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 .

Bratty dog vs well behaved dog

I love the nature vs nurture idea and it comes into play in what I want to talk about today. What do I mean by nature in dog training? The nature is genetics. Its when the dog comes from good stock with you having to do anything. I used to wonder how some dogs were so muscular only to realize their father was also muscular. Nature plays a big role in protection dog training. Some dogs have “it” and some dogs don't. Sometimes I hear people say that they want their dog to be protective. The problem is that som dogs don’t have a prtective instinct. Sure they bark at strangers, but thats mostly out of fear not protection. The other part to this equation is training. A protection dog can only truly protect on command through training. This is the nurture side of the same coin.

Nurture is how you raise your dog. What type of environment? Is she socialized well? Does she have any fears not due to genetic disposition? I focus mostly on nurture when training dogs. It's the only area I have control over. I can't control what a dog was born with.

I seen a friend with their dog. It was a pit bull that was well behaved and even easily capable of being off leash within a short period of time. His dog was 7 months old. His roommate claimed she was a dog trainer and said the dog needed no training. As much as i feel a dog trainer is needed, I agreed. If my friend just wanted a well behaved dog the dog needed no training. This dog was laid back and calm. I would trust a kid 6 years old and above to be around this dog. My friend began to explain to me that this dog was not like his previous dog. This dog was naturally calm and not pushy whatsoever. His last dog was a brat and if you gave her an inch she would take the whole football field for a touchdown. How do you recognize each?

Laid back dog

Has ears slightly backwards and flat against head

Eager to please

Looks at you a lot for approval

Moves slow a lot

I don't want you to confused this with a dog who has been punished a lot. These dogs can show the same signs yet it's because their natural drive has been suppressed. You would have to know a dogs history to know for sure.

Bratty dog

Pushes head on you to make you pet them

Usually the first one to eat from mother and pushes other puppies out of the way

Possessive over toys, people, and other objects

Rushes out the front door

Never takes in information from the owner

When you correct they tend to redirect as if to say “how dare you”

These are just some ways that you can easily spot this behavior.

I wrote this post with the beauty of variety in dog’s personality in mind. I love it how different breeds have different tendencies. Since society has been modernized we forget that all dogs have a purpose. Some dogs are not made to sit in an apartment with little exercise. Other dogs have a tendency to chase things. This could be the difference between a well behaved dog and a “bratty” dog. The dog might just be displaying natural tendencies that is not beneficial to us in our modern society.

Get a professional dog trainer to help you figure this out.

5 ways you must know to manage your dog in your home

Bella….. Get over here…… Oh my gosh!!! …..You tore up my new shoes again…. And my phone charger!!!

This is what I witnessed one client saying when I just arrived to do a consultation with them. I was just soaking it all in so that I could see what was fully going on. After walking around their house I noticed that there were several ways that they could of lived with their dog successfully. Here is the list of those things for you guys to get started.

1.Dog proof your home

You should do this immediately when you get that wild crazy puppy or adopted adult dog. What I mean by dog proof is that you shouldn’t have any extension cords, phone chargers, sneakers, etc lying around where the dog can get into trouble. Just like humans, dogs are creatures of habit. If they never learn to chew on those new pair of boots you brought then they will not be accustomed to doing that behavior.

There are benefits to this though. Your home will be less messy. Chewed up objects with dog slob makes your home look destructive and unclean. When guest come over you don’t want them to feel uneasy about coming over because of the mess the dogs created. Of course you don’t want a clean home for your self too.

There is another benefit of this also. If you dog proof your home it is less likely that Bella will chew on something she is not supposed to. This will decrease your chance of a late night visit to one of the emergency animal hospitals such as Blue Pearl in NY. Those visits can be costly believe me.

I witness someone have to spend $3,000 all because their dog received a foreign body from chewing an object which might have been a baby pacifier.

2. Crate your dog

Some people feel bad when they put their dog in a small crate. Im here to tell you that the dog feeds off your energy. If you make a big fuss then so will she. You have to first introduce your dog to the crate.

Start by playing crate games- You throw food inside, the dog runs in and eats the treat then runs back out. It is much better in the beginning to be patient and allow the dog to enter on her free will and enjoy the experience. Do not close the door behind the dog when she enters the crate. Let her have the freedom to go back and forth.

After a while start closing the door behind her for 2 seconds then letting her out. It is important to increase the time over a period of days. Once she is able to stay in there leave her in there periodically as you walk around the house. The last step is to leave the house and keep the dog in the crate. It is important to take this process slow so she doesn’t become a nervous wreck in the crate.

Warning: Do not punish your dog by putting them in the crate if they pooped on the carpet or peed on the living room floor. Doing so turns the crate into a bad place which we aretrying to prevent.

3. Threshold

This just means that every time you and your dog walk through a doorway they have to stop first and acknowledge you. Dogs that are pushy will just run through without paying you much attention. Sometimes a dog needs a prong collar to feel some pressure to stop.( We will go through more about this in the next section.).

The process works like this: You walk up to doorway with dog, dog stops and acknowledges you by looking at you, and you give her the ok to walk through the doorway. This is how it works with training in a perfect world. When you first try this what is likely to happen is: You walk up to the doorway with your dog, she instantly run through before you can say sit, and you are frustrated because she is doing whatever she wants and not listening to you.

To make it simple think about it like this: You don’t give her what she wants until she complies with what you ask.

You might think this is limited to food but it can also be access to outside or another area or a toy. I guarentee that this most likely will not be easy for some of the big powerful breeds, but its worth it. Consistency is key. After a while , she will just realize that this is life and I have to look at my handler for advice.

4. Have your dog on the leash in the home

There is a saying that says, “ if you don’t have mental control of your dog then you need to have physical control”. Most people think of the leash as an outside tool, which it is. But its real purpose is control. I agree with Cesar Millan when he talks about dogs being in a follower state. Sometimes in order to get them there you have to control every thing they do.

This also helps with the previous section of thresholds because it makes YOU relevent in your dog’s mind. This is not necessary to do forever. This is to establish control in your house so that your dog respects you. I would suggest doing this for 3 weeks. After that your dog should get the picture.

I would suggest you use a flat buckle collar or a slip lead. A prong collar is not necessary as your dog should be less stimulated since there are really no distractions at home for the dog. Some dogs will need a prong collar because they are so strong and charged up which makes it difficult for them to listen.

5.Having boundaries

This is very important and often neglected by many dog owners. But not you. Im sure you are going to set up boundaries in your house for your dog. These boundaries include specific areas that the dog is allowed to go in. For instance, my dog has his bed in the hallway. This is his designated area. He is not allowed upstairs or in my room unless he is invited. Certain areas of the house he is never allowed to go in.

The more strict you are with her early one the more freedom you can give her later on without fearing she will take advantage.

This is the learn to earn method. Your dog learns that everything they get must be earned. This is extremely empowering to your dog and gives them control of whether they get what they want.

These 5 are all foundational. You need to be implementing this ASAP. Don’t wait until little bella decides to try your patients. This is just management so that no bad behaviors develop. If you want a well behaved dog you have to not only encourage good behaviors, but also prevent bad behaviors from being created and practiced.

If you have any questions you can email me at Fraternityk9@gmail.com