sherry's Blog

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Line Out!

Jun 9

Posted by sherry in Scooter-joring | No Comments

To teach the command “Line out”, you will tie your dog to a poll or a tree and get him to keep the line tight by using treats at the end of the line.

1. Bribe your dog to come to the end of the line with treats. As soon as the line is tight, say “Line out!” This should be done with you on the side of the dog and not in front of the dog as the goal of this exercise is to get the dog to go ahead of you!

2. While a little behind the dog, tell him “Line out”. Wait two seconds to see if he will tighten the line on his own. If he does, say “Good dog!” and give him a treat! If he doesn’t do what was asked in two seconds, say nothing and walk beside him to the end of the line and give him a treat at the end of the line. If the dog, after a few tries, still “doesn’t get it”, you will go back to training number 1 for another week before moving on to number two again.

3. Stand 5 feet behind the dog and say “line out!” If the dog goes to the end of the line, say “Good dog!” and give the dog a treat and pat the dog. Patting the dog is very important at this point because we are now at the step of weaning the dog off food treats! If the dog does not go to the end of the line when given the command at this step after waiting two seconds, go back to training number 2 for another week before coming back to number 3.

4. Stand 5 feet behind the dog and say “Line out!” Every second time the dog does the command, only give the dog a pat and say “Good dog!” – No treat!

5. Stand 5 feet behind the dog and say “Line out!” Only give the dog a pat and say “Good dog!”

6. Stand 5 feet behind the dog and say “Line out!” Every second time the dog does the command, only say “Good dog!” – No pat!

7. Stand 5 feet behind the dog and say “line out!” Only say “Good dog!”

If at any time during the training of this command your dog shows regression and not progression, go back a step in the training. Maybe your dog was not fully ready to move to the next step.

***If at any time during training, you feel frustrated or angry, it is important that you stop training immediately and resume another day!

Dogs will not pull if they don’t want to. If you force them, they will but they will not pull to their potential and you will not have much fun.

Jumping when visitors arrive!

Apr 14

Posted by sherry in Sherry's Secret Dictionary | No Comments

Most well socialized dogs get excited when they hear the doorbell!  They know that someone new will be walking through the door any minute and will surely pet them and tell them what a beautiful dog they are!  This is annoying to visitors and embarrassing to the owners. 

A very effective way of correcting this behaviour is to put a leash on your dog when you know someone will be arriving soon.  When the doorbell rings, bring your dog next to you and step firmly on the leash.  As your guests come in, ask them to ignore the dog until the dog has calmed down.  When ever the dog sits quietly as people are entering your house, tell him “Good dog” and give him a pat or give him a treat!  If the dog does not calm down and sit, ask your guests not to pet him until he sits quietly.

Some dogs catch on very quickly and others take a little more time to understand.  With any training, it will require persistance and consistency.  You cannot ask your dog to be calm and sit some of the time and the other times he is allowed to jump, so make sure everyone in your household is on the same training wave-length!

Bringing a child into a family that already has a dog

Mar 30

Posted by sherry in Sherry's Secret Dictionary | No Comments

When a family already has a dog and a baby on the way, the question often arises, “how will the dog react to the child?”

Dogs are much like children and can feel that they are being neglected due to the arrival of a baby.  To help avoid this problem, parents should try to give as much attention to the dog after the arrival of the baby as they did before the arrival of the baby.  This will help the dog to not feel neglected or jealous as he/she has not lost any attention!  I know at times this can be challenging as a baby is a lot of work!  To minimize the amount of time you spend with your dog without making him/her feel “left out”, I would recommend to make sure the dog gets a good run outside everyday, not just a brisk walk around the block.  A tired dog is a good dog!

It is also important to make sure that you give lots of praise, affection and treats when the dog is around the baby so the dog will see the child as a good thing and not something to be jealous of.

Some dogs already have the instinct to protect a baby and would never hurt a child.  This instinct is usually more often present in mature females.  Mature being over the age of 2 years old.

Puppies and babies are highly not recommended together as the work load for the parents is doubled.  Puppies need to be taught not to jump on the child or to bite the child.  In all, puppies are babies with fur!  You would need to teach them everything and with a baby in your home, ask yourself if you would have the time or patience to teach two babies at the same time.

Submissive Urination

Mar 15

Posted by sherry in Sherry's Secret Dictionary | No Comments

Submissive urination is often misunderstood.  Submissive urination can occur when a dog’s owner comes home from work and looks directly at the dog while exhibiting hyper active behaviour that the owner would not normally show to the dog otherwise.  Submissive urination will not just go away on it’s own.  The dog will not grow out of it either!  What causes submissive urination?

1.  Bending over the dog is considered as a threatening body posture on your part and the dog feels dominated.  As the dog feels dominated, the dog will crouch low to the ground and let go from a few drops of urine to a small puddle of urine.  The solution to this problem would be to bend you knees as if you were lifting a heavy box and let the dog come to you. 

2.  Looking at the dog by making direct eye contact is a direct threat to the dog and the dog may urinate while wagging his tail excessively as a way to ask you not to hurt him.  Try to look away from the dog when he is excited or try to look at the dog’s feet instead.

Sometimes dogs may have a problem with their sphincter (a muscle that controls the opening) and when the dog is overly excited, the dog may urinate a little.  The solution would be to ignore your dog when you get home and wait until the dog is calm before giving him the attention you’ve been dying to give him all day long!

Problems with dogs and digging!

Mar 9

Posted by sherry in Sherry's Secret Dictionary | 4 Comments

There are many reasons why dogs dig.  Here are some of their reasons and some possible solutions!

1.  Your dog may be digging because he or she is bored!  Leaving your dog outside alone is not fun for him because dogs are pack animals and your dog will usually not exercise himself unless you are outside with him!  Try to hide some treats a little around the yard to keep him searching and not digging. 

2.  Your dog’s nails might be too long and your dog will try to file them down himself by digging.  Make sure his nails are cut short!  It is fairly uncomfortable for a dog to dig when his nails are down to the quick (the vien).

3.  Your dog might be a breed that instinctively digs.  There is no stopping these breeds from digging, but you can teach them to dig in a desired area of your yard and not in your flowerbed!  Theach them to dig in the desired area by burying treats only in that area.  Let him see you do this so he will always be looking in that area!

4.  Your dog may just have a habit of digging.  Make sure your dog is properly exercised.  Dogs do not like to dig on metal wire and usually dig in the same holes.  Bury some metal chicken wire in the holes he has been digging in, but don’t let him see you do this!  You may also use the dog’s feces and lava rocks (carbon).  Your dog will surely try to dig in a different area, but if he always ends up digging up something unpleasant, he will stop digging!

Some dogs may have a combination of these digging habits.  Feel free to experiment to see what works for you and your dog especially if you’re not sure why he is digging!

How to begin training for scooter joring!

Mar 4

Posted by sherry in Scooter-joring | No Comments

Scooter Joring is a great way to exercise your dog and it is a lot of fun as well!  Before you begin with a scooter, there are a few things you need to know! 

1.  Make sure you have all the proper equipment.  Many sites will offer great harnesses, ganglines and boots for your dog.  I recommend the X-back harness for beginers.

2.  Use a regular collar on your dog during training, not a choker!

The first command you will want to teach will be the “Line out” command.  The purpose of this command is to make sure the dog keeps the line tight or there may be tangles when you start using the scooter which could lead to a nasty fall where you and your dog can be hurt.

To teach the command, tie the dog to a tree or a fence using a leash and harness, not his collar!  Use food treats to get the dog to keep the line tight.  As he does so, tell him the commad “Line out” and praise him by petting him and giving him the treat!  Continue this exercise with your dog until he keeps the line tight on command and without bribing him with food treats.

Training for any command/s should not last longer than 15 minutes a session and should be treated like a fun game!  If you are feeling like you are getting frustrated, stop all training for the day and resume another day. 

A helpful training tip!  Dogs learn best when they have been exercised prior!

More training commands on Scooter Joring to come!

Why dogs eat their feces

Feb 25

Posted by sherry in Dogs eating stools, Sherry's Secret Dictionary | No Comments

There are many reasons why dogs will eat their feces.  This is an embarrassing habit for the owners of the dog.  Some of the more common reasons are:

1.  Puppies are more likely to eat their feces because their body is growing so quickly that the dog will often lack in certain nutrients in the diet.  It is important to buy a good quality food!

2.  The area in which you keep your dog is not kept clean enough!  If the back yard has too many feces that have not been picked up, the dog, being a very clean animal, will help you pick it up by eating it!  Just imagine when he comes back in the house and gives you kisses!  Yuk!!

3.  The dog is bored and under exercised.  Try to keep him physically active and he’ll be too tired to eat feces!

4.  The dog has a medical problem and is losing nutrients as the digestive system is excreting them instead of using them.  Make sure your dog has a good bill of health from your vet!

Sherry’s Secret Dictionary

Feb 24

Posted by sherry in Sherry's Secret Dictionary | 9 Comments

Does your dog come with a dictionary? Now he can! This book gives you all possible solutions to your dog’s misbehaviours! Is your dog chewing? Is your dog barking or digging up your flowers? Just look in the table of contents and find the problem you are experiencing with your dog. Go to the page indicated and start correcting your dog! There are many different solutions to each problem because every dog is different and one solution that may work on your neighbor’s dog, may not work on yours!

Sherry’s Secret Dictionary in the form or e-book can now be purchased for only $9.99 at:

www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/SherrysSecretDictionary.html

Hello world!

Feb 22

Posted by sherry in Sherry's Secret Dictionary | 4 Comments

My name is Sherry Bedard and I am a professional dog trainer.  My book, Sherry’s Secret Dictionary, will help you with all of your dog’s problematic behaviours!  If you have any questions for me, don’t be shy to ask!

Sherry’s Secret Dictionary can be purchased in the form of e-book presently at this link:  www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/SherrysSecretDictionary.html