Importance of Puppy Training - PART 1

The importance of Puppy school. PART 1 Getting your new puppy involved in a puppy class where there is some social time with other dogs and a structured agenda for each class is encouraged for many reasons... First - puppies need to be socialized with other dogs, big and small! They need to be able to stand up for themselves within a safe environment with trained professionals standing by - to help break it up and calm the pack down before more play is allowed - yes there should be someone refereeing these animals. If things get too out of control - a simple time out is put into play for all and when they have all calmed to a suitable level the play is resumed. Amazingly enough the play is much more subdued than before, thus the puppies have learned to play only to a certain level of excitement, if they go over this level - the fun police step in and break the party up. After the play has calmed to a reasonable level your trainer will ask for the pups to be leashed up and now the lessons about how to communicate begin. Dog language to human, and human language to dog. Our DogStars certified trainers are versed in how the dog perceives you and how you may be perceiving your dog. Coaching and guiding you both into getting to the same page with time, consistency and practice.

Barking dogs at the park - dear keeper of the ball

Have you ever seen this excited dog at the park? Daily encounters with dogs in parks is a dog owners reality. Some of the dogs do actually look as excited as this one! The other day, there were some dogs having a great time running around with each other until someone ( a dog owner ) pulled out a ball from their jacket pocket. Suddenly the game changed. The game of friendly chase and be chased within the well suited dog group was distracted. All of a sudden three of the four dogs were barking at the person to do something with the ball. I can only imagine they are 'willing' him to throw it while they barked and jumped all over the keeper of the ball. Well the ball was thrown after 4-6 barks from each dog - that totals about 18-24 barks. The last of the four decided to join in - why not - when in Rome right? Unsure of why the keeper of the ball took so long to give the unruly bunch what they wanted. Perhaps they were hoping to wake the entire neighbourhood with excited barking dogs on a quiet evening in a quiet neighbourhood such as Mount Pleasant in Vancouver. Please if you do decide to bring a ball to the park to either: Suggestion #1 - avoid throwing it to a dog or dogS that are barking for it to be thrown - this simple gesture is rewarding to things in the dog's mind - #1 - I Bark and I Shall receive. and #2 - It is OK to go crazy for a ball whenever I see one. Suggestion #2 - hide the ball from where it once came. Then commence to walk around ignoring the dogs who just thought they might of seen something glowing green or orange immerse from a pocket. Out of sight, out of mind. Suggestion #3 - Ask all of those dogs to sit or lay down and not bark ( yep not even once ) and then pull out 3 more balls to release the dogs from their relaxed calm sitting position or down position and NOW reward them all for a job well done. Everything here is merely a suggestion - The first two suggestions seem the simplest for the dogs to understand - how come it is hard for the human factor to realize what we are teaching some of our precious family members to behave. If what you are doing works for you - perhaps your neighbours at 9.30 - 10pm at night may have a different opinion. All the best for building happy and healthy relationships for you and your dog.