by The Crunchy Canine | Feb 14, 2022 | TESTIMONIALS
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We originally came to the Crunchy Canine for help with Luna’s over excitement and extreme pulling when we walked her. At one point, her pulling and excitement got so bad, walking her became a chore that no one enjoyed or looked forward to.
We tried a multitude of tools (leash, slip-lead, gentle-leader etc. etc. etc…) but nothing seemed to register with Luna, or, she would get better for a bit and then get used to whatever tool we were using and it was back to square one. Once we started to advance her training and worked one on one with Katherine, we decided to switch her over to the remote collar. After the first week, we saw a significant change in Luna – for the better – she was responding more, being more aware of us and what we wanted from her. She was even noticeably starting to enjoy her walks more, as she never really enjoyed walking with the gentle leader on or any of the other tools we tried. But with her collar, she genuinely seemed so much happier. She had more freedom, less restraint but more control and consistency with her training. There was now a very clear, “black and white” approach to our training and more structure. Her recalls started to improve to the point where after the first few weeks, she was coming on command, staying by our side and with little to no motivation from the e-collar, she just started to understand what we expected from her more. We are improving each and every day and for the first time in a long time, we are extremely excited and hopeful that the remote collar is going to bring Luna to a point where she can have the best life possible. We are confident that our choice to switch to the remote collar was the right choice and one we will forever be thankful for.
A lot of people are apprehensive of the remote collar at first… but from our experience and after having used NUMEROUS tools, I can confidently say that the remote collar was the best decision we have ever made, besides the day we decided to get our Luna, of course ! If you’re thinking about making the switch, do it! This tool can seriously change yours and your dogs life, it did for us!”
Jordan with Luna from London, Ontario
by The Crunchy Canine | Aug 12, 2018 | BLOG
- Actually teach your dog what the word “come” means. Put a leash on, say “come” and then reel your dog in to you and reward. Rinse and repeat MANY, many times in several different situations (all with the leash on).
- Don’t over use it, particularly when you don’t mean it. When you use “Come” all the time, dogs stop paying attention. For example, when you are walking your dog and they are sniffing the ground, don’t say come unless you are going to do a formal recall. Use “let’s go” or something similar.
- Never chase your dog. EVER. Only give the command when you can enforce it so practice on-lead until the dog is reliable.
- Don’t repeat the command. Say it once and then make it happen.
- Only give the command if you can enforce it. For example, if your dog is not fully reliable yet, do not unleash at the dog park and start using the “come” command. This will only teach your dog that the word “come” doesn’t actually have any meaning.
- Never punish your dog for not coming. You can give a leash correction for non compliance when the dog is ignoring you but once they get to you (or you to them), you must stay positive and reward.
If you want a dog who can be trusted off leash in any environment, contact us today! Email us at info@thecrunchycanine.ca
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
