How to Train a Dog to Fetch

 - Today I'm going to write to you about the value of teaching your dog how to fetch. Now, this is something that I do every single day with my dogs in order to keep them in shape, and to exercise them. But did you know this is also a fabulous game to use to help establish leadership and to build a great relationship with your dog. Today I'm going to go over a few key factors on teaching your dog show to do a retrieve. Ready, Bee, wanna show them? On your mark, okay, ready,get set, go, get the ball! (clapping) Good girl, bring it here! Bingo! Good girlie! 

This is seven-month old Beeline and my name is DN. Welcome back to My blog. Get that thing! (guitar strum) (puppy yips) Before you begin, you may consider putting your dog on a leash. What I've also done is put my toy on a leash so that I have control of both variables. Now before doing this,I've already established that my puppy really likes this toy so make sure you have an idea of what types of toy your puppies like, whether it's a tug toy or a rubber-sized type toy like this. Sometimes dogs don't like to retrieve because they aren't motivated by the type of toy or reward that you'reusing, so experiment. Make sure you find something your dog likes. 

One of the main reasons why I've put my toy on a leash is so that I can make this look like dying prey. That's a lot of fun for the dog so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna get Beeline engaged with the toy right now just by moving and whipping this toy around and letting her chase it, ready, Bee? What's this, ready? Oooh, so puppies like when things move so I'm gonna get it ready. What's this, shhh. What's this, get it, get it,get it, get it, get it, get it. 

Whoo, she caught it already! So I'm just gonna move it away from her and if she happens to let go of the toy, I'm gonna start whipping it around again. Whoo, there it goes, whooop, whoop! Ha, ha, ha, she's pretty quick! Good girl. This is the first part of the retrieve. 

I wouldn't actually throw the toy. I would just engage her in a game of tug by keeping the toy very active and exciting. Good girl, get that. Now that I've established that Bee really likes this toy, the next thing that I want to do is start teaching the retrieve portion of it. Now what I've done is I've actually taken two leashes and I've attached them to this toy so I have a really long line to use to control the toy. I know she really likes this toy so I'm going to throw it out, but to prevent her from running around my yard with it, I have a line attached so that when she picks it up, I can use it to reel her in back in towards me, teaching her to go get the toy and bring it directly back to me, and I would just repeat this process a few times until I don't have to assist her with it any longer and she's doing it a bit more independently. 'kay, Bee, you ready? Wanna get this toy, ready, ready, ready? 

So what I'm gonna do is hold on to her, make sure I have the end of my line ready. Ready, set, oh, she's ready! Come here, come here, come here! Set, get the toy, get the toy. Good girl, whoop, whoop, whoop! Bring it here, bring it here, bring it here. Yay, good girl! Now when she gets back, I don't wanna take the toy away from her right away. I want her to be rewarded and have fun for bringing the toy tome, so I need to take a second to play a little game of tug. Oh, that was a good puppy. Okay, let's try it again. Are you ready? So I'm gonna get the end of my line. Ready, set, get the toy! Good girl, bring it here, bring it here, yay! Good girl, very nice, good! We just repeat this process until the two of us got tired. Good girl! I've just done a bunch of repetitions with me holding the leash and she's been really good about bringing the toy directly back, so I'm gonna progress now by throwing the toy a little bit further away, and I'm going to start dropping the leash. If at any time I feel like she's not bringing the toy directly back to me, I'm not gonna chase after the dog and the toy. That could be probably the worst thing you could do. 

When you chase a dog,what they typically do is keep running and just turn it into a big catch-me-if-you-can game, so instead, I'm gonna try and get to my line so I can go back to directing here with the leash in my direction. Hopefully I won't have to do that though. You ready Miss Bee? Ready, set, get it (clapping). Girl, bring it here, bring it here, yay! What a good girl! Always lots of play and praise when you're puppy brings the toy back and try it again. Ready, get set, get the toy! Good girl, bring it here (claps), whooo! Good girl! I think it's safe to say she likes this game. Good girl, yes, very nice. Now once you're able to do this with the leash on the ground, obviously the next step would be able to progress to not having the toy attached to anything, but it's not gonna hurt anything by having the leash attached for a little bit longer just to be on the safe side, especially if you're in a busy location where there tends to be lots of distractions. Good girl, yeah. 

Once you've had a lot of reliability playing with the toy with your dog while the toy is attached to a line, you may consider taking the line off of the toy, but to ensure you have control, you could always attach this long line to your dog. That way if they decide to make any poor choices or they get a little distracted, you have a way to keep them safe and under control. The last component that I think is really important to talk about is how you move your body. In order to get her to bring the toy back to me quickly, I always wanna move away from her to try to encourage that chase drive, so this last fetch I'm gonna show you, I'm gonna throw the toy out. Once she gets the toy, I'm going to call her and I'm gonna run away and that's going to ignite her chase drive. She's gonna wanna come back to me quickly and then we can have that fun game together at the end. 'Kay, Bee, ready? On your mark, make sure you don't step on the line so they don't make it go tight when they run away. Ready, ready, ready, okay. Ready, set, we're going this way. Get the ball, get the ball, get the ball. Bee (clapping), yeah, he, he, he, he! Your dog might not add that exuberant jump at the end. 

As you recall, my dog is a little bit over the top, but whatever they want to do to make the game fun. Yes, good girl. Wanna do one more, are you ready, set, get the toy. Whoops, here, bring it here, yeah (claps)! Bring it here, bring it here, bring it here. Yay (claps), (mumbles) yeah! So always moving away from the dog, encouraging him to bring the toy back to you. If either one of you is not out of breath at the end of this,you're not doing it right. Now retrieving is obviously a really fun thing to do with your dog and it's something we encourage you to play a lot with them,but it's really important that when you're playing retrieve that you don't compromise your control by letting your dog be in a situation where they can take the toy and run off with it, so it's a really smart idea to keep your dog or puppy on the line or your toy, or whatever your retrieving with on a line as well to ensure that you always have control.

 People are often asking us for suggestions for ideas for things for their puppies to fetch, if you had any great successes with certain toys at home with your dogs,especially if they were once a little unmotivated by a toy and you found something that really worked, it would be awesome if you could post some suggestions in the comments below. I think other readers would really appreciate some of the suggestions that you might have. Now, if you like today's article, make sure you give us an encouraging comment. 

Feel free to subscribe my blog as we post brand new articles every week about all kinds of fun things to do with dogs whether it's training or just dog information in general. My name is DN. This is my puppy, Beeline. 

Thanks for reading and happy training. 

How to Teach a Dog to Sit

Hey everyone!

 

I'm DN from India. This is my furry friend "Maizy" and we're here to teach you a basic, but really important dog training command: "Sit" DOG TRAINING TIPS TEACH DOGS TO SIT 

 

So, to start you'll need some high value treats to help lure your dog into the "Sit" position. Maizy here really likes freeze-dried salmon so we're gonna use a handful of these. A clicker is optional,but if you're not clicker training always remember to mark your dog's behavior with a quick and happy "Yes" to let them know the moment they got the behavior right. 

 

Now let's start training! Are you ready Maizy? Yeah! Just you ready? Start with a tasty treat in your hand like this, and then lure your dog into the sit by holding the treat close to their nose and then moving it up over their head. Your dog's natural instinct will be to sit to continue following that treat and as soon as she does either click or give her a happy "Yes" and reward.

 

So, it will look like this. Maizy! Yes! Good girl! That was so good. Next it's time to add the verbal "Sit" cue. So, say the queue, and then lure your dog into the sit again. Once your pup's toosh hits the floor mark the behavior and reward. Maizy you want to give it a try? "Sit" Good girl! That was so good! After practicing this a few times and your dog is doing well you can then start to fade the lure. Give the sit command and make the luring motion this time without the treat.

 

When your pups sits, mark and reward. Maizy, "Sit" Good girl! That was awesome! That was so awesome! Now that your dog has a good sit she should learn how to hold that sit position until released. Give your dog the verbal "Sit" cue and then lure your dog into the sit. Then quickly mark and treat a few times as they hold the sit position. Maizy, "Sit" Good girl! Yes! Good job. Next add a break cue such as free and move her out of the sit by encouraging her to come to you. Maizy, "Sit"Good girl. Good girl. Okay. Free! Yes. Good job. Good job.Okay. Repeat this a few more times then start to mark reward less often as she holds the sit. 

 

Maizy, "Sit" Yes! Good girl. Good girl! Yeah! Okay. You're free! Come here. Good girl.Finally eliminate the lure. Verbally cue your dog to "Sit" Mark and reward. Then give your break cue. Maizy, "Sit" Yes. Good girl. Free. Free! Good job. 

 

And just like that your dog has got the beginnings of a good sit. As always if your dog is struggling at any point, that's okay. 

 

Just go back a step and practice some more. And remember,training should be fun for both you and your dog so always use positive reinforcement and never skimp on praise and love. 

 

Thanks for reading everyone! I'm DN!  This is Maisy and if you've enjoyed learning this trick with us, Comment, and Subscribe for more. Thank you so much once again for reading my blog post!

How to Teach Your Dog to Speak

 Hi. Today, we're going to learn how to teach your dog to stop barking. It may sound nonsensical, but to stop your dog from barking, first, teach him to bark on command. Give your dog the command to speak. Have someone immediately make a noise,such as knocking on a door, that is sure to make your dog bark. Let him bark two or three times. Then, stick a tasty treat in front of his nose. When he stops barking to sniff the treat, praise him, and give him the treat. Repeat until he starts barking as soon as you say speak. 

Once your dog can reliably bark on command, move on to the quiet command. Teach dog that barking is OK until told to be quiet. Simultaneously, hold a treat in front of your dog's nose. Most dogs get quiet immediately because they can't sniff and lick the treat while barking at the same time. Praise your dog continuously during his quiet time with petting and words of encouragement. When your dog makes a mistake and barks,and he will, reprimand him immediately. Never strike your dog, but do something that will catch his attention, such as clapping loudly.

As soon as your dog starts barking,you must instantly reward him. If you are still having trouble, then you may need to spend some time working with your dog on specific barking situations. Here are a few of the more common ones. If you're a dog is in his crate or confined to a room behind a baby gate or other barrier, he may bark because he wants to be with you. But if that's not always possible,then you'll need to train him to stay quiet. 

Next time he's barking uncontrollably in his more confined space, try this. Start by turning your back and ignoring him. Whenever he stops barking,turn and praise him. Give him a treat and make a game of it. As he catches on that being quiet gets him a treat, lengthen the amount of time that he must remain quiet before being rewarded. 

Dogs that are afraid of other dogs will often bark at them. Have a friend with a dog stand out of sight, far enough away that you know your dog won't bark at the other dog. As soon as the friend and dog come into view, start feeding your dog lots of treats. Keep feeding treats until the friend and her dog are out of sight. Ask your friend and her dog to gradually walk closer. Don't try to progress too quickly. It may take days or weeks before your dog can pay attention to you and the treats without barking at the other dog. 

When the doorbell rings-- [DOORBELL RINGS] --your dog alerts you to the presence of an intruder by barking wildly. Once you've taught your dog the quiet command in a calm environment, practice in increasingly distracting situations. 

Teach your dog-- [DOORBELL RINGS] --to react to the doorbell by going to a special place and laying quietly while the intruder comes into the house. Start by tossing a treat on his mat and telling him, go to your place. Have him go to his place before you give him the treat. 

When he's reliably going to his mat to earn a treat, up the ante by opening the door while he's on his mat. If he gets up, close the door immediately. Repeat until he stays on the mat while the door is open. Then, increase the difficulty by having someone ring the doorbell while your dog is on his mat. Reward him if he stays in his place. Try these techniques to stop your dog from barking. All of them can be successful, but don't expect miracles overnight. The longer your dog has been practicing the barking behavior, the longer it will take for him to change his ways. Let's recap. 

First, teach your dog to speak or bark on command. Once he has that down, teach him to be quiet on command. Use treats and praise to help get the desired outcomes. And lastly, be patient and consistent in training. Don't expect overnight changes.  For more information and offers,check out my blog. If you like this article, please comment so that it inspires me to write more articles on this topic and also to find out when we have more articles available, be sure to subscribe. 

If you have some good ideas for training your dog please let us know in the comments section below.

How to Stop Puppy Biting

 I am DN, And today i am going to write the dangers of allowing puppy biting, the importance of playing correctly, and how to stop the unwanted biting behavior. It's normal and even cute when your puppy nibbles and lunges at your hands. Since your puppy has been exposed only other puppies in the litter who naturally play with biting and mouthing, it would make perfect sense why he would assume that playing with you wouldn't be different.

But as puppies' teeth grow and their bodies become stronger, what was once cute nibbling eventually turns into uncomfortable or even dangerous rough play and bites. Since biting is an unacceptable type of play, it's important to teach your pup how to enjoy playing games with toys instead of your hand. Playing is a healthy, natural activity that helps build the bond between you and your puppy. This also affects your puppy's trainability-- sitting, waiting, learning tricks, not pulling on the leash, even to stop biting. Before teaching your puppy not to bite, it's important to train your puppy to decrease bite pressure. Allow your puppy to begin mouthing and nibbling at your hand.

When he bites down hard yell"Ouch!" so he's startled and stops for a second. Continue allowing him to mouth your hand, making sure to speak up every time he bites too hard, so your puppy can learn your threshold for what is acceptable and what isn't. Once your puppy understand your feedback about the strength of his bite, you can begin to reduce biting. The best way to teach your puppy not to bite is to redirect him to a toy or a chew bone.

Simply give your dog a firm no and replace whatever he was biting with something he is allowed to chew. If your puppy is three to six months old, there's a good chance he may be teething. So he might be trying to reduced is comfort by chewing. Try giving him an ice cube to chew on. It'll numb his gums and help alleviate the pain.

My favorite trick is to get puppies to stop biting is to exaggerate and pretend they've injured me, their friend. By pretending their nip actually hurt you by putting your hand away, yelling ouch,and stop playing, you're replicating what other litter mates would do if another puppy were to cause them pain. Managing and controlling puppy biting problems can be a major challenge for dog lovers. Puppy biting or nipping starts out as a bit of fun but needs to be controlled quickly to avoid ongoing problems. Training your dog depends on a good relationship built on love and trust. It takes  time to build a working partnership. And the more time and patience you have with your puppy from day one, the more obedient he'll be. Dogs want to please. I'm DN  and I hope that you found this article helpful as you welcome your new addition to your family. 

How to Get a Puppy to Stop Biting

 Today we're going to write about a really popular topic, and that is of puppy biting. You know, it's a pretty common thought out there that puppy biting is something that dogs will just do when they're teething. They'll eventually grow out of it, all those types of things. Unfortunately, that's not the case, it's something that it does need to be dealt with while they're babies. So today one of our students, Dan, has brought his five-month-old puppy, Lucy, to come over for a little visit. And we're gonna talk a little bit about how to address puppy biting in just a few short minutes, opposed to having to take months to try to address the issue. So, my name is DN,welcome back to My Blog (How to get a puppy to stop biting).  Here at my dog club we've helped to train over several dogs. Now, if this is your first time reading this blog make sure you write on comment column, so that we can help you to have a well-behaved four-legged family member.

All of the methods that we've used to address the puppy biting are specifically directed towards puppies under the age of about six months. So keep in mind, if you're having any additional issues that could be a little bit more serious than just basic puppy biting, or you're dealing with a bigger or older stronger dog, these tips might not be perfect for you. And we would suggest that you contact your local behaviorist to make sure that you're getting the right information to keep both you and your dog safe. Okay, typically, what situations is she more likely to nip you, or the kids, or your wife?

Yeah, a situation very much like this. On the ground, playing,toy out, loose clothing, hands on the collar, that kind of thing. - So, basically, every situation that every puppy likes to biting. - Absolutely, yes. - So your puppy is normal, you're having ha normal puppy who's crazy right now. Okay, cool, first things first, she has a very well-fit collar on already, good student. This is Good. It's nice and snug, so what I'm going to try first is the first level of discipline that we use.

We call it the passive restraint. And this is really good to use in situations when dogs are really hyper like this. What I'm going to do is put my hand on her collar. And I'm going to just snug her against my body. I'm just going hold onto her really tight. I'm just going to tell her to settle, that's enough, "Good Girl". So, she's settled, but I can still feel a lot of like intensity to her body. So I'm just going to tell her, wait until she relaxes a bit more. Good girl, oh, so as soon as I go to let go she starts to sort of move again. What I'm looking for her to do, there we go, is when I let go just to sort of be a little bit calmer. Now, this works very well for some dogs, but not all dogs. And she's high enough right now, excited enough that it might not make effect. So we may have to go on to the next version. 

Although she's settling a bit now. Good, good girl, good settle. So, how I'm holding her collar right now is quite specific. My fingers are going underneath her collar, and they're pointing towards her head. And I'm holding on either one side of her head or the other. I'm not holding mid-head because she could bite my arm. She could get at me at this here. So you may notice the palm of my hand is bracing against her cheek. So no matter how hard she tries she can't get me, and I can just sort of move around her. Actually, she hasn't really tried to bite once yet. She's just being too excitable in this moment. There, I just want her to be calm. Now, when I'm trying to get the dog to be calmer my presence,and award, and praise, no, don't do that, needs to be calmer as well. Stop, so each time she does something that I don't like I'm squeezing a little tighter. And I'm just giving a little shake on the collar. Good girl, oh, look, did you see that?

She went to do it again,and then she didn't lift it. - Yeah, stopped herself.- That was, no, settle. Good girl, you're so cute. Now, she's being really good so what I'm going to do is take the pressure off and I'm going to let her go. Good girl, yay, good,and see what she does. One thing that this puppy is doing really, really well that not all dogs do is she has what we call excellent recovery. Sometimes what happens if dogs aren't really used to having much discipline, and then all of a sudden they get it, they sometimes wants to run away. And they flee a little bit,and they get really stressed. And then people often sort of go, oh, my gosh, I can't discipline them because they get really worried and upset. - Right, right. - She's a very well-rounded dog. And she's already had a little bit of discipline, and already some good training. So she's already sort of learning that, okay, I don't like that, but life sort of goes on, which is really, really important. The other thing that's really important to note is after you discipline a puppy you can't just let that be the end of it.

Now what I do, so I'm going to get some treats out. I might do a little bit of behaviors with her just to sort of say, okay, I didn't really like what you were doing. But I still like you, so let's do some things. Good girl, I might do a sit, I might do a down. Here you go, oh, you're smart. She says why would I follow that food when you have three in the other hand? Come here, Lu, what's this? Did you just find a freebie? Yes, good, good girl. Let's do the ears first because it's a little bit easier. - Sure. - What we're gonna start off with is you're gonna have food in one hand. And you would've done this in head start class. - Yeah, in leash hand? - Yeah, and then you're going to put food in this hand. And then with your free hand you're just gonna rub her ears a little bit. And then you're going to feed her as you're doing that. So keep the food present. - Yes, that's a good girl. - Good, this is how we would start.

There's not a lot of difficulty in this, it's just association. I touch your ear, you eat food, everybody's happy, this is a nice thing. Good girl, okay, clearly no problems with that one. So now we're gonna make it a bit harder. And what you're gonna do this time is with one hand on her collar you're going to hold her ear with the other hand. And then just for a moment or so if she's calm say yes, and then you can reach for food. So leave the food there for a moment. With this hand touch one of her ears. - Hey, knock it off. (dog panting) Hey, knock it off. Okay, be firmer if she does it again. With this hand be firmer,there, that was better there. - That's a good girl. - Good, now yes and reward. Yes, nice.- Yes, good girl. That's a good girl.- And try again. - Yes, and reward.- Yes, good girl, yes. - Good, really good, that was a really good one. Okay, this time what I want you to do is I want you to hold the ear almost like, you know how the vet holds the ear, they poke that pokey thing in there? - Examination, yeah, the pokey thing. - (laughs) The pokey thing, we're gonna try the pokey thing now. So I want you to hold her ear,and just sort of like, yeah. - Ah! - I'm watching you here, right? - Yes, that's a good girl. - Perfect, good girl. - Which one of you has my ear? (laughs) - She is smart as a whip man. (laughs) You're too smart for your own good little girl, yes you are. Naughty thing, naughty thing, okay.

One thing my client had mentioned is a commonplace that Lucy likes to bite is when they're trying to wipe her paws off. So we're just gonna give that a little try now and see what we get. What I'm going to do when I'm practicing this is I have the leash on, I have the collar on so that I'm prepared for that. And I'm actually just going to stabilize her for a moment, good girl. And I'm gonna start with an easier paw first. Ah, no, good, good girl. So, she didn't actually bit me, but she tried. So I just a little with my voice, a little guttural growl. And then I just got my hand to the collar, gave that little shake that I gave before. But did you see here reaction right away? She was like, oh, yeah.- Yeah, instant. - As soon as I get that that's right away when I did the good girl.

Okay, we're gonna try that again, yes we are. Oh, she's perfection, yes, good girl. So I'm gonna reward her a bunch of times. Good girl, yes, and I'm going to try your other one, good. Yes, Lu, yes, good girl. She just did an interesting behavior. You see how she tried to roll on her belly? - Yeah. - That's a very submissive thing for a dog to do. I think that's good that she's doing that. But in this moment I wouldn't really allow her to do that. Ah, ah, ah, don't do that, good girl. Okay, now we're gonna try the back paws. Good girl, oh, you're so good. Yes, good for you, really good. Okay, what ends up happening,what's sort of good and not good about this is that she knows me a little bit. She's met me a couple times, but she doesn't really know me that well. So when I go to discipline her because she has no prior interaction or relationship with me she doesn't really know whether I'm a leader or not. Because I just got on there really quickly with a correction she was like, oh, okay you're a leader. - Yeah, right. - I'm not really going to try that again. So biting absolutely can be addressed very quickly if you're sort of really quick out of the gate. But if you're a brand new person, and you're not really used to it, and you're still kind of learning the technique, learning the timing, some times it takes a little bit longer.

So, I'll try a little wipe.- Yes, good girl. Yes, good leave it. - Oh, and feed her again with this hand. The reason why I don't want you to let go of her collar is because if she decides to get silly it's so hard to get it again. - Right, yeah, get it back in. - Oh, that's so good.- Yes, that's a good girl. - Okay, and we try the other one, settle. - Yes.- Yes. She's worse with that one.- Yeah, good girl. - We're gonna reward again. Yes.- Yes, that's a good girl. - Oh, she's so good.- Yes. - Yeah, keep her here forward, good, settle, settle. Good choice.- Yes, good girl. - So, this might be something that you and Ellen need to do a little bit. Like not actually when you need to wipe her paws though. Do it like... - Sitting there, watching TV, yeah. - Yeah, good, no, yeah.- Hey, leave it. - Good, yes, that's better.- Good girl. - Yes, and reward. Okay, now, we just did a bunch so I'm gonna let you feed her. I'm making sure I'm still holding as you feed. Now I'm going to let go and just let the pressure be off again. Because it's like, okay, because it's a lot for the puppy.

This is very mental, right?- Sure, yeah. - So just do a little bit, and then take a little bit of a break, that was good. You're going to keep a leash on. You're going to keep her collar well-fit. And you're going to make sure that your being firm, and that you affect change,and that you're not working it so long that you can't somehow find success in this situation as well. So that you're putting a bit of pressure on her, but then also making sure that she's having a good positive experience too.