Can my kids walk the dog alone?

When a family has a dog very commonly parents want their child(ren) to bond with the family dog and really learn the responsibilities that come with dog ownership. 

This is commendable and definitely should be part of every family's priority list when dealing with a family pet. However, adding "walk the dog" to your kids' responsibility chart may need some considerations to be taken into account first.

THINGS TO ASK YOURSELF ABOUT YOUR CHILD & DOG

Ø  Do your child & dog have a respectful & considerate relationship with each other?

Ø  Does your dog follow/listen to directions/cues from your child?

Ø  Has your dog ever shown signs of aggression toward any other person or animal?

Ø  Has your dog ever chased cars or other animals?

Ø  Can your child read/interpret canine body language & what it means?

Ø  Can your child interpret situations & make appropriate/quick decisions when/if necessary?

Ø  Is your child physically able to handle your dog if it starts to pull on the leash if a distraction were to re-focus your dog?  

WHAT-IFs THAT SHOULD BE CONSIDERED

Ø  What happens if your child were walking the dog and they were approached by a strange dog, off-leash? Would your child be equipped mentally and physically to handle that scenario?

Ø  What if your dog spooked or became highly aroused by a darting cat or squirrel? Could your child act fast and remain in control of your dog?

Ø  What if your dog's leash pops out of your child's hand and takes off running for some reason or another? Would your child know what to do in that situation?

WHAT IS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD LIKE?

Ø  What are the local dogs like that live around you, that you may encounter on a regular basis?

Ø  Are there many off-leash dogs you encounter on your normal walking route? In your neighborhood in general?

Ø  If you encounter off-leash dogs, are they friendly?

Ø   Does your dog react in a friendly manner towards dogs that may approach him/her when on-leash?

Ø  Is your dog controllable if excitable/distracted while walking on a leash?

IMPORTANT TIPS TO REMEMBER

ü  Be sure that Fido has received a good deal of positive training with regards to leash work & how to handle distractions & other dogs that may approach.

ü  Fido should be able to be verbally & physically controlled by whoever is holding the leash. If only one family member has this ability they should be the only one walking the dog until more training for all family members takes place.

ü  Be sure to go over body language, social cues & what-if situations with your child prior to allowing him/her to take on this responsibility. 

ü  Train now, don't wait for an incident to occur that makes you realize that you must now train the dog and the child how to understand all that involves walking a dog.

ü  Take your child with you when you go for a walk and slowly build up where s/he can take full control of the leash, gradually increasing the distance walked while they are in full control. Once your child has built up confidence, you can start to hang back a little bit and observe how s/he does. (Stay close behind!)

ü  You should ask your child probing questions about what they would do in challenging situations, such as if another dog approaches. It's important to try and prepare them as best you can so they aren't startled if something unusual should happen.

ü  Make sure you always remind them what a big responsibility it is to walk the dog and that they must always pay attention to what is going on around them. No cell phones or distractions during the walk. (Hey this should apply to you too, adults!)

ü  As a general rule, kids under 14 years of age, should always be accompanied by an able-bodied adult when walking a dog. Some kids 10 or older may be able to do this depending on many of the factors listed above as well as maturity level of the child, physical abilities and confidence level with walking the dog.

ü  As a general rule kids under the age of 10 years old should never be in possession of the dog's leash (when a dog is attached to it) without an adult either holding a 2nd leash attached to the dog at the same time, or adult holding the end of the leash while child holds the middle of the leash.

ü  Kids should be taught proper leash holding skills, training skills, how to read canine body language and what to do in certain scenarios that may come up while out on a walk with the dog. A trained professional is recommended to help with this process.

The most ideal situation would be to go walking as a family unit and make it an activity everyone gets involved in and enjoys! Take a training class or better, have a trainer come to your home to work one-on-one with your family to show everyone how to work with and train your dog. 

There are great training programs that are taught by licensed Private Trainers through The Family Dog™ and their training programs for families and dogs.

Most children under 14 wouldn't be safe walking the dog alone [without an able-bodied adult], especially when considering all possibilities and scenarios that could arise. However, this isn't going to be the same for all families and kids, so this is why training and good judgment calls are important when deciding and allowing kids to walk the dog alone. No child under the age of 10 should walk a dog alone at any time.

The bottom line is that your dog should be reliably trained to walk with a loose leash and be able to be controlled both physically and verbally by the person holding the leash. This person should also be able to act swiftly if an unforeseen circumstance were to arise.

The person holding the leash should be able to take quick action if/when needed to ensure safety for all parties. So, find a great trainer to help you and your family learn all you need to for dog safety when walking as well as how to gain great leash skills and loose leash walking with your dog.

------------------

Stacy Greer, CPDT-KA 
licensed Family Paws Parent Educator 
& Private Trainer with The Family Dog™

Sunshine Dog Training & Behavior
-------------------

servicing the Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas metroplex

sunshinedog.com

Copyright© 2018. All rights reserved.

"He loves to be petted!" ... or does he?!

I just recently posted this picture of my kids rubbing the belly of a dog that belongs to our chiropractor in Grapevine, Texas on my Facebook timeline. (Little plug for the wonderful Dr. Janelle Whitehead at Alpha Wellness Center.)

I captioned the picture on my timeline with this: Our chiropractor has an office greeter. 🙌🏼DOG TRAINING NOTE: Jango came over to us first and “asked” to be pet. We always wait for dogs to initiate interaction!

I had a wonderful past client comment with a fabulous question -- Just for my knowledge, how will they ask? --  Which prompted me to write this post.  It may very well be one of the most important things we teach others, especially children [of all ages]: How to tell if the dog wants to be petted or given attention to.

So, how do we know that dogs actually want to be approached, petted or given attention to?
We learn to read the dog, first and foremost. While most people can read obvious signals that a dog is uncomfortable -- ears back, tail tucked, hiding behind their owner, head lowered -- many people cannot read more subtle signals that will add up to a reaction of some kind if they aren't observed and respected.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND

• Not all dogs like being petted. Yup. Sorry to burst your bubble but it's true. Some may even be fine just hanging out with you or near strangers but this doesn't necessarily equate to them wanting to be petted by you or strangers.
  
• Some dogs like to be near you but aren't into physical interaction. There are some dogs that are friendly and totally fine with humans and hanging out, but they don't like physical touch by others. Some dogs like limited physical touch but not much, or often.
  
• Dogs may have a random schedule of when they like to be petted, and it likely will change often.  Some dogs like being petted at certain times but not others. There is likely no real pattern or schedule here just like you may have a day where you would rather not talk to other people or socialize and other days you're ready to be invited to a party.
  
• Your dog may absolutely love to be petted by you but not strangers.  They may also prefer one person to another in the same household.  In other words, your dog may be picky with whom she prefers petting from.
  
• Some dogs may be totally fine with adults but not children. Children appear, sound and move differently than adults do. This is especially true with crawling babies, toddlers, and younger kids. Due to this fact, some dogs are not keen on some kids being near them let alone being petted by them.

HOW DO YOU KNOW WHEN THE ABOVE APPLY?

It's important to understand how to read subtle body language and cues given off by dogs when interacting and/or attempting to interact with them. This is critical for you to teach your kids, especially when they see and/or approach a dog they are not familiar with.

VIDEO WITH BREAKDOWN OF CUES/BODY LANGUAGE
Here is an excellent video from Dog Charming based out of Austraila on this topic with many wonderful tips, points and dogs being pet for clarification. I recommend you watch this with your kids and discuss what they show and discuss in the video.

SO, NOW WHAT?!
Now you have a little more knowledge on dog body language and cues to read when and/if a dog wants to be pet or not. Let's understand what to do now when you encounter an unfamiliar dog. For the sake of this blog not becoming much longer, the dogs I am referring to are dogs that have an owner with them or possibly not right by them but near-by. This does not refer to strange dogs on the streets, with no known owner or that is a possible stray.

WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER AN UNFAMILIAR DOG
The first rule is to take a look at the dog's body language ...

• Do you see any signs that the dog does not want to be pet (re-watch the video above if you need to!)?  If yes, then leave the dog alone and continue on. 
• If the dog approaches you and seems to want your affection or attention remember these rules:
• Do not pet a dog over/on top of the dog's head, most dog's do not like this.
• Do not put your hand in a dog's face for it to sniff it. Instead, slowly offer an open palm for them to sniff, hanging your hand low & below the dog's chin-level or off to the side of the dog's body (as opposed to directly in front.)
• After the dog sniffs you may pet it under the chin or on the side of the neck/body.
• When a dog is friendly & clearly likes/wants to be pet be sure you don't allow your kids to hug or kiss the dog, ever. Strange dogs are never to be hugged or kissed by kids (um, or adults!).
• Make your pet-session with a strange dog brief (3-5 seconds). If the dog clearly wants more petting (remember the signs from the video), you may do 3-5 more seconds. Do not linger too long, some dogs do like petting but only briefly.

A GREAT VIDEO TO WATCH WITH KIDS!

This video is brought to you by the great folks at The Family Dog & stopthe77.com.  Great fun for the whole family to watch & learn from this one!

RESOURCES & TIPS  

• Teach yourself and your kids how to read dogs. Now, re-learn doggie body language. Don't forget the subtle signs, there are many of these we often miss.  Reading body language is everything.
• Don't feel bad if you have to walk away from a dog that the owner states is ok when you see otherwise. Sadly, even well-meaning dog owners often don't know the signs their dog is giving off.
• Always read the dog first, don't pet or approach based on the dog owner's suggestions or advice.
• Visit, download and/or purchase some of these wonderful resources:
• The wonderful trainers, programs & also some free resources through The Family Dog & their sister site stopthe77.com
• Colleen Pelar's "Teaching Kids How to Meet a Dog" podcast. This is a downloadable podcast that you can listen to anywhere you have a phone, tablet or computer.  Download podcast here.
• My resources page on my website has a lot of PDF downloads with pictures, illustrations & recommended books too. Please vist that page here.
• Doggone Crazy has some excellent downloads for kids & parents to go over together. You may visit their site here for e-books & flashcards.
• The Vet Behaviour Team also has some of my very favorite downloadable (free) illustrations of various signs of stress in dogs. You can get those here.

IN CONCLUSION

Brush up on your doggie body language skills, go over it with your kids and respect the dog's cues.  A dog will always "tell" you when they want to be petted and when they don't ... so be sure to "listen" when they do no matter what anyone else says.

Stacy Greer

Sunshine Dog Training & Behavior

servicing the Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas metroplex

sunshinedog.com
Copyright© 2018. All rights reserved.

Stop puppy biting & nipping for good!

Does your puppy nip or bite at you in some way with those awfully sharp puppy teeth?!  Ouch! They are like shark teeth!  

First, you should know — this is very normal puppy behavior. I get many emails stating their puppy is “aggressive” and usually, it’s just puppy nipping gone a little over the top.  

Puppies use their mouths and teeth because well ... they are puppies.  Puppies aren't technically “teething” until around 16 weeks of age and then it goes on until around 7-8 months of age. This is when those uber sharp teeth start to fall out and they get their adult teeth. While canine teeth are sharp anyway, the adult teeth aren’t quite as sharp.  

WHY DOES MY PUPPY BITE ME?!

There are a few reasons why puppies bite, which can be some or all of the following:

• They are not receiving proper training & outlets for energy.
• They are over-stimulated & need some downtime (explained below)
• They see it as a game (usually unintentionally taught)
• They are young puppies, it’s what they do!

HOW DO I STOP IT?!

First, it’s important to remember that your puppy is a clean slate of nothing. They are sponges and will absorb any and all behaviors whether you are intentionally teaching them or not!  So this is when training becomes vital because you can control your puppy’s 

behaviors with proper training and direction.

Most puppies are over-stimulated/aroused by the time the nipping/biting has gotten out of hand.  On top of that the common reaction to the biting causes it to escalate (whoops!).  So there are several things that I recommend and this will curb it dramatically, if not stop it altogether.

➡ Don’t allow your puppy to become over-stimulated. Free time should be in short bursts when puppies are between 8-16 weeks of age.  Each week you can increase the time they have freedom. By this I mean all time out of a crate or safe area (x-pen set up for puppy) should be short and productive.  

I like to have a puppy out for only 20 minutes at a time in the beginning (8-10 weeks of age, increase that time as puppy gets older).  In those 20 minutes I get a potty break, training session, play session, potty break and then it’s back into the safe place for nap time.  Puppies need lots and lots of sleep!  (For details on what the training session consists of stay tuned).  

When having the puppy actively engaged they cannot be finding ways to bite and chew things that aren’t appropriate.  So after potty break I work on several things — mat work, name recognition, positive interrupter, coming when called —  to start. Then I play in between with a toy — a ball, a tug rope or a puzzle toy for puppy to engage in.  Then back to potty and back to the crate for some downtime.

➡ When puppy does start to nip/bite, if it's gentle nipping, I simply re-direct puppy to an appropriate toy/bone. Stuffed toys rarely do the trick, I usually recommend to redirect to an antler, buffalo horn, bully stick or something else that will keep puppy occupied. The key is that what you redirect to should be able to keep puppy engaged and not have him redirect back to you.  If the latter happens then remove puppy and put him in his safe place for downtime (see next bullet point). Nylabone® makes many great chewables for puppies, you may download my puppy chew toy handout here or chewie works best as they will stay more engaged with one of these instead of redirecting back to you.

➡ If puppy is biting really hard (or they are feisty, spunky & over-aroused), I immediately, gently and quietly, put them away in their crate/safe area. It's important to note that you should not be saying anything but just simply pick up puppy and place him in his safe area/crate. If that isn’t possible I put myself into a room, close door behind me.  With puppies the latter could be a bit disastrous due to chewing and potty, if puppy is really young. So I prefer the first suggestion, re: putting away puppy.  It’s not a punishment and should not be used as one. It’s just putting them away to let them know you will not engage with them when they do this, as well as to put them in downtime as this is usually what is needed. Usually, I leave puppy in downtime until he’s totally relaxed and calm. Sometimes they will pass out and take a nap. So I just leave them until they wake up.

➡ When kids are getting bitten — parents must pro-active & actively be involved. Immediately follow the steps in the above suggestion.  You can also teach your kids to Be A Tree if they are 3+ years of age, sometimes 4+ years is better.  The child literally stands still, doesn’t move, hands to their side and head down facing the floor.  Puppies won’t engage with a tree!

➡ Do not play with puppy using hands, i.e. allowing puppy to chew on hands sometimes yet not at others. This teaches puppy that hands are chew toys and puppy will carry this over to all humans, not just the one doing the play this way. Puppy play should always involve a toy or appropriate chew. 

Puppies are challenging! But they can easily be trained and managed when done properly.  I highly recommend hiring a trainer to come into your home and show you and your family how to properly handle, train and manage your puppy and his antics! It is so beneficial and you’ll learn so much!



UPDATE: I have a video webinar I did on this topic with a schedule of what to do with your puppy to keep biting at a low or non-existent state! Watch my free webinar here.

Stacy Greer, CPDT-KA

Sunshine Dog Training & Behavior, LLC

servicing the Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas metroplex

sunshinedog.com

Copyright© 2018. All rights reserved.

Loose Leash Walking: How to stop leash pulling.

Loose Leash Walking (LLW) is where a dog walks with a loose leash, no tension, and is under control without force but by choice. Usually, I prefer the dog walking on the handler’s left but not tightly next to the handler, just with a nice relaxed leash for a leisurely walk.

Many, many, many dog owners would do anything to have a dog that doesn’t pull them down the street when they walk them.

To add to this there are loads of “tools” on the market today to appeal to dog owners. These tools are marketed in such a way that makes a dog owner feel like it will be a magic trick that helps the dog stop pulling. Rarely is this true.  There are tools that definitely help with control and training but there is no tool that will magically train a dog to stop pulling.  The tool that does that is you, the dog owner. 

I won’t lie, if you are using reward-based training to train loose leash walking with your dog you’ll have to put in some work to achieve this.  This is definitely my method of training and I don’t recommend other methods as they have a huge possibility of fallout. I’ll not go into that here, but suffice it to say I don’t use metal, electronic or correction collars to train a dog to stop pulling on the leash (or anything else for that matter).  

By "you'll have to put in some work" I mean you’ll have to commit to working on this daily. I also suggest you don't walk your dog unless you're going to be training him. Set him up to succeed. If he can pull you, he will, and this will set your training back.  So, set a plan and stick to it. I laid out a plan to follow below ... keep reading ... 

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

1) WHY DO DOGS PULL, IS HE TRYING TO BE DOMINANT?! Dogs pull because they can, it’s rewarding (Hey! She keeps going forward, in the same direction even if I pull!), and the behavior becomes rewarded unintentionally.  

A dog that pulls isn’t trying to “be in charge” or any other silly nonsense. It’s just pulling because it’s not been trained to walk next to you when on a leash. It’s just that simple.

2) BUT SHE’S CHOKING ON HER OWN COLLAR, SHOULDN’T SHE STOP PULLING IF SHE’S CHOKING HERSELF?!  Dogs don’t care, really. The walk is rewarding enough that they will continue to move forward unless given a really good reason not to.  So, they won’t teach themselves not to pull even if they are hacking up a lung by pulling against their collar/harness/leash.

3) HE’LL STOP WHEN I JERK HIS COLLAR BUT THEN HE’LL GO BACK TO PULLING. WHY?!  This is why training your dog what to do instead of pull, rather than tell him to stop pulling, is more effective and better in the long run, than using corrections. 

4) SHE WAS WALKING REALLY WELL THEN SHE SAW ANOTHER DOG & WENT NUTS!  This is a bit of another category of loose leash. In short — more training and likely some specialized training is in order here for how to teach your dog to respond when they see distractions/triggers. So, if your dog goes beyond just needing some leash manners, please seek a qualified person to help you with any leash reactivity or over-reactivity to certain triggers.

5) WHAT IF I HAVE TWO DOGS? If you have more than one dog you have to train each dog individually in order to achieve LLW with each of them.  Yes, that's not usually what dog owners want to hear but to achieve the best results, and prevent you from losing your mind, you'll want to do all of the following with each dog you want to teach this to. 

SO, HOW DO I GET MY DOG TO STOP PULLING?! 

1) BUILD ENGAGEMENT & FOCUS. This should start out inside not out on the leash where all the things in the world are for them to see and sniff.  

Start by rewarding your dog (with food) when they look at you. Have them walk next to you, all around your home and when they engage with you, or offer eye contact, reward them. Increase the criteria by then taking the dog outside and doing it there. Namely, in the backyard, then the front yard, then down the street, and so on.  Here is a small video of what I start dogs doing inside the house. — https://youtu.be/xCbABDDcx38 

Also, here is a video on some of the same things in the above video but in under a minute! — https://youtu.be/1bOl7mFsK20

Practice time: 4-5 x day for 2-3 weeks, 2-10 minutes each time.

2) WORK ON LEASH SKILLS WITHOUT A DOG! Yup. You need to learn about leashes, equipment and the like without your dog. Then once you have this down, you can start with your dog.  I made a video going over a few leash tips and a couple of harnesses I like. It’s not extensive, in regards to the different harnesses, but it has some good leash info! — https://youtu.be/l3wuJ-TOQPg 

For more info on more harnesses to choose from read this review of harnesses from The Whole Dog Journal. — http://bit.ly/2t83qGe

Practice time: 1 x a day for 3 consecutive days, get a feel for the leash.

3) WORK ON LEASH SKILLS INSIDE YOUR HOME. Use your engagement exercises and practice them indoors, without distractions. As shown in one of my videos above, this one — https://youtu.be/xCbABDDcx38 — you should do the exercises in this video but with a leash on now.

Practice time: 3 x a day for 2 weeks, 10-15 minutes each time.

4) TAKE IT TO THE STREETS! Now step outside of your home. This might be a driveway or a sidewalk or a breezeway, depending on where you live but don’t go far, esp if your dog is highly distracted.  Start with low-level distractions, work on the engagement exercises above that you’ve now done without a leash indoors and then indoors with a leash.  Now add in a cue to tell your dog he should stick with you. I like to use "Let's go!".  This tells my dog I'm about to walk and she better be walking with me.  I start to walk and on we go. 

5) REWARD THOSE CHECK-INS & GIVE FEEDBACK! I see the most common mistake people make is rewarding too little, not enough and missing moments when to do so.  Feed, feed, feed your dog when they check in with you on a leash. Walking next to you, loose leash and then they turn to look up at you — "YES!" Now, feed, feed, feed that! In between those feedings give verbal feedback. All. The. Time. "Good boy. That's a good boy!"

6) WHAT IF HE PULLS ONCE WE ARE OUTSIDE?! So if your dog does forge ahead, just pivot and do a u-turn in the opposite direction. Wait for Fido to catch up to you on your left side, then reward as he returns to your side. I discuss this in my video above with my Beagle, Charlotte in my kitchen.  You should actually be doing a lot of turns and moving in other directions when working on leash skills. If you stay in a straight line you'll go mad.  This helps teach your dog to turn with you/when you're turning and to stay in tune with you. 

7) REWARD LIKE MAD! (Can't express this one enough.) Take a lot of great food with you. A. LOT. Once I hit the streets, or outdoors, with leash work I take boiled chicken, hot dog pieces, cubes of cheese, etc.  My dog gets some major yummy stuff for paying attention to me when on a leash in distracting environments.  Do not be stingy with the food or rewards. Maybe feed your dog only half, or less, of her normal meal that day and feed a ton when she's working with you.  

Here is a video of me with a Dobie I'm working with at my house for leash work.  Notice how much food I give him, when I reward him. I give him about 5-7 little pieces, one at a time while we are walking and while he's paying attention to me.

8) SLOW & STEADY WINS THE RACE. Take it slow. Make your sessions short and don't go far at first. Actually, I really don't go anywhere. I stick to my little cul-de-sac in front of my house then slowly move past that after the dog has gotten more reliable on a loose leash. I slowly add in goals like: tomorrow we can go 2 houses down, perhaps by the end of the week we can go 4 houses down! 

IN CONCLUSION ... FOR NOW ... Right now this is all I'm going to give you. These are just beginning steps to get your dog to walk nicely on a leash. It all starts to fall into place after you do these things but you have to start here.  For more info on how to proceed with more distractions, what to do when your dog stops paying attention to you on a leash and more troubleshooting when walking your dog ... stay tuned! 

Stacy Greer

Sunshine Dog Training & Behavior, LLC

servicing the Dallas/Ft Worth, Texas metroplex

sunshinedog.com

Copyright© 2018. All rights reserved.