3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

11146160_10204142826431254_1751037408_nThis is part 2 of a 3-part series on Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT), created by Grisha Stewart. Part 1 can be read here.  In the first part you learned about the basics of BAT and how a “perfect” session should look.  In part 2, you will learn why it is so effective for reactive/aggressive dogs.

1. BAT Respects The Dog

As a modern dog trainer, you know that the dogs on the other end of your leash deserve respect as thinking, feeling creatures.  Too many trainers feel that dogs need to be flooded to help them “get over” their fears or reactivity.  Even the best of intentioned force-free trainers may sometimes keep dogs right at their threshold point for counterconditioning and desensitization purposes.  BAT, however, never forces a dog to get closer to their trigger than they are comfortable doing.

2. BAT Gives The Dog Choices

As stated above, BAT gives the dog the ability to choose whether and how to approach their trigger.  Giving a dog the ability to make choices empowers him.  Empowering a dog can make a fearful dog more confident and help a reactive dog learn other, more appropriate ways of dealing with their triggers.  Letting the dog choose their speed and approach also keeps stress at a minimum, which makes learning easier.

BAT

3. BAT Teaches Dogs They Can Move Away

Though this may sound odd, sometimes dogs haven’t learned that they are capable of moving away from their trigger.  Starting at a safe distance allows them to learn this skill before they reach the point of no return and get magnetized to their trigger.  Teaching dogs that they have the power to retreat can keep a fearful dog from lashing out and give a reactive dog another option.

Want To Learn More?

Though BAT is simple, it is not easy.  If you are interested in learning more, you have the following options:

You can watch a lovely free BAT Overview video that Grisha offers.

You can also watch a full 2 hour BAT Intro Webinar that Grisha put out.  It is $29 but well worth the money if BAT is something you’d like in your toolbox.

Finally, to get the full immersion and become more proficient and comfortable in its use, you can take an online course called BAT 101.

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT) – What Is It?

As a modern dog trainer, you most likely enjoy learning about new techniques, or new twists on more classic techniques.  If you have not yet heard of Behavior Adjustment Training (BAT) by Grisha Stewart, you are in for a treat.  This will be the first of a three-part series discussing BAT, its applications, and most common mistakes made by trainers/owners.

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BAT My Dog?  What?

Grisha developed BAT after studying similar techniques and seeing how they could be tweaked to improve upon them.  Her own reactive dog, Peanut, was very fearful of people, and she was seeking a way to help him live his life safely and happily.  She is a firm believer in force-free training and empowering dogs, so she wanted a technique that would teach Peanut to acclimate to and even learn to like people, while always giving him the option of approaching or moving away.

BAT Basics

BAT is, quite simply, allowing your dog to make choices.  Permitting dogs to make choices empowers them, making them more confident.  So often, people want to control every aspect of their dog’s lives, thereby shutting their dogs down because they have learned that communication of their needs will just be ignored.  A conscientious trainer will help people learn where they can offer some leeway to their dogs and allow them to express their needs safely.

BAT can be quite dull to watch to the untrained eye!  In short, what it looks like is a dog wandering around on a long leash in an open area, occasionally glancing at whatever the item of their reactivity is.  It’s much more complex though.  As a trainer, you are teaching your clients to be lifeguards to their dogs.  Let’s consider that the small waves at the beginning of the ocean are a visualization of the dog’s threshold and under threshold means being several yards up on the beach away from the ocean.

When the dog is safely under threshold, owners follow their dogs and allow them to move where they’d like, sniffing what they like, peeing where they like.  In essence, being dogs.  However, at a distance at which your dog is still comfortable is their trigger, what they are fearful of or frustrated towards or aggress towards.  We’ll say it’s another dog for this article.

On The Shore Or Drowning?

So your client’s dog, Fido, notices his trigger, the other dog.  If he glances at it and continues wandering around, that’s great.  You’ve started at a safe distance.  At some point though, Fido is going to meander closer to the other dog.  Your job as a trainer is to help your client keep Fido from getting too close, beyond where he can handle it. Dogs can and will take themselves over threshold without our guidance. Essentially, keep him from drowning.  We want Fido at a distance where he has noticed his trigger and is interested, but can easily disengage on his own.

If Fido starts getting overly interested or too close to the other dog, the lifeguard (his owner) needs to step in and save him.  This is done through a variety of BAT leash skills that encourage Fido to turn away, rather than force him.  What you do not want is to get to the point where your client needs to haul Fido away on a tight leash.

A “perfect” BAT session should consist of Fido being able to explore his area and gather information about the other dog, on a nice loose long line.  Fido will sniff around the ground a little bit and then perhaps air scent the dog.  Because he is not too close, he will return to calm exploration of his area.  When permitted to move freely, you will see Fido approach the other dog in a gentle curve, without anxiety, fear, aggression, etc.  As Fido sniffs his way slowly to the other dog, his handler will get more involved, keeping him from going faster than he can safely and calmly manage.  With the help of his handler, Fido won’t get closer than he can handle, but he does notice his trigger.  Your client will only guide Fido if he starts stepping off the beach and into the water, getting too close to his trigger.

Stay tuned for part two of this three part series on BAT!

Want To Learn More?

BAT is very complex and one little blog does not do it the justice it deserves.  To learn more, you can watch a lovely free BAT Overview video that Grisha offers.

You can also watch a full 2 hour BAT Intro Webinar that Grisha put out.  It is $29 but well worth the money if BAT is something you’d like in your toolbox.

Finally, to get the full immersion and become more proficient and comfortable in its use, you can take an online course called BAT 101.

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

5 Tools To Aid Loose Leash Walking

5 Tools To Aid Loose Leash Walking

As discussed in a previous article, helping clients teach their dogs to walk nicely on a leash can be a struggle.  But there are some tools available that can help your clients manage their dogs and make walks more pleasant while assisting with loose leash walking.

Front Clip Harness

Harnesses are wonderful for keeping pressure off of a dog’s delicate and injury-prone neck area. However, to make a pulling dog easier to walk, you want to make sure the harness clips in the front, at the chest, not at the back.  Having a front clip harness can make loose leash walking easier because when the dog pulls, the front clip swings the dog around to face you which keeps them from getting a lot of leverage.  The most popular front clip harness is probably the Freedom Harness by 2 Hounds Design.

Waist Leash

It is remarkably frustrating for your clients to have their arms yanked around while walking their dogs. Hand-held leashes can actually hinder loose leash walking a bit because there is no set length for the dog to learn to work within; the leash is perhaps 6′ long when the arm is at the side, but when the dog pulls they can gain another 18-24″ from the arm getting yanked!  A good waist leash can provide consistency for the dog to aid in their loose leash walking skills while keeping your clients safe.  Not only do their arms not get jerked around because the leash is around their hips, if the dog does lunge they are much less likely to get pulled over because the leash is at their center of gravity.  A good waist leash that is safe enough for even the strongest dogs is the Dog-Safe Hands-Free Leash by Blue Dog Training.

Target Cue

A very simple hand targeting cue that has been heavily reinforced can make loose leash walking much more attainable.  When your client’s dog starts getting close to the end of the leash, they can cheerfully request a target and the dog will come back and bop their hand.  When rewarded for this frequently enough, the dogs will learn it might just be easier to stay closer in case their owner decides to cue them again.  Most dogs think hand bopping is great fun!

Large Safely Contained Area Or Long Line

Having access to a fully enclosed field or tennis court has multiple benefits when it comes to loose leash walking.  Your clients can allow their dogs off-leash safely to run some of the crazies off before going on a more structured walk.  Or they can stroll around the field and reward heavily when their dog comes by them.  This creates a dog that loves being around its owner!  If the area is not 100% safely contained, a long line can provide the same benefits.  Sturdy 50′ lines can be made very inexpensively from items at any large home improvement store.  Remember – a 50′ line actually gives the dog 100′ of running room, plenty to allow the dog to zoom off some of that energy.

Clicker And Treats

These are counting as one “tool” because they are a set.  Though all the above tools will make loose leash walking more comfortable for your clients, you still want to show them how to use their clickers and treats to train an actual loose leash walking behavior with their dogs, not just manage it. Management is great.  Training is better.

What tools have you found that help your clients manage comfortable loose leash walking?

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

Top 7 High Value Training Treats

Top 7 High Value Training Treats

7 Amazing High Value Training Treats Almost All Dogs Love

As a modern dog trainer, you know the importance of figuring out each individual dog’s likes/dislikes when it comes to training treats.  However, there are some foods/treats that are almost always considered high value in the minds (or mouths?) of dogs.  Just be mindful that as so many of these high value food items are not specifically for dogs, they may be extremely high in fat or sodium, or just have questionable ingredients (see #1!), so save them for training complex behaviors or locations that will require super high value rewards.

Please note – this is not an inclusive list nor is it necessarily an endorsement; these are some treats I personally use and have heard from other trainers they use and like. Additionally, some of the links here are affiliate links, meaning we earn a small commission (at no extra cost to you) if you make a purchase through them, helping us continue offering great advice for your dog training business; we only recommend products we believe in, and we value your trust.

Kraft Easy Cheese, AKA “Squeeze Cheese”

Perhaps the ultimate high-value treat – Kraft Easy Cheese!

Was there ever a human food more perfectly designed for dog training than squeeze cheese?  That lovely metal can with a nozzle at the end is perfect for relatively mess-free treating.  And you cannot get a more ideal treating method for muzzle training because the nozzle fits so well through the muzzle.  It comes in several flavors, though anything other than American or Cheddar can be difficult to find.  There is an elusive bacon flavor that is rumored to be THE ONE.

Peanut Butter

Old reliable.  There are very few dogs that don’t go crazy for peanut butter.  Whether you give them a quick swipe with their tongue directly out of the jaw, or dip a spoon or finger in to let them lick it, peanut butter is going to keep even the most distracted of dogs working with your clients.  It is also handy smeared on the refrigerator or another vertical surface to occupy a dog while getting a nail trim, or of course stuffed and frozen in Kongs or other stuffable toys.

Baby Food

Baby food is soft and stinky, pretty much ideal for dog training.  Also, seeing as how it is designed to keep human infants alive and healthy, it often contains less questionable ingredients than something like Easy Cheese or hot dogs.  Baby food also now comes in squeezable pouches for easy mess-free treating.

Hot Dogs

Kind of like peanut butter, hot dogs are a classic super high value training treat.  Whenever possible, get the nitrate/nitrite-free ones so they are at least slightly less unhealthy.  And remember, one hot dog can garner over a hundred treats if cut well.

Freeze-Dried Bison or Chicken


Freeze-dried or dehydrated meat/organs is considered “doggy crack” by those in the know.  Though it’s not overly stinky, it still can get the attention of most any dog in your vicinity.  One drawback is that the pieces are often kind of large, requiring a little work to break them into more appropriate treat-sized pieces.  The effort is worth it for such a mess-free, healthy, high value treat.

French Fries

Fresh, warm, salty, greasy french fries.  Nectar of the gods (dogs?).  Incredibly unhealthy, so definitely only use these in extreme moderation.  However, the lovely thing is they are soft so they are very easily torn into very small pieces so you can get a lot of training mileage out of just a handful of fries.

Fruitables Skinny Minis

These are relatively newer on the market but dogs seem to go nuts for them.  They smell really good, they’re small, they’re soft, not messy, and very inexpensive.  Almost the ideal high value training treat.

What are some other treats your clients’ dogs consider high value? 

3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

7 Things That Are Common Sense For Dog Trainers But Not Dog Owners

7 Things That Are Common Sense for dog trainers but not dog owners-min

As a modern dog trainer, you have invested a lot of time and energy into becoming the best, most educated trainer you can be.  Throughout this journey, many basic ideas were hammered into your head time and again, until they just became basic knowledge.  Unfortunately, sometimes these basic things are taken for granted by dog trainers and our clients are left hanging without this information.  Here are several things that dog trainers take as common knowledge but clients might not realize.

Click And THEN Treat

When teaching clients that are new to clicker training the basic mechanics, a lot of time is often spent repeating the mantra, “click and THEN treat.”  It seems a very natural behavior to click and offer the treat simultaneously.  As a modern dog trainer, you will gently remind your clients of the proper sequence of this until it becomes second nature to them, too.

“Have A Ton Of Treats”

When a dog trainer says, “have a ton of treats handy,” they are envisioning a gallon-size ziploc bag of small, soft, stinky treats.  When new clients hear this, however, their vision is slightly different.  What you often walk into is a client proudly bearing one small ziploc bag of crunchy cookies (see below!).  Make sure when you plan your first meeting with a client that you specify what you mean by, “have a ton of treats.”  And then take extras of your own.  *wink*

High Value Treats =/= Milkbones

Every modern dog trainer has been there – they meet with a client after telling them what kind/amount of treats to have, and the client has big hard biscuit-style treats.  As a pre-emptive strike, always specify, “small, soft, stinky, and lots of them!”

7 Things That Are Common Sense for dog trainers but not dog owners 2

You Have To Work Outside Your Formal Training Sessions

Working on skills learned in formal training with their dog trainer must occur even when the trainer is not present.  Five to ten minutes, once or twice a day is all that is needed, but even that can be difficult for some clients.  Emphasize that short sessions are okay, and even preferable!

“He Was Hungry”

As a modern dog trainer who understands the power that food can have as a reinforcer, you naturally know that a dog that is slightly hungry will work even harder.  However, your clients are unwitting victims of the “hungry dog” eyes and prone to feed their dog a large meal right before training.  Remind your clients that they should skip the meal right before training, or at least reduce it in size.

“His Tail Was Wagging, So He Was Happy”

This phrase can make even the most hardened dog trainer cringe.  It is vitally important that you help your clients learn basic dog body language, for their safety and their dog’s safety.

Sometimes He DOESN’T “Just Want To Say Hi”

Yet another phrase that can bring a dog trainer crashing to their knees in despair.  This can result from a couple different options.  First, your client’s dog is truly super friendly and they don’t realize how horrifying it can be to other dog owners to have a loose dog come rushing up to them and their dog.  Or second, their dog wants to do much more nefarious things than just say hi, but your client doesn’t understand body language.  Explain the importance of keeping dogs on leash when not safely contained, and not permitting their dogs to get in the face of every other dog in the neighborhood.

Training Is Not A Luxury

As a modern dog trainer, you realize the importance that training provides in a dog’s life in the form of mental stimulation, ability to adapt to different situations, and just providing the dog guidelines for living in a human world.  Make sure your clients realize that budgeting for dog training is just as important as budgeting for basic veterinary care.

What other concepts do you find yourself taking for granted while your clients are left hanging?

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

Product Review – Ruffwear Haul Bag

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A Review Of The Ruffwear Haul Bag

Behind every great dog trainer is a great training bag. Between treats, clickers, toys, notepads, treat pouches, harnesses, and leashes, it can be difficult finding an appropriately sized bag that isn’t super bulky and half the size of Ohio.  So when Ruffwear introduced their new Haul Bag, dog trainers everywhere rejoiced in expectation.  Ruffwear has a history of making extraordinary products and this bag was expected to hold up to their standards.

Ruffwear was gracious enough to send The Modern Dog Trainer a bag to try out.  To nobody’s surprise, this bag stands out in a large crowd of training bags.

This bag appears deceptively small.  It is 16.5″ long, 11.81″ wide, and 12.2″ tall.  It comes with two small handles for hand-held carrying as well as a shoulder strap.  It has a zippered top.  On one outer side, there is a large zippered pocket that goes the length of the bag.  On the other side are three mesh pockets, one perfectly sized for business cards, and then two larger ones.  On one end is a label that can be filled out with your contact information.

Notice the three pockets. The smaller pockets is perfect for business cards.

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Notice the label for your personal information on the bag.

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Inside Compartments Of The Haul Bag

It is upon opening the bag that the wow factor really kicks in.  The bag is gigantic.  It has what Ruffwear calls a “gatemouth” opening, which opens the bag to a full rectangle.  The inside, like the outside, has both a zippered pockets on one side and mesh pockets on the other side.  The bottom is wide and flat.

Notice one side with a zipper and one with pockets.

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IMG_4192I was pleasantly surprised to find that all the training gear that had maxed out my other training bag fit into the Ruffwear bag with plenty of room to spare.

Even when fully stuffed, the bag is lightweight and comfortable to carry.  When slung over a shoulder, it is less prone to knocking into furniture, vehicles, dogs, and people than other training bags due to the smaller dimensions and tapered top.

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The Haul Bag is not inexpensive; however, with the sturdy materials and craftsmanship, as well as the lovely yet simple design, it is a bag you will not have to replace in the near future. If you are a professional trainer, be sure to join Ruffwear’s Pro Purchase Program for a discount on their items!

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*This bag was given to The Modern Dog Trainer for free for the review. Our opinion of this product was not affected by Ruffwear’s generosity. We participate in Ruffwear’s affiliate program in order to support this blog and our dedicated contributors.

3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

Fear And Anxiety Can Shorten Dogs’ Lives

Fear And Anxiety Can Shorten Dogs' Lives

Fear And Anxiety In Dogs Causes Damage

Nobody enjoys seeing frightened or anxious dogs.  It wrenches at the heart-strings as we internalize how we feel when anxious.  But this study makes it even worse.  It speculates that fear and anxiety can actually shorten dogs’ lives.

In this article, “The Unexpected Dog Killer,” pulled from Scientific American, the author points out that even though modern-day dogs have relatively comfortable lives, they do still face many stressors – repeated separations as owners go to work, variable schedules, frequent mixing with strange dogs and people, and then of course fireworks (which prompted the article’s writing).  In some dogs, these stressors cause fear and anxiety, either generalized or specific.

This study was formulated by questioning owners whose dogs had died within the last five years.  There were 99 questions for each owner, and 721 people participated.

The study came to two conclusions:

  1. “Being afraid of unfamiliar people (often called stranger-directed fear) predicted decreased lifespan. Dogs with extreme stranger-directed fear died six months earlier than dogs without.”
  2. “Non-social fears (like showing fearful behavior towards “noise, unfamiliar objects, traffic, storms, wind, new situations”) did not predict lifespan, but non-social fear and separation anxiety did predict both severity and presence of skin problems in adult dogs.”

Studies in rats and other species have also shown that chronic stress affects health and lifespan.  One study showed that rats who were constantly fearful died sooner than their more relaxed brethren.

How This Applies To Training

So, as modern dog trainers, what does this mean for us?  First, it means it is crucial that we become fluent in canine body language so we can help owners see when their dogs are exhibiting fear and anxiety.  Next, it requires us to remain up to date with compassionate methods to help dogs learn to overcome/work through these fears.  Lastly, it means we need to help our clients maintain an open mind regarding pharmaceutical or supplemental intervention to help dogs deal with their fear and anxiety while counterconditioning and desensitization are occurring.  This can be aided by having a good working relationship with a veterinarian in your area.

 How do you help your clients identify fear and anxiety in their dogs?

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

Research Shows Dogs Value Control As Much As We Do

One of the myths of force-free dog training is that the dogs are simply working for food, and once the food is gone, the obedience will be gone.  You, as modern dog trainers, know that is far from the truth.  However, here’s a study that was done that also disputes that myth.

Research Shows Dogs Value Control As Much As We Do-min

“Do Dogs Get That Eureka! Feeling?”

This study, done in Sweden, took 6 matched pairs of Beagles.  The Beagles alternated between the experimental group and the control group.  Six pieces of equipment were present. Three of the pairs would manipulate the pieces of equipment and the other pairs would manipulate the other equipment.   The room the experiment took place in had a runway with a gate that led to the reward (either food or human attention).  During the experimental group, the gate would be opened once the dog had successfully manipulated their equipment.  During the control group, the gate would open after the same amount of time the dog in the experimental group took, regardless of what actions the control dog was exhibiting, and the same reward would be given.

What they found was that the experimental dogs were incredibly eager to get into the room, while the control dogs started eager but lost interest after two or three times and the experimenter had to start coaxing them into the room.  They were less eager while in the test room and would sometimes bite or chew on the equipment, which none of the experimental dogs had done.  When the runway gate was opened, the control dogs were much faster to leave the room to pursue their reward.

Regarding rewards, when the reward was food or time with another dog, the control dogs left the arena more quickly than the experimental dogs.  However, when the reward was human petting, both groups of dogs left at the same rate.  Both sets of dogs were more active though when the reward was food.

Conclusions From This Research

So what does this study teach us?  Well, a couple of possibilities.  First, the experimental dogs were in control over their environment.  The gate to the runway opened after they successfully manipulated their equipment.  Secondly, they were problem-solving.  They were getting mental stimulation.  The control dogs had no control over their environment and they got a reward no matter what they did. Lack of control over one’s environment is stressful. All animals, including humans, thrive when they have control over their environment.

The researchers said, ““The experimental animals in our study were excited not only by the expectation of a reward, but also about realizing that they themselves could control their access to the reward. These results support the idea that opportunities to solve problems, make decisions, and exercise cognitive skills are important to an animal’s emotional experiences and ultimately, its welfare.”

So, as modern dog trainers, how can you use this to your benefit?

  • Encourage your clients to use enrichment toys with their dogs.
  • Play nosework games.
  • Give the dog the opportunity to EARN treats, not just receive them.
  • Most importantly, give the dog some control.  If you can tell the dog is uncomfortable in its environment, remove it.  Follow the dog’s lead.  Encourage your clients to take meandering walks where the dog gets to choose the direction they go and when they are going to stop and sniff.

What other things can you think of that allows dogs to have some control and problem solve?

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

10 Qualities Of Great Dog Trainers

10 Qualities Of Great Dog Trainers-min

There are many dog trainers in this world.  Some are amazing, some are so-so, and let’s be honest, some are downright dodgy.  As a modern dog trainer, what are some traits you should possess to be considered a great dog trainer?

1. Patience

Patience is indeed a virtue, is it not?  Especially when dealing with clients and their dogs.  Maintaining your patience is key to helping clients learn without feeling like you are getting annoyed with them.  They didn’t understand your directions the first three times?  No problem, you’re willing to explain it again because you are patient and you understand that people and dogs learn at different rates.

2. Sense of Humor

Maybe this should have been number one?  On those days where it feels as though everything is going wrong and like the dogs are out to make you feel like a failure of a dog trainer, keep that sense of humor.  Learn to keep it light-hearted.  If you get frustrated, nobody benefits.

3. Creativity

Dog trainers all have their standard ways of teaching tasks.  What happens when the dog or client just isn’t getting it though?  You get creative!  You use butt scratches (for the dog, not the client!) as rewards.  You completely revamp the environment so the dog can succeed.  You use interpretive dance to explain a technique to a client.  In short, you get creative to get things done!

4. Flexibility

Not necessarily physical flexibility (though let’s be honest, when an untrained mastiff is launching himself cheerfully at your head to say hello, some gymnastic skills can come in handy!), but more mental flexibility.  Sometimes you will get a client that just does not want to do something the way you want them to do it.  Not out of lack of understanding, but just because they don’t want to.  Be flexible.  Pick and choose your battles and work around your client’s desires.

5. Confidence

Have some faith in yourself!  So often, dog trainers downplay their skills and training.  I would bet that your clients think you are fantastic.  I would bet that your fellow trainers think you are fantastic.  You’ve put a lot of work into your training skills and business, so be confident about talking yourself up.

6. Humility

On the flip side, keep it humble.  Don’t be a braggart.  But mainly, do not take on clients that are over your head.  There is no shame in saying, “you know, I’m not qualified to help you, but let me recommend you contact so and so!”  People respect that.  And honestly, it will keep you, your clients, and their dogs safer.

7. Open Mind

You can learn a lot from other trainers, even those who do things differently than you do, or even those who use techniques you’d never use (or will no longer use, if you are a crossover trainer).  You can learn something from everybody if you just keep an open mind.

8. Diplomacy

Tact can be difficult.  But you need to keep that internal filter on your mouth working.  Blurting out, “you’re an abusive person for using a collar like that!” will not gain you any clients, nor will it help change any minds.  Try instead, “I used to use those collars, too.  They certainly do work, but do you know about the potential issues that can arise from their use?”  Remain non-judgmental and be careful in your wording.  That old adage of catching more flies with honey than vinegar is true.

9. Tolerance for Being Dirty

If you are a neat freak, you may be in the wrong field.  Between dirty paws, slobber, dog hair, and residue from stinky treats being wiped on your pants, you don’t have a dream of staying clean!

10. Hoarder of Dog Equipment

Perhaps this is just much-needed justification for never getting rid of anything, but sometimes it can really come in handy!  Having equipment on hand (different types of no-pull harnesses, head collars, flat collars, martingales, muzzles, etc) to show as examples to clients can help make things clearer for them.  Also, since all dogs are shaped differently, sometimes one type of equipment will fit better than another.  One size does NOT fit all when it comes to dog equipment.

So what qualities do you think great dog trainers should possess?

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3 Reasons To Use BAT With Reactive Dogs

3 Approaches to Teaching Loose Leash Walking

loose leash walking

Loose leash walking.  *insert ominous music*  Sometimes teaching loose leash walking to clients can feel like the bane of every dog trainer’s existence.  It’s not that the skills needed are difficult.  No, it’s the consistency and patience that are required that can make it so tedious.  So, as a modern dog trainer, what are some ways you can help teach loose leash walking to your clients?  Here, we’ll examine three videos that may be of benefit.

“Polite Walking On Leash” by Ines Gaschot

loose leash walkingThis first video shows how starting simple can make such a big impact.  Ines starts on the porch with her dog, Loker, simply clicking and treating for a loose leash while working in a small, relatively low distraction location.  Ines illustrates how to increase difficulty via distractions and duration of behavior.  She then does some troubleshooting for forging and offers alternative ways to reward dogs (changing up treat delivery, sniffing breaks, etc).  She offers helpful tips at the beginning and end of the video.  This video is fantastic due to its simplicity.  It will be easy for your clients to grasp this concept and put it into play, even after you are gone.

“Clicker Training Loose Leash Walking” by Casey Lomonaco

Casey’s approach to loose leash walking is to emphasize the placement of treat delivery.  Careful and consistent treat placement means the dog learns that being beside the owner is a Very Good Place to be.  She starts slow, just standing in one place.  She then begins pivoting 90 degrees each time to encourage the dog to start moving into position.  After the dog is confidently doing that, she begins taking large single steps, changing direction frequently.  To introduce longevity into the loose leash walking, Casey uses the “300 Peck” method.  By the end of this short video, her puppy, Cuba, is politely offering loose leash walking even though he is off leash.

“How Do I Teach My Dog Not To Pull On Leash?” by Kevin Duggan

Kevin takes a different approach from the two videos above.  His method is incredibly useful for dogs that aren’t as food motivated, or dogs that are in a highly distracting area.  He teaches the dog that all forward movement stops if the leash gets tight.  He then turns and goes another direction (“penalty yards”), teaching the dog that pulling towards a desired object actually makes it go further away.  Kevin uses his voice as praise a great deal, some treats, and also a toy that his dog desires.

 Conclusion

These videos all are highly simple and effective even though they use three different methods.  Your clients will all have different learning styles, so being able to offer them several options for teaching this skill will ensure they have success.

What other methods do you like to use to teach your clients loose leash walking?

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