Nobody wants their pet to suffer and trying to figure out how to resolve your pup’s separation anxiety can feel overwhelming and frustrating. For a dog that is suffering from separation anxiety, it is like they are having a panic attack every time their family leaves them.
I’ve been working with clients for many years helping them to learn how to teach their dogs to feel more relaxed when home alone. Today I am happy to announce that I’m launching my separation anxiety course, and if you grab a copy right now, it’s discounted by 10% using the code: LAUNCH.
With instructional videos, a comprehensive discussion with a veterinarian, and client examples, you will gain a more comprehensive understanding of separation anxiety and the route to resolution.
I created this resource so that you don’t have to continue wondering what is going with your best friend. The course was developed by qualified professionals with appropriate credentials, certifications, experience, and education to help you and your dog overcome the struggles associated with separation anxiety.
Through the use of positive reinforcement, with a desensitization protocol, families can begin to lessen the anxiety and fear that their dog is experiencing.
You can enroll in the Separation Anxiety course with a special 10% launch discount by entering code: LAUNCH.
Are you a deaf dog pet parent? Do you struggle when it comes to training your dog?
About nine years ago, Blanca (my deaf pup), came into my life after she was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico. Due to her having been homeless with minimal interactions with people, Blanca was mouthy, jumpy, and overly excited around humans. In fact, she was so enthusiastic to see people that she would leap up with her front paws and put your arm in her mouth.
As a professional dog trainer and animal behavior consultant I knew that I could work with her incorporating patience and positive reinforcement training techniques. At the start I was using a standard auditory clicker as a marker as we hadn’t yet figured out that Blanca was deaf! In hindsight she was responding to my mechanics, timing, and the yummy treats in my pouch vs. any sound she could (or could not!) hear!
Whatever issues you might like to work on, or even it you just want to learn how to train more effectively, the following protocol is the cornerstone to set everyone up for success.
The three most critical steps when trying to train your dog are the following.
Step one is to always avoid rehearsing the unwanted behavior. This may mean using a baby gate or a leash so that your dog doesn’t have the chance to practice the unwanted behavior–thus getting better at it.
The next step is to reinforce behaviors that you like which your pup already offers—such as, four paws on the floor!
The final step is to separately teach an incompatible or an alternative behavior. This new behavior will ultimately become your dog’s go-to response if you build a long and strong reinforcement history for it. For example, if your dog is a jumper, this means that instead of meeting people and jumping up on them your dog will automatically default to offering the new behavior (that you do like) for greetings.
With respect to Blanca’s training, I loaded up my treat pouch full of hotdogs and cheese–ostensibly high value items for most dogs–and began marking and reinforcing her for keeping her feet planted on the ground and or her bottom on the floor. By marking and reinforcing these incompatible behaviors I was able to teach her what I wanted her to do instead—and made these new behaviors “worthwhile” from her perspective!
If you are struggling to train your deaf dog, or if you are getting frustrated by the overwhelming amount of information out there, I am excited to announce that my Deaf Dog training course has launched!
In this course I will work step-by-step with you on how to effect behavioral change using modern, effective, positive reinforcement training methods. The course specifically covers issues, such as: mouthiness, counter surfing, crate training, and loose leash walking.
Additionally you will learn…
The secrets of training like a professional.
The way to understand how to change behavior while increasingly building a positive relationship and avoiding dangerous consequences of outdated aversive methods.
The keys to improve your skills to have better communication with your deaf pup.
The route to gain better awareness about how to reinforce those behaviors you want to see more of.
The path to create opportunities for a better relationship with your deaf dog!
Do you have a dog that likes to jump up on family members or strangers? In today’s Animal Behavior and Dog Training Tidbit video, “How Do You Keep Your Dog From Jumping?” I discuss some tips on how you can keep your dog from jumping up by teaching your pup “what to do” and instead of shouting “no” at him.
If you prefer to read about “How To Keep Your Dog From Jumping?,” below is a lightly edited transcript from the video.
Hi, I’m Terrie Hayward from Positive Animal Wellness thanks for joining us again.
Today I’m going to talk about a question that comes up quite frequently and the question is “How do I keep my dog from jumping up?”
I would submit that the first thing that we want to do is reframe that question. Instead of asking what we want to do to stop or prohibit a type of behavior, we want to think about what do we want the dog to do instead.
Specifically, instead of keeping my dog from doing “something,” we want to teach them what to do instead and then make that behavior really reinforcing. Let’s say we have a dog who’s jumping up. What type of behaviors could we ask them to do instead? We might ask them to settle. We might ask them to lie down. We might ask them to sit or we might just go ahead and reinforce four paws on the floor.
After teaching or capturing the desired behavior we need to reinforce it! In doing so we’re reinforcing an incompatible or an alternative behavior instead of jumping up. That means we’re making the new or different behavior much more worthwhile for the dog.
The final piece, is that we want to use management while we’re teaching and reinforcing an alternative or incompatible behavior to jumping up. We want to set the dog up for success. That means we might use baby gates, for example if we have a dog that’s jumping up on the couch. Or we might use baby gates so that the dog can’t access a particular room.
If we have a dog who’s jumping for greetings, again, we’ll use management and we might have the dog on a leash or within a gated area so that they can’t get to the person and practice that unwanted behavior of jumping.
We’ll use management while we’re working on reinforcing and teaching incompatible alternatives that we can reinforce and that we want to see continue to into the future. Thanks for joining us!
About nine years ago, Blanca (my deaf pup), came into my life after she was rescued from the streets of Puerto Rico. Due to her having been homeless with minimal interactions with people, Blanca was mouthy, jumpy, and overly excited around humans. In fact, she was so enthusiastic to see people that she would