altamahacanineconsulting

Regretfully Rewarding the Reactive Dog

Thu, 19 Sep 2024 02:33:31 GMT

HELLO! My Name is Jacob, I have spent the past 25 years working with animals… from behavioral training and modification to health and wellness, surgical intervention, as well as performance and working dog training, handling and evaluations. It all started as a 14 year old boy with a Golden Retriever and a 4-H DPA Project on how to train dogs and ever since….its all gone to the dogs lol.

One of the biggest issues we see (and hear about) at our training center upon intake as well as at visitations and graduations, is the continual reward of reactive behavior. Before we discuss what this means lets break down some definitions. Dog trainers are REALLY REALLY good at using big words when talking to prospective clients and we don’t want to do that. We want to simplify this for you as much as we can to help break these tendencies and give new perspective to living a good life with your well mannered pup.

Definitions:

Regret: repentant or disappointed over

Reward: a fair return for good or bad behavior

Reactive: acting in response to a situation rather than creating or controlling it

Q: So what do we mean when we use the term "reactive dog"?

A: Dogs can be "reactive" at many different degrees. Basically what that means is that a dog can react to many different things in different ways and we call is all "reactivity". For example if a dog is growling, ears penned back and barking at the door because the door bell has been rang we could assume that the dog is not happy and would bite the visitor if the door were to be opened, yet in another scenarios where the door bell is rang, a dog could be barking and wagging its tail, doing zoomies around the house in excitement and we would assume the dog is happy and excited to see the person and most likely about to clobber them with dog hugs and kisses…… in these two scenarios one dog is suggested to be a Angry or Scared dog and the other a Happy or Excited dog, regardless of which, we would conclude that both dogs suffer from "reactivity".

Q; What do we mean when we say we are "rewarding the dog"?

A: Rewards are something a dog views as a good exchange for a behavior… If rewarded enough with the appropriate reward it can greatly influence behavior or the likeliness of that behavior reoccurring. This is SUPER GOOD if we are talking about sitting, but SUPER BAD if we are talking about jumping on someone right? JACOB I WOULD NEVER REWARD MY DOG FOR JUMPING ON SOMEONE!!!! - I know I know! ( But do you know? Lol).

If I were to ask a dog to sit and it sits and I reach in my pocket and give it a dig treat, we could all agree that that dog was just "rewarded" for good behavior ( the behavior being, - SIT). That is pretty easy for us to think about because throughout life if we do something good, we get some form of tangible reward. In elementary school, we would read books and collect points and if we had enough points we could buy tangible goods such as pencils or books and we could look back and say "because we read those books, we were able to buy pencils….Then when we grew up we saved our money from working hard to buy a house and we conclude that because we worked hard we were able to buy the house etc.

Much like Points/ Dollars…… we use treats or desired objects such as balls, tugs etc as a positive reward for dogs when they do what we have trained them to do as a way for them to understand that when you work hard you get rewarded for it by something you enjoy. The reality is at some point overuse of the reward is going to result into it not being as effective because either the tummy will get full or game of tug or ball toss gets boring…. OR…. The neighbors cat has MUCH MORE DESIRED VALUE than pumpkin/yogurt treat or the tennis ball! All this talk about enjoyment and positivity…..From a dogs perspective, tennis balls and tugs and treats MUST MEAN IM A GOOD BOY! So if I climb on the kitchen table to get the treats, or if I chase the neighbors tennis ball or turn the couch into a tug toy, this must all mean IM A GOOD BOY….. I've been shown that Treats, Tugs and Tennis Balls are all GOOD ( despite the fact that I have had to either sit or lay down for them in the past….. Why do all that work if I can figure out a short cut to getting what it is that I'm working for?).

(sound familiar? Sounds like tiny humans today right? I have a 9 year old daughter and I can remember when we were potty training her and we would give her a sucker when she used the bathroom to promote potty breaking, well it wasn’t long before she realized the suckers were in a bag on the counter in the bathroom and began to just go get a sucker when she wanted one despite using the bathroom or not and soon the sucker became very less valuable at potty breaking. Now as parents we didn’t say I know, lets give her two suckers because that will keep make it more valuable than one (regardless the location of the bag being the same place). Instead, we removed the bag of suckers from the bathroom and recreated the environment that you will only get a sucker if you potty in the toilet). So outside of something I can tangibly give the dog what else are "rewards".

500 FT VIEW (DON’T TRY TO GO MUCH HIGHER)

In short, rewards are anything (food, petting, interaction, praise, etc). Opening the dog for the excited dog in the text above would be the reward for its behavior and if rewards (like we have discussed before ) promotes behavioral reoccurrence then we could conclude that by opening the door to the barking dog, giving him the reward, is going to assure that next time, the dog barks more, zoomies more, and overall looses his ever loving mind to ensure that someone is going to open that door because IM BEING A GOOD BOY just waiting on the reward is all! What about jumping though? This one always makes me chuckle.

Client: We need him to be trained so that he doesn’t jump on people, everyone comes over and he's jumping on everyone.

Me: Have you done anything to promote that behavior?

Client: No, we always tell him no or turn around from him and give him our back until he gets off and then we turn around really fast and tell him good boy and give him a treat!

Me: OHHH so you’ve taught him that the humans are walking PEZ dispensers and if you jump on me Ill shoot a treat out of my hand

Client: Well I didn’t think about it like that…

Me: Bring the dog over lets take a look…

(client brings dog over, dog jumps up on client in front of me as client baby talks and scratches the ear and head telling him he's such a good boy)

Client: I just don’t understand why he keeps acting this way!

Me: Oh I certainly understand it. About a clear as it was for me when I was 8 and touched an iron that was on and never had to ever question if irons were hot….. That’s how clearly I understand it……. I understand that your dog is so damn confused as to what is "good behavior" in your eyes because Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays its okay to jump up but Tuesdays, Thursday and Weekends are off limits….. Your reward of behavior is about as effective as marking those days on the calendar and dropping the magnet lower on the fridge where the dog can see what days he's good for it.

In the event that you missed the breakdown from the above conversation, The dog is learning that its okay to jump on people although the owner may be saying NO or BAD there seems to be a valuable reward that comes along with it at some point and the ability to differentiate between the timing of the treat or verbal commands etc… there is still a reward so all this must be good things, like playing a never ending game of Simon says without the ability to speak English.

CLIENT: "SO YOU MEAN BY ALLOWING THINGS TO HAPPEN, I AM IN SHORT REWARDING MY DOG ASWELL FOR THOSE BEHAVIORS?"

ME: YES!!!!

If you allow the door to be opened or allow the dog to jump and there is simply the withhold of what YOU CONSIDER a reward, it doesn’t actually mean that the dog is understanding the behavior is BAD. Lets talk about Rewards a little differently for a moment. Remember in the definition about "fair return for good or bad behavior". We have talked a LOT about rewarding a dog for good behavior….. But what the heck is rewarding a dog for bad behavior? "NO…WE aren't going to give the dog a treat for barking and going nuts in effort to stop the behavior.. We just talked about that". We are going to teach the dog WHAT a NO command is (replace NO with BAD, LEAVE IT,…Whatever it is you choose…Just don’t be that person with 87 commands that all point back to the simplified version of "NO"). In effort to do this we are going to teach a few default commands (what we call REDIRECTIONS) so that in those moments where we need to use a NO commands, we can simply ask the dog to change gears and in turn self reward off of behaviors that its been show ARE ALWAYS GOOD! Lets use the Heel command for the purpose of this text. We have taught the heel command and the dog has been rewarded but also corrected through whatever means of corrections you think of)

(PAUSE). Lets talk about correction for a second…..Purely Positive Possie would have you shake at the idea of a correction BUT when you break down their methods for them they always use some form of correction they just don’t view it as a correction…. For example they may use a head halter or a martingale training collar and think that’s "positive" while looking at a prong or slip chain collar and promote them as "abuse". The reality is BOTH devises are a form of correction and the only difference should be the dog in which your using them on…Not the size or breed etc but the overall animals behavior… A martingale may work great for a low key Vizsla but a high energy beagle nay blow it off and pull deeper in collar…… The reality behind the correction is that the dog feels a certain way ….a way in which they interpret - "This is uncomfortable and when I do this (alternate behavior) its easier or better for me as a whole". If the dog does not have that mindset about whatever tools your using then they are ineffective period.

(UNPAUSE)

So the dog is at heel and understands this……. Lets say we are going to work on the dog jumping on people….. We have out dog on a 10' leash and lets say a martingale for the purposes of this text. Next, We are going to have a person approach the dog (No closer than 10' as to prevent the dog from ever making contact with the person) and as we see the body language of the dog begin to ramp up in excitement we are going to ask the person to walk back away and we are going to give the dog a heel command and if we need to add any body language or leash pressure ( fancy word for tension on the leash or snap of the leash) until the dog return to heel and then we are going to reward the dog for heel. The next attempt we are going to shorten the leash a bit and allow the dog to receive that tension closer to the handler and we will use the decoy ( the person walking up) to make some noise and excitable motions etc in which the dog can get a little more excited and we will continue to do this recalling the dog back to heel and rewarding the dog at heel as we make the leash shorter and shorter until we have the dog remaining in heel as the person approaches. Once the person approaches we will ask them to pet the dog, at any time the dog begins to jump, we will elicit the NO command and walk the dog backwards away from the decoy. We will repeat these drills while the decoy comes and goes until we can hand the leash over to the decoy and the same behavior to be expected. There will be very OBVIOUS signs to the dog of what is GOOD and what is BAD. We will use not only commands but tones and some nay even choose to use hand signals or gestures as a part. Regardless at the end of the session the dog understand " If I jump, the reward goes away, I have to return to my handler and sit down into heel and start over so the faster I can control myself the faster I get to meet the new guy….. Over time the dog learns what's acceptable and not……..Where you throw a HUGE WRENCH in the training session is when you get home that evening and the dog is not on that 10' leash and the kids come home from school and he jumps on all three of the 87 times before you can gain control of him ….. THEN your training session was a waste of everyone's time because the takeaway from today has been - If mom has me on a rope and someone walks slowly up to me kind of weird acting, I have to sit still, but If I'm at the house I can clobber everyone - So its not behavior driven rewards its scenario driven……

SO WHATS THE REWARDS IN THE SCENERIO ABOVE?

The verbal praise when returned to heel(or treat if you used a treat)
The pat on the head from the decoy
THE REMOVAL OF THE LEASH TENSION WHEN THE DOG CAME BACK TOWARD THE HEEL COMMAND
THE REAPPROACH AFTER THE DECOY WALKED AWAY

Although the decoy moving away from the dog or the tension around the neck from the martingale both are negative in the dogs mind, the INSTANT that the tension on the collar relaxes or the decoy begins moving back toward the dog- the dog views these both as REWARDS. Dog training professionals run everything through the four quadrants of dog training. They are listed below as well as an example of how the dog in the scenario above experienced all four quadrants during the training sessions.

Positive Reinforcement: The reward for sitting at heel, The decoy coming closer and petting the dog

Negative Reinforcement: The dog sitting at heel to avoid the tension on the collar or the decoy from walking away

Positive Punishment: The collar/leash tension

Negative Punishment: The decoy walking away from the dog due to reactive behavior

Dogs (or humans) will self reward every time they are given an opportunity to do so. While we talk so much about POSITIVITY, the reality is we have to expound and grow the scope of learning with the dog at the appropriate ages and timing in effort to create the best all around companion and meet the expectations of the family (and these expectations differ 100% of the time, family to family). Positive Only Reinforcement methods would have you GET MORE TREATS, SHAKE THE BAG LOUDER, SAY GOOD BOY WITH A HIGH PITCH, MOVE AND FIND A NEIHGBORHOOD WITHOUT CATS, SURRRENDER YOUR DOG TO A FAMILY THAT HAS A FARM WITH NO OTHER DISTRACTIONS……. I've heard them all from clients who have sought training advice for similar behaviors and these are some of the answers they received. So, for the pet parent that says….There has got to be a better way, a different way, a way to communicate GOOD and BAD BOY!

SO………..Back to the start of this topic, "Regretfully Rewarding the Reactive Dog". If we as pet owners spend some of the most influential moments in learning teaching a dog that if they simply pull harder, (Because they want to see their best buddy) or we carry them around with us in our laps because they are small enough to do so, or give them treats for standing up on their back legs or teaching them to speak for a treat…(the list goes on). THEN WE CAN ONLY EXPECT These behaviors to become worse and before long you have successfully CREATED a dog that REACTS the way they do simply because they have been motivated and conditioned to do so……. USE THE COLLAR, USE THE LEASH, USE THE CRATE, REWARD GOOD BEHAVIORS, TEACH THAT BAD BEHAVIORS GET YOU NOWHERE, SET YOUR TRAINING SCENERIOS UP ACCORDINGLY TO OFFER FACTORS THAT CHALLENGE YOUR DOG, GIVE THE REWARDS WHERE NESSESARY BUT DON’T BE AFRAID TO SAY NO. Remember that having a happy dog DOES NOT equal giving the dog control of every factor of its life or saying YES to everything the dog WANTS. Our current society would have you believe that your dog should come before your child or your spouse and telling it NO is simply being a bad pet owner……BUT ITS NOT! Having a well trained dog, suitable for all environments is the safest thing you can do for yourself, your family and society! In order to maintain a healthy relationship, It must start at the handler and flow down through the leash to the dog, It does not work in reverse. Find you a good dog trainer with good reviews and ask for help!

Thanks for hanging on with me through the break downs! Any questions please feel free to reach out! Its hard sometimes to get everything out onto paper but this is the best attempt at it currently! God Bless You and GET OUT OF THE DOG HOUSE!!!!!!

Reinforcement VS. Punishment

Wed, 01 Feb 2023 11:58:47 GMT

I get a lot of phone calls about dog behavior and how to correct it, some of which includes punishment some includes reinforcement and most times people fail to understand the difference between the two so I wanted to take a short moment, especially with today’s world in dog training and the use of e collars and other pieces of training equipment out there to explain the difference between the two.

Reinforcement by definition is: the action of strengthening or encouraging something

Under the guise of this there is both Positive (which is the only one some people think of) and Negative

For example, a Positive Reinforcement would be the issuance of a treat after sitting on command. Now we all have seen the dog that only sits for the treat, right? When there is no treat present then the dog looks at you like you’re a space cadet and says “NAHHH not today boss”. So, you reach in your pocket and grab the treat and the dog sits. This can mean one of two things. The dog is deliberately ignoring you without the presence of treat OR the fact that the dog has yet to really hear what you are saying and is keying his sit command off body language or the presence of the treat. Either of which needs to be corrected so that’s when we move to Negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement is taking something away from the dog for exhibiting the correct command. An example of this would be that you ask the dog to sit while applying a light constant stimulus via the e collar until the dog sits. In the initial stages of this we mix both positive and negative reinforcement together so that the dog isn’t confused. So, the first session of negative reinforcement would encompass both the positive and negative reinforcement. The dog is show/given a treat while receiving the stimuli and once dog sits the treat is issued and the stimuli is removed. After the dog understands what is going on the positive reinforcement goes away and the negative reinforcement is carried through. The dog is then happy to sit because he has understood upon command he can turn the stimuli off if he sits putting the dog in the driver seat of his own training. Now let’s talk about punishment.

Punishment by definition is: suffering, pain, or loss that serves as retribution

For example, a Positive Punishment (not warranted very often) would be a diversion or replacement command. The dog is chewing on shoes as a puppy so taking the shoes while vocalizing a loud NO! and replacing with a chew toy would be an example of a Positive Punishment. Negative Punishment however would be best described as withholding reward from the dog while issuing a form of correction until behavior is exhibited. For example, for the dog that is pulling on the leash. The forward motion should be stopped and correction via training collar exerted until dog is back at heel. Once dog is back at heel the correction goes away and forward motion proceeds. This teaches the dog that if it pulls that the removal of reward of forward motion as well as correction will occur decreasing the dog’s likelihood of continuing to pull.

NOW!!!! This is not something that happens overnight which is why most reputable trainers keep dogs for programs of 6-12 weeks to ensure they are able to go through all the motions of this process with each command. Will your dog always turn out to be an "A+" Student? Not necessarily, however most reputable programs can greatly affect the chances that your crazy canine becomes as well-mannered four-legged society member. For the group session trainers, they can accomplish some of this but most of them are scared to talk about negative anything or punishment anything which means most of the time you get a treat conditioned dog who knows to exhibit commands only when there is a form of reward present which typically means instead of the handler being in control of the dog....the dog is in control of the handler. Thanks for taking time to read this month’s blog and we will see you soon and until next time........"GET OUT OF THE DOG HOUSE!!!!!!"

Continuing Education : The Reintroduction

Tue, 03 Dec 2019 10:59:40 GMT

So you have picked up your dog from the trainer and you are so excited to "test drive" your new and improved faithful companion. He should be perfect right? I mean you just spent all that money and sent him off to college. He should be like a dog genius or something right?

WELL............................................

We as trainers get the opportunity to peel your companion apart like an onion and work on layers of issues over the multiple weeks we have them and use multiple tricks of the trade to help with some of those attributes that require changing to better fit in to their humans lifestyle.

As you watch the trainers demonstrate your new dog your excitement builds as you get ready to take controls. As you reach for the leash, your dog can feel the nervousness (as can we), they sense the slowness choppy walk while you attempt to walk them in heel (who walks like that for real anyway), the repeated hand motions that are not necessary when you attempt to use sign language (or land a plane we are not sure sometimes) to make them stay, the recall when you say Come On boy instead of the trained HERE command like we JUST TOLD YOU!!! lol. These are all normal things that owners experience upon graduation day. The more you get out and work your dog the more comfortable you will become and the more comfortable the dog will be working for you. They listen to everything you say but they also feel everything you do not say and attempt to predict what you are thinking. Speaking clear, being firm and showing excitement are all things that are necessary in the weeks to come. Lets break down the commands.

SIT : Sit should be executed while in heel or at place. Its a command that is very basic but also much needed so that the dog can understand patience. Sit should be executed at every opportunity that presents itself over the next several weeks back home to keep the dog focused on being under control and READY for the next command.

STAY: Stay means do not move until recalled. This should be practiced multiple times per week with the dog placed in stay and then returned to every 2-3 times the drill is ran. When you face your dog from a distance and prepare the recall, ensure the dog is patiently waiting on the recall. If not do not recall the dog. Return to the dogs side and move around in a circle then place the dog back into a stay and rework the drill. This is teaching the dog that you must stay until your called. If the dog breaks then return the dog back to the location and attempt the drill again. Should the dog break again then its best to implement an object such as a place mat so that the dog can physically see where they are moving from and be placed back on the object. This will sometimes help the dog focus on what they are doing and understand they cant "get off" the mat.

HERE: The recall command is the most important to practice. The dog should return to heel position. This should be practiced in sequence but also with distractions. The dog should have an understanding on dropping everything and coming to a heel position with this command. This command is a pull command, meaning if the dog is walking a little behind you a simple HERE is used to draw the dog closer to you. Using a long line can help and prevent bolting. Following a proper e collar transition, you should be able to recall with a simple nick or vibrate of the e collar. Setting the scenarios up at home so that the dog doesn't want to come to you is key. Do not just run these drills in an empty room with no environmental stimulation. We are practicing for real world, make it real!

HEEL: This is a body location command. Typically a left or a right side depending on how the dog was trained and simply means stay beside me (not in front or behind) and can be used while walking with loose lead. We practice this command by walking forward and backwards ensuring the dog will both walk forward with us or retract backwards with us. Ensuring the tail is pointing backwards and the nose forward with shoulders inline with your knee is the key, any variation in which your willing to accept is just as good. This command can be practiced by pivoting left or right saying heel. Just like HERE being a PULL command, HEEL is more of a PUSH command. What this means is we ask the dog essentially to move into this position by saying HEEL.

PLACE: The best command for control. As we mentioned above under STAY, this can be used to fix stay issues should a dog become confused. It is also good to use as many objects as possible to give the dog a good understanding of this command. What we are saying when we say PLACE is go to this object that we have conditioned you to sit on and get on it and sit or pay there and do not move until your recalled. This game should be fun and reward is key. If the dog breaks off of the mat prior to recall then a simple correction and moving the dog back to the object with again reward. We like to cast dogs with our body language from mat to mat to give the dog a good understanding that we may not always as you to come to us we may just ask you to move to an object from where you are at. We also like to increase our distance from the mat when asking the dog to place as if its a race to get to the mat for reward. e collar can also be used in an ON/OFF fashion to condition this command for speed and clarity. Time spend on place is key also. These resting drills will help a dog understand that separation is good and healthy.

NO: This command is not used enough. When we condition a pet we use the word NO with all corrections. Its almost as if the NO in and of itself is a correction. The dog learns to rethink what we are asking them to do if they hear this word.

The importance of conditioning these commands weekly while your dogs brain is in the game still is paramount for you to understand communication as your dogs handler but also allows your dog to learn how you are communicating with it and how to respect what your asking it to do. Body gestures and mannerisms are different handler to handler so STAY doesn't always mean STAY if improper body language is used. You can say STAY but your body language may be screaming HERE. Just like in anything you do, practice makes you great. The dog has been handed to you with a toolbox of options, bells and whistles and you as the owner get to pick what you want to use and what you want to loose. Whatever you practice and work on will remain ingrained and all else will slip slowly away into the background.

Slippage can occur when continuing education drills are not being performed. There is no right or wrong time frame for this, its more about being successful and positive during the drills. We get dogs back occasionally for tune ups and the dogs typically do wonderful. Its commonly an issue with CE at home when we do hear of dogs reverting to old ways. The first two weeks home is the most critical following a board and train program due to the amount of environmental stimulation they are about to walk back home into and if you keep the homework the same day in and out, it feels like they are still in training camp as they reintroduce back into family life.

Keep in mind the dogs are excited and ready to see you and pick up day can often be very emotional for you, the dog and especially for us as we see the product you have asked for and the friend we have made the past several weeks or months leave us as we anxiously await the reintroduction report!

UNTIL NEXT TIME #GETOUTOFTHEDOGHOUSE

The Shocking (Haha) Reality Behind E-Collar Conditioning

Wed, 09 Oct 2019 10:59:40 GMT

E-COLLAR……SHOCK COLLAR……ELECTRIC SHOCK TRAINER….REMOTE TRAINER

The above sounds horrible right? Who in their right mind would want to use one of!!these on their pet? Other trainers (Who have never used or learned about remote collars) are scared to talk about them because they do not understand them. They say "If you have to use electricity to train your dog then your not a true dog trainer!" WELL……..that's not an accurate statement at all… Lets break it apart and talk about it!

Just because a trainer uses remote collars does not mean that that trainers skips all of the leash work and standard basic fundamentals of training. What most people think is that you buy a new electronic collar and strap it on the dog and then you just zap him for things he does wrong and that’s how it works…..NOT REALLY, But Kinda……. So lets talk about communicating with electronic stimulation

There are three ways to communicate through electronic collars…..The Vibrate, The Tone and The Stimulation.

There are two ways that dogs understand electronic training and that is through Conditioning (where you have already trained a dog to perform a skill to turn on the electronic que (tone, vibrate or stim) and then there is Avoidance(Where you use stimulation only in med to high settings to create a mental note in that dogs head to never do that again because it is not pleasant (jumping, running into the street, snake training, counter surfing- all of these are avoidance drills)

FOOD (no pun intended) FOR THOUGH - What happens when a dog will not accept a treat or luring, what happens when a dog is deaf or blind? Will conventional clicker methods and treats be the only answer? NOPE!

Before an E-Collar is placed on the dog, it is imperative that the dog learn and understand the difference in positive and negative reinforcement. In doing so we teach the dog proper placement of heel, sit, place and stay. The dog will learn through treat and clicker training as well as manual body blocking and leash techniques, teaching the dog when its good to relax and when its good to be concerned that they are not doing something right. They learn differences in verbal tones as well as words like NO and GOOD. The dog needs to have a positive attitude about performing these skills for reward of some type prior to E-Collar training. It is then that you are ready to condition your dog to the devise.

Initially you will place the collar around the dog and begin with the collar in Vibrate…We will ask the dog to perform a task it already knows such as Place and then as we say the command we sill start a continuous vibrations until we can coax the dog onto the place board. Once this has been achieved the collar goes off and the dog learns through repetition that every time he gets on the place board the collar goes off. It is then when we will move the dog into light stimulation and repeat the process while the dog learns the game of "The Floor is Lava" On the cue of "PLACE" the collar comes on creating lava floor and the place board is safe zone. It becomes a game to the dog of how fast can you beat the clock! This repeats itself through all commands such as Heel, Sit and Stay until the dog knows that behind every command CAN come stimulation. Once a dog is performing flawless then we can use our remote devise intermittently just so that they are aware its still present but not that we will need it every time.

One thing to remember about dogs and E-Collars is that every dog is different. Just because your dog is 50lbs doesn’t mean he can stand a stimulation level of 50 and just because your dog is 9lbs doesn’t mean you will be at a collar stim level of 9. Its always best to start low an climb into there thresholds at every session.

We at Altamaha Canine Consulting believe in the E-Collar Technologies brand of collars. We have used and sold many of these to our clients without fail. Why do we like them so much….. Simple to operate, Quick ramp feature, Boost is one button away for those avoidance moments and the lithium-ion battery allows full use until its dead. So many people try to skip out on money when purchasing a remote trainer when in reality it’s the most important piece of equipment you'll ever purchase for your dog. Check out the E-Collar Mini-Educator if your looking for a great collar.

https://squareup.com/store/altamaha-canine-consulting-llc/item/et-mini-educator

I truly hope this has given you an insight of how we here at ACC collar condition our clients dogs as well as our own!

The following are true statements from our clients:

"They are almost begging you to shock them, why are they so happy" - Atlanta GA (doodle litter-mates @ 5 months old)

"This remote training has allowed my husband and I to have our lives back and enjoy our three dogs" - St. Simons Island GA (3 Adult Labs that had been through training programs before)

"After having a lot of farm dogs and now having a trained dog, I'll never have JUST a pet again" - Jesup, GA (lab gundog/family dog)

Creating An ENVIRONMENT For LEARNING!!

Fri, 17 May 2019 10:59:39 GMT

When we begin with a new dog's training at the camp, we always want to take the approach of being their best friend. The first day they arrive at the kennel can be a very emotional day. Mom and Dad are nervous and unsure what to expect, all the other dogs are barking and who knows what they are saying to each other. The last thing we want to do is add to that already very stressful situation. We start out by walking the dog around the property giving him or her a good approach to all external stress-rs that may be affecting them. Each dog reacts differently as some could care less and some are very timid in nature. After the dog is walking erect and tail wagging we approach the kennel and spend a great deal of time outside of the kennel in our airing yards running and playing. We will often introduce other younger dogs so that they feel like they are not alone and gives their mind something to stay occupied by as the family leaves. Running and playing chase often follows and the dog is much more comfortable. This makes the approach to the kennel much easier and a willingness to enter versus being drug into the kennel. We want the dog to do things on their own so that we can reward those behaviors.

Over the next week we spend a great deal of time teaching that dog how to go out and come back into their kennel, that when they approach us we praise them and reward them often with a treat, marking that behavior. We will begin walking the dog around our training yard and encouraging them to climb on our place boards rewarding them all the while. As they walk ahead of us on lead we will simply divert direction and give the dog a audible command rewarding him on the approach to heel. We minimalism any and all hard corrections during this period as we are ensuring the dog is comfortable being coached into all the commands we are going to teach them over the remaining 6 weeks.

Once the pet has shown us that they are capable of exhibiting all command functions through luring, we then begin to add our hard corrections. As we approach the place board the pet is wagging its tail and begins to pick up speed to get on the board in expectation of a treat. At this time we remove the reward so the expectation is not there and replace it with command only. Often times the animal will then get off the board which allows us to give our correction and then we redirect the pet to the board and follow through with the reward on the secondary approach. Drills like this begin to teach the animal that there is not ALWAYS a food reward when we perform commands. This is very critical because you will want to ensure that the dog is listening to your commands and not just going through motions to get a reward. This process repeats itself daily for the course of the next 6 weeks and as the animal does this each session he or she is creating what we call muscle memory. When we say PLACE the dog knows he must get on the board and wait. We will then introduce external distractions such as children, bikes and other dogs to encourage that pet to move off of the board. It is very crucial that distractions be applied because this will be normal everyday life for most of these pets. We have to ensure that from a distance if we ask the dog to stay on the board that he doesn't get off the board regardless the teaser. When the dog can no longer resist it and moves off of the board, we are able to get a hard correction in and create a memory in that dog that he associates with something he or she does not want to do again. As we progress we can watch the dog begin making decisions and weighing their options prior to exhibiting movements. Its drills like this that engage a dog to think about what is the best route to take when exhibiting commands and allows them to be in charge of their own rewards and corrections.

Extended in-board training programs are very successful because they are able to basically mimic the US Military's "boot camp" method for young soldiers. Its not that the work is any worse away, but the ability to remove that dog from its environment where the majority of the bad behaviors are happening (likely because they have been conditioned to do what they are doing by owners reactions) and reformat that dog by adding a structured learning curve to their EVERY DAY life. This reset period allows dogs to understand that those behaviors are no longer tolerated. Group and private sessions can also be helpful for dogs without much issues but the reason they are likely not as successful as in-board programs is because at the end of the session the animal is taken back home where it is likely allowed to continue to do the same behaviors in which started the conversation about dog training to start with and creates a two steps forward, one step back approach with inconsistent corrections.

Training dogs is a learned skill through experience and leash time. There are several trainers who take online courses and have the concepts in their mind but its not until you have leashed hundreds of breeds and thousands of personalities that you can best understand what all it takes to understand dog behavior. All dog behaviors are not conducive to all training methods and for best results, ensuring that you have selected a trainer that has a variety of methods and even a variety of trainers of both male and female sex can help as some dogs will respond to males and females differently. At the end of the day its about building and designing a program for each individual dog for the same or similar out come which would be a well behaved, structured animal that understands his place in the family and can be enjoyed as a member of the family and not just a "dog".

If your looking for a dog trainer or knows someone who is, we encourage you to reach out to us. We would love to help guide you in the best direction we can suited for your pets needs. We have a relationship with trainers all over the country and if its not something we are comfortable helping you with we can surly find you someone who is and always remember to #GETOUTOFTHEDOGHOUSE!

Family Traditions

Tue, 15 Jan 2019 11:54:50 GMT

Since the age of about 6 years old I have had a strong love for animals. I grew up on my granny and papas pig farm where I learned the responsibility of how to care for animals. They needed us, and we needed them. Many days I played all over that farm often climbing an old Catawba worm tree to collect fish bait, you see the tree was located behind an old dog kennel of which never had a dog in it that I can remember. In the living room of the old farm house hung a picture of a man and a dog in a field. I asked granny who that was once, and she said it was my papa and one of his favorite dogs. I asked her what were they doing and she replied, " bird hunting". I was too young to really understand the concept of why a dog was needed to shoot a bird but none the less I remember thinking that must have been a special dog if my papa loved it enough to have a large picture of it in the living room.

Life seemed to pass a lot faster then and before I knew it I was in middle school and then high school. I had been given a dog of my own by my mother. A 6-week-old golden retriever, born May 21, 2000 that I named Sid. We began to

spend every day together. Sid would go on to take me down a path I never would have dreamed. He and I became the youngest member of the Georgia Emergency Management Agencies Certified Search and Rescue team. We traveled all over looking for lost and missing people. When we weren't traveling we were training. It never got old to us. As I began to age so did my papa. He developed Alzheimer's disease and he and granny ended up moving in with us for a bit. It was then that I got to see how Sid would make a difference in his life also. Sid knew something wasn't right and would not leave his side when he was there. Papa ended up having a stroke and passing away a few months later and life went on as it does.

Time again blew by and college came, Sid and I were inseparable. He was my best friend, my study buddy, my protector. We still trained some and continued to help find missing people even in his older age. I began a career in Veterinary Medicine in 2004 and got married in 2010, Sid still by my side.

In my past time I had begun training dogs for other people. It was something I had always done off and on but decided to go all in. I fell in love with the sport of hunting retrievers and hunt tests and before long ended up with an English pointer. I had no idea how to train a pointer, but I remember it looking just like the dog in my papa’s picture. Several books and consults from other pros in the industry and I had him steady to wing and shot. I was so excited, but I still hadn't been on a real quail hunt with him yet. I could get my hands on some quail and decided, today's the day. We are going to see if Ace (the pointer) can find a bird. I opened the kennel and out came Ace, quartering the field and looking like a professional dog doing what he had been trained to do. Then it happened, Ace came to a screeching halt and pointed his first real bird. He was steady to wing and shot. Once the bird flushed he marked it and delivered it to hand and I will never forget that moment. Standing there alone in the pine woods, bird dog on point...it came to me. The fact that this is what my Papa must have felt in that picture above the couch. I realized in that moment I had not simply fallen into this new lifestyle of dogs, guns and fowl but had been conditioned my entire life to be this person. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and strap on an orange vest and walk side by side with my papa, enjoying a sport that we both have/had such love for. Who would have known that as a young child climbing that tree over that old dog pen that it held memories that would surface a lifetime apart? Those memories were not spoken but they can be felt on a crisp cool morning with the smell of spent shot shell and dog breath surrounding me. What I would give to have one hunt with that man, to have my pointer back his, to have him shoot backup for me after the third miss.

Sid passed away a few years ago and so did Granny. The lessons I learned will never be forgotten. They left me with an understanding of how to love all creatures great and small as well as a work ethic of patience and perseverance.

I now own and operate Altamaha Canine Consulting in Wayne County Georgia, A kennel where I am afforded the opportunity to work dogs for clients all over from obedience to gun dog, tracking to detection. My motto has been simple. I strive to help all my client’s dogs to be as worthy as my papa’s dog. Worthy of a large framed print over the couch displayed in their masters living room for people to ask questions of how amazing he or she is. Worthy of a well-built dog house shaded by a beautiful Catawba worm tree. Worthy of the life that Sid had laying in my arms as he slipped off to eternal rest after 13 years of giving everything he had to me, his master.

If you have never had a dog, you are missing out on the opportunity of a lifetime. I challenge you to give it a try. If your Papa's still alive, take him bird hunting. You won't regret it. Life happens fast, take time to enjoy the tail end of an English Pointer quivering on point.

He Walked On Water (Feat. Kenny Chesney) By Randy Travis Official

In-Board Training.....PERKS??

Mon, 14 Jan 2019 11:52:02 GMT

If you have ever owned dog, at some point you have considered getting help with trying to better communicate to it. You may have reached out to a friend who has an obedient pet or a trainer for advise or maybe you have even entertained a group session or had a private session with someone to discuss issues you are having. One option aside from the others would be an In-Board training program.

We know, We know…..How could you possibly leave your baby for an extended period of time?… What would they think of you just leaving them with a stranger?….how will they sleep at night?

These are all the emotions that run through any NORMAL dog owners head if you truly love your dog. The fact of the matter is that In-Board trainers are well rehearsed in dealing with this variety of emotion and we expect to have to answer all of your questions. One thing to keep in mind is while this is the first time you are entertaining this type of discussion, this is likely the 5th time that the trainer has discussed it…TODAY LOL. Think of it as a camp mentality. When the kid goes off to camp they miss their mom and dad night one but by day two there are so many activities, so many other kids to play with and mind engaging things to do that they quickly forget and Monday becomes Friday and camp is over. Its much worse on the parents than it is on the kids. The benefits of In-Board training far out way the risks. Yes, you will leave your dog in the care of someone else however they are likely to have as much or more knowledge of animal healthy and safety than even yourself. By dealing with a variety of breeds and a variety of internal issues, this type of trainer is likely to offer your pet MUCH MUCH more than a hour private or group session. It is easy to get frustrated with a dog and as an owner it is easy to give in or give up. Consistency is key and by handing over the leash to someone else who can stay steady to the course, the reward is almost always greater.

Now, if you have the time and desire to be a "do it yourself-er" then you can for sure tackle this as long as you can stay steady to the course and not give in. Its like dieting almost in a sense. The affordability of allowing an inboard center to do the work is that you do not have to be associated with deterrence strategies of some of the issues in which landed your dog in the need for training. Your dog is more responsive to a new person in regards to molding and changing behavior than he or she is to you. Remember that majority of the issues have been allowed to take place by you so you will have to work double time to undo what you have conditioned to be acceptable.

People often wonder if the trainer is going to "hurt" them. Lets talk reality for a moment about discipline. The need for discipline is literally present in every aspect of life. Self discipline to not put that second piece of cake in your mouth, the need for a child to say please and thank you, the need to stop at red lights and the list goes on. So why is it when we discuss discipline of a pet do we as pet owners hold our breath? Here is why….because we are living in a society that tells us that being obedient is a recommendation not an requirement. When we discuss obedience in regards to pets, not only is it to make them that perfect family pet who can attend family functions and day outings respectfully knowing their place, but its also for their safety. Animals are instinctive and they do not process things as humans do. You could never have the discussion with a child about it being not safe to walk in traffic but as they age they realize that cars are large enough to run them over and that the idea that its not good to walk into traffic becomes a natural behavior Its not the case with a pet, they do not grow up in 3-4 years and just "know that its not safe to run across the highway.

There are so many of emails, texts and phone calls per year that we receive, and almost every inboard trainer receives, thanking them because their dog almost stepped into a bad situations and because of their program, the dog responded appropriately and is alive today because it responded appropriately or the ones where owners can now take their pet with them to the beach or hiking and no longer have to leave them behind in kennel or at a boarding facility.

Here are some things to think about when you are considering training for your pet. Do you TRULY want your pet to behave at all costs so that you can enjoy them for what you originally acquired them for? If so then you must be willing to seek help from professionals that are in this arena. Of course you should check your trainers reviews, go see where your pet will be staying and ensure all of your questions are answered up front. Your dog is not the smartest dog your trainer will work with and to accept that is hard, but remember that your dog is not the worst your trainer has ever seen either and that should make you feel better. Staying steady to the course and understanding you will play apart of the follow through upon completion of any program is key. The ability to hand over the rope and say "here fix our problems" and the ability to say "now what do I need to do to ensure this works" are the two key phrases for success in any in-board program.

Some additional perks of this type of training are that for a period of time you can reconnect with the family, clean your house, spend more time not yelling at the dog or take that extended vacation or fishing trip. Also, you have an additional set of eyes that are seeing your pet in a non biased environment. Every year we pick up health issues with dogs that owners are blind to because they have no comparison. As professionals in this industry in board trainers notice the way your dog walks, the amount of tarter on your dogs teeth, its skin or ears along with personality issues such as fear of certain scenarios (scenarios likely it has never been exposed to from never being able to go anywhere before due to lack of obedience)

In closing, if you are considering a In-Board training program then the ask yourself one thing "Am I willing to trust someone else and stay steady to their plan" if you can say yes to that then you are READY!!!!

STAY PAWSOME and always remember from time to time to #GEOTOUTOFTHEDOGHOUSE

E-Collar

Sat, 05 Nov 2016 12:03:08 GMT

Ecollar Training - Pressure On / Pressure Off

Uploaded by Jacob Weaver on 2016-10-21.

E-Collar's, one of the most controversial tools in the trainer’s tool box, E-Collars can be very beneficial when used the correct way and can be very destructive when not used the correct way. E-Collars allow us as trainers the ability to reward both positive and negative for commands without our body being part of the influence. We can allow the dog to get a correction from the point of mistake rather than from us. This can help the dog see things a little more black and white. When corrections always come from manual training equipment, dogs can get into bad habits this way with really no way to correct when the correction is needed. See video below of Nala. She is doing a place / recall drill where we tell the dog what we want them to do and then we exhibit a constant stimulation of pressure via e collar to the dog until the command is followed through. She is a happy dog and you can tell that she does not require much at all.

Get Out Of The Dog House!

Fri, 18 Dec 2015 12:05:16 GMT

Did you know that life is much more enjoyable with a dog. Not just a - dog - but a trained companion. whether it be the field, the pasture, the house or

the beach, a dog with the ability to understand commands and focus on concepts is much better to be around than dogs that have no discipline. Like kids right? !!!- GET YOUR DOG OUT OF THE DOG HOUSE TODAY!!!!