Happy New Year! :) It's the sixth annual National Train Your Dog Month hosted by the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT). This year the APDT is focusing on everyday manners all family dogs should acquire. And hey that's a great a focus! :)
The APDT has a great program called C.L.A.S.S. (Canine Life and Social Skills) that covers all those everyday, basic manners companion dogs should have. C.L.A.S.S. is a three-level evaluation for dog owners to demonstrate the real-life skills of their dogs, as well as a knowledge assessment of their own understanding of basic dog handling and care. I have actually modeled my group manners classes after the C.L.A.S.S. program because I think it's a great comprehensive list of behaviors dog owners should strive to achieve. They have a general webinar giving an overview of each Evaluation test item and covers the Rules and Guidlines, you can check it out here.
I LOVE National Train Your Dog Month, but then again that's my world every month :). But this event does help promote the importance and benefits of training dogs to become happy and healthy companions. Again, pretty much my ambition every day! But too many dogs are turned into animal shelters each year for behavior and training issues that could be easily solved with proper socialization and positive, gentle, science-based methods of training. So hopefully this helps get the word out about training to more people! :)
The APDT will be offering a variety of free webinars with tips and tricks for teaching the 'basics' - sit, down, stay, wait, coming when called and walking on a loose leash.
Let me know if you find any of them helpful! If there are any training topics you'd like me to cover, please post below! :)
About the Association of Professional Dog Trainers
The APDT is a professional educational organization of trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through using positive, dog friendly methods based on sound scientific principles. With over 6,000 members worldwide, the APDT provides professional dog trainers with a respected and concerted voice. The APDT promotes caring relationships between dogs and people and works to increase public awareness of dog-friendly training techniques. For more information, visit the website at apdt.com.
walking on a loose leash .... will my dog ever learn this????
ReplyDeleteYes! But it is something that most dogs struggle with :). You just have to take it slow and keep the behavior in short, simple steps.
DeleteRuby is very well behaved in almost every way. Her only issue is that because of her separation anxiety, she really has trouble staying put. I have been practicing leaving the room and telling her to stay until I return. I then leave the room for a few minutes. At first, she would immediately follow me anxiously. She will now stay for about a minute, but then she usually comes looking for me - even though I am usually just in the next room. If she can see us, she will stay, but if we are out of sight - leave the room - she panics. Any suggestions? Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI saw a spot on this recently on Lucky Dog. The trainer said that when you come back into the room, you shouldn't make a big deal of it, simply acknowledge your dog but don't be overly excited.
DeleteAre you looking for her to do a formal-style stay (where she stays in one spot and doesn't move) or rather just stay in that room (where she can move around but doesn't leave the room)? Out-of-sight stays are a very advanced behavior!
DeleteDoor greeting manners! If I could get the Boys to turn it down a bit that would be wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThis is always a good one! :) I will do this one on Friday! Thanks!
DeleteI'll look forward to this!
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