Happy Valentines Day

Apple wishes all her boyfriends and girlfriends a most happy Valentines Day.

Kisses and tail wags,

Love, Apple.

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This Friday is Take Your Dog to Work Day!

In 1999 our friends at Pet Sitters International created Take your dog to work day. Their website explains it like this: "Take Your Dog To Work Day® (TYDTWDay®) was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs. This annual event asks pet lovers to celebrate the humane-canine bond and promote pet adoption by encouraging their employers to support TYDTWDay. Employers are encouraged to open their workplace to employees four-legged friends on this one special day."

It is a really great idea! If your job is conducive to it and your employer will allow it, I encourage you to take one of your little guys or girls to work with you this Friday (June 21, 2013). I always encourage people to spend more time with their dogs. Dogs bond with their people and need interaction with them. It is also a lot of fun for you and your dog!

Many of you know that in addition to Dog Training, I also do Handyman work and Lawn Maintenance work . Since starting my business, I have always taken my canine buddies to work with me as often as possible. If the conditions are right (i.e. they will not have to be in the hot sun all day, etc.) I take one or maybe two of my buddies with me. I even have some business cards with my dogs names and titles (i.e. head of security, customer relations, etc.) on them to give customers. Many of my customers think it is really cool that my dogs have business cards :) .
The dog sitting in the truck is one of my buddies from years ago named Critten. She helped me on many jobs in the Tampa Bay Area back before  I relocated to Georgia. Critten was a pit bull and lab mix. She was one of the sweetest dogs I ever had! For those car and truck folks out there, yes, that is a 1969 Chevrolet C/10 Pickup. It was a great every day work truck for me in those days!

Use common sense about taking your dog to work though. If you are not self-employed, make sure it is okay with your employer first. If you have a job that puts your dog in a dangerous situation or if the dog would distract you to the extent that it would put you in a dangerous situation then not participating in Take Your Dog to Work Day is a no-brainer.

An ironic thing is that when I worked as a Dog Trainer at Petco in Peachtree City, GA, for a brief time, I used Copper as a demo dog. He helped me with classes and for prospective customers, he did demonstrations of the behaviors that we taught in our classes.  Not long after I started using Copper in that way, our district manager informed me, in no uncertain terms, that I was not allowed a demo dog under any circumstances. I was told that this was a corporate policy. It is very ironic that professional trainers at Petco are not allowed to have their own animals at work but any customer can bring a dog into the store. So, I am really curious if Petco will allow their Dog Trainers to participate in Take Your Dog To Work Day this year. I suspect not. I guess Petco is not where Petco Dog Trainers pets go.

I now use Copper as a demo dog again. At some point little Cody may also become a demo dog. So, if you take classes with me you will see the behaviors that I teach demonstrated with at least one demo dog :) .

If you feel that your dog is not well behaved enough to take to work, please contact me. I will be glad to help you train your dog to be a well behaved and polite dog. Maybe next year you can take your dog to work!

Have fun with your canine buddies at work!

Till Next Time

-William-

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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Happy Independence Day! What do I do when my buddy is scared of fireworks

The Lovely Shane, Cuddles the Corgi mix, Copper the Whopper Beagle, Cody the Little Beagle and wish you a happy and safe July 4th! The picture is from a laser light and fireworks show at the State Park in Stone Mountain, Georgia. If you have never seen one of these you should. This time of the year, I think they do them weekly.

Firecrackers and certain types of fireworks that makes noise is not legal for home use in Georgia. So, I am certain that none of my Atlanta area readers ever encounter loud fireworks in your neighborhoods :) . Many years ago, I lived in a sub-division in eastern Cobb County, Georgia. All fireworks were illegal at that time. It sounded like a war zone around my house on New Years eve and July 4th. I am certain this was from some local licensed fireworks show and not my neighbors with  contraband firecrackers and M-80s :).

At the time I lived in Cobb County, I had a very nervous Beagle named Boomer. Like most of my Beagle buddies over the years, Boomer was a rescue. He was abused as a young puppy and had many anxiety issues. He was very scared of the noise that accompanied these local fireworks shows.

There are desensitization techniques that can be utilized for dogs that are scared of fireworks or thunder. They basically involve exposing the dog to loud noises that mimic the fireworks like recordings of fireworks, etc. You do this in a very controlled way and begin to associate good things with the offensive noise. Desensitization takes a while and if you are consistent with it, it can be very effective. However, the occurrence of fireworks is so infrequent that avoidance may be a better technique.

This may sound like common sense and the obvious answer, but I always kept Boomer inside during these fireworks displays. I also tried to mask the sound by having music playing or the TV tuned to one of his favorite channels.

It is always important to remember that, to a very large extent, your little buddy takes cues from you. So, with that in mind, try not to react to the fireworks. Do not make a big deal about them or call him poor dog and pet him every time you hear a boom. Also, if he wants to hide under a table or something, or if he wants to sit next to you on the couch, do not discourage this behavior. If your buddy sees that you are not reacting, it will probably help in calming him as well.

It has been my experience over the years that my little buddies who were afraid of thunderstorms were also afraid of fireworks and gunfire. So, some of the same techniques may be effective. I make this point because with many dogs that have moderate anxiety, the Thundershirt product is very effective. It does not work with every dog but I had many customers when I worked at Petco who said the product made a huge difference in anxiety level. There are also pheromone based sprays that seem to be effective with some dogs that have moderate anxiety. As in the case of the Thundershirt, this does not seem to work with every dog.

In extreme cases of anxiety, in other words if the dog is so anxious that he is hurting himself or being very destructive, your veterinarian can advise you about potentially using anti-anxiety medication for situations that you know are anxiety provoking.

If you do not have a regular veterinarian or if you suspect your vet is an evil alien :) , I will be happy to assist you in finding one.... I hope my readers appreciate my attempt at humor and dont just find it strange :).


I think our newest pack member, little Cody, may have some issues with fireworks this year. I have noticed that he is anxious during thunder storms. He is not relaxed like in this picture. On the contrary, he follows me everywhere and loves to lean on me an sit as close to me as possible. I will let you know how he does with the fireworks (if we have any in my law-abiding neighborhood).

Seriously, If you need help with an anxious dog or if you have any dog training needs, dog related questions, etc. , please contact me at any time!

I hope that you all have a great July 4th! The Lovely Shane is helping to care for her grandfather while her parents take a little out of town trip. I plan to take care of our pack and

 do some bathroom remodeling here at the Dog Trainer Shack. There is one other special activity in which I am going to participate: There is a radio contest this weekend called 13 Colonies. Amateur Radio Operators running special stations in all 13 original colonies are making contacts. If you contact all 13
of them you get a really cool certificate! I already have a start. Last night I contacted the New Hampshire station from the shack here. I was only operating at an output power of 5 watts. For those of you who are unfamiliar with radio, I probably would have used more power to yell out the window :) .

Well... Have a great 4th! Be careful.

Till Next Time

-William-

William Moore
William Moore Canine Training
678-702-4791
fayettedogtrainer@gmail.com

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A Successful Day

Saturday was a great day of progress for Brody. Weve been working up to it the whole time he has been training, building foundation, building trust and creating meaning for the clicker.  Saturday was the culmination of everything we had worked on, and the true beginning of his counter-conditioning training.  I was worried about how Brody would react - while hes done very well so far, there are lots of things that can go wrong once all the cards are on the table and he comes face to face with his nemesis. 

I was worried that he would get stressed out and refuse to take treats, that he would start to ignore the sound of the click, or that I wouldnt be able to keep him under threshold.  Those are all common road blocks when working with a leash-reactive dog, so I had reason to be concerned.  But all our prep work (and my thoughtful planning of bringing several different kinds of treats) paid off.

The park we picked to work in on Saturday was perfect for what Brody needed.  It was busy - with a sunny, mid-70s spring day that wasnt a surprise.  Lots of kids and parents, noise and activity, but that wasnt what we were there for.  I got Brody all set up, leash clipped to his harness, my treat bag and clicker ready, and we headed to the edge of the park, by the sidewalk that ran around the perimeter.  Thats where we found what we were looking for - a woman walking her dog.  The first dog we spotted was small, which was fine for a starting point. 

I got Brody to a distance that I thought was just close enough (or just far enough, depending on how you want to look at things!), then proceeded to click and treat at all the right times.  It was a fantastic exercise - textbook.  My timing was good, and I managed to keep Brody just under threshold all but one time (which I caught so quickly it didnt become an issue).  We made it by that dog without a single bark, so I gave him a little break and grabbed a few pictures.  Once Id spotted the next dog I again set Brody up at a distance that felt right, and we again had a very successful session.

Throughout the couple hours we stayed at the park Brody got to encounter many dogs, and he continued to do very well.  If you think two hours sounds like a long time to train a dog, youre right.  Its too long.  But sometimes you have to take advantage of situations that are ripe for training, so I kept Brody from getting frazzled by mixing things up and taking lots of breaks.  A little work passing another dog, then some time to sit in the shade and relax.  A walk around the grass for sniffing and exploring, a trip over to the car to get a drink of cold water and some fresh treats, then scoping out another dog and taking up our position.

Its wonderful as a dog trainer to have things go well, especially when you have eager parents putting their trust in you, hoping that you will make great progress with their dog.  We still have a long way to go, but right now Im very happy with how Brody is doing.

Have you ever had a dog that was reactive (towards dogs, people, cars or anything) when on leash?  What did you do to change their behavior, or what did you do to deal with it?

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How Much Training Should I do Each Day With My Dog

This is one of the first questions we get when owners embark on a new training program, whether it be a group class or private lessons. The answer is simple...do as many short (3-5minutes) training sessions as you can. But, the most important thing to remember is to incorporate your training into your every day activities. For example, practice your wait command as you head out the door for your walk on the El Dorado Hills trails. Or, practice a quick down stay while you make a sandwich or are getting some dishes done.

If you set up one big "training session" per day, your dog will do great during that "training time" and then it all goes out the window when you need it in real life situations...

Remember, every time you interact with your dog, your dog is learning something!!! Make it count!

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