How to Get Your Puppy Used to a Collar

August 22, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Training a Puppy to Wear a Collar in One Week

Puppy Doesn't Like His Collar — ChrisLeRoy/iStock

Puppies aren’t born wearing collars, so when a collar is first fastened around a puppy’s little neck, it can feel strange for her. Most puppies will bite, scratch, turn circles or refuse to walk while wearing a collar. This is totally normal behavior. As pet owners, it’s our job to train a puppy to wear a collar.

How to Teach Your Puppy to Wear a Collar

Once your puppy is home, it’s time to teach her that wearing a puppy training collar makes good things happen. Move slowly and reward your puppy often while she’s wearing a collar.

Choose the Right Puppy Collar

Puppies should wear an expandable flat buckle collar without tags at first. ID tags can be a bit distracting, as most puppies will mouth or paw at the dangling bits of metal clanging under their chins. They’re simply too distracting for an inquisitive puppy. After a week of your puppy successfully wearing her collar, then you can add ID tags.

Puppies, or all dogs really, shouldn’t wear choke chains, cloth slip collars or prong collars. They need a flat buckle collar. Harnesses are OK too, but make sure the straps don’t rub against your puppy’s skin, apply pressure to your puppy’s neck or restrict her movement.

Give Her a Food Stuffed Toy

Before introducing a collar or harness to your puppy, fill a toy with food and freeze overnight. Now, fasten your puppy’s collar in place and immediately give her the food stuffed toy to enjoy while she’s wearing her collar.

Once she’s emptied all the food from the toy, remove her collar and toy and place both up high, so she can’t reach it. Practice this several times a day. Feel free to stuff your puppy’s regular meals inside of a food toy for additional practice sessions. By pairing good things with the sensation of wearing a collar, your puppy learns that collars are harmless and pretty darn fun.

Puppy Doesn’t Like Her Collar?

If your puppy starts pawing or scratching her collar, distract her by playing a 1-2 minute game of “touch.” Distracting her without saying “stop” or “no” gives your puppy something else to do instead of worrying about the collar on her neck.

Learn how to teach the “touch” behavior in the video below. This dog training game is easy to teach and extremely useful in many different situations. The “touch” behavior is vital—so much so that it’s the first behavior I teach during dog training classes or private lessons.

WATCH: Teach Your Puppy the “Touch” Cue

https://youtu.be/d-spTywRXEo

Teach Collar Pressure = Treats

Once your puppy is completely comfortable with the sensation of a collar, it’s time to teach her that collar pressure makes treats happen. Collar pressure can cause a puppy to freak out because she may not be used to feeling pressure against her neck, which limits her movement.

Collars can scare puppies so much that they will usually hop, buck, or “pancake” on the ground and refuse to move forward. If this happens, immediately stop the pressure by walking over to your puppy or letting go of her collar, and practice the collar pressure game.

When teaching collar pressure, you’re not pulling against your puppy. Instead, you’re holding your puppy’s collar in place while your puppy pulls against it. The moment your puppy stops pulling against the collar, you click and reward your puppy.

Pulling against pressure is a natural reaction to restraint; it’s called opposition reflex. Your goal is to teach your puppy to move with pressure. This is the first step when teaching loose leashing walking and teaching your dog to walk with you while touching her collar. Plus, every time your puppy pulls against her collar, it increases her chances of injury in her neck area.

Practice this dog training behavior several times a day with super yummy treats. If your puppy balks when you reach for her collar, take a step back and teach her that collar touches are a good thing.

WATCH: Dog Training Tip: Teach Collar Pressure

https://youtu.be/I39BE4xOnLY

Attach a Leash

Always teach your puppy how to wear a collar first, then master the collar pressure game before attaching a leash to her collar. On average, it takes about a week for a puppy to feel comfortable wearing a collar and respond well to collar pressure. Attaching a leash to your puppy’s collar is a completely different lesson. Check out this article on teaching a puppy to walk on leash for additional details.

Puppies are tiny little sponges. Take advantage and teach them that the world is full of fun!

What to Do When Your Puppy Won’t Walk on Leash

August 15, 2016 by Fanna Easter

How to Teach a Puppy to Walk on Leash

Puppies refusing to walk on leash is an extremely common behavior. Walking with restricted movement due to a leash is unnatural for dogs, so we as pet owners should positively teach puppies and dogs that walking on leash is a good thing.

So many times, we snap a leash onto a puppy’s collar and take off walking, but the puppy becomes confused and tries running the opposite direction or refuses to walk. They flatten themselves onto the ground like a pancake. When we continue to pull on the leash, it causes the dog to panic. If you combine this scary scenario with a highly distracting environment, such as the park, neighborhood or vet’s office, or continue to pull on your confused puppy’s leash, you’ll teach your puppy that leashes make scary things happen.

Now, let’s start on the right paw and discuss how to teach a puppy to walk on leash. 🙂 Dog leashes are basically a safety line that keeps pets safe. They should never be used for jerking, yanking or any other type of punishment.

Leash Training a Puppy Tips

Teaching a puppy to walk on leash is pretty easy. You’ll need lots of super yummy treats, a body harness, and a six-foot nylon or cotton leash.

There are a few steps on teaching this dog behavior, so take your time and teach your puppy each step thoroughly before moving on. If your puppy or dog becomes confused, take a step or two back until your puppy is comfortable again. Understand, it’s completely normal to take a few steps backwards before moving forward again; it’s part of the learning process. I’m sure you painfully remember learning a foreign language or algebra at one point. 🙂

Also, it’s important to teach this behavior before attaching a leash to your puppy. Plan ahead and teach this puppy training skill before vet visits or walks around the neighborhood.

Step One: Introduce the Leash

Goal: Teach your puppy that leashes are positive things and leashes make treats happen.

With your dog indoors, sit on the floor and put your puppy’s leash on the floor in front of you. Whenever your puppy looks at the leash, click and give your dog a treat. If your puppy stays next to the leash (that’s a good thing), toss a treat in the opposite direction of the leash (e.g. toss treat across the room). That way your puppy must approach the leash for another click and treat. Play this game for a minute or two, then pick up the leash and put it in a location where your puppy can’t see it.

Practice this step 2-3 times per day for 3 days. By then, your puppy will run toward the leash whenever you bring it out.

Step Two: Fun Happens While Wearing a Leash

Goal: Puppy is comfortable with a leash attached to his harness or collar.

For this step, I’ll assume your puppy is already comfortable wearing a harness or flat collar. If not, take a moment and teach your dog that wearing a harness/collar is a good thing before completing this step.

Fill an interactive toy with food and freeze overnight. Now, attach a leash to your dog’s harness and let your dog drag it around the house for a bit. To make this experience positive and to keep a puppy from chewing on the leash, give your dog a frozen food stuffed toy to enjoy while wearing and dragging his leash around the house.

Once your dog has finished his food stuffed toy, remove the leash and put it away. Practice this game several times a day. You can certainly fill interactive toys with your dog’s daily meals for more leashes-make-fun-things-happen moments.

Remember, you’re not holding the other end of the leash. Your dog is learning that attached leashes are harmless and make good things appear like food stuffed toys. Practice for 3-4 days before moving onto the next step.

Step Three: Hold Other End of Leash

Goal: Puppy learns that leash pressure is fun.

By now, your dog has learned that fun things happen when a leash is present, so it’s time to hold the other end of the leash. This is the part that usually freaks some puppies out. They’re not used to limited mobility caused by leash restraint, so they pull, buck or lie flat on the ground. Teach your puppy or dog that collar pressure is a good thing by watching the video below.

WATCH: Teaching Collar Pressure

https://youtu.be/I39BE4xOnLY

Treats = Leash Pressure

You’ll need a handful of super yummy treats and a clicker. Attach the leash to your puppy’s harness and hold the leash handle in one hand. Lure your puppy around with a treat while holding the leash, and give him the treat. You’ll notice your puppy pulling ahead or lagging behind. Call your puppy to you and reward with many dog treats. Practice for 1-2 minutes and end the dog training session.

If your puppy freaks out when he feels leash tension, don’t pull the leash toward you. Instead, move toward your dog to release the pressure. Once your puppy is completely comfortable walking on a leash, you can then teach him how to walk politely on leash. Remember, crawl before walking. 🙂

Practice this step for 3-4 days and make a game out of it. Reward your puppy often like every 10-20 seconds.

Step Four: Walk on Leash Outdoors

Goal: Puppy learns how to walk on leash outdoors.

By now, your puppy should be completely comfortable walking on leash indoors, so it’s time to take leash walking outside. Practice luring and holding the other end of the leash in your backyard for several days—you’re not ready for walks in the neighborhood just yet.

You’ll notice your puppy becoming a bit more distracted, so he’ll probably feel more leash resistance while in the backyard due to him lunging toward squirrels or watching neighbors walk by. When your dog pulls, stand still and reward your dog the moment you feel less pressure on the leash. I recommend tossing a few treats in front of your feet, so your dog returns to you for rewards.

Once your puppy will walk around your backyard on leash comfortably, then you can try walking in your neighborhood.

Make walking on leash fun for your puppy, so he learns that fun things happen when leashes are present no matter where you are.

Pica In Dogs May Be More Than Just A Behavior Problem

August 10, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Serious Causes of Pica in Dogs

Sometimes, dogs eat strange things and many of us wonder why this happens. Pica is the craving to consume substances other than food. For example, pica in dogs can manifest into a desire to eat rocks, puffs of hair on the ground, dirt or even clothes. The majority of issues pertaining to pica in dogs are behavioral issues, such as a puppy chewing and accidentally swallowing socks. However, this isn’t necessarily always the case. Let’s chat about the other causes of pica in dogs—those that involve medical issues.

Focal Seizures

When dogs have recurring problems of ingesting odd objects and behavioral solutions haven’t solved the issue, it’s time to dig deeper for the exact cause of pica in dogs. Several years ago, a client’s dog had multiple surgeries to remove ingested objects. Despite this, her dog continued to eat strange items. When behavioral solutions didn’t work, I asked the client several questions:

Does this dog behavior only happen outdoors or indoors?
Does this behavior happen all the time, some days, at night or during the day?
Is there a change in dog behavior before your dog ingests objects?
What happens after your dog eats these objects?
When was your last veterinary exam, including blood work?

It seemed this dog would suddenly become startled (jump up and walk around), lick her lips continuously, gulp air, and then swallow anything and everything around her. After a few minutes, the behavior stopped and she would either sleep for hours or cling to her owner. This cluster of strange dog behaviors happened at different times of the day and night. The dog would also be conscious, yet non-responsive when she heard her name.

Together, my client and I spoke with her veterinarian about these odd and unpredictable behaviors. The vet referred them to a veterinary neurologist who confirmed that these behaviors were indeed a type of focal seizure. The dog responded well to anti-seizure medications and the odd pica-type behaviors quickly stopped.

Digestive Issues

Dogs are unable to verbally tell us they have a tummy ache, but their behavior is a giveaway that there is an issue. Some dogs will eat grass, consume dirt, lick themselves or ingest odd objects (pica) when their stomach hurts. This is because they’re trying to stop the pain.

Usually, this dog behavior is accompanied by:

Gurgling stomach sounds
Licking of lips
Moving into or staying in a praying stance
Whining
Drinking excess amounts of water

Most of us notice when a dog is acting oddly. However, we typically don’t notice a dog’s tummy hurts until he or she vomits or has diarrhea.

Personal Story

About 15 years ago, one of my dogs displayed these behaviors repeatedly and I assumed it was a behavioral problem. We worked on our “trade” cue whenever Armond would pick up and try to consume small rocks. I would also redirect him when he stretched into a praying position for several minutes.

After a week or so, Armond threw up vomit that resembled black coffee grounds. I immediately knew that it was an ulcer. I rushed him to our vet’s office where Armond had to be hospitalized for several days. His ulcer had been caused by taking non-steroidal pain medication (NSAID) for several months to reduce chronic pain from an ACL repair.

Fast forward to the present when my little Bull Terrier started licking her lips and randomly eating odd things. I immediately feared that she might be having a seizure. Our vet placed her on Pepcid (over-the-counter antacid) and these clutters of behavior went away immediately. Whew!

You may also be interested in: Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome in Dogs

Summary of Pica in Dogs

Don’t panic. It’s very common for puppies and young dogs to chew and swallow odd objects. If this behavior doesn’t resolve itself when certain behavior protocols have already been used, then I would certainly speak with your veterinarian. I would recommend the same course of action if your dog is exhibiting a series of odd behaviors and is taking medications that can cause stomach distress.

Reasons for Sudden Aggression in Dogs & How to Fix It

July 29, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Sudden Aggression in Dogs

When your friendly and easy-going dog suddenly attacks another dog, child or you, it’s an extremely terrifying and confusing moment. Many pet owners wonder what exactly caused their dog to growl, snap or bite. The answer isn’t always clear. One thing’s for sure is if you witness sudden aggression in your dog, you need to address it immediately.

Why is My Dog Suddenly Aggressive?

We all want to understand why our dogs suddenly become aggressive because if we can identify the cause, we can fix it. Sometimes, the cause of aggression in dogs is pretty obvious and other times we have to dig deep to find the real reason our dogs acted out. Below are a few reasons on why a dog may suddenly growl, snap, lunge or bite. If you’re still unsure of the cause, partner with a dog trainer and veterinary behaviorist to resolve this bad dog behavior.

Please remember: Never allow children (or anyone, really) to sit on, ride, tease, pinch, pull, poke at any part of a dog’s body, roughly pet, throw something at, run toward, hit, scream, kick or step on a dog. Doing this will certainly cause pain or scare a dog, which will cause aggression.

Pain

Dogs are stoic creatures. It’s unbelievable how dogs can mask excruciating pain. When dogs are in pain, they’ll growl, snap or bite if you touch a painful area; it hurts! On the other hand, if your dog hides, constantly pants, drools, limps, licks a specific area, whines when moving or remains still, he’s likely in pain as well. If you suspect your dog is suffering, bring your dog to a veterinarian immediately. Then, conduct a family meeting to explain that physical petting and cuddling your dog is painful for him now, so give your dog space until he feels better.

Scared

Dogs get scared more than their pet owners know. Many dogs are frightened when a new person touches them, visits their home, yells at them, physically hurts or punishes them (i.e. hitting, collar correcting, pushing) and so forth.

For professional dog trainers, it’s pretty easy to know when dogs are scared. You’ll notice a dog is scared when his body language changes quickly, ears flatten back, tail tucks, eyes widen, and body stops moving and freezes or leans away from whatever is scaring him.

Some dogs will even growl, which may translate to “please leave me alone,” “stop doing that,” “this is freaking me out,” “if you don’t stop, I will run away or hurt you,” or “I’m scared.” Always listen and respect your dog’s growl. If you punish or ignore a dog for growling, your dog will escalate his warning to an air snap or bite. When your dog growls, he’s begging you to stop scaring him.

Resource Guarding

Dogs love their resources. They love toys, food in their bowl, chewies, treats, cozy spaces and even their pet owners. Some dogs will guard their resources fiercely. You can see this in action when you walk next to or touch your dog’s beloved resources. You’ll notice your dog will either hover over the item, freeze, growl, snap or bite.

In the dog training world, we call this resource guarding. Do know, resource guarding is a completely normal dog behavior. Those that guard their resources survive. Although it can be scary if resource guarding occurs in your home, especially around other dogs and small children.

Never punish your dog for resource guarding. You’ll make the situation much worse. Instead, teach your dog or puppy that trading his favorite items for super yummy treats is rewarding. Check out additional details on eliminating resource guarding behavior.

Personality

This one is usually a shocker. Many pet owners either refuse to accept their dogs aren’t friendly or completely misread their dog’s behavior. Once, many years ago, a pet owner insisted I hold her growling small dog during a behavior consult. This 8-lb dog was firmly nestled in his pet owner’s arms and as the owner approached me, her dog growled, flashed his teeth and sneezed/snorted. Of course, I backed away, but the pet owner insisted her dog was only “smiling” at me.

Long story short, we had a discussion on interpreting her dog’s body language, which completely stopped all of her dog aggression issues. If only all consults were that easy. 🙂

Here’s the truth: many dogs just don’t like meeting new people or dogs, and that’s OK. If your dog doesn’t like it, then please stop introducing him to strangers (i.e. other dogs, children) and accept it’s part of your dog’s personality. If you’re not sure whether or not your dog is friendly, please seek advice from a professional and experienced dog trainer.

What Should You Do Next?

Remember, it’s very important to find the reason for your dog’s sudden aggression because then it can be addressed.

Steer Clear of Triggers

Keep your dog away from whatever caused his sudden burst of aggression until your dog is seen by a veterinarian. Use sturdy baby gates and crates to keep your dog safely confined when guests come over or when children are playing. If your dog is aggressive toward another dog, keep all household dogs separated and stop allowing your dog to visit other dogs.

RELATED: Multiple Dog Household Tips

See Your Veterinarian

Always start with ruling out any and all medical issues. If your dog is in pain, a complete veterinary exam, blood work, X-rays and additional diagnostics should discover the cause of your dog’s pain and sudden aggression.

If pain isn’t causing your dog’s aggression, then ruling out illness is extremely important. Seizures, low or high thyroid levels, anxiety, and chronic illnesses can cause sudden aggression in dogs to happen, so always see a veterinarian first.

Find a Professional Dog Trainer

Once medical issues have been completely ruled out by your veterinarian, it’s time to find a professional dog trainer. If your dog has bitten someone or another dog, you need help from a veterinary behaviorist first and then follow up with a dog trainer. Check out these tips on finding an experienced dog trainer who specializes in dog aggression as well as locating a veterinary behaviorist. These articles will help you narrow your search quickly.

Sometimes, it’s difficult figuring out the exact cause for sudden aggression in dogs, but keep digging and work with a positive reinforcement dog trainer.

What is Calming Dog Food and Should You Use It?

July 27, 2016 by Fanna Easter

Calming Dog Food to Help Your Anxious Dog

Animal behavior is picking up momentum in the veterinary world, and it’s about time. Vets and their staff want to create a friendly, fun environment for clients and their pets. They’re finally addressing the huge elephant in the room: dogs hiding under the exam table. While reading an article by leading veterinary behaviorists, I learned that a new prescription calming dog food has hit the market that promises to calm a stressed, anxious and nervous dog.

Hum, does calming dog food actually work? Well, it looks like it.

What is Calming Dog Food?

While many veterinary practices are incorporating force-free veterinary exams now, they’re also addressing anxiety, stress, fearfulness, separation anxiety and aggression in dogs and cats. One way to address these issues is by prescribing calming dog food. Calming dog food contains ingredients, such as hydrolyzed casein and L-tryptophan, which promote calmness in dogs.

Over the last five years, several companies have created supplements to reduce dog anxiety and stress. One such company that began offering dog calming products is Royal Canin Veterinary Diet. Its Canine Calm dry dog food, which is only available through your veterinarian, is chicken-based and contains dried hydrolyzed casein and L-tryptophan.

You’re probably scratching your head and wondering if this calming dog food and its special ingredients really work. It seems, per the research and high reviews, that this dog food is very promising for anxious dogs.

Which Dogs Would Benefit From Calming Dog Food?

If your dog is anxious, fearful, afraid of loud sounds and/or constantly stressed, then I’d ask your veterinarian about calming dog food. From my understanding, it’ll take a few weeks to see results, but some pet owners claim results only within a few days.

Do understand, this calming food isn’t a magic potion. It won’t completely cure your dog’s fearful and anxious behavior, but it may reduce it quite a bit. I’m a firm believer in some help is better than no help, so I recommend you give this food a try. In addition to a food change, your veterinarian may refer you to a veterinary behaviorist for prescription medication and a professional dog trainer to begin behavior modification protocols.

How Much Does It Cost?

Unfortunately, calming dog food is outrageously expensive. A 4.4lb bag will cost you around $27 and an 8.8lb bag costs $51. It’s completely affordable if you share your home with small dogs. For large dogs, it’ll probably cost $100-$200 per month to feed them this prescription dog food. If price is a concern, ask your vet about Solliquin supplements. They have the same calming ingredients plus a few extra ones too.

I’d love to hear from pet owners who have used this calming dog food! Please drop me a note in the comment section below. I’m extremely interested in hearing your personal experiences. ;o)