cause your puppy to want to behave well and be always seeking your approval and respect, rather than behaving simply out of fear.

Our methods of puppy training in Northern Virginia rely exclusively on positive methods, added to which we train owners to understand the social aspects of dog behaviour. They are not human beings and have their own doggy culture, standards and behaviours. Many of these are built in to their genes and can only be adapted to human society. This is particularly true of puppy training in Northern Virginia. Puppies do not yet have any learnt behaviours, so owners will be able to learn by observation how a dog would behave in the natural world and gain a deeper understanding of their dog.

 

The right approach leads to a well adjusted and happy animal

Our courses in puppy training in North Virginia are aimed at producing a dog which has confidence in itself, is happy with its status within your family, is not continuously trying to dominate (this will only happen if the dog senses weakness in its owner) and is fully in control of itself. We help you to achieve this by educating you in dog psychology and how to maintain your place as leader of the pack. In fact for a fully balanced dog it is essential that the dog knows its status is at the bottom rung of the social scale. This does not mean it will be unhappy, just the opposite in fact. It will enjoy its life without feeling the need to compete for a better status. This is such an important factor that we pay great attention to it in all our courses of dog training in Northern Virginia. If you want an animal which is not living in a permanently stressed state it is vital to get this right. For first class courses on puppy training in Northern Virginia contact us today.

 

Nick White

Off-Leash K9 Training

www.offleashk9training.com

Why Bad Manners are Not Tolerated at Off-Leash K9 Training

Why Bad Manners are Not Tolerated at Off-Leash K9 Training.

Dogs are like children – at times they are sweet and cuddly and at other times you feel like you want to choke the life out of them. Haha. It is true that they will display bad manners sometimes. This is why if you are experiencing these issues, you will need the services of Northern Virginia dog trainers.

Bad manners should never be tolerated because once the bad manners become habitual it will be very difficult to make your dog stop doing them.  As a great saying goes, "The chains of habits are to light to be felt, until they become to heavy to be broken."  At Dog training Northern Virginia we will require your input as well during the training period because once your dog training ends, you will go home with your dog and practice what you and your dog learned.

One thing you should remember about bad manners is that the dog doesn’t know any better. Since you didn’t teach your dog to have good manners, how was he to know that what he was doing was annoying you? It is important to do dog training Northern Virginia using a firm and calm voice.  As you will see in our 400+ Youtube videos, we just simply "talk" to the dogs. 

Since you are the “parent” in the relationship, you have to be the one to dictate what happens and when during your training. This ranges from knowing when to feed your dog, to bathing him, to grooming. If you find that your dog resists you at every turn, then something is wrong with your pack leadership and you should contact us at Northern Virginia dog trainers to help you regain your “alpha parent” role in the relationship.

If you really want your pet dog to undergo Northern Virginia dog training, you should be in it for the long haul. Stay committed to teaching your dog better manners. Bad manners that have become habitual will take a longer time to eliminate though. We train over 60 dogs per week and we know what is best for your dog at Off Leash K9 Training and we are guaranteed to succeed with training your dog.

If you need help with teaching your dog better manners, it is recommended you seek out the services of Northern Virginia dog trainers. We will help you and your dog communicate better with one another so that you will emerge from dog training Northern Virginia with a better relationship, better obedience, and a better pack structure!

If you haven't already, check out our links for Off-Leash K9 Training below.  We have over 400 before/after videos on our Youtube channel so you can see what our pack leadership and training looks like for yourself.

Check out our highlight video!

http://youtu.be/7T17ZgrOc7k

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Changing Your Dog's Attitude: Dog Training, Northern Virginia

Why Northern Virginia dog trainers need to change your dog’s attitude

Every once in awhile, even the most patient of dog owners will realize that their dog has developed an attitude problem. This may apply to you. You know that your dog has a bad attitude when he tends to take the lead in the relationship. This may take the form of snapping and snarling when he encounters guests in the house, or barking at you when you try to give him a bath or take him out for a run. If your dog has an attitude problem like this, you should seek help from Off-Leash K9 Training, Northern Virginia.

Dog training Northern Virginia should be focused on making your dog understand that you are the leader and he is simply part of the pack. Why do some dogs grow to think that they are the alpha male in the family? Well, perhaps you didn’t notice that he was developing bad habits until they were manifested recently. For dogs that have developed a bad attitude, a course at dog training Northern Virginia would be greatly beneficial.

Lesson number one in Northern Virginia dog training should always be that your dog has to learn to follow your commands with no exceptions. So you could start off with your dog being trained by Northern Virginia dog trainers to consistently come and sit on command, even outside and off-leash. Eventually the dog training Northern Virginia will focus on you so you will be trained on how to properly use our training system. Your dog should be trained to enter doors on command (after you), to heel on command, to place on command, and to lie down on command, for starters.

One reason your dog developed a bad attitude is that he was left to decipher human behavior on his own. Have you tried talking to your dog? Part of dog training Northern Virginia is to learn how to communicate well with your dog, clear and crisp without yelling. Although scolding will certainly bring a response, you should also learn to praise your dog when he does something right. Teaching your dog wrong from right during Northern Virginia dog training will help eliminate that bad attitude he had developed.

Dog training Northern Virginia should not stop once your dog has emerged from the school. Dogs learn by repetition so always continue Northern Virginia dog training lessons at home until you and your dog have learned to make the dog training Northern Virginia lessons part and parcel of your daily life.

Check out our links below and see why we are the highest rated dog training business in the tri-state area!

Check out our highlight video!

http://youtu.be/7T17ZgrOc7k

Website:  www.offleashk9training.com

Facebook:  www.facebook.com/offleashk9

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Twitter: @offleashk9train

Book: www.thebestdogtrainingbook.com

Confidence Building in Dogs Part 4: Socialization

What is socialization and why is it so important? It is getting your puppy acquainted with as many different animals, people, and circumstances as possible. In my opinion, socialization is one of the most important things in young puppies’ lives. If I were paid every time we received e-mails or calls about people-aggressive or dog-aggressive dogs, I could have retired by now. Almost all of these cases stem from a lack of socialization at a young age. When you get any new puppy, it is extremely important to get him to start interacting with other animals and people. 

To get your dog well socialized with people, try having everyone your puppy meets give him a treat. Imagine if everyone you met gave you $50. You would quickly grow very fond of people; your puppy will, too. Your pup will start making the association of “people equal great things for me.” You should make it your mission for your puppy to meet as many people and animals as possible. Not only as many people as possible, but as many types of people as possible—male, female, children, infants, and even different races. He should have complete exposure to as many variations of humans as possible.

Socializing your puppy with other dogs and animals is also extremely important. Again, most cases of aggression result from a lack of socialization. As I write this paragraph, there is a dog in our facility on its first lesson who is extremely people-aggressive. When I asked the owner how the dog got that way, he replied, “We never really had him around anyone other than our family.” With this particular Lab, you cannot even touch him without him trying to bite you. This is why socialization is so important. This should be something you start doing almost immediately after you bring your puppy home. This teaches him to properly interact with other dogs at an early age. Ensure you are socializing your dog with other dogs that are very friendly. Initially, we recommend this socialization should be with only a few dogs at a time. Also, it should be supervised to ensure it stays safe play.

Do not take your puppy to dog parks for socialization. Yes, you read this correctly, dog parks are a bad idea in my opinion. Again, we receive many e-mails from people whose dogs are now aggressive toward other dogs after being bitten at a dog park. People do not realize that this happens all the time, and they just do not hear about it. Only attacks on people make the news, not attacks on other dogs. The dogs at dog parks come from a wide variety of backgrounds and their owners often know very little about their own dog. Unlike a doggy day-care, in a dog-park environment, there are no trained supervisors walking around, ensuring the play is safe. Also, no evaluations are done in order to accept the dogs into the dog park. Essentially, you are taking a big gamble by exposing your dog to other dogs you know nothing about. 

Usually, the dogs in dog parks are of various sizes, backgrounds, and levels of training. Essentially, they are a pack of dogs. Dogs usually consider themselves a pack when there are four or more dogs present. As you know, any time there is a pack, there has to be a pack leader. In order for a dog to become the pack leader, he has to assert his force onto other dogs to show them he is in charge of the pack. The end result is a dog getting bitten. Now, your dog that you have done so great with is now dog-aggressive because he was bitten by another dog at a dog park, and now he associates dogs with being harmed.

There are numerous other ways to socialize your dog without the use of a dog park, such as taking them to a doggy day-care. As I mentioned above, doggy day-cares evaluate dogs before admitting them into their facility, drastically reducing the chances of a dominant dog being there. Additionally, they have trained personnel constantly monitoring the dogs’ behaviors. In the event that a dog does start displaying any dominant characteristics, they are immediately corrected or separated from the group. Another good way to socialize is one-on-one with other known dog-friendly dogs. Or take them to a pet store on the weekends so they can interact with other dogs and people.

A big misconception many people have is something along the lines of “I want my dog to protect my family; I don’t want him to be friendly with everyone.” Unfortunately, most people don’t know that socialization and a protection dog have absolutely nothing in common. In fact, almost all trained protection dogs are extensively socialized. They love people, kids, animals, and other dogs. They are friendly with everyone, and are taught to bite only a specific individual on command. An under-socialized and low-confidence dog is more prone to bite a person at random (a family member, child, neighbor, etc.). 

Regardless of what your goals are with your new dog—show, protection, detection, search and rescue, or just a regular household pet—socialization is one of the most important things you can do with a new puppy. A well-socialized dog is a much more confident dog, as well. It is confident around all people and animals. This is an essential step to ensure you have a happy, confident and well-trained dog.

Nick White

www.offleashk9training.com

info@offleashk9training.com

Confidence Building in Dogs Part 3: Power of Playing Tug

One of the most important steps to raising a confident dog is to play tug with your dog. People do not realize how important this step is in confidence-building. It does not help that there is so much misinformation out there on this subject that people really do not know what to think. In order to get our protection dog very tug-driven, meaning they go crazy when they see the tug and will do anything for it is by limiting their exposure to it. In the Secret Service, our dogs were working for a ball. As soon as the handlers pull that ball out, the dogs go crazy for it by spinning, barking, etc. So, many people would ask, “How do I get my dog that motivated for a ball?” First off, it goes back to breeding and genetics, some dogs from day one just have no interest in tugging or chasing a ball. That is why it is important to know what type of puppy you are getting and who you are getting it from to ensure that the puppy will be able to meet the expectations you have for it.

In order to make your pup highly motivated for a ball, tug, or toy, it is essential that he does not have full access to it. Meaning, he should have only very limited access to that specific toy. If he has access to the ball or tug all throughout the day, he will never be highly motivated for it. Again, a toy to dogs is like money is to you: If you had unlimited access to money, you wouldn’t be very motivated to go to work because there is no incentive. The same principles apply with your puppy, if he has constant access to a toy; there is no incentive for him to “work” for it. A dog will never be too motivated for something he always has, just like people. The ball or tug becomes a new treat; they get it only limitedly and on special occasions. If you fed your dog hot dogs every day, three meals per day, for one year, they would no longer be considered a treat to him—it is now food. So think about the ball or tug the same way—limited accessibility and only when they do something deserving.

Generally, we will give dogs the toy or play tug with them only when they are doing something good. When we are training with them, we will do some obedience training, then “mark” the behavior (more on this in the training section) and immediately reward with a quick game of a tug or by throwing the ball for them to chase. As soon as we play tug for a minute or two, we will immediately take the tug back and repeat the training. If we are using the ball, they have it long enough to go get it and bring it back, that’s about it. If the pup gets the ball and lies down with it, we immediately take it away. Remember, these are not used as chew toys.

One thing to keep in mind is you do not want to over-train with the tug or the ball. Meaning, you do not want to keep playing with the dog until he loses interest in the tug/ball. Stop playing when the dog still wants to keep going. That is what builds up the drive for it. So, when your pup is still in the prime of wanting to play, we will tease them with the ball or tug and once they get all excited over it, we will simply turn and put it away to end the session. This really helps build their drive. That way, when you go to pull the tug/ball out the next time, they immediately want it and want to play. By repeating this sequence over a period of weeks, you should really see your dog’s drive building up for these devices.

Let me correct some misinformation about playing tug with your dog. The first myth is that playing tug with your dog can lead to aggression. That is completely false; actually, the opposite is true. Playing tug has never led to aggression in any dog I have ever seen or worked with. Again, playing tug builds confidence. As I stated in the beginning of this chapter, confident dogs are not the ones biting. 

Second myth: You should always win if you play tug in order to show that you are the alpha-male, the dominant member of the pack. Also completely false. Beating your puppy in tug is not something that will teach your dog that you are the leader. What it will do is give your puppy low confidence. Think about it—imagine if you and I were to play a game of pool at my house every day after work and I always beat you. How confident would you be in playing pool? Imagine if my friends came over and they always beat you, too. Where would you be on the confidence scale of 1 to 10? That is where your puppy’s confidence would be, as well. Now, think of the same scenario but reverse the roles. Now imagine that you always beat me, every one of my friends, and all of my family members. How high would you be on the confidence scale then? In your mind, you are unbeatable. Losing isn’t even an option, right? Welcome to the world of how police, military, and personal protection dogs think. Your pup should always win in the game of tug!

When you start playing tug with your puppy, make it fun, engaging, and exciting. You should get into it as much as he does, if not more. While playing tug with your pup, pet him, lightly tapping him on his sides, head, and chest as he tugs. If you scare him off, encourage him back on, repeat the same process, but just don’t do it as much or as hard. This gets your puppy in the habit of being touched while he is tugging and he will become immune to the contact. This is good for when he gets older and possibly works a bite sleeve. Even if that is not your intention for your dog, it is still good to do this drill in order to build confidence while playing tug.

Nicholas White

Owner

Off-Leash K9 Training

info@offleashk9training.com

www.offleashk9training.com

Confidence Building in Dogs Part 2: Noise Desensitization

One big fear many dogs have are fear of noises (loud trucks, fireworks, thunder, etc).  When we do puppy consultations at our training facility, Off-Leash K9 Training, in Woodbridge, Virginia, we always tell people, "Immediately start exposing him/her to as many noises as possible." Turn on the vacuum, blender, hair dryer, and any other noisy devices you have around the house. I have seen far too many dogs that run and hide at the sound of a loud noise, especially vacuum cleaners and thunder. This can be completely prevented if you expose them to these noises at a young age. Expose your dog to as many noises as possible by the time he is five months old, and while exposing him, make it a positive experience through verbal/physical praise, treats, etc.  Keep in mind, it's NEVER too late to start doing these drills with your dog.

Many people asks, "What to do if you expose your dog to a noise (e.g., a vacuum) and he runs and hides from it?" Very simple—bring him back and make him deal with it. One of the many terms we use for this process is “flooding.” This means you find a noise your dog is afraid of and flood him with that noise repeatedly, every day. Again, flood him with this experience in a positive way, by giving praise, treats, etc. Fear of noises or things is a completely unrealistic fear that dogs have, just like humans. So, by making him sit next to the vacuum cleaner while it’s turned on, he realizes, “I’m not being hurt, I don’t feel any pain, and I am getting praised for this.” After a short while, that unrealistic fear will go away and the dog will soon realize that it is not a big deal and will soon pay no attention to it.    They main key is, make them face it and do not let them run and hide, repeat until he/she no longer shows a reaction towards the noise.

If your puppy hears a lot of noise such as thunder, fireworks, or a car door slam outside and he runs to me for comfort? Never comfort your dog when he is afraid of something. This only reinforces the fear. Comfort is simply another kind of praise. Think about that for a second. When you comfort a dog, how is it different from praising him? You are petting them and talking cute to them in both instances. So when you break it down, you are praising your dog for being afraid of something. Now, any time it has a reason to be afraid, it will run to you in order to reap the praise that goes along with the action. So, never comfort your dog for being afraid. If he hears a loud noise and comes running to you, do not acknowledge him, do not look at him, touch him, pet him, or talk to him. Again, if he sees it does not get a response from you and you do not make a big deal out of it, he will not make a big deal out of it, either.

Start desensitizing your dogs to noises as soon as possible, and within a very short amount of time, you will notice a much more confident dog!  Below, you can see a great video of our dog training in northern Virginia  who have done some noise desensitization training, as you see, they completely ignore the noises we produce!

For more tips like this, you can read our book, "Raising the Perfect Dog: The Secrets of Law Enforcement K9 Trainers."

Nick White

Owner

Off-Leash K9 Training

www.offleashk9training.com
www.facebook.com/offleashk9train

info@offleashk9training.com

Confidence Building in Dogs Part 1: Object Desensitization

Anytime I appear on television or in a magazine, one of the biggest things I always talk about is "confidence building in dogs."  In my opinion, it's one of the most important, yet, one of the most underrated aspects of dog training.  Many owners and trainers alike overlook this very important aspect. This is something we stress everyday at our dog training facility in Northern Virginia

As I always point out, confidence in dogs is as equally important as confidence in people.  People with very low confidence are rarely successful, engaging, or social, the same can be said for dogs.  In this article of confidence building in dogs, I am going to discuss object desensitization.

I tell all of our clients who do our puppy consultation (dogs 10-16 weeks old), "Start getting your dog on as many objects, textures, and elevations as humanely possible over the next couple months."  What this simple yet very effective step does is that it starts to get your dog exposed to being on a wide variety of things at an early age.  By exposing your dog to all of these different surfaces as a puppy, it gets them highly confident being on or in any texture or elevation; additionally, it gets them used to jumping up on things and jumping off of things.

Watch the video below of one of our training sessions, this was a dog who was not exposed to these types of things as a puppy; therefore, it would not jump up on anything, and anytime the owners would try to put the dog on a new surface (groomer table, scale at the vet, etc) he would fight it and try to run away.  The owners had to lift this rather large Lab into their care for months, all due to lack of object desensitization.

This is a good example to show you why object desensitization is very important at a young age! Not only does it make your life easier when trying to get your dog on or in something, but it's very good for your dog's confidence, which is very important!  When we do our puppy training in Northern Virginia, this is something we always discuss.

In our next blog, we will be discussing the importance of noise desensitization in order to build confidence in your dog, so stay tuned!

I have an entire chapter on confidence building in my book, "Raising the Perfect Dog: The Secrets of Law Enforcement K9 Trainers."

Nick White
Owner
Off-Leash K9 Training, LLC
www.offleashk9training.com
info@offleashk9training.com

www.facebook.com/offleashk9train