Every week, Hounds, our ASK THE TRAINER feature allows you to address your pressing training needs and questions with our very own Nick Miller. Remember - want Nick to answer more of your questions? Contact Nick at nick@urbanhounds.com or leave us your question on Twitter, Facebook, or here at the blog.

This week Nick talks tips!

The emotional life of dogs in training:

"We train with our eyes."

It was said to me early on in my dog training career and it is something that I repeat to almost all of my clients when I am working with them and their dog.  But what does it mean?  Well, in the simplest sense it means that if we are able to read our dog's body language while we are working with them it will speak volumes as to how they are reacting to our praise and corrections.  Is your dog zeroed in on the squirrel  across the street, and no matter what you do she won't break her fixation?  Well, then it's time to try something different, and that's what reading their body language will tell us.

But, just as the eyes are the windows to the soul, so to is not the body?  At least on some level?  I am always wary of putting human emotions on our dogs, anthropomorphizing them if you will, but it would be entirely ignorant of me to say that dogs have no emotional life whatsoever.  And so, I urge you to watch your dog for the emotional cues that they may be giving you while you are training them, or even just in day to day life.  Is it something that we have to necessarily do something about?  Rather I think being aware of the rhythms of our dogs' emotional life is the critical thing here and using that information to fuel our relationship with them.

Every week, Hounds, our ASK THE TRAINER feature allows you to address your pressing training needs and questions with our very own Nick Miller. Remember - want Nick to answer more of your questions? Contact Nick at nick@urbanhounds.com or leave us your question on Twitter, Facebook, or here at the blog.

This week Nick talks tips!

I have a lot of puppy owners that have issues with how to correct destructive chewing.  So, here's one for all of you that have ever wondered about the proper way to use Bitter Apple when it comes to curbing chewing. 

The first thing to take into account is that Bitter Apple is and alcohol based product (it's 20% Isopropanol) so it needs to be freshly sprayed on something that a puppy is going to put in their mouth in order for it to be effective.  In other words, if you spray it on a shoe, and then two days later your puppy goes to chew on it, they might think it smells a little strange but it won't be enough to stop them from going after it!

So, as with many behavioral corrections, you need to first try to catch you puppy in the act of chewing on, let's say a sock.  I would first redirect them with another fun play toy and meanwhile spray the offending object with a good bit of Bitter Apple.  Then, you want to actually put the first object (now with Bitter Apple on it) back in the dog's mouth!  If they spit it out, then praise, praise, praise! 

Now once would be good, but you actually want to go back and revisit this little exercise a few times a day over the next few days.  By the third day, your puppy should not even want the original object of desire to be any where near them!  Let me know if you have any questions on this!

Every week, Hounds, our ASK THE TRAINER feature allows you to address your pressing training needs and questions with our very own Nick Miller. Remember - want Nick to answer more of your questions? Contact Nick at nick@urbanhounds.com or leave us your question on Twitter, Facebook, or here at the blog.

This week Nick talks tips.

I have a four month old puppy who is pulling a lot on the lead.  Is it OK to use a prong collar with him?

While a prong collar can be an excellent choice for the right type of dog, a four month old puppy is not that dog.  I often remind owners that puppy-hood is not about perfection.  Sure, you want to establish a basic obedience foundation and get them on the right path towards having good manners, but expecting too much out of a puppy at a young age can backfire.  Sit-stays can lead to frustration and and down-stays seem downright unfair at too young of an age.  Sometimes gentle leaders can be the right choice for a leash pulling puppy, or a martingale or nylon slip collar.  With the latter two collars you can start to introduce the concept of a leash and collar correction without using a metal or prong collar.

At six months of age I recommend introducing formal training, as the emotional development of a dog between the ages of 4-6 months is immense!  Hang in there and have fun with your pup, he'll never be this age again.



Every week, Hounds, our ASK THE TRAINER feature allows you to address your pressing training needs and questions with our very own Nick Miller. Remember - want Nick to answer more of your questions? Contact Nick at nick@urbanhounds.com or leave us your question on Twitter, Facebook, or here at the blog.

This week Nick talks tips.

The quieter you become the more you are able to hear.  -Zen Saying

My wife and I have this saying framed and hung in our bedroom, for me it's a constant reminder to watch my thoughts and not let them run away with themselves. 

Whether it's comparing myself to other people, or predicting possible bad things that can happen in  life. Sometimes it seems like having a positive outlook takes quite a bit of effort!  But as I was getting ready to head into the Hound Hotel today I thought about how that saying applies to dog training.  I've often thought that there is quite the connection between working with a dog and meditation.  It's easy to project your own desires and expectations onto a dog, and in many ways it is vital when you are training, but I think there is also an appropriate place for turning off your brain, and simply watching and listening to your dog.  It is amazing what they will tell you if you are willing to let them.

I'm working with Marcus right now, a 2 year old cockapoo who is day-boarding and training with me.  He can be a little cautious around strangers and other dogs.  I want what is best for him, and I would like to see it happen as quickly as possible.  But there we go again... the thoughts of a human getting in the way of the needs of a dog.  So while I would like Marcus to be wagging his tail and licking the face of strangers ASAP, I have to remember that it takes time.  So I push him a little bit every day and watch his reactions.  This is the element of trusting in the process.  And you know what?  On day three he has made leaps and bounds in the direction that I want him to go in!  Now that's my good boy!