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The importance of realizing the difference between training a dog, and communicating with a dog, and why success hinges on knowing the difference. I hate when my dogs bark at "nothing". I'm sitting on the couch, all cozy with a blanket and a mug of coffee in front of a toasty fireplace and then... Thank you, Arwen and Ellis (or Arlis as I call them). I was unaware that our neighbor was walking their dog. Yes, indeed, that is a very important thing to be alerting me to, because she is precisely 3.4 minutes slower on this lap around the cul-de-sac than her previous lap. However did I exist prior to you alerting me to these rituals on a daily basis. To be fair, both dogs stop almost instantly when I give them a negative for this behavior. As I always say, dogs need to be Piloted and have their questions answered. Usually, Arlis were probably wondering if I cared about our neighbor walking their dog, and asked by barking, therefore alerting me. I gave them a negative (as in, "no, I really don't care about them walking") yet Ellis would not stop barking. He was insistent, and I'm so grateful he was, because if I had been trying to train him by dominating him or bribing him, rather than communicating with him, I never would have made a life-or-death discovery. Answering Your Dog's Questions Back to the Basics: Rebooting Dog Training My Dogs: A Day in the Life of a Dog Trainer Dog Training: Are You Dominating, Bribing, or Communicating? Dominators: Might is Right Ask yourself what your goal is with your dog. Do you want a robot who is afraid of asking you anything for fear of your answer? Because domination or forceful methods always result in a dog with anxiety and a slew of other behavioral issues, but hey, at least they don't bark! Ever. And all of the e- collar shock jock dog trainers out there who OnLy UsE iT oN LoW settings, what's your point? You're still not communicating with your dog in a way that's natural to dogs. But hey, if you can't be right AT LEAST BE DOMINANT. Get over yourselves. I could put a shock collar on you, and shock you enough times, I could get you to confess to shooting Kennedy. But it was only on low. Aside from the brutality of using shock collars or prong collars, if your dog is afraid of asking any questions, how are you supposed to get any input from your dog? Because let's face it, your dog may have a better answer to a situation they are presented with than you do! But how will you ever know if your dog is afraid to speak up? You are human, not infallible. Allow your dog to be intelligent, and respect that intelligence, just as they respect yours. There are many, many times where I am corrected by a dog, and I am a better person for allowing them to politely correct me. From being corrected by a dog on our first walk together: "No, my mom walks me on the left side" oh...thanks for letting me know to my dog knowing when not to stop ringing the bell to go outside, even though I know I just let you out 1/2 an hour ago, and you don't.... oh, wait. I see it now. There's a racoon trying get into our duck coop. Good dog!!!!!!! If your dog isn't comfortable asking you questions for fear of your answers, that doesn't make you dominant, alpha or pack leader *eye roll*. It just means you couldn't come up with a better answer to your dog's question than to stifle their ability to ask the questions in the first place. That isn't an answer, that's abuse. Teaching your dog a lesson is grotesque. You'll never learn if you only teach. Start hearing what your dog is trying to tell you. Watch them. Hear them. Listen to them. They have so much they can show you if you'd only allow them to teach you as well. Bribing More understandable, but still just as detrimental to training, are those who negotiate with their little terrorist. "If you stop jumping on me, I'll give you a treat." which of course incentivizes the dog to jump again, just so they can get a treat when they stop. As one client told me after working with a "positive only" trainer: "They only taught us how to say yes, but not how to say no". You can't always wait to catch a behavior (or the cessation of a behavior) to throw a positive at it. Sometimes you need to use a negative. Case in point: Part way through our training session, a client mentioned how she had never been taught to think of interacting with her dogs using methods such as the Paw Method. I asked her to give me an example. “Well, your training bag, for instance. I notice that every time the dogs start to nose in there, you are using your body language to tell them 'no'. That’s not what I would have done, ” she said. “What would you have done”, I asked. “Simply removed the bag.” Sounds like a simple enough answer. If your dog is getting into something, remove what they are getting into. Here’s the problem: simply helping them to avoid something is different than actually training them. For example, I personally have not been trained to never approach a rhino from their blind side, simply because I’ve never met a rhino. See the difference? Removing all interaction with something does not teach an animal how to appropriately interact (or not to interact) with something. It merely removes their option to interact. It doesn't answer their question, though, "Can I go in your bag?". It also doesn’t work because, well, if they are on our couch and you don’t like it, how are you going to remove the couch? Exactly. The problem with positives only comes from the selfishness of the people who deal in only positives: it feels good to give a dog a positive, and nobody wants to be the bad guy, and by giving a negative, you're the bad guy, right? No. Let me sum it up like this: Only your mom will tell you when your face is dirty. Moms. The one person on the planet who loves you enough to tell it like it is. To give you the negative you didn't want, but definitely needed. In healthy families, moms are there to give you the negative you didn't want, but definitely needed, "praising loudly and scolding softly", as Catherine the Great stated. Not giving a much needed negative makes a buddy, or a friend, but as my children (and dogs) know, I am not their friend. I'm beyond friend: I'm Mom, and I'll do anything for you, including giving you a negative when you need one, even though it kills me to do so. By simply avoiding ever giving a negative to your dog, you're creating chaos and unrest. Your dog still has no Pilot and many, many unanswered questions, leading to anxiety, which is just fear of the unknown. Your dog has been asking your for months if that new neighbor you see on the walk occasionally is a threat, yet all you do is try to shove a treat in their face in hopes of distracting them from the actual answer, which is "no". Distraction is never an answer, and it's insulting to your dog's intelligence. Give them a negative, and move on. Why I Hate Shock Collars Why Your Dog is an Asshat Successful Puppy Training: Being vs. Thing Communication Communicating with your dog is how you know there's a problem. If I had been dominating Ellis, he never would have barked in the first place, and I would have missed an emergency that was happening right outside my window. He would have been too afraid of the consequences of asking a question. If I had been bribing Ellis, I still would have missed the emergency, because by not negating behaviors, and teaching him that "no, you don't need to bark at squirrels" I would never be able to decipher what was a normal barking fit vs. what was of grave import. In other words, if everything is an emergency, then nothing is. By not setting standards of normalcy, it's impossible to tell what's actually abnormal. But since I had been Piloting Ellis, and communicating with him, he wasn't afraid to keep barking, even though I had already given him a negative, and Arwen had already stopped. He felt there was an emergency happening, and he felt he needed my attention rather than just wanting it. He knew that it was safe to sometimes mistake wants for needs, and wasn't afraid of making a mistake, because the worst thing that could happen is I would give him a negative, which isn't bad at all. So I went to see why Ellis wasn't accepting my negative. There was an elderly woman wandering around the neighborhood front yards, dressed in only shorts and a summertime blouse, despite the temps being well below freezing. She looked bewildered and confused. I grabbed Ellis and put the leash on him (I don't know why, but it made sense at the moment since he was the one who alerted me in the first place). We went out in the cold and found the woman cold, frightened and terribly confused and disoriented, saying over and over again that she didn't know where she lived. After Piloting the frail woman back to my house (yes, I do it to humans who are panicked) we warmed her up. She said her name was Delores*, and she kept saying it was "her bad brain", and she was in "big trouble", but when I told her that my dog thinks her brain is great, but wanted to double check, she let him up to her, whereupon Ellis greeted her with kindness and love. Much petting and adoration ensued, until we were able to get enough information from Delores to cobble the pieces together and get her to a safe place. I called the police and filed a report with the Ohio Department of Aging for follow up. And Delores was safe and warm because my dog knew better than to stop barking when I told him to. *not her real name Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

Put on your stretchy pants and pass the pumpkin pie. It's time for Thanksgiving! Whether you're hosting or visiting, there's always a few things that need to be addressed prior to the feasting: How you're going to deal with Uncle Bob's rants about insane conspiracy theories; and What's you're going to do about your dog(s). Unfortunately, there's not much you can do about Uncle Bob, but there is plenty you can do to enjoy a safe, happy holiday with your dog. Start off Right Always, always, bear in mind the Darwin Dog's mantra: Control yourself; Control the situation; and then Add more stimuli and repeat. So let's see how that may apply to Thanksgiving. If you're traveling for Thanksgiving, first, ask yourself, should you even be bringing your dog. If you just adopted your rescue dog, or they are timid and shy to begin with, do you really want to have one of their first outings to be to a stranger's house on a day when everything is already full of chaos? Even if you're not traveling, ask yourself if you're kitchen is going to be a place of quite calmness on Thanksgiving. Um vee ger NOPE! NOPE! NOPE!!!! If you are able to board your dog, or leave your dog at home where they can safely enjoy the sanity of their own surroundings, do so. If you're hosting dinner, or have no choice but to bring your dog, there are a few things you can do to make life easier on everyone. Exercise your dog I am constantly extoling the virtues of activity on a dog's mental wellbeing, and this is especially important right before a huge amount of stimuli (i.e., Uncle Bob) hits them. Start prepping the day before by: Taking a longer walk; Taking a longer walk with a dog backpack (this is the one I use); Doggie day care the day before; Play date with dog friends; Treadmill training; Playing with a flirt pole for 15 min intervals. (WTF is a flirt pole? Glad you asked: this is the one I have it's not what you think!); Play a game of fetch, only make obstacles for your dog to jump over to make it more physically challenging. Whatever you do, make sure you are doing more of it. You have a big day coming up, and the more physical activity a young hyper dog gets, the easier it is for them to remain calmer in a chaotic situation. - Training a Hyper Dog: The Link Between Learning and Exercise - Exercising Your Dog the Lazy Way - Leash Walking without the Drama Mental Work Though just as important as physical activity, mental work is the one of the cornerstones to addressing unsavory behaviors from your dog before they start. A bored dog is a destructive dog. Help your dog out by mentally exhausting them before any huge amounts of stimuli coming at them. Things such as: Enrichment feeders (if you haven't been using them yet, start now. Here some of my favorites are the Kong Wobbler and the Nina Ottosson ball feeder ); Agility (nothing fancy, just jump over and go under something). Check out this video to learn how Start learning a new trick. In this short video Ellis learn the basics of scent work in 15 minutes: Piloting Your Dog Now that you've addressed your dog's need for physical activity and mental work, let's move on to the crux of the matter: You're going to have to take a crash course in Piloting your dog. In short, Piloting means answering your dog's questions. Different than training your dog, it's based more upon Q&A and communication rather than dominating your dog or "training" them. You can train your dog not to beg at your table, but Aunt Karen's Thanksgiving turkey is sitting on her table...do you really want Fido to fuck up Karen's turkey? Better to have a communications system in place prior to the main event. That way you can answer any question your dog may ask, from "Can I jump on everyone?" to more oddball requests, like "Can I chew on Uncle Bob's tinfoil hat?". You can read all about Piloting your dog here and here. - Dog Training Hacks - Back to the Basics: Rebooting Dog Training - Dogs vs. Kids: Learning from Your Child Addressing Common Thanksgiving Dog Issues Okay, you've taken care of most of your dog's needs prior to the start of the festivities. Now let's go over some of the problems your dog may face. Your Dog is an Introvert Just like humans, not all dogs are extroverts. Some are really not fans of mingling with humans at all. Personally, I'm an introvert...I'm just not good at it. After any kind of social situation, be it a Pack Walk or a birthday party, I really need alone time. By myself. Maybe for a few weeks. Let's normalize your dog being allowed to be introverted, too. Just because your Aunt Karen wants to pet your adorable Shiba doesn't mean she needs to. Let Queen of Shiba decide for herself if she wants to socialize, and if ain't having none of Aunt Karen, then the answer is a resounding "No". Stand up for your dog, and don't force affection on them. Allow them to retreat. And that goes for children as well. I don't care if little Dameon wants to pet Queen of Shiba, the answer is no. And if the little hell spawn throws a temper tantrum, well... The Power of Pilot will compel his spoiled ass. Seriously, though, standing your ground with little Lord Joffrey and not forcing Queen of Shiba to be pet will prevent Joffrey from getting potentially bit, and Queen from having a bite record. If your dog has high anxiety/aggression around people, then do not force the issue. Your dog will be happier in a back room, isolated from all the chaos. Allow them to relax away from everyone, and maintain watch over them: they are not to be disturbed. If your dog is interested in meeting people, but just a little shy, follow the guidelines below on how to allow dogs to meet people. - Working with an Aggressive or Anxious Dog - Stranger Danger: When Your Dog has Stranger Anxiety - Dog Training: The Behavior of Trust Your Dog is an Extrovert Excitable dogs, and dogs who just love people can be a bit of a problem when around even more energy and activity. Issues such as jumping on guests and greeting guests politely can be a huge issue. And let's face it: your 95 year old grandma doesn't want your Great Dane jumping on her. Yes, it bothers her, and she's terrified of being knocked over. She just loves you too much to tell you that. Your dog begging at the table is handled in much the same way. Again, you are Piloting your dog and answering their question: "Can I beg for food at the table?" Your answer is a calm, gentle negative. - Training Ellis: Learning How to Greet Guests - Solving the Barking/Begging Problem - Why Your Dog is an Asshat Now Finish Strong (and Make Your Life Easier) Don't forget to give your dogs things to keep them occupied. Obviously boredom can be a problem when you're all sitting in the dining room eating and Fido is by himself in another room. You can't be giving him mental stimulation the entire time, so bring things that he can do to amuse himself. Swap as needed. Just watch out for resource guarding, especially around little nephew, Dameon. Kong filled with peanut butter that is plugged with a baby carrot on top (it makes it last longer) A brand new chew toy. Enrichment feeder with their favorite treats inside. Favorite toy And don't be afraid to take your dog for a brief 5-10 minute walk just before everyone sits down to eat. It can make all the difference. - Dog Training and the Importance of Being Bored - Training Ellis: Leash Walking - Dog Toys: Using Them Effectively for Training Final Thoughts If you find yourself stuck on a problem with your dog, just always bear in mind the mantra: Control Yourself If you find yourself getting frustrated it's okay to walk away for a few minutes. Or to realize that something might be beyond you at the moment; ask for help. Control the Situation Always be asking yourself if there's a better way to control the situation. If you're dog is friendly, but a bit...energetic, perhaps you may need to keep them on a shorter leash for a bit so they aren't stampeding through the house. If your dog is showing signs of stress, remove them from the drama and let them decompress. For that matter, if Uncle Bob and Aunt Karen are making your eyeballs itch, maybe you need to decompress, too. Keep Calm and Pilot On C'mon... we got this. Now pass the pie. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

It happens to all of us: inclement weather, you just had a baby, or you've managed to catch Covid... again. You've got a young dog you're still leash training. Maybe your dog has a bad habit of going Putin on other dogs they meet on the walk (check out this link on how to deal with a reactive dog). Or maybe Fido still lunges at unsuspecting people they randomly target (read this). Perhaps you're working on these issues, but haven't gotten to the point where you can exercise your dog enough through leash walking (#BorderCollieLife). But your dog needs some activity. So now what? What are you supposed to do when you literally can't walk your dog before you're dog has had their walk? Dog Behavior and Activity Most of us have goals when it comes to dog training: no more jumping, maybe separation anxiety issues, or even just leash training your new rescue dog. The problem arises when we separate a dog's behavior from their needs. In other words, you will never get the behavior you wish from your dog until they get the Piloting, Activity and Work they need, and sometimes that can be extremely difficult. Do you really think that 6 month old rescue doodle who has no impulse control (Piloting), is hyper as a toddler with a Redbull (Activity) and has a penchant for destruction when bored (Work) is going to be ready to calmly sit and learn how to walk politely on the leash? Yeah, no. Initially, polite leash walking is a behavior that is taught, and needs to be learned by your dog, and unless your dog is set up to learn by having their energy slackened first, you will fail. Some dogs can't even begin learn how to leash walk without skimming at least some of the energy off the top first, and for that, you need a plan. The Natural Order of Things Most people make confuse walking their dog with exercising their dog. Unless you're going more than a 1.5 miles on each walk for a healthy dog young to middle aged dog, you're not really exercising your dog. However, you're doing something so much more important: you're Piloting them, and getting money out of their Piloting Piggy Bank. That's why the very first thing I do during one of my dog training sessions is to take my client's dog for a brief walk. That gives me a chance to answer quite a few of the dog's questions, and help them understand that while I give quite a few negative answers, I'm never going to hurt them or scare them. And while I firmly believe that for every negative, there needs to be 9 positives, I'm also not going to bribe your dog with constant treats. I'm there to communicate, and the best way to start is the walk. But again, that walk is not exercise. It's Piloting. But you can't always manage a walk with a dog who is hyper because they haven't had their walk yet, so you need to walk them, but they're too hyper to walk because they haven't had their walk yet.... Learning in Tandem with Activity Before you take your dog for a walk, or start training them to walk on a leash, or any other behavior, for that matter, get rid of some of that extra energy. And the benefits of exercise go far beyond the physical. Dr. Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School writes on exercise and the effect on learning: "First, it optimizes your mind-set to improve alertness, attention, and motivation; second, it prepares and encourages nerve cells to bind to one another, which is the cellular basis for logging in new information; and third, it spurs the development of new nerve cells from stem cells in the hippocampus." In other words, exercise not only preps the brain not only for learning, but encourages retention of what's been taught. Bridging the Gap Between Learning and Exercise Exercise is integral to learning. Whether you're teaching your dog a new trick, or just getting money out of their Piloting Piggy Bank, exercise is the place to start. And while a walk is nice, it's not always enough. Check out the link below to get your started on easier ways to wear out your dog beyond the walk, and get started towards the behavior and bond you've always wanted with your dog. Lazy Girl's Guide to Exercising your Dog What types of exercise does your dog enjoy? Let me know some unique ways you wear out your dog in the comments below. And remember, Keep Calm and Pilot On Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

You got a fast car I want a ticket to anywhere Maybe we make a deal Maybe together we can get somewhere - Tracey Chapman I finally went for a long hike (15 miles!) with my dog Arwen just this past weekend. I’ve had Arwen for several months now, so it feels like forever that we’ve been waiting for this moment. I’m an avid outdoorsy/kinda crunchy person. I thrive on hiking, camping, and am pretty certain that my spirit animal is actually Radagast the Brown. So why did it take so long for me to take Arwen on a longer hike with me? Simple: we weren’t ready. Arwen spent the first 5 months of her life existing in a kitchen. No walks. No outside stimuli, just…nothing. When I got her, she had a serious case of Rapunzel Syndrome; having lived in a tower her entire life, she quickly became overstimulated by anything unknown. She was terrified of any stimuli and constantly toggled back and forth between her fight or flight response. From new people, to going for walks. Every new thing wasn’t something to explore, it was something she had to endure. But by far the worse was cars. Arwen hates cars with the red hot intensity of a thousand burning suns. She had never been acclimated to cars being a normal thing as a young puppy, so now, as an adolescent, they were terrifying to her. From lunging at them through the window while riding in my truck, to going absolutely bonkers if a car went past us on a walk, she was absolutely petrified of them. On top of that, we still had to deal with the fact that she had only been on a leash a handful of times prior to me getting her, so leashes caused her some mild concern, albeit not nearly to the same extent as the cars. So taking her for a long hike was out of the question. She needed to trust me more. I was proud of the amount of trust she showed me immediately, but as I refer to the Piloting Piggy Bank, I simply didn’t have enough money to pay for leash walking outside yet, let alone walking her anywhere near cars. Piloting is a lot like parenting. Anyone can be a parent; doesn’t mean you’re a good one. Parenting, like Piloting, is built on trust. I needed Arwen to trust that I would never put her in a situation that we couldn’t handle together, but still trust me enough to try new things. For example, I didn’t attempt to take her for a leashed walk outside until I’d had her for a little bit. We started in a spot with little stimuli (my basement) until she felt more comfortable with being tethered to me on a leash. When you have a dog on a leash, you are essentially removing their option to flee from anything that is overwhelming or scary, leaving only their flight response. That requires an immense amount of trust that I don’t think is appreciated by most dog owners. Some dogs just are more acclimated to their surroundings, or seem to trust a lot easier. Definitely not Arwen, though. I definitely needed to earn her trust, not poke, prong or electrocute her into trusting me. Gradually, over the course of a weekend, we worked out way out of the basement and up to the main floor of our house. End of the first week, we were able to work our way outside to the backyard, and pretty quickly from there, a first walk around our cul-de-sac. The important thing to always keep in mind was that just because Arwen was doing beautifully for me on a leash in the basement and in the backyard didn’t mean I could expect the same level of trust from her when we moved to newer places. Trust is the currency in the Piloting Piggy Bank; you can’t pay for a $50 walk with $15 worth of trust. The cost is the cost, and you have absolutely no right to determine what the price is of each item, be it a walk, thunderstorms, or any other situation your dog may be placed in. You earn that money/trust with each question you answer for your dog in that situation, until you have a pretty healthy balance. The cost of that walk is still $50, but now instead of only having $15 of trust in your Piloting Piggy Bank, you’ve been answering questions to the tune of $500 dollars of trust in your bank. Your dog didn‘t get better on the leash; it’s the same dog, same leash. You’ve just become more trustworthy, and earned and paid for the privilege of their trust. So back to Arwen. She was skeptical around my kids at first (I mean, I can’t exactly blame her...they scare me, too). It took her a full day before she felt safe on her own with them, as long as they were seated and not moving much. She’d come to them for pets and to play ball. But the situation changed completely if they were wearing hoodies, or if they surprised her by walking up the steps, or any change in their behavior. Whose fault was it? Nobody’s. It was just our responsibility to help her past her fears by earning her trust. Every time she’d start barking fearfully at my kids, I’d calmly negate her question of, “Are they a threat?”. No, Arwen. After a while, she started to anticipate my answers, until I no longer had to give them. All of that earned me money/trust in my Piloting Piggy Bank. Now I could take that money (along with incidental “pocket change” I’d been earning all incrementally through daily life), and start to work with the car issue. We didn’t just head down the sidewalk alongside a four lane highway! That would be a major breach of trust. So we started small: a walk around my cul-de-sac, across the street of a 2 lane road, and then right back. I’m not going to say it was easy. It was challenging for both of us. But we did it, and we did it safely, and without drama. Yes, questions needed to be answered, and if I’m going to be honest, we were stuck in that phase for about 3 weeks before I could earn enough trust to pay for walking on the sidewalk alongside the road. And then it was only for a 1/4 mile at best. But we did it. Nobody was traumatized, and I didn’t force any kind of “normalcy” on her. Normal dogs are a fairy tale. Your dog’s reaction is normal…for them. Accept their reaction as a question, rather than a challenge. I don't rightly know when Arwen finally got over her fear of cars. It just seemed as if we were able to get farther and farther down the road each time before I had to start Piloting her. A greater number of cars would pass before she would react. We never realized we had completed that portion of our journey together until we were almost on top of our goal. We aren't 100% there yet. But the light at the end of the tunnel is brilliant, and it's so close. I trust her to try her hardest to hear my answers to hear questions, and she trusts me enough to answer her questions with love and calmness instead of domination. And she is worth every step of that journey. Edit: This article was originally published in June 2022. Since that time, my Arwen has come full circle and has overcome her fear of, well...everything. I'm looking forward to many years of hiking with her now that we have established our bond of trust and love. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

“The cure for boredom is curiosity.” -Dorothy Parker So you've got a new puppy or dog. First thing you do is go to the pet store, or maybe Amazon or Chewy, and max out your credit card on toys. Everything you can find, especially anything marked "Boredom Buster". You've got a huge bin full of these toys, at your dog's disposal anytime he wants it. Little Bella has more toys than a sex shop on Bourbon street during Mardi Gras. I mean, not that I'd know or anything. And yet Bella still chose to chew a nice hole in your leather sofa. Why? I see it all the time during my dog training sessions. The big box full of toys. Guess what...you're doing it wrong, and your dog is still bored. So let's figure this out, how to bust your dog's boredom, and how to get the most bang for your buck out of the toys your dog already has. Breaking it down: Your Dog's Toys are Old News Let's face it, if you have access to something any time you want, what makes it interesting. You can have 3 toys or 33, and your dog will still be bored. The problem is you're leaving them out all the time. So break it down a little. You can do this a couple ways. Take the number of toys you have and divide by 4. So I've got 12 toys for my new puppy. I'm going to group them by 3, and then each day, only give my puppy access to those 3 at a time. You can swap them daily for a dog, but for a puppy (or my Arwen, who's only 6 months), swap them out 2-3 times a day. They don't get access to the toys they previously had until you've cycled through all of them. Then what's old is new again. When my daughters were very little, I had what I called Restaurant Toys. We ate out quite a bit, even when they were 1 and 3 years old. To keep them occupied, I would keep a small box of toddler toys in my car, only to be brought out at a restaurant. Even if we ate out 3 times in a week, those were the only 3 times the girls were able to have access to those toys, and therefore they were thoroughly engrossed with them when we brought them out. You are essentially doing the same thing with your dog. A lot of dog trainers won't admit it, but there are a lot of similarities between Piloting dogs and parenting kids. Segregate by activity/room/area This is my personal preference. - I keep a stash of calm chewing intensive toys (think Kongs, antlers, the skulls of my enemies) in my office; - a very high energy stash in the basement (where we get most of our activity and dog training done) with things like lures, frisbees, tennis balls and rope toys for a game of tug. The stashes should be appropriate to the situation of the area. - a moderate activity stash on the first floor, for a game of fetch - enrichment toys, which only come out during meal times. So when I'm trying to work on blog posts, or call clients back in my office, my dogs are silently chewing on their toys in the background. Calm is the game in my office. Energy burning only happens in the basement, hence the types of toys I store there. And while wrestling and rope toys are inappropriate for the first floor, a game of fetch is allowed. The toys are not allowed to migrate to other parts of the house, otherwise this won't work. And since my dogs don't have access to the basement or my office if I'm not in those areas with them, this works out beautifully. I also will remove a few from rotation entirely, and then reintroduce them. No matter how old and raggedy, my dogs gravitate towards the new item, and are engaged with it. I've also been playing around with "dog training toys". Arwen is a lot more play driven than Ellis is (and that's saying something). Ellis has problems making the connection between doing a trick properly and having the tennis ball thrown for him, but Arwen is all for that. So we have a special box of toys that are only when we're learning a new trick, and I have to say it's been working out well. So forget the unlimited access pass, and use those (expensive) toys in a better fashion. You may find that you actually need less toys, and just a more judicious application of them. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

Spending a lot of time trying to train your dog, but not getting very far? Let’s take a look at the top reasons why so much effort is yielding so little result. I developed the PAW Method of dog training many, many (many) years ago as a way to simplify training. It was designed to be an adaptable method created to evolve to fit each unique dog/owner situation, and thus far, it’s been amazing. Simple, effective training based upon communication rather than awful brutality and domination. I wanted a method that was intrinsic in its implementation, rather than feeling gimmicky or difficult to work with, and any type of ”alpha” mentality was quickly jettisoned. I also don’t negotiate with terrorists, so bribing your dog by flinging constant treats at them seemed pretty non-sensical as well. While positive reinforcement is integral in any learning situation, chucking a biscuit at Fido to keep him from jumping on me seemed rather silly and absurd. Over the years, I have had wonderful response to the PAW Method, mostly due to the easy to use formula: Piloting (think of it as parenting, a gentle guidance), Activity (hyper dogs with pent-up energy is not conducive to learning, and Work (ever try to train a bored Border Collie?). Hence the PAW Method. Sometimes things get lost in the shuffle, though, so let’s take a moment to reboot and do a bit of troubleshooting your dog/owner relationship, and why your current method of training may not be working for you. Tip #1 - You’ve Confused Communication with Domination Mistrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful. - Nietzsche Yikes, that’s a big one. Toxic terms such as "Alpha", "Pack Leader", or other such nonsense may have creeped into your vocabulary. Absolutes are never conducive to learning, either for you or your dog. And let’s face it, while your dog is learning to live in a human world, it’s up to you to learn how to communicate with your dog, rather than expecting absolute obedience. Piloting your dog involves communication. Your dog is constantly asking questions, and basing their behaviors upon the answers (or lack thereof) that they receive. If their questions are met with forceful or abusive methods, then very quickly, your dog is going to shut down on you. Your dog has stopped communicating with you; they’ve become a supplicant to you, hoping not to anger you for fear of your response, or ignoring your irrational behavior altogether. And those dogs with the ultra-focused on you, constantly staring at you to see what you want (or don’t want) them to do next? If you’ve been using a shock collar or a prong collar, they’re watching you because they are afraid of asking you the wrong question. Fido: Can I chase the squirrel? *SHOCK* Fido: Can I steal food from the counter? *SHOCK* Fido: Can I walk a little faster on the leash *SHOCK* Well, rather than answering their questions, you’ve made them afraid to ask any questions at all. That’s like going to marriage counseling, and after describing the communication breakdown in your marriage, the counselor asking if you’ve tried punching your spouse to help them communicate better. So now Fido is a ball of anxiety, afraid to ask the questions they desperately need an answer to: Is that dog across the street going to hurt me? Should I be afraid of the fireworks? Is it okay if I eat my food now? You’ve confused communicating with dominating, and your dog is the one suffering from it. They’re afraid to ask a question for fear of what the answer may be. No, your dog isn’t well-trained; they’ve just been conditioned to stop asking questions for fear of your answer. The text-book definition of anxiety is fear of the unknown. By making your dog more afraid of your answer than the actual question, you have created a dog with anxiety. It’s not just the pain-centric training methods that create an anxious dog (although that’s the most common anxiety inducing thing that I see). Constant yelling and shouting at your dog will frequently have a similar outcome. If every time your dog does something “bad”, you yell at them and lose control of yourself, even if you aren’t hitting them, you are still making them anxious. We know it’s wrong to do it to a child, why would it be okay to do it to a dog? Your dog doesn’t know he did anything bad, he just knows that you are incapable of controlling yourself. Gently guide your dog. Communicating with your dog means giving clear, precise answers to them in a way they understand, and encourages them to look to you for gentle guidance and answers. Tip #2 - You’ve Lost Sight of the Actual Problem You can’t see the forest for the trees. What is your actual goal? For example, during a training session, my clients frequently have a list of issues that they want to tackle with their dog. Frequently that includes a dog not coming when called (“recall”). I always pose this question to my clients: ”Why should they come when called?” The answers I get are always rather amusing. - “Because I told them to.” Are you sure you did? Was it in a way they understand? - “Because I need them to.” But in your dog’s mind, they need to continue doing what they’re doing right now. - “Because I’m their leader. “ Well, I’m fairly certain they didn’t vote for you. But my favorite answer of all: ”Good point.” Ahhhh….there it is. That light bulb going off. The "aha!" moment that I so love. There is literally no good reason (so far) that you’ve given your dog as to why they should come when you call them. But even worse, if you’re relying on the “because I told you to” logic. The problem isn’t actually that they won’t come when you call them. The problem is that they’ve put you directly to voicemail. You have no money in your Piloting Piggy Bank. Each question you answer for your dog (that doesn’t involve fear or bribery) earns you money out of their Piloting Piggy Bank into your Piloting Piggy Bank. Whomever has the most money wins. So putting that into context, you’ve called your dog, but your dog wants to continue smelling around outside. Your answer is “no”, which given the present set of circumstances outside, will cost you $5.00 for them to accept. Right now you have about $3.00. Your dog has $50,000.00. Of course they won’t come when you call them. Obviously you can’t pay for that answer right now. In other words, their present course of action is worth more to them than your calling them. You’re broke, and most likely, in debt. So how do you fix that? Enforce your answer. If you call your dog, the result should be that they come to you. Not that you keep shouting, “Bella, come! C’mon Bella! Get over here Bella!!!!!! Come!!!!!”. That’s obviously getting you nowhere, and is what I call the “Stop or I’ll say ’Stop’ again” mentality. If the come command costs $5, and you’ve only got $3, you need to go outside and collect your dog. Immediate response, rather than waiting for your dog to lollygag their way back to the house on their own time. Go outside and get your dog. Don’t yell, watch your body language (you shouldn’t look like you’re about to whoop their ass). Just unemotionally go retrieve your dog. Congratulations, you enforced your answer, and just took some money from their Piloting Piggy Bank and deposited it into your own account for next time. You’ve now set precedence that when you call them you will indeed follow through. For more information on how to be successful with the come command, check out this link. Tip #3 - You’ve Taken it Personally Your dog is not against you, they are for themselves. No, your dog did not "rage-shit" on the carpet because they were angry you left them home alone. They were stressed. Your dog did not chew up your shoes because they hate you; they tried to calm their anxiety (or boredom) by stimming on something that carries your scent. Your dog is not your enemy. Dogs are exceptionally logical creatures. Everything they do is for a reason. Accept that you are not omnipotent nor all-seeing, and cannot possibly know the reason they do all the things they do. The best you can do is come from a place of empathy. Rather than looking at your dog as being a jerk for barking all the time for no good reason, seeing life through his eyes can help. To learn more about things your dog wishes you knew, give this post a read. Tip #4 - You're Beating Yourself Up So. Much. Guilt. I spoke with a client the other day who was struggling with walking her reactive dog. I asked her to give me some details. She had been walking her dog about 2 miles every morning right before work. She was frustrated because the walk was miserable, and he was reacting almost the entire way. It was a struggle the entire way. I asked her why she was taking her reactive dog so far. "Because I feel guilty if I don't; he likes walks." The whole situation was doomed to fail from the start. She walked him right before work, so she felt pressed for time to begin with. She went so far because she felt guilty if she didn't, but she really didn't have control of the situation to be able to take him that far. She felt she had to do everything perfectly, or she was a bad dog mom. It had to be two miles every morning. It had to be before work because...she didn't even know why, she just felt she was an awful person if she didn't do it in the morning. As Voltaire stated, don't let the perfect be the enemy of good. We reworked her routine. Instead of feeling guilty for not being perfect, we talked about how good she was, and ways to work through some of the tougher problems. Yes, her dog wants a 2 mile hike every morning, but I want a pony. But what you want and what you need are two different things. Her dog needed exercise, so we worked some hacks into the daily routine that went beyond a walk. We discussed how to make the walk more efficient (hint: it's not about how far you go). The walk is there to get money out of your dog's Piloting Piggy Bank, and to allow them to mentally reboot. You will never wear your dog out by simply walking your dog. Pick a distance that easily manageable for you. That can be a 5 mile walk through the forest (as with my Ellis) or up and down the driveway for 10 minutes at a time (as when I first got Arwen and had a myriad of issues to work through). For tips on walking your dog, check out this link. Tip #5 -You Forgot Why you Got a Dog You got a dog not to be a slave to the walk, nor to dominate another life form. You didn't get a dog for prestige or for the glory of cleaning shit out of your shoe at 6 a.m. You got a dog because you deserve unfiltered, unadulterated, pure love. And that is exactly what a dog is. Someone who loves you just as much when you're a size 6 as you are when you're a size 22 (dog's can't count, that's just another reason I love them). Who doesn't care if you brushed your teeth yet this morning. You know how you messed up this morning and got frustrated with them during your walk? They already forgive you. You are perfect to them. A beautiful, wonderful creation that only exists for them to love. Maybe they aren't good at being human, and maybe sometimes it's hard to see, but your dog loves you not despite your flaws, nor even because of your flaws: he's unaware you have any flaws. So try to be worthy of that love. And by worthy, that means giving yourself a chance, too. It's okay to get frustrated; you're human. Now how are you going to change the vibe from frustration to cooperation? - Maybe instead of a long walk, play fetch and then go for a shorter walk. - Perhaps instead of focusing so hardcore on housebreaking, just for today try to learn a funny trick together. - Instead of yelling at him for the 100th time to get off the couch, grab a cushion and cuddle with him on the floor. A dog will only be a part of your life, but you are his whole life. My grandmother had 7 kids in 9 years, and was obviously a very busy woman, but something she said always stayed with me: Your kids won't remember if you had clean floors when they will growing up, but they'll always remember that you had time to read a book to them. We lost 2 of our beloved dogs in 18 months: Sparta and Orion. It's hard for me to remember why walking Sparta was difficult, but I do remember teaching her to hold random objects so I could get her pic (134 pics, actually). I don't remember too much about the difficulties Orion had with housebreaking, but I do remember how he was the best co-worker ever during pack walks, and how all 5 lbs. of his spunky Papillion attitude took on a hawk to save one of our ducks from the clutches of said hawk. Make sure you are holding on to what's important, and allowing yourself to love your dog not in spite of his flaws, nor even because of his flaws, but because there will come a time where you'd give anything to have your flawed dog for just one more frustrating walk. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

If you try to get rid of fear and anger without knowing their meaning, they will grow stronger and return. - Deepak Chopra Many years (decades?) ago, I was speaking with a friend who happens to be a vet, and she gave me one of my favorite phrases of all time: Lap Shark. Lap Shark: (n) a smallish dog who spends most of their time on their owner's lap, defending owner vigilantly from all threats, including other dogs, small children, the mailman, the wind, the tv, etc. Best. Phrase. Ever. I'd have to say that about 25-40% of the dogs I work with have some type of aggression issue, with the lap sharks making up more than half of those numbers. Lap sharks aren't typically someone's dog as their co-dependent boyfriend/girlfriend. Their entire life and existence revolves around said owner. I actually tend to think of the Lap Shark behavior as more of a resource guarding issue. A resource can be more than just food (although that's usually how it presents itself). It can be an object such as a bed, a sofa, or anything else that the dog has claimed as theirs, and they will defend it come hell or high water. A Lap Shark is just a small dog who has decided that their owner needs protecting at all costs. What makes a Lap Shark different than other forms of aggression? Their size. A larger dog, say over 15lbs, starts to become a major problem, as a bite from them can be serious. Smaller dogs are dismissed as not as serious a threat because of their size. They are more easily managed, and typically spend a lot of their time in Air Jail. Air Jail: (n) a place where small dogs end up when they are giving unsavory behaviors. It is the antithesis of Piloting your dog. Piloting involves answering a dog's questions. Air Jail is simply picking up a dog and holding them in the air, and presumably out of trouble. The problem with Air Jail is that the there is no answer given to the dog's question: is this person/dog/tv a threat? Rather than communicating, you are manhandling. Just because you can pick up your dog in these situations doesn't mean you should. Even better (or worse)...."Just let him smell you and then he'll be okay". Stop treating your dog like the gatekeeper in the house. Either you are protecting him and keeping him safe, or he's protecting you. You are literally telling your dog to let you know if he thinks the person is a threat. That's the exact opposite of Piloting. And if that person accidentally moves wrong, they get bit. So how do you deal with a Lap Shark? The same way you'd deal with any dog who has some questions. By communicating, not manhandling. So let's start by troubleshooting what's happening. You're Giving the Wrong Message When a dog, or a human for that matter, is protecting something, whatever they are protecting is behind them. Whatever they are engaged with is directly in front of them. This is the same body language I describe so often whenever I mention Piloting body language (check out this link for a great video utilizing the body language while answering the door). Now I want you to think about how you are placing your dog when you put them in "Air Jail". Your dog is close to your chest, typically with their body and face jutting out towards the threat (perhaps your kid's 4 year old friend). You have literally positioned your dog to protect you, so what do you expect them to do? Further, they are pushing their fight response hard core because they're trapped in the air, immobile. The only part that isn't being restrained is their business end: their head, neck and most important, their teeth. You aren't soothing your dog, and you definitely don't have your dog under control. What you have is a situation you are making worse, and turning into potentially a bite situation. When your dog gives you his "special smile", he's giving you a warning. He WILL bite. Your dog needs to stay on the floor. But before you just chuck the snarling mess of mutt onto the floor and pray things to go Cujo real quick-like, let's review the mantra of Piloting your dog: 1) Control Yourself. Stop it with the childish shrieking. You are only adding to the stress. And no, you aren't helping by telling your little Chupacabra that "everything's okay... calm down". That's the lazy way to do things. You know very well it doesn't work, so stop it. Further, everything is not okay: your dog is overstimulated and overwhelmed. The best thing to do is to be silent and put on your Piloting uniform (see here for your wardrobe). 2) Control the Situation. You obviously don't have control of the situation when your dog is in Air Jail, but do you have control if you just leave him loose on the floor? Of course not. So what can you do? How about putting a leash on Cujo, and keeping it short. Having a leash on in the house is no different than training a dog to walk on a leash outside. A leash is there only to help you control the situation. There's no point in having him tethered to you with a leash that's long enough for him to still get into trouble (and still put himself in the guarding stance in front of you). Again, treat it like any other leash time should be treated: with calm control of the situation. Short leash. Gentle tugs on the leash, and above all, body language. Check out this link to learn how. Happy birthday - here's another link on leash walking. Sometimes controlling the situation may mean removing your dog's proximity. Take a step back. Now another. Keep moving away from the source, Piloting the entire time, until your dog is far enough away from the stimuli (your guest) to feel safer. You can't decide where that place is, only your dog can. It's your job to read your dog and make sure you aren't adding too much stimuli. It's also your job to slowly start adding stimuli once your dog is calmer, but never more than they can handle. In other words, if you had to move 10 feet away from your guest to find your dog's comfort space, don't immediately move forward 8 feet just because your dog calmed down. They calmed down because they felt safer. That's like throwing a drowning person back into the water after you've rescued them, because, well, they seemed to stop drowning once they got on land. Now your dog is in a calm(er) place. Don't start with the high-pitched baby talk of "who's a good little boy" (When you start with that, I want to bite you, too.) However, don't just ignore the behavior he's giving you now. You didn't ignore the negative behavior, so don't ignore the positive behavior. I frequently will ask my clients, "Is your dog doing a good job now?". They answer in the affirmative, that yes, he's doing much better! "Does he know that?" Give your dog some calm, soft praise. FFS, chuck him a treat! He's earned it. He just went from an overstimulated snarling mess to, well, less of a mess, but still....it's progress, not perfection. Reward the progress. Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. It's simply a game of red light/green light. Give a positive to the behaviors you like, and a gentle negative to the behaviors you don't like. Learn more about how to give your dog effective positives in this link. One final thought. A lot of my clients want to know when it's okay for their dog to meet their guest. I'm blunt: sometimes never. If your dog is overwhelmed the entire time, perhaps the only place he'll truly feel calmer is in his crate, or contained in a low-key room where he can be set up for success. Remember, success in this scenario isn't that he's sitting calmly on the floor, ignoring your guest. Certainly, that's one form. Success is simply him calming down. "But my dog wants to meet my guest!" Oh well, dear. I want a pony. What we want and what we need are two completely different things. Your dog does not need to meet your guest. They want to meet your guest. However, your guest doesn't want to keep all their fingers, they need to keep all their fingers. Honestly, I know where y'all are coming from. You desperately want your dog to be liked and accepted. I know I felt the same way with my dogs. But your dog can be liked and admired from afar. They are loved and accepted by me. Regardless of who they meet (or don't meet). If your dog is truly happy engaging with others, then let them (politely) do so. If they aren't comfortable, don't force the issue. Just remember, your dog is not entitled to tell you who you are allowed to engage with. He's your dog, stop forcing him be your toxic, co-dependent boyfriend. Love him enough to give him a negative when he's resource guarding you from others, and watch him turn from Lap Shark into the best Good Dog ever. And always remember to keep calm and Pilot on. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

“He who conquers himself is the mightiest warrior.” ― Confucius Fight or flight? Lady or the Tiger? Both may be good choices…or both may end the same way: badly. It’s a choice your dog is always making. For some dogs, the choice is difficult. We label these dogs as “aggressive” or “dog reactive”. Let’s take a look at what goes through the mind of a dog-reactive or aggressive dog. Technically speaking, there is more than fight or flight. Ignore: Right now, Ellis is ignoring the yarn I have on my coffee table. It is of no interest to him. Accept: Arwen was originally engaged with said yarn. I answered her question (“Can I play with it?”), and she’s accepted the answer (“No”) and is drifting off to the “Ignore” category, which is right where I want her in when in proximity to my yarn stash. Avoid: Gandalf, my rescue cat, thinks I’m stupid. He thinks he can get at the yarn if he goes around the coffee table, where he thinks I can’t see him. He doesn’t want a direct confrontation, but he’s not quite ready to give up. Accept, followed closely by Ignore, are generally the places you want your dog to hang out. The path to those places is sometimes paved with Avoid (sometimes you have to answer their questions more than once). But where does it all start? You guessed it: Fight or Flight. FLIGHT Flight is typically any animal’s first choice. It’s the one that keeps them alive. You may call it cowardly, but it’s actually rather rational: live to procreate another day. Pass along those flight genes, and you’ve got Natural Selection working in your favor. Look at it like this: a dog decides to kill a mouse, for no apparent reason. The mouse, though losing the battle, manages to nip the dog on the muzzle, giving him a small wound. Mouse is then promptly turned into lunch. That wound festers, and the dog dies. That’s a small case scenario. Imagine the life span of a dog who decides to fight with everything. Other dogs. Larger prey. Just for the heck of it. Pretty short. FIGHT Fight Club. Or as I refer to it, Some Movie Starring Brad Pitt’s Abs, not to be confused with That Other Movie Starring Brad Pitt’s Abs There are very few reasons why a dog would choose Fight over Flight. Typically, those revolve around resources (they need to eat or you’re trying to take what they need to eat), breeding (Hey! That’s my potential mate!), or defending their young or pack (don’t get too close to my family!). Typically, the need to eat and the need to defend their young/pack are the strongest motivators of Fight. Imagine what it would take for you to become aggressive and decide to Fight. What if someone broke in your house, would you shoot them? What if they were taking family heirlooms? What if they started up the steps towards where your children were sleeping? What is your breaking point, in other words. We all have it. Some would have pulled the trigger with the first provocation. Others would only wait until they were certain they or their loved ones were in mortal danger. Dogs are the same way: we all perceive the same scenario as a different threat level, and will respond with violence when that level has been breached. And remember, perception is everything. You may not consider something a threat, whereas your best friend may have a different perception of the same situation. As a wise woman once said, "What's normal for the spider is chaos for the fly." Okay, it was actually Morticia Addams, but the point still stands. REMOVING OPTIONS “So if every healthy animal would choose flight over fight, why is my dog reacting to other dogs/people aggressively?” Because you’ve removed options. They no longer have the option for Flight; they’re only left with Fight! You have them on a leash. You have them in a crate. Heck, you have them surrounded by the walls of your house! Their option to run away is gone! Ever notice how some dogs are crazy-reactive to other dogs when you take them for a walk on a leash, but at the dog park they’re fine? For some dogs, even if you take them to a field and have them off leash, they still may be aggressive. Why? Because now they have pack to defend. Meaning you. You’ve made it abundantly clear that you aren’t going anywhere. They can’t move you. Again, their only option is to defend you. Their young/pack. Now take a look at your “aggressive” dog. Are you seeing things a little differently now? That other dog walking right towards you isn’t a cute little Golden Retriever. It’s another predator. Heading straight towards you. On a retractable leash. Your dog starts to give “back off” body language. The other dog doesn’t back off because they’re tethered to a leash as well. Your dog realizes their warning is unheeded, and therefore decides to step up their game to all-out aggressive mode. A simple miscommunication between owners and their dogs has resulted in at least one dog being tagged as “aggressive”. THE ANSWER So, what is the answer? The answer is the answer! Let me explain. That scenario with the other dog coming towards you? Your dog is actually asking a question: “Is that other dog going to hurt us?”. When that question isn’t answered, it can escalate to another question, “Should I back him off?”. Obviously the answers are “No” and “No”. To successfully work with dog-reactivity, you need to Pilot your dog. You can read more about it here and here, but basically: 1) Control yourself. If you are angry, tense, upset, yelling…basically anything other than bored and calm, your dog will pick up on it. It’s okay to feel angry, upset, nervous. Just don’t show it. Take a deep breath, and release those clenched muscles (take a look at your arms…I guarantee they’re clenched with the leash as taunt as you can make it). Fake it if you have to. 2) Control the situation. You can not add stimulation to a situation you’ve already lost control of. So, your dog regularly pulls you on a leash…how do you think it’s going to play out when you add the stimulation of another dog?! Get control of the current situation. Work with your dog on leash skills. (If you need some help, check out this post) Gradually add stimulation as you can handle it. Hint: Don’t try walking past the dog park on the first day you’re working with dog reactivity. Remember, we’re looking for progress, not perfection! 2) Answer the question. “Is that other dog going to kill us?” “No, Fido, it isn’t.” The more often you answer these questions successfully, the easier it will be to answer the next question and the next. You are building up trust. Remember, your dog will be asking questions with body language. Answer as soon as you see your dog asking! Remember, this shouldn't be about being the "aLpHa" of your dog, nor is it about domination; you should be focused on communicating with your dog. Again, watch out for "fight" body language: head erect, stiff tail, , body shaped like a letter “T”, wrinkled or furrowed brow. If your dog looks like he took Viagra and rubbed it all over his body, it means your dog is asking a question. And the answer is "not today, Satan". Stiff tail, alert expression, standing on their toes. We refer to this as “Meerkat-ing” or “Prairie Dogging”. I don’t know what the question is this dog is asking, but the answer is “no”. Finally, you don’t always have to know what the question is to answer it. Sometimes you won’t be able to identify what your dog is concerned about. That’s fine – just answer “no”. Congratulations! You have successfully Piloted your dog. Teach them to trust you. Trust for a dog means trusting you not to do crazy things, like, oh, …get angry because they are legitimately frightened. Remember, they aren’t doing it because they are bad. They are doing it because they are scared. Let them know that yes, you see that dog, too, but you will protect them. You will answer their questions. You will Pilot them so they don’t have to be afraid any more. And remember: Keep Calm and Pilot On. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

"To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring – it was peace." -Milan Kundera When was the last time you were peaceful? And I don't mean watching Stranger Things, sipping a Chardonnay while adding Kate Bush to your playlist. I mean literally having nothing to do for a set period of time. No phone. No music. Nothing but your own thoughts. It sounds pretty awful, but in reality, it can be integral to your mental health, as well as your dog's. I'll explain. During our pack walk last Sunday, a friend was struggling a bit with their young dog. The dog is wonderful, but full of energy, like all young dogs can be. Now, at the end of the pack walk, the dog had received enough physical exercise, because in addition to the pack walk, the owner had exercised her dog at home prior as well (check out this link to learn how to exercise your dog without walking them). My friend (we'll call her Sally) wanted to talk with me for a minute, but her dog (Turnip) was having none of it. Turnip wanted to go-go-go all the time, no breaks. Like a coked-up hummingbird. Now Sally is a really good Pilot, who is absolutely dedicated to her dog's health and welfare. She takes her job as Turnip's caretaker and dog parent quite seriously, providing her with the physical activity and the mental stimulation her dog needs. All. The. Time. And let's all remember that what a dog needs and what they want are two different things. I mentioned to Sally that Turnip had absolutely no idea how to be bored. Sally agreed. "You're right", she said. "Turnip has never been bored. I'm constantly entertaining her." And that is a recipe for burnout and disaster. We all have heard that a bored dog is a destructive dog, but that's not quite true. A bored dog who panics in the face of boredom... now that's a recipe for disaster. Let me give you a different example. Some of you have followed my two daughters on my blog for years. *Robynn (16) and River (14) were frequent topics in my blog posts, as there isn't much difference between raising dogs and raising kids. And you can learn a lot from both My children, from a very young age, learned how to work. Hard. At 4, they were expected to clean their rooms, make their beds, and do dishes after every meal. There were other, on-the-fly chores that would be done as well. Vacuuming, raking leaves, etc. At that young age, more often than not, they weren't really "helping" so much as learning how to help. As they got older, they became accustomed to the rituals, and chores and contributing to the household became just as normal as anything else. Compare that with a kid who's never had to lift a finger to contribute to the household being asked for the first time to mow the lawn. Yeah, it goes over like a fart in church. The same thing applies with helping your dog learn how to be comfortable with being bored. When I first got Arwen at the beginning of this year, she had no impulse control, and a myriad of other issues, but like so many dogs her age, no ability to be intelligently bored. If left unattended and, uh, unamused, for any period of time, she became destructive and would start her own amusement - namely chewing through laptop chargers. To help her, I started with a place that would be safe, where I could Pilot her easily: the shower. My master shower has glass doors, and is a separate room from the main bath. There is nothing in there that a dog can easily destroy, plus, the shower doors are clear, and I could see what my little psycho was doing. The first time I took her in the room with me while I showered, I brought a Kong filled with peanut butter (hint: fill it with PB and then plug the hole with baby carrots - it will last soooo much longer). I put her in a down position, gave her the Kong, and did my thing in the shower while she amused herself with the Kong. We kept this up every day for about a week. Then one day I put her in the down position as usual, and waited about five minutes while I shampooed my hair before retrieving her Kong from the shelf where I had placed it. That short amount of time was bereft of entertainment, but it was such a short amount of time, she didn't panic. Further, she was able to anticipate what she thought was coming next: the Kong. She had an idea, or thought, to focus on, rather than something tangible in front of her. Gradually we played around with the amount of time she was in possession of the Kong. Sometimes I gave it to her early, but without a lot in there, so she ran out before my shower was concluded. Sometimes I didn't give it to her until I was almost done showering. If she started to panic, I would simply give her a gentle negative until she was calm(er) again, until one day she didn't get the Kong at all. I simply got dressed and we went about doing other things. By training Arwen to be comfortable with boredom, I was able to set the groundwork for so many other different situations. Camping with her: she needed to be secured to a line while my daughter, River, and I took about 45 minutes to set up camp. Arwen was bored, but she made the best of it by napping in the sun. And then later that same evening, when a sudden a dangerous weather situation forced us to break up camp at 11pm, she was able to calmly lay tethered to the picnic table (in the dark, by herself), as she watched us walk back and forth lugging items to the truck. Arwen was literally the last thing we packed in the truck, but she never panicked - she knew she would have her turn. When I'm in my office returning phone calls or writing blog posts, she knows we may be in here for a while, so she automatically lays down and chills, either watching me or sleeping. When she wakes up in the morning before everyone else, she knows awake is okay, being hyper and making noise is not. So she stays bored for a bit until everyone else is awake, and we start our day. Now, this wasn't some magical thing that happened. Initially, I'd have to make sure she had all of her energy out as well as quite a bit of mental work, before I could expect her to be able to utilize impulse control and be bored. But now she's been able to anticipate what may come next (a hike later today followed by a serious fetch session) and reign in her energy for an appropriate time. But to be clear, it is a contract and a deal that both of us make. She still needs her exercise and mental work....just not right now. By giving Arwen what she needed (Piloting, Activity and Work) she was able to give me what I wanted: a calm, wonderful, happily bored dog. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio *Robynn is referred to as "Eric" in my older posts. I have not updated them with her new name, as Robynn informed me that was who she was then, and she's not ashamed of it, just like a butterfly is never ashamed of having been a caterpillar.

True enjoyment comes from activity of the mind and exercise of the body; the two are ever united. - Wilhelm von Humboldt Darwin Dogs is reader supported. When you buy our tested items through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. And that means more dog treats! The premise of the PAW Method of dog (un)training is Piloting, Activity and Work. Simply utilizing these three components will create the bond of communication you are working towards with your dog. And the communication is key to alleviating some of those unsavory behaviors, such as jumping, barking, and even reactive dogs. In previous posts, I've covered the basics of Piloting and Work, but let's not skip over the big issue: exercise/activity. Let's just be blunt: most likely your dog is not getting nearly enough activity. I know, I know...you're not a stay-at-home dog parent, and you can't spend 2 hours every day hiking your dog. But just because you're stretched for time doesn't mean your dog can just suddenly not have energy. But dog training and exercise go hand in hand. At least 70% of my client's issues with their dog's behavior stems from lack of exercise and and abundance of energy. The problem is everyone thinks that the only way to exercise a dog is by walking them, but that's just not plausible for most dog owners. I would have to take my Border Collie, Arwen, on at least an 8 mile hike everyday to wear her out. So while yes, I do enjoy hiking, I don't think it's sustainable as an every day adventure. So let's come up with some better ways to wear out your dog. Walking your dog is still mandatory to prevent Rapunzel Syndrome. Okay, I made Rapunzel Syndrome up, but run with me on this. What happens after you let Rapunzel out of the tower? She's either imploded Or exploded. In other words, there's too much stimuli happening, and she can't process it. Same thing with your dog. Unless you have them acclimated to the outside world, they will be complete twerps when it is time for the sporadic walk. So walks are imperative, but don't have to be the way you wear your dog out. There are plenty of other ways to wear your dog out. Aim for a 10 minute daily walk with your dog at a minimum. You can do 10 minutes. And it doesn't even have to be very far; remember to never go farther than your patience level allows. For some of my clients, that's around their block. For others, it's merely up and down their driveways as they and their dog learn the basics of leash walking, as I outline in this video. Some need to start even smaller: walking around in house with their leashed dog. Wherever you are in your journey to walking your dog without drama, remember to start small. You can always build up. The collar you choose is important. If you've done a training session with me, you'll see I choose a slip/show collar. This is mainly because it's exceptionally difficult for a dog to wiggle out of (looking at you, harness users), as well as providing a better communication method with your dog. Learn more about leash walking here. And my favorite leashes/collars? Check out below. Walking Your Dog: Leashes and Collars All in One Leash/Collar by MayPaw. If you've dog a dog training session with me, this is the exact collar I use. Pros: Thin enough to be comfortable, yet durable. All in one design works for people and dogs of all heights. This is my go-to leash, and what Arwen and Ellis walk with. Wonderful for smaller dogs who are hard to fit. Cons: Can be a bit chafing on your hands until you get used to how to properly hold a leash. Ruffwear Just-a-Cinch Dog Leash Pros: A bit more comfortable in hand than MayPaw. Slips easily through ring to ensure a safe walk. Cons: A bit too thick for smaller dogs. MayPaw Slip Collar Pros: Use your favorite leash with this collar for a good hand-feel while walking. Durable, and lightweight. Cons: Can be a struggle if you have a large dog, especially for smaller people, so be sure to size properly. So enough about collars and walking. Let's get on to the good stuff: How to wear out your dog effectively, without you needed to be involved every step of the way. Dog Back Pack The single most useful thing I've ever purchased out of all the 1am Amazon/Chewy dog supply splurges ever: a dog back pack/day pack. *Note: I only use these on dogs who are 6 months or older. Talk to your vet before using otherwise.* All of my dogs have worn them in some fashion. A tiny amount of weight in the pack (more on that below), and you've got a pooped pooch. They wear it all day, as long as you are supervising them (i.e., don't leave them home alone with it on, don't crate them with it, don't go to bed if they're still wearing it). This is the single most effective way to wear out your dog. Learn about how I used it with Ellis here. As far as what you put in it: rice, dried beans, unpopped popcorn. As far as how much weight? Always err on the side of caution. My Border Collie, Arwen, is about 30 lbs, and she only has 3/4 cup of rice on each side. Seriously, take it easy. It's also advisable to call your vet to get their blessing, especially with dogs who are prone to hip dysplasia, floating patella, etc. Here are some of my choices of backpacks that I've used while dog training throughout the years. One Tigris Pros: Hands down my favorite. This is the pack that Arwen currently uses. I love the velcro fasteners, the ease of putting it on, and especially how most of the weight is carried closer to the shoulders, rather than in the center of the backpack. It's also durable enough for my Arwen-geddon, who hasn't been able to destroy it yet. Cons: Honestly, I haven't found any yet. Although I do wish it came in other more visible colors. Kurgo Pros: This is the one Ellis wore (nonstop) when I first got him, and it was very durable. It's definitely more...rugged, and more suitable for longer hiking excursions. I like the material, which seems breathable and dries faster. Cons: More expensive. While more secure on the dog, it's a bit more effort to put on. Outward Hound Pros: Budget friendly, nice, visible colors, and fast drying. I've been using this one since my own dog Darwin had his, almost 20 years ago. Cons: A bit more fussy to get on. Not as rugged as other choices, so don't go hiking Appalachia with this one. As I mentioned, a back pack is the easiest way to wear out your dog, provided you use it judiciously and don't overload it. I personally don't go more than 5% of my dog's body weight at maximum, and I have 2 young, healthy, energetic dogs. You can always add weight, you can never un-damage your dog. When in doubt, consult with your vet. There are other ways to wear your dog out. Treadmill Training Your Dog A hard sell, sure, but definitely worth it. I bought my first treadmill for Sparta about 14 years ago off of Craigslist for $100. It provided an easy way for me to exercise her and Orion for years. I finally bought a brand new one from Walmart for $300 simply because it folds up and fits under my daybed in my office. I found this similar one on Amazon recently. Sparta would wear her backpack and keep a normal walking pace on the treadmill. Orion would forgo the backpack, but could run for a full 15 minutes on it at a pretty decent clip. Perfect for snowy days, rainy days, or days where I just can't work in the exercise they need. Check out the (older) video below about how to treadmill train a dog. Full disclosure: the video is at least 10 years old, so don't judge the haircut. I thought I wanted bangs. Turns out I wanted a therapist. But shoutout to Geronimo the Jack Russell Terrier in the video, who learns the basics in under 10 minutes. Other Ways to Wear Out Your Dog Looking for even more ideas? Here's some more tools to add to your dog training toolbox. Flirt Pole/Teaser Stick Yeah...do yourself a favor and don't Google this one. You will come up with exactly what you think you'll come up with. However, it is one of Arwen's favorite things in the world, and one of the few ways I was able to wear her out before she was old enough to wear a backpack. You use it the same way you'd use a a fishing pole style toy with a cat (no backpack on your dog when playing with this we don't need any torn ACLs). Enrichment Feeding Your Dog Even how you feed your dog can change the amount of activity they get. Instead of feeding them through a stationary bowl or a slow feeder, try using enrichment toys for feeding time. Here are some I love: Best All Around: Nina Ottosson by Outward Hound Dog Worker If you've ever had a training session with me, you've probably seen this. It's my one-size-fits-all. Easy enough for any dog to use, but engaging enough to maintain the interest of my border collie, Arwen. Any sized dog can use it (I've had Chihuahuas and a Boxer use it in the same training session). So make sure you get the largest size (shown below) rather than the small size. Bonus: Since it's one solid, round piece, it's very difficult to chew up, so perfect for Ellis. Best for Uni-taskers and Herding Dogs: Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble Meal My Sparta loved this toy. I loved that it was big enough to hold all of her food (at over 100lbs., she ate a lot!), so I didn't have to fill it over and over again. Sparta's food was a little bit too large to easily fit through the openings on the end; I easily rectified this by cutting out some of the plastic guards. Perfect. Bonus: You can see how much food is left inside, as it's clear plastic. Best for Senior Dogs/Dogs with Health Problems - Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat Dispensing Toy As my 5lb Papillion, Orion, got older, his teeth got worse, until finally we had to put him on a wet food regime. There are very few enrichment toys that work well with wet food, but this is one. By twisting the toy shut almost all the way, the wet food has a difficult time dumping out, making a perfect alternative to messy Kongs. Sparta had one as well, even though her teeth were fine. Hers was exclusively for peanut butter. Bonus: Dishwasher safe (top rack). Best for Noise Reduction - Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, Large I've been using this ball for years (my beloved Darwin had one over 20 years ago!) It's made of a softer plastic (read: not for destructive dogs) so the largest size can be appropriate for even a small dog. My 5 lb Orion and 100 lb Sparta used the same size. Bonus: Since it's quieter, it's good for shy dogs. Best for Rough & Tumble Dogs: Kong Wobbler Not as mobile as some of the other ball-centric toys listed, this one is a glorified Weeble (if you're old enough to remember those #me!) This used to be the one I used for years with the destructive dogs, until I gave it to Ellis ("Well, you TOLD me to get the food out, Mom!"), so it's not 100%, but most of my more chaos prone dogs have problems destroying it. Bonus: One of the easier toys to fill. Double Bonus: Off all the toys listed, I feel this one provides the most physical activity in addition to the mental work. Best for Over-Achievers: Busy Buddy Tug-A-Jug The unfortunately named "Tug-A-Jug" is hands down the hardest toy I've had the pleasure of subjecting my dogs to. Out of all the dogs I've had in my life (Darwin, Sparta, Orion, Ellis and Arwen), only Arwen was able to figure it out (see her in action below). However, I did bring it on a training session a few times, and a Jack Russell named Geronimo figured it out within 5 minutes. She figured it out eventually. Now imagine your dog getting a workout from their feeding time. Put one of the backpacks on your dog while feeding, and get an even bigger boost of exercise! Dog Training Exercise: Wearing Out your Dog with Agility Don't buy anything, and don't take any dog classes. Keep it simple, using a broom stick or yard stick propped up between two soup cans as a jump. It's a simple behavior to learn, dogs love it, and it also counts as mental work. Check out the video below as I teach my pitbull, Ellis, how to start agility during a Facebook live video. The more efficient you become with helping your dog with their need to exercise, the more you can start doing what you want with your bond with your dog. Maybe you want a dog who will calmly hike with you for 2 hours every day (it actually helps to eliminate some energy before you hike, especially with younger dogs). Maybe you just want a dog who is content to hang out with you on the couch while you binge Stranger Things. Regardless of what you want out of your relationship with your dog, it's imperative you give them what they need: Piloting, Activity and Work. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

“Nothing will work unless you do.” -Maya Angelou Darwin Dogs is reader supported. When you buy our tested items through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. And that means more dog treats! Same story, different day. Someone finds out I'm a dog trainer, and they want the best piece of advice I can give them regarding working with their dog. And it's always the same: The best advice about training your dog: don't do it. See? Simple. But that doesn't mean your dog should run amok throughout your life and your house like a rhino on meth through a windchime shop. I said not to train, I didn't say anything about not guiding and answering their questions. You need a game plan; a new perspective. Think of dog training as a diet: restrictive, over structured and prone to failure in the long run. I mean who has time for a 45 minute walk everyday with their new dog, along with 15 minutes twice a day for "training" (whatever that means). That's why I developed the PAW Method so many years ago. It's not a diet, it's a life plan. A shift in focus and a reboot of ideas distilled into an easy-to-manage lifestyle. The premise of the PAW Method is simple: it stand for Piloting (learn about it here and here), Activity (i.e., exercise your dog) and Work (or mental enrichment). Now when I'm in a training session, and I start helping my clients put the pieces of the PAW Method together, they can always rattle off what they do (or should be doing) for physical activity with their dog. But I'd say only 15% of my clients have a grasp of a dog's need for mental work. Dog's aren't just automated robots; they need problems to fix to keep their minds sharp and active. In other words, keep your dog mentally engaged, or they will find a way to engage themselves, and it's never good. Let's break down some general guidelines to effectively getting your dog the mental work they require, as well as some do's and don'ts. DO make sure it is an every day occurrence. You fed your dog yesterday, does that mean you have to do it again today? um....yeah. DON'T get stuck in a rut. Your dog is designed to adapt and evolve to different situations, become better each time. There is a threshold that can be hit, so change it up frequently. Think about kindergarten, and how difficult was for you to learn the alphabet. Hopefully by now you've nailed it though (and to you flat-earther, anti-vax crowd, keep working at it). DO use time savers. An enrichment toy, feeder puzzle, etc., are all great examples of adding mental work to your dog's day without much effort from you. DON'T devalue time spent with your dog on mental work. Yeah, you're not a stay-at-home dog parent; you've got a lot of things to tackle in your busy life. But join in on the mental work with your dog occasionally. You may find it helps refresh your mind as well. DO look at mental work as unique. Some dogs love specific types of mental work, while others get bored. Find what works for you, which may be different than what works for a different dog. It's not one-size-fits-all. DON'T spend a lot of money on enrichment gimmicks. Yes, that backyard agility set looks like So Much Fun, but you're only going to use it once or twice before you get bored with it. Stick with simple, basic things. Now that we've set some simple guidelines for getting the most bang out of your enrichment buck, let's go on to the actual exercises and tools you can use to work your dog's mind. Enrichment Feeders By far my favorite (and easiest) way to work my dog's mind. There are so many out there! Here are some of my favorites: Best All Around: Nina Ottosson by Outward Hound Dog Worker If you've ever had a training session with me, you've probably seen this. It's my one-size-fits-all. Easy enough for any dog to use, but engaging enough to maintain the interest of my border collie, Arwen. Any sized dog can use it (I've had Chihuahuas and a Boxer use it in the same training session). So make sure you get the largest size (shown below) rather than the small size. Bonus: Since it's one solid, round piece, it's very difficult to chew up, so perfect for Ellis. Best for Uni-taskers and Herding Dogs: Busy Buddy Kibble Nibble Meal My Sparta loved this toy. I loved that it was big enough to hold all of her food (at over 100lbs., she ate a lot!), so I didn't have to fill it over and over again. Sparta's food was a little bit too large to easily fit through the openings on the end; I easily rectified this by cutting out some of the plastic guards. Perfect. Bonus: You can see how much food is left inside, as it's clear plastic. Best for Senior Dogs/Dogs with Health Problems - Busy Buddy Twist 'n Treat Dispensing Toy As my 5lb Papillion, Orion, got older, his teeth got worse, until finally we had to put him on a wet food regime. There are very few enrichment toys that work well with wet food, but this is one. By twisting the toy shut almost all the way, the wet food has a difficult time dumping out, making a perfect alternative to messy Kongs. Sparta had one as well, even though her teeth were fine. Hers was exclusively for peanut butter. Bonus: Dishwasher safe (top rack). Best for Noise Reduction - Omega Paw Tricky Treat Ball, Large I've been using this ball for years (my beloved Darwin had one over 20 years ago!) It's made of a softer plastic (read: not for destructive dogs) so the largest size can be appropriate for even a small dog. My 5 lb Orion and 100 lb Sparta used the same size. Bonus: Since it's quieter, it's good for shy dogs. Best for Rough & Tumble Dogs: Kong Wobbler Not as mobile as some of the other ball-centric toys listed, this one is a glorified Weeble (if you're old enough to remember those #me!) This used to be the one I used for years with the destructive dogs, until I gave it to Ellis ("Well, you TOLD me to get the food out, Mom!"), so it's not 100%, but most of my more chaos prone dogs have problems destroying it. Bonus: One of the easier toys to fill. Double Bonus: Off all the toys listed, I feel this one provides the most physical activity in addition to the mental work. Best for Over-Achievers: Busy Buddy Tug-A-Jug The unfortunately named "Tug-A-Jug" is hands down the hardest toy I've had the pleasure of subjecting my dogs to. Out of all the dogs I've had in my life (Darwin, Sparta, Orion, Ellis and Arwen), only Arwen was able to figure it out (see her in action below). However, I did bring it on a training session a few times, and a Jack Russell named Geronimo figured it out within 5 minutes. She figured it out eventually. Bonus: This one is exercise intensive, so if your dog can figure it out, it's a great work out! Enrichment Feeding Mistakes Giving up immediately. It's okay if your dog doesn't immediately take to the enrichment feeding. Offer the food in the enrichment toy during set times, but don't leave it out all the time. We want your dog to work up an appetite so they eat their meal in one fell swoop, rather than grazing throughout the day, so make sure you don't leave snacks out for them. If they skip a meal or two because they don't feel like working a toy, that's fine. If you're concerned about if they can work a toy, put a few of their favorite treats in the toy instead of their meal, and see if they can get those out. If they can get treats out, they can get their kibble out. Mixing treats and food. They will pick through whatever comes out, leaving you with tons of kibble on the floor. A plate can hold spaghetti or chocolate cake, but not at the same time. Empty out your enrichment feeder before switching what's in there. Confusing enrichment feeders with slow feeders. A slow feeder is designed to slow your dog down, but doesn't really give them any mental work. Think of it like a big bowl of rice: if I gave you a spoon to eat it with, you could probably eat it realllllly quickly. But what if I gave you a smaller spoon to eat it with? It does slow down how quickly you can eat, but it doesn't require any more mental work to eat with a smaller spoon. A slow feeder is just a smaller spoon. However, what if I gave you chopsticks to eat the bowl of rice with? That requires skill. One that I don't have. So the enrichment feeder is more like trying to using chopsticks. Now obviously, the more you use them, the better you get at them which brings us to ... Not changing up your feeders. See case above. My dogs each have roughly 3 different feeders they eat out of. Keep it fresh, folks Not using one at all. An enrichment feeder is the easiest way by far to get some mental work out of your dog (with very little time/money investment from you). You have to feed your dog anyway, be efficient with their meals. Challenge them. They're still predators; let them predate! While enrichment feeding is the easiest way to get your dog the mental work they need, there are indeed other ways to go about it. Check out some more ideas here: Agility Okay, I know that I stated up above not to spend money on an agility course, and that still stands. Unless you know and can envision yourself using it every day, then don't buy one! If you're hell bent on an agility course for your dog, try this one by Cheering Pet, as it's one of the few that can be used indoors and outdoors. While I use agility courses, and love them, I never seem to remember I actually own them. Therefore, they typically hang out in my basement, lonely, along with my elliptical. I find it so much easier and convenient to just use soup cans and a broom stick to teach my dogs "over" and "under". Once their good at it, I just my legs, as you can see with Orion. Check out the video below to teach your dog the basics of agility: over and under. Scent Work One of my favorite things to work with when I'm training a dog. It's a cool party trick, and something I can engage my dog with for 5 seconds or 30 minutes, depending upon their attention span (and mine). My previous dogs, Sparta and Orion, each knew how to do it. For a brief video (shot on Facebook Live) on how to teach your dog scent work, check this out. Spoiler: Ellis learns the basics in under 5 minutes. Conclusion Dogs need mental work. That's a fact. But don't slog through 20 minutes of repeating the same commands over and over again until you've both become catatonic. That's called drilling, and drilling is designed to make you move without thinking any more. It's automatic. That's the opposite of what we're trying to achieve here, which is mental work. And let's face it, drilling is never fun anyway. Do what works for you. What you both enjoy. The goal is mental work, not having fun whether you like it or not. So if you enjoy agility, do it! If you don't, don't do it! Obviously enrichment feeding is the easiest, and it will work, but I also like the bonding of learning a new trick together, or running an agility course with my dog. And the goal here isn't dog training, it's working together with your dog to achieve great things. Keep calm and Pilot on. Dog Training vs. Dog Life By focusing on dog life, rather than dog training, our goals can become so much more attainable and clear-cut. Most of us don't want an obedient dog, we just don't want a dis-obedient dog. Robot-style dogs who are afraid of stepping out of line are for certain types of people I guess. But that's not my style. That's why I developed the Piloting method of dog training over 20 years ago, a force-free method of dog training and puppy training that didn't rely on abusive shock collars or cruel prong collars, yet didn't constantly bribe with non-stop click-n-treat style dog training. I want a bond with my dog based on trust and communication. Learn more about our Piloting method of dog and puppy training here. Find out more about our private in home 30 Day Best Dog Ever and 30 Day Best Puppy Ever training packages here. Have questions about our puppy training or dog training? Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training and Puppy Training Greater Cleveland Area Northeast Ohio

“Frustration is the nagging feeling that tells us we are not listening or following our intuition.” – J.R. Incer I don't get frustrated very often, especially when I'm training dogs. My husband says that I have an infinite amount of patience...when I'm working with my dogs. Your dog is merely asking a question, and simply Piloting them is how you answer their question (learn about Piloting, and why it's better than traditional dog training, here). How long does it take for your dog to accept the answer? Depends on the question. If you have dinner at my house, I'll ask if you would like the salt and pepper. You may tell me that , no, you would like not like them, or yes, you would. Pretty easy question to accept the answer, right? You would either give me a positive or a negative. Obviously some questions are harder than others. Like my husband asking me where I want to go for dinner. Essentially it's about 2 hours of us shooting down each other's ideas until we both die of starvation. The hardest questions are ones that require the most money from that Piloting Piggy Bank. See, asking if you want salt is maybe a $.50 question. Almost anyone can cover that amount. But some questions are harder to accept the answer to, and you might get a case of what I call the "Are You Sures". You may see this on a walk with your dog, especially if they are reactive to other dogs. You may answer your reactive dog's question, (no, the dog across the street isn't a threat) but there's no reason your dog will accept that answer immediately, especially if this is the first time you've ever Piloted your dog and actually answered their question, rather than placated/bribed/manhandled your dog past the situation. That dog across the street is a $20 question, and you've only got $15 in your Piloting Piggy Bank, so when you do answer your dog's question, there's a deficit. And dog's don't take credit cards, so you have to pay that up front. How do you get that money to cover the tab? By answering more questions in general. However, here and right now, your beloved Chihuahua/Jack Russell Terrier/Mastiff mix is going full throttle nuts over that other dog, you need to answer the immediate question your dog is asking: Are we going to die? And that's a pretty big question. Your Frankenmutt is going to have a tough time with that deficit in the Piloting Piggy Bank, hence you've got a case of the Are You Sures. And since this is such a big ticket item, it's going to take a bit of Piloting to get them to finally accept that answer. Your dog is anxious about the other dog. And you need that money right now (learn how to get past the situation in this post). The textbook definition of anxiety is fear of the unknown (the other dog in this case). "Is that dog a threat? Not a threat? Are they going to kill all of us, or just me? Am I big enough to protect you and me? What if he hurts my mommy?" These are all the questions that are going through your dog's head. And until they are answered and paid for, your dog will go bananas at that other dog. That's why I'm always communicating with your dog during our training session. I see so many unanswered questions your dog has from the moment I walk through your door, (usually starting with, "Who the fuck are you?!"). But by starting to sift through those questions, a snowball effect happens. The first question I get them to accept the answer to bring me money into the Piloting Piggy Bank so I can answer the next one more easily, and so on and so forth. It's pretty cut and dry in my eyes, and therefore not a source of frustration. Sometimes I simply don't have the money to pay for an answer, and I know I'm going to be locked into a Q & A for quite a little while. But I've been working with dogs for a very long time. So long ago that the first dog I trained wasn't even a dog: they were all still wolves. Actual footage of my very first puppy session. I'm the pretty one. So I'll bet you're wondering why I've been on my soapbox, ranting about never getting frustrated when working with dogs. Great, Kerry, you don't get frustrated ...how is that supposed to help me?! But I never said I don't get frustrated. I just stated I don't get frustrated with dogs. I actually get frustrated quite easily. So let's break it down: How I Deal with Frustration Typically, frustration is what happens when there is either a break in communication, or a gap in knowledge. One of my favorite quotes is from Maya Angelou: “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.” Very recently I had the most lovely training session with a couple and their dog, Chloe. They were open to learning more so they could do better, and in the end, I think that they are going to truly shine through for Chloe, and guide her through her anxieties by answering her questions. They just didn't know how to handle her reactions to people coming to the door, the random barking problem, or her behavior on a leashed walk. During our 2-hour training session, they learned how to do better. And they did so much better, it was amazing. By filling in the gaps in their knowledge (namely, how to communicate with Chloe), they were able to do better, and end the frustration. They understand better now because they actively sought out new information. In other words, I Piloted them, and answered their questions until they were able to Pilot Chloe. What a beautiful, wonderful cycle. Obviously, Chloe will never be allowed back into the Piloting position during walks or when answering the door, and she's fine with that! She never wanted to Pilot those situations to begin with, so it was a relief to have someone finally Pilot her through those stressful situations. Chloe's family was my third session that day, and I frequently am exhausted after training so many dogs, but I was energized. I truly love my job, and all the wonderful people I meet. I got into my truck to leave their session with a feeling accomplished. Until I put the key in the ignition and my beloved truck, Matilda, wouldn't start. Full sized Silverado, stuck in your client's driveway after a session on a late Saturday afternoon the day before Easter. Yeah, not my best moment. Now, I know nothing about tinkering with a truck. I'm smart enough to know what I don't know. But what I did know was one thing: Now I could have chosen to panic. Why wouldn't my truck start? How am I going to get Matilda out of their driveway? Did I accidentally trap my clients in their driveway? How long would it take to get a tow truck in there? Frustration due to lack of information could have been a very real issue right here. And nobody acts rational when they're frustrated. So I called a Pilot. Namely my husband. Now he's not a mechanic, but he definitely has a better sense of troubleshooting a vehicle than I do. He's fixed so many minor car issues, and is usually in charge of the maintenance on our vehicles, plus the fact that I trust him, made it a no brainer to immediately call him. Fortunately, he was less than 2 miles away, and said he'd be there immediately. Obviously, I was still a bit anxious about how this would play out, but now at least I had a Pilot here who would better handle the situation. So I went back to my client's front door, rang the bell, and explained what was going on. Immediately, after finding out what happened, Tim wanted to go take a look at Matilda. He asked me a few questions, and based on what he was asking, I immediately realized he was a better Pilot for this situation than I would be. He dove under Matilda's hood, and starting making a racket in there. Meanwhile, my husband showed up, and both started discussing potential issues, but with Tim obviously leading the way, as he had more knowledge. Rebecca came out of her house and sat with me on the porch, where we had a wonderful conversation about everything and nothing. She admitted that she didn't know anything about trucks, and wasn't much of a help in that department, but that Tim had been a mechanic in the Army. She felt confident he'd figure it out. 20 minutes later, he did. He performed some magic spell on Matilda, and she roared into life, much to my surprise. I asked him what he did. "I Piloted her", he said, smirking. Turns out it was the starter was mildly warped, and he was able to temporarily fix it so we could get it to the mechanic. She's since fully repaired, and I'm back on the road. So let's break that scenario down as to how it pertains to your dog. In this situation, I was clearly in over my head. I knew enough to know that the problem wasn't the battery, but beyond that, I was lost. Fortunately I had someone who was definitely an amazing Pilot who was able to resolve the situation. But do you always need an amazing Pilot? Nope. My husband would've Piloted the situation just fine, trouble shooting as best he could (which was better than me, and still good enough for the situation). He had already called a tow truck as soon as I had called him about the problem. In other words, he wasn't the perfect Pilot for the situation, but he was a good Pilot. And that's all you need. So when your dog is overwhelmed with anxiety over what's going to happen, be their Pilot. The one who's answered so many other questions, and handled so many other situations, that it just seems natural to allow them to handle the current situation. Do you have to be perfect? No. As Voltaire stated, don't let the perfect be the enemy of good. Your dog doesn't need a perfect Pilot. They need a good Pilot. And that is you. Even when you get frustrated. Remember, frustration is either a break in knowledge or communication. Nobody, not the your dog, your broken truck, not even the universe is against you; it's merely going after it's own agenda. So let's fix the frustration. So the first way I mitigate frustration is by knowing my gaps in my knowledge. Don't ever be afraid of the phrase, "I don't know". It's an empowering phrase, because if stated correctly, means you've researched your own knowledge, and the answer isn't there. I'm not omnipotent, and thankful I'm not. I'm allowed to have a limit to my knowledge, even though I'm always growing and learning. In the situation with Matilda, I was beyond my knowledge, so I could legitimately say that I didn't know what to do. Know when to call in the reserves. By knowing what I don't know, and not trying to be what I can't be at the moment, or even worse, not letting someone who is obviously a better choice as Pilot in a specific situation take over the position. Only an idiot thinks they should be Pilot in every situation. Learn to be Piloted as well. Let it go. Understand that perspective is everything. Are you frustrated because your dog doesn't understand the "come" command, or is it actually frustration that you don't understand your pet. As Morticia Adams said, "What's normal to the spider is chaos to the fly". Understanding your dog's perspective on life can make for a much more rewarding bond for both of you. You have no idea how long I've wanted to make this reference. A great example is the "come" command. When we first got Arwen, she was a bit of a mess: had no concepts of basic commands, not housebroken, submissive urinated all the time. She wasn't a work in progress, though. She was a masterpiece that merely needed to be understood. She was kind enough to make an effort to understand humans as we began our journey trying to understand Arwen. It actually went rather quickly, though she was a bit shy around my husband, who obviously spent less time with her. He was nothing but patient and kind, but the one day, he was having problems with having her come when he called her. Rather than getting frustrated due to lack of communication or information, he asked me why. I told him to call her. He did, and Arwen merely looked at him with her head cocked to the side, not moving at all. To my husband, she wasn't responding to a come command. However, to Arwen, he was telling her something completely different. "You are standing in front of her with your naval pointed at her. That's her body language for 'stay away'. You need to tell her what you mean in her language, not yours. You look vaguely threatening. Turn so your hip is pointed towards her, rather than your stomach, and turn your head slightly away from her as you call her name. Gently pat your leg repeatedly." My husband did so, and immediately went from looking a bit intimidating to someone who is approachable, which Arwen did. It wasn't Arwen being stubborn, nor was my husband being stupid: they were both just talking two different languages. Both were having problems identifying what the other was trying to say. By my husband making the first step towards Arwen's way of communicating, Arwen was able to start heading in his direction of communication. They met (literally) somewhere in the middle. Voila: the come command. So rather than getting frustrated at the situation, take a look at not only what you're communicating, but how you're communicating it. Does the situation present to you the same way it presents to your dog? I've always stated that the first place to start in training your dog is with empathy. It should also end with empathy, and have a whole mess of empathy in between. The moment you forget you're dealing with a living, sentient being is the moment you stop communicating and you start dominating, and that's violence inherent in the system. Given who's running on the 2022 ballots, perhaps we should revisit watery tarts throwing swords as a method of electing rulers Utilize techniques to manage your frustration when working with your dog. Regardless of how hard you try, you're still going to end up occasionally getting frustrated, be it at your kids, your spouse, your dog, or just life in general. While I do use the Piloting mantra (control yourself, control the situation, and then act) in all aspects of my life, sometimes it's hard to get past the "control yourself" part. I just get frustrated. While it's true I don't get frustrated with my dogs, I do get frustrated at myself, or situations involving my dogs. Here are some ways I combat that frustration; Vent So your dog just peed on the floor for the 8th time today (see: Arwen's submissive urination problem), or perhaps your puppy chewed something they weren't supposed to. You're frustrated. I get it. While technically, it wasn't Arwen's fault any more than it was the puppy's fault (they didn't know any better), that doesn't mean you won't get frustrated. So vent. Appropriately. Take out your aggression in a healthy fashion by paying a game of fetch with your dog, or a game of tug-of-war with a rope toy. Go for a short (or long) hike. Engage in some agility. Anything to get you both moving together. Because again, it's nobody's fault that the situation occurred and that you're now frustrated, but it is most definitely your responsibility to vent that frustration appropriately. And there is no better way than engaging in some physical activity with your dog. I do a version of this with my children when I'm frustrated with them: we play a few rounds of Super Smash Brothers and beat the pixels out of each other. It works for us. Force a positive moment. I actually use this one a lot to help me get over the frustration and mentally reboot, especially if I'm having difficulty teaching a trick or behavior to a dog, or if on of my beloved daughters did themselves a dumb and did something that required a negative: I force a positive. Example: Let's just state that for argument's sake, a certain daughter of mine did not-so-well on her math score. Yes, I will handle the situation and appropriately respond with a negative (like, no electronic devices until her grade goes back up to a B), but then I drop it. I don't dwell on the deed (it's done), nor do I dwell on the negative I gave; I already gave it, and it, too, is no longer my concern but hers. But sometimes it's hard to just let that frustration go. So I force a positive. I'll challenge said daughter to a game of chess, where I know she'll beat me, and I and I can then be proud of her ability. Perhaps I will tell her to go do the dishes, after which I can genuinely praise the good job she did. Or maybe I'll ask to see her chemistry grade, knowing full well already that it's a 96, as I check every morning. But I can still dole out the praise like a sailor passing out dollar bills at a strip club in the Pacific. Yes, I had to give out a negative, but remember: we only use negative to get them on the right path; we use positive to keep them there. Be generous with the positive, and if you're having problems finding it, create it. So Arwen and I engage in a lot of agility (tons of praise) and some tricks. Sometimes the positive is playing a game of fetch and watching how much better she's doing at catching the ball instead of deflecting it with her face. Side note: do not google gifs for "faceballs". Trust me. Remove them from your presence. Remember, God made crates to keep you from killing your dog, and your kid has a bedroom. Allow them to utilize it. Because you can't say/do something damaging to your bond if you're separated. Go to your respective corner until you're able to get ahold of your self. As a final thought in this much-longer-than-anticipated post: frustration is neither right nor wrong, it's just another emotion in the cacophony of emotions swirling in your noggin. You can't always choose what pops up, but if it's the wrong tool for the job, don't use it. And frustration and anger in dog training is never the right tool. Kerry Stack Darwin Dogs Dog Training in Cleveland, Ohio