Loose Leash Walking. Part 5. Leash? What Leash?

We have already talked about teaching a dog how to stay with us without any equipment. Once we start using equipment, our loose leash walking training can go much more smoothly if we try to make the leash as inconsequential as possible.  Once we start pulling on the leash, our dogs will to.   So try to think of the leash as just being there for backup.

Classical Conditioning. Part IV. Order, Intensity, Value

If pet parents have been working on a program of desensitization and
counter conditioning and their pet doesn't seem to be getting any better,
it might be time to review order, intensity, value

Loose Leash Walking. Part 4. Proofing

In our last post on Loose Leash Walking, we talked about starting indoors with no equipment.  In other words, we set our dogs up for success by proofing the behavior we want.

When one dog gets upset about another dog's procedure

When you have to do something "scary" to one dog, does another dog get upset?

Rewards in Dog Training. Food Alternatives

Food is normally a great motivator and often useful when teaching new behaviors - because we need to perform multiple repetitions.

Saving Money On Dog Treats

Caution: Check with our vet before trying anything listed below

Dog Treats are just like anything else. Homemade is cheaper.  

Rewards in Dog Training. Food

In our last post, we talked about primary reinforcers - those things that our dogs intrinsically like.  Just about every creature likes food a lot. And we can use that too our advantage in dog training

Food is often used when training new behaviors:
1. We can give tiny amounts often. Which means we can ask for multiple repetitions. Which really works well when shaping a new behavior
2. Most dogs are willing to work for food.
(note, we don't need to make the dog extra hungry to motivate him/her to work for food)

But some people worry about using too much food, about their dogs eating junk, or about the expense of dog treats.

Consult with your vet before trying any of these ideas

Concerned about your dog's weight?
- Pet parents can provide tiny slivvers of treats during training sessions
- We can puree meat in water or even use meat flavored water.  Some dogs are happy to eat low calories vegetable.  See more details on saving calories here:  http://www.stubbypuddin.com/2014/05/treats.html

Concerned about expense
- We don't have to buy the fancy prepacked stuff at pet stores that is mainly marketed to humans.  We can save tons of money by giving our pets safe human food. More details here: http://www.stubbypuddin.com/2014/07/saving-money-on-dog-treats.html

Concerned about health
- Dogs are not like a lot of us humans. They actually like things that are good for them. See some ideas here: http://www.stubbypuddin.com/2014/05/treats.html

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