References for getting a new dog

- 9 minutes read - 1881 words

Notes from Books

Zak George’s Dog Training Revolution: The Complete Guide to Raising the Perfect Pet with Love

Written by George, Zak, and Dina Roth Port. Published by Ten Speed Press, 2016. Website.

  • Patience is the key to training. Don’t force it.
  • “Energy level is far an away the single most important factor to think about when considering a prospective dog.”

Purchasing checklist

  • leash
    • short ~5 feet
    • long 20-30 feet)
  • crate
  • bed
  • treats
    • high-quality soft dog treats (“training treats”)
    • boiled chicken or other real meat
  • toys
  • food
  • bones
    • deer antlers are really good

The first date checklist

  • “Check for teachability by bringing a squeaky toy…”
  • Use a treat to check for teachability by seeing if will follow you hand by moving it up and down slowly.
  • Use her gaze as an indicator on how interactive she will be
  • Get vaccination record

Coming home

  • Bring a towel for the car ride for any accidents or car sick
  • Restrict freedom at first in the home
  • “…controlling your dog’s environment for the first six months to one year of training is essential for best results.”
  • “There is a direct correlation between how consistent you are and the results you can expect!”
  • Put a create in your bedroom, it will help comfort her and you can hear if she needs to go out in the middle of the night.
  • “…the single biggest mistake that people make with a new dog is giving too much freedom way too early.”
  • “…controlling your dog’s environment for the first six months to one year of training is essential for best results.”

Introductions

  • Slow, slow, slow
  • “Distance is always your friend when getting your dog comfortable in a new situation.”
  • Let the dog come to your children instead of the other way around.
  • Cut the cat’s claws before any introduction
  • Keep the dog on a leash durning introductions
  • Watch body language and intervene immediately, take more time if needed
Leash
  • Let your dog smell and explore it for a while
  • Create a positive association by giving lots of treats
    • “…when the leash comes out, awesome stuff comes with it.”
  • Hook on the leash to the collar and let the dog walk around the house with it.
  • Avoid tension durning the first phase with lots of praise and encouragement to come.
  • “Don’t be discouraged if you encounter some bucking or panic from your dog at some point. That’s just your cue to slow down a bit.”
Create
  • “A dog crate can be one of your greatest dog training tools.”
  • Introduce the create in a fun way so it will be pleasant for your dog and a place to seek comfort.
  1. Throw a tasty treat into the create
  2. Let the dog walk out without closing the create
    • Do this a bunch of times
  3. Now try this while closing the door for a few seconds.
  4. Immediately let her out
    • Give her a treat and praise
  5. Once the dog has spent some time in the create, try stepping out of the room
    • Some whining is normal, ignore it
    • If this turns to crying or distress, take a break from training and try again later
Sleep
  • Dogs should sleep through the night at around 12 weeks or sooner
  • Bring the create in the bedroom for the first few nights, reguardless of if she will be allowed to sleep in your room in the long run
  • Let her sleep next to the bed for the best results
  • Give your dog age appropriate exercise to get her to sleep through the night.
  • If she cries or whines, ignore it
    • If she cries for > twenty minutes and you have already walked her, then you can take her out to make sure she is doing ok.
    • Only do this the first few days until she is adjusted
  • Whatever you do, don’t loose your patience
    • This is an important part of training and can prevent behavioral problems down the road.

Socializing

  • Ensure you are socializing with other friendly dogs
  • Body language
    • sniffing each other and wagging their tails means that they probably want to play
  • Introduce plenty of men
    • Large stature and deep voice can be intimidating
  • Vacuum
    • Let the dog inspect it while it is off
    • Turn it on for only a second
    • Gradually increase the time that you keep it on
    • If she seems scared at all, back off
    • Give praises every step of the way

Vet

Schedule a visit within the first 48 hours

  • Check for underlying problems
  • Get heartworm tests
  • Flee and heartworm preventative medicine
  • Find out emergency procedures

Training Principles

  • Dogs learn best through positive reinforcement
  • Not all issues are 100% curable
  • “To ignore the human influence in the domestic dog reflects a failure to acknowledge why the modern dog even exists at all.”
  • “…leadership roles are simply parental roles. The pack is actually a family social structure, a lot like human families.” – L. David Mech, explaining why his earlier work has been misused to prove Alpha status training.
  • “Real teaching is about communication, not domination.”
  • The key is to make the dog want to do something and not force them
  • Positive training will include consequences for unwanted behaviors
    • “‘No, don’t do that’ in a calm tone and then removing access to the [issue] is very logical to me.”
  • Removal from the offending environment and a “time-out” is very effective
  • Ensure you say “Yes” more than you say “No”
    • No is reactionary and not training
  • Only use physical corrections when preventing your dog from getting harmed or harming someone else
    • Preparing your dog for situations will ensure that you never need physical corrections
  • Dogs do not generalize
    • You will have to “re-teach” skills when the situation/environment changes
    • “The single biggest thing you can do to throw your dog off is to change her environment or other variables
  • Random reward will produce the greatest gains
  • Treats are great to start but using that combined with love and genuine sincerity will go a lot further for long term behaviors
  • “…when dogs act out it almost always has to do with a lack of the kind of exercise that engages both the mind and body…”
  • There is no need to “dumb down” your speech
    • Dogs can have a vocabulary comparable to that of a toddler
  • “Put simply, if an outcome to a behavior is positive, then the dog is likely to repeat that behavior, and if the outcome is not favorable, then that dog is less likely to repeat it.”
  • Dogs are hardwired to connect with humans
  • “Exercise isn’t optional for many dogs; it’s a necessity.”

Fetch

  • This is a learned trait and might not always come naturally
  • Fetch is “the most efficient way to satisfy a dog both mentally and physically.”
  • Reward while training fetch should not be something edible.
    • Instead the use the toy or object you are playing with
  • Get her really interested in the object before throwing
  • Tug-of-war is a critical step of teaching fetch

  • Teach “let go.” If the key to teaching a dog to like a toy is to make it exciting, then the key to teaching her to let go of the item is to make it uninteresting. Keep the toy in your hand but make sure it’s absolutely still, as though it’s in a vise. Also, act bored and dull, as though you couldn’t care less that your dog is pulling on the toy. Don’t look at her, and certainly don’t move the toy in any way. This may take a few seconds or minutes. Be patient. Eventually, your dog will become bored with the toy and let go of it; the split second she does, tell her “Yes!” and give the toy back to her as a reward for proper behavior.

  • Do not yank or pry the object out of her mouth
    • Not a long term solution
  • Number of reps is more important than distance during the training phase

Communication

  • Controlling the environment is key
    • Make expectations clear
  • Hand signals and body language will help
  • Say the word after performing the skill
  • Consistency, consistency, consistency
  • If a command has failed, such as “come,” you need to snap back into training mode and see the desired action through.
  • Faced with inappropriate behavior, give the appropriate alternative to communicate your expectations
  • Keep the dog attached to you or in the create the first few weeks to unsure that bad habits don’t get started
  • “Your goal is to put your dog in a setting where she is not able to do something you don’t want.”
  • The goal is to get your dog to think for themselves so that they will repeat that behavior on their own
  • “Getting mad at your dog and, in turn, yelling at her or physically disciplining her in any way is not going to help and threatens to compromise the most important part of training, the bond between you.”
  • “The best trainers in the world are those who take a step back in their training without hesitation!”
  • Focus on progress and not perfection

Housetraining

  • Barring medical issues, every dog can be housetrained
  • Dogs will not soil their living spaces
    • This is why create training is important
    • Slowly show that the rest of the house is the living space too
  • This is a months long process that should not be rushed
  • Getting outside often will lead to a preference to going on grass
  • Dogs typically have to go to the bathroom about 15-20 after eating
  • Make sure you remove the water dish about two hours before bedtime
  • Do not expect the dog to hold it more than 3-4 hours while training
  • Go for a walk first thing in the morning
    • after naps
    • after eating
    • after playtime
    • right before bed
  • Never leave her unsupervised
    • This allows you to praise and reward going outside
    • you will be able to see queues
  • “If your dog goes potty, say “Yes!” and then after a one-second pause say “Go potty!” as he is finishing up.”
  • “If your dog doesn’t go potty after ten minutes, then bring him back into the house and put him in the crate or other small contained environment he likely views as his living area, or keep him tethered to you. Try taking him out again ten to fifteen minutes later, or sooner if you see signs that he has to go, such as circling and sniffing the ground.”
  • While you wait for your dog to go to the bathroom, stay boring and hide any toys
  • “Just pretend like you’ve won the lottery every time she is successful outside, and she will start to realize that she just did something that resulted in life getting way more interesting.”
  • Never punish a potty accident
    • Intrupt her with a high-pitched voice or clapping your hands and take her outside
    • reward if she then goes in the correct spot
  • “Do not use ammonia, vinegar, detergents, or other similar chemicals. They aren’t effective, and they also may attract your dog back to the spot.”
  • Stick to a schedule and do not wait for her to tell you that it is time to go outside
    • There are too many things to think about when training to expect that she will remember