Category Archives: Dog Behavior

Having Realistic Expectations of Dog Training

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We ask the majority of all of our clients this question when they come to our facility to drop their dog off for training. It sounds silly to most clients, they look at you funny, and say of course I’m going to follow through once the dog is home! But we have found that some dog owners have a false since of hope that there dog will come home a push button robot; whether it be a pet dog here for behavior modification, a protection dog, a police dog, or even an autism assistance dog many owner’s must realize the finished results don’t transfer over automatically it’s a gradual thing with consistency and patience. So let’s go over what we mean by expectations of training!

No matter what type of pet dog training you chose, whether it’s in-kennel training, private lessons, in-home training, or even group classes, you have your home work cut out for you! In-kennel clients should understand that just because the dog does all the commands for our dog trainer’s doesn’t mean that will automatically apply to you. Let’s say, for example your dog has had the run of the house the last 2 years, he comes and goes as he pleases, chews up things in your home, lunges at people on a walk, and maybe a little rough when playing with new dogs. You as the pet owner, have allowed that to go on the last 2 years, and that is no big deal, we see it all the time, but when your dog returns home you have to get with the program and apply the rules instantly. This can take several days or even weeks for your dog to realize that “Mom is not putting up with my bad behavior anymore!” And my group class, private lessons, and in-home training clients you are not off the hook either! You will be assigned things to work on between sessions, it’s your job as the pet owner to follow through, and it’s so worth it!

Protection dog clients maybe the worst as far as expectations! They often times purchase a dog that is picked from a vendor in Europe, we ship the dog to our facility, and the owner may or may not even come visit before training begins. We work with the dog for several months in obedience and bite work and deliver the dog to the client’s home. This dog doesn’t know you from Adam; it takes several weeks and sometimes months depending on the dog, for a bond or relationship to take effect. Clients want good social dogs that can do well with kids that perform bite work, then call the first week and say it’s not mean enough! Once the dog understands his home he will guard it to the fullest! This goes back to patience and consistency in training once the dog is in your home! We have a protection dog in the Charlotte area, the owner called after week two and said that his wife has spoiled her so much he didn’t think she would bite a flea! Jason went down to the home did a little decoy work with her and she still had it! Jason explained that she was still settling in to be patient and stick with working obedience daily (this helps with the liability issue that come with a protection dog to work on nice solid obedience). A few weeks later, the owner called and said he had to leave work early and go home, because the cleaning lady had stepped out of the house and their dog would not let her back in! Since then this family has had other positive experiences when the dog performed their job, you just have to give it a chance!

Our Autism Assistance Dog clients probably have the most work do to once the dog arrives. For this simple reason is why we generally stay five days upon delivery of the dog to make sure the transition goes well with the children! Our families already have a tight schedule with school, therapies, and doctor appointments and so on, now they have to learn how to utilize a dog in this chaos! We prepare our clients for the responsibilities that are added with a dog and how they still have to work daily with the child and dog on obedience and structure. Like our protection dog clients we often purchase a dog to fit the family’s needs and they may visit the dog a few times upon delivery, so again it takes a little bit for the dog to settle and bond with your family so be patient it will pay off in the end!

So when asked “What are your expectations of the dogs training?” Your answer should be I understand that your job is to lay the foundation work for my dog, but it’s up to me and my family to properly nurture and mold the finished product with training my dog! Keep expectations realistic, understand that these dogs will not be push button in the beginning, it takes time, with consistency and structure you will get there, and we guarantee it! We are only a phone call away and any of our dog trainer’s will be happy to assist with advice and/or a visit if needed!

Benefits of Dog Training in Your Home

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Highland Canine offers both private lessons and in-home dog training for the convenience of keeping your dog at home. Clients that sign up for private lessons meet with our trainers once a week for about an hour. During this hour we put together a game plan for developing more structure in your house and each week our dog trainers teach you a new command and work on certain behaviors that may be disrupting your household. You as a client will be responsible for homework between your lessons! Our in-home dog training programs allow our busy clients the satisfaction of knowing their dog is learning in the pleasure of their own home. Even if the dog owner’s are at work or on vacation! This program works much like a pet-sitter, we schedule times and days to come by and work with your dog one on one. You have the flexibility to observe/participate at each lesson or wait towards the end of the training program to see your results and learn how to maintain your training. Our dog trainers make sure that you have all of the tools and knowledge you need to maintain the training of your dog. As with all of our dog training programs we offer free follow up training for the life of the dog, and we give advice by phone or email anytime!

In-kennel dog training is great, but sometimes we just don’t see the behaviors and behavior problems that you may see at home. This offers you and your family a custom training program to work on these behavioral issues. Examples of problem behaviors include: barking and/or lunging at visitors at the front door, nipping at children when they run around the house, fence fighting with the neighbor’s dogs; chewing up furniture/windows, aggression between multiple pets, leash aggression when walking in public or around your neighborhood, potty training/marking issues, moderate to severe shyness with visitors, digging or destroying the yard. These are just a few of the dog problems we see and work with to help you get your household back on track!

Our professional dog trainer’s here at Highland Canine Training have had extensive training and experience in the areas of problem solving and are prepared to handle any breed. We feel that the majority of problems that arise from dogs in their home environment come from an error or lack of communication from the pet owners. It is our job to assist you and get you and your family in the habit of learning to speak dog!

Another benefit of private lessons is that we are actually teaching you how to train your own dog. These dog training techniques can be applied to your next dog or pet, so the investment can last a lifetime! Highland Canine Training currently has trainers located in cities of North Carolina including; Lake Norman, Lake Wiley, Statesville, Troutman, Huntersville, Mooresville, Matthews, Newton, Conover, Lenoir, Granite Falls, and Lake Hickory. We also have contractors that cover areas in and around Atlanta, Georgia including Marietta and in and around Tampa, Florida. Call us today to set up your free evaluation!

How to Get a Happy and Well Balanced Puppy

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When your family is looking to get a new addition to your family the first thing to think about is what kind of puppy best suits your families activity level, if you have kids, whether you have another dog, if so what is his or her personality and if you live in a house or an apartment. Those are just a few things to think about. However, these are important factors in making sure that you set the puppy up for success. If you are having a problem with what kind of dog to choose for your household and life style, make a list of a few dogs that interest you. Do some research on them.

When everyone comes to a decision on what breed, size and energy level you think would be best the next step is finding a breeder that interests you. A few things that might help you decide which breeder to pick can be if the parents are on site, how long he/she has been in business for and ask them questions on the info that you found on the breed that you have decided to go with. Ask them if you can come to their house or kennel to see the parents and the condition they keep them in. If for some reason they say no, that is a clue you don’t want to do business with them and that they are trying to hide something.

Once you bring your puppy home it is very important to make sure that you have all of the things they need before you bring them home. Puppies can start training depending on the breed anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks old. At a young age the more socialization the better. Introducing them to something new should be a gradual thing. Your goal is to set everything up so your puppy gets something good out of that experience. Some of the things that is important to introduce them to is men, women, children, different sounds and walking on a leash. It is important that the training is a positive and fun experience so they look forward to learning new things. Never hit your puppy when they are having a bad day or when they do something that you are not happy with. Put them in their crate and try it again the next day.

Moving on to training. Whether you go to group classes or get a trainer to work with you and your family it is important for the dogs stability to have boundaries that everyone follows. For example, one person can’t tell the puppy that they can come on the bed and then the next person yells at the puppy when it gets on the bed. Everything has to come across clear so he/she doesn’t start to get confused and then they don’t know what is being asked of them which will set you back in the training. Taking your puppy out to practice training should always be when you are in a good mood. When you are having a bad day the puppy will pick up on this. In turn that session will be a waste of time and will get you nowhere.

Stop Hitting Your Dogs

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I recently had the opportunity to observe some police canine training locally where about 20 handlers were working on some complex detection exercises. There were quite a few handlers waiting their turn to work the detection exercises. Apparently, some of the dogs and handlers were getting anxious about what was ahead, but everyone seemed to be waiting patiently. SWOOSH, and a loud, resounding CRACK was the sound that rang out across the parking lot. One of the handlers had swung their leash all the way around and cracked their Malinois right across the nose with the handle of the leash for not holding the sit and stay position. My first thought was, “What an Idiot!”. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first time that I had seen this and I am afraid it won’t be the last.

We commonly work with owners and handlers that consistently hit their dogs on the head or other places in order to correct unwanted behavior. They hit them with everything from their hands, feet, leashes, newspapers, or anything else that they can get their hands on. We recently spoke with the owner of a 6 month old Labradoodle who admitted to hitting it in the head whenever it did anything that they didn’t like. Some of the things it would get hit for would include, jumping, pulling, barking or getting on the furniture.

So, what do these dogs learn from being hit in the head? For one, they learn to stay at least an arms (or leash) reach from their owners at all times. They also learn to be afraid of leashes, hands, newspapers and anything else that they feel may strike them. Equally as important, they often never know why or when they will get hit next. There is often no clear direction from the handler as to what is and is not expected from them. Therefore, the dog experiences “learned helplessness” and feels as though they are trapped as an unwilling participant in a game of “WHACKAMOLE”.

About a year and a half ago, we had the opportunity to work with a dog that had been consistently hit in the head by his owners. After several short months of this, the dog began to bite. The dog would bite the hands of anyone who tried to pet it, feed it or touch it in general. This made it difficult for the owners to have company over, to take the dog to the vet and to work with the dog in general. It took months to rehabilitate this particular dog and teach him to trust people and their hands again.

Let’s just take a quick look at when and how we use our hands with our dogs. We give them treats with our hands. We feed them with our hands and we also pet them with our hands. Therefore, it is important to use our hands properly with the dog so that we don’t create a negative association with our hands in general. When we think about it, we also use a leash for walking, training and other exercises and it is equally as important that we do not create the same association with the leash by whacking the dog in the head or nose with it.

Plain and simple, there is no benefit from hitting a dog with anything, including your hands or a leash. There are much better and more effective ways to train a dog and to correct unwanted behavior in dogs without hitting them. Physically hitting dogs is not a positive punishment techniques that dogs can understand and not beneficial in training or living with a dog.

If you have any questions about our training methods or programs, please feel free to call us at 866.200.2207 or email us at training@highlandcanine.com.

FREE Dog Behavior Seminar – Lake Norman

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Highland Canine Training, LLC will be holding another FREE dog behavior seminar on March 15, 2010 at 6 p.m. at Troutman Elementary School (Media Center) located at 220 S. Main Street, Troutman, NC 28166.

This seminar is a great opportunity for dog owners, veterinarians, rescue volunteers, petsitters, groomers and others to learn about canine communication, canine cognition as well as answers to some common myths and questions about dog behavior. The seminar will last for about 3 hours and will include about an hour question and answer session with our training staff.

The seminar will include such topics as:
How Dogs Learn
Canine Body Language
Behavior Problems
How to be a Better Dog Owner
Bite Prevention
Working with Dogs and Children
…and much, much more!

This seminar is free of charge and is open to anyone who would like to attend. Space is limited and registration for the seminar is required. If you would like to attend the seminar, please email us at training@highlandcanine.com. Please include your name and phone number in your email. Our recent seminar posting for Charlotte filled in about a week. If you have questions about the seminar, feel free to call us at 704.728.9494.

Training a Deaf Dog

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We recently took a deaf dog into our 6 week training boot camp. Our six week program covers all basic and advanced obedience. This would include on and off leash heel with implied sit when stopping, sit with implied stay, down with implied stay, recall or come command and a place command which is usually used to have the dog stay on a bed or rug inside the house when the family is busy or needs the pup to settle down for a little.

The puppies name is Sammy and he is a 6 month old Dalmatian. Not only did he have no obedience, he was resource guarding his food and water, biting at people and extremely under socialized with people and other animals. This combination could have led to a terrible outcome for the owners and the dog if they had not taken the initiative to get the dog help right away.

To start, this process is long, frustrating and by no means easy. Sammy has been here for about a week now and is coming along great. We are introducing him to more and more people every day, letting him play and get his energy out with other puppies, and teaching him that there is plenty of food for him to eat and he does not have to get aggressive and guard it anymore.

It is more frustrating than anything trying to teach a deaf dog. Many people get frustrated because they cannot yell at the dog for doing inappropriate things. I found it more frustrating that I could not praise the dog for doing things that we like! Imagine being told that you need to drive a close friend to a state you had never been before. Problem is, you cannot use a map or GPS and your friend can not tell you if you are going in the right direction or not. If…and only if you ever made your destination how frustrated do you think you would be by that time? This is how a deaf dog feels when it has no direction.

It’s hard to understand how often we use verbal disapproval and verbal praise in our daily lives with our furry companions. Take a deaf dog for a day and you will begin to understand. Now, how about we change the situation I gave you before. You are driving your friend and every time you make a correct turn that person gives you a dollar, but every time you make a wrong turn they take one away. This will make you a little more motivated to go the right way, no? This may also make the process a little less stressful and more enjoyable, wouldn’t you think?

With Sammy what we began doing is using non verbal cues to show approval and disapproval. Sammy is beginning to learn that eye contact is key to understanding whether he is doing the right or wrong thing. Touch is the dogs first sense that it is capable of using. Without being able to hear, his other senses have been heightened. For this reason we tend to use touch to show approval. A gentle pet when the dog is relieving itself outside while housebreaking it, a pat on the head when we are baiting a sit/stay or down/stay. As much as we take these for granted, these are the cues that Sammy needs to understand he is doing well and we are happy.

At Highland Canine Training we have the proven track record to work with dogs of all breeds and sizes, whether they have a disability or not. Please remember, although it may be frustrating having a dog with a disability, a dog must still have guidance in order to prevent it from being destructive and possibly dangerous. If you or someone you know has a dog that may have issues with resource guarding, biting, or may be under socialized with animals or people give us a call. We offer free evaluations so we can map out a plan of action to better your relationship with you and your dog.

So You Want a Standard Poodle?

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When selecting a dog for you and your family it’s always important to do your research. There are many books and other resources available to help you select the right dog. A lot of people select a dog based on their emotions and this doesn’t always work out because the purchase is reactive and not much thought is put into the amount of responsibility is required to being a dog owner. People also fall into a trap of selecting a dog because it’s cute or it has good confirmation. It is more important the dog is friendly and adaptable to new environments.

I think the most important aspect of dog selecting is being honest with yourself regarding the type of life style you have.

The standard poodle is an old breed whose name comes from the German word pudel, meaning “to splash in waster”. The county of origin is France and was originally used as a water retriever. These dogs made good hunters into the nineteenth century then later became popular companion dogs. Because of their intelligence they often excel in training especially obedience training. The standard poodle is an active breed and requires daily exercise, both physical and mental exercise. The best living environment is suburban or rural living. With this in mind, this is a good breed for you if you enjoy going for walks and have time and desire to train your dog.

Their coat is hypoallergenic and often people who are allergic to dogs may have less of an allergic reaction to a poodle. However, their coat requires maintenance and routine grooming.

An important note when becoming a dog owner…always get the dog from a reputable breeder, understanding the temperament and purpose of particular dog, and make sure your life style is compatible with the dog you select.

Highland Canine Training, LLC is currently training a Standard Poodle for their Autism Program. The Poodle is good with kids, affectionate with family members and friends but can be aloof towards strangers, making her a perfect candidate for the Autistic boy who will receive her in 6 months. Because this Poodle is highly intelligent, we are also able to train her for the specific needs of our customer.

The Autism Assistance Dog program has provided hope for a family that has exhausted all their resources. A family living with an autistic family member, not only has the pressure of everyday living but the added responsibility of routine doctor visits, school visits, other therapy visits, and dealing with a number a specific issues. Our particular customer struggles with anxiety, sleeping, repetitive behaviors, making friends and wondering to name a few. By working closely with this family we will train their dog to meet the specific needs of their child. We just recently received a letter from these customers saying “I cannot even begin to tell you what a pleasure this process has been for us! You have made one of our New Year wishes come true and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

We at Highland Canine Training are grateful to be able to provide a service that will make a difference in someone life. Learn more about our Autism Program by visiting www.autismassistancedog.com.

Upcoming Dog Behavior Seminar

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Highland Canine Training, LLC will be holding a FREE dog behavior seminar on February 25, 2010 at 6 p.m. at the Mint Hill Fire Department located at 8313 Fairview Rd. Charlotte, NC 28227.

This seminar is a great opportunity for dog owners, veterinarians, rescue volunteers, petsitters, groomers and others to learn about canine communication, canine cognition as well as answers to some common myths and questions about dog behavior. The seminar will last for about 3 hours and will include a question and answer session with our training staff.

The seminar will include:
How Dogs Learn
Canine Body Language
Behavior Problems
How to be a Better Dog Owner
Bite Prevention
Working with Dogs and Children
…and much, much more!

This seminar is free of charge and is open to anyone who would like to attend. Space is limited and registration for the seminar is required. If you would like to attend the seminar, please email us at training@highlandcanine.com. Please include your name and phone number in your email. If you have questions about the seminar, feel free to call us at 704.728.9494.

Desensitization & Counter Conditioning

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Are you the owner of a dog that is afraid of loud noises, afraid of dogs or afraid of slick floors? These are common phobias that we often deal with when working with clients and their dogs. Phobias are relatively common and can take on a great number of forms. Dogs can be afraid of children, men, dogs, cats, noises, cars, and almost anything else.
When dealing with fearful dog or dogs which have a negative association with something, we commonly use desensitization. Desensitization is where we systematically reduce the strength of a response to a certain object, situation, sound or person. An example of this would be if your dog is fearful of the vet, by desensitizing the dog to the veterinarians’ office, we will reduce their fearful response when they are taken to the vet.

Desensitization often works by gradually exposing the dog to the fearful stimulus. As an example, we would take our dog to the vet for short periods of time without any negative stimuli, i.e. nail trimming, vaccinations, exam, etc. until the dog began to relax when taken to the vet.

Desensitization is often accomplished by utilizing a process known as counter conditioning. Counter conditioning is when we change the association that the dog has already made with the stimulus so that the outcome is always a positive one as opposed to a negative one. When using counter conditioning we must understand that it will require a great deal of repetitions with our new association in order for the dog to automatically assume that the new association will always be the end result of the stimulus.

For example, I have recently been working with a young Australian Shepherd that belongs to one of our clients that is a NASCAR driver. This is important because the dog often travels with him to the races and other events on weekends during race season. The young Aussie had developed a fear of loud noises including the National Anthem. He would become extremely nervous, shake and attempt to hide when he heard the song play.

Let’s take a look at the associations that this dog made based on the patterns and routines that he had experienced. He would often travel to the race track on the weekends. Prior to each race, he would experience the invocation, the National Anthem, a flyover by military jets, fireworks and then the firing of forty-three very loud engines. Again, his fear was generally of loud noises, but he quickly made the connection that when the National Anthem began that the loud fireworks, flyover and race cars soon would start. Therefore, he began to get nervous, shake and begin to hide as soon as he heard the anthem begin.

This is a perfect example of how counter conditioning can break the associations that the dog had previously made. In the dogs mind, he thinks that when the anthem begins, something very bad is soon to come. So it is our job to teach him that any time the National Anthem plays, good things will happen. The young pup was highly food motivated, loved to chase a ball and do agility. So, we would play the anthem and immediately begin feeding him, playing ball or doing agility. This would help to refocus his brain and gradually teach him that the association that he had previously made with the anthem had now changed.

I am pleased to say that this Aussie pup has made tremendous strides in overcoming his fear of noises. He continues to improve each week. It is also important to understand that counter conditioning does not always work for every dog and can at times, have negative effects. Before you attempt desensitization and counter conditioning with your dog, be sure to contact a professional trainer to talk about your dogs behavior and develop a plan of rehabilitating it. If you have questions about phobias, desensitization or dog training programs, feel free to contact us for advice or information.

New Years Resolution for You and Your Dog

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Another year is upon us, as is those New Years Resolutions we all seem to forget about after the first three weeks. Chances are, we have all made a resolution and quickly forgot about it because of our busy schedules and hectic lives. This year, man’s best friend wants you to make a resolution, and they need you to follow through on it to ensure their happiness and wellbeing.

So, I am sure you are asking, “Where do I start?” You should start by looking at what you did and didn’t do with your pup last year, and what you can do to improve upon it. It’s imperative that you understand that your dog’s happiness directly correlates with the activities you do together. When is the last time you guys went on a walk together? Did you bring him to the park with your family at all? Invite him to a BBQ and let him run around with friends? Did you even have a nice catch with him in the house? If you did, ask yourself how often. If you didn’t…you have to ask yourself, why not?

Many times we are involved with dogs because the owner is not comfortable with the dog out in public. So they don’t bring him out in public. Often this will lead to destructive behavior inside the house, i.e. chewing on the furniture, counter surfing, chewing through walls and doors, non stop barking. It is common to see these behaviors purely because the dog is bored and makes games by himself to keep his mind stimulated.

If your dog is good in public with people and other dogs there is no reason not to get him out more often. This will decrease his energy, destructiveness and increase his behavior when he is home. If your dog is not good in public you need to address these issues. Does he bark or growl at strangers, or dogs? Has he bitten someone? Does he tend to pull on the leash and is hard to control when distracted? Do you have to repeat commands in order for him to pay attention to you? Does he jump on people? Is he easily startled or scared? Does he growl when he has a toy or food?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above you came to the right spot…because your dog needs your help. If these issues are not dealt with they could become serious, potentially dangerous for family members, neighbors, even strangers. Although these issues are common and can be fixed, you should consult with a professional dog trainer in order to make sure you don’t try to fix it and accidently make it worse.

We have many different training options, including group lessons, private lessons, in home training and in kennel training. We are committed to helping you and your dog succeed at this New Years Resolution so that you and your dog can live happier, healthier lives. Not to mention, we guarantee our training for the life of the dog. Contact us today to take the first step towards a new year both of you.