Do this 1 thing before you train any behaviors

You go to any Petsmart class or most group classes and what will they teach your dog?

How to sit, down and come and stay. These behaviors are good, but not without something to power them. What I mean by power them is purpose. We as humans are motivated to do things. We never do things for no reason unless its out of habit. We are motivated to do things by getting a reward for our actions. The same is true for dogs.

Let me tell you about when I first discovered this 1 thing was so important.

It was at my time that I spent at Michael Ellis school for dog trainers. I had just arrived in California and I was excited. It was my first time there and I was going to be surrounded by people who also shared a passion like I did for dog training.

Since I traveled from New York I didn’t have a dog to bring as my dog was too old. I also didn’t want to pay to ship him over there. So Michael offered me a loner dog.

This was a sweet malinois by the name of Phoeby. She was a sweet dog and a bit socially sensitive. I started bonding with her on that day. I would take her out at night and first thing in the morning. We would also work on the exercises that we learned in class on the training field.

One day in class we were focusing on luring and getting our dog to commit. This is when I discovered this 1 thing you have to do before teaching behaviors. This had to be day 7 or 8 and we were working on the focus heel with our dogs.

This can be a difficult exercise since the dog has to lift their heads up for an extended periods of time. Phoeby was not willing to do this. She would walk a little bit with her head up then drop it.

I was getting frustrated and annoyed. Not because of the dog but because I couldn’t figure it out.

All through that week I worked on the exercises and tried to build a bond with Phoeby. I focused on keeping her engaged with me instead of doing the exercises. I would play with her and she would bring the toy back to me. Something was different about her energy. I saw an immediate change in her attitude and focus towards me. She was ready to work.

Engagement

Phoeby like many dogs easily learned the exercises or behaviors we want to teach them. Its not hard to teach a dog to sit or to down. What is more difficult is to teach a dog to have a positive attitude about training. They need to want to do it. I receive so many phone calls about a dog not listening, not about how the dog doesn’t understand. Most dogs know the exercises, but it takes time and skill to encourage a dog to want to train.

Before you focus on behaviors try this first. Take your dog to as many environments as possible and see if you can get them physically focused on you. They should be looking into your eyes with the “what do you want me to do now” face.

This is very simple and often overlooked. Remember that dog training is just big pieces broken down. Take your time with training and do the ground work.

One way to accomplish this is through playing with your dog. Remember that all good things must come from you. Don’t allow your dog to play with their toys on their own if you want them to focus on you. Throw a ball or play tug. Do something your dog likes.

Then once they are playing with energy start to ask the for behavior before you give them the ball or tug. Since they really want the toy, you will see how much energy they put into getting what they want.

The positive reward based method to stop and help reactive dogs

Isn’t it embarassing every time you walk outside or go to your vet’s office and your dog lunges to bite a stranger or another dog. There is advice out there on the internet on how to deal with this issue. But I’m going to explain a method that I have found some success with in the past on dealing with reactive dogs.

First, I want to talk about a study done by Dr. Emily Blackwell and Emma WIlliams. They took 630 dog owners whose dogs showed reactive/ aggressive behavior, such as lunging, barking, growling, and biting.

They had these owners take a survey asking them about their knowledge of positive reinforcement and if they understood dog behavior on a basic level.

The purpose of this study was to find out what influences an owner decision to use outdated punishment- based methods and what are the barriers and motivators to dog owners using positive reinforcement based solutions.

The results of the study showed that there is a potential for extreme negative emotional responses and feelings of failure are experienced by owners when their dog reacts badly towards another dog or person. Therefore the owners confidence needs to be built up.

They also need to be shown how to use positive reinforcement based methods and how they work in different situations. There is a reason why punishment is not always the answer as stated below.

“Current evidence suggests that positive reinforcement-based behavior modification techniques are both humane and effective in the treatment of aggressive behavior in dogs and that the use of punishment-based techniques are likely to be detrimental to the welfare of the dog and can lead to an increase in aggression. However, many dog owners continue to use punishment-based techniques in an attempt to inhibit this problematic behavior. “

The researcher also wrote "When learning to use positive methods, people are likely to need practical support that demonstrates the effectiveness of reward-based training and also provides an opportunity to practice under expert guidance, so that people feel truly confident in using the techniques themselves in a range of challenging scenarios."

So it isn’t that people dont want to use positive methods. Dog owners just don’t know how to. They need expert guidance.

As a balanced dog trainer I use both positive reinforcement and positive punishment. The key is to know when to use each. I always err on the side of positive reinforcement if I think it will not only harm my dog but damage our relationship.

I know it can be frustrating when your dog is exhibiting these behaviors. First we are going to be going over positive reinforcement and why you should use it. Then we will go over some reasons why they behave like this. ( Its not always what you think)

What is positive reinforement and why should I use it?

Positive reinforcement is giving a dog a reward to increase the likelihood that they will repeat the same behavior they were doing.

Why should you use it?

First let me ask you this. If you had a fear of heights and I told you to come to the edge, would you come? What if I told you its going be okay and that nothing will happen to you. Would you come then? Probably not.

This is what most people do with their dogs. They try to coerce their dog to going near people or other dogs instead of listening to their dog. Your dog will tell you their fears and then you can take effective action.

Triggers for dog reactivity

• Lack of socialization: A lot of dogs just don’t know how to act because they haven’t been properly socialized. (No I’m not talking about take your dog to the dog park and let them run around)

• How your dog sees the world: This is similar to the first one except for maybe your dog has socialized. The problem is the learned bad socialization and not the correct way to behave. They learned to either bite, lunge, growl, or flee when they are uncomfortable.

• Genetics: This is self explanatory. Some dog just are genetically wired a certain way. Training can not fix everything

• Hormones ( This is rarely the case)

Notice how I didn’t say that your dog is reactive because it was abused. Many people think this. This is applying human psychology to dog psychology. They are not the same. If we want to truly understand dogs then we have to stop humanizing them.

Understand Canine Behavior

It is important that you understand the signs that your dog is giving off. For example, growling is a warning sign to get back. When a person or dog doesn’t listen to this request then your dog feels they have no choice but to lunge to make them get back. You can look up calming signals as a starter to reading dog behavior.

Behavior adjustment therapy

Now I’m not big on using a lot of methods, but this one seems to work pretty good. When your dog is uncomfortable around another dog or person they might not want to take a treat. They usually want space. Giving your dog the space they need is comforting and releases some of the social pressure they are feeling.

I will use the term “below threshold”. This just means below the level or moment when the dog explodes and lunges for a person or dog.

How to do this: This is done in a straight line of vision. It can be done in a park. On the street or any other location.

1. Take your dog and stand with your dog on a leash. Do not move.

2. Have another handler walk their dog on the leash up to the point where your dog notices their dog

3. Your dog will either stare intensely, growl, or forcibly trying to ignore the other dog.

4. If your dog lunged at the other dog or started barking then the dog is too close to your dog. Move the other dog back further until your dog is not reacting intensely. Notice the signs of stress ( yawning, lip licking, sniffing the ground out of context, forcibly ignoring the other dog, and others)

5. Wait for your dog to look away or to the side. Then mark that behavior with a YES!!!

6. Remove the stressor ( the other dog) from the situation and give your dog space.

   The point of this is to reward your dog (give space), for doing the correct behavior( ignoring the trigger and not aggressing forward).

7. Repeat the process

Do you move the helper dog back or do you move your own dog back?

It depends. If your dog is fearful and trying to flee then I move the helper dog back. If your dog is aggressive moving forward then I would move your dog away when they show signs that they look away or deliberately disengage from the other dog.

This is the same way it can be done with a human reactive dog. Just replace the helper dog with a human.

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How to manage a dog in your house

There are barely any hard rules in dog training. This is why a lot of people do different things. My goal with a pet dog is to integrate the dog into society and to be social and defer to their handler for any minor things. This is when I take a dog out into the world and see how they are when it comes to new experiences- objects, people, environments, other dogs or animals. This is important to me because I want a dog who is confident but not aggressive or fearful. I will discuss this training in another article. But today I’m going to be talking about how you live with your dog in your home. Check out my blog post titled “ 6 tools needed for a new puppy” to get started. After that you are ready to start managing your dog. You need rules, a schedule, management skills, and what to do when a dog is acting a specific way.

Rules

You need rules to establish yourself and so that your dog knows what to expect. You shouldn’t hold a dog accountable for something he has not learned yet. Some example of rules is:

1. When Im not around my dog is in the crate

2. no begging for food. when we eat my dog goes to its dog bed

3. no jumping on furniture

4. not allowed in certain rooms

5. my dog will eat in its crate

This is not a full list just a sample. It depends on what you like

Schedule

Being on a schedule makes life for a dog predictable. Which makes life for him easier and in turn easier for you too. Being on a schedule is just doing the same things at the same time everyday.

For instance,

8am walk my dog

10 am - 12pm relax in xpen

1pm feed ( if its a puppy) then walk the dog 15 minutes later

6pm feed and walk my dog

Management skills

It is best to be proactive then reactive. I always recommend redirecting a dog in the beginning stages of a behavior that might be a problem such as barking, staring and eventually lunging at other dogs, digging, biting on furniture, and others. So when your dog is digging and its a puppy or just started doing this behavior it is best to tap your dog on its butt, or get its attention somehow, and redirect your dog away from the digging site. Have the mindset of” instead of digging come play this little game with me over here”. The same goes with staring. Once you notice your young dog staring too long, then redirect them away from the dog. After a while you will start to notice what causes your dog to react whether its another dog, cars, or loud noise from a construction site. Now you are prepare and can begin to proactively avoiding an outburst from your dog. If you see a dog coming then immediately whip out some treats and start playing food games. Same thing goes if you are going pass a construction site or people your dog doesn’t like. Avoid the problem so your dog doesn’t get a chance to practice negative behavior.

What to do when your dog act in certain ways

Hire a professional dog trainer!!! No seriously, I get calls from people thinking they can solve problems that is too complicated for someone not knowing what they are doing. Its not a simple as punish a dog and reward a dog. Sometimes there are psychological factors we have to consider. For example, if your dog lunges at another dog you can punish that behavior. The problem with this and what Ive notice is that dogs who have this happen to them tend to become unpredictable. SInce they are afraid to exhibit their true emotional state they will do it in unpredictable ways.

Hope you guys enjoyed this post. Let me know if you have any questions

Potty training 101

If you follow this process that I’m going to explain to you then you should have a dog that is potty trained in a matter of time. The #1 rule for potty training is to never take your eyes off the dog. This is crucial and why so many people come home and step in accidents on the foul. If you want to get your dog to understand how to use the bathroom outside then you must have a process to teach your dog.

Another rule of mine is to never punish the dog for making mistakes. I know that old school way of taking him back to the scene of the crime, mushing his nose in it, then smacking him with a newspaper. PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!!! It is ineffective at best and damaging your dog’s relationship with you at worst.

Quick note: Notice when your dog has to go to the bathroom. Usually its first thing in the morning. Sometimes they will play and get worked up then drink a lot of water. Next thing you know they are peeing out a river.

For those of you using wee wee pads get off my site and don’t ever come back. If I see you in the street don’t say nothing to me. You are lazy and don’t want to walk your dog and I will not tolerate that. HAHAHAHA Im just kidding. We will talk about wee wee pads later on and how to use them and what not to do with them. But first lets discuss the process to potty train your dog.

1. Feed you dog.

   Put down a bowl of dog food and give your dog 15 minutes to eat. The bowl should not be left down all day. If the bowl is left down your dog will nibble on food throughout the day and this will make it harder to time when they have to go to the bathroom. After they eat or even if they don’t pick up the bowl at the 15 minute mark. and move on to step 2

2. Wait 15 minutes before taking your dog for a walk.

   It will vary from dog to dog, but this will work for most. During the 15 minutes make sure to keep your eyes on your dog and that you can see them at all times. Be proactive. If you see your dog sniffing the ground a lot then they might be sniffing for a spot to release their load. Pick them up if they are small enough and take them outside immediately. If they are big just run with them outside.

3. Take your dog outside to a designated area

   IN the beginning this is important. Many people have spots all over their yard because they allow the dog to pee everywhere. Its important to take your dog on a leash and allow her to sniff the same spot and pee in the same spot.

   You ever notice how your dog might have an accident in the house but it always that same spot whether behind the couch or in the living room on the carpet.

   We can use this to our advantage. This also saves time. When you are in a rush and you know your dog has to go to the bathroom you can avoid all the sniffing and take them to their designated area to relieve themselves.

4. Once your dog is sniffing and decided to use the bathroom then its praise time

   Give your dog a lot of praise when they use the bathroom. They need to know that they did a great thing. Mark the behavior by saying “pee pee” , “poop poop”, or whatever else you want to use to signal to your dog that its go to the bathroom time. I see some people give a treat but this can cause your dog to fake it just to get a treat.

What if you are struggling and your dog doesn’t use the bathroom?

I would first ask you “ did you get your dog from a pet shop or puppy mill. Those dogs can sometimes have a harder time because they are use to stepping and laying in their own feces. There are little tricks you can do, but lets stay on task here.

If you adopted your dog or brought them from a reputable breeder, then we need to fix this problem.

Remember the #1 rule of never take your eyes off the dog. Well when we step away from our dog we will put them in a crate. If we go outside for a while and we don’t have luck, we will come back inside and put our dogs in the crate and try again in 10 minutes.

My method is if they are never allowed to pee or poop in the house then they wont do it. They don’t get a chance to practice bad behavior.

“SO Donald what about wee wee pads”?

Well wee wee pads are helpful definitely for smaller dogs and especially during the winter months here in NYC.

SOme tips for using wee pads:

Use only one pad. Many people use a bunch of pads all throughout the house, but this can be confusing to the dog. Remember we want her to go to a designated area.

You also can’t get mad if your dog missed the pad by a little. It is not crystal clear to the dog. Using the bathroom inside of the house and outside in the yard is a clear difference.

One thing you can try is elevating the wee pad on something. The difference between an elevated object and an object flat on the ground is also a clear difference for the dog.

You can also try to put the pad in place where your dog likes to pee anyways like the bathroom or down the hallway.

That pretty much sums up potty training 101. If you have any questions email me at fraternityk9@gmail.com or comment below

How to motivate your dog using their natural ability

There are many drives that a dog has there is food drive, play drive, and prey drive to name a few. I will briefly talk about each and then Ill explain the reason for this.

1. food drive is also known as hunger drive. This is your dog’s motivation for food. Usually you will see this with hungry dogs. A dog that has not eaten all day will be excited to do whatever you ask in order to get the reward, which is food. Food drive goes down as you give a dog food and treats. You need a hungry dog to have the motivation for food. There are exceptional dogs that will continue to eat after they are full and puppies have a large appetite for food. However, the average dog will get full and no longer be motivated for food.

2. Play drive is a dog’s motivation for play. A lot of working dogs love to play tug or retrieve. You will see this with dogs who go crazy for a ball or crazy for any toy. They go from normal and casually walking around to being fired up and ready to go. If you are following me on Instagram( which you should be) you can see a little clip of a video of a Belgian Malinois that was so driven for his toy that he was shaking uncontrollably.

3. Prey drive is similar to play drive. The difference is that when a dog is in prey drive he likes to chase things. This same dog could love a certain toy, but when you move the toy away from him the fun really begins. This can be used in pet dog training, but we will mostly use food and play drive.

How to use food drive to your advantage

First I would like to say that most of us Americans feed our dogs like we feed ourselves- too much. When I worked in an animal hospital I heard one of the Vets talk about how its healthier if a dog is a little skinny. That might shock some people as they immediately think of abuse when they see skinny dogs. After that brief form of self expression lets talk about how to help you motivate your dog using their food drive.

1. Dog must be hungry for food.

   To be honest, some of the dogs I’ve seen can afford to skip a meal. Its not going to kill them Obesity will however. Feed your dog regularly as you do. When you take them out for a training session notice their energy levels. Do they swallow the food whole or do they have a “ i could take it or leave it” attitude? If its the latter then, your dog needs to skip a meal. The next day the should come back ready to work for their food.

2. Feed your dog only from your hand and not out of a bowl. Use training time to feed them . There are no free meals over here

3. Quality of rewards is very important. A major reason a lot of dogs have a “ i can take it or leave it " attitude is because the food that you give them sucks. The treats are dry and not tasty at all. Try giving your dog a cooked piece of chicken and watch how their attitude changes.

4. Size of reward matters also. For a small dog dont give a huge piece and for a big dog dont give a small piece of food. It sounds like common sense but its not. Many people I’ve seen give a dog the size of a German shepherd a piece of food smaller than a penny.

How to use play drive to your advantage

Play drive increases with time unlike food drive. You want to work with whatever your dog naturally likes. I was guilty of trying to get a dog to play tug with me when the dog prefer to chase balls. When I stop doing it my way and did it his way training became much easier.

1. Have a toy you dog likes. This could be a ball or tug or another object.

2. Never let the dog play with the object by themselves. The toy should represent an interactive game with you. All good things come from you. You are like Sana Claus to the dog.

3. Get the dog to bring the ball or toy back to you. This is an indicator that the dog enjoys the interaction and not just self satisfying on the toy alone.

4. Monitor your dog’s energy levels. If your dog is allowed free reign they will use up their energy whenever they feel like it. This may not be good for you as it may be when you are trying to sleep. Instead set up a schedule and know when you are going to train. If its at 1 pm then keep your dog’s energy level relatively low early in the day so that all that bottled up energy can be put into training instead of jumping on the furniture. Use a crate for this.( It is important that your dog is crate trained first.) Take your dog out in the early morning to use the bathroom. Come back home and have your dog go on the place bed and stay or put them in the crate.

By following what is written above you can surely get your dog motivated to do the behavior you are asking of them.

How to get your dog to respect you

Unless you are a cruel human being or a psychopath most people are kind to animals. Its the respect that most people are lacking. Cesar MIlan has the 3-exercise, discipline, and affection. Most people easily understand affection and exercise. Its pretty straightforward.

The problem is discipline. Some people take it too far and hold their dog accountable for something they don’t understand. I never punish a dog for potty accidents for 2 reasons.

The first one is because i cant be sure the dog understands where to relieve themselves.

The second reason is because it can cause a dog to hide its feces. Big problem!!!!

Discipline is doing something whether you feel like it or not.

I try my best to detach my emotions during discipline. The mindset that I have is that:

”these are the rules, and they must be followed or there are consequences”.

This is a thought i encourage owners to have. Its tough but as your dog’s leader you must show love and enforce the rules. Now this all sounds good in theory but how do we do this in a practical way? Im about to tell you how to do it.

Its called the learn to earn method. Before your dog has access to any privilege that they want they have to perform a command. Most people get the dog to sit, but i prefer to get the dog to down. The down position is much more relaxing than the sit position.

Depending how much respect I want to gain, the stricter I will be.

My dogs sleep in a crate and are in a crate when Im not around. It doesn’t matter if they are the best behaved dog or the worst.

My dog is not allowed in the dining room. I teach them to go to their place bed instead.

My dog is not allowed to pull me. I teach them how to give in to the leash.

On a structured walk my dog is not allowed to constantly sniff. I will let them know what areas they can sniff

My dog is not allowed on furniture. I personally only do this because i dont like fur on my couch when guest come over. It has nothing to do with dominance.

My dog doesn’t walk through a threshold without checking in with me. I teach them that before we go for a walk you have to wait until i give the okay for them to come outside through the door.

My dog is not allowed to be aggressive with people or other dogs. I teach them by socializing them and working through environmental stressors. If I have to rehab then thats another issue I will address.

My dog has to lay down on command before they eat

Notice that I didnt say anything about hitting my dog to get them to comply or yelling at them to get them to comply. This is an emotional reaction to what the dog is doing. You are being reactive and telling the dog that you are not in control. I will apply corrections to a dog as needed but my main concern is to be fair to the dog.

Now this is not an all out list. Any preference you have can be a rule. But remember that this is only one side of the equation. If you want your dog to be motivated and pay attention to you the right way stay tuned for my next blog post where I will discuss motivation.

Dog training is boring and exciting

I know what a contradiction. But truth is I personally find this in most disciplined arts. Dog training is no different. I mentioned in a previous post that I box and enjoy forever learning the sweet science. Boxing at first was very boring and robotic.

My coach would also explain concepts to me that made little practical sense when I was first starting out. Now a couple years later in my journey these concepts make more sense. I spent day in and day out working on the same steps. After a while it became boring and I wanted to work on new moves. I didnt realize how important it was to work on the basics.

This idea of doing the basic boring moves over and over transfers over to dog training. When Im talking with a client they always have a end goal in mind, but many don’t know how the road is to get there. It takes a lot of patience and practice. The fundamentals are very important. A lot of the fancy stuff people see dogs do are broken down in basic steps.

Focus heeling for instance has multiple components. You have to teach the dog to hold its head straight up, then teach them how to focus on you while they hold their head up. Next you have to introduce turning to the dog and the heel finish. All these exercises by themselves are not very complicated but together they paint a beautiful picture of the dog. (If you dont know what focused heel looks like go on youtube to see what Im talking about.)

The exciting part of dog training doesnt come until you have mastered those boring moves and you are able to connect the dots between them. A down is very basic. But it looks much fancier when a dog can stay down while 8 people stand around the dog enticing them to get up.

Im always excited when Im training a new dog to do more complicated obedience. Not only is it fun to me to teach it, I love knowing the possibility of what this dog will be able to do when Im done with them. Im guessing thats how coaches feel when their players do great things. I feel like a dog’s coach. I work him/her through any problems they might have, whether its insecurity or uncertainty. This is why its exciting to me. I set up the roadmap for the journey I want to take the dog on and just fall in love with the process.

The process can be lenthy depending on what you want to do. Many dog owners are unfamiliar with how deep the rabbit hole goes when it comes to dog training. It goes deep! You can become a service dog trainer, pet dog trainer, police k9 dog trainer, personal protection dog trainer. Its like being a doctor with training dogs . You can be a pediatrician, a primary care physician, or a specialist like a surgeon or cardiologist. There is certainly levels to this dog training stuff and just like any discipline, the details make all the difference. Thats what makes it exciting and boring.

My #1 favorite command

I love a lot of commands- when a dog comes to heel, down from a distance, come. But there's one command I love the most. This is the place command and I will tell you why.

What does the place command do?

I use it with most dogs I train. Whether an aggressive dog or a well behaved dog. The reason being is because place has several benefits

1. It gives a dog a place to go in the house so they don't get into trouble

   Many hyper and unruly dogs have a lot of energy and lack of boundaries. They have no place to go and it shows. They are the dogs that when everyone else is still, they are still moving around. Whether its sniffing the ground or just looking around looking for some mischief to get into like a bored kid. When you teach your dog place and get her to stay on place you will notice something. Your dog might start shaking like its going through withdrawal symtoms. This is your dog learning impulse control.

2. They give a dog there own space

   Dogs don’t like to be underneath us all the time. Even the dogs that do, you need to know that this is not healthy. You have to teach your dog to not panic while you are away from them. Some dogs develop seperation anxiety because they can’t stand when their owner leaves them. Believe me, if you incorporate the place command you are minimizing this problem. The bed is also like the their crate-a safe space.

3. They help a reactive dog learn how to be a passenger in the world

   This command is especially useful for reactive dogs. Once they learn the 4 steps to the place command you teach your dog to ignore the world around them and just relax. For example once the dog learns to stay on their place bed then I can add distraction like kids shouting from 20 feet away and have the dog remain on the place bed.

   Now comes the steps to the place command

   it seems so simple yet to achieve great results you have to put in effort.

   Step 1

   Send the dog to place

   Lure dog onto place bed with a piece of food. Get them comfortable going on the place bed. Then walk up to place bed and stop abruptly a foot away from the place bed. Remember to pull the dog back as they are likely to just keep walking due to forward momentum. Next say PLACE, then guide the dog onto the place bed.

   Step 2

   Distance

   Same as step 1 but you increase the distance where you stop

   Step 3

Get the dog to stay on the place bed.

Once your dog is on the place bed move around them in a circle. If they try to get off, Say uhuh or nope and repeat PLACE.

Step 4

Correction

Once your dog understand how to stay on the place bed then its time to add correction for failure to comply. Be careful not to move to fast to this command. Make sure that your dog understands the command. You will know your dog knows because you would have performed it hundreds of times correctly.

Thats it!!! My favorite command in a nutshell. Its many used and benefits and how to implement it.

Thanks for reading and comment to let me know what dog training question are giving you problems or if you’re just curious .

Pet dog training vs Protection dog training

If you follow me on instagram you will notice little clips that I post of me learning to work a dog in a bite suit. It just happens that I met good people who introduce me to the sport world. Working with dogs in the sport world greatly helps my pet dog training.

The reason being is that a dog is in the highest drive possible when they love to bite and see a decoy to bite. These dogs still require the greatest control when they get on the field for a trial. For instance, the dog has to listen to their handler with no leash, collar, or even ecollar. These dogs are off leash with alot of space to run, but they choose to obey their handler. It is a beauty to see. If you are interested you can youtube any Ring sport trial or PSA or IPO trial and see what exactly I’m talking about.

How does this make me a better dog training besides the obvious? Well If you have heard dog trainers who are strictly pet dog trainers talk about a well behaved dog, you will hear some sort of

“ you want the dog to be calm and in a low state of arousal”.

At first I agreed with this as I knew nothing else. Now Im not sure as I see dog owners taking this mindset to far. I now see dogs who supress their natural drives. They are calm and docile, but I can’t get them to play or do much because they have been punished too much for getting excited.

I love to see a dog who is in a higher state of arousal, yet will still listen to their handler. That is the real challenge in dog training. I want to keep my dog highly motivated. This is protection dog trainers seem to be great trainers overall. I’m only in my beginning stages of protection work, but I’m already in love.

Also their is a reliability factor that comes into play with protection sport dogs. Depending on the sport no praise or correction is allowed during the routine. This means your dog has to perform the behavior no matter what and will not receive a reward or a firm NO to get them going in the right direction. This is the reliability needed in off leash to train a dog. Most dog owners will not want to do the work necessary to achieve such great results. That’s fine. It all depends on how far you are willing to go. I can tell you one thing. The people that are really doing great in these sports EAT!!! SLEEP!!! AND BREATHE!!! this stuff.

I find myself implementing some techniques that I learn in protection to my pet dog clients. It works. I will continue to grow and dedicate myself to dog training at the highest level to help my clients and those in need.

The obession with dominant alpha dogs

Ever watch Cesar MIlan and start doing the hissing sound while abrutly touching your dog? if so, Why were you doing it? Most dog owners don’t truly know. There has been an obsession with dog owners who think everything their dog does him trying to dominate them. I will explain why this is false and the trouble with this thinking(the owner is being reactive out of fear) what a truly dominant dog is like.

Many dog owners seems to think their dog is trying to take advantage of them by not listening. I challenge this idea and ask them. Does your dog really know what you are asking of them? Has he/she demonstrated that they understand? Just because us humans realize something quick doesn’t mean your dog can. Your dog is not being alpha when he jumps on you. He’s not being alpha when he is not listening. I understand that many people want to have their dog under control. Sometimes this idea goes to the extreme.

I watched someone give their dog a correction because he didnt come when called. In fact the dog was sniffing a spot where a previous dog had just marked. The dog was distracted not trying to alpha the owner. This reactive behavior puts the owner on the defense instead of being proactive about training their dog. Being reactive in a sense means the dog is controlling you. To avoid this I have rules that the dog must follow and their are consequences no matter what. This is an example of a proactive approach.

Dogs are like wolves!!! I hear it all the time. Many people assume that this is the case. They even quote the study about the whole alpha wolf to plead their argument. It was a study done in the 1970s. I cant remember the study but I do remember a key fact about it. Those wolves that were studied were born into captivity not the wild. It like being born in jail. Of course there’s going to be an alpha top wolf. You have a bunch of wolves fighting over limited resources. An alpha wolf in the wild is actually just a male wolf who is responsible and head of his nuclear family. He lets his children win in fights sometimes and plays around with them but is serious when its time to get to business. Wolves are predators.

Dogs on the other hand are oppurtunist. They were scavengers. This is how dogs evolved. They first used to go after human scraps when humans would leave the area. When humans would come back some of the dogs would scatter away, but some of them stayed even though the humans made them nervous. Those were the ones that survived by being close to humans. They learned that humans would feed them if they get close enough and stick around. Now these are in my own words about what happened, but you get the point. Wolves and dogs are different.

What is a true alpha dominant dog? In my opinion , this is a very calm dog. This is the dog that doesn’t bark or lunge at people just because theyre in his space. These very rare dogs are good by themselves. In fact, the only time they have a problem is when you force them to do something they dont want to do.

I remember a rottweiler I met who seemed to be in his own world. He would lay down in his section. When you walked by him you could feel his eyes piercing through you. I felt what he was saying with his eyes. He said “ you better walk around me or there will be a major problem that will need to be solved”. He wasn’t reactive. I didn’t even notice him giving me much thought. But I felt his gaze.

Like I said. These dogs are incredibly hard to come by. Most dogs who are reactive are insecure. A dominant dog is secure and doesn’t need to showboat. But if you cause problems for him your life will be a living hell. I can bet that most dog owners don’t have a dog like this because genetics play a huge factor and most people are looking more how the animal looks rather than doing a background check on what were the dog’s parents and their parent brothers and sisters temperament like.

So ease up with this whole dominant dog thing. Your dog just wants something and its your job to teach him the rules to get what he is allowed and how to behave.