Traditionally, dog training has been, and is, done in person, within a group class or 121 with a trainer.
However, many basic puppy and/ or dog training exercises, or working on behavioural ‘issues’, actually don’t require the trainer to be present or ‘do the training’ in person.
After all, what is most important is that the dog’s guardian learns ‘how to’ work with their dog, how to manage their dog’s environment, how to provide the right physical and mental enrichment and so forth.
Here are a few tips on how to prepare yourself and your puppy for home alone success and to prevent Separation Anxiety.
From educating yourself about your puppy’s body language and needs for ultimate alone time success to practicing Peek-A-Boo (always fun!) and teaching them that leaving DEFINITELY means you are coming back!
Set your dog up for success by starting this exercise at a distance and in an environment that is super easy and non distracting for your dog
Your dog doesn’t need to fail to learn. In fact, errorless learning will provide much quicker success. Plus, this ensures your dog doesn’t get frustrated by the learning process and instead builds confidence and a positive association with training
Remember training with your dog should always be fun, for the both of you.
As lockdown is easing across the UK, our puppies and adult dogs are faced with plenty of lifestyle changes that can be both stressful and plain scary. Understanding your dog’s fears as well as helping them to prepare for ‘the unknown’ is crucial to their wellbeing and to preventing unwelcome habits and behaviour issues from developing.
A problem area I’m working with a lot at the moment is people welcoming guests at their homes once again as well as heading out to busy public places such as busy pubs and restaurants, all with their dog in tow who simply can’t cope.
For all those pandemic puppies who’s never had a stranger visit their home these new experiences can be incredibly disruptive. As is for our adult dogs who’ve enjoyed a year of anti-social bliss and forgot what it’s like to be around more people than their closest family members.
If you want your dog to learn and understand your language, then it’s only fair you can talk ‘dog’. Communication should always go two ways and understanding what your dog is telling you will result in a strong, trusting bond, which should be the basis of any training.
To talk ‘dog’ you have to look at your friend’s entire body (eyes, ears, mouth, tail, body stance, etc) as well as listen to the sounds he or she makes. Context and looking at the bigger picture is equally as important; for example a dog who yawns in the morning when he wakes up is tired, whereas a dog who yawns when a dog runs up to her in the park, is worried and potentially stressed.
Some subtle signs of communication to look out for when your dog feels stressed: eye blinking, lip/ nose licking, yawning, averting face/ gaze, lowered or tucked tail, frozen body posture, tightly closed mouth and much more.
The wonderful Lauren Libbert has written a feature for the Telegraph about how her Cockapoo Freddy has been coping with life under lockdown. Slowly morphing from a chilled and fun loving dog to an often irritated, growly, then suddenly over the top active furry noodle, she’s asked for advice on what the reasons behind his behaviour may be as well as how to help him, and other dogs, through these challenging times.
And I was of course so very excited to be have been able to contribute.
Saturday Telegraph 16/05/2020
Telegraph online 15/05/2020
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