Training Your Dog to Chill Out

"I just wish he would calm DOWN!" said the frustrated owner to her friend and her bouncy yellow lab puppy pulled her down the street.  As I watched in his excitement he bounced up to lick a passerby. "NO, STOP, NOOOOOO!" and then the big correction and the frightening yelp and thud on the sidewalk. And then back up and the behavior began again.  This scenario is played out every day and owners becoming frustrated often will actually decrease their activity with their dogs because of it.  Frustrating for dog and owner indeed.  

Puppyhood is a wonderful although challenging time with its mouthing and leash-pulling but it also creates opportunities to lay groundwork for the future. It is a time when the owner must create a behavior routine and then stick with it for the rest of the dogs life, conditioning the puppy to understand two things:  I am your leader and all good things are earned from me; and there is a normal routine to the day teaching acceptable behaviors and making sure they are understood in all places-home and in public settings.  

The best way to begin is a private consultation in the home with all family members present who interact with the puppy as soon as he arrives home. Everyone must be on board.  We establish the plan for housebreaking, feeding, dealing with mouthing and exercise/socialization. We talk about exercise and free play, teaching WAIT for dinner and at the door, and how to properly greet guests.  Then we move to the real world after mastering simple behaviors in the quiet of the home and add distractions. Group classes help dog and owner learn to be social and at the same time to leave the distractions and work as a team.  

And for homework I suggest my students participate in pack walks to meet even more dogs in other settings and train as a group. There is one coming up this Saturday 11 am at the Glen Rock Duck Pond  We meet at the second parking lot.  The tools for training in public include your dog being hungry, and you bringing a favorite toy and high value treats in a treat pouch (not dog food but pieces of cheese, meat,etc.) and of course water and comfortable walking shoes for yourself.  I know what your thinking...I don't want my dog to just listen to me because I have food. This will not be the case.  Secondly if you have a pulling maniac I highly suggest you visit my friends at J-B Pet in Hawthorne or Oakland and get an Easy Walk harness fitted to your dog.  Yes you will need to bring the dog in to get the perfect size.  This harness acts as training wheels as you and your dog begin learning to be a team.  

Teaching THE BIG CHILL happens during your walk.  We praise and reward our dogs for simply settling as we pause to take in the scenery.  Sounds simple?  It is an effective way to teach our dogs that when we are calm, they can be too. And after having been mentally stimulated, socialized and nicely exercised this is a much easier exercise. And with the support of a community of people experiencing the same challenges, even the humans begin to smile and feel a little better!