Continue reading... "how this freaky site works..."

samantha semelrath- puppy to the max.

Question:

"Anyone have any good puppy books that they would recommend? For crate training, house breaking, basic obedience training... I would appreciate any advice!"

My answer:
Ian Dunbar has a sweet book, "after you get your puppy". I believe that if everyone read and applied this book when they got their puppy, I would more than most likely not have a job (dog trainer extraordinaire). Straight-up preventative measures. Definitely check it out.

amazon.com

And if bad behaviors surface later on, Bill Campbell's "behavior problems in dogs" is great to look into. He explains how a human should interact with a dog (most people will be surprised; to the degree that a large BIF (self-inflicted open-palmed slap) to the forehead area will be in order.). I also really dig the book for its simplicity; I am a true idiot when it comes to reading comprehension and I supplement this shortcoming with disdain for "pretentious" authors who use those big-gun words like "anathema", "surreptitious", "rammalammadingdong" and the like. Who's with me on this one?... Don't be shy to openly declare your stupidity; I do it constantly. And people still love me.

Do you still love me?

dogwise.com

Continue reading... "every dog needs a window..."

"Sit" (for puppies)
Use the treat to guide your puppy into the sit position (treat just above nose, moving slowly towards the rear. He only gets the treat when his butt hits the floor (no treats for jumping up).
When he sits, pop the treat in and say "good boy" in a calm but happy tone. You want him to hear that praise phrase whenever he gets a treat. (i.e. good boy=treat)
Repeat this process 20 times. He should give less and less resistance and should be sitting quicker each time.
Next, ask him to sit using your hand signal (a treat in your hand just over his nose). If he sits, praise and treat. If he doesn't sit, pull up GENTLY on his leash or collar and push down on his rear so that he sits. This is how you will enforce your command if he chooses to ignore it.

Continue reading... "protocol: sit & stay for puppies"

Here we are at the end of a long road, at times it was rough but we all got through it alive and contented. Swanky is now officially a member of the society of well-behaved dogs and he has a diploma to show all visitors who come to his swanky apartment overlooking New York's coveted Long Beach spread. He no longer humps legs OR arms, knows a handful of commands and their hand signals, is somehow mysteriously a hundred times cuter than the first time we met, and his once bad decisions are turning into better and best decisions.

Continue reading... "Swanky #6 (graduation time for Swank, time for Swank to graduate...)"

He's figured out that when he goes into his litterbox and makes the "I'm going to the bathroom" noise (moving around the litter pellets, shuffling around and coming back out), that he gets a treat just the same as when he actually outputs. Mother has caught on to the trick even when he presumptuously comes out of the litterbox and sits like a pro, waiting for the bit for his imaginary feat. I've only known of one other dog who has caught onto the possibility of faking a pee for a cookie. Swanky=specialness.

Continue reading... "Swanky #5. Smart enough to manipulate humans..."

So, the third visit goes like this:
His crying fits for mommabird's leaving have dwindled down quite a bit. I had a feeling he was holding onto the thought that he was going to be abandoned again (his first owner, the breeder, "abandoned" him and sent him off on a scary plane, never to even visit him again). He had a right to be concerned, but the more his owner proved that each time she left, she always returned, the less his brain thought "catastrophe!".

Continue reading... "Swanky #3, making progressssss."

We started with teaching him to sit for treats. He enjoyed it. By the way, he only likes a specific obscure treat, made by the ceasar dog food people (f.y.i.). We moved into stay on a leash, which was a struggle since he almost never stays in one spot for more than 2 seconds if he's conscious.

Continue reading... "swanky #2"