Category: TRAINING

Kids and dogs.  Is there a better combination?  Most of the time, no.  So why am I hesitating?  Because you must know your kids, and you must become familiar with dog breeds; that is, the inherent tendencies specific to each breed in order to satisfy a good kid/dog fit.

Some pet parents even think of their dogs as big kids in furry suits. Starting out with a puppy or family-oriented rescue dog is generally the best way to go forward while teaching your new furry family member how best to behave and assimilate into your household.

We’ve come so far from the days when dogs lived outside in dog houses and people didn’t necessarily realize that dogs needed socialization, as they generally are social creatures.

Dogs, for the most part, can understand approximately 200 words. When we choose our words carefully, we’ve formed the bases of inter-species communication: We talk, and the dog responds with a particular action. But then again, your dog needs obedience training just as your child learns, first at home, then at school, how to interact with others and behave properly.

Now I’m going to add another layer of understanding to the mix: child interaction with a dog, particularly a new dog in the household.

“Alpha dog” is a familiar phrase, referring to the pack mentality of dogs, and independently, wolves, who are pack animals as well.  But even as a single dog living in a household, dogs still understand the hierarchy of being pack animals.  There is always one alpha in the household; either the pet parent or pet care-taker or it will be the dog. Tone of voice and body language are most important when establishing dominance. For example: standing taller than your dog, using a louder, more commanding voice when verbally correcting using the word “NO” will help elevate a person to the position of alpha.  Even a child, should learn to do the same. When a child is down on the ground with your puppy, the puppy will consider the child to merely be another canine playmate, and treat the child as such. Jumping on, standing on, biting, nipping, pulling clothes, fighting over toys, growling, barking and inviting actions such as tug of war or chase, are all dog to dog activities that your dog will try to initiate with your child. Something as simple as having your child sit on a small stool when playing with your pup, will enable your child to stand immediately and say  “NO” to the puppy and give the puppy an appropriate dog toy or chew. This is a practice that can be done for 10-15 minutes a few times a day, with adult supervision, of course.

By assuming the role of alpha, the highest-ranking member of the group,  the dog will become more submissive—that is, take commands without creating problems.

Learning the correct way to correct your dog and teaching your child to do the same will help to reduce unwanted behavior especially directed to the weakest member of your family; your child.  Consistency in administering correcting is the key to success.  

Tug of war is defined as a sport which pits two teams of equal strength against each other to obtain the same thing. So, is it a good idea or bad idea to play tug of war with your dog?

You’ll find pros and cons, and different opinions like any subject you research online. There will be those who think tug of war helps your dog to burn off energy just like walking or running. Not sure I can see how this could be true, considering that the dog is basically standing in place, pulling something with its teeth. These “founts of information” will tell you how misunderstood the activity of tug of war is and that it’s old school to consider tug of war to be an aggression inspiring game.  But if you read further into these resources of information, they will explain that there are definite rules to follow like; making sure your dog understands and will comply with the command to sit, take it and drop it. Will your dog do that?

Some sources say that it’s important to win the game in order to teach your dog to respect you and your authority. Right here, is where we’re going straight to the “Who is Alpha?” thing.

Internet research will yield data that goes further to state, engaging in the game of “tug of war” should only be played by a human that will win! This tells me that this enlightening advice suggests, not only should the human and canine be of equal strength, as the definition of tug of war suggests, but the human must be powerful enough and determined enough to not allow the canine to ever gain control. Can you do that? Clearly this is not a kid and dog activity. 

The second important rule comes into play after the game is over and you win every round. Instructions dictate that you immediately put the tug of war object away, reinforcing your dog’s understanding, that you are in charge.  Let me know how works out.

So, what does Jenna have to say about all this? Well, it seems like a lot of effort and a lot of rules to follow with very little benefit and much detriment.  Dogs are not people too and people are not dogs. We are supposed to be smarter and we are supposed to set the bar. Children are scratched and bitten by dogs often because they play with the dog on the ground and the child is perceived by the dog to be another puppy. Pulling an object from a dog’s mouth will only validate and encourage the behavior of NOT giving an object to you and snapping to regain its grasp should you happen to get possession of it. No, I don’t believe that tug of war will make your dog aggressive. But, I do believe that it can encourage aggression and at the very least, it does enable your dog to act out any negative, unwanted behaviors like growling, guarding resources, baring teeth, inappropriate chewing/destroying items, and establishing dominance; all of which are undesirable and require professional training to eliminate.

Inciting a dog to grab and pull an item from your hand goes against all my better judgement and years of training family dogs to be members of the family, that can be trusted to interact appropriately, gently and lovingly with all other members of the family.  It worries me that if there are children in the household, a child will touch one of the dog’s toys and the dog will snap at the child. This is referred to as guarding resources. Additionally, like me, you may have large breed dogs and small or toy breed dogs. My large breed dogs were always taught to be gentle with the smaller dogs and never take toys away from them.

Puppies should be taught at an early age to “drop it” or “give”.  Fetch or ball are safe and fun games to play with your dog and your dog will benefit from the exercise. Any nipping or biting should be discouraged and corrected with proper training methods as soon as they begin.

Go potty, go pee, go poo, let’s go out, or the latest entry Bio-Break.  What is your favorite word for asking your dog to urinate or defecate?  Go potty is the one I hear the most often.  Merriam-Webster defines “potty” as a toilet or a bathroom and defines “bio-break” as a short break in a meeting or event so participants can use the restroom. Hilary Clinton has been noted as using that phrase. Obviously neither one applies to your dog. I tell you this because my word of choice, and I am asked quite often,  is “bathrooming” and I define it as the act of going to the bathroom. I admit I do kind of like the sound of bio-break.  Merrian-Webster does not consider “bathrooming” to be a word at all, but the Urban dictionary defines it as “The act of doing something in the bathroom.” So, considering that hopefully, your dog’s version of going to the bathroom means going outdoors to defecate or urinate, I will continue to use the word “bathrooming” or as my neighbors may hear me say to Kahuna; “Go to the bathroom.” “Good Boy.”

The truth is, it doesn’t matter what word or phrase you use, as long as you use it consistently and your dog understands what you are asking of him. What is important is that you use the same designated location as the “place to go to the bathroom or to go potty” every time you take your dog out for that purpose and tell him what you expect him to do there. 

When your dog is taken outside because he must urinate or defecate it should be a different event than taking your dog for a walk. Most pet parents will attest to the fact that their dog urinates every time they take them on leash outside. That’s fine, but there should be an order to this process.  First you take your dog to the designated area, which is very close to your home, and tell him why he is there; which is to go to the bathroom. Once this is achieved in preferably under 10 minutes, take your dog for a walk. It’s a very simple process and will make your life a lot easier when it’s bad weather, too cold or too hot, you’re late for work or maybe just too tired. Going for a walk around the block or to the park or waiting for half an hour for Buster to find the “right spot” because it’s “time to go out” is really doing things the hard way.

Remember when your parents told you to “go to the bathroom” because you were going for a ride some where or out for the day?  Same thing for your dog; bathrooming is the first thing to be done and then going for a walk. 

If you let your dog out into the fenced back yard or property, the same training technique would apply. Take your dog ON LEASH to urinate or defecate in one area and always the same area of the property and then release him to run and play. That way you know for sure if he did what he was supposed to do, you can clean it up immediately and he is not using the entire property as his personal bathroom. BUSINESS FIRST!

BTW, you can designate a small area on your property for your dog to use as his bathroom, by changing the ground cover. Gravel or small stones or putting a border of railroad ties around the area may help to “mark the spot”.

I thought it would be interesting to share some of the dog training methods used by pet parents on the advice of the internet, dog seller and well meaning dog lover, that may work for a short time but most likely will backfire in the long-run.

The following three methods that totally go against professional dog training, pertain to “house training”.

#1. Just to be clear, the definition of House Training is teaching a pet (dog) not to defecate or urinate inside a home or in inappropriate places.

It has become a recognized teaching tool to use a crate or confinement as most puppies will not defecate or urinate in a small enclosure. That being said, it is the “Oxymoron” of house training to put a wee wee pad in the crate. Dogs that bathroom on wee wee pads are NOT house trained. Additionally, it is best to leave the floor of the crate free of blankets, beds and towels, basically anything absorbent, at least for the first week of training.

#2. I can absolutely understand the thought behind trying to avoid any “pee or poo” in the house by taking a puppy outside every hour around the clock. Pet parents are wonderfully devoted to doing this and I’m grateful for the love and care they show for their new best friend. But once again, this idea is not teaching the puppy to “HOLD IT IN” so to speak, because Chloe or Jack can pee or poo as often and even more often than actually necessary. The fact is, the pet parent is conditioning the puppy to relieve themselves every hour. This also becomes a strain on the pet parent as no one can keep this hourly routine going day after day.

#3. Bells on the door. Everyone loves bells on the door and think it’s the best idea since sliced cheese, that their dog rings the bell to go outside. I will admit that this does work sometimes and sometimes only for a short time, because most of the time, the dog will realize that they can go out to play if they ring the bell. So ringing the bell is a favorite pastime and doesn’t necessarily mean the dog needs to go to the bathroom!

If you have any similar training methods that you are not sure are valuable, please let me know by email. Jenna@murphdogancompany.net Thanks

The definition of instinct is: to behave in a way characteristic of a species; natural, unlearned, predictable response to stimuli. Instinctual actions are in contrast to actions based on learning.

So whose instincts am I talking about here, ours or our pets?

The dog is just being a dog. He comes hardwired but we download new programs to help him assimilate into a human society. Our instincts on the other hand are controlled by our greater ability to reason, as well as our intelligence, conscience, experience, insight, emotions and need for accountability. Yet we will make an informed decision to ignore our gut feelings; our instincts, in situations of imminent danger. It has been documented that a woman will decide to ignore her gut feelings and enter an elevator with a stranger even if she’s fearful of bodily harm from that person.

More often than I care to think about, I receive calls from people whose households are terrorized by their dogs. These people are truly afraid of the dog they live with. The more times I say it out loud the more I can’t believe it. The dog may be following its instinct to control the pack, by mouthing, biting, barking, jumping, and scratching. The person is ignoring their instinct to be afraid and makes an informed decision to accept the dog’s behavior and live with the fear and sometimes, the ultimate reality of being bitten, scratched and tormented by the dog.

Now I ask you, as I have asked myself many times, why would anyone choose to live with a dog, or cat or any other animal, that they are afraid of?

How many of us seek the thrills of a scary movie or an amusement park ride, even though our hearts may beat a little faster? We may sweat and close our eyes or even scream but we know that there’s a safety valve waiting in the wings because when the lights go on and the ride slows to a stop, we will be okay. But believe me when I tell you that there is no safety valve on your dog. If he is biting relentlessly or shows persistent hostility as a puppy, he will not outgrow it. The cute stage will diminish rapidly when you or a family member becomes the target of his uncontrollable instinct to bite.

You must learn to pay more attention to your own instincts; as the signs are very obvious. Don’t ignore them. If you think your dog’s behavior is more than just the normal puppy prankster stage, the teething stage or the adjustment to a new home stage, talk to your veterinarian, the breeder the dog came from, or a professional trainer and don’t dismiss the too rambunctious nipping stage with the belief it is only a stage and he will grow out of it. Furthermore, by ignoring this negative, unwanted and potentially harmful behavior, you are “validating” it.

Caution: don’t rely on “happily ever after” TV families depicted as perfect dog/kid relationships. Not every kid completes a dog and not every dog completes a kid. They are two very distinct personalities and it’s not improbable to assume that these personalities at times can clash. Many breeds that have been falsely acclaimed as the “perfect dog for children” have been unfortunately dethroned due to random and unprovoked bouts of aggression, especially directed at the children of the household. Surprisingly enough, Cocker Spaniels and Beagles have made the list. The rise in popularity carries with it a rise in “not characteristic to the breed” behavioral issues and has tarnished the “Golden” reputation of the beloved Retriever and his close best friend, the Lab. Is this due to over breeding and in-breeding? My guess would be, it probably has a lot to do with it, but the circumstances, which the puppies live in during their first 2 months of life, probably play a big part in their development as well. Over crowding and lack of individual human attention, as well as taking puppies away from their mothers before they are ready to face the world, or before they have learned from their litter mates as well as their mother to know their role in a pack society, can cause emotional problems and the inability to adjust to new environments.

A new puppy should be a joyful addition to your family. If you know in your heart that this is not the right situation for your family and you are concerned about leaving your children in the same room with the dog, trust your instincts.