Betty’s training – top puppy training tips!
June 30, 2010
This hugely important training tip is that I rarely say no to my puppy or any dog of mine, what I want is for my dog to associate my voice with good stuff, to turn happily and look when I speak to them, verbally correcting and telling off young dogs simply teaches them to take no notice of us at best and at worst spoils the bond between dog and owner! Besides I do not need a command word for things that in just a few months she will lose all interest in, like eating inappropriate stuff in the garden.
That doesn’t mean Betty gets to do whatever she likes though! As with any young baby, I distract her sometimes, when she is for example heading for my greenhouse to eat my plants, on occasions I pick her up and move her to another area, as when she is in the front room and I want her out without damage or fuss or want her in her crate in a hurry, I make picking her up a time for a cuddle to ensure she continues to enjoy being picked up.
When I have time and I want her away from a room or an item, I practice her recall to me, rewarding her with a treat, there are endless opportunities for recall practice with this!
When she is eating or chewing on items of no value and no harm I simply let her get on with it and let her find out for herself that it is not tasty or fun, if I show interest in whatever she has I will simply reinforce her interest.
I keep my corrections gruff, short and sharp for things of more importance like play biting and chasing my feet, she now backs off immediately on these behaviours simply because it is so rare for me to be gruff! So much of dog training is not what you do, but want you don’t do!
I back this all up with titbit training Betty with clear hand signals to do little recalls, sit, down, heel, watch and walk to heel at least 6 of each on the trot, currently I use her normal meals for training these, she is still greedy enough for this food to be important to her, and ensures she gets lots of repetitions on each exercise while having fun!
Betty is far from perfect and I cannot say I want her to be, but she will be perfect for me 🙂 we just need a couple of years! I am so enjoying being with her and be at the beginning of my dogs life again, this time passes so fast, I find each time I have a puppy these early months are more precious to me and that makes me more patient, thankfully as I did need to learn some patience!
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Lady the Labrador takes a ride!
June 29, 2010
I thought you might all like to see this, it is of my client Jan’s dog Lady, everytime Jan puts the wheelchair away at night Lady gets in for her ride!
Please do send me your photo’s?
aplogies to Jan for writing nonsense the first time and calling Lady Susie, Susie is Jan’s other Labrador!!
Lady taking her nightly ride!
Pie takes Betty to the seaside!
June 28, 2010
Betty sees the sea!
Isnt this weather great! I made the most of the sun with a trip to Southwold and Dunwich with Adam and Ian and the dogs! Betty’s first trip to the seaside!
On the behaviour course last weekend we were talking about social things to introduce puppies too, and Jeanette, who is into gun dog training was saying how swimming introduced in the early weeks makes for good swimmers. I must confess having my dogs swimming has not been a priority for me, though I can see it would be for gun dog owners. Pie does not like the water, but interestly as he was born in September it was not the right weather for beach trips in his the early days! Both of my last two Collies, Teddy and Truly were born earlier in the year so I guess they did get to the water early on, and both liked swimming!
I carried Betty most of the walk to the beach at Dunwich, saving her energy for the beach part! She was fascinated when she saw the water, but soon decided to stay near Pie, and true to form Pie put his brakes on every time the tide got close, not getting even his feet wet and Betty did just as he did! Eventually I went in paddling to encourage Pie in further, he overcame his reluctance to follow me and dear little Betty was right behind him :), being so small she was soon in to deep water for her! Betty took it all in her stride, swimming round me, I got worried and steered her back to the beach! She proved it wasn’t just a mistake by doing the same again, so it seems she will be a swimmer!
We all collapsed in giggles at a wet Betty, she looked so silly, skinny little legs, looking more like a whippet than a Collie as you can see from the photo!
I have seen how to insert a slide show, let me know if you prefer this format or shown photo’s?
Betty thought Ian looked like a perfect towel for her, when he sat on the beach, and used his shirt to dry off!
On a more serious note: Dogs and law!
June 24, 2010
On my current behaviour course we were discussing the law in relation to walking our own dogs, and the difficulty of other people, with dogs off lead and not under control, bothering our dogs and how offended people can become if we don’t want to have their dogs jumping on ours, when the law entitles anyone to walk without being accosted in a public place. So if you feel threatened by someone elses dog on a walk, the law is on your side, not all dog owners recognise that their dogs behaviour appears threatening to others, when in fact it is!
For those of you who would like to know your legal position here it is:
Important legislation is:
The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, which is further amended in 1997
Control of Dogs Order 1992
Dog Control Act 2008 – parts of which are still yet to be enacted
The Dangerous Dogs Act 1991
Section 3 makes it a criminal offence for anyone to own a banned breed; Japanese Tosa, Pitbull, Filo Brasilera, Dogo Argentino, or any such cross-breed. (exceptions if permitted by court to be registered, muzzled in public etc).
The Act is extended in 1997 for dangerous to mean any dog in England or Wales that is dangerously out of control. This can mean that a person is in reasonable fear of being injured. The offence is aggravated if a person is injured. This can also extend to other dogs. However, in this Act covers only in a public place (anywhere where the public is permitted to have access). So if you are trespassing or in a friend’s garden say, this Act will not apply.
This Act gives the police & dog wardens powers to seize the dog and prosecute the owner. Power of arrest only applies if the owner fails to five a name and address at which they can be summoned.
This Act gives the court powers to destroy the dog (if a person is injured then there is a presumption to destroy, but there is always discretion). The Court can also ban a person from future ownership of a dog. Other Acts allow for ASBOs to be placed on owners. This is a civil hearing.
The Dog Control Act 2008 This is not in place yet as gets second hearing at the end of July, the difference here is that this is public or private place.
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The Control of Dogs Order 1992
This Order makes it mandatory for dogs in public (other than listed exceptions such as service dogs etc) to wear a collar and identification stating owners details. This is important, as whilst there is no power of arrest for the above Acts, anyone who fails to give their name and address to a police office for the purpose of summons for any offence, can be arrested (Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984).
Procedure in Practice
Dependent on the local procedures of forces a dog attack on dog in a park would most likely be dealt with by a dog warden.
It may become a police issue, if the matter is in say a housing estate, road, because the likelihood of danger is higher, (ie dogs off lead out of control on a road may be considered to have a greater opportunity to injure more people/ animals.
Police will always get involved if a person is injured, a dog is killed, or the dangerous dog is a repeat offender (ie the dog warden refers it to police because of the number of complaints received).
Betty, yoghurt pots, pack leadership and me and Pie
June 24, 2010
Betty waits for her turn with the yoghurt pot!
I do like yoghurt 🙂 not that I have one every day, over the years I have always given my older dog the pot when I am done, to lick out. First it was Truly and Teddy would wait for second pickings, when Truly died Teddy got the pot first and when Pie came along he got it second. Now it is Pie’s turn!
Betty has her turn with the pot!
Now that Pie has taught Betty not to jump on him, it seemed a good time to try out the yoghurt pot with Betty, I don’t give my young dogs food when I am eating generally, but I think this is a great way of emphasing the pecking order to Betty, and I love to see if she has accepted the order of life. As you can see in the photo, Betty pretends not to be interested in what Pie is doing, yet lies close enough to know, and the second he walks away from the pot she has it!
There are some days when I find it so easy to see how troublesome behaviour can start, even as a dog trainer I could easily get things wrong, and do!
Last week Betty had her vaccinations, I was a little concerned for a day or two as her tummy was a bit upset and she was a little quieter than normal, Friday night she woke me just after midnight vomiting and I was sure I would be taking her to the Vet Saturday morning! I had withheld her fourth meal on the friday because her tummy wasn’t right and having spoken to Annie, her breeder, we agreed I was likely over feeding her, I usually do with my puppies, which shows itself with diarrhea!
Come saturday morning, Betty was back on full form, her energy level was back to normal and her appetite enormous, I gave her a very small breakfast to check out how her tummy was and all was fine and back to normal! How quickly little puppy’s can go from ill to okay!
Now it is hard to tell which was the issue the vaccinations or me over feeding, or both! She is the greediest puppy I have had, even more so than Pie, though only just! Having missed a meal she was sure her throat had been cut and she was starving, eating every bit of rubbish in the garden, so now her hunger could lead to her eating something really harmful! On Sunday I took her for a little walk by the lake near me and she soon found some left over crab pincers (I guess the fishermen use crab meat for bait?), now I am sure this couldn’t be great for a puppies tummy, I did my best to distract her with my tit bits but she was not convinced and finally I had to take it off her. I avoid taking anything food like off of my puppies always, unless it is really dangerous, and I must admit crab pincers are a new one on me.The reason I avoid this so much is because of how puppies learn, if you can imagine in the wild a puppy simply learns what is desirable to eat by whether the other animals want it or eat it, and taking anything away for a puppy means in the puppies eyes we are eating it! Therefore the more any of us take undesirable stuff off of our puppies the more they learn to think this very thing is desirable! I have seen this to such extremes that dogs eat the most unnatural and dangerous items.
So now I have a very hungry puppy and the added danger of her eating more unhealthy rubbish, though the dogs stomach is designed to cope with extreme bacteria! Having returned Betty to the house, Pie and I went out to the lake with rubbish bags, one over my hand, not just to avoid the bacteria but also to avoid leaving my scent in the area the crab bits have been, (Betty would then associate my scent and the crab bits) to clear this unusual rubbish up! Interestingly Pie was not at all interested in the pincers but then I guess he wasn’t exposed to them as a puppy so does not think of them as food!
The tummy issues caused more problems with Betty’s house training, we had got into a good routine, I knew for the most part when she would need to go and as a result her house training was coming along brilliantly, with the variation in her diet and her upset tummy her toilet routine has gone out the window as a result I am out of sync and we have had more accidents indoors, not Betty’s fault as she was not able to go out side so had little choice!
Now I am doing the best I can to fill her up without overfeeding her and rediscover her toilet times!
Betty eating harmless rubbish! Better known as exploring her options!
Hear Avril on BBC Essex Radio
June 21, 2010
For those that didn’t have the chance to listen in on Friday 18th June the BBC iPlayer means that you can do so anytime you like before Friday this week!
Mave at reception at BBC Essex Radio
Steve Scruton was away on holiday so this time I was on air with Mark Punter, a really nice guy who put me at ease very quickly! Mark seems very laid back but if you could see all the jobs he has to juggle in the studio it is hard to imagine that he feels laid back 🙂 We had some great phone calls, the lines were very busy, I know that severeal people failed to get through, flattering for me but disappointing for them.
Do let me know what you think? Go to BBC Essex home page and click listen now, for some reason I do not seem able to insert the link into the post today!
Photo’s from Betty’s adventures at Barnards Bridge!
June 21, 2010
Am I allowed in here?
Sheep and Alpaca's
Betty sees the sheep and alpaca's
Anyone else coming?
Betty meets Adam
Laces are always good fun!
I'm coming!
Elizabeth the Buff Orpington
Betty tries to ignore the chicken
Betty thinks the chicken wants to be friends!
I thought she wanted to be friends but no, I am out of here!
Betty and bedtime and vaccinations!
June 17, 2010
My puppy group this morning were talking about how their puppies were causing havoc in the living room in the evening, yet feeling that 8pm was too early to leave them out in the kitchen when the family are ready to relax. I have to say I disagreed, 8pm is late enough for baby puppy’s, my Betty is only in the living room if she is dozy and cuddles on my lap or I am just going in and out again. For the most part she stays in the kitchen and utility room, where there are hard floors, at this time in her life carpet is not understood and she is likely to toilet on that type of floor, it is just too like grass in her little mind. By keeping her out of the rooms with carpet, at least for playtimes, toilet training goes smoother and if she does have an accident (usually my fault for not getting her out!) it is easy to clean up!
My puppy owners all reported bad and silly behaviour from their puppy’s in the evening, behaviour worse than any other time of the day, this is often a sign of tiredness and a resistence to resting, by keeping the puppy in the familiar sleeping area they will settle themselves and not develop bad behaviour issues. I would say that many of the behaviour problems I see in older puppies often stems from them being over stimulated in early life, having too much attention can often lead to as bad if not worse behaviour than too little! As the grown up we have to tell them when enough is enough, just as we do with young children.
After 8pm I still take Betty out to the toilet as needed, give her a last meal around 9.30pm, then out to the toilet until I see her have a last pooh! After that she is in the kitchen until I go to bed, when I take her out for one last toilet, this week she then comes upstairs and into her crate for the night, by next week she should be in her crate downstairs. I like my puppy to have the first week, where I shut the crate door at night, by my bed to give them comfort, after that they are fine in the crate anywhere, and I feel okay about it too! I must confess the first two evenings I had Betty, I did keep running around after her until around 10pm, this just meant I was wacked and if I had kept doing that I would have enjoyed her less in the day, and it was not necessary, we all need down time.
Last night Betty had her first vaccination, 😦 she was so pleased to see everyone in the vets waiting room, her tail didn’t stop wagging! She was especially pleased to meet the 12 week old Labrador sitting next to us, who’s poor owner had bite marks all up her wrists, though the puppy looked very sweet! Betty was wearing her collar and lead, which she is used to now, and the Labrador was not, though four weeks older, her owner commented on Betty wearing hers and said she had not introduced the collar as yet! What a shame, the puppy was now ready to go out formally and would have no previous experience of wearing the collar!
One of the reasons I introduce the collar and lead and anything else needed later is to give the puppy something to think about, it is giving them these tasks that helps reduce play biting, a bored puppy, that is one that just gets to do their own thing all the time will be worse at play biting for sure! In fact I do not wait, as you will know by now, to take my puppy out. Now I do not take them to high risk places where many dogs will have been, but my friends houses and the paddocks near my house are all great for stretching and solialising and training, all of which helps prevent the puppy learning and practising behaviour we do not want!
Betty yelped when she had the injection:( and was very sad afterwards, sleeping most of the evening, unusually for her! I opted not to have her micro chipped yet as that is even more painful and I do not want her to be anxious about the Vets so early in life. I will wait until she is a little older as she seems to have a low pain threshold, unlike Pie who didn’t flinch at injections or the chip! It is a touch life for the young:). Today is the first time her pooh has been less than firm (despite all the garden bits she enthusiastically eats) which is the stress and possibly the vaccination, though she is fine in herself! I am sure she will be completely back to normal tomorrow.
Betty on the move!
Car travel and Betty visits her relatives!
June 16, 2010
Betty with some of her sisters!
Betty being important
Up until today I had only taken Betty on several short car journey’s, I hadn’t planned it that way, it was how my life was last week, she was fine in the car but a bit squeaky. It might have been easy to think she didn’t like the car because of the squeaking, but I suspected that she was already finding the trips exciting! Yesterday I had to go to Colchester and I decided to drop in to see Annie and the remaining puppy’s with Betty. The journey is about forty minutes and Betty squeaked a bit for the first ten minutes in her crate, then slept! No more squeaking coming home either, I will ensure we do more longer trips over the coming weeks to make sure she learns to settle in the car.
It is only because I know her temperament and my experience of dogs, that I knew it was the life experience she was having that was producing the wrong behaviour in the car, how easy it is to go wrong with puppy’s, but once spotted can be put right easily too!
Betty was very excited to be back at her first home, she was full of herself with the other puppy’s, I could almost hear her telling them what a girl of the world she is now. she strutted round them full of self-importance! Her Mum Gracie was so pleased to see her, Gracie is a lovely Mum and even loves to play with her babies, many bitches are fed up with their pups by this time.
Betty was a little more demure in the garden with the bigger dogs though!
Bronte is Annie’s puppy from Buffy, (see “a story of a whelping” blog) and two weeks younger than Betty, I am sure Bronte and Betty will be great friends as they grow up! Annie’s dogs are like extended pack to mine and vice versa as we are great friends, meet regularly and have each others dogs to stay.
Annie's puppy the long awaited Bronte!
Avril Munson's Blog 