Why positive reinforcement Training?
Does positive reinforcement training work?
How to house train my Puppy or Dog?
How to properly crate train your puppy or dog?
What kind of dog should I get?

These five questions are answered below. Scroll down until you find the Question typed in large blue print. I am doing my best to make these easier to access, but currently scrolling is the only way.

We also have a forum where some of your questions and problems can be addressed by the trainer. If you just need support, then you can post your problems and have other people share some of the things that worked for them. At least you will not feel alone when facing all the problems. You can find the support you need in the Puppy section from others going through those sleepless nights. You can talk your training challenges over with others in the training area, or simply post stories about your pets. Meet other parents that have the same Positive Reinforcement Training Goals that you do. The links are given below.
Forum

Blog

You may also contact us with your questions via email at jennifer@pawsitivepuppies.net
or by phone at (501)200-2394.

Why positive reinforcement training?

"Why should I choose positive reinforcement training?", is a common question from dog owners. It is a very simple question to answer and one that I could talk about all day, however I will try not to do that here. Positive Reinforcment Training is not just a new revolution in the "no spank" generation, it is a proven method of training that works using what your dog loves most. By finding their motivator we can use it to encourage the dog to do what we are asking. We are not asking our dogs to doing anything they do not already know how to do. They sit, lay down and even stay everyday. We just need to teach them how to do it when we want them to.
Positive reinforcement training isn't just about training your dog to sit, stay and come when called. It is about learning how to communicate with your dog by watching your dog's signals during training, at home, every time you are with your dog. You will get a better understanding of what your dog is trying to tell you as well. The best thing about positive training for me is the bond that forms between me and my dog. It is indescribable. When you see your dog offering behaviors with a happy, excited look on their face instead of fear, you will feel as if you and your dog have suddenly connected. It is somewhat hard to explain but you can rest assured, you will notice a change in your relationship with you dog.
Positive reinforcement training uses no punishment by yanking on a choke chain when the dog does not sit when we ask him to. We will not be using things like "helicopter spins" or "alpha rolls". We believe that their are more humane ways to handle these situations. We will work on building your dog's trust in you and a relationship that is based on trust, is far more rewarding. We will use a method called clicker training where we will mark the behavior we want with a click. The dog soon associates the click with the treat that follows and then puts together the idea that the behavior they just did, a "sit" for example, caused the click and then the treat. I want to sit more often and get treats. As the dog offers the behavior reliably, we add the cue word to the behavior and they then begin to associate the behavior with the cue word.
This is a simple process. Even your children can get involved with the training because the can't hurt the dog. One person needs to be the primary trainer so that the dog gets worked with regularly, but everyone can be involved. Training can be a family thing and when it is, the whole family is learning about their dog and how to care for him or her. It builds confidence in everyone working with the dog. If one particular behavior is hard, when you finally get it done, you can feel accomplished in your stubbornness to keep trying.

Does positive reinforcement training really work?

A resounding
 
YES!

Housetraining 

   House Training is probably one of the biggest questions I get from pet owners. It takes lots of patience. One of the most important things is that the rules never change. If you want the dog to go outside to use the bathroom, then you must take the dog outside even if it is 3am and you are tired. There is never a time when it is acceptable for the dog to eliminate in the house on papers or wee-wee pads. Once the habit starts, they are very hard to stop. Having a Puppy is much like having a newborn baby. You will be up at night offering a feeding and probably several times a night you will be up to take the puppy outside to go to the bathroom. You will be tired and you will not get a full night’s sleep for probably several months. Think about this before getting a puppy.
 
   While your puppy is housetraining there are few simple rules. First and foremost, the dog will be in a crate, supervised by a responsible adult, confined to a pen, attached to you by a leash or outside at all times during the housetraining process. The trick here is that you need to take the puppy out after every meal, every time the puppy drinks something, after every play session, and after every nap. I also make sure that I set an alarm to go off every hour or two (depending on the age of the dog) so that I don’t forget how long it has been since the puppy has been out. The rule of thumb is that a puppy can hold his bladder an hour for every month old he is. This changes greatly at 6 months of age but they are usually pretty well on their way to being trained by then. If you have an adult dog you need to house train, then use the same rules above and make sure the dog goes out every 2-3 hours. REMEMBER THIS WILL NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT. It will take several months.

Unless the dog or puppy has already learned to eliminate in the house, it is usually easy to house train. Adult dogs usually control their eliminations well so they can be more easily trained. Using a crate helps use the dog’s natural instinct to not soil there den to your advantage. Just remember not to misuse it. This is usually easy to manage if you take the puppy out often and follow the instructions below. If your puppy has come from unsanitary conditions (like those often found in puppy mills or pet stores) or those that have been forced to use the bathroom in its cage due to improper use of a crate or other type of confinement, we must do the best we can to manage the behavior while we work with retraining them. It will take longer with these dogs but can still be done. 

   The other thing to remember is that if you can’t see the dog, then you don’t know what they are doing. While you are housetraining your dog, they should always be supervised by you. You need to use a crate with lots of toys and fun things to do if you can’t immediately supervise them. Do not leave them in the crate all the time. That is cruel and misuse of a great training tool. You can also limit the area the dog has to play in while you do the things you need to do. If you are in the kitchen, limit the dog to the kitchen. If you are in the bathroom, limit the dog to the bathroom, etc. You can do this by simply closing the door to the room, using baby gates or buying a small portable dog pen. You can make these with panels found at any pet store. Get the wire puppy pen panels that are about 2-3 ft tall. I have sometimes attached the dog’s leash to my blue jeans with the dog hooked to the leash. Then I carried the dog’s toys with us from room to room while I worked. This kept me from getting so caught up in my work that I “lost track of time” and wasn’t paying attention the dog. Plus they love being with you and this is great bonding time. 

   The idea here is that the dog is always being watched for signs that it needs to go outside. These can be whining, excessive sniffing, circling etc. You will have lots of time to observe your dog’s behavior while housetraining, make the most of it. Anytime the dog shows signs of needing to go outside, take it out immediately. This is especially true if it is a puppy. Once a puppy signals “I have to go”, they have to go then. Remember they have small bladders and not a lot of bowel control at that age. Find the fastest stopping point and stop what you are doing. Take the puppy outside to the place you want them to go to the bathroom. When they start to eliminate, say ”Go Potty” in a happy tone. It will be handy to have the dog eliminate on cue in the future when it snowing or raining outside and you would prefer to get back inside quickly. 

   At this time, it is not wise to let the dog loose in the back yard to go to the bathroom if you are not able to watch them to see if the actually go to the bathroom. They might be outside for 15 minutes and then come to the door asking to come in, only to squat and pee in your floor because they didn’t really go outside, they spent their time exploring all the smells and playing. The dog has learned that outside is play and inside is where I can potty. Accidents happen, but let’s make sure we are doing everything we can to try and keep them from happening. 

   If the dog does not go to the bathroom within 10-15 minutes, bring them back inside and put them in a crate. If your dog is still working on their crate training, them attach the leash to your hip and keep the dog directly at your side. About 15-30 minutes later, take the dog back outside and see if they potty then. Once they have eliminated, you can bring them back inside and let them have a little more freedom. This does not mean let them have the run of the house. They still need to be where you can see them at all times. You will begin to get a feel for their schedule after you have had them for a while (usually within a week or two). You will know how long they can typically hold their bladder and when you need to take them out. If you are repeatedly finding accidents in your house, your dog has too much freedom. Go back to step one if you have to and remember to crate the dog if it doesn’t go when you take it outside to avoid accidents. 

   If you catch the dog while he is eliminating in the house, calmly interrupt the dog and immediately take them out to finish in an appropriate spot. Scolding the dog will make no difference. The only thing they learn out of you scolding them is that it is not safe to eliminate in front of you. It is not their fault, it is yours. So scold yourself if you just have to get mad. Once you are inside, clean up the mess with something that will break down the enzymes so that the dog is not encouraged to go there again. If you find some accidents while cleaning or after you come back from the mail box, remember scolding will not help. They do not do it on purpose. Dogs do not think about things this way. They do not actively decide to eliminate in your floor to get back you. It is your fault, not theirs. If you are repeatedly finding accidents when you return from being gone a while, the accidents might be related to stress. You scolding the dog will only make that worse for them. Your dog should be crated while you are gone and at night until they are reliably trained. 

   At night they should be crated close to your bed so that you can hear them when they whine. If they whine at night, they probably need to go to the bathroom. Get up and take the puppy outside. Once they have done their business, bring them back inside and put them back in their crate. You do not want the puppy to learn that nighttime is playtime. If you are offering food and/or water at night, you will need to take them back outside after they eat and/or drink before returning to bed. This is important because you don’t want them soiling their crate and you don’t want to have to get up again in 30 minutes. 

   One great thing about dogs is that they are naturally clean creatures. They do not like to soil their den area. This works to our advantage when we are housetraining. If we take the time in the beginning to do this properly, and pay attention to our dog, then things will go well. The majority of dogs learn this quickly. Once our dog is reliable then we can all enjoy the company of our dog while we watch TV or work on the computer without worry of what they are doing in the other room. After all, they have toys in that room too.

Crate Training   

Crate training has something of a bad name however it is not in anyway cruel or inhumane when used properly. My dogs love their crate and are often seen heading into them so that they can get some times to themselves. All of enjoy our private time and they do as well. This is their bedroom. It is their haven and they can feel secure that they will not be bothered while in their crate. When we work on training our dogs to a crate, we must make sure that it is always treated with that respect.

   When buying a crate, you must consider several things. First, you must think about the size of your dog and the size of your budget. If you have a large breed dog, you may not want to buy 3-4 crates as the dog grows. This can get very expensive. Think about getting a crate that should be large enough for you dog at an adult size and use the divider that most of them have to limit the size of the crate to a smaller area as the puppy grows. If the large crate does not have a divider, then consider one that does have one. The crate, or the area you have dived, should be large enough for your dog to stand up, turn around and lay comfortably on its side.
 
   Make sure that the dog has plenty of things to play with or chew on. Put a blanket or something soft and comfy in the bottom of the crate to keep the dog comfortable. If the dog is destructive with soft squeaky toys then do not put those in the crate with them. Reserve toys like that for supervised play. I like to use chew hooves for my dogs to chew on. They last for quite some time and do not have the risk of rawhides that can choke the dog when they get them whittled down to small pieces. I reserve rawhides for supervised play as well. Throw the rawhide out before it gets small enough for the dog to put the whole thing in its mouth. It is important that dog associate the crate to good things. The chew toys and soft blanket will help make this association. Now that you have these things ready, you are ready to begin using the crate with your dog. Always have treats ready and lots of them. If your dog is scared of the crate then you will need to gradually work them into the crate. It can take a few days, even weeks with some dogs, so be patient. DO NOT EVER THROW THE DOG IN THE CRATE AND SHUT THE DOOR BEHIND THEM WHILE THEY FIGHT TO GET OUT. This will not help and the dog will be even more scared by the time you go to try this again. 

   Begin by luring the dog into the crate treating the whole time they are entering the crate and especially when they get completely inside. When I start crate training, I like to have a stuffed KONG ready inside, waiting for them. This gives them something yummy to chew on and it can take a while to empty the KONG so they have plenty of yummy things for quite some time. If the dog is comfortable in the crate and shows no anxiety at all, you can leave them to chew on their KONG, or other toys, for a while. If your dog is hesitant to enter the crate completely, then toss the treats close enough to the door that the dog can just get his head in to eat the yummy treats. Slowly work the treats further and further back into the crate until the dog will easily enter the crate and spend some time eating all the great treats you have tossed into the crate. If you are using a clicker or verbal reward marker, you will click (or say “Yes” or whatever your verbal marker is) and treat the dog for entering the crate, as well as, staying in it. 

   You will notice that we have not actually shut the door to the crate yet. Once we have the dog comfortably busy with their toys and treats, we can slowly close the door but do not latch it. If the dog decides that is too much, having a way to get out is very important to them. Watch your dog closely while closing the door. If you notice your dog is getting anxious, then stop. Do not close the door any further. Let them enjoy their treats while you sit there for a few minutes. You will need to continually toss some more treats in there if you do not have enough to last the whole time. This is the other reason I use a KONG. It makes it easier for me to watch the dog instead of constantly having to toss treats in the crate. I do toss the something different every now and then, but the KONG usually keeps them busy enough. Continue to close the door further and further until you can close it all the way and the dog stay in it comfortably without trying to get out. 

   Now that we have the dog ready to stay in the crate, we can begin latching them in the crate by closing the door and latching it behind them. Make sure you are still tossing treats in the crate or that they have some toys to keep them busy for a short stay. We want to keep this a positive experience for both you and your dog. You will begin with the dog staying in the crate for a few seconds and gradually working for longer times. Do not make the stays longer and longer every time. Vary the time you are asking the dog to stay in its crate. Most of the time, the dog can be completely crate trained in one day. If your dog starts to whine or otherwise fuss about being in its crate, DO NOT LET THEM OUT until they stop whining. I know this is hard but, we don’t want them to learn that if the whine enough, we will let them out. Trust me they will whine just to get their way in the future. Dogs are smart enough to figure that out whether you want to believe it or not. Try to wait until they quit whining, click and treat and then let them out of their crate. This is your cue to back up a little bit in your length of time. The dog is not quite ready for that stage. Back up a few steps and work you way back to that length of time. When the dog is comfortable, you can move on. 

   Work on this through out the day. When the dog is happy staying in the crate, you can begin to add a cue word to the behavior. I use load up but some people use things like “Go to bed”, or “Crate up”. If you are using a clicker or a verbal marker, then you will click and treat when the dog enters the crate and click and treat for them staying in it. Once the dog can stay in for a few seconds with you in view, you can begin to leave the room for a few seconds and then return to click and treat the dog and let them out of their crate. Vary the time you are out of view. If you follow this procedure closely you will have a dog that is comfortable in his crate and can be left alone. Make sure that the crate is left open when you are not actively working on their training so they can feel free to go inside and explore on their own. They will do this. Allow them to this without the stress of closing the door on them. 

   It is important that the owner know what a crate is for. Crates use the dog’s natural instincts to bed down in a den as they would in the wild. The crate can be a safe place for them to get away from the three year old that is insistent on pulling his ears and tail. It can be a place for them to go when you are bringing in the groceries, or need to mop the floor. It is place for them to stay at night when you cannot watch them while working on the housetraining. It is a great tool for housetraining when used properly. It is also their place to go when they need time to themselves to just relax or nap. It is also a place where they can go for time out. No they do not begin to hate their crate when it is used this way. Mine still love theirs but when they were puppies and tried tearing up the house, they spent time in the crate to help them remember what is OK to chew on and what is not. The act of removing them from the fun stuff made them realize that if I do this, Mommy takes away the good stuff, so maybe I don’t want to do that anymore. I like being out and playing with my toys and my Mommy.
 
   I hope this helps you with your crate training and remember that you can always call me or email me with questions regarding any problems you may encounter.

What kind of dog should I get?

I have listed below several links you can go to when trying to decide on what kind of dog you would like to get.
The first question that should be asked are
1. Am I ready to take on the daily responsibility of a dog? -  Even if it is your teenagers pet, you as the adult will ultimately be responsible for making sure it is cared for on a daily basis.
2. Am I financially secure and able to take on the food and vet bills that arise from having a pet...not just the regular yearly visits but what would happen if the dog breaks his leg, or worse yet, despite precaution, gets hit by a car?
3. What type of lifestyle do I lead? Am I active enough to have something like a Rhodesian Ridgeback or should I stick with something that is happy to be cuddled up at home with a few walks a day for bathroom breaks.
4. Do I have enough room for a dog to run and play, or will I need to find a dog park close by to go to several times a week?
5. What kind of time do I want to spend on grooming? - Can I handle a dog that needs to be brushed several times a day or should I stick with a short haired dog that needs little grooming?
6. Do I have a Vet in mind to use when I get this Dog or Puppy? - You should know where you are going to take the new do you get because it is important that the
  dog get at least a physical, within a few days of acquiring them.