How to approach or not approach a person their dog

In my profession I have been hyper vigilant in noticing how people greet other people & their dogs.  Sometimes it is down right scary the way a stranger will approach another stranger & their dog.  Honestly, I am surprised there are not more dog bites occurring during this uninformed greeting process.  Kudos to those dogs for having SO MUCH tolerance.

So, what is the best way to approach another human walking their dog?  This post will address how a person without a dog should approach or greet another person with a dog.  In the meantime, dont forget to read our post on how kids should greet dogs.  Some of this information will be the same, because we all need to have better manners when meeting & greeting dogs.

First I want to bring up The Yellow Dog Project, because I get a lot of people asking me about this.  This is a movement to try to educate people that if a dog is wearing a yellow ribbon, that dog needs more space & promotes appropriate contact with those dogs.  I think this is great!  BUT, I feel this should be the case with ALL dogs, as you will soon learn. I wish this project was promoting proper interactions with ALL dogs, because people should be learning how to interact properly with all dogs, not just ones with a yellow ribbon.  I think they missed the big picture on this one, but my hats off to them for trying to bring awareness in greeting dogs.

1. Not all dogs want to say hello to all people all the time.  This is something that dog loving people have a real hard time comprehending sometimes.  After all, they are dog lovers & all dogs love them.  Well, I hate to burst bubbles, but that is not always the case.  Please dont take it personally either.  Just because a few dogs do not appreciate your intentions does not mean you are not loved by lots of dogs.  :)

·         Even if you have a regular meeting with another dog, does not mean that you should not go through the proper greeting ritual each time you interact.  You should.  Even very social dogs have their off days, or sometimes they are even in pain that you might not be aware of.

2. Evaluate the dog from a distance.  This is very important to do before approaching a person and their dog.  Just stop & watch what is going on.  Does the dog seem comfortable & relaxed?  What about the person?  If either seems stressed, or in a hurry, this would not be an ideal time for approaching.  Try again another day.
3. Approach slowly, relaxed & not making eye contact with the dog.  Please, whatever you do, do not keep extended eye contact with a dog.  This makes a lot of dogs very nervous & unsure of your intentions.  Unlike us primates, canines consider this a threat.  So, as you approach, look at the person & casually gaze at the dog to read his body language.
4. Stop 5-10 away from the person & their dog.  Look at the person & ask if you can say hello to their dog.  Please dont ask if their dog "is friendly" because even a friendly dog doesnt always want to say hello.  Not to mention, some people may take a bit of offense by this question.

·         Wait for an answer.  You are doing a great job so far, asking to greet, just dont forget to actually wait for the person to either say "yes" or "no."  If the dogs person says it is ok, ask what the dogs name is.

5. Ask the dog.  Another step often overlooked is to actually ask the dog if he wants to say hello.  Calmly say the dogs name & quietly tap your outside leg & say "hi Dexter (insert the dogs name)."  You want the dog to come up to you, dont rush up to the dog.

·         If the dog comes up to you, gently pet under the dogs chin, chest, & side area.  If the dog moves away at anytime, do not follow him, ask him to come back for more petting.  If he doesnt come back, he no longer wishes to be pet. 

·         Dont get over exuberant in your petting.  For one, this can intimidate some dogs.  Secondly, a lot of people are trying really hard to teach their dogs not to jump up when petting.  Being overly excited can cause a lot of dogs to jump up.

6. Thank you.  Dont forget to thank the dog and their person for allowing you to greet.  Thank you goes a long way in our society.

Tips:

·         If the dog is barking, or jumping around do not approach. 

·         Dont put your face in a dogs face.

·         Dont approach a dog while he is eating, or chewing a toy.

·         If a dog feels stiff, stop petting & back off.

·         If a dog keeps leaving you during petting he probably does not want to be pet anymore.

Need some extra help?  I offer both in person & online, web, video instruction!
Please feel free to contact me for details.

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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Introducing Mini Lessons For those of you in or around Tracy CA

I would like to introduce two new changes to Dog Training with Alysia!

First off, I would like to announce Dog Training with Alysia is officially part of the Tracy Chamber of Commerce!
(*insert clap*) Thank you, Thank you! Im very excited to have my business officially involved in the city of Tracy.

Secondly, I would like to introduce mini lessons!

I realize that a lot of clients, or people who show interest in dog training, have been afraid to commit to a full basic obedience course, mostly because they are about a 5-6 week course and shaping your schedule to fit something of this longevity into can be quite difficult sometimes and I completely understand that! I always recommend basic obedience courses as I feel they are, by far, the best way to train your dog to understand all the cues that will set them up for a successful happy life so if you indeed have the time for them and would like to sign up for them please do!
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Before all of my normal training courses begin I hold a private or group introductory lesson explaining in detail my training ideals and then give homework on two very important cues to set you up for your first actual class and that is pretty much the extent of that introductory lesson with me.

I started thinking of ways I could make a training course seem less demanding so I thought why not just build a lesson more informative than my introduction and use that as a way to help people who want to learn but do not want the commitment of a 5-6 week course!

Rusty performing a "down stay"

Lets be honest, I personally learn way better when I have someone in front of me showing me how to do things! I can sit here and type all day but reading and understanding what I have to say and want to show everyone can be quite difficult so if you learn better by face to face interaction and lessons then these are perfect for you!

At the end of each lesson you will be able to get some questions in for me to answer so that every course is personalized for you and what you want to learn from them!

I have four main lessons right now that I will give a brief description for
??????????1. Introduction to training & Basic cues - This course will talk about everything you need to know to be successful with training. I will talk about motivators, food lures, marker cues and more! I will show examples with your dog or mine (depending on where this lesson is held) of how to teach some valuable cues, how often to teach them etc. BUT, then it will be up to you to train your dog with the information given!
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This isnt a basic cue by the way ;)

2. Problem behaviors & how to read a dogs body posture - This course explains where problem behaviors come from & how to prevent them. Ive included reading dogs body posture in this because dogs speak using their whole body and expressions so that is why this is so important to know and it is also a way to have an idea what your dog is actually thinking. I cannot even count the times Ive seen owners get so worked up over two dogs introducing themselves at the dog park and almost creating a bad situation simply by acting up while I just stand back and think of how perfectly normal and social those two dogs are. I will help you with any problem behavior advice you need during my ask the trainer question section.
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 Closest pic of a problem behavior I could find! Tearing apart toys ;)

????3. Foster Family Dogs - This may sound redundant but there are a lot of things foster families may not think about while housing their temporary dog. During this course I will teach some basic cues and the do and do nots of training your foster dog! If you dont already know I am actually certified in training shelter dogs so part of my training involved how to transition your dog into their new home. This can include foster homes, however, with foster homes it is a little different so Ive adapted this training lesson to help you out! Also some shelter dogs can gain "bad habits" so we will go over problem behaviors as well during this course!
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This is Amy our Foster dog who is currently learning
basic obedience during her stay!

 
4. Dogs & Kids - How to teach your kids to properly interact with the family dogs & strangers dogs. I will also teach you how you can read your dogs body posture to watch for warning signs that your dog is feeling uncomfortable in the situation and how you can give your dog some space during the day.

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This would be my mini dog trainer teaching my dogs how to
lay before receiving their reward!

Other lessons that are in the process of being laid out are more for fun and will involve trick training and sports!

 If you have something specific for me to help you out with then I would be more than willing to write out a layout specifically for you or mix up any two of the mini lessons and give information on each!

 

 My goal is to just help everyone have more insight to dogs & training at an affordable cost.

 

Let me tell you the best part!

 

My current price for these lessons are a flat $30 dollars plus tax and gas if youre outside of Tracy!

You can invite as many people as you want to these lessons and if you would like to hold them as a fundraiser you are more than welcome to charge "x" amount per person as long as all the profits go to a non-profit of your choosing!

 

So schedule your mini lesson so I can help give you some valuable information without the commitment of a training course!

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Motivating the Non Treat or Toy Motivated Dog

Today we covered how to motivate your dog in our article "Motivating Your Dog" however we didnt cover just how to motivate that dog, that doesnt like treats or toys. Here I hope to help you with just that.

There are a lot of dogs out there who do not like treats or toys. Ive seen a lot of them. Using clickers and positive reinforcement, you need something that will motivate your dog. Dogs who dont like treats or toys puts a little bit of a damper on training.

First of all, lets start with the non-treat motivated dog. Ask yourself a few questions first to be sure you actually do have a non-food motivated dog.

• Do you free-feed your dog? (Have food down at all times for them?)
• Do you feed your dog, then try training them with more food?
• What type of treats are you using?

If you answer yes to the first 2 questions or either one of them, this could be your problem. Instead of free-feeding or feeding your dog then training, portion out the dogs food and use his food during the training. Make him work for his kibble. It is healthier for him this way too.

If you answered no to either of those, and youve tried portioning out his food and still no results, ask yourself, what type of treats are you using. Try a variety of things! Cheese, hot dogs, chicken, beef, turkey, what ever you can think of! Make sure its not toxic for the dog though, such as Grapes or chocolate. If your dog still is not interested what so ever, then I believe you can accurately say you have a non-treat motivated dog.

Now lets look at the non-toy motivated dog. If your dog is food motivated, but not toy motivated, you can use the food to train your pet to like toys by clicker training. You can also spike interest in toys by getting interactive toys you can put food into. Getting a dog to like toys is all about building the dogs prey drive. A good way to start this is with a simple rag on a rope. Twitch it around, pretend your playing with a cat. This will help spark a lot of dogs interest in toys, building on that prey drive that is already built into the dog. You can use a rag on a rope, or a simple long toy or tug on the end of the rope. I like attaching the rope to a long stick to get more action of the toy at the end.

For an example of what Im talking about, I found this video. You might watch with volume down low as the pups are very excited and barking a lot. They are training these pups for schutzhund work so they are holding them back from the toy to further build their prey drive. You dont have to hold your dog back when doing this.



As you can see, this builds a lot of excitement in most dogs. I have a German Shepherd that has never been interested in toys, yet when I bring out this toy, shes always been nuts about it! Give it a try and see what happens. It might not work for all dogs, but its still worth a try.

So, if you really do have a non-treat and non-toy motivated dog, you have to get creative! What does motivate your dog? What makes your dog happy? Perhaps it is simple praise and petting, perhaps its brushing with their favorite brush, maybe its being allowed up on the couch or bed. Do they like playing with other dogs? Sniffing in the bushes? Going on a walk? You can use all of these as rewards, simply have your dog do what you want first, click or say YES! and let them go do what they want to do, or invite them on the couch (if they are allowed).

A few examples here. Praise and petting is great because you can take that everywhere you go. Brushing, you can have your dog sit, click, and brush for a few seconds, then have your dog do something else to earn more brushing. Have your dog sit or down before you invite them on the couch or bed. Have your dog sit, down or walk on a loose leash before being released to go play with the other dogs, sniffing the bushes or going on a walk. Walks are great because you can use simple movement as the reward to anything you want your dog to do.

So, a non-treat and non-toy motivated dog is not impossible to train using positive reinforcement. Yes it makes it harder and you have to get creative, but it is still doable!

The book Click for Joy! is great for answering questions such as these. Its a whole book based on frequently asked questions by real people all about clicker training. If you have questions, this is the book for you. The author does a wonderful job of answering each question in great detail.

The book Clicking With Your Dog has a list of treat ideas, along with treats not to use because they are toxic. A great list to have. It has great ideas on how to train your dog while going about your daily business, even if you are watching TV or on the computer, it shows you how to train your dog while doing so. This book not only has tricks that are useful such as putting toys away or helping with laundry, but also basic obedience; sit, down, loose leash walking, stay and more. Also has teaching your dog to retrieve using clicker training. A great read and I cant recommend it enough.

I hope I gave you some ideas on how to go about training your hard to motivate dog! Get out there and train your dog!

Check out part 2 on How To Train A Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Treats

Dont forget to check out our Squidoo pages that you can find over on your right!

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Teaching A Dog To Hand Target Or Touch

Teach a dog to place his nose on the palm of a hand, is one of my favorite behaviors to teach a dog.  In my humble opinion, I think hand targeting or touch is one of the most useful dog training tools we can have.  There are so many practical ways we can use this simple behavior to our advantage.  I will go over just a few that I actively use, but there are many more uses of a hand target.

Some useful ways to use a hand target or touch behavior include:

• Polite greeting or not jumping 
• Saying "hi" when nervous, confidence building
• Moving your dog from one spot to another
• Distracting your dog from something else
• Using your TOUCH as a lure to teach new behaviors in place of using a food lure
• Once a cue (word) is attached to the touch behavior, you can use it to have your dog touch other things, like a ball, vacuum cleaner, sticky note, etc. to teach new behaviors and tricks
•  Come when called behavior
•  Helping your dog not mouth hands or feel uncomfortable around hand movement
• A lot of dogs LOVE doing it

As with all dog training behaviors, there are a variety of ways to teach your dog what you want.  Of course, in my opinion, and in the eyes of animal behavior scientists, the only way is through positive, gentle methods.  Here are two techniques I often use when teaching a hand target.

GETTING STARTED TEACHING YOUR DOG TO HAND TARGET OR TOUCH

Way 1

•  Present your open palm to your dog, as you slowly move you and your hand away from your dog in a smooth motion to peek your dogs interest to follow.  Allow your dog to catch up to your hand.  He either will touch your palm, or get close to touching it.  This is when you say, "YES!" and toss a food treat away from you so your dog leaves to go eat it.  He will then turn around and start to approach you again.  Once again, use the palm of your hand, and gesture to encourage another touch of the nose.  YES! and toss a treat.  Repeat about 5-10 times.
• Once you are confident that your will actually touch your palm, as he is going in for the touch, say your target word just before.  Touch, Push, Nose, Target, etc.  Its important not to use a word until your dog is reliably doing a behavior. 
• Now that he is becoming increasingly more reliable, you can increase the difficulty level by making your hand higher, or lower, or adding a small distraction.

Way 2

• Get about 5 away from your dog, drop your hand to your dogs nose level and wiggle your fingers.  Allow your dog to sniff your fingers, and when he does say, "YES!" as  you pick them up and toss him a treat away from you.  Remember, tossing a food treat away from you allows you the opportunity to do the behavior again. Repeat this exercise about 5-10 times.
• Once you are confident that your will actually touch your fingers, its time to change  your hand position from fingers to an open palm.  Repeat the above exercise, but with an open palm.
• Now that your dog is actively touching his nose to your palm, just as he is going in for the touch, say your target word just before.  Touch, Push, Nose, Target, etc.  Its important not to use a word until your dog is reliably doing a behavior.
• Now that he is becoming increasingly more reliable, you can increase the difficulty level by making your hand higher, or lower, or adding a small distraction.

When you get to the point that your dog is reliably touching his nose to your palm, you can use it in various applications.  Below  you will see the two ways to get started, along with some dog training students using a hand target for polite greeting.

Do you need extra dog training help?  I offer in-person,  phone consultations, weekend dog retreats and public seminars.  Contact me today for details.

In the last video (black & tan dog) I did not toss the treat away because he was on leash.

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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Why Do Dogs Mount or Hump

Why does my dog hump?  Why do dogs mount other dogs?  Why does my dog hump his bed?  As a professional dog trainer and author, I hear these questions at least once a week.  Yes, you read that correctly, weekly.  This dog blog post has been on my to-do list for quite some time.  So, today is the day when I will finally give you my two cents on why dogs hump.

As with most dog training and behavior questions, it is never the same answer or reason for each

Photo-Malingering

dog.  There are a lot of variables, and considerations when trying to figure out why your dog humps or mounts either you, another dog, the air or an object such as his bed or toys.  I will go over various reasons to this age-old question.  First, both male and female dogs mount.  Second, spayed/neutered and unaltered dogs all mount.  Third, all ages of dogs hump.

• Play-A dog will often mount during play, or even as an invitation to play. When dogs are aroused (not sexual, just excited), they often can be seen redirecting that excitement onto something else.  Puppies are often seen mounting or clasping during play.  I know from experience, this is one of the biggest times I see my own dog, Dexter humping.  Dexter is notorious for doing this in the middle of a big game of tug, chase, almost any game he finds really fun.  His favorites are the cat bed and a pillow.
• Anxiety or Stress-When a dog is stressed, anxious, or unsure, they often perform what we call displacement gestures.  A simple way to think of a displacement gesture is when a dog doesnt know what to do because of conflicting emotions, so they do something out of place.  Mounting, sniffing, walking away, lip licking, these are all common displacement gestures.  Once again, I can recall my golden retriever, Theo doing this in times of stress.  He had separation anxiety, and when he would see me getting my things together, he would often air hump. Like Dexter, he also did this when over aroused during play, except he air humped, and did not use an object.
• Dominance or Control-I think these two can be lumped together for this purpose.  There are those times when a dog may mount to control a situation.  This can be seen on both sides of a coin, to dominate, or just to get control, or stop a behavior.
• Sexual or Mating-Obviously this is one of the reasons a dog may mount, or attempt to hump. 

So what does all this mean to the dog parent?  Knowing why a dog is doing something is always key in determining a course of action if any.  Humping can become a compulsive behavior, so its always a good idea to stop it from continuing before it gets out of hand.  However, you want to be kind, gentle, and not make a huge deal out of it, or it can actually escalate. 

For play mounting, throwing in some obedience-type behaviors to settle a dog down can be helpful.  A sit, stay, down, stay are good ones to add.  For my monkey of a dog, Dexter, I toss the bed and pillow in the closet when I play, Dexter is a very obsessive boy!

All dog anxiety needs to be addressed for the welfare of the dog.  I worked with Theo on his separation anxiety, and also calmly had him do a down/stay to settle him down.

Dominance or control mounting is usually because a dog is put in a situation where he actually doesnt feel secure in. Slow introductions, and taking things easy are helpful.

There you have it.  Those are some of the most common reasons dogs hump and what you can do about it.  When its all said and done, its a very NORMAL dog behavior, so dont get too stressed about it.

Do you need extra dog training help?  I offer in-person,  phone consultations, weekend dog retreats and public seminars.  Contact me today for details.

More Information

Tonya Wilhelm-Global Dog Training http://www.globaldogtraining.com

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How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys

Training a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys can be very frustrating at times, especially if you want to use positive reinforcement training. If you are set on using reward based training, check out my post Motivating a Non-Treat or Toy Motivated Dog

There are some dogs that just dont respond to food or toy based training. Such as the dogs mentioned in the comments of the post linked above.

Youre here because your dog doesnt like either food or toys. In fact, you have a hard time seeing anything your dog does like! You see reward based training everywhere, and every time you ask What do I do if my dog doesnt like food or toys you either get no answer, or you get answers just to get you to go away and ask somebody else.

My answer is, try a different Method! Its Okay if you dont train using food or toys.

Now, lets go over the other methods available to you.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Praise and Correction

In this method, you dont use food or toys. You simply use petting and praise as a reward for doing the right thing. You always have these with you and its really easy to do! Dog doesnt like food? No problem!

To teach your dog what you want, you first show them what you want by getting them to do the behavior a few times. (Im not going to go into detail on how to do this, the link to the system below will show you exactly how to implement this training method. It works very well and is very fast.) Once you know the dog knows what you want, then you add in corrections when they dont do it on the first time you say.

If you would like more information on this system, check out the website to watch videos, read testimonials, and read more about it. See the website Here

I have this system myself and have used it on many dogs. Ive gotten very good results every time, and it does happen as fast as they say it does.

Get the Large Dog System here.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Remote Collar Training

Our next method available to us if you have a dog that doesnt like food or toys, is Remote Collar Training. When used correctly, these do not hurt the dog and should not be used to hurt your dog. If youre hurting your dog or you see someone else using one of these and they are hurting their dog, you are Using It Wrong!

Remote collars can be an extremely useful tool in training, if you choose this method, please go to someone who knows how to properly use one and can teach you how. The best people Ive found that use Remote collar training is Sit Means Sit dog training. This company does amazing things, and no Im not affiliated with them in any way. I do not get paid to recommend them. Ive seen their You Tube Channel and have really liked what Ive seen. I highly recommend watching as many of their videos as you can so you can get an idea of whats possible with them. They have trainers all over the place, so be sure to see if there is one close by to you.

Here is a video of one of their off leash classes, it might give you an idea of what you can expect.



Sit Means Sit Dog training will let you use food or toys if you want to or if your dog responds to them, but they are not required.

How To Train a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys : Natural Training

Natural training is using communication your dog understands and use on themselves. No corrective collars, no food or toys. I have honestly not experimented a lot with this type of training but would like to learn more on it. I found this nice website that is all about it, you can see it at Pam Shaw Canine Consultant. He has a DVD available and I think Im going to order it myself and see what its all about.

I am sure there is more available on the internet about him and on Natural Dog Training. Do a search for it and see what you can find.

To sum this all up, if you have a Dog That Doesnt Like Food or Toys then throw out the reward based training and try something else! It is Okay! Dont let others make you feel bad because you dont use food or toys with your dog. The important thing is finding something that Works!

I would also like to point out, all of these methods are great even if your dog does like food or toys, but maybe you would like to try a different method.

Food or Toys are great to use during training if your dog finds them rewarding! However, dont get frustrated if your dog has no interest in either. There are plenty of other methods out there that dont use food or toys. I hope I helped you find some that will work for you.

Happy Training!

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Image Credits:
Dobie Pic: Pato_Garza @ Flickr


Amy @ Talented K9
talentedk9@yahoo.com
www.talentedk9.com

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