BuddiesK9Training

07/08/2023

Crates. As someone who used to be against their usage, but now uses one.
Crates are controversial. And rightfully so. Just as in anything, confinement can become aversive. Look at prisons? Confining people even though their needs are attended to is unpleasant. Grounding a kid to his room is a punishment. In covid we all lost our minds.
But what we are looking to here are humans, what makes a dog different? Why would it be ok to crate a dog?
When we consider a humans sleep and resting habits vs a dogs….we see a huge difference. We will find dogs sleeping throughout the day, resting for long periods of time, especially after exercise. As humans we require only 8 hours of sleep, and we are busy for the entire rest of the day. We tend to not sleep much in the day, and we are constantly keeping our minds busy. As humans doing nothing outside of our 8 hours sleep is not common.
But there are some variables that fall into place here. Dogs don’t usually take very long naps throughout the day. What we will commonly see is a dog that will nap a bit, get up, move, get a stick to chew on, chew a bit, and then sleep a bit. They will do some activities in-between. They will also need to eliminate and play.
So when is the crate non-aversive?
If we perfectly time the variables around it, we can crate a dog without it causing aversion.
Activity….crating a dog after they had a long nap is not going to be so fun. If your dog had a nice long play session, it may be a lot better.
Entertainment…crating your dog without something to keep them a bit busy in there can befrustrating and boring. Adding some toys in, especially an interactive or food toy can give them something to do between naps.
Time…no longer than 4 hours. For both the purpose of eliminating, drinking and frustration. Crating a dog too long is by far the most common problem with a crate.
Comfort…ensuring that the crate is the appropriate size and comfortable is essential. Alongside that it also has to be in a safe place your dog feels comfortable being alone in.
Conditioning…we need to introduce it properly to our dogs, making sure they have a positive association to it and feel comfortable being in there.

By exercising our dogs well before we crate them, make sure they eliminated prior, providing entertainment and comfort in the crate and not crating them too long…we can successfully use it non aversively.

07/07/2023

26/06/2023

Keeping your house (and dog) clean.

Having a dog inside comes with the challenge of keeping both them and your house clean.
Today as a certified trainer, I will give you some tips on how to tackle this head on, in the laziest way possible.

Tip 1
Invest in a good pet hair vacuum.
This will be a game changer. But if you use it to the full.
Use the vacuum on blankets too.
To quickly get rid of hair on your bedsheets or the dog’s blanket:
Lay it flat on the ground.
Vacuum it, holding the edges with your feet.

Tip 2
Slobber!
First of all, know when your dog is most likely to slobber. Like with meals.
After a meal or when they see you eating some tasty food, wipe their mouth with a towel that you keep around. The same with drinking water.
Another useful tip here is to have a rope toy that you play tug with after meals and drinking.
You can also make it a habit to pick up the toy and play with it after having a drink.
Keep that slobber towel handy! Wipe when you see slobber.

Tip 3
Keeping the dog clean.
We can’t bath our dogs daily, as it is bad for their skin and takes time.
Make a habit of brushing out your dog every day and finishing it with a pet friendly wet wipe or damp towel. And wipe those paws when they come in.
A way to clean them between baths?
Take a towel and wet it with some warm water, clean off your dog with it, ruffing the hair around. Rinse it in-between if necessary.

Tip 4
Keep the dog bed and sleeping arias clean.
Make sure your dogs bed is regularly vacuumed and washed. To make it easy you can permanently have a blanket wrapped around it. And another on top. Then you only wash the blankets.
Make sure your dog has a clean bed to lay on outside, so they don’t spend too much time laying down on the dirty floor.

Tip 5
Potty train, and never use puppy pads.
Having a dog potty trained can prevent any p*e or poo stains in the house. If they do have an accident in the house. Make sure to use odour controlling products to clean it.

Tip 6
Carpets.
Keeping carpets clean will need at least a 3 time a week vacuum.
When your dog messes slobber on the carpet clean it up asap, you can then put some baby or foot powder on it and vacuum it up later. Using some odour powder on your carpets from time to time and then giving it a vacuum and wipe can help the smell.

Tip 7
Teach your dog were to and were not to be.
Try to teach your dog to sleep in certain places and don’t allow others.

05/05/2023

16/04/2023

In this article, well-known clicker trainer Karen Pryor, discusses safety for children around dogs. According to Pryor, dogs are stimulated by movement and noise, and children are known for their movement and noise! Still, working toward and achieving positive and comfortable relationships between dogs and kids is possible.​

One of the most valuable skills children can learn is to stand still and "Be a Tree" if a strange dog comes near them or if a dog is bothering them or becoming too enthusiastic.​

Here is how to "Be a Tree":​

- Stop.​
- Fold in your branches (hands folded in front).​
- Watch your roots grow (look at your feet).​
- Count your breaths in your head until help comes or the dog goes away.​

"Trees" are boring to dogs. A dog will just sniff at a child/tree and then go away. No matter what the dog does, it is important for the child to stand still, avoid eye contact (by looking down at his/her feet), and stay quiet.​

Read more here: https://www.clickertraining.com/node/3535 ​

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08/03/2023

Cooperative care.

The single most useful thing to teach any animal.
What is it?

Cooperative care is when we teach animals to voluntarily participate in their own care.
This makes everyday care for them much less stressful and a lot easier.
It could also avoid some dangerous situations and events.
Cooperative care is taught to almost all animals, from zoo animals to farm animals and of course our pets, it is widely used.

In the case of dogs there are a few common situations we teach voluntary care for.
Bathing
Grooming
Nail clipping
Teeth brushing
Wound care
Vaccinations
Veterinary check-ups
Vet visits
Wearing a muzzle or a cone.
Climbing in and out of a car or truck.
Being handled by others
Having ears handled.

These are just those I can think of, but there are so many more.

I will be slowly going through this list and making posts on it.
I will cover Horses, Dogs and Cats.

I offer a full voluntary care training course for all animals where we cover all the main behaviours required, for those wanting to teach it to their pets and learn more about it.

So stay tuned to learn some voluntary care.

10/01/2023

Pets can suffer from separation distress at any time but enforced lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic have made it a common problem. Behaviourists and trainers all over the world are dealing with the fallout. But what is separation distress and how can you help your pet? ​

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If you feel like your pet may have separation distress, contact a COAPE Qualified behaviourist to help you today. ​

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You can find a list of COAPE-endorsed behaviourists here: https://coape.org/find-a-behaviourist/