Training Tip Tuesday, AGILITY, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my fellow canine companions. It's Riley the extraordinary canine with some tips for your human. Training, socialization and exercise are all very important to our overall canine health. If you have just gotten to your new forever home or even if you have been there for years it is important to incoporate training, socialization and exercise into your routine. Cool trips to the dog park or doggie day care to play and meet all your neighborhood pups is a pretty cool thing. Training classes are also fun. My human enrolled me in a basic obedience class where I learned all these cool tricks like "sit and stay." Although I learned these tricks 35 dog years ago my human still practices these basic techniques with me everyday. She tells me if I don't use it I lose it so practice, practice.

My human says it's very important to continue to socialize me throughout my entire life and to make sure I get plenty of exercise. That's why we are joining an agility class! There are basic obedience or cool agility classes you can sign up for and as my human always says "a tired dog is a good dog." Come join me in a class to learn new things, play, socialize and get down right pooped (I don't mean literally). See you there!

Riley

CEO (Canine of Extraordinary Obedience)

AnytimeK9,LLC

If you are in the Washington, DC area and are interested in trying out agility classes with Riley, check out the AnytimeK9 website, click on Services, then Group Classes. The new agility classes for beginners and advanced pups start this week! You can also check out some basic training classes if that is what you need.

Training Tip Tuesday, POOP EATERS, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week I would like to tell you a story of how my human helped solve a problem her friend was having with his new puppy. My human called the problem Coprophasia but us dogs know it as poop eating. Poop eating is more common in puppies but can happen at any stage of our doggy lives. I have know many poop eaters in my day and other than stinky breath, they were all great four-leggers. However, since humans seem to think that poop eating is such a disgusting habit the names in this story have been changed to protect the innocent. For the sake of saving muzzle we will call the pup discussed in this story Poopster.

The first thing humans must understand is why we eat poop. Some of my canine friends have told me they ate poop because they were hungry, needed vitamins or were just plain bored. Poopster told me that poop just tastes good! Whatever the reasons are for eating poop don't matter. What does matter is that if you don't have all if your vaccinations and worming treatments you can get diseases from poop eating and more importantly your human will stop giving you kisses!

Tell your human to take you to the vet if they think your poop eating is due to an underlying medical condition. Otherwise, tell them to try feeding you a well balanced nutrient filled meal so you get all your vitamins. Also tell them to try feeding you twice a day so you don't get really hungry and eat your poop. Make your human take you for long walks and give you lots of exercise and mental stimulation like fetch and "find it." Finally make your human teach you a trick called "leave it" so you will leave your poop alone. It worked for me, I mean it worked for Poopster. Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

Training Tip Tuesday, BOUNDARIES, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week I want to tell you about something I learned long ago, something called "boundaries." I don't know what the word means but my human says it is important. Five years ago when I was just a pup I came to my human's house and it was the best thing that ever happened to me. I had my own bed, my own food bowl and my very own stuffed animal named Wub Wub. My good friend Wub Wub and I went everywhere together.

It was great until one day Wub Wub and I jumped on the couch right after coming in from a long run. My paws were filthy and the couch was white! Well immediately my human said "off" and made Wub Wub and I get down. "This is my house" I barked and jumped back on the couch. Again we were made to get down. My human explained that we had to have boundaries and were not allowed on the couch unless invited up. Well this was news to Wub Wub and I so we tried several more times over the course of a week but everytime we were told "off" and had to get down. When my human was not home she put barriers up so Wub Wub and I could not get on the couch. My human said that it is important to be consistent and to establish limitation so I can respect her as my confident and fair pack leader and she is right. Wub wub and I think she is awesome. Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS--If you live in the DC or NYC areas and are interested in training with AnytimeK9, check out their website. Be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, DROP IT, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week my human taught me something called "drop it" and I learned it pretty quickly. My human taught me this trick right after I borrowed one of her socks for my chewing pleasure. When she saw her sock she tried to take it back, however I did not view it quite the same way. I thought it was an invitation to a little tug of war challenge so I happily abliged. I was wrong and my human seemed a little bothered by the whole pulling thing. It was then that I learned "drop it."

My human took me to a quiet room and dropped a sock in front of me, the same sock as before judging by the holes. Of course I excitedly grabbed the sock. At this moment my person put one hand under my mouth, offered me a treat with her other hand and then firmly said "drop it.". Well of course the treat was way more tasty so I dropped that sock like a bad habit. As soon as I did my person told me what a good boy I was and gave me the treat. That's it! My person and I practiced with the sock and other things like shoes, clothes and toys. Soon my human began to treat me every other "drop it," but she would always say "good boy." Nowadays when my human says "drop it" I do even if there is no treat. I just like to hear my two favorite words, "good boy." Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS--If you live in the Washington, DC or NYC areas and are interesting in training with AnytimeK9, check out their website. Be sure to tell them Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, LOOSE LEASH, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week my human taught me something called "loose leash walking." Apparently our humans don't really like it when we pull them down the street. I always thought the walk was all about me but my human says that she determines the speed and direction of the walk. As long as I get a walk, my human can go as fast or slow as she wants.

So my human took me outside to begin our walk as usual but this day something was different. Every time I tried to pull ahead of her she stopped abruptly in her tracks and just stood there. I looked up at her and thought "move it missy" but she just waited until I stopped pulling and returned to her side. Sometimes she would quickly change directions whether I was paying attention or not. We must have done this 30 times. We only walked a block that day but she never let me pull. Later that day she drove me to the dog park so I could burn off some doggy energy but I was off leash so that was easy. The next day we tried the same thing and again I tried to pull. She stopped in her tracks or changed direction just like before. I was begining to get frustrated but then it happened. We began to walk and my leash was loose and not taut. Just then my person congratulated me on being a good boy. "Eureka" I thought. As long as my leash is loose we keep walking, but once it is taut we stop. I finally figured it out. Now we walk any and everywhere and I stay by my persons side. We both enjoy our walks much better. So this week's moral: slow down. Pass it around.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS--Loose leash walking is a tough thing to learn, and some dogs and their people need some specialized attention to get this one down. If you live in DC or NYC and are interested in training with AnytimeK9, check out their website and be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, BE GENTLE, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week my human taught me a fun trick called "be gentle" and it was very cool to learn. You know my saying, so many treats so little work. The same applies here. So my human waited until a little while after I ate dinner to teach me this trick. She grabbed a yummy treat and we went in a quiet room. "We need to be calm" she said. "Are you nuts?" I thought "but you have a treat so how do you expect me to be calm!" Anyway she put the treat in the palm of her hand and slowly moved the treat toward me as she said "b-e-e-e-g-e-e-n-n-t-l-e." When I lunged toward her hand she closed her fist, pulled her hand back and calmly so "n-o-o-o." She repeated this series of events until finally I did not rush to grab the treat. I simple opened my muzzle and g-e-e-n-t-l-y licked the treat from her hand. "Good boy" she said but still in a very calm voice, by the way is anyone else getting sleepy?

My human was very cool and composed and after a little while I felt my paws and ears relax and I felt like a gentle little mouse. Ok maybe the mouse analogy is not that relaxing for you terriers but you get the idea. Just think "be gentle" and your rushed feeling will melt away. Now that I take treats so gently I get them from my human's friends and even my 5 year old human neighbor who loves her big woof woof. That's me. A big gentle woof woof. Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS--If you live in the Washington, DC or NYC areas and are interesting in training with AnytimeK9, check out their website. Be sure to tell them Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, WAIT, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week my human taught me a fun trick called "wait" and it was so easy to learn. My human uses wait at doors so I don't bolt through first. "Wait" can be used any time a human wants their dog to hang out for a minute before continuing with a task like at doors or before a feeding.

Actually, the way she taught me "wait" was at the door. We used the back door just in case I got out so I would not run into traffic. My human swiped her hand down in front of my nose like a karate chop and said "wait." Slowly she tried to open the door and as she did I tried to run out. She immediately closed the door and waited for me to calm down before she tried again. She tried this over and over until finally when she said "wait" and then opened the door I just sat there. She walked through the door first and then said "good boy" and told me to follow her. I did, and then got an awesome treat. Very cool I thought to myself. I figured I could wait as long as forever if I am gonna get the yummyness once I am done.

I overheard her say that wait keeps her from tripping over me because she goes through thr door first. However, lets be honest, if she is tripping over me when I run in the door, isn't that due to her two-legged clumsiness and not me?! Humans, they don't have enough legs to keep them balanced so if "wait" will help my person stay on her feet I will happily oblige. Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS--If you live in the DC or NYC areas and are interested in professional training with AnytimeK9, check out their website, and be sure to tell them Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, SHAKE/HIGH FIVE, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This week my human taught me a fun trick called "shake/high five" and it made me look so cool. I show off in front of other humans and dogs alike when my person's football team scores. The coolest thing about this trick is that it's like learning two tricks in one. First I learned "shake" then I learned "high five."

So my human sat down on the floor in front of me with my favorite treat in one hand. She picked up my paw with her empty hand and shook it while saying "shake." She gave me a treat right after shaking my paw and told me what a good boy I was. I know this already but it's always nice to hear. She continued to grab my paw and say "shake" until finally I just gave her my paw as soon as she asked for it. Well she said very excitedly "you are such a good boy" and gave me three treats this time. Awesome! My human is so cool. She began to stand up now and ask me to shake and I did every time. She would shake my hand up an down and then treat me.

Well needless to say it did not take me long to catch on and I was shaking like a pro when she added another step. She stood in front of me like she was going to ask for a shake but when I lifted my paw, she hit my pad instead of grabbing it and said "high five." "What just happened?" I thought but I got the treat anyway so I didn't mind. She continued to lift her hand and as I hit it she would quickly say "high five" and treat me. Eureka I thought. I get it now. Hold on to my paw and move it up and down is a shake. Hit my paw in the air is a high five. Too easy. So many treats so little work. Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS If you live in the DC or NYC areas and are interested in training with AnytimeK9, be sure to check out their website. Be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, Loving Your Kennel, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your humans. This tip is called "kennel." My human introduced me to my kennel when I was just a pup looking for a safe haven. She tossed yummy treats in it and said "kennel." Sometimes she gave me stuffed kongs in my kennel and let me explore it for a couple of days before she closed the door behind me. She even fed me and gave me water in my kennel until I began to go in on my own. She would say "kennel" and point to my little home while tossing in a treat. I began to think of it as my very own perfect place in the world and I loved it.

Recently I over heard some of my human's friends say that kennels are scary places for dogs but my human, being the great trainer she is, assured them that this was false. "In fact," she would say, "kennels are great for dogs if used properly and not used to punish or serve as an all day enclosure." I listened while she explained that dogs are den animals and feel more safe and secure when allowed to sleep in an enclosed area that they can call their own. I know this is true except for the den part because I like the dining room and kitchen just as much as the den, but whatever. Pass it on.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimeK9

PS If you live in the DC or NYC areas and are interested in training with AnytimeK9, be sure to check out their website. Be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, Human Greeting, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your human. It seems that some humans don't know how to approach us if they do not know us. They are not sure how we communicate and so they go about greetings us all wrong. Well don't worry once again I am here to save the day.

The very first thing your person should do when approaching a new dog is ask your human "may I pet your dog?" This may seem like an unessasary step but it should not be taken lightly. Usually your person will know if you are the type that has a tendency to get a little nippy or even aggressive and will tell another human in advance. The next step is not to make quick sporadic movements because as you know this can sometimes freak us out and cause us to panic. Tell your human that the best thing to do is be calm and relaxed and pet us underneath our chins instead of on top of our heads. This minor detail may change the act your human is performing from suspicious to soothing and that, of course is what we live for, to be loved. Pass it on.

Riley

CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimK9

PS If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training

with Anytime K9, visit our website for more info. Be sure to

tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday, CRAWL, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my fellow canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your human. This week I learned this neat trick called "crawl" and it was so easy to learn. It was so easy that I thought about letting my human know that I was not really working for the treats, but then I came to my senses. What was I thinking! Free treats are one of life's simple pleasures.

Anyway, I learned how to "crawl" by doing a slight variation of what I already knew, "down." My human asked me for a down and I enthusiastically cooperated knowing that treats were close. Then while I was in a down position, she asked me to come. Well I hopped up to come but she said no and asked for a down again. I thought my human may need a nap because she is asking me for a come while I am down. Then it hit me, "you can do both!' I started to inch my way toward her treat hand which was low to the ground and close to my nose. Then as I moved forward she said "good boy" and gave me the treat. I just kept on inching my belly across the floor and eating those treats. As I got better she started to say "crawl" instead of "come." That's it! So many treats, so little work. Pass on the news.

Riley

CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimK9

PS If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training

with Anytime K9, visit our website for more info. Be sure to

tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday: TOUCH, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my fellow caninine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your human. This is a pretty cool trick and It was so easy to learn. The trick is called "touch" and apparently it is a targeting excercise, whatever that means. All I know is whenever I am out on a walk and I hear "touch" I do. Nothing else is more important, not even another dog!

So one day my human sat down next to me with a bunch of my favorite morsels in one hand that she put behind her back. She used the palm of her other hand to touch my nose. Everytime she touched her hand to my nose she said "touch" and then gave me some deliciousness from the hand behind her back. She continued to do this for a little while but then she said "touch" and put her palm an inch away from my nose. "That's not cool," I thought, and moved my nose to touch her hand. Well do you know that she said "good boy" and gave me the treat? How cool is my human! Treats for doing almost nothing. She started to move her hand around. First slightly to the right, then left, then up then down but I never lost track and ever time she said "touch" I did. That's it! So many treats, so little work. Pass on the news.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordiary Obedience)
AnytimK9

PS If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training

with Anytime K9, visit our website for more info. Be sure to

tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday: PRACTICE, sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my fellow caninine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your human. Remember when you first came to live with your human at your new forever home? Remember how cool it was to have a new family and how they taught you all these cool tricks like "sit and stay"? Well, when is the last time you actually had to practice? You know the saying goes "if you don't use it, you lose it". My human practices these basic techniques with me everyday. But, we dont designate a time to practice, we practice in our everday lives! Let me give you an example. My human taught me "sit and stay" 35 years ago (dont think humans count like us but you get my drift). Now that I know "sit and stay" like the back of my paw, she asks me to "sit and stay" when she is whipping up some delicious morsels in my bowl or someone knocks on the door. We practice everyday just in more practical ways. I "sit and stay" at traffic lights when we are walking and definitely when my people are eating. This way I never forget. Pass the word.

Riley

CEO (Canine of Extrordinary Obedience)

Anytime K9 LLC

PS If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training

with Anytime K9, visit our website for more info. Be sure to

tell them that Scoop sent you!

Training Tip Tuesday: FOCUS, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my fellow canines. It's Riley with another tip for your human. I just learned this cool new trick called "focus." It was so easy to learn and the treats were awesome. All my human did was take a piece of yummy deliciousness and put it close to my nose. Once I smelled it I was hooked. Then she raised the tasty morsel to her eye. I looked at that treat the whole way. She said "focus" as she did it and I just kept on staring. Well, I thought, "you can't get any easier than that, follow the treat, get the treat, simple." Little did I know there was a little more involved because the next time we tried this game she took the treat from my nose out to the side of her head. She said "focus". Well of course I did not let the treat out of my sight but for some reason she didn't give it to me. So I stared harder and harder at the scrumptious bit but that did not work either. Finally I looked her right in the eye to make sure she was paying attention, and she said "good boy" and gave me the treat. Well, you can imagine my surprise. As it turns out, I get the food when I look at her, Not when I look at the treat. Go figure. Pass the news around.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extraordinary Obedience.
AnytimeK9, LLC

PS: If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training classed or private lessons by Anytime K9, please visit our website. Be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you

Training Tip Tuesday: Barking, Sponsored by Anytime K9

Hello my canine companions. It's Riley with another tip for your human. How to stop us from barking is something that many two-legged pack members have tried to do. What they don't realize is that they can't. We bark. That's what we do. The trick is to teach us the appropriate time to bark. Yes we should let our people know when there is someone lurking around the door, but sometimes we need to just keep our big muzzles shut!

Us dogs bark for various reasons. We bark because were excited. We bark because were bored. We bark because were territorial. We bark because were fearful or bossy. Heck sometimes we even bark because we learned that it gets us things from our humans. There are so many reasons we bark. The trick is to figure out why we are barking. I used to bark to protect my territory. I barked mainly when people came into our house. I couldn't control myself and I would go nuts whenever someone came to visit. My person started making me go to a certain place where I had to sit and stay and wait until the people came in and then said hello to me. She called it my"greeting spot" and whenever I was in this place I had to sit quietly no matter how much I wanted to bark. She mentioned something about her being the pack leader and only she, not me would, determine who was allowed into the pack. I began to welcome the arrival of visitors. The doorbell would ring and I would trot right over to my "greeting spot". Once the humans came in they would give me love and treats. The only thing left to do was sit around and listen to them barking at each other all night, except I think they call it talking. A happy ending once again.

Riley
CEO (Canine of Extrodinary Obedience)
AnytimeK9,LLC

PS: If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training classed or private lessons by Anytime K9, please visit our website. Be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you!

PPS: For more about the science behind barking, check out Scoop's earlier post here.

Training Tip Tuesday: JUMPING, Sponsored by Anytime K9

My name is Riley and I am a 5-year-old chocolate Labrador Retriever. I used to jump on my human because I really wanted to get her attention especially when she first came home. I jumped so she would look at me and pet me and maybe even throw the ball. Sometimes I even jumped to demand she acknowledge me.

Of course we dogs know these are the reasons we jump, but most people don’t know that. Well do you know what she did? She did just the opposite of what I wanted. Every time I jumped on her she turned away and crossed her arms. She would not even look at me. So, I would walk around to see her face and when I jumped she turned away again. Well of course I became frustrated and barked at her, “hey don’t you see I want you to play!” but she just ignored me. I was so upset that I sat down and do you know what happened next? For some reason she turned around and pet me. Just like that! Well I got so excited that I tried to jump up and show her how much I loved her. Again, she turned around and ignored me.

After a few times I began to realize that when I was calm and not jumping she would look at me, pet me, and sometimes even throw my ball. It was pretty amazing!

My friend Lincoln’s human tried to do the same to him but he kept on jumping anyway. Those shepards are pretty persistent. Finally his human put on his leash and stepped on it to prevent him from jumping. He did not realize this at the time and continued to try and jump until he was pooped. He finally sat down and just then she looked at him and told him what a good boy he was. How cool is that?! My person tells all of her friends to ignore me if I jump. When I sit calmly in front of them they give me attention and sometimes I even get a treat!

Life is good when you don’t jump on your human. Spread the word.

Riley

CEO (Canine of Extraordinary Obedience)

AnytimeK9, LLC

PS: If you live in the DC or NYC area and are interested in training classed or private lessons by Anytime K9, please visit our website. Be sure to tell them that Scoop sent you!

Introducing Anytime K9

It took me a while to get adopted because I was not always on my best behavior--but no one ever taught me what that meant! When my person adopted me, she hired a trainer, Tonia Woods-Wilson, founder and CEO of AnytimeK9, to help me control my enthusiasm. Tonia really knows dogs, and she is graduate of the Animal Behavior College. Just goes to show that just because a shelter dog isn't perfect, it might be because no one ever taught them the right way to behave.

I am excited to announce that Tonia and I are working together again! Tonia, my first sponsor, will be a guest contributor to the Scoop, writing a column called "Training Tip Tuesdays."

Tune in weekly for tips, or if you need some extra help and live in the DC or NYC areas, you can sign up for training with Toni personally. She does private training and classes. Be sure to tell her that Scoop sent you!

[If you are interested in sponsoring the Scoop or advertising your business, email me at Scoop@dailydogscoop.com.]