Smart Dog

The Perfect Age to Start Puppy Training?

Puppies don’t come with instructions. There isn’t an Owner’s Manual. From the minute you bring your puppy home, he’s learning. Your pup will develop habits whether you teach him or not. It’s much easier to instill good habits from the beginning, than to try to undo bad habits later. 

Confused about when to start your pup's education? Trainers and veterinarians agree: sooner is better! 

If your pup is healthy, you can start puppy class as soon as your pup has begun (and as long as he's kept on) his puppy vaccination schedule. Dr. Brenda Griffin states in DVM360: 

 For puppies, the single most important part of a behavioral wellness program is proper socialization during their critical developmental period, which ends by 16 weeks. Owners must begin socialization the day they bring their new puppies home, and the clock is ticking.

Proper socialization combined with positive reinforcement-based training in the context of a group puppy class helps puppies grow into well-adjusted pets. Classes provide critical socialization time with a variety of people and other puppies. 

Smart Dog University makes it easy for you to get your puppy socialization and dog-friendly positive reinforcement training with Puppy Charm School (PCS). Designed specifically for puppies (8-18 weeks old), PCS will help you build the dog of your dreams. 

Focusing on five critical areas, PCS makes it easy for you to teach your pup what he needs to know, when he needs to know it. There are five areas of concentration in PCS: Confident Puppy, Social Puppy, Happy & Healthy Puppy, Good Puppy, and Parenting Your Puppy. 

Confident Puppy teaches your pup to feel comfortable in any environment and to accept new experiences easily. Your pup will be an “easy keeper” because he’ll be just as comfortable at soccer practice as he is at the bus stop, and even at the veterinarian!

The more experiences your pup has before 16 weeks of age (4 months), the more laid back and easy going he’ll be as he grows up. A laid back pup grows into a well-adjusted dog.

Why It’s Important: Living in our world doesn’t come naturally to dogs. Their developing minds are wide open until 16 weeks of age. After that, they become less willing to accept new things, people, and experiences. 

Social Puppy teaches your pup to play nicely with other dogs, to recognize and use appropriate dog signals around other dogs. PCS will have controlled off-leash puppy play during each class. We’ll narrate the activities of the pups, pointing out the important things for you to watch for when you’re at home. We’ll show you warning signals as well as good signs that mean your pup is having a blast!

Why It’s Important: A dog needs repeated exposure to friendly and appropriate dogs his entire life. Dogs who can’t get along with other dogs have a “shorter leash” on life and don’t get to experience as much, or have as much fun as a dog who is easy-going and nice to other dogs.

Happy + Healthy Puppy teaches your puppy to be comfortable with routine grooming tasks such as nail trims and vet exams.

Why It’s Important: The earlier your pup learns the veterinarian isn’t scary, the easier it will be for you (and your dog, and your vet) to keep your dog happy and healthy. Your dog will need routine grooming and vet care to keep him happy and healthy – it’s easier if he’s cooperative (instead of combative).

Good Puppy teaches your pup basic “good manners” behaviors like sit, give it up, come when called, loose leash walking, name recognition.

Why It’s Important: Teaching appropriate behaviors from the start is the easiest and fastest way to a well-behaved dog. Teaching the pup what to do is a sure way to avoid problem behaviors (like jumping, barking, stealing socks, etc.).

Parenting Your Puppy teaches you how to deal with the most common (and the most frustrating) puppy problems. You’ll learn how to conquer puppy nipping, house training, crate training, barking, and stealing.

Why It’s Important: Giving you tools for dealing with the most vexing of puppy problems will allow you to spend more time enjoying your pup (and less time cursing the day you brought him home). Having the knowledge to deal with these common puppy issues ensures that the pup will have a consistent and predictable environment – one of the most important pieces of a well-adjusted pup’s life. 

Scheduling
Puppy Charm School opens August 1 and we expect it to be popular. Register early to ensure you and your pup get in -- before your pup reaches 18 weeks of age! Classes have ongoing registration -- Register today and you can usually start classes the very next week, no waiting!

Where?
Classes will be held in two locations each week. In Frederick, PCS will be held Mondays (6:30p - 7:15p) Yellow Springs Veterinary Clinic (25 Thomas Johnson Drive, Frederick), and Thursdays (7:30p - 8:15p) at Mount Airy Animal Hospital (1308 S. Main Street, Mt. Airy). 

Cost
When you register, you'll receive five PCS sessions. You have seven weeks to fit in those five sessions, meaning if you can't make it one week (going on vacation, business travel, etc.), you won't lose out on that session. PCS is $159 and is available only to puppies 8 - 18 weeks of age. If your pup turns 19 weeks before you finish your PCS sessions, you can use your remaining sessions in Canine Building Blocks.  

Questions?
We're here to help!  Please email Smart Dog U (laurie@smartdoguniversity.com) or give us a call (240) 394-1112 if you have any questions about Puppy Charm School. We'll see you in class!

What Puppies Need

Puppies. Irresistible. Absolutely wonderful. 

And oh so needy! Did you know that...

...puppies need to be pleasantly introduced to as many different:

• people
• locations
• noises
• surfaces
• other dogs
• vehicles
• situations
• the list goes on and on...

And the real shocker: this needs to be done between the age of 8 and 16 weeks! Which means if you get your pup at 8 weeks old, you have only 8 weeks to show your pup that the world is a friendly, welcoming place. Zoinks, that's a lot of pressure on you!

Ideally, your pup is experiencing new things and meeting new people every day. The same neighborhood and friends don't count -- they need to see different stuff every single day. And in a friendly, relaxed manner. 

Without this socialization, your pup runs the very real risk of becoming shy, fearful, growly, skittish, even downright unfriendly. 

I will be writing a lot more about puppies, what they need, and how you can provide it to them in the next few months here on the Smart Dog Blog. If you have specific questions about puppies and puppyhood, please leave them in the Comments secction!

 

 

A Day in the Life of a Dog Trainer's Dog

What's it like to be a dog trainer's dog? Well, you've gotta work for one thing. Tango, that handsome dude on the left, earns his keep from time to time, going to work with me. 

You've got to know something right up front: Tango is my favorite dog. Ever. For all time. He's  my guy. Dog people have a term for this, it's called heart dog. Tango is most definitely my heart dog. 

So know that part of the reason he comes to work with me is because I love having him with me - he'd be my shadow 24/7 if I could somehow finagle it. 

He also happens to be pretty good at keeping puppies in line. And yesterday he pulled double-duty, working a private, in-home training session and also attending group class training with me. In the private session, his job was to set very clear boundaries for a rambunctious (and sweet) puppy -- and enforce those boundaries. Tango's an excellent boundary setter, especially for puppies. He doesn't tolerate their antics, he doesn't think they're cute, and he's not afraid to let them know (1) where the line is and (2) when they've crossed it.  

The one thing I don't have to worry about, though, is him hurting a puppy. Well, sometimes the pup's feelings get hurt when Tango tells them off, but they're never physically traumatized. In fact, he doesn't even have to put a paw or a tooth on them to get their attention. He's got pretty good display signals. Puppies sometimes either don't notice another dog's signals or they walk right through them as if they didn't see them. 

Tango teaches puppies just how important it is to notice those signals. First, he's pretty calm. He lets the pup approach him and stands quietly, head off to the side or sniffing the ground. Second, his displays are very clear. Yesterday when the pup jumped on Tango's head to greet him -- not within polite doggie-manners -- Tango very clearly and very quickly told the pup that wasn't how dogs greeted. He gave a nice loud growl, then snapped at the pup. He never made contact with the pup, but he definitely got her attention! It happened in the blink of an eye, and then he went right back to sniffing the ground again, doing his best to ignore the pup. She eyed him warily -- good girl! -- and joined in the sniffing. Really good girl!

We took the two for a short neighborhood walk and the remainder of her interactions with Tango were very appropriate. We used verbal praise to help the young dog understand when her actions were appropriate and relied on Tango to tell her when her actions were not. 

In group class, Tango makes for a good demonstration dog. He learned the material already and we've worked around distractions, so he's a good example of what level of success dog owners can attain. Sometimes, clients with their adolescent dogs just don't believe their dog will ever be capable of walking politely on a leash, ignoring another dog, coming when called...so it's nice that those students can see Tango doing those very things. 

Does Tango know everything? Is he the perfect dog? No, of course not. He's got his warts, like all dogs (and people). But he earns his keep. 

Grilled Pork + Feta = Easy Subway Trip for Ike

Part of becoming a service dog involves getting used to a lot of different sights and sounds. Ike had a field trip today to our local commuter train station. 

It's highly likely that in his lifetime as a service dog, Ike and his partner will need to take public transportation. It's crucial to make these experiences fun for Ike.

To that end, I brought lots of yummy treats. Not just any treats, though. I brought the really yummy and smelly stuff: feta cheese and tiny pieces of grilled pork chop (leftover from dinner a few nights ago). 

Ike doesn't normally get this really delicious stuff in his everyday training. Going to WalMart isn't a big deal to him now. Going with me while I get my hair cut is old hat. The treats I use for those locations are more mundane (but still pretty tasty) because he's used to those situations. 

But a train station? That's big. And potentially scary. 

The grilled pork and feta cheese helped Ike create favorable associations with the potentially scary train. The noise of the station, lurching left and right on the train ride, the hustle and bustle of people, and the screeching and banging that a fast-moving train makes - any one of those could have thrown Ike into a tail spin. 

The feta and grilled pork helped ensure that his train ride was a fabulous experience. 

In addition to the really good food, I was careful to lower my standards for Ike. He was in a strange place. With lots of odd sounds. And almost every person there was a stranger to him. So instead of asking him for newly trained behaviors, I asked him for the very easy ones - the behaviors he's been doing since he was a pup. And he got paid BIG for each of those behaviors! 

This allowed Ikey to build up his confidence, to realize he really could lie down even on the rocking and rolling train. He really could sit as the train came into the station. 

If you're raising a puppy, remember to use very good food treats when you're taking your pup somewhere new. Also remember to lower your standards if you're training somewhere distracting or potentially scary. Let your dog take his time exploring and deciding when he feels comfortable. The more positive experiences your pup has, the more likely he'll become a confident, well-mannered dog. 

There's a lot more training ahead for Ike. But his first introduction to the trains and buses earned an A+ today! Next time we go back, we'll likely raise his criteria slightly -- maybe I'll ask him to sit for a little longer. Or expect him to watch me a little more. And maybe he'll get the feta and grilled pork every second or third treat. But by really upping the treat value this first time, I've created a positive association with trains and with training. And that's priceless.

Service Dogs and Social Media

What do service dogs and social media have in common? Me, I love 'em both. 

I attended a day-long conference on social media last week and Ike, service pup in-training, went with me.

This was the third New Media and Technology conference put on by the Frederick Chamber, and this was also the third year a service dog in-training attended.

The first two years, Talos the Great Dane was my date. 1st conference. 2nd conference (where Talos helped me present a talk on Twitter).

Public outings like this are priceless for service dogs in training. There are lots of people, different noises [microphones screeching and popping], different surfaces [carpet, shiny linoleum tiles], and lots of laying around doing nothing. 

Doing nothing might sound easy, but it's pretty hard for an 8-month old dog who's never really had to do that before. It takes practice, believe it or not. 

Often, trainers work the dogs in a training session, then let them go do whatever they'd like: play, sleep, hang out with us. Rarely do they need to just lay still in one spot for any length of time. We changed rooms after each session, which meant Ike had to get up, move about 100 feet to the next room, then lay back down and settle again for the next hour. After the first two sessions, Ike got the hang of it and conked out pretty quickly. 

Another new experience for Ike: applause. This isn't something most dogs accept right away. Imagine for a moment that you're in a room with 100 dogs. Without warning, they all start barking, for seemingly no reason. You'd be pretty startled, right? I think that's the way dogs experience our clapping in appreciation for a good speaker. 

Ike's dead-out asleep, minding his own business when, without warning, the entire room erupts into thunderous applause. It's enough to un-nerve even the calmest of dogs (which Ike definitely isn't). I'll bet it's not fun to wake up from a nap that way!

To help turn something potentially scary (and annoying) into something fun and enjoyable, I simply gave Ike a handful of treats the same time the clapping started. By the end of the day, the clapping would start, Ike would wake up, and look to me for treats. Perfect!

For you social media peeps: If you're on Twitter, search #FredNMT3 to see all the chatter that went on at the conference. Lots of good stuff if you're into social media. I'm there, just look for me @smartdogu and see if you can find out why wearing heels that day wasn't a good choice for me...

 

Ike's Challenges

Oh, Ikey. My dear, sweet, rambunctious pup. You need to settle it down just a bit. 

(If only dogs could understand our sentences...)

Yesterday, Ike and I went to Tractor Supply (for dog food) and WalMart (for dog toys). At seven months, Ike's doing a lot of things right. His down is so fast and with so little latency, I barely get the word out and he's already in position. It's challenging to get the click in there with accurate timing!

But, ah, the distractions are...well...distracting! For a social dog -- and an energetic one like Ike -- distractions are the toughest. The behaviors are easy. No problem. But those danged people. And displays. And carts. And spots on the linoleum. THOSE are exciting!

That means more foundation work for us. Lots more store visits, lots more training, lots more treats, lots more practice. Thankfully, it's clicker training, so it's fun (for me and for Ikey). 

I need to get my husband to go with us to the stores to get video so you can see the before and after. Improvement is much more impressive if you know where he started. Believe me, Ike's "before" behavior could improve quite a bit! Keep an eye on the blog, I'll keep posting our ups and downs...

On a high note, we got lots of socialization exposure. Men in coveralls, mountains of snow piled up high around light poles (making it look like people just appeared out of thin air when they come from around those piles of snow), trucks with snow plows attached to the front, and little kids in snow suits (that must look awfully strange to a dog). 

Ike Got the Salon Treatment

Service dogs in training need to see the world. It's better if they get used to novel things when they're with their puppy raisers, rather than when they're already paired with their person and working.

Yesterday, Ike got his first salon treatment. He came with me to get my hair cut. This salon has watched all ten of the dogs we've raised come and go. They're an integral part of the dog's training.

The picture on the left shows Ike sitting patiently while I'm getting my hair washed before the cut. This is the most awkward time for me because I can't see what Ike's doing. I have a sense of where he is from the direction the leash is headed, but that's the extent of my knowledge.

Before I lean back in the chair, I shorten Ike's leash to about 2 - 3 feet, I get a handful of really yummy treats and I ask Ike to sit. I then gradually feed him the treats while he remains seated.

This helps Ike learn to sit quietly and also keeps him out of the way of the customers and the hair cutters. And keeps him from vacuuming up all the hair on the floor with his nose. Freshly cut hair seems to attract all the pups!

Ike did a great job. He's learning to relax when he lays down -- he flops over to one hip and gets comfortable for the long haul, which is very nice. I'm starting to see a little (tiny!) bit of maturity in Ike. He's seven months old now, so it's good that he's starting to be able to control his impulses a little.

The hair salon is a great place for a service dog in training: there are lots of people, loud noises, strange noises, and people are in really weird positions and almost all of them look different than normal. What with some reclined with their head in a bowl, others with towels on their heads, still others with their heads surrounded by a large dryer, and we can't forget those with sheets of aluminum foil on their heads! Oh, it's a marvelous place for a dog. Ike took in everything with enthusiasm: he sniffed the shelves of shampoo and conditioner, checked out all the cords to the various appliances at our "station," felt the difference between the matted section and the regular tile floor (in the picture above), and watched with unusual curiosity when my hair was being cut.

Overall, it was a great experience for Ike. He's coming along nicely with his socialization and exposure to novel things!

Ike's Socialization Field Trip

All pups need to be gently exposed to lots of different sights, situations, experiences, people, sounds, etc. It's called socialization. The more socialized your pup is when he's 5 months old or younger, the better adjusted and less flighty/scaredy he'll be when he's all grown up. It's not hard to socialize a pup, it just takes some planning, some very good tasty food, and the willingness to leave if your pup's not having a good time.

Last week, Ike got to visit a federal building and rode on a freight elevator, saw some really strange looking staircases, and experienced a long, shiny hallway. He was unaffected by most of what he saw - watch the video below and take note of his waggy tail and happy demeanor.

If the video is cut off on the blog, click here to view it on YouTube.

 

Ike's Public Debut

I don't have any pictures (can you say "bad trainer?!"), but Ike made his public debut today at The Kitchen Studio's tweetup. (Wondering what a tweetup is? Hang on, there's a definition coming in just a minute...) For those initial public outings, where I'm getting a handle on how Ike will behave in public, it's important that those outings be something I can leave if necessary. Ike's debut would never be at a doctor appointment, the Harry Potter premier, or an important business meeting. The tweetup did feature fresh, warm homemade chocolate donuts though, so I'm not exactly sure I would have been able to leave after all...

In any event, Ike's debut was disaster-free. No messes on the floor, no jumping on people, no thieving of donuts. He met lots of nice, new people (some kids, too!), got to experience a terra cotta floor, lots of noise, and a whole lot of just standing around. If you remember, Talos was not good at just hanging out! Ike figured out that nothing exciting was happening (read: no training was going on), so he promptly laid in the middle of the floor and took a little nap. Perfect service dog behavior -- sleep until you're needed!

We'll be out a lot more now that we've got our first notch in our belt. Feel free to stop and say hi to us if you see us on the streets (and in the stores) of Frederick and Mt. Airy!

Now, to the tweetup. A tweetup is a meet-up (get it: tweetup = meet up) of people who are on Twitter. Twitter is an online social networking tool, so most of us know each other only through Twitter, not in real life (IRL). I'm @smartdogu on Twitter and I'm a pretty active participant (follow me, I tweet lots of good dog training info). It's always fun to get together and talk face-to-face to all my Twitter friends and to get out of the office (which I share with four dogs, no people) and have human conversations. I have conversations with the dogs, don't get me wrong, but it's nice to have a two-way conversation, where my questions and comments get real, live feedback!

A tweetup is a perfect place to take Ike because it's really casual and it's a come-and-go type of event. If Ike would have turned into Cujo, it would have been very easy for me to leave and not disrupt anything. Plus the tweetup host made homemade donuts. With chocolate. Oh. My. God. Thanks @frederickfoodie!

Another Notch In Teddy's Belt

In the short time we've had Teddy, he's been to:

• the post office
• Tractor Supply
• SuperFresh grocery store
• Luncheon at Holly Hills Country Club
• Wal*Mart
• a freight elevator
• a variety of steps including all glass, no risers, concrete, metal, and circular
• cafeteria
• Federal government building
• restaurant and
• The UPS Store.

He's heard applause, amplified voices over a p.a. system, microphone feedback, loud cars, big trucks, and motorcycles.

Teddy's also gotten quite used to bouncing around from house to house, spending the night here and there.

I'm going on three back-to-back trips and won't be around for an entire month. Teddy's going to put another "experience" notch in his belt: he's going to spend a month at yet another person's house while I'm gone. All this change is very good for Teddy. He's learning to be flexible and to go with the flow. He has a good time no matter where he is -  an important attribute for a service dog.

While I won't have any Teddy updates until my return, keep an eye on the blog. I will be blogging about my business trips (going behind the scenes at the Denver Zoo, participating in an animal training seminar with Ken Ramirez at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago) and all the excitement that goes with travel. And I hope to have some Talos updates as well!