FernDog Podcast: Dog Training & Behavior Tips and Advice

If your dog gets grumpy when people or other dogs approach you, either at home or on leash, there’s a chance you have a relationship issue. Your dog could be claiming you as their resource and protecting his or her valuables. This is something that is often enabled by us but can have serious implications – especially if children are involved. This week I’ll go over what the symptoms look like and give you a plan to change things so your dog doesn’t see you as a possession so that he behaves himself when people interact with you. In this episode 1:39  Thanks to my Aussie fans 2:12  Awesome car seat covers at 4Knines 4:40  Problem with rat terrier 5:49  Causes of a dog being possessive 6:46  Signs your dog is being possessive of you 8:55  Anxious dogs being possessive 11:05  The problem with your relationship 14:21  A relationship is earned 15:15  Don’t reward the behavior 17:17  Creating a healthy relationship 17:45  Rescue Warriors! This episode is sponsored by 4Knines: high quality car seat and cargo covers for your vehicle. www.4knines.com GDA SPECIAL: use this coupon code at checkout and get 10% OFF your purchase: ADVENTUR

Nothing beats a good summer road trip. New scenery, fresh air and good times. But you know who else loves road trips? Your pooch! So why not bring him along for the fun. In this episode I’ll tell you what you need to consider when taking your dog on the road and give you some great ideas of some day trips that will be tons of fun for you and you furry buddy. And I’ll also give you a few great spots where you can go on a full vacation with your dog. Good times ahead. In this episode 1:01  Thank you Canada 2:18  Great seat covers for your car 5:14  Why take your dogs with you 6:04  My favorite road trip 8:03  Grabbing a bite with your pooch 10:15  Getting ready for a road trip 13:15  Places to go on vacation with your dog Links Show sponsor: 4Knines Campsites at Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Douglas Family Preserve Dog Park Inn Camp Unleashed Camp Gone To The Dogs Gopetfriendly.com bringfido.com This episode is sponsored by 4Knines: high quality car seat and cargo covers for your vehicle. www.4knines.com GDA SPECIAL: use this coupon code at checkout and get 10% OFF your purchase: ADVENTUR

Does this sound familiar? You’re relaxing at home curled up on the couch reading your favorite book. You just put your two toddlers in for a nap and you’re enjoying the brief moment of peace and quite. As you take a deep breadth and smile contently something happens that causes your peaceful world to collapse and chaos to ensue. Ding-dong. The doorbell rings, which causes your dog to go ten shades of nuts, barking, whining and howling as he scratches and jumps at the door. You jump out of your skin, the kids wake up screaming and your poor neighbor who is on the other side of the door is now running back to his house for fear that the demon dog might escape your house and eat him alive. Not a fun scenario, but is one too many people can relate to. In this episode we’ll talk about how to stop the madness and get your dog to chill at the door. In this episode  1:00 My new project: The Small Business Rocket Ship 2:03  Listener question 3:53  Why dogs react to the door 6:09  The first thing to do when your dog goes nuts 7:36  Taking over space 8:56  Working down the “scale of reactivity” 10:55  Using sit/stays 11:59  Desensitizing the trigger

A shocking 77% if dog bites come from the family dog or a friend’s dog. Yes, 77%! That’s a lot of lovable furry family members sinking their teeth into the people they love the most. So why does this happen? Sadly, it’s often because we set it up to happen by not realizing how our dogs are perceiving what we do – especially with our kids. The good news is that after you listen to today’s episode you’ll know exactly what to do – and not to do – with your dog to ensure that your dog is never put in a situation where he will be forced into a bite. I’m joined by Leah and Justine from The Family Dog who explain how to keep everyone in your family (human and furry) safe and happy forever. In this episode  0:59  Welcome from my little co-hosts 3:55  Who are Leah and Justine 6:28  Why training a family dog is a little different 11:22  The consequences of not understanding how your dog is feeling 13:44  The mistakes kids make 17:01  Signs that your dog is not comfortable 24:01  Don’t judge others 30:45  What training you should do with your dog 36:35  Peace, love, kids, dogs program 41:18  When should kids become involved in training 45:55  What to do when kids want to pet your dog on leash Links Stop the 77 The Family Dog Why Growling is good blog post

If your dog is anxious, uncomfortable, scared or just doesn’t like being in the car, this episode is for you. We’ll discuss how you can help your dog overcome his fear of the car and maybe even learn to enjoy going for a ride in the car. You can do some things while you’re driving to help your dog with car sickness and change his impression and his experience of getting in the car as well as taking the ride in style. In this episode  1:18  iTunes love 2:29  Your dog’s perspective of car travel 3:37  How to help with car sickness 4:31  Should your dog be secured in the car 6:40  Dogs with anxiety in the car 7:10 Treating car anxiety 9:40  Taking it to the next level 10:30  Making a positive association to the car Links Seat belt for medium and large dogs Small dog seat belt 

Let’s face it, just about everyone has a problem with their dog jumping up on people in the beginning. It’s because dogs love us and are very excitable, which is understandable, however it doesn’t make it any less annoying. The problem is that many people are actually rewarding the jumping instead of discouraging it. In this episode I’ll show you how you can easily get your dog to keep his paws on the floor. In this episode 1:00  My online Basic Obedience & Manners class 3:52  Your dog’s perspective on jumping 4:40  Easiest way to get rid of jumping 6:19  Dog training mojo 7:38  Make people a calm trigger 8:45  What to do for strangers 9:26  Training an alternate behavior

Too many people set dogs up to have a bad experience with other dogs while out for a walk on leash. We assume dogs like to walk and meet others like we do, when in fact that can be setting them up for a fight with another dog. In this episode I’ll go over how to properly introduce two dogs to each other when out on a walk so that more of your encounters will pooches will be positive. In this episode 2:15  How dogs communicate 4:11  Your dogs energy when meeting 5:47  How to position your dog to meet 7:56  When sniffing should take place 8:10  Every dog is different

It’s time to go over how you should feed your dog. Many people like to leave the food down all day long and let the dog eat whenever he wants to throughout the day, but is that really the best thing to do? I’ll go into why you might want to switch your dog to a regular feeding schedule and just how it can impact your dog’s behavior. In this episode  2:15  Treating dogs like dogs 3:13  How fast should a dog eat 4:00  Feeding as a leadership exercise 6:10  How to transition  7:42  Using meals to treat behavior issues 9:02  Should you vary what’s in each meal

Ask three different people if you should use a crate and you’ll get three different answers. It seems that everyone has an opinion on it however very few know the facts of what a crate really is to your dog and why it might be a good idea to use it. In this podcast we’ll discuss the pros and cons of using a crate so you can decide what’s right for you. In this episode 0:57  Intro to the short show 2:10  The crate debate 3:20  Doing crates the right way 5:04  When you should not use a crate 5:30  Crates and puppies 7:34  How long to use the crate 9:30  Putting it all together

There are an endless amount of high energy dogs that are quickly labeled as trouble makers and unruly because of their energy and lack of manners. These are not bad dogs, just super high energy pooches that just never learned any manners. In this edition of the podcast I talk with Roo Yori about his super high energy pit bull Wallace, who started off a crazy shelter dog but with some hard work and training became a disc dog champion and all around great dog at home. Wallace’s story was made famous due to Jim Gorant’s book appropriately titled, Wallace. In this episode 2:34  Welcome Roo   3:28  What’s Walace like 4:44  Wallace’s illness 6:51  What Wallace was like in the shelter 12:45  The challenges of shelter life for Wallace 15:18  Finding outlets for Wallace’s energy 24:03  Bad behavior in a home too 25:37  The creation of the spring pole 35:17  A frisbee dog is born 41:38  The reaction to a Pit Bull as a frisbee dog 44:42  Being proactive to get results Links Your Dog’s Bucket List – my blog post Wallace on Facebook Wallace the book on Amazon WOD for Dogs on Facebook Wallace on Youtube

My favorite thing to work on is helping dogs with anxiety and fear. I like it because I feel that every day a dog goes through life in an anxious state of mind his quality of life is decreasing, and that makes me sad. Once you help the dog gain confidence his world will open up to new experiences and become tremendously more enjoyable. The problem is that addressing fear and anxiety is a slow process that can be frustrating at times because it can be hard to see the little baby steps being made. If the issues are left unaddressed the dog never gets better, only worse over time. In this episode I’ll tell you exactly how you can work with your shy or fearful dog to get them moving in the right direction and becoming more comfortable with anything that makes them uneasy. In this episode 0:55  Celebrating 50,000 downloads 2:21  Lister question about reactivity when in the car 4:57  Reading body language to see your dog is uncomfortable 6:09  Identify the triggers 6:75  Finding the “sweet spot” 8:57  Deciding what to work on first 11:23  Figuring out if the fear is workable 13:07  Treatment for a fear of people 18:55  Treatment for a dog uncomfortable with other dogs 22:15  Working with environmental fears

What breed of dog do you have? Have you considered what behavior traits come with that breed and how your dog’s breed can affect how you train them? Most people don’t put that much thought into it and then are shocked when their dog act in certain ways, not realizing that the behaviors are genetically coded into their DNA. Breeding characteristics can be pretty strong in some dogs and should be expected in most cases. It’s very important that you understand the genetic traits of your dog so that you know what to expect and then can work with him in a way the supports his breed tendencies instead of fighting them. In this episode we’ll go over some common breeds, their typical behavior traits and how you can work with them in such a way that you fulfill their genetic needs and are able to train them successfully. In this episode 2:02  Where dogs come from 4:20  Why we have problems due to breed 5:26  Working dogs 8:41  Climate concerns 10:16  Hunting dogs 12:12  Scent hounds 16:13  Breeds that should never be off leash 17:30 Terriers 21:03  Guarding breeds 23:37  Herding dogs 28:12  Considerations before you get a specific breed Links The Dog Bible

Dogs are constantly telling everyone around them how they feel and what their intentions are. They live in family groups and really want a life without conflict. To accomplish this they have a large number of signals that they display to communicate that everything is friendly and cool. It’s important for you to recognizing these calming signals so that you can understand what’s going on when dogs get together and what they are telling y0u. Many people necessarily are concerned over situations that seem negative, when in reality all the dogs involved are actually working it out just fine. In this episode I’ll teach you what to look out for and how to recognize the various calming signals so that you have a much better idea of what your dog is feeling and communicating. In this episode 1:55  What understanding calming signals will do for you  3:10  The dog pack dynamic 5:05  What happens in a wild wolf pack 6:30  Why dog’s use calming signals 9:00  What dog’s do when they are ready to fight 11:30  What are the most common calming signals 17:20  Common puppy calming signal 20:46  What calming signals mean 24:01  What to do when your dog gives you a calming signal 26:22  A great book on dog calming signals Links Canine Body Language by Brenda Aloff

After working with rescues for a number of years I’ve realized that although people who are involved in dog rescue are very dedicated they can sometimes lack some of the information to really maximize what they do. The problem is that we’re all so busy just doing the day to day stuff to keep the rescue engine running that it’s hard to take the time to assess what we’re doing and learn new ways to do things. The reason we’re involved in rescue is that we love dogs with all our hearts. The problem is that we sometimes let our emotions dictate our decisions instead of balancing that with what our brains are telling us. Also we get accustomed to doing things as we always have and unless we prioritize learning some new skills it can get continually pushed back. To help give you some information and sone incite on how you might be able to super charge your rescue efforts I’ve asked the heart and soul of The FernDog Rescue Foundation, Donna Buccellato, to join me to go over what’s really working for us. In this episode 2:23  My online Dog Rescue 4 Week Course 6:50  Welcome Donna Buccellato to the show! 8:38  Why following your heart can get you into trouble 10:40  How to take care of your fosters 13:08  Danger of taking dogs you can’t handle 14:22  Have an exit strategy 17:38  The most important word you need to learn to say 21:49  How to create a team 28:13  Finding the right people 33:22  Dangers of growing your organization too quickly 37:50  The one metric you should be focusing on in rescue 38:20  Key questions to ask potential adopters 41:44  Be like Dr. House 44:50  Importance of learning about the dog 49:30 What you need to do after you adopt the dog out 52:16  How you can follow up

By far the most common thing people hire me for is dogs that are reactive to other dog while on leash. To us it seems strange that our lovable dog would act so grumpy toward another pooch, but it’s actually quite common. When we put restraints (leash) on our dogs we change natural behavior and introduce tension into our dogs. And tension is never a good thing. Leash reactivity is caused by a variety of factors and understanding both the cause and the ideal treatment plan is the best way to help it improve. In this episode we’ll discuss what’s going on with leash reactive dogs and go over how you can work with them to change their behavior pattern. In this episode  1:20  5 causes of leash reactivity 2:30  What to do if your dog has a bad experience with another dog 4:15  Genetic factors 4:46  How fenced in yards can increase reactivity 7:19  Balancing treatment and management 10:12  Changing your dog’s state of mind 12:09  How repetitions leads to bad habits 14:00  Finding your dogs threshold of tolerance 18:54  The power of a pack walk 22:47  Working in the environment 25:32  Experiment with some training leashes/collars 30:34  How our energy can affect our dog’s Links  Blog post: Take That Mailman