Dog Training

From my first post, my goal number 4, was to train my dog 'Flo'. I mentioned that I had already made a positive start to this goal, and had booked my first session of training with a professional dog trainer. Saturday was our first session, and I would like to tell you how it went.

 

 

I'll give you a bit of background information of my main concerns, and the issues that need addressing in the training process. Flo is a very anxious dog, and gets nervous in many situations. As she is a large breed dog, she tends to deal with 'scary' situations by barking and putting on the 'I'm a big dog' front and tries to be scary herself. For obvious reasons, this is my main concern and I don't want Flo scaring anyone!(except maybe intruders...). She also has a bad habit of jumping up, pulling on the lead, and severe separation anxiety.

 

The trainer operates in 2 main sessions that include unlimited telephone calls and emails to help in between and after the sessions. In our first 2 hour session, we began by going through the main issues again in more detail (these were briefly discussed on the telephone when booking the sessions), and the trainer explained the way he was going to train myself to train Flo. The problems tend to be with the trainer, as the dog picks up a lot from their owners, and is often due to lack of knowledge on how to train your pet the correct way.

 

 

Whilst talking, we put the dogs (we have another family dog, Jake) in the other room. This immediately highlighted the separation anxiety. The dogs barked together and were getting themselves into a state. The trainer advised perhaps separating the dogs, to help defuse the situation. This helped slightly, but it took a good 10 minutes for Flo to gradually get quieter.

 

In the session including Flo, we went through some basic training exercises. The dogs need their minds exercised as well as their bodies, to keep them content. We did the 'find the food' game, which she wasn't too interested in to begin with I must say. She was more concerned about what a strange man was doing in our house and doing all these unfamiliar things. We also encouraged Flo to walk through a hoop and through a tunnel to build her confidence. The trainer discussed how to begin teaching 'walking to heel', the prevention of jumping up, and how to gradually decrease the separation anxiety.

By the end of the session, Flo has by far had enough for one day, and was becoming quite agitated with the trainer, so we called it a day.

 

I went out and purchased some essential items to aid the training process.

Item 1.

House lead. This is not to be confused with your dogs walking lead, and should only be used when in the house. It aids in the prevention of jumping up, and keeping your dog at a distance when necessary, but not shut away.

Item 2.

Smelling salts. These are used when the dog jumps up. If this happens, release the finger covering the smelling salts, and the dog should associate the nasty smell with the contact of jumping up a person, not the person themselves. So this should deter the bad behaviour as it results in a not so nice consequence.

Item 3.

Training treats. Used to reward the dog when they have done a good behaviour.

Item 4.

Pet Corrector. This is a can of compressed air, and can be used to put a stop to certain unwanted behaviours such as barking.

Item 5.

Training line. Used for long walks, and enabling you to put into practice recalling your dog from a distance.

Item 6.

Rope Ball. I shall be using this toy as a reward for good behaviour, and it won't be out to be played with all day.

Item 7.

Thunder Shirt. This claims to provide gentle, constant pressure, creating a dramatic calming effect for most dogs.  I'm going to be 100% honest as say this wasn't recommended by the trainer, however Flo gets cold at night, so even if it doesn't seem to make any difference to her anxiety, it will keep her warm!

 

I'm am looking forward to put what I have learned into practice, and have been asked to keep a daily diary of our progress, so it is easy to see where needs improvement. I am booked in for my next session on the 24th of this month, so will update you again soon.