Thank you so much for answering my question. I have been working with my dog a lot and watched several of your other videos and things are definitely improving. Time to purchase a stuffed dog toy now though I think 🤣
Oh yay, you found it! I know I told you I'd be posting it, but I had it on my task list to scroll back and find your comment so I could give you the link 😊 I'm also SO happy to hear you're seeing training progress! You asked fantastic questions, so I also used your other one in my email newsletter 😂. Once a month or so I send out a free newsletter that includes a more in-depth answer to an interesting question I received that month. I'll put a sign-up link here for anyone interested, and copy&paste my answer below: happyhounds.myflodesk.com/ay4b727lyn Question: If only my dog would take treats out on walks. Nothing works (so far). Tried dry food, liver cake, cheese, chicken. Whatever is driving him to pull is more important to him than food (or me). He is super responsive at home but out on walks it's difficult to get his attention. Tug toys do not work either even though he is obsessed with them at home. My answer: I love this question because lack of food (or other reward) motivation is such a common concern. First, I'm glad you mentioned that he is motivated by rewards such play and treats at home. It's important to keep in mind that he's only unmotivated in certain contexts, not ALWAYS. So the question becomes: why is that? We need to recognize that “outdoors” can be highly distracting for dogs. As soon as they step out the front door there are sights, sounds, smells, and other distractions. It's not that your dog wants to ignore you, it's that everything else has grabbed their attention! The analogy I often give is that “outside” is like Disneyland for dogs. If you were trying to teach a child to read, where would you have more success: at your kitchen table, or at Disneyland? Obviously it's easier to focus at home. Similarly, it's important to build a strong foundation of training skills with our dog at home before we try using them in the “real world”. This is why I actually start leash training indoors without a leash! Tutorial linked here: th-cam.com/video/4fUVXntWPOM/w-d-xo.html It's also important to keep the dog under threshold as we progress the difficulty of the setting. To understand dog threshold, picture a door threshold: when you step over one you go from one room to another (example: from the hallway into a bedroom). A dog's threshold is similar: they go from one emotional zone (under threshold= coping & capable of learning) to another (over threshold= reacting, not thinking). When a dog is over threshold, they lose their food motivation. So if your dog is losing their food motivation in certain situations, I strongly encourage you to consider whether they're over threshold. Think of it like this: I LOVE donuts. If you offer me a donut at home, my answer will be yes. However, if you put me in a situation that overwhelms me such as on stage in front of an audience, I will have no desire to eat that donut. The “reward” is the same, but my food motivation isn't. To learn more about dog's threshold including what affects it and how to manage it, I encourage you to watch this: th-cam.com/video/G1UVxRIBMEs/w-d-xo.html Thanks for asking great questions!
Let me know if you’d be interested in a “condo dog” reactivity series! ►🙋♀COMPLETE DOG TRAINING SOLUTIONS: •❓🤨 STRUGGLING WITH LEASH TRAINING? 👇 ✅ 6 Weeks to Dream Walks: Step-By-Step Leash Training Program: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/6-weeks-to-dream-walks-step-by-step-leash-training-program •❓🐿 STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DOG CHASING ANIMALS (indoors or outdoors)?👇 ✅ Dog Prey Drive: How to STOP Animal Chasing: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/dog-prey-drive-how-to-stop-animal-chasing-with-force-free-methods 🙋♀🦮 Stuffed dogs I use for training: amzn.to/3OQeDVl ►👀 WATCH NEXT: ✔ Training an emergency U-turn: th-cam.com/video/K4oOcv-XMpM/w-d-xo.html ✔ How to Choose YOUR Dogs FAVOURITE Training Treat: th-cam.com/video/vywrddzYG90/w-d-xo.html ✔ Understanding dog's threshold: th-cam.com/video/G1UVxRIBMEs/w-d-xo.html ✔ Dog Pulls Towards Other Dogs? Try THIS to Walk Past With a Loose Leash: th-cam.com/video/-O1u3T3zS2M/w-d-xo.html ✔ Q&A playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLiUh57UCWpFHqYjpxcSzEu4VgVAnzlMTm.html ► 🗣 STAY CONNECTED: • Instagram (my most active platform): instagram.com/happyhounds_dogtraining/ • Facebook: facebook.com/HappyHoundsDogTraining.ca • Blog: happyhoundsdogtraining.ca/blog/ • Email list: view.flodesk.com/pages/61898eeb3a0e5bcf6f5411ec ►❤ FAVOURITE DOG GEAR: ➡ *ALL* my favourite dog items & DISCOUNT CODES: happyhoundsdogtraining.ca/shop 🧸 Amazing faux & real fur toys: www.tug-e-nuff.co.uk/?ref=happyhoundsdogtraining 🐕🦺 My favourite harness & dog gear: rockymountaindog.ca/?ref=ka8S8Xue 🦴 My favourite treat bag: amzn.to/3UUGF60 🦮 Beautiful custom biothane leashes (I use the hands-free version): www.hightailhikes.com?aff=212 Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content. 💫 A QUICK BUT IMPORTANT NOTE... You always know your dog best. Please take with you from this video what fits and leave what doesn’t. I’m offering general advice, not a tailored plan for YOUR dog. It’s up to you what you choose to implement therefore I am not liable for anything that might occur.
Yes, I live a condo and it’s a small neighborhood. Also, if possible you can do a video on excessive barking in the house. I’ve tried many methods but it doesn’t stick with my dog. P.S. love your videos and 6 week training guide. My dog has been improving day by day 😊
Ooohhh myyyy godddd this is so relatable. I have the jack russell stuffy for my reactivity clients, too. My husband (a grown ass man, lol) is sometimes my stand-in and will "walk" the stuffy dog (which we ironically named "Ruckus") while I work with the client. He has absolutely been the recipient of similar mortifying moments. We both were in stitches seeing this video!! Thank you so sharing!! :P
Thank YOU for reassuring me I’m not the only one 😂 I remember that day so vividly still. Standing there waiting for my client to show up, wanting to run away, and wondering if the mom was now watching me through the windows and calling someone 😂 The things we do haha
I liked this Q& A subject, I am going to have to check resale stores for a stuffed dog now. I am going to have to see if I can find someone to walk the stuffed dog in the spring, while I walk Echo. I will be honest I don't walk when cold or bad weather. I live in the suburbs & have a fenced yard. My two dogs play together & run around outside in my decent size yard. Do you think putting the stuffed dog in my neighbors yard would work as well. He reacts to moving or non moving dogs, worse reactivity if they bark or react to him as well. Thanks for yr videos I usually get a tool for my toolbox. Debbie
Yes please!!! Central Madrid viewer here with a 9 month old teenage monster who looooves other dogs and gets extremely frustrated when I don’t let her say hi. Think all four feet in the air, barking like an 80lbs loonatic…
Glad you’re interested in the series!! 😊 If you haven’t already, I’d watch this too: Dog Pulls Towards Other Dogs? Try THIS to Walk Past With a Loose Leash th-cam.com/video/-O1u3T3zS2M/w-d-xo.html
I do (especially if I want to see how that dog acts in close proximity to other dogs... example do they immediately try to bite it), but only if I don't plan on using the stuffed animal with them anymore. Once they DO realize it's fake, it's much less useful.
@happyhoundsdogtraining thank you so much for the reply! I just ordered the stuffed animal dog from your link. Can't wait to incorporate it into our training.
I noticed with the leash training that your dogs walk ahead of you. I thought they should always heel or walk behind which is what Ive been trying to teach my dog...with great difficulty!!! Is this not necessary?
I LOVE this question! Every month I answer a question in depth in my email newsletter (happyhounds.myflodesk.com/ay4b727lyn) and am going to anonymously use this one in Feb because I bet it's something a lot of people wonder about 😊 To answer a little more briefly here: No, they definitely shouldn't always walk in heel, especially if working on reactivity. The whole "the dog shouldn't be in front" thing came from dominance theory which has been completely debunked. Also, when a dog is in a strict heel, they essentially aren't getting to be a dog! Our main sense is sight, but theirs is smell. Imagine going for a walk with your eyes closed? It wouldn't be nearly as fun. If we keep a dog in a heel and never let them sniff, they don't get to use their main sense and enjoy the walk. This is an extra problem with reactive dogs because sniffing technically helps relax them, which is something they need more of. Dogs also naturally walk differently than us (fast movement, then full stops), so if they're in heel they're forced to walk like us (steady pace, straight line) which is also less enjoyable. I do teach dogs to heel and use it in situations like a busy sidewalk, but the vast majority of the time I use loose leash walking (the dog can go wherever they want on leash as long as there isn't leash tension).
Thank you so much for answering my question. I have been working with my dog a lot and watched several of your other videos and things are definitely improving. Time to purchase a stuffed dog toy now though I think 🤣
Oh yay, you found it! I know I told you I'd be posting it, but I had it on my task list to scroll back and find your comment so I could give you the link 😊 I'm also SO happy to hear you're seeing training progress!
You asked fantastic questions, so I also used your other one in my email newsletter 😂. Once a month or so I send out a free newsletter that includes a more in-depth answer to an interesting question I received that month. I'll put a sign-up link here for anyone interested, and copy&paste my answer below: happyhounds.myflodesk.com/ay4b727lyn
Question: If only my dog would take treats out on walks. Nothing works (so far). Tried dry food, liver cake, cheese, chicken. Whatever is driving him to pull is more important to him than food (or me). He is super responsive at home but out on walks it's difficult to get his attention. Tug toys do not work either even though he is obsessed with them at home.
My answer: I love this question because lack of food (or other reward) motivation is such a common concern.
First, I'm glad you mentioned that he is motivated by rewards such play and treats at home. It's important to keep in mind that he's only unmotivated in certain contexts, not ALWAYS. So the question becomes: why is that?
We need to recognize that “outdoors” can be highly distracting for dogs. As soon as they step out the front door there are sights, sounds, smells, and other distractions. It's not that your dog wants to ignore you, it's that everything else has grabbed their attention!
The analogy I often give is that “outside” is like Disneyland for dogs. If you were trying to teach a child to read, where would you have more success: at your kitchen table, or at Disneyland? Obviously it's easier to focus at home.
Similarly, it's important to build a strong foundation of training skills with our dog at home before we try using them in the “real world”. This is why I actually start leash training indoors without a leash! Tutorial linked here: th-cam.com/video/4fUVXntWPOM/w-d-xo.html
It's also important to keep the dog under threshold as we progress the difficulty of the setting. To understand dog threshold, picture a door threshold: when you step over one you go from one room to another (example: from the hallway into a bedroom). A dog's threshold is similar: they go from one emotional zone (under threshold= coping & capable of learning) to another (over threshold= reacting, not thinking). When a dog is over threshold, they lose their food motivation.
So if your dog is losing their food motivation in certain situations, I strongly encourage you to consider whether they're over threshold.
Think of it like this: I LOVE donuts. If you offer me a donut at home, my answer will be yes. However, if you put me in a situation that overwhelms me such as on stage in front of an audience, I will have no desire to eat that donut. The “reward” is the same, but my food motivation isn't.
To learn more about dog's threshold including what affects it and how to manage it, I encourage you to watch this: th-cam.com/video/G1UVxRIBMEs/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for asking great questions!
@@happyhoundsdogtrainingThis is fantastic thank you ❤
Let me know if you’d be interested in a “condo dog” reactivity series!
►🙋♀COMPLETE DOG TRAINING SOLUTIONS:
•❓🤨 STRUGGLING WITH LEASH TRAINING? 👇
✅ 6 Weeks to Dream Walks: Step-By-Step Leash Training Program: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/6-weeks-to-dream-walks-step-by-step-leash-training-program
•❓🐿 STRUGGLING WITH YOUR DOG CHASING ANIMALS (indoors or outdoors)?👇
✅ Dog Prey Drive: How to STOP Animal Chasing: e37240-61.myshopify.com/products/dog-prey-drive-how-to-stop-animal-chasing-with-force-free-methods
🙋♀🦮 Stuffed dogs I use for training: amzn.to/3OQeDVl
►👀 WATCH NEXT:
✔ Training an emergency U-turn: th-cam.com/video/K4oOcv-XMpM/w-d-xo.html
✔ How to Choose YOUR Dogs FAVOURITE Training Treat: th-cam.com/video/vywrddzYG90/w-d-xo.html
✔ Understanding dog's threshold: th-cam.com/video/G1UVxRIBMEs/w-d-xo.html
✔ Dog Pulls Towards Other Dogs? Try THIS to Walk Past With a Loose Leash: th-cam.com/video/-O1u3T3zS2M/w-d-xo.html
✔ Q&A playlist: th-cam.com/play/PLiUh57UCWpFHqYjpxcSzEu4VgVAnzlMTm.html
► 🗣 STAY CONNECTED:
• Instagram (my most active platform): instagram.com/happyhounds_dogtraining/
• Facebook: facebook.com/HappyHoundsDogTraining.ca
• Blog: happyhoundsdogtraining.ca/blog/
• Email list: view.flodesk.com/pages/61898eeb3a0e5bcf6f5411ec
►❤ FAVOURITE DOG GEAR:
➡ *ALL* my favourite dog items & DISCOUNT CODES: happyhoundsdogtraining.ca/shop
🧸 Amazing faux & real fur toys: www.tug-e-nuff.co.uk/?ref=happyhoundsdogtraining
🐕🦺 My favourite harness & dog gear: rockymountaindog.ca/?ref=ka8S8Xue
🦴 My favourite treat bag: amzn.to/3UUGF60
🦮 Beautiful custom biothane leashes (I use the hands-free version): www.hightailhikes.com?aff=212
Links included in this description might be affiliate links. If you purchase a product or service with the links that I provide I may receive a small commission. There is no additional charge to you! Thank you for supporting my channel so I can continue to provide you with free content.
💫 A QUICK BUT IMPORTANT NOTE...
You always know your dog best. Please take with you from this video what fits and leave what doesn’t. I’m offering general advice, not a tailored plan for YOUR dog. It’s up to you what you choose to implement therefore I am not liable for anything that might occur.
YES please
Definitely interested. I foster dogs, so the more tips and training I have, the better advocacy I can do for the dogs and their new families.
Awesome, glad there's interest 😊
Yes, I live a condo and it’s a small neighborhood. Also, if possible you can do a video on excessive barking in the house. I’ve tried many methods but it doesn’t stick with my dog.
P.S. love your videos and 6 week training guide. My dog has been improving day by day 😊
Great suggestion!! And so glad to hear the guide and videos are helping 😊
Ooohhh myyyy godddd this is so relatable. I have the jack russell stuffy for my reactivity clients, too. My husband (a grown ass man, lol) is sometimes my stand-in and will "walk" the stuffy dog (which we ironically named "Ruckus") while I work with the client. He has absolutely been the recipient of similar mortifying moments. We both were in stitches seeing this video!! Thank you so sharing!! :P
Thank YOU for reassuring me I’m not the only one 😂 I remember that day so vividly still. Standing there waiting for my client to show up, wanting to run away, and wondering if the mom was now watching me through the windows and calling someone 😂 The things we do haha
I liked this Q& A subject, I am going to have to check resale stores for a stuffed dog now. I am going to have to see if I can find someone to walk the stuffed dog in the spring, while I walk Echo. I will be honest I don't walk when cold or bad weather. I live in the suburbs & have a fenced yard. My two dogs play together & run around outside in my decent size yard. Do you think putting the stuffed dog in my neighbors yard would work as well. He reacts to moving or non moving dogs, worse reactivity if they bark or react to him as well. Thanks for yr videos I usually get a tool for my toolbox. Debbie
Brilliant!
Thank you!!
I would definitely be interested in a condo dog series. I live in a busy area and I don’t want to always have to drive somewhere to train.
It's on my list for sure! 😊
Yes please!!! Central Madrid viewer here with a 9 month old teenage monster who looooves other dogs and gets extremely frustrated when I don’t let her say hi. Think all four feet in the air, barking like an 80lbs loonatic…
Glad you’re interested in the series!! 😊 If you haven’t already, I’d watch this too: Dog Pulls Towards Other Dogs? Try THIS to Walk Past With a Loose Leash
th-cam.com/video/-O1u3T3zS2M/w-d-xo.html
Ahhh I didn’t know we live in the same city!! I love your channel!!! Thank you for all the awesome content!
Oh that's amazing! I love when I found out a viewer is local 😊 I'm so glad you enjoy the channel!
Thank you so much for these tips! Do you ever let the dog in training close enough to the stuffed animal dog to realize it isn't real?
I do (especially if I want to see how that dog acts in close proximity to other dogs... example do they immediately try to bite it), but only if I don't plan on using the stuffed animal with them anymore. Once they DO realize it's fake, it's much less useful.
@happyhoundsdogtraining thank you so much for the reply! I just ordered the stuffed animal dog from your link. Can't wait to incorporate it into our training.
I noticed with the leash training that your dogs walk ahead of you. I thought they should always heel or walk behind which is what Ive been trying to teach my dog...with great difficulty!!! Is this not necessary?
I LOVE this question! Every month I answer a question in depth in my email newsletter (happyhounds.myflodesk.com/ay4b727lyn) and am going to anonymously use this one in Feb because I bet it's something a lot of people wonder about 😊 To answer a little more briefly here: No, they definitely shouldn't always walk in heel, especially if working on reactivity. The whole "the dog shouldn't be in front" thing came from dominance theory which has been completely debunked. Also, when a dog is in a strict heel, they essentially aren't getting to be a dog! Our main sense is sight, but theirs is smell. Imagine going for a walk with your eyes closed? It wouldn't be nearly as fun. If we keep a dog in a heel and never let them sniff, they don't get to use their main sense and enjoy the walk. This is an extra problem with reactive dogs because sniffing technically helps relax them, which is something they need more of. Dogs also naturally walk differently than us (fast movement, then full stops), so if they're in heel they're forced to walk like us (steady pace, straight line) which is also less enjoyable. I do teach dogs to heel and use it in situations like a busy sidewalk, but the vast majority of the time I use loose leash walking (the dog can go wherever they want on leash as long as there isn't leash tension).