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Is Your Dog’s Behavior Improving?

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Improve Your Dog’s Behavior in 3 Steps

Dog's Behavior
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When teaching a dog one or several new behaviors, it can be tricky to gauge if a dog’s behavior has permanently changed. Dog behavior can fluctuate depending on the situation and your dog’s health (hey, he might not feel well that day). Before assuming your dog’s behavior has changed, it’s best to follow these steps to ensure your dog’s behavior improves. These steps will also help you identify where your dog’s behavior fell apart.

Step 1: Dog Readily Offers Learned Behavior

You’ll know when a dog has learned a new behavior when he readily offers it during dog training sessions. As an example, dogs learn how to “sit” pretty quickly, especially when they receive a treat for it. They will usually offer a “sit” behavior because it makes cheese appear. When teaching a new behavior, such as “down,” a dog should offer or can be easily lured into this behavior before you continue to step 2.

Step 2: Dog Responds to Cue

Once a dog offers or can be easily lured into a new behavior, it’s time to give it a “cue.” Putting a behavior on cue is extremely important because that’s how to ask a dog to perform a behavior (stimulus control).

If you would like your dog to “sit and stay” around guests, then these behaviors need a name, so your dog will know what to do when you say it around guests. Once a cue (sit) is paired with a behavior (sitting down), your dog should respond to the cue within a few seconds. Continue to practice until your dog responds within a second after hearing the cue. Rewarding generously will certainly speed up the process.

RELATED: Learn From Dog Training Mistakes

Step 3: Dog Performs Around Distractions

Most dogs can “sit,” “down,” “come” and “stay” at home, but can they perform these behaviors in the front yard or park? This is the most difficult part of improving a dog’s behavior. In fact, this is where most pet owners become frustrated and give up. As a general rule, when training your dog, 90% of teaching a new behavior is practiced around distractions. It’s great when dogs “sit” instantly on cue, but it’s even better when dogs can “sit” instantly when guests come over.

Moving from one step to the next certainly shows improvement, so keep practicing! 

Learn From Dog Training Mistakes

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Dog Training Mistakes Provide Valuable Information

Dog Training Mistakes
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When teaching dogs new behaviors, mistakes will happen. It’s part of the learning process. During a dog training session, either the pet owner (teacher) or dog (learner) will make a mistake. While identifying and overcoming mistakes seems complicated, it really is super easy with a few tips. When mistakes happen, remind yourself that they provide valuable information you can learn from.

Human Mistakes

It’s important to remember the dog is always right. Teaching is challenging, so reward your dog, especially when she picks up on a behavior quickly and easily. As the pet owner, it’s important to set your dog up for success by following these few easy steps.

  1. Always choose a distraction-free environment to begin training your dog a new behavior.
  2. Split the behavior into easy-to-understand sections.
  3. Encourage your dog by generously rewarding steps forward.
  4. Keep dog training sessions short (1 minute long).
  5. If progress stops, identify the issue and stop the training session immediately, then resume with an updated plan.

Here’s an example of setting a dog up for success when teaching her to lie down on the floor.

  1. Practice in your home with minimal distractions.
  2. Teach your dog to sit first. Once she sits reliably, lure her front half down with a treat. Click when elbows touch the ground and reward generously.
  3. Reward each step forward.
  4. Stop the session after 1 minute.
  5. If your dog won’t lie down, step back and figure out why. Maybe try teaching your dog with a mat under her elbows or slowing down your luring hand.

Dog Mistakes

When pet owners teach their dogs new behaviors, they are building a bond of trust between them as well as learning how to communicate effectively. Remember, dogs are considered learners during training sessions, so they can’t make mistakes. Dogs (learners) are always right even when they’re confused.

Pet owners (teachers) should remember that dogs are not choosing to be stubborn; dogs are genuinely confused in those situations. If this happens, end the training session and re-evaluate your training plan. If you find yourself frustrated because progress has come to a halt, seek advice from a positive reinforcement dog trainer.

Think about it this way: If you become confused while learning how to ski, then your ski instructor has not communicated how to ski properly. As a dog trainer, if my students become confused and make mistakes, that means I didn’t communicate how to do a behavior effectively—and I own it

Identifying Mistakes

This is the hardest part. Most pet owners immediately blame their dog when training sessions become confusing. Humans have huge egos. The best way to identify dog training mistakes is to record a training session on a smartphone.

Set up the phone, so both you and your dog are easily viewable, such as propped up on top of a table. Hit the record button, walk over and teach a 1-minute training session covering a difficult behavior. End the session, then watch the video to identify the issue.

About 90% of the time, pet owners immediately identify their mistake and adjust during their next training session. If you do this and are still stumped, send the video to a professional positive reinforcement dog trainer for advice.

Learn From Mistakes

Each mistake provides valuable information. When you learn what caused the mistake, you’re less likely to repeat it. Once mistakes are identified and changes are made, dog training success progresses quickly.

Discolored Dog Teeth: What Should You Do?

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Treating Discolored Teeth in Dogs

Discolored Dog Teeth
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Dogs can develop periodontal disease and injure their teeth just like humans. Damaged dog teeth hurts! Despite being stoic creatures that can easily hide their tooth pain, dogs are definitely hurting.

One dog dental problem you may encounter is discolored teeth in dogs. Discolored dog teeth could be a sign of a more serious health problem and should not be ignored. If your dog’s teeth are discolored, it’s time to take a peek inside her mouth and jump into action.

Monthly Mouth Exam

The first step to preventing painful tooth issues is taking a good look into a dog’s mouth. Once a month, look into your dog’s mouth and examine each tooth carefully. While dog teeth are stronger than human teeth, they are still susceptible to injury, which is why it’s so important to take a look into your dog’s mouth often.

When looking at your dog’s teeth, keep an eye for:

  • Tooth discoloration
  • Brown or black streaks running horizontally or vertically along a tooth
  • Bleeding or receding gums
  • Lacerated gums
  • Misaligned teeth
  • Lesions
  • Foul odor

If your dog is uncomfortable having her mouth open for a dental exam, teach your dog to say “ah.”

Ask An Expert

If any issues are noted, take a picture of the tooth and show your veterinarian. Usually, a vet will complete a thorough examination and recommend a dental cleaning or refer you to a veterinary dentist.

Sometimes, veterinarians recommend a “wait and see” protocol. Remember, damaged dog teeth are painful for your dog, so ask for a referral to a veterinary dentist for a second opinion. Be persistent because damaged teeth won’t improve without medical treatment.

Veterinary Dentist

Veterinary dentists are veterinarians that are board certified in animal dentistry. These experts are trained to successfully repair dog teeth using the latest dentistry practices available. Plus, they’re able to identify a damaged tooth quickly and offer options, such as root canals, crowns and removal, if needed. Many pet owners notice an increase in friskiness in their dogs after damaged teeth are addressed because their source of throbbing pain has been removed. It never hurts to ask for a second opinion from an expert. Be your dog’s advocate.

Never ignore discolored dog teeth and always consult an expert.

Is Your Dog’s Black Coat Turning Red?

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5 Reasons Why Your Dog’s Black Coat Turns Red

Dog Coat Turns Red
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There’s nothing more beautiful than a healthy dog’s deep black coat—it glows from within. Depending on a dog’s breed, a black coat should have a blue-black hue when viewed in bright light. Of course, soft undercoat is usually a bit lighter than a dog’s regular coat, but overall a black coat should be glossy with minimal odor. Sometimes, a dog’s black coat (and dark gray coats too) can develop a red tinge over time, which can happen for numerous reasons.

1. Sun Exposure

By far, sun exposure is the most common reason why a black coat turns red. Sun exposure bleaches hair, including human hair. As a licensed cosmetologist, I’m very familiar with hair color. When dark-colored hair is exposed to sun (or chemical bleach), it turns red before turning yellow. Dark hair is packed with pigment, so it takes a long time for dark hair to turn yellow (unless lots of chemical bleach is used :)).

Since the sun shines downward, most dark-colored dogs develop red tinges on their backs, ears and tail. Longer hair is more porous because it’s older, turning red quicker even when it’s not in the sun. During winter months, most dogs’ coats will darken again due to limited sun exposure.

Many professional dog grooming products offer detanglers that also contain sunscreen for fur, which will protect fur from damaging sunrays. Follow the product’s instructions carefully and apply often.

2. Saliva

When dogs continually lick a specific spot, pet owners will notice a dark rusty color develop. Saliva is especially noticeable on white dog coats, but it happens to dark dog coats too. If your dog is licking a specific spot often, schedule an examination with your veterinarian. Licking is not always allergy related; some dogs lick due to pain caused by tummy or back issues.

3. Blowing Coat

Twice a year, dogs will blow out their coats. All dogs shed, regardless of their coat length, and will lose their soft undercoat. Medium- and long-coated dogs’ undercoats are usually lighter in color and can appear red-tinged during dog shedding season. As soon as you start brushing your dog daily, your dog’s dark coat will usually darken up nicely because all of the red-colored undercoat will have been removed.

4. Diet

Sometimes, a dog’s diet can play a part in turning his black coat red. All dogs should eat a high quality diet, but certain diets don’t work for all dogs. If your dog is not shedding, is not ill or has limited sun exposure, then consider changing your dog’s diet to cooked or raw food. Also, try different high quality kibble to find what works best for your dog.

5. Illness

When older dogs develop a red-tinged coat, it’s time for a thorough veterinary visit. Senior dogs should have blood work and a physical exam completed every six months to catch potential issues before they become a major issue. Ask your veterinarian about adding fish or hemp oil to your dog’s diet to help his coat if no health issues are identified. It’s possible your dog may be in need of additional supplements to boost his immune system. I recommend Standard Process, as it offers the best nutritional supplements out there.

5 Safety Tips For Dogs And Children

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How to Keep Children Safe Around Dogs

Dogs and Children
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Many pet owners assume dogs and children get along like peanut butter and jelly—that they just blend seemingly well together. Well, that’s not always true, unfortunately. The Center of Disease Control (CDC) statistics show that children are bitten more often by dogs with young boys topping the charts.

Interestingly, it’s not random dogs that do the biting. It’s family dogs that bite children the most. Even though your dog has never bitten anyone, he has teeth and will defend himself if hurt or teased. With that, it’s important to understand a few safety tips to keep children safe around dogs.

1. Leave Sleeping Dogs Alone

Children should never disturb dogs that are sleeping. Many dogs will become startled and nip children as a result. Explain to your children that dogs should have plenty of space while taking naps, and that they should never wake up a sleeping dog.

2. Don’t Allow Children to Sit on Dogs

My skin crawls when viewing photos of children standing, sitting or lying across their dog’s back. While the child looks happy in the picture, the dog is not happy at all. Dogs are not little children and should be respected, so teach children to stand on the ground and not on your dog. Plus, having a 10- to 50-lb child sitting or standing on your dog is painful for him.

3. Stay Out of a Dog’s Food Bowl

When dogs are eating meals, chews or treats, children should provide their dog plenty of space. Children should stay away from their dog’s food bowl while their dog is eating, and never try to take away a chew or treat from the dog.

RELATED: 7 Tips on Being a Responsible Dog Owner

4. Keep Faces Apart

Humans love to give hugs, but dogs are not fans of them. Now, most dogs enjoy putting their face near a person’s face, but they don’t enjoy someone walking over and placing their human face near their face. There’s a big difference between the two because, with the latter, dogs feel like they can’t get away when held in a human embrace and may bite. Many dog bites happen to a child’s face, which is a telltale sign that the child’s face was too close to a dog’s face.

5. Make Like a Tree

When dogs get excited, they can topple over children quickly. Teach your child to make like a tree when your dog gets excited. Children should stand still like a tree, fold their arms around their bodies like branches and look at the ground (avoid eye contact). Most dogs will ignore a still child and find something else to do.

Dog Training Nation is a dog training blog for pet owners and dog lovers. We cover a range of topics from puppy socialization tips to dog aggression to dog health. It is our hope you share our content to make the world a better place for dogs.

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