Phil brought the cake!

Celebrate your dog's big day with a cake from Three Dog Bakery San Clemente.

Pets Rule at SeaWorld San Diego!

The Pet's Rule show at SeaWord is a "don't miss" attraction.   Next time you go be sure to catch it.  The pets are trained using the same positive reinforcement methods they use to train the whales and dolphins.  Positive Reinforcement rules!

Upcoming Classes in January

I have several new classes starting soon.  My very next one is a Puppy Class this Thursday, January 14 at 8pm.  I have another Puppy Class Tuesday, January 19 at 7pm.  I've also scheduled an Intermediate class to start Thursday, January 21 at 6pm. 
Here are more available times:
Puppy Class Friday, January 22 at 1pm
Beginner Class Saturday, January 23 at 4pm
Beginner Class Wednesday, January 27 at 5pm
Intermediate Class Friday, January 29 at 11am
Advanced Class Saturday, January 30 at 1pm

There are more times available, call (949) 443 5336 for information.

Have you trained your dog today?

The Association of Pet Dog Trainers Declares January "National Train Your Dog Month!"

The APDT announces new annual campaign to promote the benefits of positive training and socialization to create a healthy relationship between dogs and their owners.

Dana Point, California - Hundreds of thousands of dogs have been turned into animal shelters because their owners didn't know how to deal with behavior problems and couldn't find a reliable resource to help them. We at the APDT think it is long overdue to dedicate a month where we can bring awareness to the importance of socialization and training, and most of all, to inform the public that training your dog can be simple and fun! The APDT has selected January as the perfect month because so many dogs and puppies are adopted and brought home during the winter holidays. Our desire is to help these new pet parents start off the new year with their newest family member in the best way possible.

The APDT is planning a variety of events in January 2010 to celebrate National Train Your Dog Month. It is our hope that the everyday dog owners will visit the event web site (www.trainyourdogmonth.com), so they can see how easy and fun training can be, and how patience, consistency and a deeper understanding of their dog's behavior can lead to happier, healthier and harmonious households. We have a wide range of topics that we've covered so that pet owners will recognize themselves and their dogs. We will provide a great deal of information that will help using methods that are kind gentle and that have an emphasis on building your relationships with your dogs.

In addition the APDT has more than 5000 members who are willing and able to help dog owners who need help with their dogs. If there is one thing that current television shows about dog training have taught the public its that there are solutions to help dogs with behavior problems and there are alternatives to try before giving up your dog. States Michelle Douglas, CDBC, CPDT-KA, incoming President of the APDT, "We need to raise awareness that training is fun and rewarding for both the dog and the people!  I hope that the more people hear about the events around the country, the more they will think about taking a class in some doggy-activity and discover the joys if training. Training isn't just for people who want to compete in dog shows and people with 'bad' dogs, it is for every dog and dog-owner."

Our web site content will include contests winners from our membership, downloadable handouts on training, and regular updates on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/TheAssociationofPetDogTrainers.US) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/apdt) with fun ideas and tips on how to train your dog. APDT members nationwide will help promote the event and focus on bringing awareness to their own home towns.

Please join the APDT in celebrating National Train Your Dog Month!

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Located in Greenville, SC, the APDT is a professional educational organization of trainers who are committed to becoming better trainers through using positive, dog friendly methods based on sound scientific principles. With over 5,000 members worldwide, the APDT strives to provide professional dog trainers with a respected and concerted voice. The APDT promotes caring relationships between dogs and people and works to increase public awareness of dog-friendly training techniques. For more information, visit the APDT Web site at www.apdt.com.

Make Positive Training Work for You

Here are some steps to take for successful positive training.
I do positive reinforcement training in my classes. It isn't the only way to train, but I do know that it works the best for the most dogs. These are just a few tips to make positive training work for you.

1. Create an environment where your dog can make fewer mistakes. For example put your shoes away, place the garbage in a safe place, and keep a dog that is not housebroken off of carpeted floors.
2. Supervise your dog fully so you can not only prevent mistakes but also catch your doing something right like making eye contact, or playing with its own toys or lying calmly in its crate. Often we spend so much time interacting with our dogs when they are misbehaving, that they learn those behaviors are the best way to get our attention (even if it’s bad attention) and continue to do them.
3. Ignore bad behavior or at least don’t inadvertently reinforce it. If your dog is doing attention seeking behaviors like jumping or barking at you, it is best to ignore those behaviors. A dog won’t waste its energy doing something that doesn’t get it anything.
4. Provide consequences to your dog’s behavior. This is how your dog learns what to do. Behaviors that are rewarded will be repeated. That doesn’t just mean behaviors you are training but everything your dog does to get what it wants. For example the first time your dog pulls something off the countertop that behavior has been rewarded and is highly likely to be repeated. If your dog can provide its own good consequences, it is less likely to look to you for rewards. Your dog may blow you off instead of trying to meet your impossibly high expectations.
5. Establish which things motivate your dog to use as rewards, then, control your dog’s access to those things. The two most obvious examples are food and your attention but toys, walks and even sniffing can be considered motivators for which you can and should control dog’s access.
6. Keep your training sessions short and successful. It takes several repetitions for your dog to learn something, but those repetitions don’t have to be all in one session.
7. Train new behaviors initially in a minimally distracting location, then practice in as many different locations as you can. Keep in mind that in early stages of training, whenever you change locations, you may need to lower your expectations until your dog clearly understands your instructions apply no matter what your surroundings are.
8. Be very clear and consistent with your cues and your expectations. It is fine to have high expectations just keep in mind you need to take baby steps to reach them.
9. Don’t only tell your dog what not to do; you must also provide an appropriate alternative behavior, especially for compulsive behaviors like chewing. You can tell a dog not to chew on a chair leg, but unless you provide an acceptable chew thing, the dog will probably just move on to the table leg and so on.
10. Until your dog is doing something perfectly, you are still training that behavior. Training is a lifelong process.