Blog Post High value food rewards, I suggest Sojos freeze dried meats. They contain just 1 ingredient and have a wide variety of meats to keep your dog interested and avoid food allergies. Freeze dried treats immediately soften when they touch dogs saliva. www.sojos.com/freeze-dried-meat-treats Happy Howie's food rolls are a very high quality reward.
I cut these into little cubes, it has a firm non mushy or greasy texture that make it very easy to work with. www.happyhowies.com/product-category/premium-meat-rolls/ . High value food rewards create a high level of motivation, motivation is needed to teach new behaviors and provide greater reinforcement for all behaviors. Treats that are soft, small and smelly are always good. I suggest treats with a minimal amount of ingredients and high meat content.
High quality dog food, whether you feed raw food or kibble make sure you choose a good brand. Meat should always be the first ingredient on the ingredients list. Some very good brands have meat as the first few ingredients, followed by a meat meal and usually vegetable proteins. Some great brands of food are Acana, Orijen, Solid Gold, Wellness and Fromm. I recommend training your dog for his daily meals, this makes us accountable for training our dogs and makes us practice.
Dogs sometimes get bored of their daily meals, I suggest sticking to the same brand and rotating proteins to keep them interested. I use daily meals to practice basic obedience and to reinforce known cue's. For training more complex behaviors use high value food rewards. Toys, I suggest using interactive toys for training. Toys such as fire hose tugs, shammy style tugs, chuck it, tennis balls. For a lot of dogs out there toys are more valuable than food and can add speed and precision to obedience behaviors.
I suggest checking out leerburg.com for a good selection of toys. Chews and time management toys, I suggest using bully sticks, horns, kongs and nylabones for your dogs alone time. These products help your dog stay stimulated during times when you are not around or paying attention to them. 4 or 6 ft leash, I prefer leather leashes, but this is all personal preference. Herm Sprenger prong collar, I suggest Herm Sprenger prong collars due to their high quality manufacturing.
Pawmark makes a version that snaps together like a seat belt for easier use. Search pawmark herm sprenger prong collar on amazon Mendota slip lead, for dog's that are too sensitive for a prong collar, I suggest a Mendota slip lead. 6ft length, diameter depends on the size of the dog. Electronic collar, I suggest e-collar technologies et mini 300. You can find these on amazon or ecollar.com. Not all electronic collars are created equal. Do not buy a cheap electronic collar, they will do more harm than good.
E-collar technologies uses electronic muscle pulse technology, this is the same stim used by physical therapists. They have 100 levels that go up by increments of 1, this allows us to find the perfect levels for our dog without being too harsh. Treat pouch, I suggest the Petsafe large treat pouch. Treat pouches help us be quick with food delivery and to be proactive and prepared. Dog crate, I suggest using a wire dog crate. Wire dog crates are sturdier and harder to destroy than plastic or canvas.
Crates help with potty training, destructive behaviors and are a great management tool for when you can not pay attention to your dog. Cots, plush and orthopedic beds are all great. I do not like beds with 1 entry way and big ridges on the other 3 sides, dogs have a harder time getting into them.
Corrective tools, depending on the dog and it's temperament, I suggest using a bonker ( a rolled up hand towel with rubber bands on each end) or compressed air ( I suggest the pet corrector brand) < Older Post Newer Post > Share Tweet Share Mail DEALING WITH A PUPPY AND AN OLDER DOG The new puppy and the older dog. The new dog and the established dog. These are tricky waters to navigate for dog owners. As with many scenarios in dog training the best of intentions can turn into a big problem in a hurry.
Dog owners can just be trying to give their dog a friend or be trying to give their kids a younger more energetic dog as their current dog ages. The first mistake people make is assuming that their older dog is "nice" so there shouldn't be any issues. The second mistake is assuming it's the older dog's responsibility to deal with the new dog. As with any interaction whether it's between two or more humans or two or more dogs the "nice" one can still be targeted.
You can be the nicest person in the world and get stuck around a bully twice your size and have lots of problems. Or just be around someone who is very annoying to you and you just lose your patience. It always takes at least two to tango. Now your new dog or puppy may not be trying to be mean, they could simply be over excited, have no off switch, not understand how to appropriately play yet etc. Your older dog can simply be telling your new dog to stop or to go away from them.
Learn to read your dogs and learn when to step in. The vast majority of older dogs are not trying to seriously injure your new dog. Dogs use body language and different vocalizations to communicate with us and each other. Most of the stuff that looks bad to the untrained eye in these situations are actually called agonistic behaviors which means behaviors used to create space between dogs that are annoying or potentially threatening.
We should be seeing the signs before it gets to the point of air snapping, growling, showing teeth or biting though. We should step in and advocate for our older dog from day 1. When you see your new dog demand barking at your older dog to play, jumping on your older dog, acting obsessed with your older dog, getting to close when your older dog is eating or chewing a bone etc you should be intervening before your older dog feels like they have to.
I personally use spacial pressure, squirt bottles and dressage whips ( used as an extension of my arm, not as a whip) to separate dogs and provide space for my older dog. It is also our job not our older dog's job to teach our new dog how to behave. Until you know your dogs are safe together I never suggest leaving them alone together. Always use crates, gates or exercise pens to keep them separated when they are unsupervised.
Having both dogs obedience trained is crucial, but until they both respond well they need to be managed. Cues that are helpful in these situations are the place command, come when called, wait, boundaries and relaxation. Most often we have to start with teaching our dogs to just learn how to exist around each other before they can learn to accept and like each other. Management is crucial in the beginning as well as having good things like small training sessions occur near each other and going on walks together.
I also recommend picking up all toys and food dishes at least until the dogs become more comfortable with each other. WORKING AT APPROPRIATE LEVELS The idea of being at a certain skill level and labeling it isn't a new concept. We obviously have different grade levels throughout school, different ranks in professional sports, different belt colors in martial arts and different ranks throughout corporate jobs.
