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Custom furniture for your dog is just a call away! Contact Joseph at (208) 699-5452 for more information.

When your dog doesn’t come to you reliably and within seconds you may have a big problem. Your dog is trained to do something when you say “come” whether that is come or not. When your dog doesn’t come:

1. Change the cue – maybe say ‘here’ instead and use a different hand signal.

2. Only ask your dog to come when you have control over the situation, like keeping a long line or light weight drop line on the dog so he can’t learn to do the same annoying behavior to the new cue as he did to the old.
a. With the dog’s attention call the dog using the new cue word and hand signal.
b. Turn your shoulders so that they are oriented away from the dog and take a step in that direction (like the happy little boy in the video). At this point your dog may already be coming to you.
c. If your dog doesn’t come then step on the line so that he can’t move further away. Say his name and act happy but do not use the new cue word, you don’t want to teach him to ignore this word too. This gives him one more chance to come to you.
d. If he still doesn’t come pick up the line and move off in another direction; when your dog starts moving with you jump for joy! This is what you want! It’s always more fun to act like a crazy lunatic in training than have your dog make you look like one later on.
e. When your dog gets to you have a party and do something your dog really likes such as a game of tug-of-war, a meaty treat or a special toy.

3. Frequently reward the dog with play, freedom or something else that the dog enjoys until he understands and offers up the right behavior on cue. You can vary the rewards as well; once he gets the game throw in a “good boy” and pat as the only reward. If the dog learns that you always do something he thinks is unpleasant whenever you ask him to come he will not be as likely to come.

4. Make sure to practice having your dog come to you when he isn’t facing you (and in other ‘real life’ situations) in a controlled way before asking your dog to do it when you don’t have him on a line. You always want him to make the decision, it may take a second for everything to process before the dog comes and puppies especially need that time to learn if it isn’t already automatic.

5. Once your dog understands and enjoys the new game you can fade out the rewards but make sure that your dog still experiences something he likes more often than things he doesn’t like when he comes when called. This means that if your at the park practice having your dog come, play a little and then let him go a few times before you call him to you to leave the park.

Did you use a different method to train your dog to come?
If you have any questions post them here!

Most of us are here because we want to have a companion in our house that is a joy to live with.  As healthy social creatures we don’t feel happiness when we use force or violence.  We all prefer to have choices, just like our dogs, and how much better do we feel when we see someone we love making a decision out of love?  When compulsion is used we take away the opportunity for the dog to make decisions because any action other than the expected behavior results in pain.  Some dogs can be trained very effectively with these methods.  The problems lie with the dogs that are too small to safely use these methods, dogs with sensitive personalities and people who want to have an enjoyable experience training their dog.  For those who wish to go beyond there are some tricks you just can’t train using fear of pain.

If we look outside the dog world we see examples of positive reinforcement working everywhere: in schools, the workplace, sports teams, and zoos. Great bosses pay employees, recognize when employees go above and beyond, and try to keep a high moral in the workplace.  As a dog owner you have much more power than a boss because dogs receive everything from us.  How do we live with them in such a way that not only forms a bond of trust but motivates them to do what we ask?

Positive reinforcement does just that and we don’t always have to have treats on us.  Just like kids have chores, we expect certain behaviors from our dogs.  We can choose to reinforce those behaviors by giving them life rewards such as attention, letting them outside or inside, playing tug, going for a walk or anything big or small that the dog enjoys.

The first step is always to find what your dog likes.  What makes her go crazy?  Does she actually like this toy or treat and which one does she like best?  When I pat her on the head while training does she move away or snuggle up for more?  Can my dog even think when I have the tennis ball in my hand?  Just being observant and trying new things may open doors you didn’t know existed.

Once you know what rewards are fitting for certain behaviors (harder work = a reward the dog values more) the next step is to always be consistent with acknowledging your dog’s effort.  The only trick to clicker training is teaching the animal that the click means ‘good job!’  You don’t need a clicker to use this type of training, just a specific, arbitrary sound that always sounds the same.  In order to show the animal that that sound means ‘good job’ you need to give her something rewarding immediately after hearing the sound (within three seconds or less) every time you make the sound. Consistency is the key to showing your dog that she can trust you because she knows what to expect from you, thus you become predictable.
Like every training device, the clicker is simply a tool designed to help the animal learn what we want them to do.  Once the behavior is learned, then we can add a cue to it such as a word or hand signal.  The cue is added later so that the dog doesn’t become desensitized to it during training while she still doesn’t understand what it means.

When your dog knows how to perform a behavior on cue you can fade out the reward and expect him to do the behavior when you ask.  For example: your dog now knows how to sit so asking him to sit before you let him through the door, before giving him his food and in other life situations will not only be good practice and give him something to work for, it will also build a relationship that encourages partnership and integrity.

These days those words are even more true with the rates of cancer in humans and dogs and other nutritional related maladies such as obesity and diabetes. Around 45% of dogs in the US are overweight(1). What that means is that those dogs will die on average 2 years sooner than dogs that are a healthy weight. But we don’t just feed our dogs food, we give them treats, dental chews, maybe even supplements or pro-biotics. Does your dog eat human food? Is it bad to give a dog human food? What about those expensive raw diets that take forever to prepare?

Whatever your budget you can look at websites, books, talk to experts or even just other dog owners! I’ve met people who swear by Alpo and others that swear by Science Diet (relize that these are two of the worst foods you can feed your dog, click here for more info).

If you want to see an awesome chart of commercial dog foods rated by ingredients, additives, fillers etc. check out http://www.dogfoodscoop.com/. In the left hand navigation bar you can look at foods that received 5 scoops (your best choices) all the way to 0 scoops (the ones you should probably avoid. But not only do they give you the dog foods the site tells you why they choose the foods and gives great information on how to look at labels and more.

Remember your local pet store should be very knowledgeable about dog foods! Ask what they feed their best friend!

1. Association for Pet Obesity Prevention: http://topdoghealth.com/pet-obesity-the-two-statistics-about-how-you-are-killing-your-dog-with-food-468/

What are the most important signs to look for?

What is it about a look that a dog gives me that lets me know how he is feeling?

http://www.bluedogtraining.com/forms/Canine_Body_Language_with_Stress_and_Arousal.pdf

Thank you BlueDogTraining.com for this great information!

Dog Bone Cookie Cutters

For those who like to make their own dog treats!

Collapsible Travel Bowl

This is a great item to keep in your car.

Treat Bag
If you’ve ever wanted to keep your pockets clean and your hands free while training this product was made for you! The wide opening makes for easy access and because of the way it snaps open and shut you wont be fiddling with a drawstring while your dog waits and forgets why your giving him a treat.

Dog Waste Bag Holder
The cute puppy dog character dispenser with green biodegradable bags has velcro strap for easy leash attachment.  With the soft fabric it wont bang against the leash like other hard plastic bag holders.