Do you think training tricks is silly or just something that you do when you have some free time? Think again! Tricks are skills that can be used to increase focus, control energy and replace unwanted behaviors.
Ever have to cross the street and walk on the “wrong side” where your dog is on the outside, next to traffic? Ever have to walk past another dog and wish your dog could be on the “other side” so that you’d have more room between you and the unknown dog? He can! Teach him to switch and you’ll have a great skill that your dog will see as a fun game.
“Sit” is probably the first thing you taught your new dog or puppy. You held a treat up over his nose until he lifted his nose up, lost his balance and sat. Once he learned that sitting predicted a treat, he sat all the time.
Imagine that you were forced into a car, unexpectedly taken to your doctor’s office without you knowing why. You were met at the door, taken by the arm and led to a room where you were restrained in a chair. And you were still not told why you were there or what was about to happen. How hard would you fight the restraint? How loud would you scream, trying to be heard, demanding you have some choice in what was happening?
We’ve all had them; that nightmare of a boss that makes your job miserable. Bad behavior can happen on either side of the leash so give some thought to the worst boss you’ve ever had and make sure you don’t pass that on to your dog.
Dogs constantly learn by discovering what behavior works. They test and eliminate and add to the list of what behaviors get them what they want. If a puppy is giving a treat every time she sits, she’ll quickly learn that the behavior pays off and will often offer a sit when unsure of what to do.
So, you had a fight with your best friend, and you haven’t spoken for a while. When you run into her at an event, she comes over to talk to you and you’re not ready. Do you tell her you’re not ready to talk, make a snide comment or just slap her across the face? Since you’re out in public, you probably start by asking her to give you some space, might escalate to making a comment that refers to your level of hurt after the fight and most likely don’t go as far as slapping her.
Family decisions can be tough. It’s hard to get everyone on the same page for anything no less for training the family dog. Unfortunately, inconsistencies among family members can lead to unintentional learning by the dog.
We’ve all seen them. The dog who runs into every new place, tail up, face smiling. For anyone who has ever been nervous or anxious starting a new job, walking into a party late or stepping up to a start line when competing, this is quite phenomenal.
Somewhere along the way, adult people forget how to breathe. We take short, shallow breaths from our chest. When worried or nervous, those shallow breaths become fast, making our breathing even worse. And when those short, shallow breaths are the result of any anxiety, our anxiety becomes worse as our breathing becomes worse. One feeds the other until we’re forced to just stop.
I remember the first time Dazzle lowered his head and growled at me over a bone I’d just given him. He was young—around 8 months old—and I felt I had done everything right—took him to classes, fed him a premium diet, including raw, meaty bones, walked him three times a day, every day and played with him in between. He had started basic obedience classes and puppy agility. I knew he had a good life and I worked hard to be able to afford to do it all—where did I go wrong?
You yawn when you’re tired and probably when you’re bored. You even yawn when you see someone else yawning a lot. And some athletes yawn to focus and stay calm before a competition. Olympic skater Apolo Ohno was well-known for his warm-up yawns.
Your dog also yawns—so what’ up with that?
