Doggy Training Wheels

A dog processes information about it's environment by taking in the smells around it. A dog that constantly sniffs during walks can sure be frustrating at times, but not letting them sniff at all is like denying them time to investigate. A few sniffs here and there are good for your dog!

Here's a bit of an explanation for anyone who has a "difficult" Husky

Remember the Rule of 3's when bringing a new pup into your home

The ultimate power!

🤣🤣🤣

Did you know dogs aren't completely colour blind? They just see csrtain colours in a dimmer shade

I'm sick as a dog! (Never really understood that expression to be honest.....) Unfortunately I will be out of action for at least a few days while I am in hospital, so if you are still waiting on a training plan from me or are hoping to start training I would really appreciate it if you would just hang in there for a few days. Thank you and my apologies for any delays

Just look at those eyes! And those silky ears! I love cocker spaniels so much. This lovely boy is Toby and I'm so excited to start training with him and his owner Rochelle

Here is some helpful information if you have trouble getting your dogs attention when you are in public

🤷‍♀️Often clients will say, “I don’t understand why he won’t listen on walks, he’s so good at home”. I have also heard, “My dog is just stubborn and doesn’t want to listen”.

🐶Dogs can become easily distracted just like toddlers. Your dog also may not have been taught how to do the things you want him/ her to do in different places. They can also be so overwhelmed in an environment that they literally cannot hear you as their brain is focusing on so many other things.

🐾Dogs do not generalise behaviours like people do. If I taught you how to change a tyre, I would probably only have to show you a couple of times. You then would be able to do it anywhere, no matter the place or weather conditions, whether you’re with other people or not.
If you teach your dog something, you would have to teach him/ her in a low distracted environment like a room of your house, then in the garden, then down the road, then in a park, again, in a different park etc…. This would all need to be done while the dog is in a relaxed emotional state so learning can take place.

👍Training should always be done in a fun way so it’s not boring for the dog. If you are trying to get your dog to come when called then you will need to teach your dog that you are more fun and rewarding than what they are doing. No matter what your dog has done, or how upset you are with him, NEVER call your dog in an angry voice. This will most likely teach your dog to avoid you… would you want to avoid your mom yelling at you and rather go play with your friends in the sandpit? On another note, I would want my dog to come to me because he wants to, not because he is scared of what will happen if he doesn’t.

🍗Whatever you want to teach your dog should be worth it for the dog, the same as you will go to your job to get paid your salary. The harder the job the higher the pay. The reinforcement can be whatever your dog is into, tug with his favourite toy, high-value food like cheese, sausage, ham, etc…

🐕Reward your dog for his attention, the more you reinforce a desired behaviour the more likely the behaviour will occur in the future. It takes patience and practise as well as understanding that your dog is not a robot.

This is the lovely Jimmy, a 13 month old Boxer and the newest student in the Doggy Training Wheels program!

How cute is this little guy?! This is Max, a 10 week old Papillon × Chihuahua and I can't wait to help his owner Jackie teach him some of the exciting things puppy hood has to offer

Shiba Inu's are one of my favourite breeds (along with about 100 others!). Do you have a favourite?

It really doesn’t matter if your dog is friendly or not.

What matters is that you don’t take the choice away from another owner (and their dog) as to who they interact with.

There can be so many reasons why a dog and their owner need space from you and your dog.

Please allow them that choice 💙

Gotta love those sausage dogs!

So true! 🤣

This is your brain on puppies: The adorable neuroscience of cuteness Here's what happens in the mind when you encounter cuteness – and why puppies and kitties are scientifically cuter than babies.

Happy Mother's Day! xx

- Littermate Syndrome

“Littermate Syndrome” is a non-scientific term, referring to the issues that arise when you adopt two pups from the same litter (or different litters, but the same age). Some believe signs of littermate syndrome include aggression between the two dogs, separation anxiety, fearfulness of other people, dogs or novel stimuli and difficulty learning basic obedience skills. But there are lots of different definitions!

In my opinion, it’s fine to adopt two pups at the same time or from the same litter as long as you adopt one male and one female. This GREATLY reduces the risk of aggression between the two dogs down the track.

The other aspects of littermate syndrome aren’t really an innate problem, but rather an issue that comes about when the pups aren’t raised or trained in an optimal way.

The most common ones are:
- Over-dependence on each other
- Inadequate training due to the challenge of raising and training two boisterous pups at once

To prevent over-dependence, it’s important that the two pups sleep in separate crates (though these crates can be beside each other) and that the pups have periods of separation from each other every single day so that they learn to be comfortable when the other isn’t around. An hour or two each day is usually sufficient.

To prevent the other issues, spend time giving each pup formal training sessions individually to ensure they learn commands properly without the distraction of the other pup around. Once commands have been learned and mastered, you can proof the commands with both pups together to ensure they’ll still listen when the other is around! Start with one pup clipped up or in a crate nearby before having both off lead and working together.

Lastly - desexing your pups generally helps with most behaviours, so that would be my recommendation also.

If you have any questions about your two pups or dogs - flick me a message and I’d be happy to lend some advice!

The best thing you can do for your dog is stop the behaviour before it starts. Prevention is better than cure

🚩 Red Flags - Are you setting your dog up to fail? 🚩

Dog barks and growls when asked to do something. So you get out a treat and bribe them instead.
🩹Bandaid solution, also reinforcing the behavior.

Excessive mouthing, biting, specifically during physical handling. So you stop or move away and bribe with treats.
🩹Bandaid solution, also reinforcing the behavior.

Confinement tantrums. Dog rips up blankets, barks, howls, carries on, so you just let them out to play with their toys.
🩹Bandaid solution, also reinforcing the behavior.

Dog is allowed to roam around the home, barking at visitors, overguarding when they aren't mature enough to handle it and biting people. So you throw treats on the floor hoping they will be distracting enough.
🩹Bandaid solution, also reinforcing the behavior.

🐶Many dogs have not had enough repetitions of being taught what to do and what not to do, followed by incremental layering of coping with stress. Freedoms are been given when they don't have skills to navigate freedom and things are just out of control.

😪There are alot of 1-2 year old dogs that can't control themselves around food, toys, affection, stimulation because they have all been given everything they want, when they want it. No rules around anything. You are not being "loving" by doing this. You are creating a dog that has zero respect for anything and will end up in trouble. It is really upsetting for trainers to see so many young dogs being put down because they have been allowed to raise themselves and never had any consistent structure.

🥰Loving your dog comes through education, not manipulation.

An example of this is that if you have trouble with your dog barking at things on walks, turn their attention to something else (such as a toy or treat) so that their behaviour is easier to maintain

There are many steps in looking at changing a dog's behaviour, and one of these is by training a mutually-exclusive behaviour. This means training a preferred behaviour that the dog can do (instead of the current behaviour that we may be struggling with). 👍

It is important that the new behaviour we 'choose' is something that is 'mutually- exclusive' so cannot be done at the same time as the behaviour we want to change. For example, if your dog is barking and we teach them a sit, these behaviours are not mutually-exclusive as the dog can still bark whilst they are sitting, so we aren't changing the behaviour we want. However, if we teach a dog to sit instead of jumping up, then they can't jump and sit at the same time, so we have changed the behaviour.

Some other examples of mutually exclusive behaviours are:
🔸 Carrying a toy in their mouth instead of eating things on walks.
🔸 Laying in their bed instead of harassing people at dinner.
🔸 All four paws on the floor instead of up on the kitchen surfaces.
🔸 Walking next to you instead of pulling ahead.

If you already know what you would like your dog to do, such as greet people by sitting instead of jumping-up, the ideal scenario would be to train the behaviour you want them to do in that situation beforehand so they never pick up the habit you don't want. However, we can, and do, use mutually-exclusive behaviour to change current patterns of behaviour, but there will be more steps to it (such as making sure the new behaviour is more rewarding than the previous behaviour). So, if you are having a problem with a particular behaviour, have a think about what mutually-exclusive behaviour you would prefer they be doing instead, and train that as a replacement!

You have just got your new dog, whether a puppy or a rescue, and you are experiencing some issues…. they may be chewing stuff; they may be barking; they may be toileting in the house… 😰

Shouting "NO!" constantly at your dog is not going to help any of these issues go away - it may even make things worse…

Think about what your dog is doing and look at why your dog is doing it. Are they teething; are they upset; do they need something; are they bored etc.? In any of these cases, shouting "NO!" is not going to do anything other than create stress for both you and your dog.

Instead of thinking ‘How do I stop this behaviour?’, think about what you would like the dog to do instead, and spend the time to teach them to do whatever that 'preferred activity' is; it’s a much nicer, less stressful way to help your dog…

Please get in touch with us for any help you may need with your dog and learn how to say "YES!" instead. 👍

I know it's tempting to go up to every cute dog you see and pet them (believe me I really understand!) but here are some important things to consider

~Never pet a dog without asking~

I just met with the cutest duo ever! I can't wait to start working with 9 month old French Bulldog brothers Pablo & Claude in a couple of weeks!

Doggy Training Wheels has been added to the Paw Planet NZ phone app! Anyone in NZ can use this app to find available pet services such as dog trainers, vets and dog parks. Please feel free to check it out and share this information with someone you think might find it helpful 🙂

Met with Judge the American Bulldog today and his owner Cassie
Can't wait to start working with this big handsome boy (red dot placed for the sake of Judges modesty)

Dog Breed Fact of the Day: Bloodhounds