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Introduction To A Pinch Collar

By on December 15, 2015   /   Dog Training Videos   /   Leave a comment

Hello everyone! This short little dog training article is some advice on how to introduce your dog or puppy to a pinch collar or a prong collar. As with most things dog training related I take the long slow view. I would consider this step 1 of say 10 steps.

First I would wait till your dog is about 8 months to introduce the pinch collar. Until then I would stick to food and toys to motivate your puppy. If your dog is a super leash puller you could try a harness so it doesn’t damage it’s larynx. In this dog training video we are getting this 8 month old puppy started on the pinch collar. You will notice we are taking a few precautions so the dog doesn’t get hurt or feels uncomfortable.

We start the dog out with comfort tips attached to the pinch collar. Comfort tips are little rubber tips that go over the prongs and reduce their sensation. I also have another leash and flat collar on the dog in case the dog gets over stimulated by something. By having two collars and two leashes I can switch back and forth as neccassry.

Pinch collar with comfort tips

Pinch collar with comfort tips

The object here is not to force the dog to comply, rather you are teaching it how to cooperate with the collar. You would rather spend 80 percent of your time teaching the dog the benefits of staying close,by use of food and toys encouraging it to stay close rather than discouraging it to leave by use of the collar.

If your dog starts to get squirrely then switch back to the flat collar or the harness.

 

 

 

 

 

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Introducing Scent Work To Your Dog

By on December 10, 2015   /   Dog Agility, Fun-gility   /   Leave a comment

Introducing a new  dog sport that you can do with any dog regardless of breed. If your dog has 4 legs and a nose you and your furry friend have a fun new sport. Scent Work is a fun sport where your household pet can be trained to search out legal odors.

scent work nose work.

We can fit any odor in this tube.

 

Your dog can do this regardless of  age or prior training experience, and it won’t mess up any other training program you may be working on.

Training nosework is like training for tricks and stunts where there are no corrections and the whole thing is positive in nature so no matter what your dogs tempermeant is you can have fun and advance.

If you have an interest in working military or police dogs for explosives or narcotics this is a way you can get your feet wet with whatever kind of dog you have right now as the training principals are exactly the same. So instead of the working dog looking for dope your dog can look for Anice, Birch and Cloves.

In the pictures above and below you can see the 10′ x 1″ pvc tubes that will be cut up into 6″ sections to hold things like law enforcement approved narcotics and other scents. We will drill holes in the tubes to allow odor to escape. I have hundreds of these tubes and we can put anything in them, dope, explosive accelerants, cancer cells or feces droppings. The possibilities are endless.

These tubes will be cut into 6" sections.

These tubes will be cut into 6″ sections.

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Check back often as we will be posting more pictures and vids on the site here as well as facebook and instagram. If you are interested in this give me a call at 408-455-1503. I am starting out at mid level on this new endevour so we can learn together.

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New Dog Agility, Dog Training Field

By on December 9, 2015   /   Dog Agility, Fun-gility   /   Leave a comment

This is a picture of my new dog training field. Here we can work on all of the dog obedience commands such as Sit, Down, Recall (come when called) all with real world distractions in a safe and controlled environment. When training you may be working either by yourself or you may be in a class with 20 other members. You can decide how much of a challenge you and your dog are up for. What is really great is that you can go at your dogs natural and comfortable pace. There is no pressure to get it done in only 5 sessions. If you are interested in nosework, schutzhund, protection, dog obedience, French ring, agility or fungility we have you covered. While training here you will have several veterinarians on staff at all times. 12301547_10153771157888630_1296154926075839548_n

Our new dog training / dog agility field.

Our new dog training / dog agility field.

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Indoor Leashes For Dogs

By on December 7, 2015   /   Dog Training Articles   /   Leave a comment

Indoor Leashes For Dogs

If you have an untrained dog or a puppy I suggest you keep it on an indoor leash. By keeping your dog on an indoor leash you keep the door of communication open. When it comes to dog training there is no difference if you are indoors or out. You need the instant feed back and control the leash can provide.

When you have friends or family visit and your dog is in the house and out of the crate it should  be on a leash. That non retractable leash should be connected to a collar that goes around your dog’s neck. The collar should be “training tight” that means your dog cannot back out of the collar.  The leash should be in your hand at all times. If you don’t want to split your attention between your dog and your guest, put your dog in it’s crate.

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Leash Correction For Unwanted Behavior   

If your untrained dog or puppy is chewing on your furniture and you go to grab the dog with your hands it will quickly learn that your hands may bring discomfort and fear. You can accomplish your goal of correcting your dog by grabbing it’s leash to move it away from the distracting area.

If your dog is jumping on friends or family you can use the leash to communicate to the dog that it’s behavior is unwanted.

Leashes Eliminate The Need For Rough Talk And Mean Faces.

If you don’t use a leash then most people are going to use rough loud threatening voices and rough talk. I never (almost never) rough-talk or mean-face my dog. It’s unnecessary and

counterproductive. With an indoor leash you can show your dog, not tell your dog.

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The Best Dog Management Tools Money Can Buy

By on December 7, 2015   /   Dog Training Articles   /   Leave a comment

Crate or Kennel

Weather you have an adult dog or a puppy the dog crate is a great management tool. I don’t advocate keeping your dog confined for extended periods of time, but for those times when things get out of your control the crate or kennel is super handy.

I start my dogs or puppies out learning to love the crate. I play crate games and use it as a training tool. I have had many clients who get an addition to their family from new babies to elderly parents and the crate is that extra set of hands you will need. Are you having company over? A crate make everything smooth! Is it the 4th of July? Too many dogs bolt and never come back due to the loud sounds. Kennel your dog, throw a cover over the crate and put the whole mess in your room and shut the door. Safe dog!

Baby Gates

In addition to the crate, or maybe in exchange for the crate you go for the baby gate. The baby gate is a great management tool as it will prevent your dog from having too much access. Your dog does not need access to the entire house. No, just bits and pieces. I would suggest getting a few baby gates with the gate in the gate. That way you don’t have to step over the gate, just open it and step through then shut it again. If you have multiple dogs in the house, or have a friends dog over you might want to throw a blanket over the gate to cut down visual stimulation and avoid fence fighting in your home.

 

Exercise Pens

Exercise pens when fully extended are 10’ long and are great for odd shaped or irregular shaped areas that will hold your dog by conforming the pen to the shape of the area. You can string two or more together to make them a fence or a big confinement area either in your house or out of doors. They fold up flat so they are great for travel or stow it under your bed and keep it for emergencies. They are great for homes that have wide door ways because of the length.

 

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Dog Training Tips For Your Lifestyle

By on December 6, 2015   /   Dog Training Articles   /   Leave a comment

This article was designed to give you some dog training tips.

People often ask me what is the most difficult dog to train. It is the dog that was put in the wrong job. Just like people dogs have certain attributes that make them perfect for some jobs and well, not so perfect for other jobs. As the saying goes, “Don’t put a square peg in a round hole.” Get the right dog for the right job, or lifestyle.

dog training tips

group dog training classes

For some people the sole reason the get a dog is so they can throw a ball or a frisbee and watch the joy from the dog as it rushes to catch the ball in mid air and quickly bring it back every time for another throw. (that would be me by the way) Most dogs, however don’t have that level of drive, or desire to chase down the ball and retrieve it to the handler’s hand. The retrieve is a drive that is usually professionally bred into the dog by breeders.

 

Other people want a dog for protection purposes. For that not just any big scary do will do. Again you need a dog that was professionally bred for that purpose from parents that have excelled in the various protection sports and produced a litter or two with pups that have titled in protection. Getting the family dog is kinda like buying a car. Don’t buy a sports car if you have a huge family.

dog training tips

 

If you are new to the idea of adding a dog to your family you might want to ask for some advice from a pro. I see a lot of people these days with dogs they have no business owning. Dogs that are way too dominate and high speed. You might want to ask a dog trainer for some dog training tips that does not breed dogs or else he or she may just steer you to their own dogs and that may not be a good fit. Ask several if you need to. You can always ask me!

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Little Dog Behavior Problems, Canine Tutors Dog Training

By on November 12, 2015   /   New Video, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment

I see a lot of dogs on a daily basis, big ones and small ones. What sticks out in my mind are the small unruly dogs with behavior problems. Now I know that because of the breed type a lot of smaller dogs are going to bark a bit more. Ok, we all pick and choose what we can tolerate. Hey they make great watch dogs. But… no small dog owner should tolerate other behavior that could put the dog’s life in jeopardy when a bit of basic dog training will greatly enhance the general welfare of the dog.

First on my list, Recall. I don’t care what kind of dog I may have. I will never tolerate a dog that runs off. It’s really great when your dog comes when you call, but what’s even better is a dog that stays by your side until you release that dog. Then when you give it some fun freedom it comes back when you call the first time, every time. When you have this, you automatically have a dog that goes more places and has more fun.

Second on my list for dogs big or small is loose leash walking. If it is uncomfortable to take your dog for a walk because it pulls you every where, then that is a dog that will spend too much time inside the house. I want my dog to get out and burn off some steam. Most dogs don’t get nearly enough exercise and that is one of the root causes of behavior problems. That walk you take your dog once a day is like me doing A push up. Most dogs are built to do arduous tasks; tasks that we can not or will not do for ourselves. In fact most dogs are dangerously over weight.

Third on my list. Lay down. If your dog knows to lay down and stay down it can’t do anything wrong. I’m not talking about lay down because you tapped or pointed to the ground with a treat in your hand, I mean you said “down” once and it dropped down and now will not get up until you say. This is all just very basic  dog obedience. When you have a dog that will lay down and not get up you have a dream dog, no matter what dog it is.

 

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How To Get Your Dog To Jump In The Car, Canine Tutors Dog Training

By on November 11, 2015   /   Dog Training Videos, New Video, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment

Lots of us have big dogs. Some of us have big dogs that won’t jump in the car. I have seen people lift up their 80 lb dogs and put them in the car. That might be tricky if you have a sore back or are elderly.

There are two main reasons why most dogs won’t jump into a car. 1. They perceive there isn’t enough room for landing. They think they will run into something that you might have in your car. So clear out the area completely. If you have seats that fold down then lower them so your dog has plenty of space. Dogs don’t see depth the same way we do so their perception is a bit different.

2. Their timing isn’t down. Keep in mind that when we teach dogs to jump over jumps competitively we start with the jump 2′ above the ground. As the dog gains confidence and gets it’s footwork down we can slowly raise the jump height. Same as a human. If your dog is fat and out of shape that will be a factor if you see reluctance. If that is the case drop that weight or it will cost you 1,000’s of dollars. The average American dog owner spends $500.00 too much every year on dog food. Keeps those thin.

In the video above you can see me really leading the dog to the car. I’m not taking ‘no’ for an answer. I use a lot of enthusiasm with both my body and verbally.

Another thing I did that I didn’t video was to put a step stool down then she just stepped on that then stepped right into the car. That actually worked out better. I felt she might be a little uncomfortable jumping into the car, The step stool was better. As always, remember to have fun training your dog!

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San Jose Dog Training, Dog Tricks

By on November 6, 2015   /   Dog Training San Jose, Dog Training Videos, Dog Trick Videos, New Video, Uncategorized   /   Leave a comment

Here is why teaching your dog to do tricks is a great idea and why you should do it.

Let’s face it, although necessary just teaching you dog to site or other various basic commands can be a bit boring after a while, for both you and your dog. So I would suggest either move on to more advanced concepts of dog obedience and/or have some fun with dog trick training. The thing I love about training tricks is that it is all positive and I get to give my dog lots of treats so it’s very low stress for all.

When starting out pick something super easy for both you and the dog. My first trick was spin, then shake. My first big trick was roll over. It’s cool because they are all like little puzzles you have to try to figure out. So sometimes you will see your dog responding well and moving forward then other times you dog will look at you like “what”? So then you know you need to try a different route.

Youtube is a great resource for getting tips on teaching your dog how to do dog tricks. They have youtubers who make their living on teaching you how to teach your dog tricks. Best of all it’s free.

As a San Jose dog training professional I can tell you this, when you train for tricks it will make you a better dog trainer because you will learn maybe the most important skill of all, learning how to read your dog. You will come to see very quickly signs of stress, enthusiasm, confusion and the like and this will be super beneficial in other more pragmatic areas of dog training. Also if you get a second dog down the road you will be faster at training the new one.

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San Jose Dog Training Tips; The Pinch Collar

By on November 4, 2015   /   Dog Training San Jose, Pictures   /   Leave a comment

dog training tips

Proper fitting pinch collar

 

 

 

 

 

A lot of dog owners use pinch collars but not everybody knows the best way to use it. In this dog training article I will give you just a few basic tips on how to get the most from a very useful tool.

First a pinch collar is not a tool to hurt the dog. It is a communication tool to give the dog guidance. The dog is to learn to cooperate with the collar. Proper fitting of the collar will help facilitate this. If when you use the pinch collar the dog is vocalizing, wincing hard or if it looks like it is shutting down then you might be applying too much pressure. If your collar is fitting properly you should be able to apply as little pressure as possible to give guidance without hurting the dog. When applying the collar pressure you want to just flick your wrist, not move your entire arm. As Ed Frawley says, It’s power steering for the dog.

I use small collars on all my dogs no matter the size of the dog and I suggest you use a small collar as well. When putting the collar on the dog it should fit high up on the neck as seen in the picture above. The collar should fit like a belt around your waist and not sagging down at the lower end of the neck. You can add or remove links in the collar depending on the width of your dog’s neck. I have a useful video on my website.

The pinch collar is an active training tool. That means when you are done working your behaviors, or when you are going to put your dog in it’s kennel take the collar off. I take off all collars to avoid any accidents. My favorite pinch collar is a Herm Sprenger. It is never used as a punishment tool. When used to teach your dog the “heel” the clasp should be between you and your dog for best comfort.

Thank you for reading San Jose Dog Training Tips; The Pinch Collar

 

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