I’d like to watch animals on tv in peace!

Many dogs don’t seem to “see” the tv at all. It’s just noisy wallpaper to them, and not worth a glance - even when there’s a screech, a bang, shouting, an explosion … They totally ignore it.

But there are some who enjoy watching it, will cock their ears to study the images, and look and listen calmly.

And then! There are those who go ballistic when an animal, a fish, a bird, an insect - anything other than a human - ventures onto the screen. They may hurl themselves - with a cascade of barking - at the television, now covered in snuffles and nose-smears, or they may back off barking.

So nature programmes, advertisements featuring pets, and dog programmes in particular, can be the trigger for extreme angst and noise in your dog.

Cricket the Whippet will watch for a while if the screen continually shows dogs or wolves, but she’s mildly curious, not upset.

Coco Poodle on the other hand, became a basket-case as soon as he spotted a bear, or a swan, or a cartoon cat in a cat food ad. As for lots of dogs running towards the camera, he would completely lose it. He’d plunge at the screen, genuinely frightened at this incursion of apparently real tigers or wolves into his home.

Bob says of his young dog Tedd that “if he sees another dog on the tv he runs and barks at the screen: amusing at times, but watching 'The Incredible Journey' would be a no-no.”

What to do?

Once we discovered we had this problem with Coco’s 2d-image reactivity, we actually took the opposite course, and started recording animal programmes and leaving them playing (usually silently, so that the repetition didn’t drive the rest of the household mad).

So we became intimate with the private life of the wolf pack in Yellowstone, we saw endless clear rounds and knocked poles at the Horse of the Year Show, and just lately, Crufts has been a wonderful opportunity to get lots of calm dog-watching in.

Crufts is the world’s biggest dog show, and while many watch it to see the procession of show dogs in the breed rings, my interest is in the performance dogs. If you go to Youtube and search on Crufts 2016 you’ll find hours of videos of flyball, agility, dancing dogs, gundog displays, and so on. Connect things so you can play these on your big screen and you can enjoy watching them with your dog.

I always have some treats near to hand, so as soon as the image appears on-screen - and before Coco has even drawn breath to bark - I say “Yes!” and hold a treat by the side of his muzzle. This means he has to turn away from the screen to take the treat - thus breaking his obsessional gaze - then he’s free to look again. More Yeses, more treats. And over and over again till he can watch the screen in a genuine state of calm. Aficionados will recognise this as a form of “Look at That”, a brilliant calming game devised by Leslie McDevitt of Control Unleashed fame.

Here you can see Coco on my lap, quietly watching some breed judging at Crufts.

To fix or not to fix

But if you like watching tv programmes with animals in, this is something you’ll want to fix.

Keep in mind that it’s a fear reaction, and it’s pointless trying to punish an emotional response. Use the Coco Method above to settle your dog and get him to realise that he’s quite safe and nothing is going to burst through the screen and attack us.

Quite soon your dog will point out creatures on-screen and look for his reward for staying calm and quiet. Treat away!

More tips to deal with daily annoyances here.

Is your dog throwing up more challenges than you anticipated? Watch our free Masterclass and find how to change things fast!

 

Here’s another blog that you might want to read:

Yes, you and your dog can now watch animals on tv!

Are you paying your dog MORE for what you don’t want him to do?

We all come across everyday problem behaviours with our dog that may seem difficult to resolve. Owners are often baffled as to how to approach this and have resorted to saying “NO” ever more loudly. With little result.

But quite often, the things we don’t like our dog to do have started, or escalated, because we have our focus on the wrong area.

Dogs do what works

If an action of theirs gets a consequence they like, they’ll do it again. And again. And again and again. If that action gets a poor consequence, or no consequence at all, they’ll give it up and try something else. Sometimes, what you think is going to stop him, actually makes your dog worse. “All this attention and shouting,” he thinks, “I’ll have to do this again!”

Keep in mind that they’ve always got to be doing something. They can’t NOT do anything.

So all we have to do is make sure to reward what we like, immediately and enthusiastically, to get our dog to realise that that is a profitable course of action.

It’s all about choice

We have choice points all day, every day:

• “Will I get up now or hit the snooze button?”

• Coffee or tea?

• Breakfast or none?

• Red jumper or blue jumper?

and so on throughout the day.

Your dog also has choices all day long:

• “Shall I bark at the window or watch quietly?”

• “Will I lie down in the kitchen during cooking, or try to steal food?”

• Jump up at the visitor or sit?

• Chew the chair leg or my toy?

and so on.

Your job is not to TELL your dog what he should be doing, but observe his actions and be sure to throw a party whenever he makes the right choice.

Watch our free Workshop and learn how to communicate effectively with your dog or your new puppy, right from the start!

“But he’ll never choose to sit for visitors!”

And this is where we do intervene, but only to manage the situation to prevent what we don’t want to happen. Putting him on lead and standing on the lead would be a good interim management technique for greeting visitors. Meanwhile your dog learns during training sessions that a Sit is a good choice and will always earn him a reward. This could be treats, a game, or an opportunity to greet that visitor!

If you

Reward what you like,

Ignore what you don’t like, and

Manage what you can’t ignore,

you’ll be on track for developing a responsiveness in your dog that may amaze you!

Here’s what Sophie said after giving this a try for just a couple of weeks:

“Just thought that I would let you know that your brilliant idea of rewarding for the behaviour that we want has helped Odin to become a very calm and patient puppy when it’s our dinner time. He will lie down nicely and play with his toys while we're eating. :) “

No “NOOOOOs”. No “Ah-ahs”. No frustrated nagging. No tellings-off. Just selecting the action she liked and rewarding it solved the problem for Sophie.

So how do I start with this?

I’d like you to pick just one thing that is annoying you about your dog, decide what you’d like him to do instead, then heavily reward him every time he makes the right choice. Don’t make this too hard - keep it simple!  The simpler you make the problem, the faster your dog will work out the solution.

Be sure that all family members are on the same page here! And after a week you should be seeing a vast improvement.

And for extra help, get our free e-mail course on puppy problems.

Tell me in the comments below what you picked, and how it’s going. I shall look forward to seeing just how resourceful you can be!

 

Why is my dog a nightmare on lead when he's fine off lead?

This is a question that perplexes many dog-owners. Their dog is no trouble when off-lead, but he turns into a snarling hoodlum when on-lead.

There are a number of things happening here. Your dog isn’t actually a Jekyll and Hyde, rather he’s able to cope in one situation, but not in the other.

Sadly it’s often us who make the situation far, far worse! Although I know that’s the last thing we intend to happen.

So let’s have a look at what’s going on

1. Off-lead, your dog is able to come across other dogs - maybe even interact with them - without any trouble kicking off. If you watch what’s going on very carefully, you may see that your dog is displaying some excellent social skills. Because he’s not restrained on a lead, his body movement untrammelled, he can display body language appropriate to the occasion. If you video some of these passages or interactions you may see a host of calming signals being employed - perhaps by all the dogs involved.

This could include:

• soft body posture

• approaching indirectly

• looking away

• sniffing the ground

• turning his body away

• moving with loose-limbed movement and wavy tail

All those things are telling the other dog they’re no threat. When free to move away, your dog may even decide on a nose-sniff and a bum-sniff before moving on.

On the other hand, careful observation may reveal that your dog is actually anxious:

• trying to get away

• or frozen to the spot

• licking lips

• yawning

• stiff and slow in movement

• tiptoeing round the other dog

• tail tucked or stiff

He may not be as “fine” as you think!

But it’s when we get into the picture that things can really start to go wrong!

2. On-lead, things can be very different. Because you are used to your dog getting upset when he sees or meets other dogs on the road, you are highly likely to tense up as soon as you see another dog. This lead-tightening tells your dog that you’re worried and that something dangerous is coming. He goes onto full alert and starts to square up to the impending danger. On his toes and ready to defend himself, he’s likely to start barking, bouncing, and lunging at the oncoming dog, in an effort to scare it away. Because the lead is tight, he’s unable to employ any of his natural body language skills and issue calming signals to the other dog.

And because these dogs are being forced to walk straight towards each other, with no chance to pause, look away, sniff the ground - or any of those other signals that work so well when left to their own devices - they become helpless to improve the situation.

What to do?

Now, if your dog is unpredictable and just as likely to start trouble off and on-lead, this doesn’t apply to you! This is for those whose dog has had only good interactions with others when off-lead.

1. Acknowledge that your dog can handle things well when you don’t try to influence proceedings.

2. Stop interfering!

How to stop interfering? Look back at what happens when you see the other dog coming. It’s probably you who tenses up first, winds the lead round your fist, pulls your dog in close, starts barking commands at him. So it’s you that needs to change things.

For your dog to change, YOU need to change.

If you can ensure that whenever you see a dog coming, the first thing you do is to relax your hands, keep the lead slack, and breathe normally - you may be very surprised at how calmly your dog behaves!

Stop it before it starts

I have often seen a barking and lunging incident snuffed out before it began - simply by the owner relaxing their hands on the lead and not reacting.

To begin with, this may take a superhuman effort on your part! It’s hard to change habits we’ve developed - especially if we don’t even know we have them!

But if you can rehearse the scene in your mind - perhaps take one which happened to you today or yesterday, and run through it in your mind - you can see exactly where you need to change something you’re doing.

Once you’ve cracked this, and you know exactly what to do and when, you’ll develop a new habit. And happily, good habits are also hard to break!

Dog Body Language? Whatever is this?

Hopefully this has piqued your interest in finding out more about how your dog communicates. I’ll come back with some more on this in a while. For now, become a student of your dog: each little twitch, blink, or sniff means something. And for more learning, get our free Growly Dog e-course here.

He’s telling us! It’s up to us to learn how to interpret what he’s saying, with empathy, and without pre-conceptions.

Is your dog throwing up more challenges than you anticipated? Watch our free Masterclass and find how to change things fast!

 

Keep your distance! Help for fearful dogs

Imagine you’re afraid of spiders. Or mice. Would you be happy to see a spider or a mouse sitting on the table in front of you, or would you feel easier if said spider or mouse were more like fifty feet away?

Your dog is exactly the same!

He’ll feel much more relaxed when he’s a comfortable distance away from something that frightens him. And for dogs who bark ferociously at strange dogs they see on walks, the further that dog is from him, the easier it will be for him to stay calm and not react as if the ravening hordes were descending on him.

It’s a very simple first step to making your poor, frightened, anxious, stressed-out, dog feel happier about the world he has to live in. You may think your dog is aggressive, but the chances are he’s actually just afraid.

Distance is not the total solution to dog reactivity, of course. But just see what a difference this one step made to Chris and her family:

“My husband who walks the dogs has taken on board your tips and is amazed at the change in her. He comes home saying, ‘We passed five dogs and she didn't bark once!’“

When you’ve got this working, and your dog knows you’ll always keep your distance from other dogs, and never make him go right up to them (this perhaps in the mistaken belief that all dogs love to play), life will suddenly become much easier.

How distant is this distance?

This really will vary from dog to dog, and from place to place. There are other things coming into play that will influence your dog’s reactions too, like when he last ate, when he last felt the need to bark at another dog, upsets in the home, fireworks, a change in routine, and so on.

So you have to find out what distance will work for your dog. This could be 20 yards, though it’s more likely to be 50 or 100 yards. Observe him and see when he’s sufficiently relaxed to be able to look away from the other dog, and to respond to you. Now you’ve found the distance to aim for.

Next time he may manage to be a bit closer to another dog (say, 5 yards closer), or he may need to be further away still!

Keep in mind that if your dog is on edge and hating every moment of your walks together, then there’s no need to keep doing them.

Really!

There is no law that says your dog must run the gauntlet of his fears on a daily basis. How would you feel if you had to confront all those spiders and mice at close quarters every time you stepped out of the door?

For exercise, you’ll do better having a fast fun game of fetch or chase in the garden. If you don’t have a garden, then drive to a suitably open space - as dog-free as possible - and enjoy your game there.

And for lots more help with your barky, growly, dog - get our free e-course to turn things round without force, shouting, or yanking the lead!

Peace and calm are on their way to you.

Is your dog throwing up more challenges than you anticipated? Watch our free Masterclass and find how to change things fast!

How can I stop my dog jumping up?

This is one of the first questions I’m asked by new dog-owners. Whether they have a brand-new puppy or an older rescue dog, this is the universal cry!

But as you’ve seen in New Puppy? New Rescue Dog? Start here! you’ll do better if you look at it from another angle.

Instead of trying to stop your dog doing something, rather teach him what you’d like him to do instead.

If he has something he can do and knows it will please you, he won’t need to do all the things you find annoying when he would like your attention. Or when he wants to greet you.

Feet on the Floor!

It's natural for a puppy to try to reach your face with a "kiss" - that's how they greet their dam in the nest. When she returns after a hunt, the puppies will all reach up and lick her face and teeth, to prompt her to regurgitate her kill.

So one way to prevent your puppy jumping up is to get down to his level first!

Another regular winner is to focus him on keeping his feet on the floor. If you have a solidly-trained Sit (be honest! That means you say the word Sit just once, and your dog throws his tail-end to the floor as fast as he can) you can ask him to do that before you ever give him any attention.

Dog or Puppy problems? Get your free 8-lesson email course and solve them all painlessly!

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You have to get your word “Sit” in before he jumps, otherwise you’re teaching a neat behaviour sequence of Jump - Sit - Reward. He’ll think he has to jump before he can sit! Not the outcome you want at all.

In fact, you can just stand and wait for him to work out that jumping is not doing the trick and he'll either stand or sit without you having to say a word!

Be sure you don't reward his jumping with cries of "Off! Get down! Ouch!" which he will take to mean "I love this! Keep jumping!"

If your Sit is still a bit wobbly, or you have a young pup who doesn’t know it yet, simply placing a treat on the floor between his feet will get him to look floorwards. He can’t be staring at the floor at the same time as jumping up, so the problem is eliminated.

Similarly, he can’t be sitting at the same time as jumping up. Either way will work to keep your pup’s feet on the floor and off you - without having to admonish or scold him for his enthusiasm.

These methods will work perfectly to focus your dog’s attention on the floor when he’d like to put his paws on you.

But you can’t expect your visitors to do this training for you! They need to be protected from flying paws and playfully snapping jaws. And the quickest and simplest way is to have your dog on a lead before you admit a visitor to your home, and stand on that lead so that it’s loose enough for your dog to sit, stand, or lie down, but not loose enough for him to jump up.

If he’s keeping (more or less) still, he gets the opportunity to say hello to your guest - as long as his feet stay on the floor. Now he’s learning how to greet visitors politely.

Oakley is learning she has no need to jump to greet her owner

 

The quickest way to solve many puppy behaviour problems is simply to ensure that what you don't like cannot happen.

Much more fun to direct your puppy to something you do like, rather than continually nagging him and focussing on what you don’t like.

Once you find this system working for jumping up, you can start to apply it to anything else you’d like to see changed in your pup.

You’ll find lots more helpful hints like these in our free e-course which you will find here.

Is your dog or your little puppy throwing up more challenges than you anticipated? Watch our free Workshop and find how to change things fast!

Errorless Housetraining and Crate Training

Let’s get something out of the way first:

• “It’s cruel to put a puppy in a crate”

• “We do have a crate, but we never shut the door”

• “I don’t want him to see his crate as a punishment”

• “We’re saving money by getting a crate that will fit him when he’s full-grown”

These are common responses I hear when I ask owners if they have a crate for their puppy.

My thoughts:

• Do you think it’s cruel to put a baby in a cot or playpen?

• Would you leave your toddler loose in the house at night without supervision?

• I bet your child’s bed is full of cuddly toys, books, comforters, and he’s happy there

• Do your children look like extras from St.Trinian’s, with their jumpers down to their knees so you can save money?

Get your free guide to Errorless Housetraining and have it all done in a week or two!

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The only way a crate would be cruel would be if your dog were left locked in it all day. The same would hold true for leaving your toddler in a cot or playpen all day! The crate is an excellent help for keeping a puppy safe in his new home, and is your best friend when it comes to housetraining - and to getting a good night’s sleep.

So now we’ve got those misunderstandings cleared up, you’re ready to set off on your Errorless Housetraining - with the crate doing a lot of the work for you!

A Word About Crates

The crate should be safe and secure, and strong enough not to distort in shape. Your first crate doesn’t need to be big and strong enough to restrain an elephant! Don’t put a puppy in a soft fabric crate - it’s too inviting for him to chew and shred it. Do use a custom car-crate for safety in the car. If you have a tunnelling breed, like a whippet or a terrier, provide lots of blankets and bedding he can dig into, like a hamster. If you have a “hot” dog, like a border collie or gundog, just a flat comfy bed will do well.

Exhausted by the whole New Puppy experience? Read

New Puppy!

Biting? No sleep? Puddles?

How to survive the early weeks and still love your puppy!

For total success with your puppy housetraining, much faster than you might expect, you’re going to take advantage of two important facts about puppies:

1. They need to sleep a minimum of 17 hours a day

Seventeen hours is what adult dogs need. So a puppy will obviously need more. It’s a lot more sleep than many new owners allow their puppy, and they’re amazed to find that a lot of minor irritations and things they considered problem behaviours can be resolved by simply ensuring sufficient downtime. All that sleep needs to take place in your pup’s crate. So when it’s time for a rest (after maybe one hour of activity) you take your puppy to bed, shut the crate door, and leave him to settle. Half-cover the crate with a blanket so it’s a cosy den. You can feed all your dog’s meals in his crate so he’s always happy to go there, and when you leave him, give him a food-toy or something he can safely chew.

2. A well-reared puppy will not soil his bed

This is why you want to get a crate that is the right size for him now. If you must get a giant crate for your little puppy, block off the greater part of it with the custom divider or cardboard boxes. It doesn’t matter if your puppy shreds the boxes - we want his sleeping area just big enough for him to lie down, stand up, and turn round. Just as our beds just fit us for sleeping. Always leave chew toys so he has something to amuse him as he nods off. Classical music playing on the radio is calming to many dogs.

The Early Days

When you bring your new puppy or your new rescue dog home, you needn’t expect perfect behaviour from the get-go. There is a honeymoon period to work through - you want to build a terrific relationship with your new family member, and you don’t want that relationship marred by barking commands at your dog, or telling him off for some transgression of which he has no idea!

As Housetraining, along with Socialisation and Familiarisation, are the key things to focus on at this early stage, you want to make it as painless as possible for both of you. So that means getting it right from the start.

Your puppy is going to need to wee and poo. A lot. Your job is simply to make sure it all happens where you want it to - i.e. outside. You need to be taking him out, on a lead, much more often than you think! Every half hour is a good rule of thumb, and more often if your little puppy is active and playing.

You need to keep him on lead until he’s done his business, then you can let him off to explore the garden and play with you. If you take him out without a lead, he’s more likely to bounce about chasing butterflies and sniffing leaves, so that when you get bored and bring him back in, he still has a full bladder or bowels. Keeping him on lead focusses his attention on what he needs to do.

Your puppy will gradually earn his freedom in the house as he shows that he can perform immediately when you take him outside.

People are sometimes baffled that their puppy is still not housetrained - they tell me they leave the door open for him all the time. This is why he’s not done yet! He will continue to pee wherever he happens to be. Sometimes that’s outside and you’re happy, and sometimes it’s inside, and you’re not. How baffling for him! You need to show him that he goes outside for this purpose, and he won’t learn if he can wander in and out, chasing those butterflies, whenever he wants.

No newspaper please

Another wrong turning people may take - especially if they’ve been taking their advice from uninformed friends or the local pet shop - is to use paper pads for their puppy to eliminate on. How is this puppy going to learn that this should take place outside?

I have known people who live in high-rise flats - where it would be impossible to race down the stairs with a puppy every few minutes! - successfully use an indoor toiletting arrangement. But this needs to be a particular, clearly-bordered area (like a giant tea-tray) in a specific place - perhaps the bathroom, or on a balcony. This puppy will also need to be taught to use the great outdoors too when on walks.

I expect my pups to be clean and dry by night at 7-9 weeks, and by day at 8-12 weeks. A puppy who is still not housetrained at 17 weeks is one who has developed habits which you will now have to change.

How much easier to start off doing it right and not letting these poor habits develop!

Get my Cheat Sheet for Errorless Housetraining and focus entirely on this for a couple of weeks. You’ll be surprised how quickly it will work for you!

For help with lots of the other issues facing a new dog-owner, get our free e-course which takes you step-by-step through the everyday problems you may have with your puppy - and gives you force-free solutions which are effective, and fun!

Want some help with building this unbreakable relationship? Watch our free Workshop on Getting your Dog to Listen, and you may be surprised how much this short video will teach you!

Check other post that might help your brilliant dogs:

I have a new puppy: will I ever get any sleep again?

How much time does your dog spend sleeping?

How much does your dog sleep?

I love my dog AND I love my sleep!

Puppy Crate training demystified