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The Three Secrets to Positive Dog Training

Listen to your Dog

If your dog isn't listening to you, there's probably a reason. They're not doing it to be stubborn or malicious. They may not know "sit" outside of the house or they may be sick or stressed or you haven't managed to be more interesting than dirt. When we were taking Rally Fr-Ee classes, Mr. N totally shut down because he was so overstimulated due to the environment (outdoor classes) and frustrated because I was frustrated and it was a vicious loop. With our trainers' guidance, I focused on asking for engagement and play in the new setting and for behaviors he already knew well. And our last class, he made it around the course and did about half the exercises. 

Photo by Kolu Photography

Reward Good Behavior. Liberally.

A mistake that people often make is not rewarding good behavior enough especially outside of designated training times. Mr. N regularly gets "maintenance" treats when we're not actively training. He gets treated for being calm when the neighbors' dogs walk by our window, for cooperating with grooming and other house manners. 

If we only notice the bad, we're missing excellent opportunities to train and reward our dogs. Think about it. If only your mistakes were noticed and highlighted and your progress ignored, would you want to continue with whatever you were doing? I actually stopped taking a dance class for this reason. It was a small class and the instructor pointed out my mistakes and only mine for the entirety of the class. I know I made plenty of mistakes. It was my first class. But when you only hear criticism, it doesn't make you want to progress any further. 

Have Fun

Nobody brings a dog into their household to add sorrow to their lives. At least I hope they don't. We bring dogs into our lives because they bring us joy and laughter and entertainment. Training your dog should be fun, not arduous. I will let Mr. N take the lead in training sometimes and his tiny brain comes up with the most interesting things. 

His stomping trick came about because one day he decided that he was going to stomp at me if he thought I was being obtuse or not giving him a deserved treat while training. I thought it was hilarious and then I decided to put it on cue. 

I was trying out a training idea where you train with another dog in order to amp up your dog and/or create training interest. Due to a lack of dogs to experiment with, I made do with a stuffed panda. I started talking to the panda and asking for behaviors and treating the panda and Mr. N was like what is this? Those are my treats and my tricks and my person! I was asking the panda for a high five and Mr. N decided he did not want to be left out and started high fiving the panda.

Thus. 

What is your secret to being a good trainer?

Welcome to First Monday's Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Tenacious Little Terrier and Rubicon Days. Please share your responsible pet owner positive pet training tips by linking a blog post or leaving a comment below. Any positive reinforcement training posts or comments are also always welcome. The Positive Pet Training Blog Hop goes all week long. Our next hop will begin Monday, Sept 7th and continues for a week. 

One of the things that Mr. N considers a fitting reward (because he is a terrible food snob) is Caru treats and we're giving some away! 

A Portrait of the Dog who Loves his Barkworthies Pretzel Bully Stick

Mr. N is in love. With his Barkworthies Pretzel Bully Stick to be exact. When he saw it, he abandoned all other bully sticks and has remained constant since. 

When Barkworthies asked which chews we wanted to review, I asked for the Butcher's Cut (handpicked for color and thickness and odor-free) and the pretzel for sheer entertainment value because I wanted to see Mr. N chewing on a pretzel. It positively reeks and I have to make sure he doesn't drag it into the bedroom but he absolutely adores it. 

Mr. N has still not touched the Butcher's Cut stick. I don't know if he likes having more surface area to grip or if the aroma appeals to his senses but he has decided this is the only one that he wants. 

This post was sponsored by Barkworthies. They are not responsible for the contents of this article. All opinions expressed are our own. 

Eight Photos of Happiness Challenge

We were nominated by a couple of blogger friends to participate in the Eight Photos of Happiness Challenge (thanks to Talent Hounds, Fiona King, Welcome to the Menagerie and Earl's World).  

Here are the guidelines for this tag:

1. Thank your nominator(s) and link them to your post.
2. Link to the creator of the tag, Ariel's Little Corner Of The Internet.
3. Post your eight photos of happiness.
4. Pop in a brief description of the photo, why you chose it, or just let the photo do the talking!
5. Spread the happiness and tag up to 10 other bloggers.

I have absolutely no idea what Mr. N was endeavoring to do in this photo but every time I see it, it makes me laugh.

Mr. N and the blueberry mascot at the Berry Festival.

Mr. N says blogging is such hard work.

Out for an urban hike with all the flowers.

Mr. N being a hipster.

One of my favorite photos of Mr. N and Sage together.

Mr. N chomping on a stick and being all fierce and mighty.

Zombie Dog.

I think most everyone has been tagged at this point so if you're reading this and haven't been tagged, consider yourself tagged!

It's the Hard Knock Life

Lure Coursing i.e. Mr. N's Favorite Thing Ever

Mr. N positively adores lure coursing. It is his favorite thing ever. The dogs chase a plastic bag on a line pulled by a series of pulleys. 

The non-sighthounds run the CAT (coursing agility test). Small dogs (under twelve inches) and brachycephalic dogs run 300 yards and the big dogs run 600 yards. The dogs run individually and in order to pass, the dogs must complete the course in under a minute and half (300 yards) or two minutes (600 yards). 

People with their hounds at the starting line. I think they were competing for best of breed. 

The trial we went to had the sight hounds running in the morning and the CAT test in the afternoon. Mr. N is registered as an All-American (the AKC term for mixed breeds) but due to a registration snafu, he was initially listed to run 600 yards. While he probably would have loved it, I switched him to his proper division. He also happened to be the only small dog running that day so he ran first. 

I was just asking someone if she minded taking photos of him while he ran when I was told Mr. N was up. So there are no pictures of him running. It's also incredibly difficult to get a good picture of a tiny tan dog running in dry grass so I doubt the photos would have been good anyway.

About to cross the finishing line. 

Obviously, he's an off-breed for the sport. That's the purpose of the CAT. But I guess due to his small and fluffy stature, he's even more off. He was running the CAT with Belgians, Bouviers, Dobermans, Border Terriers and a Pumi among other dogs. I usually get a couple of quizzical oh.... you're running him? remarks. Which admittedly is much better than being told I was being cruel to make him run so much (which has happened). This is an instinct test and if your dog doesn't want to run, they won't run. 

This Dalmatian was super excited and dragged his owner to the starting line.

But once people see him run, they change their tune. Mr. N gets so excited when he sees lure coursing, he literally quivers. I'm glad that is his preferred reaction rather than screaming at the top of his lungs like some of the other dogs. At his first trial, he was the fastest (and smallest) dog in his division. It's a pass/fail test and there are no rankings but it's still pretty cool to know that he is super fast! He runs with great enthusiasm and he never loses sight of the lure. He completed his run in good time (not sure of the exact time, this club doesn't keep track of time) and won a ribbon. He would like to do it again now please. 

Mr. N posing with his ribbon and the giant Milkbone that he won. Mr. N wants to go back to the field now.

Rain Dog

Mr. N forgot how to walk in the rain. 

Visiting Pike Place Market

Pike Place Market overflows with people during summer weekends so Mr. N rode in his carrier for most of our visit and was carried for the rest. It was entirely too busy to let him walk on the floor. I wouldn't recommend it during the busy times (summer and weekends) for dogs that are not exceptionally good with crowds (and won't mind getting stepped on!).

Mr. N got a tiny nibble of the famous Beecher's cheese. I recommend their grilled cheese sandwiches. 

There are tons of booths featuring produce, food and crafted items and of course their famous fish stands. Mr. N's nose got a major work out. He especially enjoyed sniffing the fish stands. 

If they had a dog-themed one, I would seriously have thought about buying one.

There were some buskers with a very calm dog who mostly napped.

Where have your dogs gone on vacation? 

Seattle Skyline

PNW Dog Blogger Meetup and Hike

We're still recovering from our weekend jaunt to Seattle. While we were there, we met up with the Cascadian Nomads and You Did What With Your Wiener? and we went for a hike with the dogs at Camp Long. Mr. N even went home with the Nomads who kindly hosted him for the weekend. That's a story for another post! 

From left to right: Huxley and Brychwyn and Wilhelm from the Cascadian Nomads, Chester and Gretel from You Did What With Your Wiener?, and Mr. N 

Have you met other bloggers? Is there a particular one you'd like to meet?

Sleeping on the Job