1. What do I need to begin? - You will of course need your dog(s)! In addition, you will need a regular buckle or snap collar, head halter, or harness, a four or six-foot leash, and lots of tiny, tasty treats that your dog can quickly eat.
2. What is provided by Shake, Waggle, and Roll? - We will provide you with a Treat Bag, Clicker, detailed handouts and homework assignments, my instruction and guidance, and additional help in between classes via phone and/ or email when needed.
3. What will my dog learn? - Behaviors include, but are not limited to:
Each program will be tailored to suit the needs of you and your dog(s)!
4. What will I learn? – In addition to learning the methods to teach your dog desired behaviors, we will discuss *problem* issues including housetraining, chewing, barking, jumping up, etc.., management of those issues, and how to teach alternate, more acceptable behaviors.
5. Do you use food for training? Why? – YES! Food is a very quick and effective way to let your dog know they have just done something right!
6. Will I always have to use food to get my dog to do what I want? – No, once you have taught your dog the desired behaviors, you can start to *fade out* the food and use *life rewards* in exchange for good behavior. Life rewards include anything your dog finds exciting to do such as tug, fetch, going outside, chasing squirrels (within reason and only in safe areas), a belly rub, ear scratch, and sometimes, your dog will find the new behavior he has learned to be rewarding in and of itself. Of course, I do still suggest you use treats once in awhile!! After all, don’t you still expect a paycheck for the work you already know how to do?
7. Won’t my dog get fat from using food for training? – This is a possibility if too much food is used and your dog is not getting enough exercise. Keep your treats very small and healthy, make sure your dog gets adequate exercise, and keep your training sessions frequent, but short, and this should not be an issue. Remember, you can use a portion of your dog’s daily ration of her regular food as training rewards if she likes it well enough or you can mix it in with something really tasty to make it more appealing! Just be sure to subtract this amount from regular meal times.
8. Why don’t you use punishment in training? – Punishment is a method that carries a lot of baggage with it.
Punishment can cause aggression. For example, you and your dog are out for a walk when a well-meaning child runs up to pet him. Your dog tries to jump on the child and you scold him or *correct* him with a jerk on his choke chain. You think you are teaching your dog not to jump, but what you might be teaching your dog is “Uh-Oh here comes a kid, last time that happened, I felt sharp pain in my neck and my owner yelled at me, I better get this kid to go away fast...growl, bark, lunge
If done too often or too harshly, you can wind up with a dog that shuts down (learned helplessness) and does absolutely nothing for fear of being reprimanded. This does nothing to help your dog learn, nor does it do anything for your relationship.
Lastly, it can be a very daunting task to always be on the lookout for *bad* behavior; Why not teach your dog to automatically give you the right behavior from the start?
9. What is a clicker and why do I need it? - A clicker is a small, plastic box with a metal tongue that makes a clicking sound when pushed and released. A clicker, once paired with meaning for the dog, is a great way to tell your dog that he just got it right and is about to get a reward!
To learn more about clicker training: Click here !
10. Will I have to use the clicker forever? – No, once your dog has learned the new behavior, you can *fade out* the use of the clicker and save it to teach something new.