Your dog is probably reacting to a “trigger.” This trigger sets her off. Usually, the intensity of your dog’s reaction will increase when the trigger is close by. If the trigger is a dog or a person (or cat, squirrel, bird, etc.), then the behavior of the trigger may also make your dog’s reaction more intense. For instance, if your dog’s trigger is other dogs, then another dog staring down your dog or barking at your dog might make your dog’s behavior worse.

So, let’s say your dog is on a leash, you are walking, and the your dogs starts to “act up.” What do you do? Well, there are really only a few options. Here they are:

• Punish the dog with pain, leash jerks, and hostility. Old school and not recommended.
• Move away from the trigger. Easy (in theory), but probably does not “fix” the problem.
• Teach the dog to do something else which makes the “bad” behavior impossible. This my favorite option.

Before I talk a bit about teaching the dog to do something else (which I call, DON’T DO THAT, DO THIS training), let’s review some basics.

1. If your dog has little to no history of training, then you will have a hard time getting your dog to cooperate when she is aroused.
2. If you do not have any practice at setting boundaries with your dog, or teaching your dog the concept of NO, LEAVE IT, or THAT’S ENOUGH, then you will have a hard time getting your dog to cooperate when she is aroused.
3. If your dog is difficult to motivate with food, then you will have a hard time getting your dog to cooperate when she is aroused.
4. If your dog is not too interested in toys and games, then you will have a hard time getting your dog to cooperate when she is aroused.
5. If you think your dog should be well mannered just because “she knows better,” then you will have a hard time getting your dog to cooperate when she is aroused.
6. If you don’t have a lot of patience or time to train, then you will have a hard time getting your dog to cooperate when she is aroused.

Below is a video of me working with a dog and doing some simple exercises which promote a calm demeanor. If you have a reactive dog, I suggest you start here:

“Choose David the Dog Trainer. It’s a no brainer.”

Well, that may indeed be true.

But…I have to write something!

The big three, for me (and John Rogerson, from whence I derive this platform) are…drum roll please…

• GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW! AKA, The Recall or Come When Called.
• STAY THERE UNTIL RELEASED. AKA, Stay.
• STOP THAT IMMEDIATELY. AKA, Leave It, Off, Watch Me, No, etc.

Now, it may be that you wan to teach all sorts of other skills to your pet. Totally fine. I encourage you wholeheartedly. What I suggest here is, that if you – average pet dog owner – REALLY…REALLLLLLLLY train the above three skills to a high level, then you will have a long lasting and successful relationship with your pet, even if she is a bit inclined toward naughtiness.

I will add, to teach the above skills, you will need to teach your dog to play FETCH and TUG. Cool? Cool.

“Wait, Tug? I thought that encouraged aggression” I hear you saying. I don’t think so. And neither does Dr. Ian Dunbar. Perhaps you’ve heard of him??? Here is what he says. And, here is a little video on TUG! Now, fetch? I am sure you have heard of that, too. It is USUALLY fairly easy to get pups to learn to fetch. Dogs that come with “fetching genetics” are also a breeze, but to teach fetch to a dog who does NOT want to fetch does take some effort. Here is an article on teaching fetch from the ASPCA. Check it out. Here is a video of me working with a dog with a lot of drive and a bit of an obsession (due to a lack of structure) over tennis balls. And here is another video exploring how stay or impulse control can be added to a game of fetch. That video even looks at how the recall is a part of fetch! So many training skills can be built into games! Fun for you and dog = you will be more likely to do it! Right? Right!

Okay, back to business.

Recall. Here are some tips from the ASPCA.
Stay. We looked at stay a bit in the videos above. Here are some tips from ASPCA.
Stop that Now. Okay. This one can be tricky, but I think it is crucial. Dogs can be naughty and do things that…Just. Really. Bug. Us. So, the first think I am going to encourage you to do is teach your dog what “No” or “Bad Dog” really means. You can also experiment with using the ol’ “eh-eh!” sound as an interrupter or to signal that the reward or reward opportunity just went away. To teach a dog the “meaning of “no” is easy. Let’s say you have kind of a jumpy dog. He jumps up when you greet him. As soon as his paws leave they floor, say No, then walk away from him, “canceling” the greeting/reward. When he comes to you again, command him with SIT before he jumps. Then, greet him. Repeat this “No” then “remove the reward thing” as often as you can. Eventually, he will come to understand that your cue, NO, means something and that you are not pleased. Video to follow!

I guarantee (well, there are no guarantees in the business, unfortunately) that if you train these three things up to a high level, you will be happy with your pet!

Thanks for reading!

~ David

If you do have a little monster in your home, she is probably bite, bite, biting, and chew, chew, chewing!

If your pup – pup, folks (4 months and under) is not biting and mouthing stuff, this is unusual, and might signal a problem. Now, I am not saying that older dogs don’t mouth and bite, but this post is really for my people with dogs between 8 – 16 weeks. But, regardless of age, if you have a mouthy pup of any age, read on!

Yep, your puppy probably bites. And, he might be driving you nuts with all that biting behavior. And you might be saying, “oh my gracious, when is it going to end!!!” Well, it might not on its own, so make sure you know how to deal with all that mouthing and biting and chewing!

Okay! Without giving you an exact recipe for success (as if there was such a thing), which might get me in trouble and you upset – “well, I read this blog and did what it said, but my dog still bites!” – I am going to give a few SUGGESTIONS and provide you with a few links so you can get some relief. Okay? Okay.

1. One of my major philosophies when it comes to communicating with dogs is: Show (AKA teach) the dog how to succeed. So, instead of reprimanding or correcting the dog for biting the wrong things, set him up for success by providing all manner of chewtoys for his needs and desires. A lot of this chewtoy training can take place during crate training or puppy pen training. Here is a link from Dog Star Daily, and here are a few words from the ASPCA. And, here is a little look at a puppy play pen. Speaking of chewtoys, I hope I don’t have to tell you about all of the awesome products out there. But, in case I do…Here are a few leads – Kong, Busy Buddy, Puzzle Toys, and Bully Sticks.
2. Play. I love to play with dogs. Puppies love to play, and you can use toys and games to teach puppies what are acceptable objects for mouth play, while installing a bit of obedience at the same time. I use games of tug and fetch to teach impulse control, fetch, bite control, and more!
3. Punishment. Yep. I said it. Sometimes, in certain cases where dogs BITE AND BITE AND BITE, after a lot of doses of 1. and 2., we sometimes move to punishment (meaning, make the behavior decrease) via brief isolation. Here is a “controversial” video on the subject by yours truly. Oh, and by the way, the puppy in that video turned out just fine – here he is a bit older.

Don’t worry. As long as you keep working on 1. and 2., you probably won’t need number 3. Get to work now, will ya!

And, you should probably check out my MOST CONTROVERSIAL DOG TRAINING VIDEO EVER! Watch it below! But, do know, this is one video with one dog who was doing A LOT of biting and I was shooting a video, mostly, for that particular client. If your dog is a super-duper biter, you might be able to borrow a few of the tips in the video below:

Oh, and you can see a little video of that same dog all grown up!

A happy dog will be:

• Exercised – Physically and Mentally.
• Reward More Often Than Reprimanded.
• Be Taught What to Do and How to Behave Before Being Scolded.
• Living Within the Consistent Schedule You Create.
• Living Within the Consistent Boundaries You Create.
• Living With a Human Who Understands The Nature of Dogs, and the Nature of the Individual Dog in Question (don’t expect a Border Collie to behave like a Bulldog). And Encourage to do “Dog” Things Often.
• Cuddled and Loved as Often as Possible.
• On Adventures with His Human as Often As Possible.
• Taught How to Play Structured Games with Her Human. Games Which Are Fun and Which Encourage Obedience.

If you are new to our site, take a look around and get to know our site and what we have to offer!

We offer dog walking and dog training services to the West Seattle community, and have been doing so since 2006!