The temperature has been unbearable and it’s been too hot to let Rover out to get his daily exercise. So, what can you do to make Rover happy?

Mental stimulation will tire your dog out faster and for longer periods than physical exercise, when done correctly. The great thing about giving your dog mental stimulation is you can do it in your own living room and sitting on your own couch.

Dogs have a brain and they must be allowed to use it. If we don’t give them ways to use their brain, they will find other things to do and I can guarantee they are going to be things that you don’t like. Chewing up the rug, surfing the counters or running around the house with the remote are just a few things that come to mind.

Mental stimulation is where you are going to ask the dog to think for himself and to figure out what he needs to do to get something he likes. For example, lets say he wants a piece of his kibble or a dog treat, he will first try a behavior that always works, one that always gets your attention, no matter what. Unfortunately, that behavior is usually jumping. So Rover jumps up on you to try and get you to give him a treat. This is what we call an “offered behavior”. The dog is offering a behavior to get something he wants. But, we don’t want the jump to work, so we don’t give him the treat and we don’t acknowledge his presence. When he stops jumping, because it isn’t working, he will try something else, like putting his butt on the floor. As soon as he puts his butt on the floor, tell him “good boy” and give him a treat. By doing this, you have showed him that jumping on you doesn’t earn the treat, but putting your butt on the floor does earn him the treat. He has just used his brain to problem-solve to get something he wanted. When playing this game with him, you must remain quiet and not give him any commands. Telling him what to do isn’t teaching him to use his brain or problem-solve therefore, he won’t be getting any mental stimulation. You can also do this when you are putting on his leash to go outside to potty. Hold the leash, wait until he offers you a behavior that you like and once he offers it, put on his leash. Remember, don’t tell him what he is doing wrong and don’t acknowledge him at all until he does something that you like.

Once your dog has learned to do a couple of things for his treats, start asking for new behaviors before rewarding him like backing up, standing, offering a paw, speaking, fetching his toy or rolling over.

For more information on giving your dog mental stimulation, email me at info@dogspeak101.com or call me at 207.5932

Many times I’ve left the house with my good clothes on only to be “tagged” by my neighbor’s lab. With no time for changing, I often venture off to work with two muddy paw prints on my shirt. Luckily, most of my clients are dogs that don’t care if I’m dirty because they are going to “tag” me as soon as I walk in the door anyway.

I’m sure this has happened to you by your own dog. So once and for all, I’m going to help you fix this problem.

Dogs use jumping as an offered behavior to get your attention. Each time they jump and you give them acknowledgement, negative or positive, they store it in their memory bank as a behavior that works. When your dog jumps on you and you look at him, tell him “no”, push him off or pet him, you are acknowledging the behavior and inadvertently rewarding it.

What is the opposite of acknowledging? Ignoring. Ignoring is a very powerful tool but most people are not very good at it. They seem to misunderstand how ignoring works and often times don’t even realize that they do in fact acknowledge unwanted behavior. The next time your dog jumps on you, you need to look away, turn your back and even walk away if you have to. When your dog does have four on the floor for at least five seconds, you may reward with a treat, a pet or just by telling him what a good boy he is. If he begins to jump while you are rewarding, you immediately stop acknowledging and ignore.

Jumping is more than jumping on you, so it is important that we understand the other times your dog is jumping and you may be acknowledging. I see many dogs jump on a fence or a baby gate and get acknowledged. I see dogs jump up for their toy and the owner throws it and I see dogs put two feet on the couch to be close to their owner just to have their owner love on them or push them off. In each situation, the dog is being acknowledged. These behaviors must be ignored as well.

If you stay consistent and aware of your reactions, your dogs jumping will improve within a few days. If after a week, your dog’s jumping has not improved, start looking around to find where the jumping may be getting rewarded. I guarantee you that if he is still jumping, it is getting rewarded somewhere. Being rewarded one out of five times will cause the behavior to be repeated.

If everyone in your house is being consistent but your dog is still jumping, then we must look outside the home. Other people can reward your dog for jumping. My next article will discuss the best way to keep others from ruining all your hard work.

For questions, feel free to email me at info@dogspeak101.com.

No matter what type of training your doing, consequences are always going to be a part of it. That doesn’t mean that consequences have to be harsh and physically uncomfortable. In actuality, everything a dog does creates a consequence. Sometimes the consequence is something good like a treat or a pet, but sometimes that consequence is something negative like taking away a toy or not allowing a dog out of a crate.

Time-outs are one of my favorite consequences because it gives a clear communication of what isn’t working for the dog. A time-out is where the dog is isolated from an event for a certain amount of time due to an inappropriate behavior. Time-outs can be used anywhere for anything. There are rules that you must follow in order to make it a successful time-out.

When giving a time-out be sure that you’re not showing emotion. A true leader doesn’t show emotion when giving a negative consequence. Remain calm and matter-of-fact. You’ll use either a leash, the collar, or if the dog is small enough, you can carry him; be sure you’re not petting or talking while doing so. If you use the collar, grab the side and use the slightest pressure possible.

Time-out areas can change depending on your circumstances. When at home, it’s easy to use a crate or small room as the isolation point, don’t worry, you’re dog will not start to hate his crate. If you’re out in public you can use your car, a portable crate or just taking the dog away from the action may work.

When giving time-outs, you start out at thirty-seconds and increase as needed. When a time-out is completed, only allow the dog freedom by exhibiting self-control and a permission word. Don’t be surprised if your dog attempts the inappropriate behavior again, he’s only trying to figure out what caused the consequence of the time-out.

My dogs get three chances to do the right thing before receiving a time-out, I call that the “three strikes and you’re out” rule. Once I feel my dog is understanding what I’m wanting I start taking the chances down. Let’s look at some examples.

I don’t like my dogs jumping on the couch unless they get permission. If my dog jumps up I gently take the side of his collar and remove him using as little pressure as possible. I don’t say anything during this process and as soon as he’s moving on his own, I let go of the collar. If he jumps up two more times he goes to the crate. After thirty-seconds I allow the dog out with permission. If the dog jumps up on the couch I start the process again. Once I feel the dog is getting it, it goes to two strikes before time-out.

If I ask my dog to sit while out in a park and  my dog knows sit, and I mean, really knows sit, and my dog doesn’t sit, I’ll ask two more time before she gets a time-out. If my car is close by, I put her in the car for the allotted time. I let her out of the car and take her back to the exact spot I was asking for the sit and ask her again. She again gets a three tries and I repeat the time-out if she doesn’t respond. I continue this until I get the sit behavior. It’s very important that you go back to the exact spot and you get the behavior you’re asking for without pushing the dog’s butt down or bribing with a treat. The other important thing to remember is, don’t change what you would normally do when asking for a sit. Follow through and be confident! If my car isn’t close, I stand still, say nothing and wait for my dog to sit on her own. I then praise and move on with my day.

Remember, time-outs are a useful tool. They must be done correctly, confidently and they must be followed through. Whoever puts the dog in time-out gets the dog out of time-out. Some time-outs may need to be longer than others. You do whatever your mood is telling you. I’d rather you keep the dog in the crate for a longer period of time than screaming and yelling or just giving in.