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!
"Dear Daniel, Your book was a lifesaver! Our 2 year old black German Shepherd, Jack, came to us from a woman who was not able to cope with him herself. When he came to us at the beginning of the year he was a total handful. He was boisterous, aggressive, skittish and unresponsive – outside the home. At home he was still boisterous and a bit aggressive but would sit or come every time. Our White GSD Charlie was diagnosed with cancer literally 3 weeks after we agreed to take Jack and had been moping since his spleen was removed but he perked up with some young competition so we were feeling good about having them together…until we took them for walks.
We almost never put Charlie on his lead – we just never need to. Jack however couldn’t be let off his lead.
He would drag me along behind him and strain against me to get to other dogs or cats or people that he could see and would panic once the door was open – struggling to get out and then trying to run off. It was distressing to say the least.
Jack was born and grew up in the one village so we have gleaned a lot of information from fellow dog walkers who recognised him and have seen our progress with him. We know the woman who gave him up to us loved him but couldn’t cope with him and a toddler so we think he just stopped getting walked. He was such a nightmare we can understand why. In the first month we were at our wits end and when I bought the Secrets to Dog Training books online we were a week from giving him up ourselves. We had the dominance training sorted from day one because we were aware that was going to be an issue otherwise but Jack had serious behavioral issues around food and walks that needed a lot of work. In the months since we got and read the books he has become a different dog! Everyone says so. We have recently been told people suggest us to friends in the area who have dog trouble and we have helped socialise several problem pups with Jack (because its good for him as much as them) all thanks to Daniel and his book giving us that extra knowledge that has really rounded out our own understanding. I recommend it ad nauseum! Jack still pulls on the lead he has good days and bad days but we are working on it (to be honest Charlie – our dream dog – has never been good on leads either). Jack now looks us in the eyes, can be walked off lead. Sits, Stays, Fetches, leaves – he is a great play mate. He sits and waits so quietly for his dinner we have honestly forgotten he is still waiting once or twice and he has come to remind us 5 minutes later! He doesn’t immediately run out if the front door is open and will happily sit outside with us if we are cleaning cars or talking out the front without dashing off. We have taken him from the most difficult, messed up dog – almost deliberately awful – to a great member of our family. He is fun. He is funny. He is a joy and we wouldn’t give him up for anything! And we wouldn’t have gotten this far without the wonderful hints, tips and explanations from Daniel in his online books. The best buy ever!! Bar none!
My other half is very good with dogs and even he was confounded by Jack but having the advice to hand in Secrets to Dog Training just turned it all around. We honestly have had dozens of comments on how good Jack has become. No joke!
Cheers Daniel – I really appreciate all your good work has done for us!"
-- Cara McLean (Cambridge, UK)
Hello Daniel,
I have purchased the books, and am now hoping you may be able to help me with a problem I am having.
We have been using your tips and our golden retriever is getting better about nipping, but now we have another problem.
She is left in the kitchen area while we are at work and she has started to destroy the potty pads we leave for her to eliminate on and it makes a giant mess in the kitchen.
Do you have any ideas or suggestions as to how to get her to not do this?
Thank you,
Jessica
Hi Jessica,
Thanks for your email regarding your Golden Retriever and her habit of ripping up her potty pads.
It sounds to me as though your dog is bored while at home on her own, and therefore destroying her potty pads helps to relieve some of that boredom!
There are a few things that I can suggest to prevent this behavior.
Firstly, please ensure that your puppy is supplied with lots of toys to keep her occupied. You can try rotating them for added interest. You should also give her lots of chew toys, including Kongs that allow you to add food to the centre, as these will often keep a dog busy for hours as they try to get all the food out.
Please ensure that your puppy is getting lots of exercise. Because of her age, longs walks are not appropriate, but a good amount of play will help give her the exercise she needs. If possible, you should have about 20 minutes of play time just before you go out. This will help tire her out, and will mean that she is more likely to rest once you have left.
I also recommend that you start organizing more things for your pup to do during the day so that she is not bored at home on her own.
For example, is there a friend or family member that could come visit while you are out? Even if they only visited for 30 minutes at lunchtime, it would help break up the monotony of the day for your pup.
Or, perhaps you could arrange someone with a dog to take your pup for the day. Play dates will not only help keep your pup entertained, but will also help with socialization.
You might even like to take your pup to doggy day care a couple of days a week.
Please make sure that you are not reprimanding your dog for ripping up the potty pads, unless you have actually caught her in the act. Even if you scold her 5 minutes afterwards, she will not actually associate the reprimand with the behavior, so she will only be confused and assume that you are scolding her for her current behavior.
Golden Retrievers are very much people dogs, and will often become destructive if they are on their own for too long. Therefore it is really important to try to keep her occupied using one or more of the methods mentioned above.
Good luck Jessica.
Daniel Stevens and the Secrets to Dog Training Team
"Secrets to Dog Training - STOP Dog Behavior Problems!"
Teaching How To Yawn
Getting your dog to yawn on cue requires that you spend some time watching him, then when he displays the behavior, quickly introduce the command (e.g. "Yawn for me"), repeat it a couple of times while he is still yawning, then give him a treat and lots of praise and encouragement.
This trick can take some time to teach (depending on how often your dog yawns), so the key is to be ready at the times when your dog is feeling sleepy, and most likely to yawn. Some dogs are even prompted to yawn after seeing you do it first.
It is also very important to praise him every time you see him yawn, so that he knows he is doing something that pleases you.
This will motivate him to continue the behavior.
Good luck, and have fun!
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...
So, if you want to:
Then Secrets to Dog Training is just what you've been looking for!
Previous newsletters
| 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |