Introducing a new dog into your home

Congratulations on your new canine member of the family!

Getting a new dog can be exciting, but the best way to introduce your new dog to your home, your family, and other dog members of your family....is with little to no excitement at all!

In order to establish a great foundation of how daily  life is going to be in your household, DAY ONE is the most important day to set the lifestyle and boundaries. I suggest taking the new dog straight from the car to out on a nice long, quick paced walked.  If you have another dog, this should be a PACK WALK.

There are different variables to consider that may change my prescription;  age of each dog, immunizations up to date, any previous aggression, etc.  However, a good long walk is still going to be the best introduction to new dogs, your neighborhood, and your home.

Walking a dog properly is always important. Please read our other blogs on LEASH WALKING to ensure the walk is packed with benefits.

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Rainy Day Dog Survival Tips

Rainy Day Survival Tips

    Rainy days can cause a commotion for dogs and their owners. Muddy paws and extra energy mixed with indoors is not favorable to most people. I get tons of calls on rainy days about dogs that are usually potty trained that are having accidents on the carpet.

    To ensure survival throughout the rainy season, of your carpet AND your sanity, realize that a rainy day does not eliminate your pups play drive and energy source. If we did not trek our self to the Gym, only because of the rain, it would not stop the calories from settling in on our hips.

    Accessorize yourself with a raincoat, and explore the outdoors with your dog. Not only will it drain excess energy, for both of you, but will give your dog an array of new smells that the rain stirs up. By being with your dog, it will reassure you that your dog has eliminated outside. By completing a walk, and witnessing the potty outside, it will allow you, and your dog to have a restful rainy day.

   
    If your California skin just can't walk in the rain, take some time to work with your dog on basic obedience in the house. A training session usually exhausts the dogs brain and the body, when done properly. Remember not to hype the dog up, but to give directed and focused commands with only rewarding successful behaviors. Make your dog think, and make him work.

   Enjoy the rain, and your dog, because everyday is a Dog Gone Good Life!

Preparing your dog for challenges on the walk

    

April 2011 Monthly training tip from Dogtopia Newsletter:

   Learning to be prepared often comes from the experience from being burned, or lessons hard learned.  As we age, we learn to harvest and prepare for times of hardship; to prepare for adversary in the future.  In dog training, the best way to relate this is to be prepared for what may be around the next corner.

   Many clients tell me they ‘evaluate’ the neighborhood, or scan the next street, to decide where they venture on their dog’s walks.  If they see challenges like dogs or bikes or runners, they may choose a different route to avoid confrontation and stress.  As we progress through our trainings, I tell my clients to look forward to a stray dog, a screaming toddler, and to seek out the excitable soccer fields to embrace these events as opportunities to enhance their training with their dogs. When enough time is spent around a toddler, a dog may find out they are really not that scary anymore, and actually become endearing.  (A dog will quickly realize a squeaking toddler may also have macaroni and cheese stuck to his t- shirt!)



Conquer Challenges!



  Training is not easy. It is an adventure, and the opportunity to conquer challenges.  Just like we face our human challenges, dogs need to face their fears, and sometimes that means to go on the front lines, like a soldier in combat. If a dog is fearful of something, we need to address the issue, rather than avoid it, because if coupled with another fear, and another, and etc…. then we have a fearful dog that can show fearful aggression.



I have never labeled a dog as aggressive, but have found many dogs to be fearfully reactive when unprepared for their environment.

  Be brave yourself and be prepared to be proud of your dog.