How to give your dog some Real Holiday Cheer! 5 ways to make it perfect!

Are you dreading the arrival of your Christmas visitors, or are you completely prepared and ready to make it a great event for you, your guests, and your beloved dog(s)?

Waiting for Guests to arrive

Being a dog parent in a multi-dog household myself, I want to have true Holiday Cheer, Quality Time and some Peace and Quiet Enjoyment with my family and friends.

But what is a person to do when there are three Bernese Mountain dogs around, where two of them LOVE company and want to soak up all the attention, and one that would rather see the company disappear quickly?

Yes, there is training, of course, but the holidays are upon us, and we have most likely run out of time to train all the skills we had hoped to train...

Not all is lost; there are some awesome strategies to help you spend quality time with your guests AND give your dogs some precious happy time as well!

Management first!

For the over excited dogs, that would love to jump on Grandma or the little ones and knock them over to give lots of slobbery kisses while the people are squirming on the ground. or for the worry wart dogs that are not that comfortable with strangers in the house:

Step 1: Put Fido in another room, or other safe space (kennel, playpen, secure yard, or give to a family member to hold on a leash in a space out of sight, away from the entry, so guests can arrive!)

Step 2: Get your guests seated around your dining room table before you let the happy dog(s) in, one at a time! Make sure to give clear instructions to the guests to completely ignore the dog(s), and yes! that means no talking to the dog, no reaching for the dog, no eye contact, until the dog has sniffed them all, one at a time at least twice around the table! Once the dog(s) have imprinted the odor of the person as being safe and somewhat comfortable it gets easier for the dog to be calm. Repeat as needed!

A peaceful dinner may require some preparation

Mistakes we make:

Most of the time, we invite our guests to sit on the couch or our comfy chairs right away. That is an open invitation for your happy-go-lucky dog to come say HI and jump in their lap.

If your dog is worried about strangers, the guests will automatically make eye contact with your pooch, and for worried pups, that will result in a bark fest.

All of this can create a negative cycle: upset owner, upset dog, upset guest, and the dog gets more confused by the second...

Step 3: Play games with your dog(s), and it is certainly okay to let your guests participate.

The easiest game is cookie bowling (remember from previous blog post?). Simply say: READY READY, and when Fido looks at you, gently and deliberately bowl a treat over the ground while you say: Go Get It. Even kids as young as 6 can play this, with close supervision of course! Do 4 or 5, and when you are done, wipe your hands clean, and say: All Done!

Can your dog do some simple tricks? Catch the ball or catch some food, sit, lie down, shake a paw, roll over, crawl, two paws up—all great ways to empower your guests to be in control and for your dog to show some respect!

Step 4: Pacification and time out

A sleeping dog makes for happy guests and owners!

After some short interactions, it is time for your dog to go relax and for your guests and you to chat and catch up on things, or maybe you prepared a gourmet meal and you do not want to be disrupted by your dog begging for attention!

If your dog can be calm on a bed and stay there, offer him a long-lasting chew item (stuffed kong toy, bone, Yak cheese, etc.) that can be consumed only while staying on the bed (a little bit of management to return the dog to the bed may be needed).

Reminder: No one is allowed to interact or pet the dog while he is on his bed , behind a gate or in his kennel! If you want your dog to engage with guests or you, release the dog for the boundary first!

Other option: use a tether (leash) for you to hold onto, to prevent the dog from leaving and annoying guests (make sure your dog is wearing a suitable harness to prevent discomfort). Offer a long lasting chew item or reward intermittently.

Third option: place the pacifier chew option in an x-pen, kennel, or behind a baby gate, or in another room even, to give you peace and quiet! Some dogs suffer from separation stress, and putting them in another room may result in undue stress, whining, and barking, so a tether may be a better option!

Step 5: Take Fido for a nice sniffy walk, or a 10-minute play session in the yard!

Plan ahead! Once every 2-4 hours, go outside with your dog! You are probably ready for a break from your guests anyway. What a great excuse you have by "needing" to take Fido for a spin around the block and stretch your legs. A good sniffy walk is incredibly fulfilling for your dog! Let Fido "read" the pee-mail, or simply spend 10 minutes in the yard playing fetch or tug or "go Find the Food" (hide a few treats and help your dog find them!)

Enjoy your time with all the ones you love, including those special dog friends!

We would LOVE for you to share your Christmas stories with us! Please email to: bestpawdogtraining@gmail.com

Happy Howlidays!

All of us at Best Paw Forward wish you and your two and four legged family members the best time possible and we look forward to seeing you in the New Year for more learning fun and games!

Prevent the winter training blahs! The art of making your dog happier!

A happy dog makes for a happy handler!

Helping you and your dog find joy in training through our 5 step plan!

1. Learn what makes your dog happy, and use that as a reward

2. Set aside two minutes, a few times a day

3. Play is fun, use play to make the learning fun! You can play with your dog without using toys!

4. Be generous in rewarding, you get what you pay for!

5. Just go and do it anywhere, anytime! grab your dog and have a blast!

Cookie Bowling

Here is one great game that can literally change your relationship, your recall, and your dog's desire to work with you and for you.

Using nothing more than your happy tone of voice, a few new words, and some tasty tidbits.

• In a low stimulation environment, with your dog close by, and tasty snacks in your hand, draw your dogs' attention to what you have in your hand.

• Once your dog is interested, say: Ready Ready! and bowl ( = roll) the food over the ground, giving your dog verbal permission to: Go Get It

• As soon as the food has been found, entice your dog to turn and come towards you to do it again by simply saying: Ready Ready!!

• once your dog is moving towards you, Turn your back towards your dog, but do look over your shoulder so you stay connected with your dog, let him catch up close to your hand, and then bowl the next piece of food, saying: Go Get It!

  
  
  
  

Once you have practised many times, this amazingly simple game can be used for fun and to help create a better relationship, it can also be useful if you are struggling with recall, and it can be a fantastic distraction tool when there are exciting things around

Why does it work so well?

Dogs simply love to Chase, Catch and Consume. This game is the entire prey cycle all in one simple game!

When would you use it?

Once your dog is good at responding in a calm environment, take the show on the road: front yard, school field, out for a walk with people coming closer, bunnies, other dogs, and so many practical applications!

Cookie bowling and many other fun and motivational games are part of our curriculum for all levels!

Come join Best Paw Forward , Nanaimo BC and our awesome trainers in the new year and learn a few more tricks to make your dog happier!

Just say NO to your dog???

We all do it from time to time. Your dog did something you didn't want them to do and you say or yell or scream: "NO!!!!" or even : "NOOOOOOO!!!!!"

Maybe that is even followed by "Bad Dog" or any other exclamation of displeasure or even a physical correction.

Of course, we humans know immediately what that means. It tells the person that they're doing it wrong, they need to stop that action immediately, and do something else.

But what about your dog? There is a really good chance that your dog will stop what they're doing at that moment and that they realize that you are angry and upset. Do they really understand that they're doing something wrong? If they never repeat that action again, my guess is yes, they understood, but more often than not, the unwanted behavior repeats.

The simple reality is that every action the dog undertakes serves a function for them. If it doesn't, the behaviour will disappear as dogs are smart enough to not waste time and energy for zero gain!

Let's take the example of sticking their nose in the garbage can and taking out some garbage.

Your dog is just looking out for number one, themselves! If there is a tasty food wrapper in the garbage, and they're hungry it makes complete sense to them to go there grab it and either lick it or consume it. It serves a function. As from time to time your dog may be successful, they will keep trying even though you were very upset. Dogs are dogs, extremely self serving and they learn by trial and error. They may even be smart enough to not do the behaviour in your presence but behind your back...

If a behavior suits a purpose it will be continued!

Here's another example. A dog jumps on your guests, you yell "no", and the guests very gently brushes off the dog. What did the dog want? Attention from the guest. Did the dog get the attention from the guests? The answer is yes, therefore the behavior will most likely be repeated even though the dog completely realizes that you are angry.

The next question is : does the dog really know what no means?

Let's do an experiment, one person asks another person to go touch an object and no matter how they touch it, they will be met with a gentle or harsh "NO", Indicating they're doing it wrong. The person will try again, and again they're doing it wrong and we yell at them "no"

Try this experiment at home and see what happens to the person. They will start feeling uncomfortable, and after two more tries they will give up trying and will shut down without really knowing what they did wrong.

That is exactly what your dog goes through when you tell them "no."

Fixing this communication problem is actually really simple. When your dog makes a mistake, just tell them and show them how they can fix their mistake and start rewarding them for doing it right instead of yelling at them for doing it wrong. When he jumps on the guest, take him to his bed and reward him for staying...

Now try that with the human. instead of giving minimal information such as touch that object, we're going to tell them and show them how to touch it. Instead of touching it with a finger we're going to tell and show them to touch it with a full hand, or instead of with a full hand, we're going to tell them to touch it with a finger. We can start saying "yes" and pay them for a job well done. Without a shadow of a doubt that will bring joy and a smile on that person's face.

Your dog is in exactly the same boat. If you are able to manage and avoid the unwanted behavior and start rewarding the dog for the wanted behavior such as turning away from the garbage can and looking at you or turning away from the garbage can to follow a toy that you're tossing away, they will quickly realize that the garbage can really isn't that important, but you are!

Let this sink in and if you find yourself saying "no" to your dog, be smart, and quickly follow it up with clear instructions on what the dog should be doing so you can start praising them and rewarding them for a job well done. It will go a long way in your relationship as well as accelerate your dog's learning.

If you are interested to learn more about simple ways to help your dog learn faster without you having to be upset, contact us! Our Paw-e-some trainers will be more than happy to assist you either in private lessons or group classes.

bespawdogtraining@gmail.com

bestpaw.ca