[Michael D'Abruzzo]

I prefer to use jerky type treats, because I can easily stash them in my back pocket without it becoming a big mess. I also like to use treats that are healthy.

I use these treats here: tasty rewards

No matter what you use, the trick is to use tiny bits. I always break mine. Less than a handful of treats is more than enough for any training session. Some of the tougher treats you can get like duck jerky strips and such I use bandage shears (the scissors that EMTs carry) to cut them into small pieces.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Generally, I treat behaviors that are directed toward childrens’ toys similar to the way housebreaking issues are taught – using “dog god” corrections. This discussed here: http://www.selfhelpdogtraining.com/Corrections/cms/dogtrainingcorrections.html

This I would also never do unless the family was actively enforcing and communicating the rules taught in the pack structure section here:

http://www.selfhelpdogtraining.com/PackStructure/cms/PackStructure.html

If the structure isnt taught in that step – the dog can be left confused why they are not allowed to take control of the childrens toys. Dogs shouyld know to only chew objects handed to them.

As for food I would suggest teaching a formal “leave it” supervised for about one month if the food is held by children – before doing “dog god” when the dog thinks you are not looking. This will prevent the dog from mistakingly thinking that it is the interaction with the child that is causing the correction – when it is really the food stealing that is the problem. If food is just on a counter top I would go directly to “dog god” unless if you are training a working dog that may have to jump on countertops then do a “leave it” with the food on the countertop – then a “dog god”.

Same idea here with jumping on children. Teach first – then “dog god” later so the dog doesnt get confused as to thinking the child causes a correction. With jumping I generally do an “off” command or a “sit” command though since “leave it” i technically teach as to mean complete disengagement with bthe objectr of focus.

None of the “dog god” stuff is necessary when dealing with one on one interection with handler of course. It is all personal communication and rules – but we cant expect children to enforce anything so if we are supervising we treat them like an alpha mother would treat her pups and be protective against overly assertive interaction toward them. If you expect behaviors to exist when you are not supervising there is no definite way to do this unless using the “dog god” to always be there in the dogs’ mind and follow this until it has become a habit (see golden rules section)for at least a month before thinking of taking the guard down.

This method of training is flexible, but what we are looking for is to make sure we have the correct things in place for troubleshooting to make it so one we can troubleshoot and two we make it easier on the dog.

Obviously, we wouldnt try anything obedience or housebreaking based unless we were satisfying the dog’s restless spirit in step 6. We would be setting the dog up for failure if we didn’t. Step 5 extremely important too for obvious reasons or else we dont even have a starting point to work from.

Hope this answers your questions. Feel free to share your thoughts since the method is made to evolve with anything that works better and remains as respectful and fair as possible to the dog.

Good to have you on board!

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

There is a lot you can do at this age, but I wouldnt start on anything that involves any type of exercises that involves correction until closer to 6 months of age and even then be sure to always use the minimal amount necessary.

At this age i would recommend:

1. Lots of socialization! The more good experiences with dogs and different people the better. Stay up to date on vaccines and also bring to different environments with different walking surfaces, etc.

2. Work on positive based training. You will be amazed at the vocabulary you can build at this age with your pups and the amount of commands you can teach them using food, toys, or affection as a reward. This will give you a huge head start when they arer a bit older and ready to do more formal training.,

3. Work on proper play and interaction exercises. Lead games of tug, fetch, etc. Dont give affection when they are jumping on you. Set the pace through leadership exercises.

4. If doing leash walking out and about in public I would recommend the gentle harness made by premier that hook on the front of the chest. They are safe and will help prevent very bad pulling habits until ready for formal training.

5. Puppy massage important now too. IO have to post info and a vid on this still, but the concept is simple. Handle all those annoying places on a dog that may irritate them as they get older – ears, feet, teeth, etc. Give treats and make it positive from an rearly age.

I will be continually adding to the self help section of the site. The more you master the concepts (especially layer 5!) the better at this age.

hope this helps.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Watched the vid again. Also, you can see the little foo foo actively trying to engage Ester for a while with some pretty perky posture.

In dog relationships one of the primary non-aggressive ways to establish a higher ranking in a relationship is to ignore assertive behavior and initiative. This is what seems to be happening until the Foofoo crosses the line.

This is the idea behind humping behavior. It is a demand for attention. It is not well tolerated by a dog that is making a strong point (as is Ester) with their posture that they are calling the shots.

Those points are in the self help section under knowledge and pack structure – but you can see it in action well in your puppy video.

The puppy classes are good because it helps not only Ester but dogs like the assertive little foofoo in recognizing these postures and the consequences of not responding to them or recognizing them. It is better for the pups to learn it there. That correction by Ester could potentially save the Foofoos life if she respects the posture of an adult dog out and about. Just thoughts..

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Good stuff in the vid! Who’s Myrtle? lol Great name!
From what I see in the video… Ester gets the scorpion tail up when confronted with the ridgeback (i think) at about 10 seconds left mark.

The ridgeback reacts by turning away and the foofoo grabs ester by the tail when she still has hair up and edgy.

The foofoo unfortunbetely has a naturally high set tail on top of it- like many of them which sets them up for trouble (and sometimes reflects their actual personalities).

I think the general chaos of the puppy class with bad combo of ester plus foo foo had to do with that. I wayched your other video of her playing with your other dogs and she definitely can get along when she has established relationships.

Definitely seeing that it shouldnt be much to worry about besides her probably not being the best dog park candidate when she matures. Like i said a better play date type dog.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Hi Crystal,

Sounds like you have a rough one! Also, it does sound like you are on the right track with trying to keep her socialized.

One of the most important things that is occuring here is that you are learning what are the normal tendencies for your pup, and that is actually a good start to making a plan to know what kind of activities and social situations are going to best suit her and how to guide and lead her in the situations where she has more trouble.

Here is some quick advice:
– when she is playing with the Boston and she makes him yelp (and she doesnt back off on her own) seperate her from him immediately. If he comes back for more and isnt injured let her play again. If he stays away, then play time is over. She can possibly learn to play more gentle this way if you react quick.

– If her hackles come up during play it shows she somehow feels threatened in some way. It could be by the dog or it could be there is an object around (toy, food, etc) that she feels the need to protect and is hence uneasy by the threat of losing it. Since most puppy classes dont have things laying around she is likely to feel uneasy about more boisterous pups she doesnt have an established relationship with and deals with it by herself by trying to force the dogs into being more submissive. This can be dealt with by more interaction with dogs rather than less. The trick is always pairing up the right dogs and have an open enough area where no dog feels trapped. I would suggest older pups or extremely reliable non-aggressive adults to give her more positive experiences and less self fullfilling experiences where she handles dogs by totally dominating them and therefore learns that is the best way to handle things.
Remember, that dogs generally can’t interact normally with eachother unless they establish who is leading and who is following. If she is overly concerned about leading and dominating every dog she encounters – it is safe to to say she will probably not be the best dog park kind of dog (she would be too worried about enforcing her unknown status – not fun for her or the other dogs). Rather, she will be a better “play date” kind of dog. That can play and interact with dogs that she has known established relationships with and meshes well. There is nothing wrong with that, some dogs just genetically are more suited for different situations.

I would look foward to a future plan of teaching toward some reliable off-leash obedience as she gets older and starting now with following strict pack structure exercises – so she will see you in the proper position to guide with your authority in tricky situations for her and diffuse potential aggressive encounters. Because she obviously has some old gladiator spirit in her little body – she will thrive on the guidance you will be able to give her that will keep her out of trouble and channel to a proper outlet – such as a good game of structured tug or play with another dog who can take the beaten and not mind it and give back beatens fairly.

Hope you got at least one pointer out of this – keep us updated!

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Definitely wouldnt cut them all loose together in the pen at aggression support group class…

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Hey Lou,

There are a few people who use the leerburg muzzle that would be able to try. the trick is having them there the same time as Eddie. I know Jake has one, I think a shepherd named Troy has one, and a newer shepherd named Katie that Teresa trained that has been coming to the support class lately has one.

Did the vet think the acne was from the plastic muzzle?

Really throws a curveball into things… It is so hard to find a good comfortable muzzle for dobes that allow their mouth to open nice.

The large german shepherd leerburg muzzle might be a little loose, but i still think is the best one to try. I’d rather have a little loose as long as he canty pull it off – then a little tight.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

I would refer to the food rules found in this section:

http://www.selfhelpdogtraining.com/PackStructure/cms/PackStructure.html

Sounds like Kaila is concerned that Stitch is the alpha that will take the food, so she guards it until she is sure he is not interested.

My guess is that this is from past experience of the dogs checkinbg out each others bowls and other non-related pack structure things going on in the past in particular where she doesnt realize that you are the only one who will take food and wouldnt allow stitch to take food.

My suggestion is to completely seperate them with a barrier when you feed them for now or even forever if you have growling going on.
Sometimes management is easier with multiple dogs.

The other options is to teach a good “leave it” to practice if any of the dogs approach the others bowls , even if there is no food left. These kind of exercises gets to the heart of the problem but wont work unless it is an all or nothing thing with the leadership things.

Her growling is a reflexion of her insecurity in the situation and that she feels the need to guard the food. So either way should fix that.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

I wouldnt worry about the injections hurting your long term relationship. Give her tons of love immediately after the injection or feed her immediately after. You will have plenty have time to give her more positive experiences too when she gets better. Please keep us updated on her progress!

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

balkis;108 wrote:

Hi Mike,

I have been doing the Phase 2 obedience training with my 3 dogs for about the last two months now (since I have been a member). All 3 dogs have had previous training so they aleady knew certain commands (ie: sit, down, come). Also, I’d like to point out, all 3 dogs are progressing differently.

At this point, I have a few questions:

1. How long should each training session last? I start to get bored maybe they do too.
2. At what point do you move on to the next command?
3. How do I measure their success? For example, if the dog does 3 “climbs” perfectly within the same session but on the fourth “climb” he breaks – what does that mean? Does it relate to the 33 day rule in any way?
4. Is it better to exercise before or after training class?
5. How many different commands should I cover in one training session? (I guess this could be related to #1)
6. Do I need to practice “climb” every session? For how long?
7. How long should they be holding each comand? (kinda related to #3)
8. How many times a week should you train?

Those are the few I have right now. I’m sorry if they might seem silly or if the answer lies somewhere in the reading but I didn’t see it.

Thanks for your help.

Ok, i will answer in order:

1. training sessions vary depending on what you are doing. Also, it depends if you are teaching something or practicing something. If you are teaching something it is good to practice until you feell your dog has learned something unless he/she burns out first – then pick up where you left off next time. If you are just practicing do until you are bored is fine. For instance if i am just practicing a “transitional down” i might just put the dog in a down, step on the leash, and make phone calls. I’ll correct as needed, but when im off the phone no need to keep the down going. You can multi-task.

2.There is a checklist in the training forms section. The way that works is that I finish phase 1 before phase 2, then phase 3. But, within each phase i dont move up numbers until i finish the lesser numbers in the phase. for instance in phase 2 you can work on things at the same time with the same number, but never a number 2 and 3 the same time. because the lower numbers are prerequsits to the higher numbers. Hope im not being too confusing!!!
This isnt set in stone, but usually i have clients work on each number for a full week, although they can work on same numbers at the same time during that week. Like someone technically can work on the heel, come, and place during the same week if they have enough time and will be able to move on with all if the dog seems to have a good handle on it.

3. Measure success by how comfortable your dog (and you) seem with understanding the exercise and the exercises rules. In phase 1 and 2 a dog can mess up almost everytime and still be ready to move on. this is possible with a stubborn dog. Did you see the video i put up with elu and hunkie in the aggression rehab section? Hunkie is a very stubborn dog and he will break his downs until the cows come home and he will pull on the leash the same way.but, in phase 3, hunkie stops the pulling without any stress or fear because he understoond what was happening during all the repetition during phase 2- in phase 3 now he was motivated to obey.
It is actually bad for a dog to be too good in phase 2 since we need the dog to still disobey in order to teach the phase 3 exercises. since hunkie is so disobedient with his downs in phase 2 it is going to make teaching him him easy in phase 3 – since he will give me many oppurtunities to teach. phase 2 is just about teaching how the rules of the climb in phase 1 apply to all the other commands, not perfection.

4. if i have a very drivey dog i will exercise before to help take the edge off the dog so he/she can concentrate. physical exhaustion and mental exhaustion seem to be too seperate things. If i feel the extra physical energy is going to benifit the session as in with doing recalls – i will do the exercise at the end of the session so they can relax afterwards.

5. yes, related to 1. I always work on only one new thing at a time per training session, but i may work on something of the same number within the phase on a different training session within the same day. for instance i may do a “heel” session in the AM and a “place” session in the PM. I usually put the dog through their paces quick of all the other basic commands they already know at some point during the session too – even if it is only a couple just to keep it fresh in their minds.

6. dont have to practice climb every session once the dog knows it – but good to keep it fresh so dont ignore it for too long after the dog has learned it and always good to back to it if you havent trained in a few days for a quick refresher for yourself and dog.

7. in phase 2 nothing more than a minute or two is really that important. but, i will usually do longer “downs” sometimes up to an hour and i hardly ever even when a dog is finished training make a dog hold a sit for much more than a minute or two – just no reason to. I’ll put them in a down at that point. more comfortable for the dog. also, i will keep them in a heel command for sometimes 30 minutes once they get the hang of it with little breaks every several minutes to “free” and reward.

8. how many times per week you train is up to you – you will just move slower or quicker. i have had some clients who obviously werent practicing until they came to their weekly lesson with me! but, i still was able to chip them along – i just started where we ended last session and they moved slower. I think 5 days a week for 30 minutes – 60 minutes broken up in 1 or two session per day is plenty to chug along.

If you feel you are ready to move along to phase 3 – maybe you can come down to the kennel one time with one of your students and i’ll give you a little test. let me know.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

apparently hes been eating out of a metal bowl – but the acne popped up the same week Lou was using a plastic basket muzzle in training. For those who don’t know Eddie – he is a real firecracker and vocal when he is excited, it seems that all the rubbing on the plastic muzzle when he was barking caused the acne (unless coincidence). Curious to hear back from Lou to see how the vet went.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

Sorry about the Sadie mix up, Wrote last post when almost about to pass out from exhaustion!

The fence thing can be tricky if you expect too much from them. It kind of goes back to the first part of our troubleshooting system “knowledge”.

We must understand first what we are starting with and what is realistic. Most dogs will become territorial if left to their own devices in the yard – especially if you have a dog that may be of a breed that was selectively bred to be that way ie. Kaila.

Also it sounds like you have a training ground for property protection dogs – since you have a busy sidewalk bordering the fenced in property – with people walking by probably feet from the fence. the only good thing in your favor is that their seems to be a visual barrier, but doesnt help that much when passerbys are so close they can be heard.

This can definitely be helped by leaps and bounds – but realistically only if you are out there with them and in control of the situation (with good phase 3 obedience). When they are by themselves it is a battle between the two of them as to who is allowed to take charge and call the shots.

This isnt very different from owning a dog that when you are with, you can throw a party in your home – but when you go to sleep at night or at work no one can come in. It is one of the most ancient uses of dogs along with hunting (and apparently as a food source according to some new study!).

When dogs are really charging a fence line bad – the only reliable solution I have seen that works when you are not there is to also install an invisble fence on the inside perimeter to keep them as far back from the fence as you would like – but this does nothing for barking. Theoretically there are bark collars for that, but i always felt that if you had to go this far – the dogs would be enjoying themselves more indoors anyway at that point.

If they were my dogs I would probably save the outdoor exercise for when i was out there with them to instruct “leave it” when they were distracted by the passerbys or put them out when it is a quite time of the day (if there is a quite time).

overall, like trying to teach a dog not to sniff the ground when they are outside by themselves – this would be a whopper to accomplish to the extent of totally ignoring passerbys when alone, because it goes so far against the dogs’ instincts.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

A few things to think of here.

First thing is to always think of how you can manage the situation safely while you are working on the problem. If there is any chance that Stitch can jump the fence or you see a possible fight brewing between Stich and Sadie I would say keep them out of the yard – or not in the yard at the same time unleashed. Always manage a problem until you have the training and tools to deal with it properly.

Next, you want to think of what is your goal and is it realistic. Do you want the dogs to not charge the actual fence line and/or do you not want them to bark too? Would it be ok if the barked but stayed away from the fence line or OK if they charged the fence line and just didnt bark?

Let me know since – depending on what you want we can try different plans.

[Michael D'Abruzzo]

You might want to try on one of the shepherd muzzles if you think the dobie muzzle will be too narrow. I never actually used the Leerburg Dobie muzzle yet, but the fortrainers dobie muzzles are ridiculously narrow and kind of defeat the whole purpose of the basket muzzle. jake and troy who usually one or the other comes around on Saturdays has the Leerburg large shepherd muzzle.

Poor Eddie…