How Dogs Deal with Stress

     Having problems with your best friend? Many times understanding how they see the world and how they deal with stress can make a world of difference.
Dogs deal with stress four ways. 1. Avoid,  2. Flight,  3. Fight, and 4. Submit. These are the only options for the dog. For instance, if you're walking down the street and a dog is coming toward you he may go between houses. That is avoidance. He see you, but is not sure who or what you're about. You may be danger so he's thinking, "I'll just go this way and avoid the situation."
     So the dog goes between houses and you do too. You meet at the back of the house and suddenly, there you are. He can't avoid you for you're standing right in front of him, so the dog runs away. He chose flight.  
     Now let's say that before you got to the back of the house, the dog went into your garage through an open door. You step into the doorway, and there is the dog looking at you. He can't avoid, he can't take flight, for you are blocking the only way out, so he only has two other options. Fight, by growling, hackeling up, he may try to bite or he may choose to submit by lowering his head, lowering his tail or showing other behaviors of submission. All dogs are different and depending on their genetic makeup will choose the stress response they need to survive.
     So how does this apply to training? Be careful when correcting not to put the dog in flight, don't put so much stress on the dog that it goes into fight mode. Use praise, motivation, and correction properly, and you will see results. Look forward to hearing from you and please visit http://www.shannondogtraining.com/ .

Training Small Dogs

Sometimes small dogs can wear you out! Bending over and over and over! So here is a good way to cheat. Put the little guy on a table about waist high. This will save your back, plus you will be able to correct much quicker!

Praise, Motivation and Correction

   Three things are needed to be successful when working with your dog. Regardless of what you are trying to achieve, your training needs to include 1.  Motivation, 2.  Praise, and 3. Correction; and the dog needs to understand the command. Let's say we are teaching the dog to sit. Your dog already knows how to sit, but he doesn't know what it's called and we need him to do it when we give him the command . We will start out with a calm soft voice saying "Sit" , We will say we are training the traditional way with a training collar and leash. When the dog does not sit, you give a gentle leash correction in an upward direction and may need to gently push down on the dog's rear end. As you give the leash correction you will tell the dog "No". The leash correction and the word "No" should be used simultaneously. Remember we are TEACHING the dog, and there is no reason to use a gruff voice. Use a gentle voice. When the dog is in the sit position you will then praise, also using a calm voice. Do not over praise, for some dogs can get too excited and come up out of the sit. As you praise, let the dog know that what he has done is a good thing, tell him "Good Sit" emphasizing the work sit, saying it soft and drawn out. When the dog comes up out of the sit without permission stay calm. You simply give another leash correction and as you do so tell him "No" then "Sit" as you put him back in the sit position. Here is how the Praise, Motivation, and Correction apply:  You may use a treat for a motivator, then your praise to let him know he followed the command properly. Then, if he breaks the command, you then need correction to give him guidance back to the proper behavior.
Hope this helps, as it's easier to show you than tell you how to do it. Remember all dogs are different and may have different levels of energy, shyness or other behaviors. If you have problems seek out professional trainers who can help you make your dog a bigger part of your life! Obedience should be a way of life and a commitment by the owner is needed for success. You must train in order to see results! Look forward to hearing from you and stop by my websit at http://www.shannondogtraining.com/ . It will be up and running again in a few days! I have found I am a better dog trainer than a computer programmer!

Welcome to Shannon Dog Training

Welcome to my page! We will have several post for you to enjoy soon, so please check in often. We look forward to hearing from you!