by The Crunchy Canine | Jan 19, 2016 | BLOG
When training your puppy or dog, the tool you use should be efficient and effective. The way you use the tool should be clear, consistent, and humane. While I am not going to discuss any one specific tool, know that we use a variety of training collars when training a dog. The only tools we do not use are harnesses (of any type), or regular flat buckle collars. Of course we do have our preferences, but that is not the point of this post.
When training your dog you should be using your leash and training collar to provide the dog with information. How clear the information is will depending on the tool, and your skills and timing. There are some people with many years of experience around dogs who can use a piece of fishing line to train a dog. However, they are few and far between. Now take for example if you were to try to build a wooden box. You have a table saw and a drill, or you have a dull hand saw, some nails and a rock. Now you can probably still get the job done with the dull hand saw, nails and rock. You can cut the wood with the hand saw, but it will be slow and a little messy. You can use the rock to pound the nails into the wood. Now, the job can get done, but it wasn’t efficient or effective and the end results aren’t as great as they could be. Next, let’s look at the table saw and drill. You can cut perfectly straight lines and you can put it together quickly with the drill. Both get the job done (kind of), but one is far better than the other.
Dog training tools can be viewed the same way. The wrong tool is the dull saw and the rock. The right tool, table saw and drill. Now, for those concerned with some of the tools that might look torture devices (prime example is the prong collar), note that a table saw and drill can be used incorrectly or even with intent to cause pain. BUT when used properly they can help you build beautiful works of art! Just like the saw and drill, dog training collars can be used incorrectly, or even with the intent to cause pain. However, that comes down to the person holding the leash not the tool itself.
So, if the tool you are using is giving you the results that a dull saw and rock would give you, you might want to reconsider and try something else!
Happy Training!
Katherine Vooys-McDonald
Canines In Balance
Hamilton, Ontario
Dog training Collars
by The Crunchy Canine | Jan 18, 2016 | BLOG
House Training Your Puppy in just 4 easy steps!
When it comes to house training your puppy, the most important thing you need to remember is to be patient and consistent. House training can be very simple if you follow these steps. If you skip any steps, know that you are going to slow down the process and you may see a delay in training. Also remember that puppies are puppies, and they will make mistakes as will you. If your training is going well and your puppy makes a mistake, take note of whether you skipped a step that day. 95% of the time mistakes are human error, and preventable.
Here are the steps for house training your puppy:
1. Be reasonable in your expectations – Puppies are growing, and so are their bladders. Be reasonable in your puppy’s ability to hold their bladder. Up until the age of 6 months, puppies should not be left to hold their bladder for more than a few hours. You will be able to increase the time as they get older and their bladder develops. If you are gone all day, you can expect there to be accidents when you get home.
2. Limit access – Puppies usually have accidents by running to another room and eliminating, and you will find it later. Since reprimanding a puppy after the fact is useless and unfair you will need to stop the puppy from doing this. For the next 2 weeks, you will have the puppy tethered to you by leash and collar. Get a belt or carabiner to attach the leash to your waist or hold onto the leash handle. In order to be fair in correcting the puppy, you need to catch her in the act. If she is attached to you, then you can quickly clap your hands, say a firm “NO!” and then get the puppy outside. Praise, praise, praise when your puppy eliminates outside! Also limit their access to food and water if you know they are going to be left alone. Do not leave food or water in their crate and try to limit their access to it for about an hour before you leave. Being left alone with a full belly and bladder is asking for accidents when you get home.
3. Anticipate your puppy needing to eliminate before they even think they need to go. If you know your puppy just ate and drank, and normally it takes about 30 minutes before they have an accident, then you need to take your puppy outside 20 minutes after they eat or drink. Take them out before they even think about going in the house and they won’t even have the opportunity to go inside. Over time you will be able to extend the time as they learn to hold it but still stay on top of it. If 3 hours go by and they haven’t asked to go out and haven’t had an accident, then take them outside anyways. And when they go out and the eliminate, throw them a party!
4. Crate Train – If you are not crating your puppy already, go out and get a size appropriate crate. There are crates that adjust to make them bigger as the puppy grows. You want there only to be enough room for the puppy to get up and turn around in the crate. If you get it any bigger they will eliminate in one side of the crate and go lay in the other side. Moving forward, if you are not home or cannot have your eyes on the puppy, crate them. If you need help crate training you can check out our “How to Crate Train” article or please give us a call at 905-869-1170 or email us at [email protected] to set up a training appointment.
If you need further help for house training your puppy please give us a call for a FREE evaluation at 905-869-1170 or [email protected]
Happy Training!
Katherine Vooys-McDonald
Canines In Balance
Hamilton, Ontario
by The Crunchy Canine | Jan 15, 2016 | BLOG
Puppy Socialization
What is puppy socialization? Recently I shared an article explaining my hate for dog parks. OK, hate might be a strong word…more like my strong dislike for dog parks. If you read the article you will understand why I dislike them so much (if you did not read it here it is http://www.kdmathews.com/-bark-blog/just-say-noto-dogparks).
When people get a new puppy or dog, everyone says “oh you have to socialize them right away”. Somehow, somewhere the definition of socialization turned into taking your dog to the dog park to be around as many dogs as possible regardless of their temperament or disposition. Don’t get me wrong, I love the IDEA of the dog park. Dogs, off leash, enjoying the company of other dogs and people. Sounds lovely doesn’t it? Unfortunately too many dogs who shouldn’t be at the dog park frequent on a daily basis. Unfortunately, most dog owners have no idea what to look for in a dog who should or should not be freely socializing with other dogs. Unfortunately, not enough people are advocating for their dogs (and maybe they just don’t know how or that they should). Unfortunately, this leads to dogs being bullied, dog fights, and dogs who were once confident around other dogs leaving fearful and insecure. Just last week we were training our dogs outside of the Grimsby Dog Park and saw a dog fight break out within 10 seconds of one dog entering the park…not to mention the over adrenalized dogs running around in pure chaos, the humping (ohhhh the humping…non stop humping), and owners off in their own little world chatting or on their phones.
So now that we’ve cleared up with a brief overview as to why I do not like dog parks and why they should not be your “go to” for socializing your puppy or dog…you’re probably still wondering what the heck you CAN do to socialize your dog! Socialization needs to be productive and positive. Yes, getting your puppy around other dogs is important but it needs to be around the right dogs. One bad experience can affect your puppy for the rest of their lives. Most dogs who are reactive or dog aggressive were not born that way. More often than not, there was at least one bad experience that caused the behaviour and many owners can pin point that experience. The risk of taking your puppy or dog to the dog park is far too great and is not worth the potential consequences. Take your puppy or dog to group training, find a trainer who holds socialization classes, or find some friends or family with a nice balanced dog. However, getting your puppy or dog around other dogs is not the only component to socialization. Most behavioural issues come from fear, lack of confidence, lack of trust in handler, and not learning to follow. More important than letting your dog play with other dogs, is to expose them to as many positive experiences as possible in a variety of different ways. If you want to ensure you have a confident and happy dog who can go places with you then you need to take your dog to different places, let them explore different sounds and smells, touch and feel all kinds of surfaces. Here are some examples of what you can do:
- Take your dog to different dog friendly stores (most banks, Lowes, TSC, Rona, and many more).
- Using a long line (or off leash if your dog has a solid recall), allow your dog explore parks, trails, fields etc.
- Find any unique surface and encourage your dog to explore it (bridges, jungle gyms, tarps etc).
The benefits of giving your dog plenty of exposure to these different situations will in turn produce a confident dog who can handle most of what life throws it’s way. If you only take your dog to the dog park for socialization, you can expect the one time you decide to bring your dog into a new situation he will be anxious, misbehaved, and it will not be enjoyable for either of you.
If you need help socializing your puppy or dog please contact us for a FREE evaluation at 905-869-1170!
Happy Training
Katherine Vooys
Canines In Balance
Hamilton, Ontario
puppy socialization
Puppy socialization
by The Crunchy Canine | Jan 4, 2016 | BLOG
Happy New Year! Have you thought about your New Year’s Resolutions yet? Maybe your dog needs a resolution too? Pulling on leash? Jumping on guests? Excessive barking? Begging at the table? Not listening? If this sounds a little too familiar then it might just be time to make a joint resolution with your dog. While we hope training becomes an all year thing for you and your dog, why not take this opportunity to start the year off right? We have a variety of options when it comes to training to suit the needs of everyone. Whether you are looking for group class, private one on one training, or want us to do the training for you at Day School, we’ve got the solution to help you get your dog’s issues under control. Our gentle and effective training methods actually work! Just check out what our clients have to say here!
Not sure you want to commit to training just yet? Here are some FREE easy dog training tips to get you started on your own!
Adult Group Dog Training & Group Puppy Training
We now have two locations for Adult Group Dog Training and Group Puppy Training classes to serve you better! DogDen in Burlington on Monday and Wednesdays, and Temple of the Dog in Beamsville on Tuesdays and Saturdays.
We’d love to hear about your dog training goals! Contact us to reserve your spot in group class or to book a FREE evaluation for private training!
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by The Crunchy Canine | Dec 10, 2015 | BLOG
Dog Training the Reactive Dog
Reactivity while on leash is incredibly common. There are a lot of factors that come into play causing the reactivity, but in the end people just want to be able to walk their dog without having to avoid passing other dogs. The below video was taken at our Adult Group Class at Temple of the Dog in Beamsville, Ontario. Two of the dogs are dog reactive and one has shown some signs of dog aggression. After working through these issues we have calm happy dogs!
If you have a reactive dog please call us today for a FREE evaluation! 905-869-1170 [email protected]
by The Crunchy Canine | Nov 25, 2015 | BLOG
One conversation I am consistently having with clients is on the topic of crating. For the record, I am PRO crating! All three of my dogs are crated during the day while we are not home. Not one of them is upset or stressed about being in their crate.
Why do I believe in crate training?
Safety – We are responsible for the safety of our dogs. When we leave a young dog or an active chewer uncrated and unattended, we are being irresponsible. Your dog could get into something that is poisonous to them. They could swallow something that will not pass easily (you may not even know they ate it). They could choke on something small. Regardless of what they get into, you run the risk of your dog falling ill, requiring surgery, or worse death.
Money – When your dog chews your belongings, it costs money to replace these items. Why run the risk of having to buy a new couch every couple of months? Or having to pay for surgery to have the slipper your dog ate removed? Life is expensive enough, why throw money down the toilet?
Mental health – If you leave the house every morning with the worry of what your dog will get into today, the stress of worrying is likely taking years off of your life. When you get home only to find the big mess you were worried about, stress levels increase. When your dog is safe in his crate there is no need to worry and you will come home to the house in the exact state you left it.
Having said this, does every dog NEED to be crated for the rest of their life? Not necessarily. If trained right though, they will likely want to be in their crate anyway. The crate can truly be a positive and safe place for your dog, you just have to create it for them. Often when a young dog transitions from being crated to not crated and they chew, they have been given too much freedom too soon. When a dog is bored with nothing to do they will find something to do (ie. chew your baseboards, eat your favourite shoe, or destroy your couch). All dogs are different and some may be able to handle being left out sooner than others.
If you need help with crate training, please contact us! It’s actually quite simple and can be done in a short amount of time!
If you are looking for Dog Training in Hamilton, contact us for a FREE evaluation – 905-869-1170
Happy Training!
Katherine
Canines In Balance
Hamilton, Ontario
