Dog Photography Tips

I wanted to give you some basic tips to succeed in getting good pictures of your dog.

Good lightsource is the first key. Even a cheaper camera can take better photos in good light. Avoid using the flashlight on the camera since it can cause discomfort to the dog and make it shy away. Natural light is always the best choice but cloudy and indoor lights can cause great photos too. Studio lights usually make a great light as well.

Low amount of distractions meaning keep your eye open for things that can be a disturbance in the background that pulls the eyes away from the dog.

Get down to the dogs level is a good basic rule. However, sometimes being lower than the dog or taller than the dog can cause good photos in some cases. Be creative, but kneeling down to their eyelevel is usually a very good idea.

Keep an eye on focuspoints so you know where the camera put the focus. It is always a sad thing to think you got a great photo and come in and it shows it had the focus on the background or something in the foreground.

A better camera can usually preform better, like faster shutterspeed so it can freeze the dog mid air or similar fast speed photography that can cause blur. Better the light, the higher the shutterspeed you can use.

Prong and shock collars

I found this status update on facebook and I thought I'd share it here.

Zak George

I sent a letter to a dominance style trainer in the northeast US today. I had seen a video of his on a Facebook group devoted to positive training recently. Apparently he has some radio show or something where he presumably offers old school dog training advice that doesn’t acknowledge that a dog has a brain. You guys know how much I dislike prong collars and shock collars. As much as I hate them, I do not judge individuals who use them. I would rather teach by example than by lecturing. I save my real criticism for the “professionals” who recommend this shallow from of training to the general public. They are the the worst thing facing dog training today. I like to think of myself as a good communicator, but guys like this test me more than I can tell you. 

Remember, prong collars and shock collars are nothing more than the product of frustrated trainers who cannot seem to take the time to achieve meaningful communication with a dog during training. Their patience runs out. When your patience runs out, you’ve lost all credibility as a professional. I told him he had no business being in the same room with a client’s dog. I also went on to say that if I saw him jerking a dog around on youtube again I’d shine a spotlight on his unethical behavior. Furthermore, and this is what really gets me, all of his youtube videos have ratings and comments disabled. He can dish out this horrible advice but can’t take the heat of reading criticism. These types will yank a dog around during training, acting all big, tough and “dominant”, but cannot seem to tolerate someone who might call them out.

Guys, if something strikes you as shady, wrong, unethical, unnecessary, or overkill, it’s likely not the best way forward. True, meaningful communication does not happen through domination. Be bigger than this. You, the consumers, are the only ones who can really end these types of barbaric training practices. If any trainer encourages you to use a metal collar or a shock collar, please do not give them your money. 

Thank you.

-Zak George

 

https://www.facebook.com/TheZakGeorge

How to stop your dog from jumping

Zak George and kikopup are my two favorite dog trainers. Zak especially because he and I has the same approach and belief in dogtraining. Enjoy.

My favorite detangler

Cowboy Magic: Detangler & shine for horses is the best detangler I've ever seen, hands down!

You can find it on Amazon.com (among other places) and it is available in different size bottles.

(google image, this is what the 4 and 16 Oz bottles look like)

Cowboy Magic also have schampoo and conditioner for horses but I have never tried either since I haven't had the urge to. But the detangler & shine is a must to have if you have a dog that mats and tangles! It also works on horses of course, and human hair.

Here's a google image that shows pretty well how awesome it really is.

Yes, it is capable of detangling dreadmats! And no I do not sell this stuff, I just really love it cause it actually works!

Bathing your dog and maintaining your tools

Maintaining the tools will be a very short subject but I wanted to bring it up anyway.

The no 1 reason for scissors and nailclippers to go dull is dirt. Keep the tools, coat and claws clean and it will last longer. I use water in a glass and a toothbrush for kids to scrub off the dirt off the claws before I clipper them for this reason. Also, just like our nails, the claws get a little softer when wet.

Oil the blades on clippers, don't twirl the cord around it or the blowdryer cause it can cause damage on the cord in the longrun.

Remember to not bathe a matted dog, and that not only coat but also dirt collect in those mats. So letting mats build is not only harmful to the dog, it is harmful to the tools which means a bigger cost to you in the longrun. Maintaining the coat and brushing regularly litterally saves you money. Cause even if you don't groom your dog yourself, the dog will need less hours at the doggroomers if it is maintained between grooms.

If you have a smoothcoated dog or a dog of a breed where bathing only happens when necessary you're fine with the cheap stuff. But if you got a longcoated breed, nonshedding breed or hairless dog, choosing a good schampoo and conditioner is crucial.

As I've said before, a clean coat mats less, so a longcoated dog such as many toybreeds will need a lot of baths if you want to keep the coat long. some longcoated dogs, like sheltie and collie has a different kind of coat so they aren't really included into this, but maltese, yorkie, cocker spaniel, chinese crested powder puff, bichon frisé and havanais etc will need baths often. I heard on youtube "If your dog mats on day four, you bath on day three." and there's truth to that, atleast if you want to keep the coat fully long. If you keep it shorter you will need less but still will need regular brushing.

The reason you want a good shampoo and conditioner is that bathing often will take the oils out of the coat and skin and dry it out - so it will mat and tangle even worse and that is a bad cycle you don't want. My personal preference is Espree cause I love the result, scent and ingredients but there are many good ones out there. They cost a little more but they last a really long time. If the coat seems dry and you aren't about to show and don't worry about the coat being heavy you can do a conditioner-only-bath to conditioner the coat.

The dog has a different pH in the skin than we do, so don't use human specified products. 

With a long coat you do not, I repeat not want to rub the lather in. Rubbing causes mats. You comb it in with your fingers or a boar brush. When you toweldry the dog you scrunch the coat, not rub. This goes for all matting coats. 

Hairless dogs need regular baths to keep pimples and blackheads away. All people have different ideas on how they keep them away and I have heard people use Dove products since they are so skinfriendly and moisturizing. I sadly have no good tips since I lack experience in hairless dog skincare more than hearsay. But I know products for kids are commonly used since they are more skinfriendly.

As for the best care on the curly coated breeds, I sadly can't help there either, but you can always ask a breeder that shows, they usually have the best tips to give.

And of course, the coarse coats such as terrier. These coats rarely need baths cause every few weeks the coat is stripped out and therefor all the dirt on the hair comes off with it. But if you have to bathe the dog cause it stinks, use specialized coarse coated schampoo. As for clippered coarse coated breeds I recommend the same tips as for the matting coats, but it can handle scrubbing a little better since it's short. If the dog just smells a little, you can mist it with detangler spray and brush with a boarbrush. Repeat until satisfied with the result and wipe off with a damp cloth. If the dog simply feels too oily for your taste I've heard that you can put on babypowder and brush it out but I haven't tried this myself so I honestly don't know if it works or not.

Coat always mats the easiest under the armpits where it's a little moist and coat is being rubbed to eachother. If your dog is just a pet you can easily cut this part short to avoid the hassle. Wet coat also mats worse so make sure you comb through after a walk in the rain. Always dry your dog completely dry after it's been wet to avoid mats and keep the dog healthy. Not even dogs want to go around wet and cold. Make sure the coat isn't just damp or "almost dry", but completely dry.

The shorter coat, the less risk of mats.

Grooming different coats

The smooth coat

The smooth coat is probably the easiest one to maintain and the most annoying doghairs you can find. They are often described as needles cause they burrow theirselves into the skin and it is pretty painful. They also stick to the furniture which can be difficult to clean out.

The grooming stone I recommended in the previous post will help shed this type of coat really well.

The medium coat

By medium coat I mean australian shepherd, border collie, spitzes and some other "not really long/not really short" coat.

The tools I recommend for this type of coat is the mars coat king and furminator. If you got those two you are pretty well set. Start with the coat king and finish with the furminator. use a regular brush or slicker brush for the furnishings (like the ones on the back of the thighs), tail and behind ears to keep it mat and tangle free. Finish up with a comb to make sure you caught it all. Combs pull mats pretty hard so if your dog mats up in the heavier areas, get some good dematting spray and maybe a matcutter tool. The more often you comb and brush the less work you have to put into those bad mats cause they won't have time to build up.

The long coat

Chinese crested powder puff, maltese, cocker spaniel, afghan hound, yorkshire terrier, bearded collie and so on. if you're gonna keep this dog full coated you got a lot of work ahead of you.

Regular baths, only combing and brushing when coat is damp, blowdry completely dry and maybe even put the hair up if you are showing to protect the coat from being unnecessary tearing and wearing. If the dog starts matting on day four, you do a bath on day three, I heard an american cocker spaniel breeder say on youtube. It was very wise. A clean coat mats less.

Your breeder will help you in what items you need, cause it will be a whole lot depending on what breed you have.

The curly coat

Poodle, bichon frisé, lagotto romagnolo, and spanish waterdog type of coat.

This coat is pretty high maintenance. There are a lot of do's and don'ts if you are going to show. But regular baths and brushing is a definate must. The longer coat the more care it needs so if you don't want to put too much time and effort into it, keep it short.

There are also american waterdog, curly coated retriever etc which I honestly don't have enough personal experience about to know for sure what care they need since their coat are meant to be oily to repell water. If you got one of these, your breeder can help you.

The wirey coat

Schnauzer, terrier, wirecoated dachshund, german wirehaired pointer, etc.

Now, I will say something that probably will not make much sense at first, but I will explain. The more time and effort you put into this kind of coat, the less work you have to do. 

Eh, what? You probably just said. The thing is, the hard work is to get the coat into shape and not let the undercoat take over the coat. Once this is done, you will have a very easily maintained dog. Especially if you roll the coat (which means you keep a strict regular schedule where you strip a certain amount every X weeks to keep the coat in several layers) because then you only need to handstrip the dog a little every so often instead of for hours when the dog is a mop and then have a naked dog for about a month. Not only that, but a wirey coat does not mat like soft coat does. Not only that, a wirey coat pretty much never requires a bath! Only when the dog actually stink after rolling into something or so.

No baths? Wth? Yeah, cause you strip the coat out every so often that you simply just get rid of the dirt regularly. And some dirt just simply fall off when it dries or can easily be brushed out.

But my dog is just a pet, can't I just clipper it down instead? Yes, you can. But clippering you do for your own convenience, not for the dog. A clippered coat will only be undercoat, so it will be like a winter jacket in the summer that won't breathe the skin, and like a winter coat in the winter that cannot keep the heat to stay next to the body. It is for the dog a worthless protection. A shortclipped coat is right next to the skin, so when it gets heated by the sun, it is almost burning the dog right to the skin. A dog's skin is more sensitive than the human skin since the human skin is more protective than skin that is protected by coat. But when the dog has two layers the sun is shining on the top coat, while the isolating undercoat (which hasn't taken over the entire coat when it's combed out reguarly to get the top coat going) lets the skin breathe and regulate the heat a bit better, or keep the heat during winter.

The wirey coat is also water repellant so when the dog gets wet it will dry so much faster than if it is clippered cause that coat just sucks up water and dirt like no tomorrow - and it can mat and tangle.

There are grooming courses to enroll yourself and your dog in to learn how to do this.

You will need: brushes, comb, undercoat rakes (I rake with stripping knives, mars coat king can be used on pets cause it can cut some of the hairs and it is unwanted in showcoats). The grooming stone recommended in the previous post is great when the coat is too short to rake with regular rakes. You can strip with either stripping knives (that can cut the coat if you do it wrong), stripping stones (love them), rubber gloves or just your fingers.  Always keep skin tight when raking and stripping and always pull the direction that the hair grows.

This page is priceless when it comes to grooming a schnauzer. http://britmorschnauzers.com/groom.html
That link goes to clippering the schnauzer, if you scroll down you see handstripping and rolling the coat as well.

The corded coat

Puli, corded poodle, komondor.

The only real work with this type of coat is to split the dreads as they are forming all the way down to the skin. When bathed, make sure the dog is COMPLETELY dry or the dreads can start to really stink.

The hairless skincare

Hairless khala, chinese crested hairless, mexican hairless, peruvian hairless.

No hair, no coatcare, easiest care ever! You might think. That is not true. The hairless breeds needs skincare. In the teenager stage they get blackheads and pimples just like people and there are endless of things people have figured out that works best for their dog to keep the zits away and keep the skin smooth. They need regular baths, moisturizers, and sunblock, especially on pink skin. Use only products that are child friendly and low on alcohols and perfume since the skin is about as sensitive as a child's skin when it comes to products.

Bathing a dog and caring for your tools will be brought up next. But I feel this post is long enough for now. :)

New category: Recommendations

I don't know if you have noticed but I always put the posts in categories so new visitors can easier find what they want to know more about. Now I am starting a new one: Recommendations!

In this category I will recommend things that may be helpful to dogowners.

My first recommendation that should be in every home; the groomers stone. It is usually sold for horsecare and is a grey lightweight stone that helps shedding your pets and raking undercoat on wirecoated breeds.

But not only that! You can get babysmooth feet by rubbing the stone on the rough areas, especially if the stone or rough spot is wet or been soaked.

I bought mine in cherrybrook online store and I am very pleased with this store. Here's the link to the stone: http://www.cherrybrook.com/index.cfm/a/catalog.prodshow/vid/429130/catid/208/vname/Mr_Groom_Groomers_Stone

I've heard this stone have other names too, lavastone is one of them but it's usually called grooming stone or similar. 

It is absolutely the best on smooth coats, so if you got a smoothcoated dog (such as boxer, boston terrier, doberman, pinscher, rottweiler, and so on) you will love this stone!

The key to survive a teenager dog

Anybody who has had a teenager dog knows it is not an easy task. They stop listening, they have tons of energy and nowhere to put it and they just become uncivilized brats. To those who have not had a teenager dog this might feel overwhelming.

The feeling of being a failure

I know so many who when they have their first teenager they feel worthless and like they fail as dogowners. Having a dog wasn't meant to be this way! It was supposed to be my best friend, it was supposed to be nice and good company - not this, this.... (sigh of even thinking the thought of the words about to be said) monster.

Well trust me, it is normal and you are in no way a failure. If you are a low energy person and the dog is a high energy dog, you will have a really difficult time ahead of you and many usually just give up and sell the dog because they don't want to deal with it. But if you just follow the following tips, I know you can end up having the best dog there could be. Cause it is after the teenager period that the real fun begins!

Building a foundation

When the dog is a puppy, you are building the foundation of what dog the dog will become as an adult. Make a list of what situations you want this dog to be able to handle. Being around people, accept visitors, behave in the car, be able to stay on command, come when called, wait for a ok command to eat the food, drop things on command, handle grooming, nailclipping and handling, etc.

The environmental things the dog should be able to handle you need to expose the puppy to as much as you can to make it everyday life. Sit still and relax in the places you want the dog to be able to relax and just wait for the puppy to get tired and fall asleep cause nothing is happening. Then you just go home when the puppy has had a nap.

The commands that are important such as wait, come, stay, down, sit, not pulling the leash and so on you will focus on. Nevermind the partytricks for now. Just focus on a working everyday life like housebreaking the puppy.

When you build up frames in the puppyhood of what the everyday life should look like, you can hold on tight to these frames when the dog is a teenager. Do not trust the dog when it's a teenager, it will not come when called. Practice it while the dog is in a very long leash and a harness. Not collar - it can cause a whiplash. Always use a harness when in a long leash. Not the rolling leash, the dog feels when it pulls in the harness and knows it's not loose. The long leash is just a seatbelt in case the dog would choose to bolt off. Practice coming when called, run away when it runs towards you and play when it "caught" you and then play and give treat, put on collar or clip the leash into the collar if the dog has a collar and harness to practice being hooked up again, then praise, ask for a sit, unhook and hold the collar until the dog is staying on it's own. Let go and say the freecommand for when a command is finished. OK comes up too often in a everyday speech so release, free, finished or similar works better. This teaches the dog that even if you get leashed up it does not mean the freedom is over, and it teaches the dog to wait for the right command. Eventually you don't have to hold on anymore.

Once the teenager years is over and you have hold onto these frames of rules, and they start working for real, that is when the fun begins! Then you have time for the partytricks and stuff like that. You can even begin sporting after the dog is over 1 preferably over 2 years old when the joints are mature enough. Check with a vet to make sure the joints are healthy for your sport. Biking included.

If you have any issues with the teenager showing aggression, please consult a dog trainer with good reputation in your area. The faster you adress it with an expert the faster it will get better. Look for a trainer that believes in positive reinforcement, since this is the best way of shaping your dog's behaviors.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me. :)

Breeding and Genetics

If you enjoy dogbreeding and genetics, you really should check this link out!

http://animalfarmfoundation.wordpress.com/2013/10/09/a-closer-look-at-all-dogs-are-individuals-infographic/

This blog is going a little slow cause I am working on some tabs that aren't official yet. 

Groom your own dog, save money!

Do you want to find a new way to bond with your dog, and save some money in the process? Do your own doggrooming!  

Brushing your own dog

I start off with this topic, because this ALL dogowners should know how to do correctly, even if you dont groom yourself. Brushing is extremely important! If you don't know how to brush all the way down to the skin, your dog will mat right into the skin and this is not only very painful to the dog, it can cause severe skinsores underneath the mat or even hotspots cause the skin cant breathe.

The rule is, if you cant run a comb through the entire coat down to the skin, your dog is not brushed out yet. 

Yikes, where do I start? Well, you start at the bottom and work your way to the top, layer by layer. It's easiest if you lay the dog down, maybe in your lap, maybe on the floor, maybe on the grooming table, but you lay the dog down. With one hand, fold the coat at the butt up on the thigh and then brush layer by layer in the direction the hair grows. Take your time though. A slicker brush is very useful and very popular, but the bristles are sharp and pretty painful to the skin so make sure the bristles aren't too sharp cause they can cause a brushburn. Using a regular brush works, but it does not take the hairs as tightly. I prefer bristle brushes with buds on the tips. They are pretty hard to find but they are out there.

Mats and tangles

If and when you find a mat, gently pull it apart with your fingers to somewhat split it up, spray detangler spray on it and carefully brush it out. Hold two fingers at the base of the mat so it does not hurt the dog, we want this experience to be pleasant to the dog. If it is a severe mat, you can carefully cut it in lines down towards the skin, but not too close, you really don't want to cut the dog. If it is even severer than that or you just don't want to take the time to get it out or even the dog is not very happy with it, it is kindest to cut it out. Fold the mat to the side, take a small scissors and hold it level to the dog, blade sideways to the mat. Get the blade in between the skin and the mat just a few hairs at the time and make sure you can see the blade between the hairs, and cut those. Then you work your way through under the mat hairs by hairs. You can also use a clippers but you are more in control of what you are doing if you use this technique. Make sure you fold the mat away as you go to really see which hairs you can cut. If you cant see the hairs at all, you have two options. 1. cut through the mat and try to brush out the rest or 2. use the clipper machine.

The dog should always be completely brushed out before the bath! Otherwise the mats will only become worse from becoming wet. Same goes for rain, you really want to brush out and blowdry the dog completely dry.

If you want to avoid mats alltogether, keep the coat too short to tangle. But if you want your dog fluffy you better make this a habit. If you run the comb through the dog every day you will catch all tangles before they become mats. The armpits is usually the worst place because of the heat and rubbing of moving. A clean coat will tangle less, so unless you have a wirecoated breed and it's a breed that easily mats up you gain on giving it a bath regularly. A cocker breeder and shower on youtube said that if it tangles on day four, you bathe it on day three. Most longcoated breed mats really badly when they shed the puppycoat around 9 months to a year and for a while thereafter.

Saving money? But the grooming items are so expensive!
Yes this is true. But good quality items will last for years and years! More info about grooming different coats and grooming supplies will be in a later post.

Finding your dogs currency

The dog and the human has something incommon; they both want a salary for their work. Difference is that the dog usually wants treats, toys or cuddles. This post will talk about how to find what makes your dog jump through hoops - litterally.

Treats is pretty much foolproof. There is usually always something to eat that is worth working for. Downside is that this can cause obesidy, or you might already have an obese dog. Popular is soft treats so dog crackers is most of the time very boring. And, it takes a long time to eat so training doesnt flow well. I recommend catfood! It has tiny pieces and tastes really yummy. It has a high contence of protein and fat, but one bag lasts a long time. This treat can cause a puppy to refuse to eat it's food since it does not taste as good so use common sense.

Some dogs love to work for toys. Some like balls, some like squeeky toys, some like tug-o-war, some like soft toys, and others like to chase toys such as a frisbee. This reward is stressing so eventhough it makes the dog do things faster, it should be used wisely and not too often or for too long periods of time.

Cuddles is the lowest value unless it is a dog that lives for your attention.

Variation is of course the key and the more you can vary your reward the more christmas it will be. "Oh boy a gift for me, what will it be, what will it be?"

But there are also other things that are rewarding. There is something called "Self-rewarding behavior" and it means that the behavior itself has so much pleasure that it cant be resisted. I can compare this to eating candy eventhough the person is on a diet. The person or the dog may know it's wrong, but it is so self-rewarding and so enjoyable that the temptation is just too big. Some of these behaviors are chasing cats, stealing food, etc. Pulling on the leash to get to the spot the dog wants to sniff works the same way. It succeeded pulling you, so it to sniff the spot it wanted to sniff. You can use this to your advantage. Stop, stand still and wait until you have the dogs attention. Walk the other way if you have to to increase the distance to the temptation. You can now ask something from the dog, such as walking nicely on the leash, and once it does the task you can let the dog sniff the spot as a reward.

If you have a stressed dog you can find treats that has to be licked to get, such as the kong stuff'n can. Licking is soothing and calming.

So which one should you use? Try them and see! Play with toys and find which type makes them tick. Some even enjoy cat toys! Try different treats and see how much the dog wants it. You dont want the dog to become locked, but interested enough that it is worth working for. The massively super-good treats can be used to make boring tasks more fun, such as being brushed, bathed etc. Behave during boring handling = get something extremely valuable!

The good toys is great when working on coming when called. Work in miniature sessions or the toy will lose it's value. Dont just call when you will hook on the leash, but make it a game.

Pets and cuddles can be used during situations you want the dog to be calm.

If your dog loses interest in the training, you either have too high expectation, you worked too long, your environment is too distractive, or your reward isnt good enough. Try them out and see! Your dog might surprise you. :)

The different ages of a dog

From the moment you get your puppy home to around 6 months is the babystage. The dog cant control it's bladder, it's still fairly difficult to keep it's own body temperature and needs to sleep next to someone to feel safe. A nervous puppy will do more accidents during the night than one that sleeps safely. The puppy will need to go outdoors to do it's buisness about every hour, sometimes more, sometimes less. It will chew on things cause the teeth are itching. Dealing with a puppy and training such as housebreaking etc will be brought up in a different post. If I don't keep to one topic I will just become complicated and lose my tracks.

6 months to 2 years is the teenager stage. This age is where the males discover females, they might start to ride pillows and females go into heat. They now have bladder control and the muscles are itching and they are little pains in the butts. They might get destructive, they forgot everything you taught them, they stop listening, they run away, they are a puppy in an adult body and might not know how strong they are. Surviving a teenager will also be brought up later. The teenager stage is where most people give up and rehome their dog which is a big shame. because once the teenager stage is over, the fun begins!

2-3 years is where the dog kinda lands from being a teenager and grows into being more of an adult. This is where you can come back to the training you did with the puppy. You can start to trust the dog again and you can breathe after what feels like a long winter. You start to have fun again and you feel more and more love for the dog.

3-6 years, you now have maybe 1 or 2 issues to work with, other than that the dog is the most perfect you couldve ever gotten and you question why you thought of giving up when it was such a pain and you are happy you didnt! If you like competition this is usually where you make a lot of progress and manage to get yourself out there and advance.

7-9 years, the dog is probably slowing down some days but is still strong and have much puppy left. You barely have any issues left, and those you do you now love as a personality quirk in the dog.

10 years, you sit and wonder what happened to that little puppy. Ten years, are you really that old?

11+ You value every single day together as a gift from the skies. You look at the grey face and you never thought you could love a dog this much.

You don't know what it's like to really love a dog for 15 years until you do. After all, having a dog is like having a child with a very short lifespan. Savor every moment you have with your dog, cause you never know when the time is up!

Positive Reinforcement Training

I bet you have heard that term before. Positive Reinforcement Training. So what does it mean? It actually is exactly what it sounds like. You reinforce behaviors with positive rewards. This is often done with a clicker. 

Motivation.

Why is motivation so important? Because a motivated dog will try it's hardest every single time to get the reward. A little like people working hard at work to get more money on the paycheck. Have you ever seen how hard a child tries to get a parent to say yes to something? That's motivation we want in a dog! If you have the right reward the dog will walk on fire for that reward, meaning doing whatever you ask just to get the reward.

How can a clicker help me? Isn't that silly?

The clicker is never upset, angry, having a cold, or gets frustrated. It sounds the same all the time. Also, it is easier for the brain to press a button than forming words. Because in dog training timing is everything. If you are a little too late your dog will have licked its lips or taken a few steps and you will reward the wrong behavior or the dog will not understand what you rewarded.

Now, are you telling me that a dog really will find some form of reward in a click?

Well, no. Some people believe that the click is the reward itself. But it really is just a signal that a reward is on the way. It just becomes more accurate this way when used right and when the person understands the idea of this.

To make the clicker positive you click - reward with a treat, click - reward with a treat, click - reward. A couple of times. You will see when the dog starts to connect the dots cause the dog will start to look at the clicker. If you pause it might start licking or nudging your hand with the clicker in it. If you have reached this point, wait for the dog to look into your eyes, click and reward the SECOND the dog looks into your eyes, and after the reward redo it again a couple of times. If you want a command for eyecontact (like the kiss-kiss sound, the dogs name or a whistle) you can add this when the dog gets the eyecontact game. Command the sound or word (happily or casually) click for eyecontact the second it does and reward. This will make the dog connect the dots sound (words are sounds too) to behavior means reward.

Two types of clickertraining.

There are two ways of doing this clickertraining. Once the dog is "clicked in" and has connected the click to reward you can start training for real.

Did you ever as a kid play the game "hide the key" where you were searching for a hidden key high and low while your friends said it was "warmer" if you got closer and "colder" if you went further away from the hiding place? That game is a lot like clicker training!

When you want to reinforce a behavior you click each time it gets warmer and reward. You may have to do the same babystep several times however for the dog to understand which behavior you are rewarding. Nomatter which method you use you reward every step in the right direction towards the goal. It can be shifting weight, to lifting a paw, to taking a step, and so on.

First method you simply wait for the dog to think for itself and try offering behaviors until you click. This will be slow in the beginning until the dog knows the game but it is the the most challanging way of clickertraining. This may fit high energy dogs best since it tires them out well. Example: Border collie, australian cattledog and other herding dogs.

Second method is to lure the dog with a treat. Upside is that you help the dog in the right direction, downside is that you can create a dog with a hand obsession, so fading the lure is important as soon as the dog starts to get the game. (To the dog learning is always a new game you came up with.) This method fits independent breeds better since they easier gets bored. Example: Terriers.

Remember that all dogs are individuals however and you might have a terrier that loves working independently, or have a herding dog who requires guidance. Some insecure dogs prefer the guided method, eventhough the selfthinking method increases their selfesteem with time.

If the dog fails or gets frustrated, you advanced too fast and need to back up in the training.

Rewards.

What reward to use for my dog is a common question. And a good one too!

You can cut up and dry chickenfillets into chicken jerky in the oven on low degrees until they are fully dried. Remember to keep the pieces small enough that the dog don't have to stop to chew for long. They only need the flavor. For small breeds you can split the chicken even after drying for even smaller pieces and avoid burning.

You can use dry catfood. They have tiny pieces and a higher amount meat so the dogs love them! Catfood last a half forever as treats and you can reward more times without worrying too much about calories. Catfood even has several types of flavors eventhough most got chicken. Try to vary! This treat works for both large and small breeds. If your dog is obese you can choose a diet food for less fat.

Both these options will save you money on the candy. But there's another option! Toys! If you have a dog that just loves balls, the frisbee, a squeekytoy or tug-o-war you can use this as a reward. A small warning though, this can be stressing for some individuals. Key is to vary your reward with those between treats and toys.By varying the reward the dog will have that christmasfeeling, what reward will I get now? Will it be the thing I love most in the whole wide world?

Do I have to carry around a clicker for the rest of my life now?

No, the clicker is only for learning, once the behavior is taught you don't need the clicker for that behavior anymore. As for rewarding, it's good to reward with praise and occasional treat or toy just to keep the motivation up even after learning.

Help! My dog is scared of the clicker! I'm screwed!

Don't worry. It doesn't have to be a clicker. You can go "Yes!" or something instead. It is not as percise but it works just as good. I have a dog who is scared of the clicker and we managed fine. :) Just make sure the rewardword or sound does not come up too much in everyday speech, this can lower the value of the word. Yes is good because it's short, it's clear and most people go "yeah" in everyday speech nowadays.

This turned out long so I will finish for today. Thanks for reading!

Don't buy from a pet store!

Life is busy at the moment so will take a bit to update, but wanted to share this image for awareness.

Link to image: http://www.fureverfriendsofwny.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/puppy-mill-parents1.jpg

This is their breedingstock. They live in cages where the floors are made of net which is harsh on the paws, the feces fall down on the neighbour below, they never get to see the vet, get a bath, get vaccinated or dewormed, they dont get groomed or any other form of care. They are full of fleas and mange and are being bred to death for money. 

Buying means supporting!

To be a good teacher for your dog

Help! My dog won't learn! 

You have to teach your dog how to learn. This probably sounds crazy but hear me out. For the dog, learning from a human is like trying to learn from someone who does not speak your language. We can do sounds with the mouth and we can wave our arms and point our fingers but it all actually just looks very silly. 

By teaching your dog how to learn your dog will learn your language and thereby learn from you faster and faster the more you work together. 

Training techniques:

There are several training techniques to use. There is the harsh, dominant, punishing way that will just create a scared insecure dog. Imagine being a kid in school again and for each wrong answer you get pinched in the ear or whipped. 

Now, imagine instead being that same kid, and when you answer wrong the teacher tells you "No, not quite but great that you are trying! Here's a cookie." What will happen with this child? He or she will work harder and harder on trying. Now, imagine that the kid gets a chocolate cupcake for the right answer? Boy, will that child be motivated to work hard on the homework! 

The same thing is with the dog. The dog is working FOR you, and therefor will work better if you have a good salary. Basically, the more confident and independent dog, the higher salary needed. Will to please dogs are workoholics who most of the time are happy just to work but they still need a salary, encouragement and rewards to stay motivated. 

Positive reinforcement:

Positive reinforcement training is growing more and more just because it is so very successful. If you tell an independent dog "Do this for me" he will ask "What's in it for me?" If you then go "You will get a piece of treat if you do" and the treat is yummy, the dog will answer "Sure!" but if it is a low value treat it will go "Eeh. No. Do it yourself you lazy human." 

Common mistakes:

Many people nag their dogs. Sit. Sit. Sit. Rover, SIT. Sit. Sit. Siiiiiit. SIT! and lose their patience. The dog will learn fast that you will eventually blow up and give up, or yell at the dog and hopefully not hurt the dog. This is not a happy dog ownership and teamwork. The dog does not know the word, your "salary" is not good enough, or you have an environment that is too distractive and advanced too fast. Think about your tone of voice. The dog listens to you by sound, not by word. Would you listen to a parent that were angry and naggy, or one that asked you kindly and rewarded good behavior?

How to progress in the right speed for your dog and how to stay interesting will be brought up in the Clickertraining post next time I have time to spare. I will also bring up "How to find your dogs currency" later on. 

Why dominance is a big misunderstanding

We have all seen the dog whisperer on tv telling people that they have to be the pack leader. I agree, you do, but not in the way he is describing it.

It is always compared dogs to wolves and that is exactly what I will do to explain why dominance-methods are useless. You see, in a wolfpack there is the alpha male and alpha female who are the only ones to mate and have puppies. But when said puppies grow up they help the alpha-pair to raise the upcoming litters of puppies. Siblings taking care of siblings. Parents and children. The reason why the pack gains on helping raising the puppies is because they get a stronger pack and can take down larger prey, but also because the puppies carry the same genes as the siblings. They ensure their bloodlines survival this way.

Seeing it from this perspective, the pack would not gain at all from members attacking eachother, wounding eachother in battles for the alpha role, and not being able to trust eachother. They trust the leaders (alpha female steers the females and alpha male steers the males) and they follow them. Leader/follower. And dogs, just like people, like having someone to guide them and not have the responsibility for the packs/family's survival. The wolves stick together as a team, and everybody help out in their own way, which is why they are such a powerful dynamic. They all know what to do. Young wolves sometimes wander off to find themselves a mate to start their own pack or to become "lone wolves". Alternatively, young males sometimes team up in waiting to find their chance of a new territory and create their own pack.

What I am trying to say is, dogs are not baboons where there is one male and several females where other males attack all the time to take the position as the "top dog" to spread his genes to the next generation.

With this said, I will now break down the meaning of the word leadership. A leader is someone who leads. This means that a good leader is not the meanest and bossiest bully, it is the one who leads to success. The meaning of "follower" does not always mean walking behind unless you have that as a rule. I prefer having my dogs infront of me so I can see them and I do a lot of trustwork before I have them unleashed. Eventhough they walk infront of me they are still waiting for my directions. I tell them to stop, come, wait, turn around, go left, go right, continue forward and I got no aggression issues. They do have ranks among eachother but no agression whatsoever.

You have to be a pack leader, but the true meaning is that you have to be the parent. You teach it right from wrong, you tell them when it's time to go to outside and play. You make sure they eat right and stay healthy. You take them to the doctor (well, in this case, veterinarian) if they are sick. As long as you are a good parent and keeps the dog safe and is consistant and fair with your rules, it will never act out on you. (Example: One consistancy is to never be on the furniture. Another is to only be there when you give an "ok". But if the dog breaks this rule, be fair. I dont mean you to be mean, I mean tell it to go down from there and praise when it does so. Dogs are capable of asking for permission.) But if you constantly pick on the dog, it will not trust you and may feel as if it has to defend itself against you. This is not good leadership, this is creating an insecure stressed dog.

What you also have to be, is a good teacher. The dog is your student and if the dog does not get it then you need to find some other way to teach it. But I will bring this topic up at a later point.

Most of the time when people think they got aggressive dogs is when the dog is a puppy or teenager. Puppies use their mouths to see the world with. They just like toddlers have to touch everything they see. They also play with their mouths with their siblings and when they get wind up at around bedtime they can bite pretty hard. If you don't know how to handle this then it will continue doing this when it is a teenager and possibly adult with larger size, larger teeth and stronger jaws. This training is a lot like the "You do not hit people" training with kids. I will bring this up later too, or this post will be too long.

I will also bring up:

• clickertraining
• how to guide your dog to success
• how to save money on grooming
• how to deal with stress
• how to deal with an insecure dog and build confidence
• risks with neutering your dog
• what to think about when buying a dog
• and so much more!

I am in no way picking on Cesar Millan as a person. He saves a lot of dog lives who are on the brick of death. But I truly wanted to get this knowledge out there. I will through this blog bring up how you can make it right from the start, and how you can correct problems and errors with some patience, time and effort.

How you can have a life in harmony with your dog, where he truly is your best friend and you are one solid team. A true pack!