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Training Time by Michael's Dogs: Four Things You Need to Teach Your Puppy (right away)!

   

 

Summer is “new puppy” time.  The weather’s nice.  The kids are out of school.  And what the heck, puppies are fun.  But there’s work to be done too.  Here are four essential things you need to teach your puppy right away.

1. Poop and Pee here not there.  Here are the rules.  Never ask yourself “where’s the puppy.”  The little tike should be right there with you under your watchful eye.  Or the puppy should be safely confined in his crate.  Take him outside every hour or two and lead him to the place you want him to “go.”  Once he’s done, give him three tiny treats right there where you stand.  Give him a chance to go again before you come back inside.
2. Humans are fragile.  There’s a developmental reason puppies have those sharp teeth and why they bite us so much.  They are gauging bite strength.  Specifically, they are figuring out the minimum force needed for the maximum effect.  So, we can actually teach them to bite more softly.  Accept a few gentle bites.  When the hard bite comes, yell “OUCH” and leave your puppy alone without a playmate for a minute or two (in his crate if need-be).  Sure enough, you’ll get a puppy who uses his mouth more gently.  Better yet, you’ll have an adult dog who won’t do any harm even if he feels he has to bite someone.  
3. Chew this not that.  The same rules apply.  I you have to ask yourself “where’s the puppy,” chances are he’s chewing your furniture in the next room or peeing on your carpet.  Supervise or safely confine him.  Provide your puppy with some interesting chew toys.  I like stuffed Kong Toys.  But don’t leave them all out at once.  Rotate them in and out of service so the toys always seem novel and fun.
4. The world is safe.  Dogs who don’t feel safe often don’t behave well.  That’s why it’s so important to show your puppy that the people, other pets, places and events they might encounter in life are safe.  That means introducing them to the world in a joyful and pleasant manner while protecting them from disease.  You have a limited amount of time.  The imprinting period in puppies (often called the socialization period) ends around 18 weeks of age.  After that a lack of experience can develop into fear.  

If you’re thinking about getting a puppy I highly recommend the book Before You Get Your Puppy by Dr. Ian Dunbar.  If you already have a puppy, the very best thing you can do for him and yourself is to enroll in a puppy class.  The best classes will cover the important points above in detail.

Houston dog trainer Michael Baugh CPDT is the director of training and behavior at Rover Oaks Pet Resorts in Houston and Katy.

New Classes at Rover Oaks! Trainer Michael Baugh Teaches Basic Obedience and Puppy Classes!

   

Canine Trainer Michael Baugh (pictured above with his pup Stella) has just announced that, beginning May 15th, he will be teaching two classes on Saturday Mornings at Rover Oaks in Houston. Read below for more info on the classes!

Basic Obedience - Saturday Mornings @ 10 a.m. - This class is for adolescent and adult dogs who get along with other dogs and people pretty well. This class is a great intro to basic house manners and behaviors -sit, down, coming when called, beginner stay, walking on leash, target training and leave it. We'll be applying these skills to fix common problem behaviors and to prevent other problems from developing. 6 weeks (people only for the first class meeting) $175

Puppy Class - Saturday Morning @ 11:30 a.m. - This class is for fully vaccinated puppies under 6 months. This class is a great intro to basic house manners and behaviors - sit, down, coming when called, beginner stay, walking on leash, target training and leave it. We'll also be focusing heavily on the common behavior problems that arise in this stage of your puppy's development. 6 weeks (people only for the first class meeting) $175

To reserve your spot call now (space is limited)!

(713) 662-2119 - press option 4. Or call Michael directly at 832-541-5834

Training Time with Michael's Dogs! Puppy Bites Hurts!

 

 

Biting hurts.  And puppy biting can hurt a lot. It’s sometimes relentless and in some cases it’s pretty scary. But puppy biting is also 100% normal.  In fact, it’s a necessary part of puppy development.

Young puppies who are clamping down on everything and everyone are learning the strength of their own mouths.  It’s all play but there’s serious work going on here. They’re discovering how hard they have to bite to get a reaction from – another puppy, or the cat, or the older dog in your household, or you. This biting game teaches them a lesson they take well into their adult life: how hard do I have to bite if I absolutely need to resolve a serious conflict?

 

 

Here’s the cool part.  We can influence this process.  We can actually teach a puppy to inhibit her bite (it’s called acquired bite inhibition).  Here’s how it works.

Puppies have very weak jaws and needle sharp teeth. When puppies play with each other or other adult dogs they play bite. The playmates let the puppy know when her little teeth have bitten down too hard. How? If the puppy bites too hard the other dog yelps and immediately ends the play session. The little puppy loses her playmate.

Watch puppies play and you’ll see this in action. Nothing is more upsetting to a young puppy than losing her chance to play. Those sharp teeth of hers ended the fun. Next time she’ll bite more softly. Now the little puppy is learning how fragile other dogs are.

You might find that other dogs can tolerate a little more from your puppy than you can. Human skin really is fragile. So we need to teach the puppy to bite softly. That’s different than teaching her not to bite at all. We want the puppy to experiment with us so she knows we injure easily. That way, if your puppy ever bites as an adult dog she’ll set her mouth at human strength not bone-crushing strength.

Let your puppy mouth your hand and harm playfully. Tolerate the soft biting. Before long she will try a little harder bite. Immediately let her know how much it hurt. There’s no need to act like a dog by yelping. But you may decide to play act a bit. Ham it up. Yell OUCH as convincingly and indignantly as you can. Then end the puppy’s play session by leaving the room for a minute. Keep this up until you find your puppy is biting more softly more often. In time, you will begin discouraging all puppy biting.

A lot of trainers say the most important thing you can teach a young puppy is acquired bite inhibition.  I agree. We never know what tight spot our dog might find herself in years down the road.  But we can do a lot now to set her up to succeed in the future without ever hurting anyone.

To learn more about training your dog in Houston, visit www.MichaelsDogs.com!

Training Time with Michael's Dogs! Psyching Your Dog Out!

 

 

Words of wisdom from Houston Dog Trainer, Michael Baugh, from Michael's Dogs!

Something funny happens when your dog starts to get good at learning.  She can tell when you are in training mode and when you are not.  Basically she knows when the reinforcement is available compared to when you simply aren’t paying.  How?  Well, you have that treat bag on your hip.  There’s that clicker in your hand.  And you’re standing sort of at attention leaning over your dog saying all those “commands.”  You are so obvious (yeah, I am too).

Maybe your dog loves to work when the treat bar is open.  But the rest of the time it’s “no deal.”  How do you get your dog to respond in real life, all the time, anywhere?  My answer: psych her out.

That bag on your hip, the clicker in your hand and the way you stand and talk are all part of what behavior scientists call your “stimulus package.”  You don’t have to remember the name.  Just remember that it alerts your dog that it’s time to act nice; it predicts  goodies are coming.  In order to psych our dogs out, all we have to do is make that set up a bit less obvious and a whole lot more unpredictable.  Anything can predict goodies.

Try this.  Hide some treats in a candy jar in the living room.  Later ask your dog to do her best trick or maybe just a simple “sit” or “down.”  When she does it – BAM give her one of those secret treats.  Wow, she thinks, I didn’t see that coming. 

Slip some morsels of goodness in your pocket one day when your dog isn’t looking.  Put the clicker in your other pocket.  Call your dog to you and surprise her with a click and treat when she gets there.  Whoa, that never happened before. 

How about some surprise training on a walk. This is new.  Going to the vet?  Train there.  Cool, you do this everywhere.  Why not train in your p.j.’s?  Hey, those are cute.

 

 

This is all about teaching your dog that she should be ready all the time and anywhere.  Training (and the possibility for reinforcement) doesn’t just happen when you wear a certain outfit in a certain place at certain times.  Training can happen wherever you are, often when your dog least expects it.

The result is a dog who is joyfully alert whenever you are around.  This could be another opportunity.  She watches and listens.  What’s he want me to do?  And when you say the word she acts quickly.  Yes, she thinks, I love this game.