Prairie K9

Here's a useful, practical and thoughtful list.

Training should…

1️⃣ Equip the dog for the home they live in.

2️⃣ Equip the dog for the real world.

3️⃣ Serve as the vehicle to develop the dog’s ability to self control.

4️⃣ Improve and clarify the dog’s relationship with its owners and environment.

5️⃣ Maximize the dog’s genetic potential.

6️⃣ Teach the dog how to respond to feeling inconvenienced.

7️⃣ Provide the dog both mental and physical outlet.

8️⃣ Be done to a repeatable and measurable standard including off-leash m, tool free, reliability at a minimum.

9️⃣ Build a team.

🔟 Be more than just kitchen tricks for cookies.

Did we forget anything? Sound off below.

Hey, thanks Dr. Tony!!

So enjoying our collaboration on behalf of safer and better-behaved dogs in the community.

https://www.1011now.com/video/2024/09/03/recognizing-treating-your-dogs-anxiety/

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It's back to school season for the kids.
Dogs, too!

The fall Canine Good Citizen class starts one week from tonight, on Monday September 9th and there are a couple of spots still available. The CGC course provides instruction and practice with sit, lie down, come, stay, and loose-leash walking; it's a structured basic obedience class suitable for all dogs over the age of six or seven months. No previous training is necessary or required.

Class sessions meet on NU's East Campus in the Animal Science building.

Full info, questions, queries?
Send me an email: [email protected]

We'd love to have you out training with us.

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This is Jinx.

She was named after my grandparents’ German Shepherd Dog, and was a gift from my Grandmother. I was three or four, and thrilled to have a dog of my own. My very first.

I adored the original Jinx, but only from afar. She was old, said Grandma, and cranky. So when Jinx rested under the tree outside, I respectfully sat on the backstep and held tight to my Jinxy girl and it was enough.

I work with many families who struggle to teach children to be calm, quiet and respectful around all dogs, including their own. The dogs respond to the kids in ways that put everyone at risk, often with chasing, barking, or even biting. Sometimes the frustrated parents tell me “well, we tell the kids no, but they just won’t listen.”

Hmm. Seems to me that *all* parents have a few things that are zero-tolerance. Non-negotiable. Things like don’t run in the street. Stay out of the knife drawer. No sharp objects in the electrical outlet…

Adding “leave the dog alone” needs to go on that list as well. Of course there’s a time and place for respectful, loving interaction. But when the grown up says enough, it’s enough and right now.

Zero tolerance. Non-negotiable. For everyone’s safety and well-being. Just like the beautiful, adored, but old and likely ouchy dear dear Jinx.

Happy Dog Day (or so I'm told, since every day is dog day around here)!

OUE BOOM NATIONAL DOG DAY GRAPHIC: "At the Vet" by Norman Rockwell

Perfect read for a Monday morning.
There is a whole week's worth of wisdom here.

Lionheart K9, Dog Training in Maryland You want results, we guarantee them. Tried dog training that didn't work? We do what others can't.

Back-to-school is in the air, new backpacks everywhere; slow down for the students in the cross-walk, and because that 'school-zone' speed limit is real if you know what I mean. ;)

Fall classes coming up:

* Puppy kindergarten/Beginner Dog, 4-wk course
starts Tuesday September 3, 6:30 - 7:45 p.m.
(for puppies under 7 months old, and beginner dogs under 20 lbs can attend at any age)

* Canine Good Citizen 6-wk course
Starts Monday, September 9th and if we have enough interest we'll offer two sections, one at 6:15 p.m. and another at 7:30 p.m.
(open to dogs 6 months and older, no previous training necessary)

For more info and to get your back-to-school on, send an email
[email protected]

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Strike 'horses', replace with 'dogs'.
Same.

“If only horses could speak English, we could get along better!”

I often think about that statement and don’t believe it’s true.

If horses could speak in words, they might still hide or not recognize pain, being the stoic creatures they are

If horses could talk, we would still be subject to the same biases we already have, and interpret their words in ways they didn’t mean

If horses could talk, there would be a fair amount of us interrupting them and telling them what they mean

If horses could talk, many of us still wouldn’t get the message

So the problem is not horses talking, but as with everything, us really listening

Happy Saturday and a big PK9 congrats to Jenna and Rufus who finished their CDX this morning at BDOC summer trials.

See also: that first place and blue ribbon!! ❤️❤️🤩🤩🎉🎉

It's 106 degrees with some unmentionable heat index, and the National Weather Service is interrupting tv and radio service regarding severe thunderstorms.

Puppy class canceled for tonight. Yikes.

Stay in, stay safe. Enjoy the air conditioning and let's hope the electricity doesn't go off.

Send a message to learn more

IYKYK 😍

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Some years ago I worked with a dog owner who had received a letter from his mail carrier citing the unreasonable risk of harm posed by the man's (biting) dog.

The mail carrier would no longer be delivering the dog owner's mail, nor mail anywhere on the block. The dog owner's neighbors were (understandably) upset with him, largely because he claimed that somehow *he* was a *victim* in this scenario.

We did work together to resolve the issue, and the dog never again menaced or bit anyone. But his story is/was a cautionary one, just like this:

Sioux City Postmaster raises concerns over dog bites, pulls mail carriers from several homes In a three block radius, nine dogs have been a problem for mail carriers suspending service to that area.

Yay! I always look forward to this each fall semester. Love partnering with UNL SEECA -- they make the greatest volunteers and the CGC class needs those extra hands for the Meet 'n Greet(s), and the extra bodies for 'heeling through a crowd'.

We manage to have a lot of fun AND get dogs trained too!
25% of the course fee goes to SEECA in support of their mission and activities.

Fire off an email if you want more info, or to sign up.

SEECA is pleased to share that we will be holding CGC classes again this fall! Join us with Prairie K9 as Dr. Jill Morstad will guide you through the entire process.

Classes will begin at the East Campus Animal Science Complex on Monday, September 9th for 6 weeks with the final test held on the 7th week. There are two class times to choose from, 6:15-7:15pm and 7:30-8:30pm.

Contact Dr. Morstad at [email protected] to sign up and to receive further details!

SEECA benefits from a percentage of the proceeds, so we are so appreciative of your support!

Let’s get training!

A couple of friends meet on a neighborhood tennis court, early morning ahead of the rising temps. Still a couple of slivers of shade.

Pickleball players using three of the four available court spaces but agreed to share, albeit suspiciously. Their play, chatter and camaraderie is wonderful distraction and so sharing space is much appreciated.

Got jumps set up, hauled in other equipment (scent articles, dumbbells, etc), filled the water bowls and started working dogs.

Overheard:

* Well, they must be REALLY well-trained if they're not trying to chase the balls.

*I've never seen anything like it.

*My dog could never do all that.

*Can I send my dog home with you?

*Oh, I just missed my shot!! I got distracted watching the dogs!!

LOL!

Thanks, ladies, for your graciousness and for the shared space, and for the 1970's hits you were streaming. "I Love the Nightlife" is a pretty good tempo for heeling practice!

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A cartoon by Kaamran Hafeez and Al Batt.
See more from this week’s issue: https://newyorkercartoons.visitlink.me/0uwOu6

It’s not often that a fun early morning training session also includes found objects like this puppy canine tooth.

Usually what’s left behind is…well, you know because you see it too (and see the dog owner not picking it up). 😡

Finding this puppy tooth reminds me to remind you: there’s a new puppy kindergarten class starting this week.

Wednesday at 6:30 pm

Email for info. Two spots remaining!!

You're not 'tiring him out'.
You're building a better athlete.

Wisdom from Julia:

IT'S TRAINING TIP TUESDAY!

I heard the phrase yet again today: “A tired dog is a good dog!” This week’s TTT begs to differ.

Here’s an action pic of my best boy, Fox, working out on his treadmill. I am decidedly NOT trying to “tire him out”.

I’ve met with so many dog owners who are advised by family, friends and other dog professionals that their dog’s issues could be resolved simply by giving the dog more “exercise”. These issues might be destructive behavior, dog selectiveness, even aggression towards humans, but whatever the sin, “exercise” seems to always be the all-purpose penance. I’m pretty sure that this belief system became prevalent when a famous TV trainer promoted the mantra of “Exercise, Discipline, Affection” and everyone just heard the first and last words while ignoring the second one: like eating a sandwich made of just bread after removing the meat in the middle. It echoed through the Dogosphere, with daycares everywhere proclaiming that “a tired dog is a good dog!”.

A more accurate statement might be that “a tired dog is a -tired- dog, and that means he might be slightly less of a pain in the ass when you pick him up after your day job” but that doesn’t fit well on a business logo.

There is so much emphasis on physical exercise for dogs that it sometimes sounds as though owners are conditioning Olympic athletes rather than trying to give their dogs a little fun. I see potential clients who routinely run, swim and hike with dogs who drag them when on leash and run off on them when off leash. Dogs who spend every weekday going crazy at a daycare and every weekend running themselves silly on a beach. They’ve consulted wishful-thinking trainers who try to solve issues of overarousal by creating a -different- type of overarousal (no, Mrs. Smith, simply whipping a flirt pole around in the living room is -not- going to teach your out of control Patterdale Terrier to stop jumping on guests). The dogs are constantly in motion, always being stimulated until they finally collapse at the end of the day and the owner sighs in relief that he has successfully "tired his dog out".
I have two problems with this:
1. Is energy such an enemy that we have to squeeze every last little bit out of the dog as though he's a tube of toothpaste? Shouldn't a dog's level of energy act more analog (a dial) and less digital (a switch)?
2. -Did- the owner actually succeed in "tiring his dog out"?

The first issue is easy to understand: dogs, especially big powerful dogs like the Dobes, GSDs and Corsos we see so frequently here, can be rather a "lot" when they are revving high. Trainers often encourage lots of exercise to help curtail behavior problems like anxiety and destructiveness in the house. And some of that may even help a tiny bit. But expecting your dog to be a slightly more interesting houseplant indoors while encouraging him to go full tilt wildman outdoors can be counterproductive. After all, if you teach him that everywhere outside of your house is his world in which to run, play, and chase constantly, without a corresponding level of actual training you are setting him up to ignore you in that environment. How many of you have a dog whose recall command is OK in the living room but virtually nonexistent when he's cut loose in the woods? No surprise there, after all: outdoors is HIS world, remember? You and he are operating on the “ON/OFF switch” model but I bet he doesn’t even have that great of an “OFF” switch when you really need it. Sure, he's getting “exercise” but he’s also learning that the expression of his energy is completely independent of you and that the faster and crazier he goes, the less influence you actually have over him.

But at least you “tired him out”, right?

I’ve got bad news for you, kid.

Why does someone go to the gym?
To get fit.
To build stamina.
To become stronger.

Wait a minute: you mean you don't go to the gym to -get tired-?

Think about how you feel after a jog or a workout, rather than exhausted, you may feel energized. You may want to cool off and rest briefly, but the big picture will show that you will have a higher threshold for the exertion each time you do it. This is what we do with our dogs when their main source of exertion is physical. They may be tired in the immediate aftermath of the exercise, but they usually keep requiring more of it to get less tired. Meanwhile, they become physiologically addicted to mindless play, independent of their humans.

Now think about how you feel after completing a more "mental" task: studying for an exam, doing your taxes, taking a piano lesson. It can even be something more recreational: doing a crossword puzzle, creating a piece of art, building a model. You don't feel "exhausted", but you probably feel -sated-. As a musician, after I work on learning a new piece of music I tend to want some downtime. Maybe TV, maybe listening to a podcast, maybe even just doing a low-key chore.

Most humans consider it a healthy lifestyle if there is a nice balance of both physical exercise and mental exercise. A day in which I go for a long, brisk walk -and- finish up a behavior consult report -and- pick up my bass guitar is a very satisfying one indeed. Our dogs need that same balance.

In addition to the playdates and freeform running around that he gets, what sort of tasks are you giving your dog’s brain to tackle? Asking for "micro obedience" around the house, teaching him a trick that morphs into a useful behavior, turning your long walks into intermittent periods of heel and sit and down, all of these are things that will help your dog "tire out" in a healthy way. Rather than flattened out from physical exhaustion, he can be settled and calm while still being present as a family member.

None if this is advice to stop exercising your dog, but it is a chance for you to think about ways to get that mind of his just as conditioned as his body.

So why is Fox on a treadmill? Like his owner, Fox is getting older. My own restricted mobility makes jogging with him impossible. But he is still very fit as a six year old Doberman and I want to keep him that way. Because I expect him to perform athletically in the training we do, he needs to have very good stamina. I am not exercising him to make him tired, I’m literally doing the opposite! Earlier in the day Fox and I were working on some obedience stuff: not only the usual brief positional drills but also some “extracurricular” retrieves and directionals. That was his “brain workout”. I can attest that when Fox steps off of his treadmill after twenty minutes or so, he is decidedly -not- tired and will often jump back on and wait for me to start it up again. But after our training sessions, he is usually much more laid back and content to just chill out in the office. I try not to anthropomorphize but he definitely seems like he feels accomplished after we spend time working on skills.

Provide that mix of both physical and mental exercise for your dog and watch him become something way better than “tired”, watch him become -balanced-. And a balanced dog really IS a good dog.

See you next week, and Happy Training!

Have a safe and happy Fourth of July!

A popsicle kind of summer

Everyone who lives with a dog (myself included) keeps three plates spinning all the time:
leadership, management and training.

• Here, management refers to all the physical apparatus that allows us to confine, restrain
or contain dogs so that they are neither a danger to themselves, to the household or to the
community. Management tools include things like leashes and collars, fences, crates,
gates, exercise pens, and so on.

• Leadership refers to each individual dog owner’s affect. Your philosophy and beliefs
about dogs and their role in the human family, your perspective on how dogs learn, your
prior experience with dogs, your age, and your own genetic temperament, educational
level and learning style are part of leadership or what Cesar Millan used to call ‘energy’.
Leadership can and does change slightly from day to day, affected further by diet,
hormones, the amount of sleep you got last night, etc. All these pieces taken together
help the dog understand you as leader -- for those who might be wondering -- I do think
that leadership can be learned.

• Training is no more (and no less) than putting certain of the dog’s behaviors on verbal
or non-verbal cue. Teaching ‘sit’ is a training exercise.

Whether we realize it or not, ALL OF US are integrating, to some degree or another and all the time, these three dimensions of
life with dogs.

I tell the owners in puppy kindergarten that life with young puppies is initially around 98%
management and 2% leadership, but that if they stick with formal training (formal in the sense of
exercises that have form and require physical and mental discipline) for the first 12-18 months of
their puppy’s life, they can shift that ratio significantly to include substantial emphasis on training
and leadership (which can be taught and practiced in the context of training the pup), and reduce
the need for management to a statistically insignificant 2%.

For example: A 3-month-old pup doesn't jump on people when managed or restricted from doing
so. Ideally, 13-month-old pup doesn't jump on people because he's been taught not to. If the 13-
month old pup is still jumping up, it's either a leadership issue or a training issue or some
combination. I can say this for certain: if the leadership part isn't there, the training
techniques won't work, and the training itself won't stick.

Or, you can just continue to manage/restrict the dog til it's thirteen years old. But that's neither
training nor leadership.

Having a philosophy (a coherent, structured paradigm or rubric or algorithm) about how dogs
learn and how they don't is the framework that allows for the selection of certain methods of
training and behavior modification. Unfortunately, many dog owners don't have a philosophy
-- they have a collection of superstitions, unexamined beliefs, nostalgia and sentimentality, hit-and-
miss experiences and over-exposure to dogs in media and television. Consequently, they
often mistake sequence for cause-and-effect, embrace ridiculous methods in the moment and
abandon valid approaches when they don't work the very first rehearsal. This kind of incoherence
of philosophy interferes with leadership, precisely because it is incoherent.

When their 'trainer' has no coherent frame over which to stretch their approach, no fundamental
systematic way to examine, consider and (most importantly) test methods for producing transparent and measurable results, they will impulsively search the internet for videos and blogs, and then
superstitiously 'cherry pick' different techniques as presented by different kinds of people who may or may NOT be actual trainers. From there we (you) get an even more wild and multi-dimensionally incoherent hodgepodge of methods and
techniques that further confuse the dog and confound the training and relationship.

So much for leadership.

Here’s the thing: whether we know it or not, people deliver information to dogs in two
ways:
1. Verbally. By association, a dog can come to comprehend a word/behavior
pairing. i.e., ‘Sit’ (this is training)

2, Body language. Since this is the natural language of dogs, it is far more powerful than
mere words. Of course, this means you have to pay more attention to what you DO than
what you SAY, and you have to stop talking all the time.


By teaching a dog to remain alert for a barely detectable non-verbal signal, you
inevitably teach the dog to focus on you a great deal for information. That, of
course, is the essence of leadership.

We can help you bring these three elements into balance, and watch your dog behavior problems melt away.

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This is precisely what we were talking about last night at class.

Quiet hands. Use and mis-use of pressure.

Because what are you going to do, how are you going to communicate, when there is no leash in your hands?

I have written about quiet hands a lot. Our primary communication with a dog is transmitted through the leash and it's important to understand the mechanics of leash handling.

The way we handle the leash tells our dog that what it's doing is either right or wrong.

Quick hands that sn**ch at the leash communicate uncertainty and distrust. The dog registers that and learns how to tune out the handler. Resistant hands that don't allow for the absence of leash pressure teach a dog to oppose us, as they struggle to escape the constant pressure.

Hands that are used as placeholders on a leash serve no purpose whatsoever. They are just the conveyance that attaches dog to handler.

I have always borrowed a lot from horsemanship. Although not a horseman, as an animal trainer and handler, I share a lot of similarities with horse trainers, not just in philosophies, but in the understanding of how to apply aids the horse registers as a cue to move. I don’t ride. I did very briefly as a youngster, but soon realized I would need an extravagant income to pursue it to the degree I wanted to, and by the time I was 10, I had already outgrown any hope of being a jockey.

But anyway…

Pressure is universal. All living things respond to it in the most subtle of ways. Heat drives us indoors to air conditioning. Our peers drive us to improve. Physical force drives us to move towards or away from pressure.

‘Contact’ is the term used to describe the sensation of the line drawn from the horse’s mouth through the rider’s hand, by reins.

The leash is the same. As I have said many times, it is a conduit for information that flows both ways. If the dog is heavy on the leash, it's generally trying to escape pressure. If the dog is light on the leash, it has experienced the pressure and practices avoiding it.

Dogfolk use collars to leverage control over their dogs, as riders use different bits. Where horsemen rely on reins, dog trainers use a leash and collar, but the basic principles remain the same.

Learning how to control our hands is like learning how to control our mouths. We need to force them to be quiet. It's not enough to make them stop moving, we must train our hands to remain still.

Humans are fidgeters. Constantly snapping their wrists, twiddling their fingers and talking with their hands.

Now put a leash in them.

Now think of what the dog is feeling.

It requires a conscious effort to maintain quiet hands. It requires practice to not sn**ch at the leash and misdirect your dog, and it takes a lifetime commitment to learn that the *absence* of pressure is equal to or greater than in importance, to the *presence* of pressure.

If light contact leads to restrictive or punitive pressure, it becomes a signal to the dog that change is required to relieve pressure.

If that relief never comes, the dog has no way of knowing how to escape it; how to be ‘right’.

Handling a leash quietly enables the handler to control their dog tactfully, efficiently, and without being perceived as a bully.

Dogs are very tactile. Learning how to control our hand movements is a superpower.

Handling a leash haphazardly is a surefire way to teach our dogs to ignore us.

Owner: My dog has separation anxiety.

PK9: Do you mean that the dog is anxious about being away from you?

Owner: Yes, he's frantic.

PK9: So, if I get up and go across your living room and prop your front door wide open and then come back and sit down, what will happen?

Owner: OMG, don't do that!! The dog will take off and run out the door and down the street, and he won't come back!!!!!

PK9: Then he's not at all anxious about being separated from you.
You've got a problem yes, but it's not 'separation anxiety.'

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"Although competition may not hold any attraction for you, the same obedience expectations you see being used in the ring are the same expectations you should have in the home, and your instructor should know how to get you there."

I am not the only trainer who feels this way.
Let us help you set goals, establish real criteria and know exactly how to meet them.

"I don't need that show dog obedience. I just need my dog to stop barking at the mailman!"

Yeah, ya do. Not only that, you need someone who can help you navigate your dog through the distractions it values more than it values its relationship with you.

Although competition may not hold any attraction for you, the same obedience expectations you see being used in the ring are the same expectations you should have in the home, and your instructor should know how to get you there.

The idea of competition may not matter to you, but it should matter in your selection of instructors because it currently represents the only means with which to measure a dog trainer's competency.

I know there will be many that argue that point, but it's true.

We are an unregulated industry. There is no measure of what constitutes a trained dog outside of what we, ourselves, create. There are thousands of "pick me's" but only a handful capable of extracting performance-level obedience out of the average dog.

That same performance level is what's gonna save your dog from dashing off after the kid on the bike and becoming road pizza.

If an instructor is teaching others how to get their dog to stop pulling on a leash, to come when called or to stay motionless, it would occur to me that they themselves should be able to demonstrate that.

It becomes less about tools or philosophies when it actually focuses on the ability to arrive at a destination without any aids. The ability to walk into an arena, adjudicated by a peer, to demonstrate competence with no more than a leash, a collar, a dog, and your voice.

The dog certainly doesn't know the difference between the ring experience or navigating the vet's office at peak hours, and your instructor should be able to help you successfully navigate both.

If you aren't capable of taking your dog in public, maybe you should be seeking a trainer that does that show dog obedience, since those dogs are in public and making contact with total strangers without biting and losing their minds every weekend.

On purpose.

If your goals include lounging at the local outdoor diner with your dog, weekend pub crawls with your dog, or traveling with your dog, pursuing folks that actually do that with their dogs is going to get you to your destination faster, even if you think it looks like show dog obedience.

If your goals are to help your behaviorally challenged dog feel more comfortable in the presence of other dogs, strangers, or strange places, that show dog obedience is just what the doctor ordered.

It's all the same obedience.

Let's train the dog at our feet.

Not the ghost dog ('the last dog we had...', or the dog from childhood who seemed so perfect).

Not the Disney-dog, who is a work of fiction. Not the other tv or movie dogs, who are the result of edited image.

The best and fastest way to get the dog you want is to train the dog you have.

I don’t get any more gratification from helping an adopted or “rescue” dog than I would from a purpose-bred dog or a purebred dog. Having helped them suit their situation better is the only goal.

Being able to guide that dog and it’s ownership into a better frame of existence is the job. My feelings about it are limited to my success and how I can improve for the next one.

I tell owners, whether their dogs were bred from the finest bloodlines, or hauled across state lines on an illicit ‘transport’ that we train the dog at our feet, not the one in our head. I am simply the conduit to nurture that relationship. My satisfaction comes in the form of having been able to help, successfully.

I don’t understand the “adopt, don’t shop” trope, and I have never supported it. The notion that one dog is somehow more deserving than another is fraught with untruths. Whether a person chooses a dog from a well-bred litter or from another source where provenance is questionable, dogs require care and affection, regardless of their pedigree. Buying a dog from a rescue or shelter is a matter of preference, it should never be an ‘only’ option.

My favorite dogs to work with are the bold, confident youngsters that are willing to try anything. They model the behavior I deliberately select for my own dogs, and the behavior I would like to see in all dogs.

My greatest successes are helping dogs that lack that quality to gain it to some degree, and live fulfilling lives without fear. Or at least, much more confidence. Fearful dogs are challenging. Whether through genetics or experience, humans made them that way.

I don’t understand the preference to have to work harder for something. I prefer an odds-on chance for success by starting with raw material that is going to make my job easier. If I personally had a choice between the purpose-bred pup that I could mold like clay, or the dog that has been passed from pillar to post, my decision favors the former.

As a trainer, I don’t have the luxury of telling people what dogs they *should* buy, I am obligated to help them where they already are. They chose their dog for a reason. My job is to help them with the dog at their feet, not the one in their head. Nor the one in my head.

The litmus test for folks is to put their prejudices aside and just train the dog in front of them. Not everyone is suited for a puppy. Not everyone has the temperament to work a dog with behavior issues. Not everybody has designs on performance events with their dogs. We are all going to be limited by our experience, our willingness to invest time or money or both, and our interests.

The dogs we own require our attention. Whether they were scraped off the streets of some third world country and brought here, purchased from a top performance breeder with the lofty ambitions of a world stage, or bought out of the transport’s trailer at some road stop on interstate 95, the owner enters an unwritten contract to care for the needs of that animal.

Be sure that you are prepared for all that entails.