Dancing with your dog...a new type of freestyle obedience!

Doggie freestyle dance isn't really a new thing, but it is relatively new to the public. It developed in Canada out of freestyle heeling as an entertaining way to compete in obedience. When costumes and dance steps were added to heeling routines to music, dog dancing took on the form of a dramatic routine. Although the possibilities are endless, there are many things you can do with your dog to create a dance that is both fun, but also a great way to work on heeling and also communication. I have recently been asked to start a cha-cha with your dog class at Bosley's in New West. It will be held on Friday nights at seven until eight and begin on August 9th.

This summer I had the opportunity to attend a seminar with Dante Camacho who is an agility master and also a free style dance competitor and instructor. Here is a video on how to get started on targeting and also on how to build the foundations of the tricks you can transfer to dance routines. It is fun to train these behaviours, then link them together into a routine to music. The music is key to the performance and you need to pick a beat that suits you and your dog. You also need to consider what works in terms of the speed at which your dog can perform the behaviours.

Check out this video of Dante Camacho demonstrating the foundations of heeling and targeting!

Check out Dante and his targeting demo:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSFe7w181iQ

Agility for Puppies and Adult Dogs!

The weather conditions are wetter and the winter is upon us. Unfortunately the outdoor agility area that Yogadog offers in the spring summer and fall is slippery and a bit too muddy for classes. In the meantime, indoor agility, levels one, two and three will be held at Pup Culture 6939 Hastings Street in Burnaby. The equipment is smaller but ideal for indoor work. The level one is for beginners and level two is for graduates of puppy agility or for dogs who have had some agility training. Level three is brand new for 2013 and consists of harder sequences and angles as well as better team work and challenges the humans as much as the dogs! I am offering these classes for 50% off as a promotion to get more people out there and get ready for the return of outdoor agility in April when the weather gets better!

To register call Shannon at 604-312-8754 or contact at shannon@yogadog.ca

Dog Training Tips from Yogadog Dog Training!

The structure of anything solid, comes from a strong foundation. It seems simple, but gets complicated...especially when you talk about dog training. We tend to look at trained behaviors as being separate and taught separately. However, when a dog lacks basic foundation behaviors, it is hard to teach it to do what we want it to do, like function calmly and properly in social situations. The most basic foundation behavior is one that people often fail to reinforce. We call our pets, or whistle to them and they come to us, or look at us in response. This is the most important tool that we can exercise with our pet, yet we often take it for granted. Every time your dog comes to you or looks toward you, it is a strengthening of the bond you share, a strengthening of the foundation of your relationship. Unfortunately, unintentionally people will sometimes poison this bond. If you interrupt your dog's (unwanted) behavior, perhaps calling the dog out of a potentially dangerous situation, then reprimand the dog for the event...this is poisoning the command. Humans expect dogs to understand what they are upset about; which is the outburst or the disobedience. However, the dog is probably connecting the reprimand to the action of coming when called. Because the dog often looks sheepish, we assume it understands and feels guilty about what it has done, but more than likely what we are perceiving is fear. The dog is actually coming to fear us and learning that it can't trust us as good leaders. Each time we punish a dog by calling it to get it to come, or to get it's attention and then reprimand it, we destroy the bond we have formed with it. We are in essence destroying the very foundation we strive to build.

Coming when called, or solid recall, is the most important foundation behavior that we as dog owners and handlers can work on. Most situations can be prevented or avoided by calling the animal out of it. A strong recall can save your dog's life! Most people that have problems controlling their dogs also have problems getting their dog to come. This reasons to say, that they might also have weak foundations on which they base the rest of their training. The way to begin properly training your dog is to first figure out how to get its attention. (I won't say undivided attention, because dogs will always have distractions that they find hard to resist). Nonetheless, at least knowing how to get your dog's attention will aid you in being able to keep its attention long enough and often enough to teach it the skills it needs to be a great companion and pet. All dogs have different distractions, drives and motivations. In the beginning you should practice all recalls without distractions and find out what is most likely to draw your dog to you. Is it food, is it toys that make squeaky noises, is it fun gestures or a game of chase? Dogs are simple...they will almost always give their attention and be drawn to the biggest distraction. The trick to teaching good recall is to make ourself as alluring as possible and practice it whenever possible. Often people call their dogs in a stern voice and expect them to obey. For the most part, they will come when called in this manner...unless there is something they like better or something distracting them that lures them away. We need to teach our dogs to choose us over their distractions. Through repetition and positive reinforcement the dog will learn to always choose you as the most interesting and consistent source of reward. Strong recall takes a lot of work, but it is the most important thing you can teach your dog.

The easiest attention getting exercise is rewarding any and all voluntary attention. If your dog looks at you, engage it, give it a treat or praise. If it comes up to you or returns it's attention to you...make a huge deal out of it. This is reinforcing good behavior. Sure it is not something that we commanded, but it is still an excellent foundation behavior that if gone unnoticed, will not strengthen. If you reward it, your dog will likely offer it more often and automatically. If your dog offers you its attention, then you will not have to worry about trying to get it! If you want your dog to come or do something other than what it is engaging in, you will already have done the ground work...with very little effort. In fact in this exercise the dog does most of the work for you. I think the reason this practice often goes unnoticed is because it is so simple it seems silly. Another reason people don't reward their dogs freely is that they don't want to spoil the dog or give it too much food. If you don't want your dog to gain weight from "excessive treating", then cut back on its daily meals. Eventually, you can find other things to give your dog as rewards. Food is simply something they relate to and instinctively strive to earn access to. If you don't want your dog to get spoilt, don't reward anything other than good behavior! If you want a dog that comes to you when called and is very interested in what you are doing or wanting it to do, make yourself the most delicious or interesting thing in the room or the situation. The easiest way to do this is through a reward system, treat training or praise. Getting a dogs attention is easy...make it fun! Ironically, making it fun for your pet, also makes it a lot more pleasant for you. Coming when called and recalls can be turned into attention games that are easy to do and will most likely lead to faster success for you and your dog.

Puppy training and puppy agility classes in Burnaby BC!

Agility training for puppies is a great way to get better focus and bridge to off leash work!

Yogadog Dog Training is now offering half price on Puppy Prana classes for 2013. Also being offered for only $75 is agility training for puppies. What better way to start the New Year than training your new pet? Dogs young and old can benefit from agility training, but during these rainy winter months it is hard to get out there and do the fun stuff that we did in the summer time. Indoor classes are the way to go and because they are so much fun, you'll be sure to want to do the work. Having a puppy is hard work, but it doesn't have to be all work and no play. Teach your puppy the skills to succeed in the challenges of the modern world while using play, rewards and engagement. Teach your puppy the Yogadog way!

Classes regularly priced at $150 now $75 for a limited time.

Classes are held Sundays at Pup Culture (#6939 Hastings Street, Burnaby, BC.)

Contact Shannon at 604-312-8754 or e-mail shannon@yogadog.ca

Limited space so RSVP ASAP!

Yogadog Dog Training

Yogadog Dog Training has a unique approach to dog training. It combines a variety of training methods, traditional and new age, to find programs that work for all kinds of dogs and people. The five programs that Yogadog offers are loosely and humorously based on practices of Yoga. All the courses are aimed at improving the bond that the dog owner has with his or her pet and establishing better communication. The classes begin with a short canine massage or meditation to help the canines and the students balance their energy before starting training. Warm ups are taught on mats, where dogs and humans are encouraged to let go of stress and really connect. It is not so much about teaching the dogs to obey, as it is about teaching the owners how to communicate better with their dogs. What better way to teach dogs new tricks than through positive reinforcement and team work!

Classes run at three locations, North Burnaby at Pup Culture (6939 Hastings Street), South Burnaby at We Care Dog Daycare (7844 Edmonds Street) and New Westminster at the Bosley's in Columbia Village (1015 Columbia Street). Outdoor agility and Canine Cardio Bootcamps are seasonal and will pick up again in the New Year! 

Check out www.yogadog.ca for scheduled times! 

“Puppy Prana” is a strictly positively based program on teaching puppies the skills they need to have a healthy, happy life. Prana simply means vital life. The dog learns to withstand and cope with measured amounts of social pressure, as well as socialize in a controlled fashion.

“Hatha for Hounds” is a basic course. It’s a great introduction to dog training and a perfect way to strengthen the bond you have with your dog. This class covers all the basic positions and loose leash walking techniques, as well as address a few common behavioral problems.

“Asanas Agility” class is an introduction to basic agility equipment and how to on train it. Get aquainted with the exciting world of agility "just for fun", while you gain the skills of competitive dog sport world. It is advisable for those interested to first take the beginner "hatha" class

“Advanced Ashtanga” reviews foundation behaviours and the basics of the beginner’s class. It prepares dogs and handlers for higher obedience and formal competitive heeling and teaching positions. This class focuses on better engagement and longer focus, as well as the control that is required to bridge to off leash work.

“Canine Kundalini” is focused on relaxation, impulse control and training tolerance, as well as balancing energy. It covers desensitization techniques and teach the dog and handler to remain calm under stressful situations.

For more information, e-mail me at shannon@dgudogtraining.ca

Canine Kundalini

A reactive dog does not become aggressive overnight. It becomes sensitized to stimulus, gradually and over a period of time.  The aggression often compounds regardless of well intended efforts to extinguish the behaviour. The dog continued to react and this repetitive behaviour becomes learnt behaviour. The more often the dog accessed this neural pathway the quicker and easier the behaviour triggered. Punishing the dog for aggressing may have worked to shut down the behaviour, but it didn't teach the dog to tolerate stimulus and decrease the stress on the animal. To begin treating aggression, we must first stop the dog from rehearsing the act of aggressing. To keep the dog from reacting, you may initially have avoid it's triggers and teach it coping skills that will lend themselves to impulse control and handling the stress of the modern world. Ideally we want to expose the dog to measured amounts of what it fears and teach it to handle the stress, so that it can learn to cope. This takes time, cannot be rushed and does not happen overnight! 

Reactivity is not usually a sign of the dog wanting to fight. It is actually a coping mechanism to avoid fighting. The dog becomes fearful or threatened and puts on a display to hopefully gain space or access to resources. Aggression is the symptom of fear and stress. To reduce aggression in our dogs we must teach them to handle stress in limited amounts and also desensitize them to the things they fear. Ironically, an aggressive dog is often the one who gets the least exposure to dogs and people and they need it the most. In order to expose a dog to stress and allow it to work through it we need some management tools in place. The owner needs to have a way to orient the dog toward him or her, as well as away from the target of the reactivity. Also, the dog must not be allowed to focus on or lung at the object of the aggression. The idea is to expose the dog at distances, pair the exposure with pleasant and relaxing things and then reduce the space in controlled increments. This is a combination of desensitization and counter conditioning.

One common problem with many aggressive dogs is lack of impulse control. Impulse control can be worked on separately from the aggression. You can teach impulse control using food and toys and by exciting the dog and then teaching it to calm down. If the dog is able to control its impulses with food and toys, you can build this control and transfer it to all parts of the dogs life. In Yogadog Canine Kundalini classes work on teaching impulse control, as well as teach the owners of reactive dogs how to stay calm in the midst of the aggressive display. The class covers management tools, proper greeting rituals, reading body language, as well as how to counter condition the dog to other dogs while preforming desensitization techniques in a calm and safe environment. Canine Kundalini is ideal for nervous and fearful dogs, as well as most aggressive dogs. Yogadog offers Canine Kundalini at Bosley's in New Westminster, BC, on Friday nights between 8-9pm. To register for this class, please contact shannon@yogadog.ca or call Yogadog trainer Shannon at 604-312-8754. Spaces are limited!

Canine Cardio Bootcamp

Canine Cardio Bootcamp is a training program that will give the dog and the owner a mental and physical work out! It is based on basic obedience commands mixed with fast heeling, jogging and play. I am finding that people, with their busy lives, don't have time to train their dogs, as well as exercise them and go to the gym themselves. The program would be designed in a way that is fun for the dogs and the owners. It would begin with practicing basic commands on six foot leashes and teaching the clients to use treats and toys to develop a dynamic training style. It also would train the dogs to be engaged with the owner, even when other dogs are present.

The idea would be to start slow, reviewing basic commands and then pick up the pace, continuing with "on and off games" , emergency downs, as well as honouring while the owners do jumping jacks and run circles around the dogs. The sections would be broken up with games of tug, as well as short breaks for the dogs to get water and the owners to catch their breath. The class would start with a fifteen minute warm up, working on focus games and simple commands, followed with two fifteen minute cardio sessions then ending with a cool down, possibly even a doggy massage on nice days. It would run between an hour and a half and two hours, with breaks and instruction periods. The pre-requisite would be a few basic obedience commands, but we would also cover them in class, as well as add a few bonus ones that would help burn off excess energy and make the workout more dynamic.

For "On and Off Games" and "Emergency Downs", see Don't Give Up on Defaults, cut and paste: http://dgudogtraining.blogspot.com/2010/10/dont-give-up-on-defaults.html

I have been training my dogs Holly and Miko using obedience, play and engagement. It is a great work out! The bonus is that when the dogs get working, they do faster, crisper sits and downs! Also, they pay more attention to me because I am so fun! My goal is to get out there and develop this program, as well as get fit. I'll be teaching people to exercise their dogs in a way that is dynamic and fun for humans and canines, meanwhile, getting experience as a pet dog trainer. Stay tuned, as the program is in the developement stages. The pilot class was July 24th, 2011 and it went really well. Depending on how many folks are interested, I would like to do regularly at the same local park near my home. (Confederation Park in Burnaby)

Dawg Talk

Dogs do not communicate with verbal language. They communicate on a much more fundamental and physical level than us humans. They express themselves with eye contact, or lack of eye contact and through body language. Actually we humans also communicate this way, but rely on speech to convey more complex ideas and opinions. It is because of our complex verbal system that we sometimes complicate dog training by using too many words and not being consistent with our actions. Ideally, we would like to use language as a training tool, but to do so effectively, the words must be conditioned to have meaning to the dog.

For instance, when your dog jumps up on you, pushing it and saying "off" can discourage this bad behaviour. However "pushing" in dog terms is playing...so if you are saying "off", make sure your body is communicating the same message. When you say the word, "off" or whatever you want to use for stopping unwanted jumping up, you should calmly walk into the dog and claim your space. Often times with more excitable dogs a collar correction is needed. I like to pull the dog into a sit, then reward it for compliance. To ensure you are not re-inforcing bad behaviour by giving attention for jumping up, ask yourself what your body language is say. Is it calmly and clearly giving the dog the message that you don't enjoy this behaviour? Some dogs just crave all attention and are rehearsing old habits that resulted in attention, bad or good. In addition to claiming your space, another good aversive is to withdraw all attention.When the dog calms down and offers appropriate behaviour then give it a verbal and physical cue that it has done well. "Good-boy!" followed by a pat or a treat. Body language is more useful than words in communicating with our dogs.

Rewards are really important in defining things for dogs. They are more likely to repeat behaviour that brings about positive outcomes. Reward systems are not just food based; although most dogs will work well for food. Some dogs don't care about treats and will do anything for a ball or a game of tug with you. Play driven dogs can be the easiest to train because unlike food, play drive doesn't usually decrease or become satiated. Also, playing with your dog doesn't result in weight gain. The other reward that is common is social acceptance and praise. Many dogs will work for praise and just to please you. When using verbal praise to train a dog, it must be conditioned to have meaning. Saying "Good Boy!" and following it with a bum rub or a pat will give the clear communication that you are happy with the dogs performance and a socially driven dog will often work simply for your approval.

Purely positive re-inforcement is a modern trend in dog training and it can bring about really great results, as well as build a strong bond between you and your dog. Nonetheless, punishment can also be conditioned to have meaning and clearly communicate to your dog when you are not happy with his performance. The word "NO" has no meaning to a dog, yet when coupled with an aversive, like a collar correction, the dog quickly realizes that NO indicates something unpleasant will follow and will associate this corrections with the thing it is doing at the time, thus reducing the behaviour. Properly administered correctives do work and are often necessary in clearly defining what is unacceptable.

I would also like to touch on the idea of conditioned interrupters as well as markers. Cesar Milan comes to mind, with his infamous "CHUCHT!" If you have ever watched how he interrupts a behaviour, makes this noise and follows it with a poke or a little nudge to the dog's side. He is essentially conditioning the dog to associate the sound with being poked or nudged with his foot. He also is interrupting the behaviour and getting the dog's attention. Dogs are physical and when conditioning a word or a sound to have meaning as a corrective, you must follow the word with some aversive. Anything that the dog doesn't like is an aversive...even petting can be a punisher if it is not enjoyable for the dog! Eventually, just the sound preceding the interrupter acts as the correction on its own.

When using markers, like clickers, we can also condition the dog to understand exactly when it has gotten something right. The verbal equivalent to a clicker is the use of a word or sound like "YES" and following it with a treat or reward. Eventually, the word "YES", or the click indicates to the dog that something good is coming. In addition, when the dog is not complying to what is being asked of him, the word or sound "UH-AH!" can be paired with withholding that reward to clearly communicate non-compliance. We can shape a dogs behaviour by simply rewarding or withholding rewards until he gets it right. Using interrupters and markers are a clear way of letting the dog know when it is doing something right or wrong.

It is important to keep it simple and make sure that your dog is understanding what you are trying to say. Work on developing clear communication by using verbal cues that have been conditioned to have meaning and let your dog know when he gets things right. Basically, through reward and corrections you can teach your dog words or sounds for indicating it got it and a reward is coming, or if necessary, that it has gotten it wrong and a corrective action is coming. Even withholding a reward is an effective aversive. The key is being very clear and consistent. Reward all good behaviour as well as interrupt and redirect all unwanted behaviour and a large portion of your training will be done! Remember, dogs will repeat behaviour that brings about positive results and will be less likely to repeat things that bring about unwanted results. Most of all I can't stress enough that dogs learn through repetition. Repetitive behaviour becomes learnt behaviour, so don't get lazy and let your dog repeat bad behaviour!

Be consistent and don't give up on your dog!

Debunk Dog Parks

I have a dog that is very reactive; yet this was not always the case. When I first adopted Holly (the brown dog) she was really excitable and sometimes her enthusiasm ended in bodily injury, mostly mine. Nevertheless, she was a one year old playful pup. Because she had been locked up in a bathroom for most of her life, never trained, walked or socialized, she had really bad manners, with both people and dogs. I believed that I could train her how to interact properly with humans and that letting her work out her communication with other dogs would be the fast track to teaching her dog park etiquette. So, I allowed other dogs at the park to correct her and often to give her a little roughing up. She eventually started fighting back and now I have a fear-aggressive dog.

The most important thing I realized is that if you have an aggressive dog, the only way to control them is training them to do other things than aggress. Give your dog fun things to do and let them know that you make good decisions by not setting them up to fail. Honestly, I was the one who needed training. I could have avoided many of her problems if I’d known how to direct her energy properly. Afterall, often dogs will teach each other to behave like wild animals, whereas we want to teach them to behave like pets. You often hear people say in reference to dogs showing aggression toward each other, let the dogs work it out…and in some situations this is true. However, in the case of badly socialized dogs, they often make bad choices based on lack of experience. I mean would you let your kids work things out in the playground if one of the kids was a bully and punching the other kids in the face? Of course not, so don’t let your undersocialized dog just work it out.