Willie Escapes!

Willie was on the run this evening after slipping his collar on our nice and peaceful walk with Pam and her dog Jojo. I tried everything from running the other way, to bribing him with treats, but Willie only had one thing on his mind..... running wild, and free. Thankfully this story does have a happy ending I was able to grab onto the other end of the toy he was carrying, and he followed me home. I realized that Willie's recall skills out on walks are lacking, and he has a lot of training in his future. My form of punishment when we got home was telling him he was a bad boy, and ignoring him till he fell asleep. I was so disappointed with myself, but at the same time I have to remind myself that Willie is still young, and that one day he will come to me when called! Until then I have made a mental note to make sure that his collar is tightly secure around his neck before we leave the house, and this is a good reminder for all of you puppy owners to make sure your pups collars are secure as well. I think this adventure has given me a few new gray hairs :)

Fun and Games!!

Fun and Games

1. "Go Find Furby"

On Sunday we got Willie a new toy, and he carries this toy around like it's his baby. He sleeps with it, carries it around the house, and even brings it on our walks. This morning when I asked him if he wanted to go for a walk he immediately jumped off the couch ran into the kitchen and came back out with this toy in his mouth. So for kicks I've named his new toy Furby, and have started up a new game with him called "Go Find Furby!" Pretty simple....I let Willie smell his Furby, go hide Furby in an obvious location while Willie is not looking, and then I yell out "Willie...Go find Furby!" And Willie does just that! Eventually I will really start to hide Furby...Ie: under a blanket, in his toy box etc... Willie is such an intelligent dog, and I really believe that most dogs are intelligent, but just need a little push. I've found that this game also wears him out after about four or five times of running around tyring to find Furby!

2. "Hide and Seek"

Yes you can play hide and seek with your pup! Willie and I play a couple times a week. The game not only mentally stimulates him, but it is also a great form of excercise. The first step is to put your pup in the sit position, and tell him to stay (Of course he will have to have been taught sit and stay before this game can be played!)..Once you've told him to stay go and find a place to hide...I find behind the bathroom door, or next to the bed are good spots! Once you are in place yell (your dogs name) and then "Come Find Me!" Willie immediately runs around the house looking for me, and he usually passes up my hiding space once or twice! Once your pooch finds you immediately praise him, and you can even give him a treat if you want! This game is perfect for getting the kids involved with helping train your pup!

3. Touch Game

This game is quite simple, and I've used it to help with our nipping problem. The goal of the game is to get your pup to lightly touch your hand with his nose without opening his mouth! To start have a treat at the ready...take your open hand and hold it close to your pooch and wait for him/her to go in for a smell, and as soon as they are touching your hand with their nose say "Touch" and then immediately treat! Repeat the action until your pup seems to be catching on. At this point you should be able to move your open hands into different locations, say "Touch" and your pup should immediately touch his nose to your open hand! This games has helped immensely with Willies bad nipping habits. If you have children this can be extremely useful for really nippy puppies! In our experience the "No Bite"/Ignoring did not work, but it may with a different pup! This game is not very physical but it is a great way to work your pooches brain, and get him/her to relax!

So for those of you looking for some new games to play with your dog these games are perfect!

Or perhaps I'm the only one that plays games with her pooch!!

Keeping a Schedule!

I think the most important thing I learned over the last year is that dogs like structure. Little Fido wants a schedule of things that he/she is going to do everyday! I learned this by having a set schedule for about the first 5 months, and then my work schedule changed, and so did Kevin's, So even though I didn't have to get up at 6 am anymore Willie still expected me to get up, and when I wasn't getting up he demanded that I get out of bed. He would do things like pull on the covers, paw at my head, lick my face etc.

So with that I firmly believe a schedule will help keep your dog semi-behaved! At least it does for Willie, and I do notice a difference when the schedule changes slightly. For example there is a thunderstorm going on during our normal walking time. Willie still expects to go on a walk, so he starts by grabbing at the leash, then he grabs the leash and brings it to me, then it progresses to him grabbing the leash and running back and forth between me and the door, so on and so forth. After being entertained by this I get up and distract him by grabbing his toy, or maybe by doing a little training session.

Remember not everyone gets an easy puppy, so be prepared to spend at least 3-4 hours per day with your dog! And even if your pup is easy going you should still be spending 3-4 hours per day with them. Personally I am dedicated to Willie, and I don't have children so he gets a little more attention throughout the day, but he is also a very hyper-active little guy that needs a little extra exercise, and even the extra I give him is usually not enough!

So here is a little example of a simple schedule you can keep with your pet, and remember to involve the whole family...especially the little ones. Keeping everyone interacting with your pooch will help him/her trust all of you even more, and will help them feel more comfortable, and at ease!

So in the morning be sure to have at least an hour or more to dedicate to your pup before heading off to work. First thing would be get out there on a walk. Go at least a mile, and this could take 15-30 minutes depending on how quickly your pup walks. Willie is a sniffer, and sometimes it's hard to get him going, but I find the quicker you walk the more attentive your pup will be! Now I try to incorporate little trainings while we are walking. If Willie's attention span is really off that day I may do some look at me training. So when Willie's attention seems to shift to something other than the walk I will stop, say "look", and wait until he turns around and looks at me. Once he does I will either praise or treat him, and then we will be on our way again. Repeat when needed! This will definitely add a little more time to your walk, but it also gets your pups mind working; which can also help wear him out!

When you get back home feed the animals! Whether you have 1 or 5 get everyone fed, and then get ready for your day. By the time you are done getting ready your pup will probably be done eating, and would have had the chance to digest his meal before his one final play or training time before you leave for work or school. If you happen to catch him sleeping let him sleep, and finish up what is needed and leave for the day. I always make sure that Willie has plenty of things to keep him occupied while I am gone. I personally have never used a crate, and never would, but if you do make sure it is big enough for your dog, so that he/she can stand up tall, and also be able to turn all the way around with out any trouble. Before Willie was fully potty trained we used the kitchen as his "home" we would gate it off so that he would not have access to any other part of the house! He had a little dog house in his area to sleep in, plenty of toys to play with, and usually a bone to chew on. (Make sure you are giving your dog toys and chews that are big enough so that they cannot swallow them whole!)

Lunchtime: I personally have worked at companies that are close enough to home, so that I can go home at lunch, and let Willie out, and then I spend a good 10-15 minutes of throwing the ball. If it's nice we will play ball outside. This really seems to wear him out pretty quickly! Before i would head back to work I would introduce a new chewy, or toy so that he had something to keep him busy for another hour or two! (A good thing to do especially on warm days....fill a kong with some peanut butter and stick it in the freezer before you leave in the morning, and then when you come home at lunch the kong should be nice and frozen, and highly entertaining!)

If you can't get home to your pup for long periods of time I highly recommend hiring someone to come over to let him/her our, or having a friend, or family member stop by. I had to use my dad one or two times, because I wasn't going to be able to let Willie out at lunch. Now some may think this is spoiling your dog, but Willie was pretty young, and young pups definitely cannot hold there pee as long as say a 2 year old pup can! Another option is puppy day care. There are plenty of centers around, and they are fairly inexpensive, and this will actually be a good socializing experience for your pooch!

Evening: You've been at work all day, and your poor pup has been cooped up. All you want to do is come in and relax. Think again!!! The minute I get home I give Willie about 3 minutes to settle down, and then I immediately get him ready for our evening walk. The evening walk tends to be longer. We typically go about 1 1/2 to 2 miles, and we are usually gone for about an hour. I use the same techniques as I did for the morning walk. Usually there are twice as many distractions! Kids, other dogs, babies crying, guys mowing the lawn, balls flying through the air etc....In the evening I tend to follow the same route.....I do this because I know that Willie knows the route, and he also knows the people, and dogs on the route, and this makes him happy, and also tends to make him a tired pup by the time we get back! On our route he has made a lot of puppy friends....we have JoJo, Charlie, Bella, Digger, Marley, Maddie, Nacho, Yogi, and Lily. This is a great thing to keep in mind when you are walking! Help your pup make friends, and in turn you may make a friend or two as well!

After your walk....it's feeding time! (Again get the whole family involved...unless little Fido is food aggressive). Once the animals are eating you can take the time to make dinner, eat, and even relax! Now I do not have any children at home, so I usually do this stuff on my own....sometimes Kevin pitches in, but with him working third shift it's a little hard, but we make do! But if you do have children be sure to get them involved. In the evening after homework and before bed have them play in the yard with your pup, or play a game in the house! The evening is also the perfect time to do a short 5 minute training session. By bedtime your pup should be ready for bed!!!

**Forgot to mention....the Most important thing about keeping your pup on a schedule: The potty schedule will always be the same!

Walking Tactics!

I had given up on the blogging, because I had so many changes in life the blog sort of took a backseat, but fortunately all has settled (somewhat), and I am back to blogging! I am sure all of my 2 followers are absolutely thrilled! Let's jump right back into the saddle.....

The Walk

For the past year Willie and I have walked every day at least twice a day, sometimes three times per day. Rain, snow, wind, cold etc did not stop me from taking my pup out for a stroll. It has helped Willie and I build an excellent bond, and has also kept him fit, and not so crazy when it's time to relax.

Many of my neighbors have confessed that they just do not want to bring their pooches out because they are either, pullers, aggressive towards other dogs, or just crazy all together.

On that note I just want to say to all the doggy moms and dads out there....a dog needs to get out of the house, and needs to be walked on a daily basis. It helps build there confidence, and also helps to socialize them by exposing them to many different situations. Just remember your first time out may not be perfect but there are trainings that can help your dog behave properly when out for a walk, and remember it all starts before you even walk out the door.

I will give you some pointers based on what worked for me and willie. Keep in mind each dog is different, and you may need to switch up the training to suit you and your dogs needs.

Pointer number one:

Before even attempting to leave the house your dog should have learned all of the basic commands including "leave it" I firmly believe the "leave it" command should be added to the basic list of commands that every dog should be taught. This command will come in handy when there is an object on the ground that your pup wants to pick up and eat, but it may be dangerous for him to do so. The catch is you must see the object before your pup focuses in on it, and assuming you've taught him the command at home; you would state "leave it!", and hopefully he/she listens and just walks right on by said object!

Pointer number two:

Now that we've established the importance of basic commands we can move on to getting that pup out and about. First and foremost is to make sure your pup is calm and in a sitting position before stepping out of the house. Remember patience is the key. Once you've gotten the leash on and you are standing by the door "wait" for your pup to sit his bottom down and settle. This could take a minute if he has already learned this, or it could take 10 minutes if he's a newbie. This is where that sit command comes in handy. You can tell your pup to sit (only once), and then wait for him to sit. Once he is sitting take the time to get out the door in a calm manner. This will make your walk much easier. By using the "wait" command get your pup to sit calmly until you are able to open the door without him bolting. At which point you can release him/her from the sit position with an "ok", or whatever word you choose. This again can be modified depending on your dog. And always remember to be positive, and even reward with a treat to reinforce the good behavior.

Pointer number three:

Now that you've made it out of the house the goal is to keep fido from dragging you down the sidewalk. The minute your pup pulls say "Ooops', or "Uh-Oh" and turn around in the other direction walk for five paces, and then turn around the other way, and continue on. Repeat the above steps until your pup is walking like a champ. (If your dog is food motivated the training might go a little quicker with some sort of treat, and or lots of praise, or even a ball to carry with him. Anything that reinforces the good walking!) Keep in mind your first week out may only get you a couple houses down, but don't give up. And remember to make it fun.

The above pointer will take months to master, but do not get discouraged because in no time you will have a pup that is walking tall next to you.

**Keep in mind that every dog is different and may require extra training techniques to deal with leash grabbing, inattention to you, barking at other dogs in the neighborhood, etc....

Willie was relentless with the leash grabbing. He still attempts to snag on to it, but with a quick "enough" he does drop it pretty quickly. I've found that this usually means he is bored, and is looking for some sort of entertainment. I usually bring along a stick, or some other toy that Willie can carry for the rest of our walk. This seems to work. I will say that Willie has not perfected the walk, but he is getting there. I am sure by the time July roles around he will be walking like a pro!

**If your pup is anything like crazy Willie ( I firmly believe he has dog ADD), patience is the key. Terriers love to chase little furry things, they love to run, jump, and such. It might help to play a little in the house or perhaps in the yard before you attempt to walk your little monsters. This way they may be a little tuckered out, and hopefully more attentive while walking. I find with Willie that keeping his attention on me is still very hard. I've been working with the "look" command quite a bit lately, and that has helped a little bit, but I know that with Willie's attention span my daily trainings will probably take a little longer than others, but I am not going to give up!

Remember: Patience, patience, and more patience!