Paw Pals Pet Dog Training

Paw Pals’ TV segment regarding the importance of training one’s dog will be airing throughout the month of October.

THE BBB EYE is a monthly-themed show that airs on PPLD-TV – The Library Channel, Comcast 17. It airs on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 11 AM, 2:00 PM and 7:00 PM, and again on Saturdays at 6 PM. The show can also be seen on YouTube and on various other websites: Here’s a link: http://southerncolorado.bbb.org/programs/.

Please make sure you check us out! We’ll upload a copy of the segment here onto our website, as well as on our Paw Pals FB page.

Thanks!

Our newest Assistance Dog Training case is Bear K. It’s funny to have two Service Dogs -in-Training with the same names lol.

Bear K. is going through training to become a Service/Therapy Dog. Actually, Assistance Animals do serve the purpose of being therapeutic companions for their people, but to become certified as a Therapy Dog he will need to develop additional skills.

We have begun working on Attention/Response to his name, the Recall, Leave It, Take It, Go Place, Safe, Wait, and his Leash Skills. He’s doing well on everything except the Leave-It — go figure, a Beagle/Corgi Mix that has trouble leaving food alone lol. His person K. has already done a great deal of work with Bear K., so some of what we’re doing is just helping him to become fluent in behaviors he already knows.

Bear K. is already a world traveler, and is currently off on another trip. We will resume our training when he returns. Hmm, I think it’s time for us all to go shopping together to “work” with him. : D.

His person K., claims that he is always wiped out after our sessions. Check out the pix below and let me know what you think. hehe.

ttys

Elizabeth – Paw Pals

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Wow, Bear is finally residing with his person, S. Yay!! He has been doing very well in his training and after S moved into his new apartment, it was time for Bear to move in with him. I’m so happy for them both! They really love each other, and Bear is a great companion for S. Since Bear has moved in with him, S has been getting out and doing more because he always has his buddy Bear with him .

Since I last updated his progress here, Bear has been working on his loose-leash walking skills and is just terrific. While we still may occasionally want to use a Gentle Leader, at this point it is unnecessary for everyday use. He is doing very well with his responses to S’s nonverbal cues and offering automatic behaviors in specific situations. For example, when S stops, Bear sits and waits for him to move on again. He is doing very well with his waiting at the apartment door and doesn’t cross the threshold, even with the kids running in and out lol. We have also worked on Bear’s response to, and notification of S when either the home phone or cell phone rings, when the alarm goes off, when a timer goes off, or when someone knocks on the door. Just last week, the phone rang and Bear alerted to it. I got so excited that he did it, as we hadn’t worked on it before when the kids were around. So he responded perfectly despite all of the distractions around him. He’s such a good boy .

Bear’s biggest challenge is refraining from soliciting love from everyone around him lol. He is doing much better with this, but it is easy to see how difficult this is for him. Last week we attended an outdoor event, and it was very difficult for Bear to refrain from seeking attention from other people, but he always stayed with S and did lie down.

He is wonderful about not begging for food from people. We had sandwiches the other day and we all sat on the floor around the coffee table, and he just lay there while we ate.

He has turned the corner with his work in searching out S. He now understands to go find S, wherever he is, by searching him out. Even when S is hiding in a closet! lolol

So that is a quick update on Bear’s progress with S. I have a lot of photos to upload, so please check out our Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Paw-Pals-Pet-Dog-Training/335114443242

Make it a great day!

Woo hoo! What great news! Bear has passed his physical exam and can begin his Service Dog training as soon as he gets here! Yay! I knew he was the right dog for this guy . We’ll be keeping you all updated as the training progresses.

I’m sooo excited! We’ve found the right dog to serve as an assistance dog and companion for a client! At the same time, we’re placing a loving rescue dog into a loving home. It’s a GREAT day!! .

I recommend a Leadership program to most of my clients. By developing Leadership skills we are able to clearly, effectively, and appropriately communicate with our dogs in ways that they understand.

These are appropriate ways of interacting with our dogs, as human-dog interaction should differ from dog-dog interaction. In most cases, interacting with our dogs as other dogs would is not appropriate. We are humans and want our dogs to see us as Leaders, and to be mannerly and respectful of us.

A Leadership program can not only help teach a pushy dog to be mannerly and respectful, but it can also help shy dogs develop confidence. By clearly communicating with our dogs, we remove any ambiguity and this takes the pressure off them of trying to figure out what is expected of them.

Leadership

Elizabeth Brooks

Leadership is the foundation of your bond with Rover.  By developing your leadership skills, you will be successfully communicating with Rover in a manner she can understand. Human expectations will be very clear to Rover and she will learn to trust your guidance, gain confidence, and happily be a follower.

To become a good Leader, you should start with these behaviors:

1)      All people are leaders – Rover should be mannerly and respectful of all people regardless of size. This must be taught; it is not instinctual doggy behavior.

2)      Leaders eat first – Always have something to eat before you feed Rover a meal (Kong, knuckle bone, buster cube).

3)      People always go first – Rover should always yield space to people and follow them rather than running ahead or being pushy.

4)      Followers allow gentle handling – Rover should allow handling all over her body. If she is uncomfortable being handled anywhere, you need to start desensitizing her to it by gently handling while clicking and treating.

5)      Nothing from the hand without permission – Rover should only take something from your hand with permission (free, easy). This helps when small children are carrying food.

6)      Encourage eye contact – We want Rover to feel comfortable with direct eye contact from people of all sizes. When you say her name she should turn and make direct eye contact; this way you know you have her attention.

7)      Earning Life Rewards – Every dog needs a job. We want Rover to develop a good work ethic. If we can gradually increase the amount of work she has to do to earn Life Rewards, then we are providing much needed mental stimulation. Rather than her being bored much of the time, she’s trying to figure out how to get us to give her Life Rewards (food, affection, play time, exercise, and anything else she enjoys).

8)      Down is a sign of respect – Encourage Rover to down quickly. Reward this behavior with belly rubs.

9)      When in doubt, “Sit” – sitting should become Rover’s default behavior.  If he’s ever unsure what is expected of him, he should offer a sit. If she’s sitting she’s not jumping or bumping or any other undesirable behavior.

10)  The “Pack” sleeps together – Rover should be sleeping in the Leaders’ den every night.  She should sleep on a lower level than your bed.

11)  The “Pack” that plays together, stays together – The Leaders control  play time by controlling the toys and the length of the game.

12)  Be Proactive rather than Reactive – Do keep in mind that every interaction with Rover is teaching her something; make sure it’s what you want her to learn. For example, if you’ve had a bad day and come home and she jumps on you and you hug her and tell her all about your lousy day, you’ve just reinforced her jumping behavior. An alternative is to have her sit and then drop down to her level and tell her all about your crummy day while rubbing her belly and loving on her. Now you’ve reinforced appropriate behavior.

Hi Everyone ~

I’m just getting back to working on my website after my lawnmower encounter. As I was reading through the comments I inadvertently deleted some before I got to read them. So I wanted to apologize if you left me a comment and you don’t see it here. I appreciate all of your kind words. Thank you. I’ll be posting some more articles in the next week as I get caught up on things, so please bookmark me and check back. Oh, and anyone who was interested in WordPress sites or about this site, my webdesigner is Marion at blueskydesigns.com. Make it a great day!

Hello Everyone!

I’m on the road to recovery and have set up dates for my upcoming classes; please check the Services page for these class dates. Please remember that registration and payment are necessary to guarantee you a spot in class. After you have chosen the class and class date you wish to enroll in, please proceed to the registration page. After you click submit, the PayPal payment page will appear. If you prefer, you may submit payment by check to Paw Pals Pet Dog Training, PO Box 75537, Colorado Springs, CO 80970. Thank you, and I’ll see you in class!