May 17, 2012

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Phoenix dog training-Who’s walking who?

March 8, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Phoenix At Home Dog Training

chandler group dog training

Bristol

WHO’S WALKING WHO?

In my near 7 years of training dogs and observing dog behavior, I have found that leash training
if often the most challenging activity with your dog.  A dogs best sense is smell, so, the walk to a dog
will often result in pulling due to their natural instincts to follow scent trails.

For a low stress walk with your dog, I train my customers with the “heel” command.  Try keeping your dog behind the tip of your foot and command “heel”.  If they pull, STOP walking.  Then, start again.  When they want to smell or potty, release with the “free” command.  Dogs are naturally oral, especially younger dogs, due to teething or sore gums,  so they may want to hold the lead in their mouth.  As long as they are NOT pulling on the lead excessively, this is ok.  Let them use the leash as a pacifier to calm them down.  As they mature, the desire for oral stimulation will be reduced.

I instruct my customers to “pick your battles” with their dogs.  As long as your dog is listening to your commands and
looking to YOU for guidance, there is no question who the boss is.

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

 

Phoenix dog training-FREE dog training tip of the day

January 27, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Phoenix Dog Training-10 tips to keep your animals warm

Article compliments of:  Tails Pet Media Group

 January 22, 2012 in Newsletter by Jillian at Tails

With Christmas behind us, the cold winter months are in full swing. While some of us have enjoyed a mild winter, this time of year bringsCat in snow freezing temperatures and unpredictable precipitation. (Okay, not for you lucky folks in Florida, Southern California, Hawaii and on and on! But for a lot of us, the cold is here to stay for a while.)

Pets and animals can be especially vulnerable to winter weather conditions, and even though many of them are covered in fur, pet parents need to take special precautions to make sure animals are protected against the elements.

The ASPCA has compiled 10 cold weather tips for making sure pets are protected:

1. Keep your cat inside. Outdoors, felines can freeze, become lost or be stolen, injured or killed. Cats who are allowed to stray are exposed to infectious diseases—including rabies—from other cats, dogs and wildlife.

2. During the winter, outdoor cats sometimes sleep under the hoods of cars. When the motor is started, the cat can be injured or killed by the fan belt. If there are outdoor cats in your area, bang loudly on the car hood before starting the engine to give the cat a chance to escape.

3. Never let your dog off the leash on snow or ice, especially during a snowstorm, dogs can lose their scent and easily become lost. More dogs are lost during the winter than during any other season, so make sure yours always wears ID tags.

4. Thoroughly wipe off your dog’s legs and stomach when he comes in out of the sleet, snow or ice. He can ingest salt, antifreeze or other potentially dangerous chemicals while licking his paws—and his paw pads may also bleed from snow or encrusted ice.

5. Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter, as a longer coat will provide more warmth. When you bathe your dog in the colder months, be sure to completely dry him before taking him out for a walk. Own a short-haired breed? Consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.

6. Never leave your dog or cat alone in a car during cold weather. A car can act as a refrigerator in the winter, holding in the cold and causing the animal to freeze to death.

7. Puppies do not tolerate the cold as well as adult dogs, and may be difficult to housebreak during the winter. If your puppy appears to be sensitive to the weather, you may opt to paper-train him inside. If your dog is sensitive to the cold due to age, illness or breed type, take him outdoors only to relieve himself.

8. Does your dog spend a lot of time engaged in outdoor activities? Increase his supply of food, particularly protein, to keep him, and his fur, in tip-top shape.

9. Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol. Visit the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center more information.

10. Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts. A cozy dog or cat bed with a warm blanket or pillow is perfect.

 

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

Phoenix Dog Training-Chewing

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Phoenix Dog Training-Chewing

Article compliments of:  The Whole Dog Journal

Phoenix, chandler, At Home Dog Training

Phoenix puppies are notorious for their ability to chew on anything and everything. If you’re at all dog-savvy you know when you get a new puppy that despite your best efforts to manage and supervise, you’re likely to lose at least one valuable personal possession to the razor-sharp implements known fondly as puppy teeth.

Puppies chew to explore their world as well as to relieve the pain and irritation of teething. What many phoenix dog owners don’t seem to realize is that while puppies sooner or later get beyond the stage where they feel compelled to put their teeth on everything they see, mature dogs also need to chew to exercise their jaws, massage their gums, clean their teeth, and to relieve stress and boredom. It comes as an unpleasant surprise to many owners that chewing doesn’t end at the age of six months when all of the dog’s adult teeth are grown in.

Puppies develop substrate preferences for elimination in the early months of their lives, and they similarly develop chew-object preferences. Hence the inadvisability of giving your old shoes or socks as chew toys.

If you give your baby dog the run of the house and he learns to chew on Oriental carpets, sofa cushions, and coffee table legs, you will likely end up with a dog who chooses to exercise his jaws and teeth on inappropriate objects for years to come. You’ll find yourself crating him frequently even as an adult dog, or worse, exiling him to a lonely life in the backyard, where he can chew only on lawn furniture, loose fence boards, and the edges of your deck and hot tub.

Instead, focus your AZ dog’s fangs on approved chew toys at an early age and manage him well to prevent access to your stuff. In this way, he’ll earn house privileges much sooner in life. By the end of his first year, you’ll probably be able to leave him alone safely while you go out to dinner or shopping – or even while you’re away at work.

For more details and advice on ways to prevent and cure destructive chewing habits, purchase Whole Dog Journal’s ebook, Simple Ways to Prevent and Cure Destructive Chewing.

ALSO SEE:  http://www.doggiestepsdogtraining.com/dog-articles.html#chewing

chandler at home dog training

Mark-Cassie

 

 

 

 

 

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

Dog safety during the Holidays

November 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Phoenix At Home Dog Training

az dog trainers 

 

 

 

 

Fergie

BEST DOG ON THE BLOCK  Dog Tips   

Holidays and your dog.  How to make them happy and safe for all!

by Mark Siebel – Owner
- DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training

‘Tis the season to be jolly! Another Holiday season has arrived.  The Holidays often bring new
people, irresistible foods, and other temptations into our homes, and we need to be aware of the safety of our pets. Dogs are curious by nature and their heightened sense of smell can many times get them into trouble.

There are numerous items around our homes during the Holiday Season from which we must be sure our dogs steer clear.  Every dog will have a different threshold level (based on breed, age, and weight), but it is best to try to eliminate ANY
of the below items from our dogs reach to ensure strong health and safety:

  1. Plants & Trees.   Poinsettias, Christmas cactus, hemlock, holly, ivy, mistletoe, balsam, cedar, juniper, fir, pine,
    avocado, geranium, marijuana, ferns, aloe, and tiger lilies can ALL cause irritation, vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, and even death if ingested.  Try to spray the leaves or plants with Bitter Apple, or simply position the items out of the dogs reach.  For a festive tree, use the “LEAVE IT” command if you notice your dog chewing or smelling the branches.  Sap and needles can be hard for a dog to digest, and will most certainly be a cause for illness.  Consumption of ANY listed items in this
    article should be dealt with on a dog-to-dog basis.  Symptoms of serious illness include:  excessive diarrhea, not drinking water, and excessive vomiting.  If this happens, contact your vet immediately.
  2. Food/snack items.   Many foods must be OFF limits to your dog. Be aware of the following items when cooking or if you take your dog to a friends home or public place:  *Chocolate (can cause Theobromine poisoning in your dog)  *Onions, grapes, raisins (studies have shown the skins of these foods to be indigestible by dogs.)  Even chewing gum has been shown to cause irritation to a dogs internal digestive systems.
  3. Miscellaneous items.   The following are a variety of items that can be found around your home  that can be
    toxic to your dog’s health:  Antifreeze, bleach, Tylenol, ibuprofen, watch batteries, moth balls, fabric softeners and
    other detergents, mouthwash, alcohol, and peach/avocado pits or other fruit seeds.  It is okay to vary a dog’s diet,
    but do it with quality meat kibble and fresh cooked, unseasoned meats only!  This will keep your dog interested
    in its own food and more eager to eat it.   DO NOT give scraps from the dinner table or your dog may begin to beg
    from you.
  4. Good, common sense.  Dogs are carnivores, so their diet consists primarily of meat.
    It should go without saying; don’t feed your dog Doritos or Mac Donald’s!  It’s okay to give your dog an occasional lick
    of your ice cream cone or a small piece of cheese, but use good ole’ fashion common sense when deciding what your dog should eat.  Also, given the sensitivity of most dogs digestive systems, a routine diet should be maintained.

So, when you hear the Holiday dinner bell ringing, enjoy your feast o’ plenty.  Holidays bring out the best energy in humans,
therefore making our dogs that much more comfortable and excited.  Pass me another double baked potato!  Just be sure that Fido is eating his dog food, and not your Angel Food Cake. 

 

Phoenix Dog Training-Dog growling-good or bad?

October 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Phoenix At Home Dog Training

chandler dog training

Bailey'Kugel'Leinie

Understanding Dog Growling
Compliments of:  Whole Dog Journal

Growling is a valuable means of communication for a dog – something that dog owners should appreciate and respect rather than punish. Of course, we don’t want our dog to growl at us, but neither do we want him to fail to growl if something makes him uncomfortable; that’s very important information in a successful canine-human relationship.

It’s very common for dog owners to punish their dogs for growling. Unfortunately, this often suppresses the growl – eliminating his ability to warn us that he’s about to snap, literally and figuratively. On other occasions, punishing a growling, uncomfortable dog can induce him to escalate into full-on aggression.

So, if you’re not supposed to punish your dog for growling, what are you supposed to do? The next time your dog growls at you, try this:

1.  Stop. Whatever you’re doing, stop. If your dog’s growl threshold is near his bite threshold – that is, if there’s not much time between his growl and his bite, get safe. If his growl doesn’t mean a bite is imminent, stop what you’re doing but stay where you are. Wait until he relaxes, then move away, so you’re rewarding the relaxed behavior rather than the growl.

2.  Analyze the situation. What elicited the growl? Were you touching or grooming him? Restraining him? Making direct eye contact? Taking something away from him? Making him do something?

If you need help to create and implement a behavior modification protocol, contact a qualified behavior professional who is experienced and successful in modifying aggressive behavior with positive, dog-friendly techniques.

For more details and advice on modifying dog aggression, purchase Whole Dog Journal’s ebook, Approaches to Modifying Dog Aggression.

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

AZ At Home Dog Training-Potty training tips

October 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

BEST DOG ON THE BLOCK Dog Tips
Potty Training Basics
by Mark Siebel – Owner – DOGGIE STEPS Dog Training

Many of my customers bring home a puppy, and tell me “We’ve had NO problems yet! No potty accidents, chewing, digging, jumping, mouthing, or counter surfing.” I call this the HONEYMOON period. Just wait. Puppies, almost guaranteed, will go through all the above behaviors, especially potty accidents in the house.

On average, it takes 4-8 months to have your puppy FULLY potty trained. Any trainer/owner who says otherwise most likely had a miracle puppy. Of course, by being extremely committed and disciplined, your timeframe could be less. Routine & repetition will get your puppy potty trained the fastest. By following the below potty training tips, you’ll be calling the carpet cleaner a lot less often:

  1. Crate training.Crate training is the most effective method to potty train your puppy. Not only will your dog learn NOT to potty where they sleep, but it will also keep your puppy calm, submissive, and SAFE when you’re gone. Dogs are descendants of Gray Wolves, which raise their pups in a den for upwards of 1 year. You want to give your puppy just enough room to stretch and do a 360 degree turn. The concept of the crate is that your puppy won’t potty in one corner and then sleep in the other. I suggest only a hard bone to chew in the crate. NO bedding, because you don’t want your puppy to mistake it for a pee-pad.
  2. Routine – Repetition.It is said that your puppy can hold its potty for it’s age in months, plus 1 hour (2mo. old + 1 hour = 3 hour hold time). I normally instruct to take your puppy outside after feeding, drinking, naps, indoor playtime, and anytime after being in the crate. Designate a “potty-spot” and take your puppy to that SAME spot for potty time. It is ok to give your dog a treat after potty to reinforce good behavior.
  3. Potty on command.As strange as it sounds, I have trained my dogs to eliminate on command! Many police dogs must have this ability due to being in a patrol car for long periods of time. Get in the routine of taking your dog to your potty-spot. Once your puppy has fully completed #1, with high energy and enthusiasm praise “good potty!”, and give them a treat. Then, after your puppy has fully completed #2, again, with high energy and enthusiasm praise “good poop!” or “good business!”, and give them a treat. The goal is to make the connection that potty in the potty-spot is always praised, and potty in the home is corrected. If you catch your puppy in the act of pottying inside, correct with a “grunt” or loud tone, and carry them outside to the potty spot.
  4. Finally – Less is more! A dog’s best sense is scent! Therefore, by taking them to the SAME potty spot time and time again, they will eventually go back to the SAME place to potty. By slowly giving your puppy more room to roam throughout your home, they will learn NOT to potty where they sleep and live. I strongly advise NOT to give your puppy full run of your home. Keep him in the crate or isolated in a small room when not supervised, to ensure that he will not potty on the floor.

Potty training a dog takes time and patience. A dogs bladder and internal organs do not fully mature until 10-16 months, so it takes time for the energy of the brain to catch up with the development of its muscles and internal organs. Be consistent with the above potty training tips and soon your dog will have FULL run of the house.

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

Phoenix dog training-FREE dog training tip of the day

October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Chandler dog behavior

chandler dog trainers

Toby

Crate Training Made Easy
Compliments of The Whole Dog Journal

A crate, or, in other words, short-term close confinement, can be used to help phoenix dogs teach themselves two very important skills. The first is eliminating only when and where it is appropriate. The second skill is keeping out of trouble – behaving appropriately in the house. Without these two skills, a dog doesn’t have much of a chance in this world.

When the crate is properly introduced using positive training methods, most dogs love their crates. Canines are den animals and a crate is a modern den – a dog’s personal portable bedroom that he can retire to when he wants to escape from the trials and tribulations of toddlers and other torments. He can take it with him when he stays at phoenix boarding kennels, and when he travels with you and sleeps in phoenix hotels and motels.

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

AZ dog training-Thinking of adopting a senior dog? No problem!!

August 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Chandler dog behavior

chandler hom dog training

Bentley "water dog"

Thinking of adopting a senior dog?  No problem!!

With over 5 years of dog training experience and over 2000 dogs trained, I can confidently say YES that old dogs CAN learn new tricks! 

A dog is considered adult at age 3 and then senior at age 7.  Just like human
development, every dogs maturity level will vary, so their training retention will depend on the individual dog.  By being consistent with any new training routine, you will see a positive change in your seniors dogs behavior in no time.  Beware of any extreme aggression or anxiety disorders.  These challenges may require more in-depth training.

Over 80% of dog training is re-conditioning the human to change their behavior.  The dog will natuarally follow suit.  So, this reminds of a story pertaining to my father.  For all my life, he never used a knife when he ate.  He would use his finger to push against the fork, and then the fork to his mouth.  As I aged, we would eat
in fancy restaruants and I began to realize how bad manners this was.  At the time, he was 63 years old, so I knew
I was in for a challenge.  One day, I politely noted to him how much easier it is to use your knife when eating.  I stated
that not only does it keep your fingers cleaner, but makes eating the food much easier!  To my surprise, the next time
we had dinner AND FROM THAT TIME ON he has been using his knife when he eats! 

The point of my story is that human behavior, like dog behavior can be adjusted and re-conditioned at any age.  Depending what the challenge is will determine the necessary steps.  Dogs naturally are routine based animals, so some changes will occur quicker than others.   Be patient, and in no time your elder dog will be running with the neighborhood puppies.

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training!

AZ At Home Dog Training-Are you safe on your dog walks?

July 26, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 AZ At Home Dog Training-Are you safe on your dog walks?

az dog trainers

Chicago

Are you safe on your dog walks?  2x per month, I hear of a dog on dog attack incident while a customer of mine was out walking their dog.  Either a gate left open or a stray dog aggressive dog is always to blame.

As a dog behaviorist for over 5 years I have come to realize that some dogs are genetically pre-disposed to aggression and may never be able to be socialized with other dogs.  Of course there will be those who say different, but the truth is evident with isolated cases.

To be safe on your doggie walks I would recommend:

1.  Cold Steel Inferno pepper spray.  Not only will this give you a better chance against you OR your dog getting mauled (no guarantees but it will at least halt the dog).  It will also aid in keeping a coyote at bay or a human with the wrong intentions.  Check out:  http://www.coldsteel.com/pepper-spray.html

2.  A simple walking stick.  A stick will give you some defense to separate you from a dog on the attack.  It can also be used as a prevention devise to ward off a oncoming dog.

3.  Yelling or a stern loud tone with your voice to try and halt an oncoming dog.

ALWAYS stay alert on your walks and be aware of your surroundings for a safe dog outing. 

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training! 

AZ dog training-Do you call your dog your best friend?

July 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Study Shows Pet Ownership Has Psychological Benefits

Compliments of :  The Huffington Post 

Phoenix dog trainers

Bonbon 9-10

It’s well known that dogs are “man’s best friend” — and now we have science to prove it.

The emotional benefits of pet ownership can be equal to those of human friendship, according to psychologists at Miami University and St. Louis University.

The findings, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, are based on three experiments.

In part one, 217 questionnaires teasing out variables such as self-esteem, loneliness, illness, depression and activity level found that pet owners scored far better overall, demonstrating less lonely tendencies and higher self-esteem.

In section two, 56 dog owners answered identical questionnaires to part one, plus offered information about how they related to their dogs. In cases when the pet “complemented rather than competed” with human companions, animal owners experienced the greatest emotional returns.

“In fact … we repeatedly observed evidence that people who enjoyed greater benefits from their pets also were closer to other important people in their lives and received more support from them, not less,” the study says.

Finally, section three asked 97 undergraduate students to write about a socially alienating experience and then write about a favorite friend or pet. Feelings of exclusion were equally remedied by passages about friends as by those focussed on pets.

Of course, this is hardly the first study supporting the idea that animals make just as good friends as they do … pets. Previous findings have linked pet ownership “to decreased pain transmission” and found that the benefits pet ownership can especially be especially pronounced in people older than 50.

This study also found that pet owners experienced greater physical fitness and exercise, perhaps because they are walking their dogs.

Researchers believe that the data shows an animal can provide the real benefits of a best friend, just like any human companion would.

“Belongingness is considered a central need for people,” they wrote. “If pets are ‘psychologically close’ to their owner, they may provide well-being benefits for the owner just like any other person.”

GOOD luck and happy phoenix dog training! 

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