Sit Means Sit of Palm Beach County presents
Pawsitively Amazing
Month, Year - Vol 1, Issue 1
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| Dear, Pet Enthusiast |
Welcome to this edition of our electronic newsletter designed for dog lovers who might want some helpful tips on training. This is also to help keep our Palm Beach clients informed on what's happening in our local area. To manage your subscription to this newsletter just scroll over to the sign up section. If you feel that your friends could use some information, or our services, then forward this to them. Bob Burnell Sit Means Sit of Palm Beach County 561-543-5583 RobertBurnell@sitmeanssit.com
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Sit Means Sit K9 School
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Kody and I were
fortunate to be asked to assist Fred Hassen when he instructed the K9
School held in Polk County. We had a great time and learned alot.
Thanks Fred. Here are two videos of us in action. Learning New SkillsPutting Skills To The Test |
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Food Bowl Exercises
By Jean Donaldson - 1/9/2008
Animal Behavior College
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Standard Prevention Exercises for All Non-Guarding Dogs and Puppies
Approach dog while eating and add bonus to dish - something much more palatable than his food. Approach from all angles and at different points in meal and get others to do likewise. Hide bonus and add from pocket, pouch or behind your back so it is not "previewed." If dog okay, remove bowl to add bonus and then give back.
This exercise is also a maintenance spot check for former guarders.
Signs of Guarding
· Accelerated eating
· Cessation of eating/"freezing up"
· Glassy or hard eyes
· Growling
· Lip lifting
· Snapping
· Biting
Rehab Exercise 1
1) At mealtime, put down empty food dish
2) Approach dog and empty dish and add a few pieces of kibble
3) Withdraw and repeat until entire meal fed in this manner
4) If dog guards, end meal-time: "too bad"
5) Feed 2-3 meals this way
6) On 4th meal, gradually begin to reduce the time between approaches and increase the amount of kibble per installment so that overlap develops: dog is eating while you re-fill
7) When you have reached the point that you are giving meal in 2-3 installments without any guarding, switch to bonus-addition, as per prevention instructions above (adding bonus while eating and removing bowl to add bonus)
Rehab Exercise 2
1) Approach dog while eating to "safety distance" (pre-guarding distance) and flip
bonus at bowl (don't worry about accuracy), repeating several times in a row
2) Do this for 2-3 meals
3) On 4th meal, decrease distance slightly after first flip
4) If successful (no guarding), continue gradually decreasing distance until you can approach bowl and drop bonus in
5) Switch to prevention exercises
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Leadership vs. Dominance
By Nicole Wilde - 3/19/2009
Animal Behavior College
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I recently attended a lecture given by a self-styled
"dog psychologist" on how to improve your relationship with your dog.
One of the main points made was that dogs don't need a loving leader,
but rather, a strong leader who uses "domination." Owners were advised
to use the alpha roll (forcing the dog on his back and staring until he
submits), to "show him who's boss." I was saddened to hear this
regurgitation of the old, strong-arm techniques, in this enlightened
day and age. The truth is, you can be both a strong and a loving leader.
Techniques
like the alpha roll and scruff shake are purportedly based on the
behavior of dogs' ancestor, the wolf. Studies done in the wild years
ago reported that wolves use the alpha roll to discipline and control
other pack members. In later years, those studies were disproved. What
ethnologists found was that when a wolf wanted to dominate another, he
would "muzzle pin," i.e. place his own muzzle, mouth wide open, teeth
bared, gently over the muzzle of the other. The pinned wolf would then
roll over and submit voluntarily. That's an important
distinction. In fact, if a wolf forcefully slams another to the ground,
teeth around his neck, staring hard, chances are he means to kill that
animal. Is that really the message you want to send to your dog?
If
your dog has any aggression issues, using force will only make the
problem worse. It may look for the moment like you've solved the issue,
because the dog stops the aggressive display immediately. Of course he
does; you're physically stronger and are threatening him. That's called
self-preservation. In reality, you're only suppressing the aggression,
and causing stress that will assuredly resurface - and it won't be
pretty. It may reappear as other seemingly unrelated behavior problems,
or even worse aggression. Besides, what happens if one
family member uses force, but the others are not as physically or
psychologically capable of doing so? I can tell you, because that's the
case with many families I've been called in to work with. When the
domineering person (usually the husband) is gone, the dog challenges
the one he sees he might have a chance of dominating, which is usually
the wife.
Another fascinating fact from the world of wolves is
that the "alpha" or top-ranking wolf does not need to prove a thing.
Good alphas rule with a calm air of dignity. They are assertive when
necessary, but are not bullies. At Wolf Park, a research and
educational facility in Indiana, those alpha wolves who ruled with a
heavy paw were quickly deposed by other pack members. Those who ruled
wisely ruled longer. It's actually the middle-ranking, wanna-be alphas
who do all the squabbling. They have something to prove. You shouldn't.
So remember: Be kind, be firm, be fair. Be a good leader. Your dog will love you for it.
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Dealing with Behavioral Issues
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Continuing our series on dealing with behavioral issues
This edition- House Training
Positive Reinforcement of Alternate Behaviors
·The alternate behavior is eliminating in the
correct area.
·The correct area might be a puppy
housebreaking pad by the back door or a certain designated spot in the yard.
·Every time you take the puppy to the potty
spot and he eliminates there, you need to reward him.
Management of the Problem and Setting the Dog
up to Succeed
·An example of this is not allowing the puppy
to run loose in the house without continuous supervision.
·It is the owners responsibility to be sure
the puppy eliminates in the correct area.
·This is probably the single most important
thing the owner can do.
Consequences for the Inappropriate Behavior
·It is counterproductive to yell, spank a
puppy or rub his nose in an accident.
·This would make the puppy afraid to go in
front of you. This would also have
the adverse affect of teaching the dog to eliminate behind objects and out of
sight.
·If an accident does occur
-Make an inconspicuous noise that would
interrupt the behavior.
-Bring the dog to the correct location and
lavishly praise him for any elimination.
-Clean the accident without the puppy seeing
you and be sure to use an odor neutralizing product as dogs go back to same
locations to eliminate
Consistency in Dealing with the Problem
·Consistency is critical when working to
curtail or eliminate behavior problems and housetraining is no different.
·Creating daily housetraining routines for a
puppy will go a long way in creating consistency in behavior (i.e. feeding at
same time, bring to potty spot from same door)
General Housebreaking Guidelines
·Do not punish a dog for housebreaking
accidents.
·Always clean up any messes with an odor
neutralizing product and do not let the dog see you clean the mess up.
·Always bring the dog to his spot after each
of these events: waking up, getting up from resting, drinking water, eating,
playing, training and actively sniffing.
·Bring the dog with a consistent problem to
the vet for an examination.
·Try not to have two totally different
schedules (weekdays and weekends)
·Do not start to teach eliminating on cue
until the dog has several days of proper eliminations. Introduce cue "go make"
immediately
before or during the elimination.
·Wait to praise once the dog finishes so that
we do not distract him.
·Make an elimination log so that you can track
food/water intake and elimination so as to determine when the dog may need to
go.
·Never assume the dog has eliminated, if you
did not see it then it did not happen.
Next edition- Digging
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About Your Trainer
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Bob grew up on Long Island, New York
and upon graduation from High School spent four years serving this country in
the U.S. Army. Bob graduated from
Hofstra University Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelors Degree in Business and
earned several academic achievement awards.
Bob spent several years as an Operations Executive for a major retailer
until he joined the N.Y.P.D. Bob
graduated #1 in his class from the police academy, earning the highest academic
achievement award. Bob is currently a
full time Police K9 officer. Bob has
certifications in dog training through The Animal Behavior College and The No
Limitations School for Remote Collar Training.
Bob has worked with some of the most influential dog trainers. Bob has studied under Brian Kilcommons (noted
trainer and author) and Fred Hassen (founder and creator of Sit Means Sit). Bob has over 8 years of experience in training dogs and receives a real sense of accomplishment when he witnesses the success his clients have with our program.
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Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to work with your family. We appreciate everyone of our clients and value the relationship that we have with you. The highest compliment that you can give us, is the referral of your family and friends. Remember, we are never too busy for your referrals. If you know someone that would benefit from our services or that might enjoy what we do, please forward this newsletter to them. We are always looking to improve our service. If you have any comments or suggestions, please send them to us. We are always looking for testimonials from our clients so that we can show others how our training has helped you. Please feel free to visit my Palm Beach Training Blog to obtain additional information and view some more great videos. Missed an earlier edition of this newsletter? Go to my blog and view past editions that are archived at this location.
Sincerely,
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