Your Dog May Not Like Being Sniffed by Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com (801) 910-1700 All dogs have a different tolerance for their greetings with other dogs. As dog owners, it is our responsibility to set our dogs up for successful interactions and greetings with new dogs and people. Invading your dog’s space can turn a well-trained dog that is typically a great doggy citizen into a "reactive" dog. Can we train our dogs to be okay with these meetings? Yes, we can. You must improve upon these behaviors through socialization and diligent training. However, first and foremost, lets spread the word on setting our dogs up for more successful interactions by communicating and reading their body language. Most importantly remember always to ask fellow dog parents if it is okay for your dogs to meet. Even a 6ft leash is not always short enough to pass other people and dogs on a tight trail. In these situations, it is smart to keep your best bud close to you to give the other dog space.

Doing so will prevent any potential reactive situation from taking place. If your dog does a great job passing another dog or meeting another dog, be sure to let them know how awesome they are! Not all dogs understand that they did the right thing in these situations, and need to know when they are doing well. Many times, we see handlers react to their dog's negative behaviors, while instead, it is WAY more important to respond to their awesome behaviors. Let's build that pawsitive relationship and have pawsititve greetings with other dogs!

#alphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity You Are Your Dog’s Biggest Cheerleader by Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com/ (801) 910-1700

Dogs have lived with us for thousands of years. During this time, they learned to read and understand our micro expressions. What this means is that you cannot hide your feelings, attitude, or mood from your dog. You need to be genuine with them. If you are not in a good mood or are trying to pretend while something is upsetting you, you are not going to have a very good training session with your dog. Dogs can help us in a lot of ways. They are always present; they don’t care what happened yesterday or what tomorrow may bring. By effectively working with your dog, you must live in the moment as they do. You will say what you mean and mean what you say. Your words, tone of voice, and temperament will match your physiology. There are several things that you can do to best maximize your time with your dog. Those things are: your state of mind, having fun, communicating clearly and following through. By properly using these principles you will build a positive relationship with your dog and get the most out of you and your dog’s potential. We’ve mentioned that your dog can read how you are really feeling. If you are in a bad mood, you will generally get one of two reactions from your dog. They will either fear you, or they will want to rub up against you. If they are timid or fearful, they may avoid getting too close to you. Even if they have no history of abuse, they may just want to avoid that negative energy. Other dogs may want to rub up against you. We think this is them comforting us, but more likely it’s an appeasing behavior letting you know they are not a threat. To get the most out of your training and build a better relationship with your dog you need to be in the best frame of mind possible. Statistically, dog owners live longer than people without them. One of the reasons cited is that they are more active because their dog gets them to go out more. Maybe your dog can also help you be motivated to improve your mental health, too. Every time you work with your dog, try to be in the best possible state of mind. Remember one important point…you must be your dog’s biggest cheerleader!

What to do About your Puppy’s Resource Guarding

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity What to do about your Puppy’s Resource Guarding by Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com/ (801) 910-1700

When dogs guard stuff (e.g., their food, bones, toys, crates, sticks, their humans, trash and other items they steal)the term we usevis“Resource Guarding.” They are guarding what they think is a valuable, prized resource and they don’t want anyone to even try to take it away. Resource Guarding is actually a “normal” canine behavior. It’s a survival technique. However, when it happens it can become a dangerous behavior. If you have a puppy that is between 8 and 12 weeks old, Alpha Dog Training offers you the following protocol to follow. PUPPY FOOD BOWL EXERCISES: Never isolate your dog outside for meals or make him eat away from people. Do not make a habit of taking things away from your puppy because he should just give it up, or annoying your puppy at mealtimes. It is vitally important that your puppy knows “good things happen to me when people and kids are around me when I’m eating my meals or chewing on bones.” While your puppy is eating, approach him, call his name, and stroke him ONCE, then walk away. Also, while your puppy is eating, approach him, call his name and reach toward the food dish and place a treat in the bowl. Then walk away. While he's eating, sit on the floor a little away from him and keep puppy company while he’s eating. Don’t bother him though! Just let him eat in peace. Also, while your puppy is eating, call his name, then show him a special treat and throw it away from the bowl. Quickly pick his bowl up before he comes back to you. When he returns to you, immediately place the bowl back on the floor. And never take your puppy’s food away for no reason. 1. While puppy is chewing on his bone or other chew toy, place a treat over his nose. When he opens his mouth to get the treat, say, “leave it.” Give him the treat and give him his chew toy back immediately. Practice teaching your pup the “Leave It” cue. 2. While your puppy is chewing on something, call his name, then toss a treat away from where he’s eating his chew toy. When he goes to retrieve the treat, pick up the bone or chew toy he’s been chewing on and place it behind your back. When he comes back for it, give it back to him immediately. 3. Anytime you have to take something of his away (bones, Kongs, favorite toys, something he stole) or out of his mouth, make a food exchange for it. This will teach your puppy that whenever you take his stuff, he can get something even better. Also, teach your children never to pester your puppy while he’s eating. At Alpha Dog Training we have lots of ways to teach your dog the “leave it” command. Feel free to contact us at any time for free info. alpha-dog-training-slc.com (801) 910-1700.

Your Child's New Puppy

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainerssaltlakecity Your Child’s First Puppy by Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training (801) 910-1700

Your Child’s First Puppy At Alpha Dog Training we find that children living with pets are generally better off than those who don’t have one. Families with pets are more physically active, and have better general health. However, when it comes to establishing a strong bond between your new puppy and your child early on, you may not know where to start. From the importance of slow introductions to involving your child in the puppy training process, here’s how you can set them up for success. Fostering safe introductions Bringing home a new pup is an exciting event, but it’s necessary to introduce your child and their new furry friend slowly, and in a safe way — especially if you’ve never had a dog around your child before. In order to prevent an unpleasant interaction, supervising the first few encounters and ensuring your new dog is on a leash or using a harness can help. The benefits of playtime together As your child gets accustomed to having a new dog in the house, setting time aside for them to play together can help greatly in further strengthening their bond in a positive way. Whether it’s soccer, fetch, Frisbee, or simply running around together in the backyard, physical activities are a fantastic way to get and keep your new pup active and healthy. And they can also present a positive outlet for your child. Coming home to play a game of fetch with their dog can allow them to blow off some steam, focus on something enjoyable and relieve stress, too. Introducing a bit of responsibility Pets are well known for introducing responsibility to children. Alpha Dog Training suggests making it a good idea to introduce some responsibilities whenever you deem it appropriate to do so. Allowing your child to take part in daily rituals like brushing and feeding the dog can not only teach them how to care for their pet, but can allow them to cultivate a positive connection and bond with the dog through caring for them and spending more time together. Bringing home a new pup is undoubtedly an exciting event, especially if it’s your child’s first pet. You can support a positive and healthy relationship between the two, from safe and supervised introductions and designated playtimes, to teaching your child valuable lessons in responsibility.

Bringing Home the New Rescue Pup

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainerssaltlakecity Bringing Home a Rescue Dog By Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com (801) 910-1700 You just adopted a dog—congratulations!! This is an exciting time and we at Alpha Dog Training hope you’re enjoying it. Here are two best practices to do when you bring home your new pup. Since you are an animal lover, I’m sure you’re prepared to give your new dog plenty of love, affection, treats, food, water and shelter, so I’ll leave those items off my list. Instead, I’ll focus on the things most folks either overlook or don’t know about. 1) Crate train your new dog Most folks feel guilty crating a dog when it first arrives home. This is doubly true if the dog came from a shelter environment. I often hear statements like “He’s been in a cage for the last few months, but he doesn’t have to do that anymore!” That idea feels good in the moment, but it isn’t actually in the dog’s short or long-term best interest. If your dog came from the shelter, the crate is likely the only thing he sees in your home that’s familiar to him. Don’t rob him of that! Over the long haul, an appropriately sized crate is the safest way for your dog to be home alone. While crated, there is no risk of him ingesting any household items, chewing on furniture, peeing around the house, or developing bad habits, like nuisance barking. The crate should never be used as a punishment; in fact, when a dog is properly crate trained, a dog understands that the crate is his safe space and that it’s a place for relaxation. 2) Limit roaming around the house Another human impulse is to unclip the leash and say “Welcome home! Go explore your new territory!” While this is not a horrible thing, it’s also not helpful. You’re basically telling your dog in this moment: “Do whatever you want! You make the rules here!” Your dog is now free to develop whatever habits and behaviors he feels like, many of which you may want to undo later. Remember: Dogs come with no intuitive knowledge of what it means to be a family pet. For example, they have no natural understanding that it’s not appropriate to potty inside, that it’s not okay to grab food off of tables or counters, or that couches are not for launching off of. When you unclip the leash and let them have at it, you’re basically treating your home like your new dog’s personal dog park. Consider an alternative: How about keeping your new dog on leash in the house for the first few days and showing him the lay of the land yourself? Here’s a really concrete example of how that changes things: When you go to let your dog out of the crate first thing in the morning for his potty break, he may come bouncing out, jump all over you, sprint all through the house, and by the time you catch up with him he’s got his paws on the counter and is investigating your banana tree! You now have to scold him (for what, he’s not sure) and escort him outdoors to use the bathroom. Since he practices this behavior every morning, he’s solidifying some pretty problematic behavior patterns: arousal, jumping, sprinting through the house, counter-surfing, etc. But it doesn’t have to be this way!! If you open your dog’s crate and clip his leash on and escort him through the house instead, he practices exactly none of that. You can interrupt jumping, prevent him from sprinting around like a nut (knocking things/people over), and prevent him from counter-surfing. More importantly, you’re also teaching him what you expect from him in that situation. Every single morning he’s practicing walking calmly from his crate directly to the back door. If you’re consistent with this, it won’t be long before you can just open his crate and he’ll go directly to the back door—no shenanigans! Alpha Dog Training hopes this short post helps explain how to bring home a rescue dog in a way that develops positive behavior patterns over the long haul! Congratulations again on your new addition!

"Collar Wise" Dogs

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainersutah “Collar Wise” Dogs By Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com/ (801) 910-1700 We use the term “collar wise” dog to describe a dog who only listens and performs when they are wearing equipment like a collar. When collars are taken off, the collar wise dog will ignore commands, perform at less than their normal level, and will not take direction from the owner. Here’s a big factor to consider: It’s the relationship with your dog. This is one of the most critical, and one of the most misunderstood aspects of why dogs become collar wise. Sometimes people will use an e-collar as a shortcut when there is a deficit in their relationship with their dog. This is especially true with recalls. If we have a young dog, and teach them recalls in a motivational way, with lots of rewards and strong positive emotions for the recall, it is very easy for us to then layer over the remote collar for proofing against things like wildlife. When we then go to remove the collar later on in our dog’s life, they love recalls, they love interacting with us and I have not allowed bad habits to develop around distractions such as dogs or other animals. Now let’s look at a different scenario. We have a dog who we really want to have off leash on the hiking trail, and he’s hard to motivate and doesn’t really like coming back to us. We could spend a month on foundation work, so we’re just going to rush into the collar work. For this type of dog, the collar has become the reason that the dog comes back, rather than a backup form of correction for rare mistakes.

This dog has a very strong likelihood of ignoring me completely when the collar is gone. It is the difference between a dog coming to you because he likes you and enjoys his job, and a dog who is only coming to avoid a correction. Be sure to use praise and happiness to get the dog to come back to you as dog are really only trained with happiness. Of course, happiness can be a treat. So, rotate a treat with verbal praise. It works every time.

Don't Let your Dogs "Work it Out!"

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity Don’t Let Your Aggressive Dogs “Work it Out!” By Alpha Dog Training of Utah https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com (801) 910-1700

How often have you heard someone advise you to “Just let them work it out themselves” when dogs get into fights? Alpha Dog Training is here to strongly advise you NOT to take that advise from anyone, even well-meaning relatives, friends, or neighbors. People mean well when giving advice, they really do. But, when dogs bully or instigate fights, these behaviors wind up being self-reinforced over and over again. Whoever the bully might be, that dog learns they can succeed at being a bully. Meanwhile, the dog that is bullied is under almost constant stress and anxiety. Then one day, a crisis occurs. Always remember that dogs are animals and think like animals. They have no morals. They never feel guilty about doing any behavior, despite what their body language may indicate to you (like cowering when being hollered at.) Never, never let dogs work it out themselves. Make sure to take charge of these situations in order to prevent them from happening in the first place. We tell all our clients who are dealing with any problematic dog behaviors to PREVENT, PREVENT, PREVENT them. Intervene and interrupt bully behavior or obnoxious behavior immediately. Find help either by making an appointment with a veterinarian or make an appointment with a Certified Behaviorist like Alpha Dog Training of Utah. We have more than 20 years of experience working with dog-to-dog aggression. Alpha Dog Training of Utah specializes is fixing dog aggression issues and we’re here to help. Please feel free to contact us at any time for professional assistance. http://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com. (801) 910-1700.

Your Puppy's First Grooming Appointment

 

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity

Published by Alpha Dog Training

https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com/

(801) 910-1700

 

Your Pup’s First Grooming Appointment

If you plan to have your puppy professionally groomed when she grows up, you should also show her what to expect at her first grooming appointment. Unless you have a wash-and-wear dog who can get by with just an occasional bath—and you are willing to be the one to give it—you will likely want to use the services of a professional groomer. This is especially true if your puppy has long hair that needs to be styled and clipped. However, your puppy will have to wait until she’s at least 16 weeks old to visit a groomer since most salons require dogs to have all their vaccinations before their first session. In the meantime, you can start preparing your puppy for her first grooming appointment. Doing so will help her feel more comfortable while she’s being groomed, and will make the groomer’s job easier.

Start at Home

To help your puppy, you’ll need to start grooming her first at home where she feels safe. Buy a soft-bristled brush for dogs and a guillotine-style nail trimmer for pets.

Handle her paws, lifting each one and gently massaging it with your hand. Reward her for cooperating with praise or a treat.

Don’t ask your puppy to tolerate having all the nails on all four paws snipped in one sitting. Just do a few nails to start, and then return to do a few others the next day.

Next, get your puppy used to being brushed. Even shorthaired dogs can benefit from regular brushing, and longhaired dogs absolutely require it.

Electric clippers can be one of the scariest things about getting groomed for a puppy, so it’s a good idea to get her used to the sound and sensation of clippers before her first grooming appointment.

Bath Time

Every visit to the groomer comes with a bath, so it’s a good idea to get your puppy used to being washed before someone she doesn’t known does it—and in a strange place, too. 

You may want to give treats throughout this process to help your puppy associate being bathed with something positive.

Even if your puppy is a longhaired breed, she probably still has a short puppy coat that can be dried with a towel or two. But when she grows up and goes to the groomer, her coat will likely need to be dried with a blower. You may want to start getting her used to the blow dryer now so she isn’t freaked out by the sound and feeling of it the first time she goes to the groomer.

Begin by turning on your hair dryer while your puppy is in the room so she can get used to the noise. You can do this by having your puppy nearby while you dry your own hair. Eventually, start bringing the dryer closer to her while it’s on, offering her treats. You can even try letting it blow on her while on the low setting for just a few seconds, and then praising her and giving her treats as a reward. Once she seems okay with having the dryer blowing on her, you can use it to finish drying her off after a bath.

 

How to Minimize Dog Aggression

#AlphaDogTraining #dogtrainingsaltlakecity How to Minimize Dog Aggression Issues Published by Alpha Dog Training https://www.alpha-dog-training-slc.com/ (801) 910-1700 These are ways to help you minimize dominance issue that may arise over your pups life. We at Alpha Dog Training find that the leading cause of aggression cases arise from owners not dealing with dominance in their dog. Unchecked dominance issues lead to dog aggression as they age. Your pup needs to understand its place or issues will arise as they grow older. 1. Furniture/Bed- Who does not love to cuddle with their pup in bed or on the couch? But try not to allow your dog up on the bed. The reason for this has a lot to do with being eye-level and sharing your “nest” where only the Alphas of a pack should get the best spot. Again, this is something that needs to be considered if you have an overly dominate pup or dominance issues arise. 2. Spayed/Neuter- This one is simple biology and applies to both sexes. Will it always fix the issue? No, but it tends to help in a lot of cases. 3. Socialization- This is best done at an early age where you can still control the pup easily. But a lot of us adapt and don’t always get to do this when they are young. 4. Free Feeding- This almost always leads to food and toy guarding later in life. Your dog needs to understand you are providing the food, by always leaving it out or even not picking it up and letting them “graze” they believe it is just there and not that you are providing it. Food should be put down, giving them 5-10 minutes to eat, if they do not it should be picked up and given back 12 hours later. 5. Sitting on You- Depending on the size of your dog this one may be a no brainer but just as you see the dominate dogs trying to sit on or pin down the other dogs during play they perceive you allowing them to sit on you as submission. 6. Obedience Training- Basic Obedience Training gives your pup not only the understanding that YOU are in control but the relief of not being in charge. If they believe you will take care of the issue and provide for them there is no reason to be aggressive toward other dogs/people or challenge your dominance. Our dogs may not love every dog or person he or she ever meets but we should never settle for behavior we know is not appropriate. Most of us strive our entire life to be “better” and we should do the same for your pup. Alpha Dog Training provides excellent obedience training for dogs and their owners across Utah. Please let us know if we can help. Alpha-dog-traininng-slc.com, (801) 910-1700.