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!

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Dog training obedience is the first step toward gaining structure and control back into your home and lifestyle. However not every dog is satisfied with 30 minutes of training a few times a week or most often I hear the old standby ” having the dog sit or down while I have my snack on the couch and throw them a piece or two! ” Some dogs need a little more interaction and so just need a job to do. The trainers at Highland Canine Training can offer you tips and suggestions for your lifestyle so that you can get more from your dog and your obedience training.

One alternative method of releasing in energy is what we call “Tracking for Fun” with your dog. Now, not every dog or pet owner is cut out for this exercise, we would have to test your dog out during our free evaluation to make sure that both you and the dog are up to speed! Tracking is a great we to get the whole family involved and make your puppy tired. We often times get the older kids in the family to run a short track in the wooded area or the park (some even take walkie talkie’s to make it even more fun) and then the rest of the family can run behind the dog while they are tracking. It’s great exercise for everyone!

Another alternative method is agility courses. This too will require a free evaluation from our trainers to make sure you and your dog are enjoying what you do. Some of our clients go to group classes or have private lessons for agility training or you can make your own agility equipment at home. This again is a fun hobby for the entire family. Some of our more creative clients come up with neat agility courses that they have made out of things lying around the yard or garage.

We often times see pet owners who have bought or ended up with extremely drivey working dog lines in their home, which can be a recipe for disaster if you’re not careful! Protection training is often a good outlet for those high energy dogs. Many people are under the asumption that dogs that do bitework are mean and cannot be socialized or controlled. That is not the case, if your dog has ambition you could simply conduct bitework sessions as a game or sport with very little civil agitation. Dogs can understand when the bite sleeve or suit is out…we get to play. This is a great work out for the dog as well as the handler and lets not forget the decoy. If you do not have access to the equipment we would be happy to provide you with private lessons for protection work.

Herding is another great way to provide your dog with both physical exercise as well as mental stimulation. Herding training is obviously not for every dog and owner, but is often a great way to burn off energy for pastoral breeds. Contrary to popular belief, Border Collies, Australian Shepherds and German Shepherds do not automatically know how to instinctively herd. These and many other dogs will have some natural herding instincts, but do not know how to herd. This activity is something that must be taught and can be learned by dogs both young and old. If you are interested in herding training feel free to call or email us to set up a free herding evaluation.

Tugging can also be a great game to play with your dog to exert mental and physical stimulation. This activity does not illicit aggressive behavior! A dog that is well-rounded and balanced will often find this game both challlenging and fun. The important thing to understand with playing tug is that you always control the game.

Utilizing a backpack during a walk or run can also be a great way of burning some excess energy. Physical exercise is not always enough and we would encourage mental stimulation along with any physical activity. Adding a backpack to your routine can sometimes be enough to tire out your dog.

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His owners brought him in wearing a small leather muzzle and described him as having “social anxiety”. Tayo would jump on people, fight with other dogs, bark, bite, and even run away if given the opportunity. He even barked and growled at unfamiliar objects as if he wanted to kill them.

We worked with Tayo for several days and observed his behaviors. I noticed that all that was required for him to bark and growl at someone was that they be standing, sitting or breathing. He was actually pretty indiscriminate about his displays of aggression. After some testing and observation we determined that he wasn’t very dominant, fear aggressive and did not suffer from dog aggression. His behaviors really didn’t fit well into any common dog behavior category. After a couple of days we were able to determine that he was reactive and very easily stimulated. This often caused him frustration, therefore, he would simply sink his teeth into whatever and too often, whomever was nearby.

So, we began to give Tayo plenty of exercise, mental stimulation, direction and an outlet for his frustrations and soon we saw that his behavior was improving drastically. So we continued to work perfecting his obedience commands and teaching him a little “self control”.

Tayo was particularly fond of trying to bite joggers and others who passed by him too quickly or closely. So after working with him for some time, I felt as though he was ready to be challenged with some “joggers”. We had several new people run, jog and pass by Tayo swiftly, all the while I was keeping his attention and focus on me. To my pleasant surprise, Tayo was able to keep his attention on me and not fixate on the people jogging by.

Tayo was not an aggressive dog at all. He was simply understimulated and needed more direction in his life. His owners had worked hard to try to rehabilitate him themselves, but they simply didn’t have the tools or the understanding of what Tayo needed.

Tayo’s owner recently sent us an update which said:

“I am so pleased with what your training has done for my dog. You really gave him a second chance at hopefully living a long life. He listens to us now and seems to actually be more content.”

-Kristen K., Baltimore, MD

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Often times, dog owners deal with frustrating issues and behavioral problems because they don’t have the understanding or resources to fix them. These behaviors can be as simple as jumping on people, barging out the door, pulling on the leash or chasing a cat. At times these behaviors are more serious and include; biting, fighting, nipping, guarding, fear of people, fear of dogs, dominance and territorial aggression.

Most owners will employ the help of a dog trainer to assist in rehabilitating these more serious behavior problems. At times, this behavior modification is unsuccessful and can even makes the problems worse. Lately, we have rehabilitated a number of dogs that have been seen by other trainers. We have realized that their behaviors have escalated because there was a misdiagnosis of their problem by the other trainer. Therefore, the trainer and owner have been utilizing methods of rehabilitation and treatment that conflict with the behavior problem that the dog actually has.

Proper behavior analysis is critical in order to successfully rehabilitate a problem dog. In order to decide on a plan of rehabilitation, we must first take the time to understand the root cause of the problem or problems. In order to understand the problem completely, the trainer should take the time to interview the owner(s) of the dog, ask questions about the dogs behavior and any previous incidents with the dog and then observe the dog under the same circumstances where it has displayed the problem behaviors in the past. This should only be the beginning of the evaluation. The trainer will often have to test theories about the trigger(s) for the behavior in order to accurately determine the root cause of the problem behavior.

If we are working with a dog that we have determined is fear aggressive (biting because they are fearful of something or someone), it is not acceptable to simply say the the dog is fearful and they will bite when put into a situation where they are scared. We must first dissect the problem so that we can treat it properly. For example, we may find that this particular dog is fearful and this causes them to bite. By dissecting the problem, we may find that the dog is only fearful in situations with other dogs. If we further evaluate the problem, we may learn that the dog is only fearful of large dogs that are brown. By taking the evaluation further we may often find that the dog is only fearful with males of this type.

So, our original assessment was that the dog was fearful and that the dog would display aggression when placed in fearful situations. But by taking the assessment further, we have found that the dog is fear aggressive when placed in situations with large, brown, male dogs. Our course of rehabilitation would require inclusion of training and exposure with large, brown, male dogs in order to be successful.

This example is only one of many combinations that is possible in a behavioral analysis examination. These problems can be less or more specific than the example that I listed above. What is important to understand is that we cannot successfully rehabilitate a problem or undesired behavior unless we fully understand what the problem truly is.

Once we have determined the cause of the behavior, only then can we efficiently begin to treat it. Fortunately, the majority of behavioral problems are treatable with a consistent training and rehabilitation program.

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Our schedule for 2010 is listed below:

January 4th, 2010
April 5th, 2010
July 5th, 2010
October 4th, 2010

We are also offering discounted pricing for all of our courses for the Winter semester beginning on January 4th, 2010. Offers are available to those who register before December 1 , 2009. You can fill out our Dog Trainer Course Application here. For more information on our programs or our discounted prices, email us at training@highlandcanine.com or call toll free at 866.200.2207.

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The article “The Secrets Inside Your Dog’s Mind” explains some of the recent developments of the study of canine cognition. The article describes some of the studies that have been done in the past, as well as studies that are currently being performed to learn more about how dogs think.

I think that the article explains some rather intriguing discoveries that have developed as a result of the current studies that have been going on. For example, Professor Brian Hare of Duke University, has done some research and continues his research into the fact that dogs have developed social skills that allow them to recognize a finger being pointed at an object in order to receive food or a toy. This study utilized something other than what most people would naturally recognize that a dog would utilize in order to obtain food or a toy, for example, their extremely acute sense of smell. The research tends to show that dogs can recognize something as simple as a pointed finger, something that primates could not do without a considerable amount of training.

Recently, I had an opportunity to speak with Brian Hare about his research at the Canine Cognition Center at Duke University. He explained the research and how his curiosity about the researched developed. A dog reacting to a pointed finger is often something that would seem to be natural to many dog owners and those who work with dogs on a regular basis. However, this research shows that there is often more skill and social development that plays a part in this ability. In my opinion, the importance or significance of these “simple tasks” are often negated or overlooked by humans because of the abundance of anthropomorphism that humans rely on to explain their dogs behaviors and intelligence.

I also found the research that was done in Novosibirsk, Russia to be very interesting as well. This research explained how a group of foxes were bred against and control group of foxes. The test group was bred for a number of generations for their sociability towards humans where the control group was allowed to breed, unrestricted. After a number of generations, the foxes became more “dog-like” and approached humans in a very similar as dogs. Hare, was able to also determine that these “dog-like” young foxes were able to pass his finger pointing test as well as dog puppies had been able to before them.

I also found interesting, the research conducted by Alexandra Horowitz of Barnard College in which she studied the reaction of “guilt” where dogs held their heads down and sulked away from their scolding owners after the dogs exhibited poor behavior. This researched showed that the dogs reacted the same way, even when their owners were tricked into thinking that the dog had done something wrong even though it hadn’t. I feel that this research demonstrates how well dogs have been able to interpret human behavior and have the mental capacity to react to this behavior.

I think that this article and more importantly the research that has been done sheds some much needed light on the overall cognition and social “skill set” that dogs have developed over the years. It demonstrates how well these canids have developed alongside humans and vice-versa. It also demonstrates how selective breeding has allowed dogs to more closely interact with humans on a daily basis.

Below is a video demonstrating some of the research that Brian is conducting at the Canine Cognition Center

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There are many breeds that are conducive to different lifestyles and can adapt to either an active/ or laid back style of life. All dog breeds need attention and companionship, some just require less/more than others. Most of your Poodles, Boston Terriers, Some Labrador retrievers, some Golden Retrievers, Great Danes, Rottweiler’s, Yorkshire Terriers, Bulldogs, Mastiff, Shih Tzu’s, and Bloodhounds, etc. often do well, in homes with less structure and planned activities. These breeds are usually content with a daily walk or play time in the back yard with lots of love. However, you may experience problems with some of these breeds in an apartment type setting where they can’t get outside on a regular basis.

Problems often arise when pet owner’s take in dog breeds that they cannot handle or control. Although most of your terrier breeds (Jack Russell terrier, West Highland Terriers, Scottish Terriers), are small in size, they are highly intelligent with big egos in a lot of cases. If dog owners do not have the time or patience to stimulate these types of dogs, the result is often bad dog behavior (people aggression, dog on dog aggression, resource guarding). Dog breeds such as Border Collies, German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois, Heelers; some Spaniels, Miniature Pinchers, Dachshunds, American Bull Dogs and Papillion’s require a lot of attention and dedication. These breeds often do well with active pet owners who run, attend dog parks, bike, or participate in group class for agility dog training, therapy dog training, Rally-O, SAR training, or Protection work.

So a word to the wise, evaluate your lifestyle, your free time, your activities and your hobbies to see which breed or breed mix fits into your environment. Who knows maybe your dog can change your lifestyle for you; nothing like getting out and about with your dog and having a little fun at the same time!

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