Frequently Asked Questions

How to Potty Train Your New Dog

Just got a new dog or puppy? Wondering what the quickest way to potty train them is? Here are my recommendations:

  • Get a crate. Crates are the 21st century tool to help you train your dog in a realistic way. Unless you can watch your dog every minute of every day, you need a crate. The crate should be just big enough for the puppy to stand normally – no bigger.
  • Watch and control your dog’s eating and drinking habits. Put your dog on a regular eating schedule and take them out 20-30 minutes after eating or drinking.
  • Take your dog out on a leash to potty. This is often looked over by those who have backyards, but the goal of this step is to make sure you know whether or not your pup pottied. Don’t put your dog out side and assume they have pottied.
  • The more frequent the breaks, the more likeliness of success. Especially in the beginning, the more often you can take the dog out the better the chance your dog will have to succeed at this.
  • Most importantly, reward, reward, reward! Give your dog his/her favorite treat. In the beginning, each potty should be followed by a delicious treat. After a few days of this, you can begin to reward every other time, every three times, and then eventually intermittently to keep the behavior rewarding.
  • Do NOT: rub their nose in it, yell at them, drag them outside, leave them outside alone. These are all common mistakes many dog owners do. If you catch your dog in the act, immediately take them outside. Set them up for success, keep them crated unless you can supervise.

Crating 101

Crating your dog is useful for more than just potty training. When introduced and used correctly, your dog should LOVE their crate. Here are some reasons why you should crate train your dog – even if they’re good!

  • Travel – Having a dog who is comfortable in a crate makes traveling 100x easier.
  • Emergencies – Whether at the vets clinic or during an emergency evacuation, a dog that can be calm in a crate is necessary.
  • Holidays – If your dog can be good in a crate, then having family over is no big deal. You dont have to worry about the dog eating poinous food or running out the door the kids left open!

Check out this site for detailed instructions: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/crate_training.html

Teach Your Dog to Stop Pulling

Lets focus on the goal – a loose leash, which means no tension, no pulling. This isn’t about getting an attention heel, but it is about teaching the dog to pay a little more attention to you. Here are some steps to take:

  • Start on a regular buckle collar or you may find it necessary for you to put your dog on a no-pull harness so that you have more leverage if you have a large dog. Check out the harness I highly recommend: The Freedom Harness
  • Most importantly, your dog should never get to where he wants to go by pulling. This means you need to stop immediately whenever there is pressure on the leash.

Check out my video on loose leash walking here: http://youtu.be/eKx6C8XTNDU

Must Have Equipment for Your Dog

  • Kong Wobbler – My dog LOVES eating his meals out of this thing! Unlike a regular Kong, I can stick his entire meal in it so I don’t have to have multiple or refill it more than once. It also comes in different sizes
  • Nylabone Chew – These Nylabone products last a long time so they are great for even the toughest chewers!

Get Your Dog to Stop Jumping

Does your dog jump to get your attention? Does he jump when new people come in the door? If your dog continues to jump, it means that behavior is being reinforced or is self-reinforcing. Your dog has learned that when it performs that behavior, it gets your attention. Give these easy steps a try!

  1. Ignore your dog when he jumps. Don’t even look at your dog as even something like eye contact can reinforce jumping.
  2. Praise your dog when he sits. Praise can be anything your dog enjoys. Rewards include: treats, petting, playing, etc.
  3. Teach your dog to go to a certain place when new people come over. Teaching your dog “Place” will help you have guests over without all the craziness of your dog jumping on everyone. Check out my video on how to teach “Place”: http://youtu.be/JowsEQeIPJk