If you are looking for the greatest gold-mine of easy to use "change your dog's behavior" advice ever crammed into a newsletter series then read on!
Also, make sure that you check out our 100% authentic testimonials from people who have bought Secrets to Dog Training and find out the massive difference it has made to their owner-dog relationship!
"My first contact with Jeze was when I spotted a dark shape moving under a pile of rubble whilst I was out doing street ministry one night. I didn't even know what kind of animal she was at first, but reasonned she wasn't a fox because of the absence of the distinctive smell. I began leaving small amounts of food, and after a few weeks, my new friend had enough trust to remain out of her hidey while I was near. She was given the name Jezebel by a street friend of mine, who attempted to speed the process of getting her from her hidey, and was nipped by a terrified animal for his trouble.
Jeze, as she is now known was terribly emaciated when I could eventually check her over properly, and extremely timid. I noticed she appeared to have had her tail docked, although later, when I managed to gain her confidence enough to take her to a vet friend of mine, I discovered that she was in fact tail-less, she is a schipperke. We bathed and de-flea'd her and gave her as much of a health check as we could without causing her too much stress, and then she adopted me. She proved to be quite intelligent and quickly learnt to walk with me when I was using my frame (I have decreasing co-ordinated movement in my right side, the result of a brain tumour), and loved riding with me on my scooter, although she remained extremely nervous. I then heard about the Sit Stay Fetch series of books, and purchased a copy. Through using Daniel's suggested training techniques, Jeze began to overcome her nervousness as well as becoming more responsive to the requirements imposed on her by my own disability.
Jeze is now a member at my Church, where she sits quietly beside me, and accepts the attention and tributes from everyone in the congregation, (although we do have to limit the number of 'just one' treats surreptitiously given to her). She is also a favourite when I'm out street ministry and quite often it is she that manages to break through the barriers of some of the more abused of the street folk. It's sometimes hard when Jeze is introduced to others ahead of me, but it is wonderful to see the change that a little patience, gentleness and training have made in her. Now that I am finding it even harder to walk, we rely on my scooter a lot more, on the occasion when it breaks down and we are forced to walk any distance, she remains seated on the seat with an expression on her face that clearly exhibits her displeasure. I even have to remember now to disengage the key to the scooter when we're stopped chatting with people, because Jeze has been known to decide it's time to move on, and depress the lever to move us forward.
I recommend the Sit Stay Fetch Training series to any dog owner, but particularly for those with rescued dogs, which often have behaviour problems, for which the reason is not truly known."
-- Margaret & Jeze Richardson (Blackburn South, Victoria, Australia)
Dear Daniel,
We adopted our rescue Border Collie about 5 months ago and she is now a little over a year old. We have had great success in solving a lot of the problems she came with but are left with one on-going problem and would like some advice.
She constantly steals things off the kitchen table. We are careful not to leave anything that might encourage this like food but she still takes anything that is within reach such as the wash up brush or cloth or spoons or plastic bags. We are not so worried about these items but are concerned about the hygiene aspect of her having her paws on the table and probably licking the table.
We have tried using sticky tape along the edge of the table and it makes no difference. We are not able to catch her in the act as she always waits for everyone to leave the room or even goes back to the kitchen when we are all seated just to check if there is anything worth stealing!
We would be very grateful for your advice.
Kind regards,
Karen.
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your email. I can imagine that this can be quite a frustrating issue.
The fact that she is not just stealing food items signals that this behavior is most likely either driven by boredom, or by a desire to attract your attention.
If this is a boredom issue, ensure that your dog is getting plenty of exercise. Border Collies are active animals, and require a lot of attention, and physical and mental stimulation. Supply her with lots of toys, and rotate them for added interest. Chew toys with food treats in the centre are great, because they are self rewarding, and will often keep your dog occupied for hours at a time.
If this is an attention seeking behavior, you should ignore your dog. Even if you yell or chase your dog, she has still learnt that this is an effective way of getting your attention. Instead, totally ignore her, and praise her once she has dropped the object.
I have heard of some dog owners having success by putting cardboard on their bench or table surface, so that it sits over the edge, then balancing a can of coins or pebbles on the overhang, so that when the dog jumps up, she knocks the can to the floor. The loud noise it makes acts as a deterrent to repeating the behavior.
You could also try sneaking up on her. When you see her head for the Kitchen, quietly follow her, and if you catch her stealing something, or even showing an interest in an object on the table, rush in shaking a can of pebbles and growling a guttural growl. Then give your dog a time out in a room where there is little to keep her occupied.
Or, try coating some items in an aversive substance, such as Bitter Apple spray or cayenne pepper and leaving them on the table for her to find.
I hope this helps Karen. Good luck, and please let me know how you progress.
Kind Regards
Daniel Stevens and the Secrets to Dog Training Team
"Secrets to Dog Training - STOP Dog Behavior Problems!"
I've been a professional dog trainer for well over 20 years, and in that time I've helped thousands of dog owners just like you to get the friendly, well behaved, slipper fetching, best pal they always wanted.
But it didn't start out that way. I've always loved dogs, some things never change. But when I first started my professional dog training career I relied on the so-called 'best practices' when it came to dog behavior training. It was only when I heard people tell me over and over again that they just weren't seeing results that I started to question the old accepted wisdom. So I started a journey, a quest to search out the best, most effective, techniques, tips, and tricks that really work.
And that's how I came up with Secrets to Dog Training. Year after year I found new techniques that achieved the results I wanted. Eventually I had a whole book worth of great resources: Secrets to Dog training...
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