DIY YOUR DOG

08/09/2024

📕case #348
«Chacha’s Crate» ✈️🚚🐕
Usually, there is nothing difficult about teaching a dog to go into a crate. There are plenty of techniques and information on how to do it in a positive way for the dog. However, this case was absolutely different. Chacha is an adult dog who had stayed in a dog hotel for a while before his owner decided to bring him to the U.S.
One problem was that he did not want to go into the shipping container. Even though the dog trainer was very kind and used food motivation, Chacha would not stay in the crate for more than a few seconds. When Chacha’s owner contacted me, there were only 10 days left until departure.
This presented a challenge for me because the dog had already undergone a training program, and the time was limited. Giving sedatives or sleeping pills to the dog was not an option due to the long trip between Georgia and the U.S. If the dog experienced panic attacks during transport, it would be a horrible experience. However, this case was so interesting that I couldn’t say no.
I asked Chacha’s owner to buy a new crate—not a shipping container, but more like a cage—so I could observe what happened when Chacha was inside. On the first day, I monitored the dog’s reactions: I placed the crate in different locations, covered the top, left a food bowl inside, and encouraged him to go through the crate.
The results were very interesting: Chacha had no fear of going into the crate; he immediately entered when he saw food inside, but only for as long as it took to eat. He even allowed me to place him inside, but a couple of seconds later, he would run out. An interesting detail was that when the crate was broken down, Chacha liked to place one paw inside and wait for my reaction. When I gave him a treat, he would run out.

My guess is that Chacha completely misunderstood crate training. The reason for this misunderstanding was that his training occurred in the dog hotel, where he already had a personal room. For him, going into the crate was not logical. Let’s say you are training a dog to go into a crate at home; you would have much more success because it’s a private space for the dog. If you were to teach a dog to go into a crate in a dog hotel where there are several dogs in the same room, it might work because of the lack of personal space. But if a dog already has privacy, then the dog crate feels like an uncomfortable, small room.

At the same time, Chacha enjoyed getting treats for stepping inside. 😄
I came up with an idea to fix this problem. Instead of teaching the dog to use the crate as a sleeping place, I changed the task to using the crate as a traveling space.

I called Vano, who has dog transport services, and we rode in his van to many different places: parks, vet clinics, and the airport. For Chacha, there was only one rule: he had to travel in the crate. At the beginning of our first drive, I helped him get in, but after a couple of stops, he jumped into the crate by himself.

And that’s how the problem was solved in just one day. I love this case so much because it clearly shows that it's not enough to simply give a dog treats to achieve results. Dogs have logical thinking, and if they find something unclear, you will have to approach training in a completely different way.

01/07/2024

02/04/2024

📕Budka
🐕🦮
I got a message from Timo. He had just adopted a dog named Budka, who previously lived on the street in the neighborhood. The adoption was a big step for him because, as I understood, he had been preparing for it for a couple of years. However, just before that the Tbilisi Animal Monitoring Agency took Budka to their dog shelter.

Timo managed to get Budka out of the shelter and brought him home, but since then the dog didn’t want to move, especially outside.
😖He became stressed when a collar was put around his neck and would get mad when a leash was put on him. At the same time Budka felt uncomfortable doing his business at home and held it in for a few days.

This situation was an emergency. I was out of the country at the time and could only guide Timo through video call. Budka was stressed due to his needs but at the same time couldn’t go outside because he didn’t accept the leash.
🧐You might think that the dog needed special training or sedative medicine. Instead of this I invite you to analyze the reasons why Budka had panic attacks when he felt pressure on his neck.

To understand the reason for his fear, I need to describe what kind of process is used by dog catchers from AMA, who took Budka to the shelter. They use a wire with a loop at the end called a "lasso" to catch dogs by the neck, similar to a slip leash. It is a harsh method of catching and controlling dogs, which can leave psychological trauma. The dog catchers collected Budka from the area where he was found and brought him to the shelter using the same method, including for vet checks.

It's not surprising that after experiencing the lasso on his neck and being pulled around, Budka would not allow something similar to be put on him that would squeeze his neck.
I recommended Timo to switch from a neck collar to a harness.
The result: Budka stopped destroying the leash and panicked less but still felt stressed when going out.

The second change I recommended was to stop using the elevator and to take Budka out using the stairs. Although it was a bit challenging because of the 18 floors…

The last and most important thing was to build trust with the dog so that he would follow Timo.
I recommended to start this process by taking Budka to a place he recognized as safe and positive (where he had walked by himself) - the balcony.

The training process was following: Timo needed to put the leash on Budka, take him to the balcony in a few steps, then bring him back to his room and dog's spot. This training was repeated a few times. Budka was taken from a safe place (sleeping area) to a positive place (balcony) by following his owner and returning to his safe spot.

In just 10 minutes and a few meters, Timo taught his dog to trust him on the leash and follow him everywhere.
After that Budka finally started going outside to relieve himself. Everything else became much easier once he trusted his owner.

14/03/2024

FOCUS 👀🐕

🐕

14/03/2024

How many dogs is it possible to feed at a time?
3? Yes, sure!
5? No problem!
10? Why not!
⏰ 🍚 🐕
The secret to feeding groups without conflict is to slow down the «gluttonous dogs» and motivate the slower ones. For speed and time balance, I use different types of bowls.
Bowls can also be used as tools for training dogs.

11/03/2024

When the dog is very food motivated, my goal is to keep eye contact during training.
🐶👀

04/03/2024

You might think what all dog toys are made for the same reason - for fun.
Not always...
With correct toys and some techniques you can:
1. Teach dog some tricks.
2. Correct behavioral issues like: ✋ biting people’s hands, 🗑️ picking up trash from the street, 🪑 destroying furniture, 🐶staying home alone.
3. You can train dog to bring you stuff, return to you.
4.And also toys can be good for cleaning teeth 🦷.

When I’m choosing toys for dog the following things are important:
1. Toy should be of good quality and safe for pets.
2. Practical
3. Affordable
And I found the perfect one! 🥎

01/03/2024

🪫Sometimes dogs are just tired and want to sleep.
Give them privacy and personal space.
Anxious behavior doesn’t mean that they have a lot of energy.
It’s time for a REST 🐶😵‍💫🥱

28/02/2024

This picture was taken 10 years ago by Fiona at the D.O.G. shelter.
This photo is very important to me because at that moment, I understood the most important thing - dogs that grew up on the street think totally differently from dogs that grew up in human families. Training them was easy, fast, and fun.🤩🐕🤗
Me and Red 2014.