The Omlet Blog Archives: November 2019

10 Common Dog Training Mistakes

Girl holding dog's paw, sat in Omlet Fido Studio Dog Crate

It’s a fantastic achievement to transform that over-excited, jumping, weak-bladdered puppy into a trained and trusted friend and companion. The transformation isn’t automatic, but comes about through persistence, organisation, and a few simple dog training tools.

You can find several training tips on our Omlet Dog Guide. Here, we’ll highlight a few things that can slow down the training process.

1 – The training sessions are too long

This is definitely rule number one. Training takes a lot of canine concentration, and if you overdo it, your dog will become bored and/or impatient. And frankly, so will you. A training session should be between five and ten minutes. After that, it’s time out. You can resume the training with another 10-minute session an hour or so later.

2 – You’re getting impatient

You might think your dog is the cleverest pet you’ve ever met. But he’s still a dog, and not a human, so you shouldn’t expect miracles. A dog has to concentrate to learn new commands, especially ones that go against his natural instincts to run, bark, eat, and jump up to greet people. Many owners lose patience when, for the umpteenth time, the dog fails to respond to a command, lies down instead of sitting, forgets to wait when you tell them, and so on.

As soon as you lose your temper, your dog will sense the hostility and begin associating training with human anger. Understandably, he’ll not be too keen on taking part in future sessions.

3 – You’re on auto-repeat

If your dog fails to get the hang of a new command or trick on the third attempt, let it go. The mystified mutt will have made three incorrect guesses, and getting it right after ten attempts will not make the training stick. Revisit these ‘fails’ in later training sessions. Review your approach – was it too vague, too similar to another command, or have you fallen into the traps mentioned in points 1 and 2 above?

Similarly, if your dog fails to lie down when you say “lie down”, don’t repeat the command endlessly. It will tell the dog he doesn’t need to respond immediately, or it might make them think that the command for ‘lie down’ is actually “Lie down! Lie down!  Lie down! Lie down! Lie down!…etc.”

4 – Everyone’s moody

If a dog is tired, grumpy, hungry, or expecting his regular walk, a training session isn’t going to go down well. The same applies to the human trainer – if you’re not in the best of moods, the dog will know, and neither of you will be in the best frame of mind for a training session.

5 – The default approach is punishment

There are two ways of training a dog – the old-fashioned correction-based method, and the much better ‘positive reinforcement’ method. The old way involved punishing a dog for getting things wrong, while the modern way is to reward them when he gets it right. Some owners mix and match the two methods, which can be confusing. The poor dog doesn’t know what’s coming next – a tasty treat or an angry gesture.

You should never shout your dog’s name in anger or as part of verbal punishment either, or he will come to associate his name with negative things.

6 – The training is inconsistent

Always use the same command words for each action, and make sure the dog performs the required action once he’s learned it. If you give the command and then let it slide if the dog doesn’t bother responding, you’re undermining the process. When training a dog you’re establishing sets of rules, and consistency is the only thing that’s going to make them stick.

If using a dog clicker, make sure the clock is reinforced with a treat. And don’t click loads of times for a single training action or behavior, or the click will lose its meaning for the dog.

7 – The training is tailing off

If a dog learns new tricks and performs well in early training sessions, it doesn’t mean the behaviors will stick in his head forever. They need reinforcing every day over the dog’s early months, otherwise he will get rusty (a bit like you trying to recall those school French lessons 20 years later). Some owners make the mistake of thinking a paid-for training session can replace a year of regular and patient training. It can’t.

8 – Bad behavior is being rewarded

If a dog is misbehaving, it can be tempting to shout their name angrily, and then reward them with a treat or attention when they decide to come. To a dog this means bad behavior = reward. Ignore the bad behavior as much as you can and draw a line by distracting the dog by asking them to sit or lie down (without using his name). You can then reward the good behavior.

9 – You’re overdoing the treats

If dog treats are given too frequently or the portions are too large, your dog may decide, later, that he will only listen if there is food involved. There are also health issues involved with overdoing the snacks too. Praise, play and affection are just as important as food treats when training.

10 – A bull terrier can’t be a sheepdog!

There’s no single ‘best way’ to train a dog. It depends on breed and temperament. So, don’t rely on previous experience or the advice of another dog owner, if the dogs in question were completely different characters. 

No dog is born pre-trained. But by avoiding these 10 common mistakes you’ll make the training much more effective, ensuring that everyone involved – human and dog – has a great time during the process.

Dog sat down listening to owner during training

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This entry was posted in Dogs on November 22nd, 2019 by linnearask


How to Keep Your Pets Safe This Thanksgiving

TURKEY

Let’s start with the most important thing – the turkey. The smell of the bird is going to be irresistible to pets, and they will try anything to get their paws on some meat. Never give your pet raw turkey, due to the high risk of salmonella from raw poultry. If you want to give your pet something, limit the treat to small amounts of cooked meat, but it’s best avoided completely. 

The carcass will be almost as tempting, especially when it comes to dogs, but the bones could cause serious injuries to their digestive system. Never leave the carcass out on the kitchen counter or in a trash bag on the floor where your determined dog or cat can get to it. To minimise the risk of illness and injuries, it’s best to dispose of the carcass in a secure trash bag and take it out as soon as you’ve finished with it. Remember to add any wrapping or string that the bird came with or that you have used while cooking it. Don’t underestimate how nice that smell is to your pets, and how hard they will try to get to it!

OTHER HUMAN FOOD

Too much people food can cause stomach problems, and in bad cases inflammation of the pancreas. Our festive food is often too fatty, too salty and too sugary for pets (not to mention poisonous in some cases), and they are better off not having any of it. 

If you want to spoil your pet for Thanksgiving, why not give them a new toy or a nutritious treat that has been especially designed for their species?

TRAVELS

If you’re crossing state lines or international borders, your pet will need an updated health certificate from your vet. Read up on the requirements for the states you will be visiting or passing through, and make sure your pet is good to go. Ideally this should be done a few weeks in advance so you have time to get an appointment with your vet. 

While traveling, take regular breaks and make sure that you’re pet is safe and comfortable while you’re on the move. Depending on how long you’re going to be away for and what pet you have, it might be more convenient for both you and your pet to leave them behind and ask a neighbor or a friend to check in on them while you’re away. 

UPDATED TAGS AND MICROCHIPS

Whether you’re travelling somewhere your pet hasn’t been before or you have guests going in and out of your home over the holidays, the risk of them getting lost or running away is much greater than normal. Make sure your pet is chipped and that the information is up to date.

SAFE SPACE

While some absolutely love it, a lot of pets can get nervous when lots of new, unfamiliar people visit. If your pet is on the nervous side you might want to make sure they have somewhere set aside for them where they can go if they’re feeling stressed or need a break from all the hustle and bustle. 

A crate is a perfect place of safety for a dog, but a cat will also love a cosy den to curl up in. Give them their favourite toy and some water, and let them relax in their pet haven for a while.

RULES

If you have people coming over, make sure they are aware of the rules concerning the pets. Show them which doors and windows need to be shut, tell them when they should leave your pet alone and when it’s okay to approach, and let them know that they should not feed the pets leftovers. 

Lots of plants and flowers that we use for decorations around Thanksgiving can be harmful to pets. Cats are often more at risk as they can reach most decorations, and are more likely to try to nibble a centrepiece, or that bouquet you put on the side table, but dogs and smaller animals like rabbits and hamsters can also suffer.

Try to choose flowers that are not poisonous, or that don’t cause gastrointestinal upset. When it comes to decorations such as pine cones, cornucopias, candles and flameless lights, be sure to keep them out of pets’ reach as much as possible. Never  leave your pets unsupervised in a room with candles or an open fire.

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This entry was posted in Cats on November 22nd, 2019 by linnearask