September 2008 Archives

From Dog's

Does your dog lunge, bark or snarl at other dogs? Or get so excited when other dogs come around that she can not control herself? It is at best an embarrassing problem and at worst downright dangerous.

The good news is that more often than not it is a lack of social skills rather than true aggression. Our dogs are raised in un- natural environments. Gone are the days when most pups are born "on the farm" and have had ample time and opportunity to learn the rules of engagement from their mothers, siblings and the neighboring pack.

Now-a-days a walk down the street can often mean feeling threatened and vulnerable to the bullies who claim their turf. Often this leaves one dog feeling he has no alternative but to defend himself from possible attack. Case in point, the above photo that features a brief encounter between the two dogs in the forefront of the picture. The GSD has a history of extending the "I'm in charge" vibe and the terrier mix a history of responding "I don't think so!"

The magic of the above is that no fight occurred. My belief is that is was because both dogs were off leash. The terrier is actually displaying a "calming signal" to the other dog. The tongue flick suggests to the other dog, I am not a threat, please calm down.How could this occur? Well, simply put, often dogs meet on leash and the feeling of restraint intensifies the aggravation and alters the dogs ability to display natural behaviors and communication to one another. So being able to freely interact can often aid in rehabilitating the problem.

 The challenge for most of us comes in finding a way to be able to leave our dogs off leash and still know that we have some control to keep them safe. Having that ability leads to the confidence to move toward this off leash socialization process that many trainers are now teaching around the country.

That is the beauty of our online training program. We can teach you the skills needed to allow your dog some off leash freedom . With the help of our video clips you can learn to better read and respond to a dogs language and come to better understand exactly what is being said.

This years' E Collarpalooza 4 and the Advanced E-cademy Dog Training School has come to a close at That's My Dog in Hazel Green, WI.

Wow, what a success.  We had some very experience professional dog trainers come to the course and we were told they got more out of this course than any other dog training course they have ever taken.

What a great feeling for everyone.

Some very cool dog training happened and ways to think about dog training.  Many of the thought processes and the techniques will be showing up in our private video dog training site and in our weekly webcasts and blogs for our online clients looking to learn more about how to train their own dog at home.

Dog training can teach you so much about yourself... and the really great thing is everyone wins.

Here we are at E collar palooza 4 in Hazel Green, WI.  People have come from all over the country as well as Greece to learn more about the art and science of training dogs.

We've had speakers and dog demonstrations.... yesterday the Great George Cockrell showed everyone his most fabulous trick training for dogs.  In fact he headlined his presentation "How I Learned to Turn Tricks and Not Get Arrested".

It was nothing short of awesome and you should certainly stayed tuned for this information to turn up in our private online dog training site so you can learn it at home with your own dog.

Some of the best pro dog trainers have come together for this event and the knowledge we have to share will be showing up in our blogs and our training sites in the weeks to come.

This is the 4th year of E CollarPalooza, thus the name E4.

What is E CollarPalooza?  Well, it started out as a continuing education course for those professional dog trainers who specialized in remote collar.  And the really cool thing as with us as people (and I am speaking of Robin & I) the event has grown to new places and new ideas.

This year we have a bit of something for all kinds of dog training.  We really just want to bring an understanding of training techniques melded to an art form to share with as many dog training professionals as possible.  And we want the opportunity to expand on what we know as well by seeing and hearing ideas that other share with us at the event.

This year the event is bigger and more interesting than ever.  We've got a lot of mindset things going on.  We really want to bring our hope of a better world for dogs and people to as many as possible... we are doing it through attracting interesting people to the event...

As well we have brought a DVD and Online Dog Training Membership Site to reality.  Being able to share how to have a great relationship with dogs is now becoming something we really can bring to thousands and both people and dogs' lives will benefit.

It's really a cool thing.

Check out E4 Here.

And we hope to see you and your dog at the event, or online!  We'll broadcast this week from the event Sept 18-21...

Stay tuned for date and time and check our calendar and www.DogTrainerGuru.com

Clyde is a young Viszla that in my opinion is a way cool dog.  Some people might freak out on him, mainly because he has so much energy.  The cool thing though is knowing how to put his energy into good things instead of bad behavior.

For instance one of the things that is so irritating to people is a dog who jumps all the time.  Clyde has that habit.  Or I guess I should say HAD that habit.

The cool thing to remember in all the frustration of being a dog owner is that it takes the same energy for a dog to learn to sit and get attention as to jump on people and get attention.

It's really just a matter of knowing the right way to show that picture to a dog... and yes, a dog in fact does think and learn in pictures.

So you too can lose the frustration of dog training, learn the easiest way a dog thinks and learns, apply it to your dog... and have some fun...  like Clyde and Clyde the Viszla's very happy owners.