New Class Schedule for January

Happy New Year!!! Check out our new class schedule for January/February 2011! Unleashed has a new location in El Dorado Hills and is ready to help you meet those 2011 Dog Training Goals. Register Early because class sizes are kept comfortably small to ensure a well-managed, productive environment for you and your dog. Go to www.unleashdogtraining.com to register online

Online Shopping Now Available!!!

Unleashed Dog Training & Behavior Center has a new shopping page on the website. Unleashed offers all the essentials of positive reinforcement training. Harnesses, bait bags and tie downs can now be purchased online and delivered right to your door!!!

Check it out!!!
www.unleashdogtraining.com

Quick Tips for a Solid Stay

It seems most dogs who have taken any obedience class know what stay means. Stay, or don’t move from the position I put you in, can be an incredibly convenient command for owners. How many of you can honestly say that your dog’s stay is solid? Will they sit and stay when you see a friend outside of Starbucks in El Dorado Hills? Will they lay down and stay when you have guests over for dinner on these warm Sacramento evenings?

These are the kind of stays that we’re talking about. The key to a successful stay is practice. Generalize your stay command by practicing it in a number of different places. Don’t combine duration and distance when you are first starting out. Practice one at a time. Keep the exercises short and successful. Most owners push it too fast and set the dog up to fail by not reinforcing enough and setting unrealistic expectations. Practice with minimum distractions and gradually build, making sure to praise often. And finally, make sure you have a specific release word that your dog understands to mean he is done with whatever you’ve asked of him.

Obedience is fun for you and your dog. But, remember it can also be a huge help in achieving your long term lifestyle goals in dog ownership. Do yourself and your dog a favor by continuing to practice and build on the obedience you’ve already achieved.

Why Take Advanced Classes????

We all know that our dogs need some obedience training. Most people agree that a beginning level class that is well-managed and well-taught will benefit you and your dog. However, many owners have unrealistic expectations of a beginning level class. A beginning, or basic obedience class, teaches you how to communicate with your dog and teaches your dog how to learn. It does not teach your dog, or you, all the obedience you will need for the rest of your dogs life. Think of it this way, if you stop training after a basic obedience class, it’s like sending your child to Kindergarten-Third Grade and then saying, you’re all done with school. Obviously, kids, and dogs for that matter, need more school!!

Unleashed Advanced offers the next level in training. Advanced Classes focus on applying what you’ve learned in your basic class, but adding distractions and adding distance. The sit stay and down stay don’t do you any good if your dog won’t do it with distractions! The come command is essential, but will your dog listen and respond when he’s playing with another dog at Folsom Dog Park, or following a scent on the Serrano Trails in El Dorado Hills? These are the challenges we face as dog owners. However, in saying that, it’s important to understand that dogs need to be taught these behaviors with distance, duration and distractions in mind. Just because a dog knows sit in your living room, doesn’t mean he knows it at your child’s soccer game. Dogs need to generalize behaviors before they become reliable. That’s the cornerstone of “Unleashed Advanced.”

For more information about Unleashed Dog Training & Behavior Center located in El Dorado Hills, check out some more posted blogs or email unleashmk@comcast.net for specific questions.

Combine Training with Play

Owning and caring for a dog takes a lot of time and commitment. Plus, for dogs who need a lot of exercise, you not only have to find time to run the dogs but you need to find time to train the dog as well. Who has that kind of time??? Remember that combining training and play can save time and create a more solid understanding of commands for your dog. For instance, let’s say you have one of those ball-crazy, “I’ll do anything for the ball” dogs. Although taking her to the park and chucking the ball 50 times will do wonders for her behavior around the house because she’s just plain tired, why not incorporate some training into that ball chucking? Kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. Can she sit before you throw it? Can she lay down? If she knows these commands, then she can do them for the ball. She may not know she can at first because she doesn’t know how to think when the ball is present, but with patience and clarity on your part, she will learn how to think with the ball and she’ll even learn to think faster because the reward is not a pat or a treat, but it’s what she wants most at that moment...for you to pull your arm back and hurl that ball as far as possible. Another example is asking for a sit or a heel on the way into the dog park. It may take some repetitions but your dog will figure out that the reward does not come until the behavior you are asking for is accomplished. So, on those beautiful days in El Dorado Hills, take your dog to the park to the throw the ball or to the Folsom Dog Park and have her work for what they want most…entrance to the park!

New January Class Date

Group classes seem to be a little difficult to find in the El Dorado Hills/Folsom area. I find that many trainers do not recommend group classes as an effective solution for training. Why is that? Well, it’s most like because these trainers don’t offer group classes and/or have never taught group dog training classes. Effective dog obedience classes are a wonderful, affordable way to train your dog. Many group classes are 6-8 weeks long and are designed to teach you how to train your dog. Most group classes will cover basic obedience commands like sit, down, stay, loose leash walking, coming when called and not jumping up. If done well, group classes provide a positive, well managed environment for your family and your dog. The cost of group dog training classes can range from $90-$200 for the whole session. This cost is in great contrast to private lessons which can range anywhere from $100-$300 per hour session. In addition to being more affordable, group classes can provide an opportunity for much needed socialization and a “support group” for owners with new dogs. Mandy Kennedy, owner of Unleashed Dog Training, has taught successful group classes for 15 years and teaches now with 4Paws University (www.4pawsu.com) in Sacramento. Unleashed offers group classes in El Dorado Hills at Lakehills Church. Please contact Mandy @ unleashmk@comcast.net or (916)605-9778 for any dog related questions.