SuperPoof Dog Training

02/15/2021

***ANNOUNCEMENT***

TLDR: Add SuperPoof Dog Training to the list of small businesses shut down due to COVID, at the end of the month.

Last year when I made the decision to return to school full time to finish my degree, I had planned to continue SuperPoof as a part time fun job. But I knew that one day I’d likely end up with a full time “muggle” job that would mean I needed to leave dog training and shut down my business. I planned for at least 2 more years before that point. But COVID has other plans apparently, and is rushing that part of my timeline.

The Alberta government has been, quite frankly, horrendous to deal with. Let me be clear: I 100% understand and agree with restrictions surrounding COVID. And had there been any kind of clear communication this situation could be very different for me. Speaking with other dog trainers throughout Alberta, there’s been a chaotic tangled mess in regards to group training classes. Some agility classes are allowed but others (ran nearly identically, for the record) are not. Some puppy and obedience classes are allowed but others aren’t. Some trainers have even been given a glowing green light to proceed, with strict safety regulations, only to have that plug pulled at the very last second. It’s time-consuming and frustrating for business owners and it’s horribly inconvenient and disruptive for our students. And there is zero rhyme or reason; it seems to depend if you happen to talk to someone who was in a good mood at the time you called, but even that could be revoked with zero notice. Ridiculous is a gentle word for it.

My background and education give me the ability to work with a wide range of clients, but my passion with SuperPoof has really been with getting people into dog sports. I’ve really tried to tap into the pet community, to show that sports don’t have to be uber competitive to be fun and beneficial. Based on feedback from my students as well as my business growth, I’d like to think I’ve largely succeeded in that. But straight up passion and persistence don’t pay the bills, and being unable to run group classes for months has decimated my business. Many of my colleagues have gotten incredibly creative and adapted their businesses so that they are not only surviving, but thriving! But the sheer man hours to do such a feat, it just can’t happen while I’m in school full time. I didn’t return to university just to leave again.

So, I have to shut down SuperPoof Dog Training. I’ll be able to devote even more time to my degree and speed up the long term part of my goals! Maybe down the line, SuperPoof will reappear part time again. But it’s just not feasible for my small business (and so many others) to cling on as our businesses wither away.

***If you’ve been waiting on a class or have an outstanding credit, check your email later today! I’ll be working on full refunds for the next 2 weeks. If by the end of February you haven’t heard from me, please check in! This is a LOT of paperwork and I don’t want to miss anyone.***

02/12/2021

Training Tip Thursday

As the Pandemic Puppy surge continues, I continue seeing a TON of posts about puppies and problematic behaviours on social media. One of my personal favourite phrases within these posts is "I've tried EVERYTHING!"

But have you really?

Have you tried changing the environment to set the puppy up for success? Have you tried providing adequate daily mental and physical stimulation (hint: your puppy playing alone in the house or yard doesn't count here)? But, most importantly, have you tried consistency and patience?

Puppies doing normal puppy things are often viewed as naughty, stubborn, or any other number of "bad" things. But a puppy chewing everything is... normal. A puppy having an accident inside because the human isn't setting a timer to take him out is... normal. A puppy mouthing during play is... you guessed, it, normal!

Now, saying it is normal does not mean it is something you have to accept as it is. I am absolutely not saying your puppy is totally allowed to chew up your furniture, or bite during play until your hands bleed. But you must understand that those NORMAL behaviours will take time to shift and change. We are asking very young dogs to suddenly stop being dogs. We expect behaviours to change in a day, a week. But let me ask you, when was the last time you built a brand-new bomb-proof habit in only a week? How long did it take you to quit smoking? Commit to a healthier lifestyle? Did any of it actually stick the first time, or were you back to your old ways after only a few days, weeks, even months?

Humans, with our advanced brains and logic, cannot succeed with a full behaviour change in a short period, so why are we expecting it out of dogs? Especially dogs who are literally still babies?

It takes TIME, PATIENCE, and CONSISTENCY to instill new behaviours. Time is going to pass either way. So you can take the time to use a fun method that your puppy enjoys to teach a new behaviour, and stick to it 100% of the time. Or you can work on it "when you have time," switch up your approach because this one didn't work after only 2 days, allow X behaviour to happen because you were in a rush to leave... but partial effort will only see partial results, and guess what? It takes way longer!

02/11/2021

Proud to be a Cookie Pusher and Snack Leader!

02/08/2021

02/06/2021

This relationship doesn't have to be adversarial - show us your dog-cat buddies!

*only if they're already buddies ;) please don't put anyone at risk just for a photo!

02/04/2021

Training Tip Thursday

What does your dog’s name mean?

I don’t mean this in a “her name is latin for [insert definition here]!” way. I mean when you say your dog’s name, what is the purpose? Are they supposed to orient to you when they hear it? Is it a cue to recall? Are they supposed to pay attention to you and not stop until the dismissal cue?

Or, like many, you don’t really have an answer for that question? The more fluid your answer, the less clear your expectations are for your dog. Without clear expectations, they’re just guessing what they should be doing. That also means you don’t know what behaviour to look for and what to reward!

This topic was inspired by a conversation I have all-too-often in my sport classes, particularly agility. If you’re already going “oh gosh it’s me!” I won’t name names. But rest assured, there are MANY people in that boat with you. In agility many handlers say their dogs name constantly. “Fido, hup! Fido, tunnel! Fido, weave!” I always ask what the goal is with repeating Fido’s name. No one has ever had an answer.

The truth is that we do a lot to make our dogs’ names meaningless. In the above example, at best Fido learns to ignore his name. At worst, he learns that obstacle cues are not simply “hup,” “tunnel,” and “weave,” but are actually “Fidohup,” “Fidotunnel,” and “Fidoweave.” If you have a very slow dog, that’s not really an issue, but that is a LOT of syllables to spit out! The number one cuing problem in agility is being late to give cues, so adding more sounds does not improve this task.

In real life, outside of dog sports, we do the same and maybe even worse. Ever yelled your dog’s name as a punishment? “FIDO! Get out of the garbage!” Or basically chanted their name while they were completely ignoring you? “Fido. Fido? FIDO! FIIIIIDOOOOO!!!” The former can actually make them avoid you when you say their name, the latter teaches them it’s as meaningless as you blinking. I bet your answer to the first question “what does your dog’s name mean?” wasn’t “I want him to avoid me!” or “I really want him to ignore me!”

So how do we fix this? First, decide what you want to SEE HAPPEN when you say their name. Eye contact? Full recall? Turn to face you? Decide on clear criteria. Then, create situations in which it will happen, so you can associate name -> behaviour -> reward! My dogs know that name = look to me for instruction. So I would say “Fia!” then when she looked at me I’d mark the behaviour and toss her a cookie. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Proof in more and more difficult scenarios.

Then the final piece of this… don’t wreck what you build! If Fia is already paying attention to me… why do I need to say her name again? If she’s already mid-agility course, running well with me… why do I need to say her name again? The answer is that I don’t. Part of not wrecking it is also not using it in negative situations – don’t make them afraid to hear their name!

An exercise to test this out: for a full day, record every single time you say their name. How you say it, what their response is, and what your goal of using it was. It’s pretty eye-opening how much we over-use such a valuable and foundational tool!

02/03/2021

Have you asked your question yet? (Or questions... it's anonymous so you can submit as many as you like!)

Ask us anything about dog training, and a group of local dog pros will answer. We post our answers mid-month, so make sure you get in before we choose one for February!

https://forms.gle/tvrtr8QGxm84Mr8TA

01/30/2021

SMALL DOG POST!

So, I have small dogs. 13lbs is my smallest, 28lbs is my largest. The training methodology doesn't change based on the size of dog you're working with. Neither does the fact of needing training! But the ex*****on might! Especially if the size difference between you and your dog is signifcant... I am 6 feet tall, with a bad back. So I've had to get creative.

Other small dog owners - what "hacks" or tips or tricks do you have to work with your small dogs?

Some examples:
- my favourite trick to teach is my small dog jumping into my arms. It's a fantastic end behaviour on a recall and has saved my dogs from potential threats countless times.
- repeatedly bending over to deliver treats can be a literal pain in the back, so put something lick-able like peanut butter or wet dog food on the end of a long-handled wooden spoon. Hold spoon down to reward, pull away between rewards. No chiro necessary.
- training on platforms. This closes the gap between their height and mine, while allowing me to move around (whereas sitting or crouching makes this more difficult).
- creative props. While large dogs can use things like an upside down bowl for heelwork foundations, my tiny dog can tapdance on one with all 4 paws! I look around my house - usually kitchen or garage - for easily cleaned, durable items more size appropriate for the small guy!

What workarounds do you use to make training your small dog easier?

Photo showing the size difference between Spark and I by Darcy Evans Photography

01/29/2021

Training Tip Thursday

Cues! Or more specifically, how to change or add them.

A question I get quite often is how to fade out a lure, or a visual cue. Does your dog lay down when you say “down” or does he need you to point at the floor? Or do you have to touch the floor with that finger? Does your dog run through the tunnel when you simply say “tunnel” or does she wait until you are a foot away from it, pointing in it?

Visual cues are not inherently good or bad. They are generally easier for dogs to learn but there are many cases where we don’t want to have to physically be right there, cuing it. For sports like agility and disc, you really do need to build up some distance cues. For day-to-day, it may cause back pain for someone to have to repeatedly bend over and touch the floor to get their dog to lay down. Or, honestly, if you simply just *want* a behaviour to be on a verbal cue – there is nothing wrong with that!

The simplest answer is a prompt switch. [New cue] [wait half a second] [known cue] [behaviour] [reward]. That’s it. This works for two reasons.

One, it creates a pattern and anticipation. The dog wants the reward, and will often work as fast as they can to get it. If I say “down,” wait half a second, then touch the floor (which the dog 100% knows to mean lay down), he does the behaviour, and gets a reward, and we do this several times… after so many reps, the dog is going to hear the word “down” and go “oh man, I know what comes next!” and he’ll rush to perform the behaviour before I’ve even had a chance to use the old, known cue. Humans do this as well – if there is a pattern we know, we try to skip steps to get to the end. When was the last time you listened to your voicemail to prompt “press 1 to listen to new messages”? It’s probably been a while, we press the menu option as soon as we can! Or navigating a sign-in page on a website… after the first couple times, you stop reading the prompts as to what info gets entered where, and you just DO IT.

Two, the serial process of [new] [wait] [old] avoids a psychological effect called blocking. Blocking occurs when we ignore novel information to attend to conditioned information. Your brain will filter out insignificant information in favour of information it knows to be significant based on past experience, and our dogs do the same. If your dog has been rewarded hundreds of times for laying down when you point, he is likely ONLY paying attention to the pointing EVEN IF you are saying the word “down” as you point. If you separate the cues, even by a half second, this effect won’t happen, and your dog will be able to learn the verbal/new cue.

Give this a try – pick your dog’s BEST behaviour (usually sit or down). Say “potato”, then the cue for their best behaviour, wait for it to happen, reward. Repeat 10 times. On the eleventh, JUST say “potato” and see what happens!

01/25/2021

Does free dog training advice sound good to you? Read on!

Networking with other local dog professionals, SuperPoof Dog Training will be doing monthly segments answering your questions!

How does it work?
1) Submit your questions here: https://forms.gle/KeTUxw5dKNDuXvxY9. This is completely anonymous - unless you choose to leave identifying info in your question.
2) Each month, we'll choose one question to answer, with a few different dog pros weighing in. Your question and their answers will be posted here, around the middle of each month.
3) Don't forget to share this post so your friends can ask their questions as well!

Behaviour problems, dog sports, puppy questions, something you've just always wondered about training, it's all fair game!

01/22/2021

This is a great write up about board and train set ups!

I'm of two minds with it:

On one hand, the trainer efficiently doing the legwork then teaching the human how to maintain it can be very effective. Experienced pros simply have better understanding and mechanics to teach dogs more efficiently.

On the other hand, the lack of regulation and oversight can lead to situations that are less than ideal... right up to abusive and dangerous.

I've lost track of how many clients over the years that I've had to fix the damage done by inexperienced (or worse) individuals offering this. With what I have seen in this industry, I do not recommend the B&T model unless *you know the trainer incredibly well and *have access to observe (webcams, viewing areas etc).

Unfortunately, until we have have better standards, it's just not a safe bet.

Advertisements for dog board and train options where you send your dog to stay with a trainer for a few weeks can seem like a dream come true.