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Lucky Dog Sports Club in Jupiter
Positive, rewards-based
dog training
Training & Behavior Tips
March 2012
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Mindy Cox and Runi
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Some pretty cool articles this month. In a test between a dog and a chimp, who do you think will win? Have a dog that jumps? Want to teach your puppy polite behavior. Check it out. Does your dog, or others that you know, snap, growl or bite? Find out the causes of aggression and how to recognize subtle signs before your dog blows. You want to train in a positive manner but are you worried that if you use treats to train you will always need to do that? Or how about the problem that your dog doesn't listen unless you have a treat. Read below for answers to these concerns and others. Check out these things and more below! As you've seen from the last email that I sent with only class and event information, I'm separating the training and behavior tips from the class schedule to make the newsletters more to the point. If you are interested in a class, please check out the class schedule or email me for more information. Do you like the new format or would you prefer I return to an all-in-one newsletter format? Please let me know! Woof and wags!
Mindy
Mindy Cox, BS, CPDT-KA
Training Director
 
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| Start Your Puppy Off Right!
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Step-by-step training: How to greet politely
It's important to start teaching your puppy right from the start and not wait. This gives you the advantage of teaching the right behaviors before bad habits are formed. This information is also useful for juveniles and adult dogs as well.
Training your dog to greet politely by sitting instead of jumping is outlined by veterinary behaviorist Dr. Sophia Yin. Even the most happy and excited dog can get the idea within a few minutes.
Step 1.Control the situation by being ready to act as soon as you see someone approaching your pup. As they approach, tell the person to wait until you get your puppy so sit.  Realistically some people may not comprehend that you are asking them to stop. Even if you say, "wait!" they may keep approaching until the puppy jumps on them. So you may need to use clear body cues for them to respond correctly. You can put your hand out in the universal "halt signal," or you can back up quickly to get your dog to focus back on you. Most people get the idea that if you're moving away from them you don't want them to follow. Step 2. Next get your puppy to sit and look at you. While he is sitting, reward him with a few treats-the first for sitting and additional treats for remaining seated. Step 3. Next, because your puppy is short and more likely to try to jump if you take a long time to get the treat down to his level while the other person leans to pet him, squat down to his level so it's easy to deliver treats right at his face level. Step 4.  Now to keep him focused on you and having a positive experience, you'll hold your treats right at his face and so that his nose is always right at your hand. You can have him lick a thin film of squeeze cheese or hold the semi moist treat so he has to work at it and break little pieces off at a time. You can feed him tiny kibble from his meal one at a time but fast enough so his mouth stays in contact with your hand.
TIPS
It helps to hold your dogs' collar or leash short to prevent jumping. Give treats simultaneously with the other hand.
Also make sure you're holding the treats up to the dog's face in a position that keeps him in a sit rather than in a position that lures him to reach forward and then get up. Placement of the treat determines where his head will be.
Step 5.
When you're sure your puppy is focused on you and the treats, you can tell the guest that it's ok to pet him. Keep your hands at his face so that he has a steady stream of treats with no time between treats (see the figure above). Let the person pet him while you feed the treats.
TIP
 Its important to give a steady stream of treats at first, because if he's wiggly at all, as soon as you remove your treat hand from his face to get another treat he'll turn and jump on the person who's petting him! Step 6.
The next step is to start weaning off treats. Keep a steady stream of treats coming until your puppy is calm while being petted. Step 7. Then slow the treat rate down so that you pull your hand away between treats, but just for a second or so. Step 8.
Hurry and give him another treat before he starts wiggling or gets up. Gradually increase the interval between treats, as long as he remains calm. When this calm greeting becomes a habit, you will no longer need treats. Petting will be the reward.
This and other lessons can be found in Dr. Yin's book,
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Are you having problems with your dog's impolite behavior such as jumping? We can help! Email us to schedule a private lesson.
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Your concerns answered
| The Challenges of Training Using Rewards
By Lisa Radosta DVM, DACVB
I wholeheartedly recommend reward-based training. This type of training is based on rewarding the dog with the things that she likes (e.g., food, toys) when the dog performs a behavior correctly. This type of training is a kinder and more effective way to teach our canine friends, however no method is perfect. If you have had some challenges using treats to train your pet, read on!
The Problem: My dog only listens to me when I have a treat or a toy.
Why it happens: Owners inadvertently teach dogs to listen only when they have something in their hand (e.g., a treat), are standing near the treat jar or wearing a treat bag, so that is the only time that their dogs listen.
Dogs are excellent at reading their environment. If each time that you train with treats, you wear a treat bag or you stand near the treat jar, your dog will learn that she only has the opportunity to get treats when you give that additional signal. By the same token if you always hold a treat in your hand or reach into the treat bag when you give your dog the cue to sit, she will only sit when you give those extra signals.
If you teach your dog that when she refuses to sit on the first request, you will reach in your pocket for a treat to lure her into the sit, she will only respond when she sees the treat. Why should she waste her energy? Finally, if you only use treats at home and never out in public, your dog will only respond to you at home because that is the only place where she was rewarded.
The Fix: Teach your dog that there is always an opportunity for reward by trying the following exercises once you feel like your dog has a good understanding of the behavior. We are going to use "sit" as the sample behavior. Ask your dog to sit randomly throughout the day or evening without moving your hands. Wait at 10 seconds for her to sit. If she sits in that time, praise her and give her a treat. If she doesn't sit in that time, reach into your pocket, show her what she missed and say, "oops." Then, put the treat back in your pocket and walk away. If she follows you, ignore her. Wait a minutes and try again. If she responds, reward her. You are teaching her to respond even when you don't move your hands and she doesn't see a treat. Incorporate the behaviors that you want your dog to perform into your daily life so that your dog never knows when you will be asking her to perform. This will help her to generalize to many different situations as well as teaching her that there is opportunity to get a reward even when it doesn't look like a training situation.
The Problem: I don't want to carry treats forever. I think that my dog should do things for me because I ask her to and she loves me.
Seriously?! What if your boss said that she didn't want to pay you forever? She just doesn't have the time and it is a lot of trouble for her to write out the check each week. I mean, she has to pick up the pen and get the checkbook. It is sooo time consuming! How long would you continue to go to work? A dog's agenda doesn't include sitting down when you ask her to or lying down on cue instead of chasing squirrels. You ask your dog to do completely unnatural things each day and she deserves payment for those things. If you stop rewarding those behaviors, your dog will stop offering them just as you would eventually stop working if your boss stopped paying you.
The Fix: Understand reinforcement schedules. The most powerful reinforcement schedule is variable reinforcement. This means that you sometimes give a treat and you sometimes don't for each individual behavior. Start this schedule when your dog can perform the behavior 9 out of 10 times correctly the first time that you ask her in most situations. For example: Once your dog knows how to sit, you will reward her with food on every 1, 5, 9 and 10th try and with petting and praise on the 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8th try. Your dog may need treats in certain situations (e.g., the veterinarian's office) forever. Remember if you stop rewarding a behavior entirely, your dog will stop offering it!
The Problem: My dog only performs the behavior when she isn't stressed.
Why it happens: Some dogs are just too fearful and anxious in certain situations to perform. Other dogs have not been taught to perform in that situation and need to be taught to do so. This is called generalization.
The Fix: When you teach a behavior, you have to teach it in lots of places so that your dog can generalize. When your dog can perform the behavior in your house, practice it in the back yard, then the front yard, then on walks, etc. The more stressful the situation is, the more likely your dog is to mess up so be patient and don't be afraid to make it easier.
The Problem: I don't want my dog to get fat so I don't use treats to train her.
Why it happens: The fact is that dogs are becoming overweight in the United States in record numbers with and without treat training. We overfeed and underexercise our dogs. Another problem is the size of the average dog treat. Most commercial dog treats are way too large.
The Fix: Use properly sized, low fat treats and reduce the amount of food that your dog gets in her food bowl. Treats, regardless of the size of the dog, should be between ¼-½ the size of a dime. Owners can use treats that are low in fat such as freeze-dried liver or chicken breast. Higher value, low-fat treats include part-skim mozzarella and white meat chicken breast. Just as you might have a light dinner if you had a big lunch, keep your dog's dinner light if you used a lot of treats that day in training.
The Problem: My dog doesn't like treats. Why it happens: Certain dogs just aren't treat motivated. Some dogs are more motivated by toys, sniffing the grass or being let out to play.
The Fix: Get creative. Try different treats of various value for your dog. If you have been trying crunchy treats, try soft treats of people food (low-fat). If your dog really isn't food motivated, find what does make her tail wag and use that for training. Some commonly used non-food rewards are: petting, brushing, tossing a toy, playing tug, freedom to run in the yard, going on a walk, and playing with another dog. Remember to save your dog's special toy as a reward for training so it will keep its value.
Dr. Lisa Radosta is a talented, experienced, board-certified veterinary behaviorist in private practice locally. Dr. Radosta teaches the Reactive Dog Class: Help For Your Feisty Fido at Lucky Dog. Check her out at http://www.flvetbehavior.com. |
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Grrrrr
| Aggression: Clues and Causes
Understanding why a dog might feel the need to act aggressively, and recognizing the early signs in the dog's body language.
by Suzanne Clothier
Whether we like it or not, we need to recognize that the wide range of  behaviors labeled as aggression are communications from the dog to us. Dogs do not snap, snarl, growl, or bite without reason, and those reasons can range from feeling afraid to being confidently challenging. If you are able to recognize early signs of dog feeling uneasy or pressured in some way (whether you intended that response or not!), you can avoid pushing dog into feeling the need for more dramatic or more dangerous aggressive behavior. Many of the dogs presented to me as aggressive are often quite fair about offering warning signs, but sadly, people have not been able to accurately read the signals the dog is sending. How frustrating that must be for the dog, who may then feel the need to escalate his own behavior in order to make his message clear!
Here are some typical clues that a dog is feeling pressured, and shifting from relaxed to another state of mind:
Shifts in breathing - Typically, a dog who is feeling uncertain or threatened or is annoyed exhibits changes in the way he breathes. The breathing slows, becomes very shallow or is actually held (no breaths!). Watch rib cage or flank area; a normal relaxed dog is visibly breathing! A dog who closes his mouth, even briefly, may be offering a warning. Breathing may be monitored by visual observation, by hearing the shifts, and also by noting changes in the dog's breathing through your hands (helpful when you are handling a dog up close and may not be able to easily visually observe such changes).
Changes in whiskers - Learn to recognize what's normal for your dog in terms of how he holds his whiskers when relaxed. A stressed dog (fearful, confused, overwhelmed) often folds the whiskers back against the muzzle. A dog who is angry or challenging may have whiskers brought forward.
Changes in head & eye movements - A relaxed, comfortable dog has slow, easy movements of the head and eyes. The more rapid the movements you observe in eyes and head, the more panicky or fearful the dog is becoming, though this may rapidly escalate to a complete freeze of all movements but with the head and eyes turned slightly or markedly away from what concerns the dog. On the other end of the scale, the dog who becomes very still and stares at something with ears up and fixed (think "locked on target") is heading up the scale towards possible aggression or predatory behavior, with the whole body held quite still but oriented towards the target. Less dramatic but important shifts in head & eyes: dog looks away or turns head away from person or other dog; this dog is actively avoiding confrontation.
Freezing - An overwhelmed dog may literally freeze - no movement, all body  posture pulled back and down and/or away from threat. The danger here is that dogs in freeze may explode into fight or flight if pushed further. Do not mistake a frozen dog for one who is gladly accepting whatever is happening - a common mistake that leads to "he just exploded with no warning." A dog who is accepting of whatever is happening continues to have normal movement of the body, head & eyes; a dog who is simply enduring an unwelcome or unpleasant event often freezes when he cannot escape, and thus the internal pressure continues to build as evidenced by the freeze. Should that internal pressure reach an intolerable level, the dog may explode in some dramatic behaviors.
Changes in shape and expression of eyes - On the fearful/anxious end of the spectrum, the dog will look away from or glance sideways at the source of his problems, and the pupils may dilate considerably if the dog is really stressed. This change is due to shifts internally that result from the cascade of stress hormones (the ones that prepare a dog for flight/fight). Dogs are incredibly expressive in their eyes and facial muscles - attention to subtle changes here will pay off for anyone trying to understand the dog.
Changes in lips - Get a feel for how the dog normally looks when relaxed, particularly how he holds his mouth and lips. Are the lips held tightly? drawn back? panting? drawn forward? Tension around the lips and muzzle indicate a problem. The more fearful/anxious the dog is, the more drawn back the lips become. When a dog is becoming annoyed or angry, the lips may tighten and the corners are drawn forward; you may even see an "rumpling" of the whisker bed, giving the dog's muzzle a "lumpy" look which precedes an actual snarl.
Increase in muscular tension - As the dog's emotional state shifts, so will the overall tension in his body. Do not mistake stillness for "okay"! Sometimes, a dramatic shift can be seen in the dog's feet - look for clenching of toes, a sign I often see as the dog's fear/anxiety increases. Dogs who are confident & challenging and getting very annoyed or angry move "up" on their toes, whereas fearful dogs often clench or spread their toes preparatory to moving aw ay (if they can). Of course, pay close attention to the degree of muscula r tension throughout the dog's body.
Overall shifts in body posture - Consider the overall "geometry" of the dog's body posture. Calm and relaxed results in the dog being balanced, neither looking drawn forward nor drawn down and away. Fear/anxiety based response: dog backs up, turns obliquely away from the problem, may even curve his body dramatically away while holding still. This dog is trying to avoid confrontation or hoping to escape from the situation. Aroused/confident/challenging: dog comes forward, shifts to sit from down or stand from sit, all body posture aimed at person or other dog. Friendly gesture - the dog may approach with decided curves in his body, neck and tail, even a lot of wiggles, and may offer his side, often accompanied by a lot of curves through the body, neck and tail.
DETERMINING THE CAUSE There are many different causes for the range of behaviors we may label as aggressive: barking, growling, snarling, lunging, snapping, biting. However, all these behaviors are not the same, and depending on the cause, need to be handled in specific ways. Simply labeling a dog's behavior as aggressive is not informative, nor does it help you understand what may be going on in the dog's mind. When assessing any dog, be very specific about the behaviors you observe, as well as the precise body posture and the situation in which the behavior was presented. Precisely how, when, where and in what context the dog offers these behaviors needs to be examined in order to understand the dog. As a rule, do not use corrections or punishment to handle behavior you consider aggressive. In most cases, treating any behavior you consider aggressive may result in the dog becoming more aggressive and possibly pushing him to escalating his own behavior and perhaps even biting. Remember - the dog has a reason for acting as he does, whether you understand it or not. Best rule of thumb: "Do not treat aggression with aggression of your own."When in doubt, ask others what they observed in the dog. Build a careful picture: When this was happening, the handler did X, and then the dog did Y. Don't make assumptions or use non-specific language like "he freaked out". Be specific. For example, does "freaked out" mean the dog bolted away, crashed into the wall and only then lunged forward with loud barks? Or that the dog's pupils dilated dramatically, with ears laid back tight and then he lunged forward with a snap?
If you are unsure as to what caused the dog's response, give the dog the benefit of the doubt and assume that the technique, equipment or handler created the problem. Above all, don't take aggression personally! but do take it seriously as an important communication from the dog.
Read the rest of this article.
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Dog intelligence test
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Who is smarter, man's closest ancestor or our best friend?
Set Up: Two cups are placed upside down on opposite ends of a plank. Under one is a hidden treat. Point to the cup with the treat. Do you think the chimp or the dog will understand the gesture? If you said the chimp, you would be wrong! A recent study showed that dogs understand our gestures 90% of the time. Even six month old puppies could find the hidden treat. Dogs were genetically selected and domesticated by humans for interacting with and communicating with us and relating to us emotionally. Chimps, however, were not.
Researchers also showed that dogs not only follow gestures, but also tune into our faces, especially our eyes. The cup experiment was performed again but this time, instead of pointing, the researcher moved only their eyes in the direction of the cup with the treat. The dog understood this cue as well!
What is really intriguing is that dogs seemed to also look beyond themselves and see things from our perspective, a rare trait in the animal kingdom. This was shown in an eyes open or eyes closed experiment where dogs had knowledge of when the researcher could perceive what they were doing when the only change in body posture was the closing of the researcher's eyes. And when three people were sitting on a bench, one with a bucket over his head, one with eye shades covering her eyes, and the third sitting there with eyes open but not looking at the dog, which one did the dog go to for attention? You guessed it. The one with the open eyes.
Watch this fascinating video.
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How Smart is Your Dog?
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 Dog IQ Test
Want to find out how smart your dog is? Try these 6 tests just for fun. We love our dogs no matter how they score, right?
These tests were devised by Dr Stanley Coren, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, a prize winning dog trainer and an authority on canine intelligence. You may have read about them several years ago, but they are just as fun and interesting to try again!
Test Rules 1. Use your own dog, at least one year old, and living with you for at least 3 months
2. The tests should be like a game for your dog
3. You must remain calm, don't raise your voice, act disgusted or over excited
4. You can only do the tests once or twice for scoring purposes
5. The tests can be given separately and in any order. Because they're mostly based on food reward it may be better to give them over a number of sessions so the dog doesn't end up full of food and tired, both of which will affect it's motivation and performance, and it's IQ score.
Test 1: Food Under Can
This is a test of your dogs problem solving ability. - Things you'll need to do this test
- An empty can, like a soup can
- Some desirable titbit your dog likes to eat, a piece of cheese is good
- A stop watch or a way of timing your dogs response
How to do the test
1. First sit the dog, if it won't stay you'll need someone to hold the dog by the collar.
2. Then show the dog the titbit of food and let it sniff it.
3. Then with the dogs full attention slowly place the titbit on the ground about two meters away from it, and invert the can over the titbit.
4. Start timing and encourage the dog to get the food. Scoring | If the dog knocks the can over and gets the titbit in 5 seconds or less........................................ |
5 points
| | If the dog knocks the can over and gets the titbit in 5 to 15 seconds .................................................................... | 4 points | | In 15 to 30 seconds ...................................................... | 3 points | | In 30 to 60 seconds ...................................................... | 2 points | | If your dog sniffs around the can, but didn't get the bait after 60 seconds........................................ | 1 point |
Test 2: Dog Under Towel
This is another measure of your dogs problem solving ability. Things you'll need to do this test
- a large bath towel
- a stop watch or a way of timing your dogs response. How to do the test
1. Your dog should be awake and reasonably active
2. Let the dog sniff the towel
3. With a quick smooth motion throw the towel over the dogs head, so it's head and shoulders are completely covered (you may want to practice this without the dog first). Start timing and watch silently. Scoring | If your dog frees itself in 5 seconds or less .................................................................................. |
5 points
| | In 5 to 15 seconds ......................................................... | 4 points | | In 15 to 30 seconds ....................................................... | 3 points | | In 30 to 60 seconds ....................................................... | 2 points | | If the dog hasn't free itself after 60 seconds .......................................................................... | 1 point |
Test 3: Can your dog recognize a smile?
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This is a test of social learning.
Things you'll need to do this test
- the ability to smile.
How to do the test
1. Pick a time your dog is sitting about 2 meters away from you.
2. The dog must not have been told to stay or sit.
3. Stare intently into your dogs face - when your dog looks at you, count silently to 3 seconds and then smile broadly.
Scoring
| If your dog comes with tail wagging........................................................................ |
5 points
| | If your dog comes slowly or only part of the way, with no tail waging .................................................................. | 4 points | | If your dog stands or rises to a sitting position, but does not move toward you ............................................ | 3 points | | If your dog moves away from you ................................. | 2 points | | If your dog pays no attention.......................................... | 1 point |
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Test 4: Food under a towel
This is a more difficult problem solving test, it demands cleverness at moving objects. Things you'll need to do this test
- A hand towel or tea towel.
- A substantial size titbit your dog likes to eat, a dog biscuit is good.
- A stop watch or a way of timing your dogs response. How to do the test
1. Sit your dog, if it won't stay you'll need someone to hold the dog by the collar
2. Show your dog the food and let it sniff it.
3. With the dogs full attention slowly place the food on the ground about two meters away from it. Whilst the dog watches, cover the food with the towel.
4. Start timing and encourage your dog to get the food. Scoring | If your dog is like Odin, and retrieves the food in 15 seconds or less.............................................................. |
5 points
| | If your dog is like Gus, and retrieves the food in 15 to 30 seconds..................................................................... | 4 points | | In 30 to 60 seconds ....................................................... | 3 points | | If your dog tries to get the food, but gives up............... | 2 points | | If your dog doesn't even try to retrieve it within two minutes ........................................................................... | 1 point |
Test 5: Retrieving from under a barrier.
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This is a test of your dogs problem solving and manipulation ability.
Things you'll need to do this test
- You need to make a table, low enough to stop your dogs head getting under, but high enough off the ground to get it's paw under. You can make it out of some bricks or large books and a board.
- A substantial size titbit your dog likes to eat, a dog biscuit is good.
- A stop watch or a way of timing your dogs response.
How to do the test
1. Make sure your dog is watching you from nearby.
2. Show your dog the titbit of food and even let it sniff it.
3. With the dogs full attention slowly place the titbit just far enough under the table, that the dog can use its paws to retrieve it
4. Start timing and encourage your dog to get the food.
Scoring
| If your dog uses its paws to retrieve the food in 60 seconds or less...................................... |
5 points
| | If your dog uses its paws to retrieve the food in 1 to 3 minutes............................................................................ | 4 points | | If your dog uses it's muzzle only and fails to get the bait, or if it uses it's paws and hasn't retrieved the food after 3 minutes ............................................................... | 3 points | | If your dog doesn't use it's paws, simply sniffs and gives one or two tries with it's muzzle .......................... | 2 points | | If your dog has made no attempt to retrieve the bait after 3 minutes ............................................................... | 1 point |
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Test 6: does your dog know his or her name?
This is a test of language comprehension. Things you'll need to do this test
- The ability to say the words, refrigerator & movies as if you were calling your dog. - Your dog has to have a name. How to do the test
1. Your dog should be settled comfortably around two meters in front of you.
2. In the voice tone you use to call your dog call "refrigerator" Scoring | If the dog shows some response to come.............................. |
3 points
| | If the dog does not come, call "movies" in the same tone. If the dog comes....................................................................... | 2 points | | If the dog still has not responded call its name. If the dog comes or shows any tendency to move to you ..................................... | 5 points | | If the dog has not moved, call its name a second time. If the dog comes ............................................................................... | 4 points | | If the dog still doesn't come ............................................ | 1 point |
RESULTS: How does your dog rate?
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Add up your dogs score on each of the tests and find out if you've got a genius dog, or a bit of a dummy.
Scoring
| Over 25 points... |
Your dog is a genius
| | 15 - 25 points.... | Your dog is smart, but won't go to Harvard | | 5 - 15 points...... | Your dog is not too bright, but is most likely very cute | | Below 5 points.. | Your dog must be an Afghan |
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Can people improve the IQ of their dogs?
Professor Stan Coren: "Yeah, you improve the IQ of your dog, the same way you improve the IQ of your kids. And that is, you talk to them all the time. And you give them as many different experiences as you can. You see, the more the dog has to think about, the more the dog has to do, the brighter the dog becomes. Psychologists talk about two kinds of intelligence in people. We talk about fluid intelligence and crystallized intelligence. "Now, fluid intelligence is your native smarts, whereas crystallized intelligence is the sum total of everything that you learned. I mean, you can't go back and improve the fluid intelligence but you can certainly teach your dog an awful lot and so the crystallized intelligence gets better and better if you give them new situations, give them new games to play. In fact, the more things you teach a dog, the easier it becomes to teach them the next thing. And so just teaching your dog something is actually making him smarter." There are also videos that accompany this article. Click here.
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Class Schedule - Obedience, Puppy, Reactive, Nose Work, AND MORE
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DOG TRAINING CLASSES:
Obedience, Agility, Nose Work, Reactive, Puppy Classes
For detailed info, descriptions, fees, instructors, and to register, go to our Schedule Page. Interested in a class you do not see listed? Please let us know. If there is enough interest we will organize one. Know you want to take a class? Sign up early before your are closed out of a filled class! (Most classes only have 6 or 7 total spots.)
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Jumping For Joy
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Agility Fun Runs
--Friday, March 16th. First run at 6:30 p.m. (Gates open at 5:30 p.m.) Running little to big.
--Friday, April 13th. First run at 6:30 p.m. (Gates open at 5:30 p.m.) Running big to little dogs.
(These dates subject to change.)
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The Nose Knows!
|  Nose Work Run ThruHave you already taken a Nose Work class and want more practice? Never taken one and want to try it? Sign up for our Nose Work Run Thru on Sunday, April 15th at 10 p.m.Click for more info! |
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News You Can Use
| Do You Bark-A-Cize?
Get Fit With Your Pooch
Certified Fitness Instructor Nikki Eisnaugle brings a new twist to fitness: getting fit with your dog! She brings her Bark-A-Cize class to Lucky Dog on Thursdays from 6 to 7 p.m. For more information and to register go to her website, or email her, or call her at 561-602-1083. Now is the time to do what you've been putting off, and make it extra fun with your 4-legged BFF!
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Contact Information:
Mindy Cox, Training Director
Phone: 561-427-6700
Fax: 561-748-3699
Any suggestions or comments? Please email. I value your feedback. |
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You Asked, We Answered
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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do you have an at-a-glance way to see classes and events? A: You betcha! Our class calendar will give you the schedule at a glance. If you are a Lucky Dog member organizing your practice times, you can now tell if a class is inside or outside. It is color coded by type of class (such as agility, obedience, puppy). The first class will have START to indicate the beginning. Q: How do I register for a class or event?
A: Find the class you want on the Schedule page. For events, go to the Events page.
Click the Register button or link and fill out the secure online registration form. Or you can call 561-427-6700 and I will sign you up over the phone.
Payment can be cash, check, or credit card.
The fastest way to sign up, especially if you want to secure your spot in a popular class is to use the secure online registration form. You can also mail your form (very slow!), drop it off in our secure drop box to the left of our front door, fax it to 561-748-3699, or you can sign up by phone. Go to our Contact page to find all this info (or find the info in this newsletter, in the section above.
Q: What training philosophy do you use?
A: We only use positive, reward-based, dog-friendly training methods at Lucky Dog. No jerking, pulling, ear pinching or other aversive methods are used. We introduce the training clicker into many of the classes so your dog has a quicker and clearer understanding of what you are teaching. Q: Do I need a club membership to take a class?
A: No. Becoming a club member and taking a class are two separate things. But as a member you have access to Lucky Dog and can practice whenever you want (when there is no class scheduled).The cost of membership does not include any class fees. Q: What are Lucky Dog's hours?
A: At this time there are no regular hours when you can drop by, but if you'd like a tour just give us a call and we are happy to accommodate you. Someone is always there when a class or event is scheduled.Q: Do you only do group classes or can I schedule a private lesson?
A: We are happy to schedule a private lesson at Lucky Dog. We offer obedience and agility private lessons.
Q: Is there certification for dog trainers? A: Thanks for asking. Yes, trainers can be certified through the CCPDT (Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers) which is an organization respected throughout the world for maintaining high standards for certification, knowledge base, and continuing education requirements for dog trainers. Mindy Cox, Training Director at Lucky Dog is certified (CPDT-KA). Click here for more information.
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My goal is to make this and every newsletter as useful and interesting to you as possible. Which sections do you like the best? Articles? Class info? News of local events? Human interest information? What else would you like to see covered? And if you like it, please pass it along to a friend.
Sincerely,
Mindy Cox, B.S., CPDT-KATraining Director
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| Thanks so much for making Lucky Dog Sports Club your dog training place. We really appreciate your business.
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