Time really does fly by . . .

Hayley and I - our first week together

Hayley has been, and continues to be, such a huge influence in my life. When I decided to adopt a dog back in 2001 I had just gone through a bad break up which caused me to become very self destructive and negative. I was in a bad place.

After about 5 months of spiraling downward I started volunteering at a local rescue and, as many before and after me, felt the pull to bring one home (that’s a good story too, but I’ll save it for another day). From the day Hayley put her paws down in my house, my life changed.

From that day on, the course of my life would be continually shaped by this happy, good-natured pit bull. It started almost immediately. Only a few months after having Hayley in my life, I changed my outlook to not wanting to be close to anyone to being open to new possibilities and relationships. Hayley showed my so much unconditional love that my heart, which had be closed shut, opened. She was the reason that when a friend wanted to set me up on a date with someone I said “Sure, why not.”

The girl’s name was Michele, but now she goes by Mrs. Camacho. That’s right, I credit Hayley with helping me find my wife – she even shared our first real kiss (yet another funny story).

Hayley wasn’t done there though. For a few years before I adopted her I had started and given up writing a few different novels. Writing a book had always been a dream of mine but I could never find the motivation or inspiration to get past the first couple chapters.

A few years with Hayley changed all that too. Once day I just got an idea. An idea that so captivated and inspired me that I finally wrote my novel, Dog Spelled Backward, in less than six months.

Then, after bouncing through a number of careers that just weren’t right for me, I looked down at Hayley one day and it hit me like a bolt of lighting – dog training. As soon as I began my new career I knew that this was the one for me – the one I was meant to do. Thanks again Hayley.

She didn’t stop there. When my twin girls were born 9 weeks premature and struggling for life in the hospital, she was there for me. Whenever I got home from the hospital – whether I was gone for hours or days – she was there for me to lean on with all care and understanding of the best counselor.

Then when my kids finally came home and the stress of trying to raise two infants hit me full force, Hayley was

Hayley chilling with one of my girls

there. She was such a good girl. She put up with my sleep deprived rants, the lack of exercise and attention, and two new smelly, loud housemates. She did it with style and class (more than could be said for me).

Halyey as always been such a good big sister to my kids. She prefers to be in their room when they’re there and is super tolerant of the liberties they take with her. Watching my girls interact with her makes me realize that she’s doing the same for them as she’s done for me – she’s shaping their lives too.

So here we are at her eleventh birthday. I really can’t picture my life before, without her in it. She has been the one common anchor for most of my adult life and a constant source of joy and happiness. I know her influence on me is still present. She’s a big reason I formed my non profit and my motivation for working hard to help people and dogs live together better. Hayley is the longest relationship I’ve ever had (sorry Michele, she will always beat you in seniority by a few months) and will always be my friend, mentor and adviser

She’s a young eleven but I see the signs of aging here and there. I have to help her up on the bed and she’s a bit slower on our walks. Her work is not done yet though – I still need a lot of help and guidance. I know she’ll always be there for me and I plan on treasuring every single day with her. She’s a shining example on how truly special the relationship with a dog is.

Time fly’s by and before you know it, a decade will have gone by for you too. Appreciate every minute with your dog – this time is special. Celebrate your relationship with your pooch every day (even when they’re making you nuts), and try not to take them for granted. Our dogs don’t ask much of us but give us more than we realize. Enjoy them.

Happy birthday Hayley, I love you.

Go hug your dog right now and take a moment to appreciate them in your life. And feel free to share how your dog has impacted your life in the comments below.

“Is there some kind of pit bull support group I can join?” she asked with an undertone of frustration. “I’m so sick of people avoiding me on walks or refusing to come into my house because I have a pit bull. He’s the sweetest, friendliest dog you’ll ever meet but no one will go near him.”

She went on to say that even family members were scared to come into her home because of her pit bull. Everyone was fine with her other three large dogs, but not the big, mean pit bull. This is something that everyone with a bully breed has experienced to some degree and it can be a very annoying thing for those of us who know and love these great dogs.

I have experienced this type of prejudice often throughout the ten years with my pit bull Hayley. And as many others I’ve tried to reason with people, telling them how wrong they are about the breed, and how nice a dog Hayley is, but it usually falls on deaf ears.

What I’ve learned is that you can’t change someone’s mind if they have made a decision based on an irrational fear. Just about all the people I’ve encountered who are afraid of my dog because she’s a pit bull have never had a bad experience with one and usually have never even met one in person. They are afraid for no good reason – it’s irrational.

I have, however, discovered a great way to break down their walls and open their mind up to experience what a bully breed is really like. One thing you have to remember is that sometimes the more you push someone to change their opinion, the more they will resist (especially with an irrational fear).

The most effective way to change someone’s perception is to passively let them experience something in a new light.

So, my advice to the woman at the party was to dress up her big, scary 90lb pit bull in a t-shirt, puffy pink collar or costume. I’ve noticed if I just put a t-shirt on Hayley, everyone smiles and wants to come meet her, where normally they would run to the other side of the street. It’s really amazing how a simple t-shirt could change locked gazes of anxiety to cheerful, welcoming smiles.

One of my clients with a big pit told me she was walking through a farmers market and was tired of the fearful looks she was getting so she put her sunglasses on him and everything changed. People were immediately coming up by the handful to pet him.

The public perception of bully breeds, especially pit bulls, is so bad that most people are already too frightened to be reasoned with. So I would recommend that you skip the attempt at verbal persuasion and go right into showing the world how goofy and fun these dogs are. Don’t try to hard sell them on how great our dogs are. Instead, bring them to the public in a new light – paint a different picture for them of what pit bulls are really like. I’ve seen this work time and time again.

The best way to change someone’s mind is to show them a new reality.

To all my bully breed friends out there, my homework for you is to dress up your pooch and take him to some public places and let me know what kind of reaction you got.

You can post your experiences in the comments section below or better yet, go over to my Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/abetterlifewithyourdog) and post a picture of your dressed up dog on my wall.

Together we can show the world the real pit bull.

]]> http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/02/pit-bull-dress-up/feed/ 1 http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/02/puppy-classes-done-the-right-way/ http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/02/puppy-classes-done-the-right-way/#comments Mon, 06 Feb 2012 19:39:08 +0000 Fern http://ferndogtraining.com/?p=491 Continue reading →]]> One of the things that I (and pretty much all dog trainers) recommend when bringing home a puppy is getting informed early on and beginning training right away. And one of the best and most cost effective ways to do that is to enroll in a puppy class.

Puppy classes can be a great way to get some very important information on how to properly raise your puppy, teach the little guy some manners and enable your pup to interact with both people and dogs, scoring him some critical socialization.

To me socialization is the #1 thing you should be concentrating on when you get your puppy. It should be done as soon as you get your dog home (7 – 8 weeks old ideally) and done in a controlled and safe manner. If you read my last blog post you’ve already heard my rant on how important socialization is and what really constitutes proper socialization, so I’ll skip it here. If you haven’t read that post yet I highly recommend you check it out – it’s too important not to know.

A good puppy class can really be the perfect way to set you and your puppy up for a great life together. However, that’s only true if it’s a good puppy class.

Unfortunately, I’ve seen more than my share of puppy classes that are totally missing the point of what’s important at this critical time in your dog’s life.

What Makes a Good Puppy Class

Off leash – This is a deal breaker for me. Conducting a puppy class where the dogs are kept on leash the entire time is a complete waste of your puppy’s time and your money. As I mentioned, the big thing you should be concentrating on is socialization – interaction with both people and dogs. If all the dogs are on leash it’s impossible for them to interact with one another so they won’t be able to learn proper social skills, in addition to bit inhibition (meaning biting hurts so don’t do it). Once your puppy loses those sharp puppy teeth at around 5 -6 months of age learning bite inhibition becomes much harder (again, this is covered in more detail in my previous post).

People Interacting with All puppies – Sure it’s nice that you get to work with your dog but what’s that teaching him about strangers? In a good puppy class you should be working and handling every single dog in the class and doing so often. We want all these little guys to have great interactions with every person they meet and make sure they are comfortable with everybody they encounter.

These two things are what separate a good puppy class from an ineffective one. What I find surprising is that most puppy classes out there that are on leash, where you work with only your dog.

How I Structure My Puppy Classes

It’s probably no shock that I think that my puppy classes are the best out there. To me, the model I use is so obviously the best for the puppies, and I can’t believe that all dog trainers are not doing it this way. My puppy classes are the only totally off leash class that I know of in Northern New Jersey (and all of NJ for that matter) and I can’t figure out why more trainers aren’t offering them, when all the latest research shows how important socialization is.

It’s true that my classes can be a bit overwhelming at first (which is why I have everyone come to the first class without the dogs so I can let everyone know what to expect). They are best described as controlled chaos, where the dogs are playing and interacting while their humans stroll around the room. I break up play with training and have everyone handle and work with every single dog in the class. It’s a fun yet educational experience for both human and canine.

Now, I have to admit that the concept of a totally off leash puppy class was not my idea. I base the structure of my classes from dog behavior great, Ian Dunbar – seem by most as the worldwide authority on puppies. My puppy class is adapted directly from his model and I would challenge anyone to find a more informed person on the development of dogs.

Take a look at the video below that I took yesterday at my Puppy Kindergarten class to get a feel for the controlled chaos atmosphere.

This was the third class in the series and we already taught the pups a few basics. As you can see, the dogs are bouncing around from dog to dog, and from person to person having some super positive interactions, which I break everything up with some training. Notice how much fun the dogs and the people are having in this casual and free setting.

You’ll also notice that I have large and small dogs in the same class. Although this can take some management initially depending on the puppies in the class, all dogs learn how to play and be social with dogs off all shapes and sizes. I also like to bring in an adult dog in for one of the classes to get the little guys used to being with a full grown, mature dog who may not tolerate the inappropriate stuff that other puppies will.

There you have it. Now you know exactly what to look for when you search for a puppy class. If you’re in the Northern NJ area, my next Puppy Kindergarten class begins on March 18th. I’d love to have you and your pup join in on the fun.

The bulk of my clients call me because they are having some behavior problems with their adult dogs. These dogs are often between the ages of 1 and 3, and the behaviors have usually been going on for a while by the time they actually reach out to me.

In almost every case the problem stems from lack of socialization. Personally, I can’t believe what some people call socializing their dog. Very few people seem to get this right and it is without a doubt the one thing that can make all the difference.

True socialization is getting your dog accustomed to and confident around everything in this crazy world. I want your dog to have a “been there done that” attitude by the time he’s six months of age.

The three things I want you to concentrate on are socialization to people, dogs and environments. Those three will impact just about every puppy’s (and owner’s) life and those are three things that need to be addressed in mass quantities.

What is good socialization?

1. People

Dr. Ian Dunbar, who is considered by most dog behavior professionals to be the foremost authority on puppies believes that every puppy should have contact with 100 different people by the time he’s eight weeks old (that means you, breeders) and another 100 during the next eight weeks. In case you’re keeping score at home that’s 200 different people your dog should have interacted with by the time it hits four months of age.

Although I agree with Dr. Dunbar, I’m also a realist and know that no one on the planet is going to come close to those numbers. So, for my puppy clients, I shoot for at least ten new people every week. I would feel much better if it was ten a day, but I understand that most of you can’t quit your jobs to socialize your dog.

Let all of these people interact with and handle your puppy, but supervise everything. It’s very important that all of these encounters be positive experiences for your pup or else we’ll be headed in the wrong direction in a hurry.

2. Dogs

All of the above guidelines also apply to socialization with dogs. Letting your dog sniff three butts a week during your walks around the block will just not cut it. You should also be aware that true dog interaction is without human constraints, meaning without being tethered to you by a leash. Puppies must be allowed to interact with other dogs in an off-leash environment so that they can learn bite inhibition.

That’s exactly why those puppy teeth are like little pointy needles– to enable the pup to learn that biting hurts and give him a nice soft mouth. Some puppies can put up with an awful lot of inappropriate biting, so it’s important that you socialize your pup with older dogs as well. Older dogs will not tolerate too much juvenile behavior and will make corrections accordingly. By letting your pup interact with older dogs he will learn that not every dog enjoys being treated like a squeaky toy.

So I’m begging you to go out there and socialize your dog as soon as you bring his furry little body home. This is where a lot of traditional vets give some really bad advice. They tell you not to let your dog near any other dog until he’s had all his shots (around 5 – 6 months of age). I understand where your vet is coming from. His job is to preserve the physical health of your dog as best he can. The problem with avoiding contact with other dogs is that he’s doing that at the cost of your dog’s mental health, which is just as important. Read what the America Veterinarian Society of Animal Behavior says about socialization.

We can do both though. I don’t want you to take your new pup to the dog park where we know nothing about the health of the other dogs. Instead, set up encounters with other dogs you know are healthy and have all of the proper vaccinations. Play dates with people you know are a great way to get together with friends while getting your puppy the quality canine time he desperately needs. Doggie daycares are perfect for socialization providing they will take a young pup (not all do). There, he’ll play with ten to twenty dogs in one day in a clean, safe environment.

So please, let your puppy play with as many dogs as possible, but be smart about it. If you don’t create these kinds of encounters for your new pup early on you may be on your way to creating an adult dog that is fearful, anxious and/or aggressive with other dogs.

3. Environment

The next stop on our journey of socialization enlightenment is environment. The human world is filled with all kinds of weird places, noises, contraptions and events, and unless your pooch learns about these things as a puppy, there’s a possibility that he may really freak out when exposed to them when he’s older. However, if he’s seen it all when he’s young, he will learn that all this weird stuff in the human world is not going to harm him.

It’s like if you woke up this morning and a UFO was parked in your back yard. I’m pretty sure it would make you more than a little uneasy (a change of underwear may even be in order). But if you’ve seen some UFO’s before and nothing bad happened, you would probably be okay with it.

Everything your dog sees for the first time is a UFO to him. If, by a year old, your dog has never seen a moving train, and one goes by making all that noise, he’s going to go into panic mode. Think about how scary an experience it would be if you weren’t expecting it and had no idea what it was. So we need to get your dog exposed to everything possible that this human world of ours has to throw at him. That way, no matter where your life takes you and your dog, he will be cool with it.

One point to remember is that we need all of these experiences to be either positive or a non-event. It’s natural for your dog to be nervous or unsure around something he’s never seen before, but we need to keep him around it until he sees that although it may look scary and make loud noises, it’s not going to harm him. Be careful not to overwhelm your pup, and recognize when a situation may be too much stimulation for him, or at too high an intensity.

Remember that as soon as you bring your puppy home the window of prime socialization time is closing daily. And the longer you wait the harder and more time consuming it will be.

So get out there and socialize those puppies, and there’s a good chance you’ll never need to call me to work on behavioral issues.

Thanks. I hope to not see you soon.

]]> http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/01/puppy-socialization/feed/ 0 http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/01/get-off-the-treadmill/ http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/01/get-off-the-treadmill/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:38:23 +0000 Fern http://ferndogtraining.com/?p=471 Continue reading →]]> Here we are again . . . another brand new year beginning. It’s the time when we all declair resolutions, set goals and make promises to ourselves. For many of us, our enthusiasm will quickly wane and all our good intentions will have been abandoned by mid February. I’ve been doing a lot of thought about all this and just had to shoot you this quick video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

My hope is that this video has made you really assess your state of happiness and begin to realized that everything is in your control – if you take action. My challenge to you is get off your treadmill right now and take your first small step toward your goals. It doesn’t even matter if you have no idea where you’re headed, as long as your going somewhere.

Take your first step right here, right now. In the comments section below, state your goal for 2012 and (more importantly) the first small step you will be taking to get off your treadmill and onto your path toward success.

The tendency is to take it a bit personally and become reactive to the incident by immediately scolding your dog for growling and punishing the behavior. After all, you expect your dog to be better than that and to always be the model of good canine behavior. You want to stop this kind of behavior immediately, so giving your dog a correction every time he growls might seem like the logical thing to do. Unfortunately, that could actually be setting the stage for a much more serious problem to arise.

Before I explain, let’s discuss why dogs growl. Many people believe that dogs only growl when they are mad or possessive over something, when in fact dogs will growl for a number of different reasons. Here are some reasons a dog might growl:

• Sick, injured or just not feeling 100%
• Possession of something he feels the need to guard
• Fear, anxiety or just not being comfortable with a situation
• Aggression
• Surprised or caught off guard (like when a child steps on their tail)

A growl from your dog can be an indicator that your dog is uncomfortable in some way – either physically or psychologically. If your dog’s motivation for growling is fear or anxiety I see it as a cry for help. Your dog is telling you he is uncomfortable and it’s your job to find out why and then help change his perception of the situation.

Growling is a warning. Your dog is telling you that he’s not cool with something and that is a good thing. If you keep correcting your dog for growling but do nothing to discover and treat the reason for the growl, you could be in for big trouble. If you successfully correct the dog into not growling but he’s still uncomfortable you will have no way of knowing and can push him into a situation where he may feel the need to bite to let you know.

Growling is a very important piece of information from your dog. He’s very generously announcing that he’s not cool with something. You want him to let you know when he’s uncomfortable, so you can identify what it is and then treat it accordingly. If you lose the growl, you will be missing some valuable information from your dog and then be surprised when he bites “out of the blue.”

So instead of correcting the growl, thank your dog for letting you know he’s uncomfortable and get to work identifying the reason and then treating it so he will no longer feel the need to growl. Always try to put yourself in your dogs perspective see if you can better understand his point of view. If your dog is growling don’t just hope it will go away on its own. Get proactive and work with him to get him to improve or overcome his need to growl, because if his warnings are not respected his next course of action could be a bite.

I hope the past year was a great one for you. Today I want to discuss how to make 2012 an even better year for both you and your dog.

This is the time when everyone is reassessing their goals and making resolution for the New Year. I’m a big fan of goal setting but I find that most people don’t understand how to go about making those resolutions actually come to pass. Everyone begins year all gung-ho but within a few weeks most people fade out their efforts. Why?

The reason most people fail when it comes to resolutions is that they set a big goal without foresight into how to make it happen. Let’s say your goal is to lose 20 lbs. so you decide to join a gym, which although is a nice start will not help you succeed. A better resolution would be to lose 20 lbs. by joining a gym and taking a spin class every Tuesday at 8:00am.

The key is to be specific and to take some small daily actions over time. Then as you make this small action a habit you add in something else (like and additional class per week, or eliminating soda from your diet, etc.). With each little success, you will gain momentum and create the habits that will take you right to your goal.

Now what I invite you to, in addition to making a New Year’s resolution to yourself, also make one to your dog.

Think about your past year and your relationship with your dog and come up with one small action that you will take regularly to improve it. If you’re not sure what to resolve, allow me to make a few suggestions.

My favorite is getting up twenty minutes earlier a few times a week to play or walk your dog. Can you spare twenty minutes of sleep? Of course you can. That small amount of time can mean the world to your dog and help him release a little energy just when he needs it the most.

You could also teach him something new. Pick one new behavior or trick and spend the next month working on it for ten minutes a day. Can you spare ten minutes a day? Of course you can. Mental stimulation is just as important as physical exercise and teaching him a new skill will enrich his life and improve your ability to communicate.

Another great option is enrolling in a fun group class like agility or nosework. I like these two because they are super fun for both dog and human and are a bit different from standard obedience classes (although a basic or advanced class is a great option if you haven’t done it yet). Classes usually meet once a week for about an hour. Can you spare an hour each week to have some fun with your dog? Come on, you know the answer.

As you can see, I’m not talking about a lot of time here. However, this simple action can really do a lot for your poochy pal. In the average chaos of the human world it’s usually our dogs that get pushed to the back burner and neglected a bit. So as you gather yourself to push into the New Year include your dog in on the improvements in your life and make 2012 the best year you have together.

Happy New Year!

]]> http://ferndogtraining.com/2012/01/make-a-resolution-to-your-dog/feed/ 0 http://ferndogtraining.com/2011/12/addressing-the-age-old-problem-of-chewing/ http://ferndogtraining.com/2011/12/addressing-the-age-old-problem-of-chewing/#comments Mon, 19 Dec 2011 16:21:28 +0000 Fern http://ferndogtraining.com/?p=448 Continue reading →]]> Ok, what was it? What was it that your dog destroyed that prompted you to read this post? Was it a new pair of shoes, your nice leather couch, or maybe kid’s homework (I know it’s a cliché but hey, it happens). All dogs chew – you’re never going to stop that. What we need to do is make sure we teach your dog to chew on the appropriate things and not on all that other stuff.

The big reasons for chewing are boredom, insufficient exercise and lack of supervision. Lack of exercise and boredom go hand in hand, are the easiest to cure. Unfortunately, most of us greatly underestimate the amount of exercise our dogs need and assume that our dogs should be content to just do nothing while we’re at work all day.

Here’s my simple advice that I want you to really pay attention to: How every long you’re currently exercising your dog, do more. And if you don’t provide your dog something constructive to do, he will be more than happy to find something destructive to do.

Everyone always asks me, “When is it the right time to leave my dog unattended loose in the house?” The simple truth is that there really is no exact moment when your dog is ready- you just take a leap of faith and give it a try.

When many people decide that today is the day to leave their dogs out of their crates and unsupervised for the first time, they wake up as if it were any other work day, take their pooch out for a quick five to ten minute walk, pat them on the head, walk out the door, and hope for the best. Hope alone can only take you so far, though, and doing it this way makes it very difficult for the dog to do the right thing.

Leaving your dog in your home with nothing to do after he just wakes up and is chock-full of energy is pretty much guaranteeing that he will eat the couch. In hoping that Fido will figure it all out by himself (especially if he was never really taught how to behave in the house), the owner is really setting him up to fail.

Instead, what you should do is run your dog around like hell, getting him nice and tired. Then, give him something to do right as you leave, like a Kong filled with goodies (I even recommend feeding the dog his breakfast in four or five frozen Kongs – mix dry food with peanut butter and throw it in the freezer overnight). This way, he’s occupied during the time when he’s most likely to get into trouble (the first thirty minutes after you leave). Initially only leave him alone for only about an hour.

Now, he’s tired and doesn’t have as much energy to get into mischief, and he’s got something productive to do for a while (the Kong mixture should be supervised at first to make sure it takes him long enough to get through, but not too long that he loses interest). Plus, he’s only being left alone for a short period of time. Doing it this way is setting him up to succeed, and if he’s good, we’re establishing good habits. When he succeeds, we gradually expand the amount of time he is left alone in the house.

Before you leave the house, you must do a sweep of the rooms the dog will have access to, making sure there are not obvious temptations. Dogs are quite resourceful when properly motivated, and they have been known to climb cabinets, open cupboards and scale walls. So it’s important not to forget something like the frozen hunk of meat defrosting for dinner on the countertop.

In addition, make sure the dog has plenty of appropriate chew toys to occupy his time. I recommend keeping a few of the dog’s favorite toys tucked away, and bring them out only when you’re leaving. This way, the toys are fresh and exciting, instead of the same old toys that have been laying on the floor for the last month. All this set’s your dog up to succeed and you’re creating great habits through repetition.

What are some of the worst things your dog has chewed up?

]]> http://ferndogtraining.com/2011/12/addressing-the-age-old-problem-of-chewing/feed/ 2 http://ferndogtraining.com/2011/12/structured-play/ http://ferndogtraining.com/2011/12/structured-play/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 16:54:09 +0000 Fern http://ferndogtraining.com/?p=435 Continue reading →]]> One of the simple joys of being a dog is playtime. Play is high on just about every dog’s list of the coolest ways to pass the day. Although some dogs are more playful than others and older dogs may have matured to a less playful stage of life, the majority of pooches out there light up at the sight of a ball or squeaky toy. Playtime is a time of fun and seemingly reckless abandon, however should still be structured with rules and boundaries. Just because you’re taking a break from life to engage in a little playtime with your dog is no reason to forget all about how you communicate and relate with your dog.

You’re continually developing your relationship with your dog all the time, in everything you do with him – and that includes play. Don’t forget to include a foundation of rules and proper etiquette while you’re kicking it up with your dog. If you allow or enable very excited, out of control behavior during play, there’s a good chance you’ll see that state of mind more often in other situations (or whenever your dog is in a playful mood).

You want to make sure that even playtime is on your terms. This is easily accomplished by inserting some simple obedience during the play session and/or having some breaks in play. Take a look at this video of Hayley and I playing this morning (you’ll also see Hayley’s favorite game: race to the toy).

You’ll notice the pauses in playtime where I ask her for a simple sit or just take a pause before I throw the toy. These simple things enable me to get Hayley from a high excited state of mind back down to a calm one very quickly. She’s learned over time that the quicker she gets calm, the sooner the game continues. This enables me to calm her down out when she becomes highly aroused – even outside of play (teaching a “drop it” command is also very helpful to get dogs to release their favorite toys). By practicing this in play are helping her with impulse control and making you be the calming influence in her life.

Another thing you’ll notice in the video is that I am constantly handling her over her entire body. This is totally intentional on my part and something I’ve done since the day I got her. I tried to think what little kids might do to her if they were playing with her and wanted Hayley to be cool with any pokes and prods that a child might do, either intentionally or unintentionally. I started out doing it very lightly and infrequently to gauge her tolerance level, then gradually applied more pressure and moved to more sensitive areas. Since she’s a typical pit bull, she will put up with just about anything without taking offence. Some more sensitive dogs might need a milder touch and slower progression of handling.

Since play is so rewarding she’s constantly equating the fun with the handling and is perfectly content with it. Handling is so important for puppies and most people will do it with a food reward but play can also be used to teach the dog it’s really cool to be handled.

Controlling excitement levels in play is especially important with any super-hyper dogs (yes, I’m talking to you Weimaraners, Dalmatians and Boxers). These crazy pooches need to learn how to control their excitement and play time is the perfect time to help them with that. Whatever your dog’s play style, if you make sure play is on your terms and incorporate some simple rules, you’ll soon see you’ll better be able to keep his excitement in check and your relationship with you poochy pal will improve overall.

Leave a comment below of ways you structure play with your dog.

My beginnings

My dog training education started before I even knew that dog training was an actual career. Ten years ago I adopted dog – a pit bull named Hayley. This was my first dog as an adult and I didn’t know what to expect or how to train and live with a dog. I went to basic obedience class and did my best to make Hayley into a well-behaved and happy pooch.

Like most people who first get a dog, I made a ton of mistakes. Lucky for me Hayley was a pretty good girl who tolerated most of my blunders very well. After a year or two I started to hear some buzz about a dog training show called The Dog Whisperer, and decided to check it out for myself. I was instantly impressed with what this guy named Cesar Millan could do with dogs and ran out to get his book, Cesar’s Way.

The book talked a lot about rules, boundaries and limitation and how we need to provide leadership and exercise before affection. It all sounded so simple, yet I never saw it before. Right away I began implanting some of the strategies in the book with Hayley and immediately saw some great improvements in her behavior and in the quality of my life with her.

Fast forward a year or so. I decide to make dog training a part time career and I begin my education on dog behavior and training. I scoured the internet, read as many books and articles as I could find, and listened to any dog trainer that I could get in front of. I soon saw that there were many different approaches and techniques to dog training and I wanted to learn them all and see what worked best fom me.

I remember talking to one trainer in my area and mentioning how I was going to two seminars: Patricia McConnell and Cesar Millan. I got a smile for Patricia but an icy cold look of loathing after I said the C-word. That’s when I discovered that there was a very strong divide in the dog training world: those with Cesar and those against him.

What I Learned From Experience

This separation between dog trainers really disappointed me. I mean, aren’t we all on the same team? Don’t we want the same thing? Shouldn’t we be collaborating to help as many dogs and people as possible instead of wasting so much time and energy trying to discredit others? I thought so and decided (much to the dismay of some trainers) not to take sides but to instead learn as much as I could about all kinds of dog training and make my own conclusions.

Well, I’ve been at this dog training thing for almost 5 years now and have dedicated myself to education and advancing my knowledge to better serve my clients and I’m finally ready to weigh in on the Cesar issue.

When I first started to work with dogs I believed 100% of what Cesar did and taught. Now, after much research and real world application with dogs and their owners, I’m down to about 50%. What I’ve come to realize is that was Cesar does good, he does very good. However, what he does bad he does very badly.

Some of Cesar’s Strong Points

1. Rules, boundaries and structure BEFORE affection. Affection satisfies our needs not our dogs. Yes, our dogs like affection, but the need leadership and exercise. Once you take care of your dog’s needs then you can pour on the affection.

2. Calm energy and your dog’s state of mind. There is nothing more important than getting both you and your dog into a calm state of mind. For me, state of mind is much more important that behavior.

3. Pack Power. I love dogs helping dogs. The human world screws up a lot of dogs and one of the best tools to help dogs through some issues are their canine brothers and sisters. I’ve helped more dogs overcome anxiety, fear and aggression by just walking them together and my pack walks are the most requested service by my clients.

Some of Cesar’s Downfalls

1. Pushing dogs too far, too quickly. Instead recognizing a dog’s threshold of tolerance and slowly working them with on an issue, Cesar pushes them forward into something they may not psychologically ready to handle. Kind of like teaching your child to swim by throwing him in the deep end and hoping for the best. That can end very badly. This is especially dangerous with anxious, fearful and aggressive dogs.

2. Harsh corrections. Corrections are not bad but over the top physical corrections can also do more harm than could especially with fearful or aggressive dogs.

3. Alpha rolls. In my opinion alpha roles are ridiculous. The theory is that flipping a dog over on its back simulates what wolves do to correct an out of control pack member. First off, I’ve never seen a domestic dog ever flip another dog over forcefully in that way and second, even if it were true that dogs did do that, we’re not dogs! And you’re butchering the canine language and not communicating what you intend.

4. Dominance theory. I refuse to use the word dominance anymore because it’s such a misused and misunderstood term. Newsflash: your dog is not trying to dominate you – ever. The way people use dominance you would think that our dogs are heartless dictators marching across the human race with dreams of world domination. Nope, sorry they just like the comfy spot on the couch and want to play all day.

I could go on and on with this topic but I want to keep this somewhat short (although I’ve already double my normal blog length). What I want you to take away from all this is that Cesar is not the devil, but he also doesn’t have all the answers either. What you need to do is get as much information as possible and see what works in your world, with your dog. Every person, dog and situation is different and what works for you may not work for me, in my world, with my dog.

I don’t label myself a positive dog trainer or a dog whisperer. I’m an open-minded trainer who is a mish-mosh of many different training approaches. The more I learn, the more I realize I have more to learn. You should never stop trying to increase your education and find new and better ways to improve your life with your dog.

As for Cesar Millan, he has much to offer, but just know his limitations and look into some other approaches as well. If you’re not a Cesar fan, remember that he’s not intentionally trying to do dogs wrong – he’s just doing what he thinks is best to help dogs. If we all work together and share our knowledge and experience, we can all learn from each other and do a better job training and living with our dogs.

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