Dog Training - The BIG MISTAKE Dog Owners Make When Dealing With A Behavior

Once you understand the training process you'll see that dog training is all about consequences. There are two types of consequences - Positive and Negative.

When you are training your dog you need to understand when to apply a positive consequence and when to apply a negative consequence. The big problem that a lot of dog owners make with behavior problems is that they apply a negative consequence long after the behavior has occurred

A typical behavior problem that I see a lot is chewing and destructive behavior. Chewing often happens when the dog is left alone while the owner is at work. The dog chews an item that is important to the owner. A shoe, the sofa, the TV remote etc.

The owner comes home and finds the item that has been chewed. Out of anger and frustration, the owner punishes the dog. A negative consequence is applied but the problem is the timing.

You see, a consequence needs to be applied within a second or two of the behavior. If you gave your dog the command "Sit," walked away and came back ten minutes later to give your dog a treat do you think your dog would understand that they were getting the treat for the sit command that they did ten minutes ago?

No.

The same happens when you punish a dog. If you are going to apply a negative consequence it is extremely important that your timing is excellent. If your timing is not that good when you are applying a positive consequence like giving a treat it is no big deal. There are no major side effects when you are using positive consequences.

With a negative consequence your dog can become very confused and the behavior you're are trying to fix may become much worse. If your dog chewed your shoes at 1:00PM and you come home at 3:00PM the behavior occurred long ago.

If you punish your dog long after the behavior occurred, your dog will get confused and here's the rub...

Your dog will start to associate getting punished with you coming home. You see where the side effects of punishment can backfire. Your dog associates the punishment with homecomings, not with chewing the shoes.

AND...

The behavior can get worse because every time you leave the house your dog will think that when you come home she is going to get punished. So every time you leave the house your dog gets stressed.

Guess how dogs deal with stress?

You guessed it - CHEWING!

See how our mistakes can make the behavior worse.

All the best,

Eric

P.S. Have you checked out the "Dog Training Inner Circle" membership? It's better than ever and gives you the tools you need to train your dog. With over 80 videos, loads of articles and personal one-on-one help from me. It's almost like having me in your house with you helping you train yourdog. Check it out now by going to: Dog Training Inner Circle

I was shaking like a maple leaf on a tree in Toronto

I was shaking like a maple leaf on a tree in Toronto.

Well...maybe not that bad but I was nervous. I had just sat down behind the big microphone and the guy sitting across for me did not look to happy. In fact he seemed a little annoyed.

His name was Geoff and he was the producer for my new radio show "Dog Talk".

It was my first day on the radio. The station said they were going to give me some training before I went on the air, but it never happened.

As I sat there I started to get some negative thoughts.

"What if I sound like a complete bonehead?"

"What if nobody calls the show?"

"What if I have nothing to talk about?"

I looked across the room and asked Geoff a question. "What if nobody calls" I asked.

"Do you have some topics to talk about?" Geoff asked.

"Yeah, I have a list of things to talk about," and showed him my paper.

"Good" Geoff said, "just talk about that stuff."

"What if I go through the list and have nothing else to talk about?"

With a really annoyed look on his face Geoff said, "Go back to the top of your page of topics and start all over."

YIKES!

That was the extent of my training for the radio show. As it turns out me and Geoff became very good friends and always have a good laugh when we talk about our time at WSAR.

I had decided to do a radio show on dog training to promote my new book, "The Amazing Dog Training Man" and business at the time.

I relaxed and the show went fine.

Sitting here today in snowy Massachusetts I spent some time going through some old books and tapes that I have and I found some interviews that I did while on the radio and I'm going to share them with you. The first interview was with a best selling author. It was a very interesting interview and should have it ready for you in a day or two so stay tuned...

All the best,

Eric

Dog Training Video Demonstration - The Premack Principle

A couple of days ago I wrote about the Premack Principle. I decided that a video would be a great way to show you exactly how it is done. Here is the video:



Hope this helps you train your dog. Feel free to pass it on to all your friends and family.

Your friend,

Eric

P.S. What to learn more amazing dog training principles and techniques. Check out:
The Amazing Dog Training Man's Home Study Dog Training Course.

Canine ADHD

I would be on drugs.

There would be no doubt about it. If I was in high school today some guidance counselor would have suggested and strongly recommended that I be put me on some type of drug therapy to get through high school.

You see, I barely, and I mean barely, squeaked out with a diploma. I was really just pushed through my junior and senior year of high school. When I look back on my school days, I was really just pushed through most of my schooling.

I was "diagnosed" as having a learning disability in the third grade. Today I would would be classified as ADHD.

Some of my teachers would literally fall out of their chairs if they knew that I had written a book called The Amazing Dog Training Man.

It's not that I couldn't learn, I just had a very active brain and I was BORED out of my mind. I could not concentrate on what was being taught but, when I had a subject and a teacher that was interesting, I was at the top of my class.

You see, I love to learn but for some weird reason, it has to be on my terms. I have traveled all over the United States and sat for days at a time to learn from some of the best dog trainers in the world.

So why do I share all of this with you?

Simple...

I am asked by a lot of people if it is possible for their dogs to have canine ADHD. My honest opinion is that I have NEVER come across a dog that I felt had any kind of learning disability.

What I have found is that the dog that is having a difficult time learning obedience is usually a dog that cannot pay attention. I worked with a dog, not too long ago, that had so much pent up energy that he truly could not focus. The dog was kept in a crate every day, sometimes up to ten hours.

I tried and tried to explain to the person that owned the dog that no amount of training can overcome an exercise problem. I won't go into it today but the story had a very tragic ending.

One of the big influences on my training career was a British dog trainer, John Rogerson. I had the great opportunity to attend his seminars in New Hampshire and Memphis, TN.

Mr. Rogerson made a very simple but profound statement that I have never forgotten. He stated: "In order to have a good dog, you have to be a good dog owner."

Brilliant!

It changed the way I helped people train their dogs. I boiled down what I felt were the four important steps to becoming a good dog owner. Here they are:

Step #1: Effectively control and manage your dog's behavior. Or as I wrote in my book, The Amazing Dog Training Man, - M.O.B. Rules which stands for Management of Behavior.

Step #2: Give your dog enough exercise. There are two forms of exercise that every dog needs. Physical and Mental. Your dog needs to exercise his body and his brain.

Step #3: Become the leader. Dogs do respond to structure. Structure your relationship so your dog understands that you are in charge.

Step #4: Learn about behavior. Learn when to reinforce behavior and how to stop behaviors.

By following those four steps you'll develop a great relationship with your dog and your dog will become much more responsive to your training.

And remember that all training starts with attention. Your dog has to be paying attention to you before they will respond to any of your commands. It's your job to get and keep your dog's interest when you are training.

Happy training!

Your friend,

Eric

P.S. If you find this blog helpful and interesting please pass it along to your dog loving friends and family. They'll thank you for it!

Sometimes I Just Don't Understand People When It Comes To Dog Training

I have a lot of training videos on youtube.com and what amazes me are the people that post negative comments. I mean really, don't they have anything else to do?

I have worked in animal shelters for the past 15 years. I know that the main reason dogs end up in shelters is lack of training. Most of the dogs in shelters have behavior problems.

I try to help as many people as I can with training. Sure I sell some products but you can't deny that in the vast world of the internet there are few websites or trainers that offer as much useful information as I do.

So when I get comments like the one below it sometimes makes my blood boil. Here is a comment that I received on youtube.com:

"Would be good if you could learn what negative reinforcement really means. It is not correction chains or pinch collars. You are talking about positive punishment. You obviously don't understand the 4 quadrants of dog training theory."

I know exactly what the four quadrants are, in fact I can even tell you who taught them to me. By the way the four quadrants are:

PP/PR/NR/NP

PP - Positive punishment, which by the way is not a nice way to punish your dog.

PR - Positive reinforcement

NR - Negative reinforcement

NP - Negative punishment

Sure I could use big words like "successive approximation", "extinction bursts", "conditioned reflex", and a whole bunch more but I get the feeling that most people just want practical solutions to train their dog.

Maybe I'm wrong, maybe you do want me to talk about that stuff. Please let me know. Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts about this.

Thank you.

Your friend,

Eric

P.S. My website Amazing Dog Training Man has over 1000 pages of dog training tips, articles and videos with new content being added weekly.

P.P.S. By the way, if you want to read a fantastic article on the four quadrants check out my friend Adian Binoff's article. It is the best that I have ever read on this subject. Here it is: Secrets Of Dog Training Professionals

I Was A Teenage Grave Robber

Right now I'm reading three different books. I love to read and have a huge library that gets made fun of quite often.

"What do you need all those books for?"

"Did you read all of those books?"

"Those books take up a lot of room."

I always just shrug and mumble some explanation about how I really enjoy reading. Anyway, I keep a lot of my books because I like to go back and re-read some of them.

One book that I am re-reading right now is "Memoir Of The Craft" by Stephen King. I am not a big Stephen King fan. This is the only book by him that I have in my library. You wouldn't think that a book by him would be laugh out loud funny but that is exactly what this book is.

As I sat down for a few minutes yesterday to read I busted out laughing more than once, and this is not a fictional book. It's part autobiography, part instruction manual for writers.

One of the first stories that he wrote was, "I Was A Teenage Grave Robber." Would you expect anything else from Stephen King?

I try to hone my skills as a writer because I like to take a different approach when I am writing about dog training. You see, my book "The Amazing Dog Training Man" is a story about a guy that learned how to train his dog.

I tried to weave a story in with the lessons. Listen, I am no Steven King, I am not a Mario Puzo, Larry McMurty, James Clavell or even Jackie Collins.

But, I did attempt to write a book about dog training that was not boring or run of the mill like so many dog training books that are out there.

Stephen King said that one of his happiest days was when he wrote a story and gave it to his Mom. He added that the look on her face was one of his best memories.

Young Stevie King started sending his stories in to fantasy and sci-fi magazines before his was a teenager. He received rejection after rejection until he was sixteen years old. He nailed all of them to his wall and the amount of rejections became so big that he had to take the nail out and use a spike.

When he was sixteen, one editor didn't accept his story but did write some encouraging words. As he states in his book "Those four sentences, scribbled by a fountain pen that left big ragged blotches in it's wake, brightened the winter of his sixteenth year."

I know how he feels. Just yesterday I received an email that made my winter and decided to share it with you. Here it is:

"I love the book and am finding it hard to put it down and stop reading, a couple of people approached me today about the book I was reading and I've referred them to your site so with a bit of luck there will be a few more orders for you and more importantly a few more happier dogs and owners."

Thanks again
Yours faithfully
Tommy McGuinness

Tommy wrote the best 16 words any writer can ever hear: "I love the book and am finding it hard to put it down and stop reading."

Thanks Tommy. You brightened the winter of 2008.

All the best,

Eric

Who else wants their dog to come when called: Part 2

In my last post I talked about giving your dog some freedom. That when your dog develops a sense of freedom it will be easier to teach your dog to come back to you when you give the command "COME".

My dogs are very good when they are off-leash because they get to spend a lot of time off-leash. I once worked with a German Short Haired Pointer that was next to impossible to teach the recall command to.

You see, this poor dog had been tied up in the owners backyard for seven years. The dog had never been off-leash his entire life. The last thing this dog was thinking about when he got off-leash was coming when called.

Can you blame him?

Anyway, what we need to do is let our dogs develop the sense of freedom. This can be done with a long line. A 20 to 30 foot long line. Bring your dog to a big open area and put the long line on your dog.

Let your dog hang out and just be a dog. Let your dog sniff and run and explore the area without any commands and as little interference from you as possible. When I do this with a dog that I am training I just stay near the long line. I step on it if the dog starts to get to far away.

Most dogs on leash are constantly getting commands from the owner. "Heel", "Leave it", "Sit", "Stay", etc. When you have your dog on a long line just let your dog hang out and do dog stuff.

After a few days of this you'll see a change in your dog. Your dog will start to come back to you when you call.

I have always believed that the recall command is one of the most important commands we can teach our dogs. This is a easy and useful step to follow and apply. You and your dog will be happy that you did.

As always I look forward to your comments and suggestions.

All the best,

Eric

Housetraining Follow Up

I got a lot of email in regards to my "7 Ways To Cure Your Dogs Housetraining Problem" post. In the post, I wrote that a good step to take is to teach your dog to give you a cue. One very popular way is to hang a bell on the door and teach your dog to hit the bell to let you know that your dog needs to go out.

One reader, Jen, asked this question:

How would you use the bell technique?

I had ALOT of trouble housetraining my last min pin and I think that the bell idea would be great for my next little one. Miniature pinschers are THE hardest dogs to housetrain and I found that when you clean up the mess, if you rub the spot with a tad of vinegar, and the dog isn't attracted to that spot anymore.

With min pins (for other owners) It's easy to overlook little messes, as they are so small. You always have to check thoroughly to make sure you can clean it up and not let them think that its appropriate for them to go to the toilet inside.

Here is the answer for Jen.

The easiest way that I know is to put a little peanut butter on the bell while your dog is not watching. Then bring your dog to the door and close to the bell. As your dog starts to sniff the bell, say, "Good girl" and open the door and bring your dog out.

Repeat that a couple of dozen times then every time you go out the door, hit the bell and bring your dog out. Your dog will start to get the picture.

Good luck!

Best,

Eric

Shelter Workers

I'm always amazed at the dedication of the people that work in animal shelters. I have been working in many different animal shelters for over ten years and it still boggles my mind.

Just last night I was at the Southcoast Humane Society in Dartmouth Massachusetts. I was there teaching some obedience classes until about 9:00PM.

I had just finished the class and was walking to my car when I heard someone call out: "Hey sexy". Immediately I knew whoever it was, was talking to me. I turned around and saw that it was the shelter manager Arianna.

As you can see she likes to joke around. I asked her what she was doing there at that late hour. She said that someone in Fall River had died and she had 30 cats. The cats where on their way to the shelter.

As we were talking the shelter director and another shelter employee showed up. I offered to get coffee and left. When I came back they were all busy making room for the incoming cats.

Every shelter that I have ever been involved with has always had people there like this. Harding working, dedicated people that give up their time and energy to help people and animals.

My hat goes off to all the people that work in shelters, spay and neuter clinics, breed rescue groups, any organization that helps animals. Let me say personally:

THANK YOU!

Peace,

Eric

Appreciation Of Dogs

It's amazing what dogs bring into your life. Today I was looking at my sheltie Sammi who is well beyond the decade mark and thought about all the good things that have happened to me since she came into my life.

Sam was one of the reasons I became a dog trainer. Becoming a dog trainer has been such an unbelievable experience for me. I have learned so much and met so many people and as a direct result of my relationship with dogs.

If I was to list all of the people and experiences I have been through (good and bad) because of dogs it would take weeks to list it.

My life has been so much fuller because a little dog named Sam came into my life. I have met some of my best friends and future wife because of dogs. I have learned how to run a business, deal with people and write because of dogs.

In short, dogs have added so much to my life. I can only hope that I have helped out dogs as much as they have helped out me.

Peace,

Eric

The Art Of Dog Training

The funny thing about being a dog trainer is that you really aren't a dog trainer. When you become a dog trainer you spend your time training people to train their dogs. I spend way more time training people than I do training dogs.

So now when someone asks me what I do for a living I say that I am a professional people trainer. I get some strange looks but that's okay, I used to it.

So why am I sharing all of this with you.

Simple my dog loving friend...

This is the time of the year that people are looking for a good dog trainer to help train their dogs. A lot of people still get puppies for Christmas. A lot of dog owners also wait until after the holidays to start training their dogs.

So I wanted give you some tips on working with a good dog trainer. A good dog trainer is someone who is patient and fun to be with. It always amazes me when I go to a dog training class and the dog trainer is like a drill instructor.

I remember about ten years ago I went to a dog training class at a popular school. The instructor walked into the middle of the class and stated: "This is the worst class I have ever seen". She went on to belittle the whole class for about five minutes. Why the people didn't walk out I never figure out.

A good dog trainer will have different techniques to help you, a good understanding of the different training methods and breeds of dogs.

But I would have to say that one of the most important things is that the dog trainer should make it fun for you and your dog. Dog training should be all about having fun. I know there is a serious side to dog training - it stop your dog from injury, prevent your stuff from getting destroyed, not anger your Friends and neighbors etc. but...

If dog training is FUN your chance and your dogs chance for success is much greater. I'm not saying that every dog trainer has to be great at cracking jokes but the class environment can be light and enjoyable.

Well that's my take on finding a good dog trainer. Let me know what you think. Please leave a comment below.

Peace,

Eric

Whats Everyone Talking About?

"Thanks, Eric...our dog really needs this and has a few issues - I plan to try this out soon"!

"Wonderful tips to train puppies" :)

"Very, very helpful. Thank you"!

"Good idea. I used this on my dog and in no time he knows how to stay".

"Thanks for the good advice".

"Such a great video tutorial. Thanks a million. I have two puppies; 9 wks and 17 wks... definitely could use the help in this area". ;)

"Absolutely outstanding article that solved the problem we had. Thanks"!

"Thank you"!

"Nice video".

"I just tried this with our lab...it worked! Thanks" :)

"Superb article. We have seven dogs, we are the alphas, and it makes life very pleasant for all of us. With the exception of the sock/leash behavior, this is exactly how we achieved peace within our "pack," which includes a dobie, rat terrier, two labs, a shepard, a large short-legged guy we have no clue about, and a pit".

"This is going to help my family deal with this problem with our 5 dogs. Thanks"!

"Very accurate and helpful. Thanks"!

"Nice article, super stuff".

Those are just a few comments from the articles that I have posted at ehow.com. You can check them out by clicking on this link:

http://www.ehow.com/Search.aspx?s=eletendre&Options=0

All the best,

Eric

P.S. You can still get the Good K9 Manners Mini-Course. It's a video course that will help you understand problem behavior and what to do about it. Get the course here: Good K9 Manners

The Best Dog Training Advice I Ever Heard

Would you like to hear the best dog training advice that I ever heard?

You would?

Here it is:

“If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re right.”

Why do I think that that is the best advice I ever heard? It’s simple really. You see, I have worked with thousands of dogs and their owners. Working with that many dogs and owners, you come into contact with a lot of different kinds of people.

True story – no too long ago I was teaching an obedience class at a local shelter. Right from the beginning one student began telling me why her dog would not do the commands. She informed me that her dog was the only male in the room full of females, and that’s the reason why her dog would not perform.

I proceeded to let her know that there were two other male dogs in the class.

She then told me that her dog would not do the commands because he was young and would not pay attention. I took her dog to personally work with and went through the commands, showing her that her dog would pay attention.

The following week she came to class and gave her dog the command “down” in German. She then gave the command in English; she then switched back to German. I walked over to her and said that she was going to confuse her dog by switching languages.

She let me know that she wants her dog to learn the commands in English, German, and Portuguese. THREE LANGUAGES!

I don’t know why, but she wanted to come up with reasons why her dog would NOT perform the commands. She was convinced that she had a bad dog and came up with some unbelievable excuses to try to prove it.

That is one of the most extreme cases I have ever dealt with, but it goes right back to the statement I shared with you at the beginning of this article – “If you think you can, or if you think you can’t, you’re right.”

All the best,

Eric