grooming

“Real Life” Training

Dog Blog, FSJ Dog Training, GUIDE 5: DOG TRAINING, Real Life Training, Training, Vet Care

Jump to: [ Condition to Touch ] [Boundary Training ] [ Door Dashing ] [ Go to Place ]

A note on “corrections”: A “correction” is a way to teach a dog that what they’ve done is wrong and not the behavior your requested. A correction may mean different things to different people, based on your training methods. It may involve a training collar (e-collar, prong collar, check chain, etc) or it may involve a firm “NO” followed by showing the dog the correct behavior and giving them an opportunity to try again.

I often tell my clients to make sure they are practicing their training around the house in “real life” scenarios. When you’re eating breakfast, have your dog down/stay in their bed. When your brewing your coffee or tea take a couple of minutes to practice a few commands in the kitchen. When you are leaving the house have your dog sit and wait before going through the front door. When you head out to water your flowers or take your garbage out bring your dog with you and work with their boundary training and recall (make sure you work at their level of training; use a long line if you need to).

If you get creative, there are lots of ways to incorporate training into your day-to-day life with your dog. It doesn’t have to be an hour dedicated to training every day or even every week. 5-minute training sessions once or twice a day will have a huge impact on your dog.

How else is the dog supposed to learn how to act under these conditions? In order to perform how I want her to under regular every-day conditions I need her to learn it in those conditions.

Here are a few examples of every day life training situations. This is not a step-by-step how-to post, but rather a detailed explanation of the type of training I’m talking about. If you’re looking for step-by-step instructions please feel free to send me a message and set up a consultation for a training session.

Condition Them to Touch

All dogs should be conditioned to touch so that they are not overwhelmed by it for basic care such as grooming and vet care. You can do this when you’re sitting at home watching TV. Put your dog in front of you and condition them to hands touching all over their body. Focus on touching their ears, mouth, paws, legs and tail. You can make a positive association by making a relaxing time of it and rewarding with treats.

If your dog will need to be on a grooming table, prop them up on a table at home and make positive associations for your dog in this scary situation. Some dogs feel really uneasy their first time up on a table. Make them feel more comfortable by getting them used to it through multiple exposures and associating something positive (like treats) with being on the table. For more about grooming your dog, check out my post Grooming and Care.

While conditioning your dog to touch, keep in mind the kind of touch that may be required for their basic grooming and vet care. This may involve picking the feet right up, holding it firmly and maybe even splaying the toes apart to be able to trim each nail. This will be uncomfortable and weird for your dog, so approach each type of touch separately. You will need a lot of patience and to condition your dog slowly in baby steps over the course of time. If you’re worried about giving your dog too many treats, you can hand-feed them using their kibble as a reward for accepting your touch. As long as you remember to use a meal rather than adding extra food, and as long as your dog actually likes their food, they will still make a positive association.

Boundary Train

Boundary training is by far one of the most important real life training. Teach your dog what spaces they’re allowed to be in and under what circumstances. Use cue words to let your dog know whether they can exit the property and establish a boundary that is easy for your dog to understand (such as the edge of the lawn). Take your dog out on a long line any time you are outside. You can practice it when you’re out gardening, enjoying the sunshine, shoveling snow etc. Let the long line drag behind your dog but keep an eye on them. As soon as they cross the boundary you’d like to establish correct your dog and put them back within the boundary. Work on this every time they’re outside with you and work on it often. Eventually your dog will learn where the boundary is and not to cross it.

You can also use this as an opportunity to work on your dogs recall. When your dog is away from you and distracted with just being a dog then use this as a chance to call them. Call your dog to you sporadically at random times when they’re in different places within the boundary. If they don’t come when called, you can use the long line to correct and/or guide your dog back to you.

Door Dashing

Teach your dog not to dash out of an open door. This should be a rule applied to when you’re leaving the house and in the case of a door left open. Teach your dog these techniques for the doors to your house and any gates that could be potentially left open and your dog escape. For example, one day when I was sick in bed, my husband was mowing the lawn and he left the gate open. My dog Zelda was inside, but the door was open with the screen closed and the cats like to open the screen door to let themselves out. If the screen is open enough for her to get her muzzle through then Zelda will push the screen door open too. Within 15 minutes she escaped and was long gone. We were able to track her down through posting on the community Facebook page and tracking sightings of her. After that I decided to teach her she was not allowed out of the gate unless one of us gave her the go ahead.

Likewise, your dog should learn not to dash out of any open doors. We have a split-level entry which makes getting in and out of our house crowded and annoying to begin with. Add an excited, uncontrolled dog into the mix and it’s a recipe for someone falling down the stairs. For this reason, I’ve taught Zelda not to dash down the stairs or out the front door.

Every time you open the door, have your dog sit and wait (on leash). If the dog dashes out the door correct them and put them back in the same spot or further back from the door. Every time you leave with your dog make them wait until you give a cue (‘lets go’, etc). The dog should not be allowed to leave the house through that door without the cue word.

Go To Place

Teach your dog to have a place that is just his to go lay down on. Teach a command to send your dog to his bed to keep him out from under foot, while you’re eating or when you have company over. “Go to bed” is a good cue to use. Teaching your dog to go to place will be a lot easier if they already know how to lay down and stay on command.

Going to place is a very handy “real world” command for your dog to know. Tell your dog to go to place when you’re eating meals, when you have guests over or whenever you just don’t want your dog under foot.

It’s very important that your dogs place (whether it’s a bed, blanket, crate or rug) is used by only the dog. Don’t allow children to play on it or other pets to lay on it. This is your dog’s safe space to relax.

If you’d like more information or help training any of the above “real world commands” please don’t hesitate to contact me to schedule a consultation and training session.

Grooming and Care

Dog Blog, Pawparazzi Pet Services
About Grooming Your Dog / an Interview with Groomer Anna Hawkins

I think something a lot of pet owners overlook when they first get their pet is their grooming and care needs. All dogs need grooming, but not all dogs will require the same effort or type of grooming. To dig a little deeper on this subject, I decided to interview my sister Anna Hawkins, who is based in Alberta. She is knowledgeable about grooming and wants to see people take responsibility of their pets care. I thought she would be a great person to help me with this post!

Anna runs Pawparazzi Pet Services in Taber, Alberta. It is a home-based professional salon for pets. Pawparazzi Pet Services just opened last year, but Anna says she started with hands-on experience the year before. “My friend was running a home-based dog grooming business and she was kind enough to teach me and give me loads of hands-on experience.”, she said. Anna loves animals and devotes herself to treating them with kindness and is very professional. Since opening, Pawparazzi Pet Services has been busy helping keep Tabers animals healthy and looked after.

Anna volunteering her time to trim nails at Pet Valu.
Proceeds went to the Taber Lost Paws Society.

Condition Your Dog

The first thing you need to do to get your dog on the path of regular grooming care is to “condition” them for that type of handling. Animals don’t understand that grooming is good for them and they don’t always enjoy it right away. In order to get a dog (or any other animal) used to being handled by a groomer you have to first start at home handling them in a similar fashion and associate that handling with something positive. You can do this just hanging out in your living room watching a movie. If you have a table you can lift them onto it will help even more as most groomers use a grooming table. If you don’t have a table you can put your dog on, you can still condition your dog from the floor or couch. Sit down with your dog and touch them all over. Associate this touch positively using your tone of voice, your type of touch and food rewards. Make sure you are touching their ears, feet/toes, tails and mouths as well. These are areas most dogs aren’t fond of being touched.

If your dog ever gets a nail or pad injury, ear infection or tooth problem you will need them to be okay with being touched in these areas by a vet or groomer. They will also have to be used to you lifting their tails, as a surprising amount of dog problems come from the butt (as we learned at the K-9 First Aid course hosted by Nikki last summer). Pet and touch your dog then treat. Do this all over and repeatedly. You can work on it for 5 minutes a night and it will still make an impact on how your dog behaves at both the groomers and the vets.

You can also take this one-on-one time with your dog as a way to touch base with their health. Give them a look all over to make sure that all systems are working fine. Peek into the ears, check the gums, you can even go so far as to check your dogs heart rate. Knowing what your dog’s regular resting heart rate is can help you in the case of an emergency to know what is normal and what isn’t normal for your dog. Check between the toes, part the fur and look for any bumps, scrapes or strange growths. If any odd bumps or lesions do show up you can be aware of them, treat them if necessary, and keep an eye on them so that they don’t get infected. If your dog has an injury that hasn’t been noticed it can fester and become a real problem.

Photo courtesy of Anna Hawkins

At-Home Care

Even if you have a reoccurring appointment with your groomer, you will still need to make sure you are keeping up on regular at-home care for your dog. There are many things people easily overlook such as nails. Sometimes people feel intimidated by trimming their dogs nails themselves and so they simply don’t do it. When you don’t keep up with regular nail care then the blood supply to the nail grows with the nail and it becomes harder to trim them. You have to slowly take off a bit at a time and leave several days in between for the blood supply (known as the “quick”) to recede. I asked Anna what the most overlooked part usually is and her response was, “oh yes, probably the nails. I am always surprised by how often people say their dog doesn’t need a nail trim but then I look at those feet and they are SO overgrown.” Dogs walk on their toes, so if you leave the nails so long that they are past the toes and touching the floor, they can push the toes up and force a dog to walk on the main pad on their foot (kind of like making you walk on your heel). It can be uncomfortable and if left untreated it can even cause foot pain and arthritis in your dog.

It’s important to understand the unique grooming needs of your dog. Some breeds have different types of coat that require different types of care. “Dirty ears and un-plucked ear hair in poodles and poodle-mixes is another very common issue”, Anna says. Some terriers require hand stripping of the fur as well, which is a bit more work and a lot more conditioning than your average type of coat.

Whether your dog has a unique type of coat or not, the biggest thing you can do between grooming appointments is brush your dog. “If your dog has a smooth-short coat, use a bristle brush and a de-shedding brush.” Anna said about brushing between appointments, “If your dog has floofy thick fur, get that comb right down to the skin, not just the top layer. Cats should be brushed, too, especially long-haired cats.”.

Photo courtesy of Anna Hawkins

Matted Fur

When an animal’s fur gets tangled and is not treated it can become more and more tangled until it’s a thick matted mess. Mats can be unsightly, annoying and even dangerous. If left untreated, the mats can mat together and form a whole “pelt” that covers the animal. It is so tight all over and can pull on the skin. Since it creates a thick layer over the skin moisture can get trapped against the skin. All that pulling and moisture is a dangerous grounds for infection. It can be extremely painful. It’s best to take care of mats when they’re small and easy to remove. Mats commonly happen in long-haired animals that aren’t brushed, but they can sometimes happen to short-haired animals too.

“Don’t let your dog swim and then roll around to dry off,” Anna said, “because it can create a lot of mats in the coat. If you find a mat, massage it with some corn starch and gently pick it out with a wide-tooth comb.”

Photo courtesy of Anna Hawkins

Finding The Right Groomer

Grooming animals is one of those professions where anyone can say they’re a groomer (just like anyone can say they’re a dog trainer). So how do you find a good groomer who knows what they’re doing and treats your pets with a fair kindness? Anna says, “People should always ask a groomer where they got their practical (hands-on) training, and what are they doing to update their knowledge and keep their skills sharp? There is SO much to learn in this field and we should never stop studying and seeking improvement”.

I loved the way Anna explained this, as it’s exactly how I feel about dog trainers as well. Hands-on experience is important, someone who is willing to keep learning and keep getting better is essential, and someone who you personally get along with is also important. You’re going to commit to bringing your pet to this person on a regular basis, it’s important that you trust them personally and trust their skills as well.

“I am so grateful to the pet owners in my area for trusting me with their fur-babies.” Anna said, “I have been honored by the tremendous response to my new business, and all the support I have received in only a few short months. I am flattered to have clients from Taber and almost all the surrounding small towns, with some driving nearly an hour to bring their pets to me. I promise to always treat them as if they were my own beloved fur-faces.”.

A good groomer will treat your pet like their own loved pets. That is a great quality to look for in a groomer, and the residents of Taber and it’s surrounding areas are very lucky to have Anna caring for their pets!

Photo courtesy of Anna Hawkins

Be The Ideal Client

Grooming animals is not for the faint of heart. I knew from an early age, about 12 or so, that I could never hack it as a groomer. I just don’t enjoy it. I do the basic grooming necessary for my dogs and I am fully aware I will not put in extra effort for de-matting and more extensive grooming. I think it’s important people are honest with themselves when they first get a dog, on whether or not they can put the time and effort into their unique care needs. I know I don’t want to deal with the coat of a long haired dog, so I don’t get long haired dogs.

If you’re going to rely on a groomer for regular appointments you should do your best to be an excellent client. This involves regular maintenance in between your appointments, but it goes a little beyond that as well. I asked Anna what her ideal client was and after her answer I realized the ideal client is also the ideal pet owner. It’s someone who’s proactive in their animals care. I think it is also someone who feels comfortable to have free-flowing dialogue with their groomer. Ask questions if you have them, and be curious about your dogs care.

“I really appreciate any client who loves their pet so much that they are trying to do all the right things at home in-between grooming and veterinarian appointments. They research how to brush the pet and they bought the correct type of brush for the coat type. They are feeding the best quality food they can afford. They are hands-on, actively training and socializing, and are very aware of what is happening with their pets physical state. They know when to book the pet with a professional groomer, they are committed to that appointment and see it for what it is: health and wellness care.”

I also asked Anna what her idea pet client is. She said any animal that cooperates in the salon, which brings me back to the beginning of this post. I can’t stress enough how important conditioning your pet to touch is. Anna further explained, “They don’t have to be thrilled with the situation, but please don’t be climbing my arms and snapping at me and leaping around like a little rodeo bull. I do love grooming Pomeranians, Golden Retrievers, and Border Collies especially, though.”

A huge THANK YOU to Anna of Pawparazzi Pet Services for helping me with writing this blog as well as for providing the “Grooming Tips” and photos. As an on-going effort to raise awareness about grooming as care for your dog, I will have these grooming tips peppered throughout my blogs, website, and social medias.