Following the monks's path to puppy training - HeraldNet

This month, my 22-year-old daughter came home from her apartment 20 minutes away, and said she was spending the month at home and, here's the best part, getting a puppy.

Have you ever succeeded in talking a 22-year-old out of anything? I haven't either.

As we looked at breeds and their traits, I found several reasons why every dog from a German shepherd to a Chihuahua was not a good fit. After I rationalized how? 50 breeds were a terrible fit for her, she realized there was no point in trying to find the perfect dog with me.

I wasn't trying to help her find the right breed, I was trying to talk her out of anything with four legs and a tail.

She skipped the talking and went on to the buying. Could I please go with her to pick up her new Shiba Inu puppy? After our thoughtful conversations about each breed, she picked a puppy that is rated one of the top three most challenging to train.

I got in the car to pick up the puppy because she agreed to meet a total stranger at Deception Pass Bridge with hundreds of dollars in cash in her pocket. I went because we live in a crazy world, and it's never good to go to any bridge anywhere with hundreds of a dollars to meet a stranger.

As we drove to Deception Pass Bridge, I was thinking in my head about how my daughter really knows nothing about puppy training and how I trained all of our dogs. Just as I was thinking about what would be involved in puppy training, my daughter asked if I would teach her how to train the puppy.

She said, "Be my Obi-Wan Kenobe and I'll be your Anakin Skywalker. Show me what to do."

It was pretty to easy to imagine her taking on a puppy as long as she was fully willing to learn how to train the puppy. We picked up the puppy and then a crate, food, halter, leash, chewy things and toys.

I thought about the best book ever on dog training, it is called "The Art of Raising a Puppy" by the Monks of New Skete. The monks in?New York?are renowned for dog training at their monastery for the past 40 years.

People come for all over the world to learn how to train from the New Skete monks. At the end of June this year they released an updated version of the book. It's truly a great book, and their book "How to Be Your Dog's Best Friend" is one of my favorite books ever.

Together, my daughter and I read the New Skete monks' puppy training book. I watched her follow every single thing the monks suggested. I wasn't really needed. There is an art to parenting and knowing when to not say anything.

She and this puppy are a fine match. The Shiba Inu is highly intelligent, loyal and bold. These are things I would say about my daughter as well. She wanted a companion, a willing running partner and someone to protect her. This dog will be all that and more.

My daughter is devoting the time and energy to truly caring for her puppy and seems to understand the enormous dependency and responsibility. She'll be returning to her own place to live, well equipped to give her puppy everything it needs.

It was a great idea to spend a month together puppy training. All I really had to do was go for a drive to Deception Pass Bridge and read a wonderful book by the New Skete monks. She did the rest.

Sarri Gilman is a freelance writer living on Whidbey Island and director of Leadership Snohomish County. Her column on living with meaning and purpose runs every other Tuesday in The Herald. You can email her at features@heraldnet.com.

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Professional Puppy Training - Patch

View full size Ann Greene, A Tail Above, uses bitter spray on the leash to break a chewing urge by puppy Raine. Your photos, videos & PDFs: Add

“I have an amazing job,” said Ann Greene of A Tail Above. “I act as a benevolent leader when training my own dogs and others.”

Greene is a certified professional dog trainer who works in Annapolis and surrounding areas. The dogs she trains range from puppies to mature dogs with behavior issues. Classes are held in Greene's dog training room that was once an apartment in her Severn home.

Patch was invited to attend a puppy training class with a new client, Raine, a 10-week-old chocolate Labrador retriever. The Kellners of Bowie adopted Raine after their other chocolate lab passed away.

The family had a good experience with their other dog without any formal training. Yet, they opted to get training for Raine. Puppy training classes cover a lot of topics including review of basic commands, collars, leashes, crate training and much more. The Kellners clearly had been working with Raine, who promptly responded to the “come” command on the first time from Greene.

“Establishing a 'look' from your dog when you call [his or her] name is an important step for further training,” said Greene, while instructing the Kellner family.

A look consists of a dog making eye contact when called to receive more direction. This can be especially important when mastering more focused training for agility or other disciplined programs for dogs.

One of the biggest complaints that puppy owners have is chewing — some pups will chew shoes, the leash or furniture. Greene was able to demonstrate an effective way to teach dogs the "out" command, used to tell dogs to take something out of their mouths. A bitter apple spray, which is harmless for dogs and non-toxic, usually discourages continued mouthing. While using the spray, the command is repeated to provide association for the dog and is followed by either praise or a treat.

“Alternate between food rewards and praise to mix it up,” suggests Greene.

Raine was chewing on her leash during the class when she should have been learning a loose leash walk. With the Kellners' permission, Greene applied the spray to the leash and Raine quickly stopped chewing it.

Greene recommends the use of treats during a training session to help keep the stress levels of the dog lower and for families to be consistent with the commands that are used.

In addition to classes, Greene hits the road and locations vary depending on the training plan. She has run training sessions in local dog parks, Main Street in downtown Annapolis, and on boat docks. 

A Tail Above even offers a residency program for intense training with Greene, followed by a “go home” training session that teaches the dog owners how to reinforce what the dog has learned and another session a week later to keep the dog and owner on track.

For more information on dog training by A Tail Above, call 410-774-4575.

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The Dog Training Secret Offers an Entire Webpage of Puppy Training Tips - Your-Story.org (press release)

UNITED STATES, Idaho (January 2011) – The Dog Training Secret offers a webpage devoted entirely to puppy training tips. These tips have been tried and tested by dog training experts.

The webpage which hosts puppy training tips discusses the various aspects involved in training. The Dog Training Secret focuses on how to potty train your puppy and teach basic commands. However, there is an emphasis on correct training techniques. An owner who uses the correct puppy training techniques will have more success with one’s puppy.

The puppy training tips found on the website begin with discussing the importance of positive reinforcement. This reinforcement can come in the form of a treat or a pat on the head. Puppies will respond to positive reinforcement and will intentionally seek out more reinforcement. Therefore, the dog will repeat the behavior which earned the reward.

The Dog Training Secret experts strongly believe in positive reinforcement and recognize that negative actions do not achieve positive results. In fact, many puppies that experience negative reinforcement, such as being locked up, thrown outside, or even smacked, tend to become shy and introvert dogs. These dogs are skittish around others and may develop other bad habits out of nervousness. These bad habits could include digging and barking.

The webpage contains other important puppy training tips such as being consistent. Consistency is vital to puppy training because it reinforces what the dog is supposed to do. This helps puppies learn appropriate behavior faster while feeling safe and secure in the home. Feeling safe will allow the puppy to trust the owner which will influence the results of the training.

The Dog Training Secret stresses the importance of the owner establishing the role of leader quickly. This entails taking care of the puppy on a regular and consistent basis. A puppy will follow a leader and the training process will be much easier with the owner as the leader. Puppy training tips on this webpage discuss how the owner can ascertain this role.

Puppy training tips on The Dog Training Secret’s website include other aspects of training. The things mentioned here are important because they increase the success rate of training. However, more detailed puppy training tips can be found regarding leash training, potty training, nipping, barking, and many other topics. Dog training videos are even offered by the dog experts with The Dog Training Secret.

Contact:

The Dog Training Secret

http://www.thedogtrainingsecret.com

888-258-6135

Author: thedogtraining

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