puppy Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Smart Dog University

Dog Training – The Personal Side: Can You Tell Your Dogs Apart in the Dark?

October 12, 2012

It was 3:00a when I heard the bark. I knew who it was, instantly, even though the bark came from the other side of the house. And I even knew what the bark was for. [Lily. She wanted to patrol the yard for vermin. We’ve had vermin lately. Or so she says.] Then, I heard another dog, in another room, shake his head. Just from the sound of his ears flapping I could identify him, too. In the dark. [Tango. Soft, velvety ears.]

I tweeted a question this morning:

If you have more than 1 dog, can you tell which one is barking without looking? Drinking water? Shaking her head?

The answers I got back didn’t surprise me. Yup, lots of dog-people can identify their dog in the dark. They can tell them apart by their footsteps, the way they drink water, the way they sneeze, and lots of other ways.

I’m happy to know I’m not the odd (wo)man out on this one. That I’m just as normal as the next dog lover.

Tell me: Can you tell your dogs apart in the dark? Leave me a comment!

Siena: Officially Released + Looking for A Home

October 10, 2012

It’s official. Sweet Siena is going to be a pet! This is good news, really. As service work just wasn’t a good fit for her. She’s a homebody. She doesn’t like a lot of change. I’m helping spread the word because I think the more people who know about her, the better our chances of finding her the perfect home. Here’s a taste of who Siena is…

I’m not responsible for selecting the home. I’m really just the lady who reaps the benefits of having a Dane puppy in the house until a great home is found. [And the one who will be boo-hooing when said home is selected and it’s Siena-transfer time, of course.] Service Dogs of Virginia purchased Siena and are the rightful owners. It will be their decision to find and select Siena’s permanent home.

Here are all the particulars about this sweet girl.

Born: June 4, 2012
Breed: European Great Dane (AKC papers)
Color: Merle (grey, black speckled with white)

Siena’s a great dog who wouldn’t be comfortable working in public in ever-changing conditions and locations. She’s more of a homebody.

Siena is current on her vaccinations, has started basic manners training and is doing very well in K9 Nose Work™ classes.

She gets along very nicely with other dogs and lives in harmony with a cat.

Siena is very snuggly and definitely enjoys a nice long nap on the couch. She’s fantastic in her crate andruns to it when asked.

She is just finishing up her house training and can go to the bathroom outside on cue (a very handy thing!).

She’s a very soft and sensitive dog, so her new family will agree to use only clicker training with her (no prong, choke, or shock collars). No underground electronic fences.

Reason Released: Siena doesn’t handle change very well. She’s happiest in her comfortable home, not out in the grocery store or mall. She’s very happy going places — she enjoys trips to the farmer’s market, local park, neighborhood walks — she just didn’t transition well into public places that a service dog would have to frequent (stores, doctor offices, restaurants, etc.).

Training: Puppy Charm School (will continue until she’s 18 weeks), K9 Building Blocks (good manners training (will start at 18 weeks). Siena very much enjoys K9 Nose Work class and we’ve noticed that this class, not surprisingly, is building her confidence level and expanding her horizons. And she’s quite good at it, too!

She’s Good At: walking politely on a leash, going to and staying in her crate, cohabitating with our kitty, playing with other dogs, snuggling, leaning, car rides (provided you don’t drive like a maniac).

Price: $1500. If you’re interested in Siena, contact Service Dogs of Virginia:
Info@servicedogsva.org or
(434) 295-9503

If you want more information about Siena’s personality and training, contact me:
laurie@smartdoguniversity.com

Dog Training – The Personal Side

September 29, 2012

We have three permanent dogs — dogs that were released from service work. Three dogs, plus a yearly rotating service pup in training, is about all we can handle. Four permanent dogs plus a service dog just wouldn’t work well. And here are the reasons why.

1. We couldn’t raise a service pup in training if we had four permanent dogs.
2. Our current dogs wouldn’t be afforded the same level of attention and training with the addition of another dog.
3. I am devoted to Tango, my yellow Labrador, and want to focus on “he and me.”
4. When I am finally ready to get another dog, after Tango is no longer with us (which I hope is a long, long time from now), I want a dog with whom I can continue therapy work.

Those are four very good reasons. Hard to argue with reasons.

So why, tell me, is it so painful for me to decline keeping sweet Great Dane, Siena, who is being released from the service dog program?

I *know* it’s the right decision — logically. Alas, I am ruled not with logic, but rather by emotion. And emotionally, I WANT TO KEEP HER!

It’s as if I have two very different people living in my head. And they argue constantly over this issue. And each of them have very compelling arguments.

Every danged time a Dane comes into my life so far, it’s resulted in heartbreak. That danged lovely Talos with his ice-blue eyes and cow-like spots nearly killed me with grief when I had to turn him in. (He’s now a brilliant service dog working for a brilliant woman, so the ending is happy].

And now, the adorable and oh-so-lovey Siena’s going to kill me when I give her up to a loving home [that’s going to be wonderful to her and for her].

Here’s the part I really don’t understand about myself. EVERY time I raise a service dog, I cry and my heart is broken. Yet, I’m not keeping Siena because I want to keep raising service dogs.

I think I’m crazy. That is all.

Puppy Training: Lesson of the Day – Polite Walking

September 25, 2012

Puppies arrive knowing very little. If you want your pup to have good habits, you’ll have to teach them what to do. The easiest way to do this is to start training your puppy as soon as she comes home. One of the earliest lessons (it feels like there are so many early lessons!) we teach our puppies (service dog or pets) is to walk on a loose leash. The bigger the dog, the bigger the problem. Your chihuahua probably won’t pull you down, but your Great Dane surely will — unless you start teaching polite leash manners early. Here’s how you can teach your puppy to walk with a loose leash.

Put your puppy’s breakfast in a fanny pack or treat pouch. Get your clicker ready. When you go on your morning walk, click and treat every time you take a step and your pup’s leash is slack. You’ll be clicking a lot, and that’s good! That’s why you brought your pup’s entire breakfast with you. They need to eat anyway, you might as well get some mileage out of all those treats.

You’re clicking (and treating) every single time you take a step and your pup’s leash is slack. It doesn’t matter which side they are on, if they’re switching sides, or if they’re behind you. As long as there’s a little dip in that leash, you’re clicking and treating.

If your pup gets excited about another dog or a squirrel and pulls ahead, simply stop. Mouth closed, arms at your sides, just wait. Pretty soon, your smart puppy will figure out that she’s not going anywhere. She’ll probably turn to look at you quizically. Yay! You’ll click and then hold the treat down by your side. You want the pup to come back to you to get the treat. Click and treat again. And again.

You’re making it obvious to the pup that being with you is really rewarding! Pulling isn’t.

We inadvertantly teach our pup to pull when we follow along behind them when the leash is tight. Your pup doesn’t know that pulling means you’ll follow — until it actually happens! So unfortunately, when you follow your pulling puppy, you’re actually telling your puppy that that’s how to move forward — just lean into the collar, little buddy, and I’ll follow along.

That isn’t the message we mean to send, but it’s what’s received by the pup. Puppies do what works. If pulling gets them from Point A to Point B, why on earth would they try something different? So you, the smart trainer, are going to start your pup out with the realization that pulling = no movement.

And, in addition, staying closer to you, so the leash stays slack, gets the puppy two things: (1) treats and (2) moving forward! It’s a double win for your puppy! And it’s definitely a win for you! This is how we start loose leash walking — there are more advanced steps as the pup gets older, but we’ll get into that in another post. For now, all you have to worry about is teaching your puppy that pulling doesn’t work and having a loose leash gets that puppy lots more fun and freedom!

When did you start teaching your puppy leash manners? Share your dog-friendly loose leash walking tips in a comment below! I’d love to hear what’s worked for you!

Introducing A New Puppy – Siena, Great Dane Pup

August 27, 2012

Our latest service pup in training has finally arrived! Her name is Siena and she’s a Great Dane.

We were taken by surprise Friday afternoon when we were told we might have a pup that weekend. It had been too long without a pup as it was, so there weren’t any complaints from us!

We’re so used to a new puppy to train that it felt like eons since we’d had a pup, even though Caysun was turned in only seven weeks ago. This pup, Siena, is being raised for Service Dogs of Virginia, the organization for which we’ve raised most our pups. We’re fortunate to have found such a fabulous organization with which to work.

It’s very exciting to train a pup — Siena is our 12th service pup and we’re thrilled to have another Great Dane in the house. Our last Dane, Talos, went on to do great things with his new partner and we’re hoping sweet Siena can follow in Talos’ footsteps.

Siena is 11 weeks old and we’re working hard to get in all the puppy socialization before the 18 week mark, which is when the socialization window closes for pups.

What that means is: I’ve got my work cut out for me! No, really, what it means is that you have to get your pup out and about to expose to in a happy and fun way to a variety of things before they are 18 weeks old. At 18 weeks, pups become less like sponges — they stop accepting everything as normal and begin to look at new, unknown things as potentially scary.

Siena hasn’t seen much in her 11 weeks — almost everything is new to her and she hangs back a bit. Thankfully, once she’s seen something once, she integrates it into her repertoire as if she’d never thought it was strange.

We’re very excited to have another pup and we’ll be sharing a lot of puppy training stories as well as puppy socialization and puppy training ideas!

Making Puppy Socialization Safer

July 21, 2011

You hear it all the time: socialization is important for your puppy! Socialize, socialize, socialize!

It IS true: socialization before your pup is 16 weeks old is crazy-important if you want a well-adjusted, easy-going, can-handle-anything dog later in life.

But.

You gotta be smart about it. You can’t recklessly expose the pup to potential germs and disease.

I was outside teaching class last night in downtown Frederick, Maryland. I saw a tiny 11-week old puppy walking on Carroll Creek, a bustling and crowded metropolitan spot with eateries and beautiful scenery, and the pup was meandering through the grass where every other dog had done it’s business.

It’s a terrific location for the pup to be exposed to all kinds of things: joggers, noisy kids on bikes, barking dogs, ducks, the list goes on.

The trouble with that is that hundreds of other dogs have been through there, too. Leaving behind poop and pee — the carriers of disease. You don’t want your puppy needlessly exposed to all that. Who knows if those dogs:

have had their vaccinations
are healthy
are carrying diseases

It’s much safer for the pup to be carried through very public areas until he’s completed his puppy series of vaccinations. Walking a pup through your yard or even your neighborhood is probably safe, but you don’t want your pups paws hitting the ground in the dog park or anywhere where there are potentially unvaccinated dogs running through the same grass as your pup.

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You hear it all the time: socialization is important for your puppy! Socialize, socialize, socialize!

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