It's all a trick to them

The general public doesn't realize how fun training your dog can be! We want to teach words and have our dog comply and we look at it as a chore but think of sit, down etc. as all a silly trick to our dog. Often our dog's "tricks" are more reliable than the basic commands, but those are also tricks. Why do they respond better? We have more fun asking our dog to shake and roll over or crawl and our dog sees that and it is rewarding.

 

When we ask for a sit or a down our dog still perceives it as a trick, except we think of it more as a chore our dog has to do, and that takes the fun out of it. If we can remember to make training fun we are more inclined to do it and so will our dogs!

 

What is your favorite trick your dog knows?

Training a Dog to Love Nail Trimming

 

Another video from Dr. Sophia Yin further demonstrating how to train your dog to love handling.

Toe Nail Trims Part 2

Click, click, click, you are suddenly aware of the sound coming from your dog as he makes his way across the room to you. Trimming your pet’s toe nails should be a regular occurrence whether done by you or by a professional. It is not uncommon to see dogs with adverse reactions to having their feet handled let alone having their nails trimmed. Here are some things you can do to help condition your dog to accept, if not like having their nails trimmed. Don't forget to check out Dr. Sophia Yin's video at the end.

1. Food is a very big motivator for our dogs. If your dog really doesn’t like having his feet handled start by conditioning your dog to like it. To do this, use a really yummy, high value treat such as cheese, pieces of pepperoni, chicken, hot dogs or a commercially made product called freeze dried liver. As you touch your dog’s foot, feed him a piece of the treat. When you let go of his foot the treats stop. Your dog will associate having his feet handled makes good things happen, such as a yummy treat. As your dog becomes more comfortable with his foot being held gradually adjust how you hold it. Count each toe, play with the nail, apply slight pressure all the while feeding treats.

2. Once your dog is accustomed to their feet being handled, we want to introduce the clippers. If your dog runs when the clippers come out we need to use conditioning to get a tail wag from the dog when he sees them instead of fear. When we condition our dog to the clippers we will not be clipping the nails initially. Bring the clippers out and leave them sitting on the floor with yummy treats sprinkled around them. As your dog eats the treats he will realize that the sight of the clippers equals good things. Progress to picking up the clippers and holding them while treating your dog. We are looking for a relaxed dog. When your dog is feeling comfortable and relaxed start touching the feet with the clippers while treating.

3. When your dog has become conditioned enough that you are ready to clip the toe nails, only aim to do 1 toenail. If the day allows, you can clip a toe nail every few hours, or do one nail a day, gradually working your way up to 2 nails, 1 foot and maybe all 4 feet done on the same day. Remember to treat with high value treats so that your dog still associates toe nail trims as a good thing. If you have a helping hand it can be useful to have one person feeding the dog while the other person focuses on the nails.

If you can’t trim your dog’s nails yourself and it is something you would like to do, I would suggest you start with conditioning. In between your conditioning sessions have a professional trim the nails so that they do not grow too long. Nails that are too long displace the toes and disrupt the proper placement of their feet.

Here is a Dr. Sophia Yin using this technique and able to do it quite quickly with this particular dog. Remember every dog is different and the speed of which you condition them will vary.

How does your dog like his pedicures?

Nail Trimmings Part 1

When it comes to nail trims I have had to use two different approaches with each of my dogs. With Scout, since puppyhood, I was always able to clip the toe nail and then deliver a treat. I did have to start out with help having someone continually feed him while I trimmed but then progressed to clipping and treating after each nail without help. Over time, as he became accustomed to our routine, I could trim the nails on all four feet and he would receive one reward at the end. Sometimes, just to make sure he still enjoys his pedicures, he will be rewarded after each foot, or on a toe that may have been too close to the quick.

With Henry, we have had to establish a wait cue. I place a high value treat out in front of him where he can not reach it. I ask him to wait. While he waits I trim one toe nail and then he is released so that he may go snag his treat. He waits, the toenail is trimmed, his reward is he is free to get up and get his treat. Then we repeat. When we first started working on this we had to do some conditioning and when it came to clipping I would aim for 1 toenail only. It was frustrating that he wasn’t as easy to do as Scout but it was more beneficial taking it slow with him then forcing him to accept it. If I had tried to fight Henry to trim toenails I am sure he would have ended up bleeding because of the squirming and fighting he would have been quicked. He is only 9 months old at this point, and we are now able to do all four feet in one sitting with high rate of reinforcement. Eventually, we will be able to get to the point where he will receive one reward for trimming all four feet, but it is a process, and I am in no hurry. If he needs a lot of treats to trim his toenails I’ll give it to him, because it is worth being able to do it myself.

Yellow Dog Project

 

This is a great project for all reasons! Working at a veterinary clinic and as a dog trainer I can see an application for this! I especially like it for those dogs that just need a little space because they may be nervous and aren't quite ready for another dog to approach them. As much as people want their dog to socialize with others, and are aware that their dog loves other, sometimes it is forgotten that the receiving dog may not be as comfortable as your dog.

Promoting the yellow ribbon will help give people a voice to say "No" to approaching strangers or people with dogs when they find it hard to say otherwise. Help spread the word and share this with anyone you know that may have an injured or rehabilitating, in training, or scared dog!

Tip of the Day:

 A healthy dog is a happy dog! If you feed your dog a high quality meal your dog will be less likely to have issues in the long run. Sometimes the effects of your pets food won't be noticed until they are older. A poor diet can result in a dingy coat, dry or flaky skin, ear infections or a long term effect tumors, seizures etc. If your dog is experiencing any of the above consider changing their food and experimenting, it may be as simple as that and then you don't have to keep putting your dog on medications because they can't stop scratching.

Scout and Henry

Scout, 5 years old and Henry, 9 months old but about 10 weeks old in this picture



These are my two boys, Scout and Henry. Scout is a 5 years old and Henry is 9 months old. They are both yellow labs, not related. Henry comes with an interesting story which I may begin adding to regular posts as short stories. He has a secondary cleft palate.
 By looking at him you wouldn't know anything is wrong with him, but if you open his mouth, he has an opening that runs the length from behind his teeth down to his throat. Over time it has closed partially but not completely. It can make life a little difficult when he is a dog that also has pica. Stay tuned to hear about his adventure from 2 days old to present time. Scout definetly has his stories but over the course of 5 years what dog doesn't!