There are many reasons dogs bark and bark excessively. The word “excessively” is important, because a little barking is normal. Dogs bark to express themselves verbally, and they are entitled to a little verbal expression. However, barking that is triggered by the slightest provo¬cation and/or goes on for more than a few seconds can be a problem.
Excessive barking is a tough problem to address in a book like this, because sometimes barking is a sign of aggressive behavior. This can be a very serious problem, as anyone facing a dominant 120-pound Rottweiler whose only desire is to make a meal of your leg can attest. Because of the risk, I am only going to cover the simpler and less dan¬gerous types of barking in this book. If you have any suspicions that your dog may be aggressive, seek out a professional trainer for advice. I am a professional trainer, but a local pro will need to come out and observe you, your family and your dog to get the specific information needed to make a proper diagnosis and assist you.
That said, to address any barking problem, it is important to first know why your dog is barking because solutions vary based on what is motivating the dog to bark. Let’s look at three types of barking and ways to address them:

1. Excited play alert barking
2. Learned barking
3. Boredom barking

Excited Play Alert Barking

This barking is usually directed at things the dog sees but can’t get to. These things may include other dogs, people, a ball, squirrels or other small animals such as cats. Most puppies begin exhibiting this type of barking by four and half months of age.
The barking dog’s demeanor is playful and excited. Look at the dog’s body language. Body posture often includes play bowing or bouncing around. Play…

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SIT-STAY

The sit-stay command is also a very critical behavior for your dog to learn. Like all the other off-leash commands you’re teaching, it’s impor¬tant to recognize that you may already be giving the sit-stay command without backing it up. Spend a few days being conscious of this and youmay be very surprised to realize there has been some inconsistency here. Not to worry! The key is to move forward from this point.
By the way, here’s an excellent example of inconsistency with the sit-stay. I have known at least a hundred owners whose dogs wanted to follow them into the garage or out the front door when the owners were leaving for work. A typical response for people is to shove the dog back and tell her “no, stay.” Then they close the door and go on with their day. Hours later when they come home, do they seriously expect their dog to still be in the stay position? Of course not! They didn’t mean “stay” as in “don’t move.” They meant something like “don’t fol¬low me out the door.” Unfortunately, this sets back your training, since the dog will not be able to differentiate these subtle shades of gray. Bottom line: “Stay” means “don’t move until I tell you to.” Don’t use it for anything else.
I would not teach “stay” until the dog has had at least a month’s worth of training on “sit.” The two easiest situations to start teaching the sit-stay are when you are feeding the dog and when she wants to go through a doorway.
When you are ready to give her a meal, hold the bowl up three or four feet over her head and tell her “sit.” Remember to praise (say “good”) for the sit, but you don’t have to treat and pet with a…

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The Second Month

Moving into the second month, a number of improvements will be added to the “come” concept. First, you will start to use the command when the dog is farther and farther away from you. Second, you will start to wean the dog off food rewards.
At this point, you are working on some exercises with no distrac¬tions and others with distractions. Assuming you’ve done this consis¬tently, most owners should have close to 100 percent response with no distractions. This means when you coax your dog, she comes zipping to you every time. If your dog falls into this category, you’re going to start to do what the top trainer at Animal Behavior College, Debbie Kendrick, calls “upping the ante.” This means you are going to stop rewarding the dog 100 percent of the time with food or play. Instead, you are going to reward only the best responses. This will cause the dog to work that much harder to receive the reward. You will slowlycontinue to up the ante, meaning you will only reward better and bet¬ter responses.

Variation Five: Teaching Come From a Distance, Weaning Off Food, Continuing to Work With Distractions

To start off, do the group come game with distractions. Watch your dog. When she comes to you, does she sometimes come quickly and other times stop to sniff or come more slowly to you? If yes, she should only receive the food reward for coming quickly. This does not mean she shouldn’t be praised and petted for coming. It simply means the food or toy reward should be withheld until you see the more desired fast response.
If speed isn’t an issue, look at other possible weaknesses. Does the dog sniff and stop during some part of the come game? If so, when the dog does get to…

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If you like nothing better than coming home from a hard day’s work and finding that your dog decided to “go” on the couch or use your favorite slippers as a new chew toy, then crate training isn’t for you.

But if you’re like most people, then using a crate to properly train your dog will be time well spent.Crate training takes some time and effort, but it is a proven way to help train dogs who act inappropriately without knowing any better. If you have a new dog or puppy, you can use the crate to limit his access to the house until he learns all the house rules like what he can and can’t chew on and where he can and can’t eliminate. A crate is also a safe way of transporting your dog in the car or taking him places where he may not be welcome to run freely.

 If you properly train your dog to use the crate, he’ll think of it as his safe place and will be happy to spend time there when needed. Selecting a Crate Crates may be plastic (often called “flight kennels”) or collapsible, metal pens. They come in different sizes and can be purchased at most pet supply stores. Your dog’s crate should be just large enough for him to stand up and turn around in. If your dog is still growing, choose a crate that will accommodate his adult size. Block off the excess crate space, so your dog can’t eliminate at one end and retreat to the other. The Crate Training Process Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog’s age, temperament, and past experiences. It’s important to keep two things in mind while crate training: The crate should always be associated with something pleasant, and training…

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Third Assignment: Days 15 Through 20

Backing up game with “come” command when the dog is one foot away; five to 10 repetitions per session, five to 10 sessions per day. Group come with “come” command when the dog is one foot away; 15 to 20 repetitions per session, two to five sessions per day. Remember to stop squatting starting on day 17.

Variation Three: Standing Up and Adding Commands

By the beginning of the third week, you can start to add the verbal command “come” in situations where it is impossible for the dog to fail. The best way to ensure this is to wait until the dog is no more than a foot away from you before you actually give the “come” command. This is a critical point. If you command too soon and the dog stops or doesn’t come all the way, you really have no way to avoid teaching the dog that there’s no need to come to you without delay. You are much better off commanding when the dog is almost all the way to you. The purpose of this is to teach the dog to associate a very positive act (com¬ing to you) with the command. The stronger this association, the bet¬ter off you will be.
For the next week, your two exercises (back up come game and group come) will remain the same, except:
1. Add the “come” command at the end of each repetition.
2. Starting on day 17, you can stop squatting and simply bend slightly as you coax your dog to you. If the dog doesn’t respond to coaxing when you’re not squatting, resume squatting for another week before you try this again.

Remember, continue to lightly grasp the collar after the “come” command is given. Food is still rewarded 100 percent of the time and remains…

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It is now over thirty years since the first commercial electronic collar or ‘shock’ collar as it was popularly called hit the market.

This was a true ‘shock collar’ with only one intensity - “Wow!” Because of this its use was very limited to making behavioral changes that had to be dramatic such as car and livestock chasing, and dogs that could take or be conditioned to take this intensity of stimulation, such as hunting dogs.

It was, because of the technology, a very crude form of tool by today’s standards. One button and one level – hot, and it deserved the name – ‘shock’ collar. However other tools in their early days are equally as crude and difficult to apply. I can remember the first chain saws with engines that cut out, saw blades that easily came off, and machines that kicked back with no safety feature designed to stop the motor in the event of this occurring. Surgery at one time was done with knives but today we have micros surgery, lasers and non-invasive operations.

Cataracts can be rectified and sight deficiencies corrected in minutes using modern virtually painless technology and any pain or discomfort that is present is acceptable because the wonderful results are worth it. Over the years technology has brought about many revolutions, electronics and its improvements has been the catalyst in many of them. Cars are easier to drive and safer because of it. No matter what we see in everyday life, developments have created tools and equipment that make our jobs easier and safer. The Remote training (electric) collar has also taken advantage of modern technology.

No longer is it the ‘shock’ collar of old but provides us as owners and trainers with the precision of an easily understood electronic piece of equipment. Its development and design…

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Second Assignment: Days 8 Through 14

Backing up game, five to 10 repetitions per session, for five to 10 sessions per day. Group come, 15 to 20 repetitions, two to five ses¬sions per day.

Variation One: The Backing Up Come Game

The backing up come game is an excellent beginning “come” exercise. The purpose of this exercise is to increase the amount of time the dog focuses on you while coming to you.
Start off using the standard come game, but when the dog gets roughly three feet from you, stand up and back away approximately three to ten feet. As you’re backing up, continue to coax the dog toward you and praise as the dog follows you. If the dog stops moving toward you, stop backing up, squat down again and resume coaxing.

Don’t back up more than 10 feet or the dog may lose interest. You don’t have to back up in a straight line, and in fact, it’s a good idea to back up in zigzag patterns. When the dog reaches you, pet, praise (say “good”) and if you’re using food, give the dog a treat. If you’re not using food, use whatever conditioned reinforcer works best for your dog. If you’re using food, keep it hidden and use it 100 percent of the time. Do this exercise five to 10 times per session, five to 10 sessions per day.
It is also important that your dog learns to be comfortable when you reach out and grasp her collar when she gets to you. Make this easy and nonthreatening. Don’t lunge at the dog and grab the collar. Instead, gently grasp it as you’re petting, praising and treating. This is important, because it is inevitable that at some point in your dog’s life you will need to grab hold of her collar. Usually…

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The health of your Lab

When you have decided to train your Lab, the first thing to do is ensure that he is in good health. Make sure that the structure of his body is capable of withstanding the rigors of training. Since the hipbone takes the brunt of the training tricks you must make sure that your dog does not suffer from hip dysplasia and the soundness of the hipbone must be tested. An OFA or Penn hip certification will tell you about the status of your dog’s bones.

Will my doggie by a good student?

You can evaluate whether your dog will make a good student from the following factors.

• 1 Does he accept domination?
• 2 What is his level of curiosity?
• 3 Does he fetch or retrieve promptly on command?
• 4 How high is his level of stamina?
• 5 Does he get motivated easily?

You will be able to get a fairly good idea from the above factors about what your Lab’s reaction to obedience training or agility tricks will be.

How you should prepare yourself

This is really very important because you are the leader and your dog is totally dependent on you for every aspect of his short canine life. So you really must be exemplary in your behavior towards your pet!

1 Patience & Persistence

These two factors form the very crux of a successful training schedule. You would need to be very patient if you were teaching your little child anything, wouldn’t you? Well in the same manner you have to draw on your vast reserves of patience to teach your puppy.

Actually your patience may be pushed to its limits. After all you are dealing with a species that is not human. So you have to establish a wavelength that both you and your four-legged friend…

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What is clicker training?

“Clicker training” is the popular term for the training or teaching method based on what we know about how living organisms learn. Research has shown that any creature—whether a dog, cat, dolphin, parrot, fish, horse, llama, or person—is more likely to learn and repeat actions that result in consequences it desires and enjoys. So clicker trainers provide consequences desired by their animal in exchange for actions or behaviors desired by their trainers. We call these consequences “rewards” and the process is called “reinforcement.” Clicker training, therefore, is a positive-reinforcement-based system of training.

1. -Why is clicker training effective?
2. -Why is a clicker used?
3. -Why use the click? Why not just a word?
4. -How does clicker training work?
5. -How do clicker trainers ask for behaviors?
6. -What if the animal does not obey the cue?
7. -Why don’t clicker trainers use punishments as well as rewards?
8. -How can clicker training be used to get rid of behaviors?
9. -Do clickers and treats need to be used for every behavior, forever?
10. -Can clicker training be used with any animal?
11. -Is clicker training a training method or a philosophy?

Why is clicker training effective?

When an animal intentionally performs a behavior in order to bring about a desired consequence, as clicker trained animals do, they are learning in a way that researchers call “operant conditioning.” Animals (and people) may also associate an action, event, place, person, or object with a consequence, whether pleasant or unpleasant. The more a certain event or environment is paired with a particular consequence, the stronger the association. This type of learning is called “classical conditioning” and represents reflexive or automatic behavior, rather than intentional behavior.

While clicker training initially employs classical conditioning, it quickly becomes operant conditioning as soon as the animal intentionally repeats an action in order to earn a reward. Training through operant conditioning results in purposeful behavior, while training through…

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The stays

When training your dog to stay in the sit position, which is an extension of the sit in heelwork, as soon as the ‘stay’ command is given you should step around to face your dog. This keeps him looking at you and in the same straight line on which he had been walking at heel. Having returned and praised your dog, heel it forward in the same straight line. You should do exactly the same with the drop stay and later the stand stay position.

After so much experience, dogs get to know what the next part of an exercise is likely to be. When these three stays have been firmly instilled in your dog’s mind, i.e. to keep straight without turning or flopping over to one side or the other, you can then start moving around in front of your dog and they should remain with their bodies facing in the same straight line. Don’t hurry into it. Do it very gradually. When returning to your dog, return by the same way you left it.

Don’t return by walking around the back of your dog until you know it is quite stable, otherwise it is likely to twist around and get up. Basic training for a guide dog It may interest many to know that the first exercise a guide dog learns is to lead out slightly ahead of the trainer and walk in a long straight line, crossing over side roads without stopping at the down kerbs. After a few days it is taught to stop in the stand position at a few down kerbs, where it is praised gently then commanded to go forward again to cross the side street and continue. As the days go by the guide dog is trained to stop at…

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