Getting a new dog is an exciting adventure! There’s nothing quite like a wriggling happy little puppy to brighten your life; or coming home after a long day at work to be greeted by a wagging tail and unconditional love. Finding the dog that will be ideal for your family and your lifestyle is the key to making sure everyone will be happy and stay happy in your home.
The first place to start is figuring out which breed will suit your lifestyle best. Each breed has different traits, needs...
Halloween is almost here and it can be a stressful time for our dogs, as well as providing ample opportunities for getting them into trouble. One of the main concerns is that they don’t get into the Halloween treats! Chocolate and raisins are two of the most common treats a dog can find at Halloween and are potentially fatal. Ensure you are supervising your dog and your child to ensure the dog doesn’t ingest anything dangerous.
In addition to the treat hazards, not every dog will...
Despite the many things that may be going on inside your dog’s mind, we can get their focus back on us.
One of the greatest challenges you will have with any dog, but especially if you are living with a fearful and/or reactive dog, will be gaining their focus back to you. The outdoor world is a distracting environment for all dogs, let alone our modern urban environment! There are people, other dogs, wildlife, vehicles, bicycles, loud noises and so much more. We must also consider...
There are many concerns about the use of food in training. First off, will it make our dogs fat? Secondly, will our dog only work for us if we have food? There are also many misconceptions about using food in training as well. First off, a dog owner may assume their dog is not food motivated. Or, they may feel like they are rewarding the dog for their reactive behaviour. We can understand all of these concerns and the below addresses each and why using food is so important.
Causing weight...
Just like children, puppies are watching you and learning all the time, and if you don’t train them from an early age, you risk having a puppy that quickly turns into a very unruly dog.
It’s really no different than a parent who lets their child do whatever he or she wants, because kids will be kids. The parent might think their child’s delightful, but the rest of us don’t really want to be around that kid, because of the lacking manners and destructive behaviours.
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Not all urban myths are about scary escaped convicts with a hook instead of a hand, scratching outside the car door in Lover’s Lane. One of the biggest myths we hear most regularly is that dogs will settle down as they age. We have bad news for you – they don’t. (The hooked hand story isn’t true either, by the way. ) If dogs aren’t taught basic manners, or how to calm themselves, how could they possibly learn it on their own? We’ve worked with...
We have already discussed fear and reactivity in our dogs, how it develops and how they may demonstrate it. Now we want to look at what we can do to modify this behaviour. Desensitization and counter conditioning are the most commonly used techniques when treating reactivity and fears in our dogs. Within our Reactive urbanK9 program, we also combine this with counter commanding to work at truly changing the dog’s behaviour vs just stopping it.
Desensitization
This is the gradual...
The foundation of your dog’s success in our human world is in mastering the basic obedience skills and then building on them. Basic obedience starts with learning how to pay attention, sit, stay, and how to walk on a loose leash. From there, you can move beyond obedience to develop a highly mannered dog who can be successful in our human world.
One of the things that can really...
We strongly believe in starting your puppy training early because it teaches you and your dog how to work together to navigate this human world in the best way possible. This will help you build confidence, strengthen your bond and develop your relationship together. But all puppy classes are not equal, and you need to know what to look for, and ask about, if you’re going to get the best training for you and your pup!
Register now for our Puppy Training Demo – it’s free!
The...
