Group Lessons for our dogs are an important part of the Off Leash Dog Training’s Train as you live™ system.

Usually chain stores and part time dog trainers use the group lessons to maximize their profit/ per dog training hours. Here at Off Leash Dog Training in Charlotte we do things differently.  Our group lessons are designed to take your dog’s obedience to the next level.  This is why  you must first complete first phase of your dog training to attend any group lesson.   If you are an Off Leash Dog Training client and are new to group lessons please read this post BEFORE attending your first group lesson.

But….   Why even bother with group lessons ?  Especially when your dog is finally listening to all your commands.

As we see it dog training group lessons have the following benefits:

Socializing  your dog with other healthy, happy, balanced dogs and people who are also committed having a good relationship with their own dogs (as you know we’re a different breed of people also)

Controlled Distractions We all agree that you know your dog is trained for off leash obedience when your dog can ignore distractions of real world.  Best way to get our dogs’ obedience to the next level is to give them opportunities to learn in a positive environment where they can get some wins.  We suggest group of dogs who listens to their owners provide just that.

Obedience Proofing  Knowing what to do and actually doing it are not the same thing.  It’s no secret that many of our customers (when they first call us) start by saying something like “My dog is a great dog. Will come, sit, shake….but only when he wants it.” This means your dog knows what to do, but being disobedient.  You can only keep your dog safe to the extent of the reliability of any given command.

Finally, and this is very very important is our group lessons and exercises are designed to help you Integrates dog into your family.

Someone much wiser than me once said  ” What gets measured improves.”  This has been true in many aspects of my life from note taking in classroom to off leash dog obedience training classes we offer in Charlotte,NC  and Fort Collins, CO.

Regardless if you are new to our dog training programs or an Unleashed client (someone who has graduated from one of our off leash dog training programs) one common tread that unites us is the desire to be able to do more with our dogs.  That’s what we mean by “Train as you live.”

The very best way to take your dog training skills to the next level is to measure your progress between training sessions.

Here are some questions you can pretend that I will ask you in our next dog training session

1) How many dog training sessions did you do since last training session? Formal/Informal

2) What commands/experiences did you work on with your dog?

3) What problems did you discover about your dog’s understanding of your commands and were you able to fix any?  If not what were you not able to improve

4) How is your relationship with your dog since last dog training lesson? better/worse/same

That’s it.

Please notice all of these questions are about the relationship between YOU & YOUR DOG, not anyone else in your pack (ie wife/husband/boy friend/neighbor/mom/dad).  Another important issue is you are seeking progress, NOT perfection.  If you and your dog are doing better that’s the right direction .

Keep going and make it count.

If this is too deep or if you are not familiar with Off Leash Dog Training way please contact us to set up a Free Consultation with your dog.

Off Leash Dog Training Charlotte owner Turk Akbay is a regular contributor for WCNC-NBC36 Charlotte Today Show.  On his monthly segments called Carolina’s Dog Master he covers variety of dog training issues as well as other important dog related subjects like how to select the best dog for your family, safety issues about dogs.  Because of the popularity of the show in Charlotte, he frequently receives lots of dog training related questions.

This ongoing blog post is for the answers for those questions he could not answered on air.

PLEASE NOTE: Without seeing your dog it’s really hard to diagnose the triggers and suggest a solution. Therefore please view these answers in that context. We offer FREE Consultation to evaluate your dog if you want to work with us.

Q: What do you do when you dog refuses to potty on a leash? He was trained with a fenced in yard and now we don’t have one.  I take him out and he heels wonderfully but refuses to potty.Then comes in and pottys in the house-Suzanne M

A: Your dog is not comfortable when on leash, so he feels restricted which disturbs his thought pattern. Start by making your dog comfortable being on the leash.  One of the ways to deal with this is to actually have the dog wear the leash longer.  Try this:  For about one week whenever the dog is in the house, eating, and hanging out have him drag the leash around. This is going to reduce your dog’s reaction to being on the leash, and at that point he should be able to pee and poop regularly.

Q: Why is my dog so aggressive towards some people and not others? – Jennifer R.

A: This is kind of hard to answer without knowing the background of the dog, but dogs are visual learners, so if they have a negative experience with a specific looking person (ie someone in uniform, people of color, children), as a defense mechanism when a similar looking person appears, they’ll react according to their prior experience.  We deal with this type of issue regularly.

The best thing to do is repeatedly expose the dog to the people who appear like the one they are not comfortable with in a comfortable environment. We use the PLACE COMMAND and HIGH VALUE TREATS while treating this type of behavior.

Q: My five month old female pit bull mix gets so excited when she sees people she wets in the floor. Is this something she may grow out of?- Elizabeth O.

A: This is common among dogs that are not very confident. It’s called submissive peeing or excited urination.  Usually it will go away with age as the dogs gets a little older and more confident. It would be helpful to use some CONFIDENCE BUILDING EXCERCISES.

Q: My dog won’t let anyone touch him (but my husband and I) and if they actually do he yelps and carries on but is fine once he is by me or my husband. He is 8 years old and it has gotten worse with his age. We tried xanax but that has not helped. Any suggestions? -Lori B.

A: It sounds to me like the dog is getting comforted  for yelping and running to the owner. So yelping and running to  you is reinforced.  Because it’s working for him he keeps doing it so it feels like it’s getting worse for you.

Ignore this behavior; Instead of comforting him.  Also, have lots of people touch the dog to desensitize him to being touched. It’s not to late, you can teach an old dog new tricks!

Q: My Bijon was kicked on the stairs by a tile man a couple of years ago. now any time a man comes to the door that she does not know we have to lock her up or she nips their heels. We have tried introducing her to people outside, on a leash, but that does not work. What can we do?- Mary R.

A: This is the same idea as the kind of dog who reacts badly to certain people. Your dog needs to be reintroduced to similar kinds of people under good circumstances. (Of course preventing the dog from biting the people.) When a new person comes to the house, give the dog a treat maybe for sit or come and praise the dog for the command in the presence of the new person.  Give him something to do instead of focusing on and going after the new person.

Q: My Pit/Lab mix Roxanne is the MOST AMAZING DOG EVER!!!!! She is so eager to please and doesn’t have a hint of agression in her. HOWEVER, we can NOT keep her from chasing the cats, we have an Orange Maine Coon and now a new baby all black Kitten named Mia…any advice on how to Keep Roxanne from Slobbering all over my kitten every day?!?!?!?! – MOrgan S.

A: We call cats interactive dog toys. )  It’s natural for a dog to want to chase your cats. We regularly work with clients that have this kind of problem.  The best thing to do is teach the dog to respect the boundaries of the cat.

Q: Daisy Mae is 3/4 cocker & 1/4 the vet thinks maybe lab & she came from a home where the pups were abused by the man of the house. Was told she was 6 weeks old but the vet est. her age at less than 4 weeks. She has severe separation anxiety …but it has improved in the 6 + yrs we have had her. Now she only cries (sings?) when I return from anywhere but we can’t get her groomed. Have tried sev. times & always get called back in less than 30 min. or they just refuse to do her due to her fear. She backs into a corner & gets very vicious baring teeth, growling feriously, etc. None will let me stay while she is being groomed or neither will they muzzle her–saying it is against the law. What in the world can we do to get her looking pretty oh so pretty? lol Been doing it myself but I am def. not good at it. Please HELP Daisy Mae & her Mom. - Teresa A.

A: Change your groomer – they can legally use muzzles and it would really help in this situation. The muzzle would help because what is reinforcing that kind of aggressive behavior is that it is working for her. If she can be put in a muzzle and get groomed, she’ll realize that acting that way doesn’t work and being groomed isn’t so bad.

Q: I have two chihuahuas one of who loves EVERYONE including any dogs (male dog) and the other who is skid-dish of humans and aggressive towards dogs(female dog). The older she gets the more aggressive she is getting, she recently attacked my …other dog over his food bowl and when I went to discipline her she growled at me and tried to bite me, this is also happening more and more. If I tap her on her bottom she just gets more aggressive and I tend to be scared of her and she’s a 15 pound chihuahua. I think she was abused as a puppy which can explain the shyness towards other humans but how do I get her over being aggressive towards me and other dogs? She once tried to attack my fiances niece when she came to give me a hug bye, i’m terrified that when we have kids of our own she will be aggressive towards them. Help -Julie B.

A: Call us. We can help! Dealing with aggression can be tricky. The last thing we want is for you to lose your hand!

Unlike chain pet stores like PetSmart & Petco on our group lessons we work on advanced obedience rather than divide the cost among more people.  Because we work on harder issues  although non graduates can observe, to participate in Group Lessons dogs must graduate first.

Following are the guidelines are here to maximize everyone’s gain in their dog training journey.

♦    The power of group lesson is “the group.” If there are less than 3 clients RSVPed 48hrs. prior to the group lesson, we will cancel that session. NOTE: Group lessons do not meet on Bad weather and/or National Holidays. The most accurate calendar is located on our Facebook Events page.

♦    You must RSVP via our Facebook FanPage or email Off Leash Dog Training  Office more than 48 hours before the class to reserve your place in the group session.  If you attend without registering, you may be asked to observe (rather than participate in) the session.

♦    In order for our group sessions to run smoothly, owners and dogs must be prepared. If you are using a remote collar please make sure it’s fully charged, and your dog understands/perform all commands taught during the private lesson portion of the “Ultimate Training Package.”  Clients who are unprepared, will be welcome to observe, but may not participate.

♦    Before starting the training, all dogs must be on-leash, and dogs deemed people- or dog-aggressive must be wearing a well-fitted muzzle. Mesh muzzles are not acceptable.

♦    We want all members of our group to be safe and comfortable at all times.  New dogs and owners will be methodically integrated into the group.  Do not allow your dog to approach newcomers either on- or off-leash until the trainer has indicated that it is safe to do so, since this can be intimidating and dangerous.  If you are a late comer wait until you are OKed to get in.

♦    Dogs deemed reliable by the trainer may be off-leash during certain exercises, as well as during free-time. However, with respect to the latter, please watch your dog and keep him/her away from bystanders, dogs that are new and not off-leash or not comfortable enough to join in.  You are responsible for your dog at all times, so please monitor your dog’s behavior.

♦    For safety reasons, during outdoor sessions, children, dogs, and other adults not participating directly in the class are not allowed on or near the training field.  All children under ten years of age must be directly supervised by an adult not participating in the session. Children must not approach any dog without permission of the trainer or the owner. Not all dogs are comfortable around children, which may lead to unpredictable behavior.  When classes are held indoors, and due to space constraints, non-participants may not attend.  Please note that this does not apply to a child over the age of ten who is directly handling a dog, or couples alternating sessions.

♦    Owners who have more than one dog enrolled should decide before arriving, which dog will be worked during that particular session, unless there are two handlers. You may also choose to split the session and work each dog separately, but one handler may not work two dogs simultaneously, since this creates confusion for both dogs.  If you plan to work only one dog that day, it is best to leave the other at home.  You may choose to bring a second dog along, but he/she must remain either inside your vehicle or away from the training area, on-leash, and under the direct supervision of another adult or older child who is capable of controlling barking and behavior.

Looking forward to seeing you at our group lessons!

Whenever we are training dogs with treats there are 2 options for our dog to receive her rewards (ie treats)

1) Direct Reward: Dog receives the reward  as soon as she hits the mark directly from the handler.  Since the dog is immediately  rewarded for a specific behavior, direct rewards are great for letting our dog know exactly when they hit the mark, keeping our dog excited, and keep their focus on the trainer/handler

2) Indirect Reward: Dog receives the reward not directly from the handler but away from the handler. Since indirect rewards  require the dog to perform the task/behavior and then get their rewards from elsewhere it requires her to focus on the performance of the behavior rather than the trainer/handler. One of the biggest benefits of the indirect rewards is it builds confidence on dogs because they are doing something, finishing it, then getting the reward.

Here is a video demonstrating the INDIRECT REWARDS featuring one of our JumpStart students Zada Jane.

On this session I want Zada Jane to look at me.

First she starts on the placeboard and when she looks me in the eye she is “Released” and gets her reward from remote controlled treat machine.

Next, she goes on the placeboard, I wait for her to look at me before releasing her to receive her reward.

Next, she has to “Come” to me and “Look” at me and again released to get her treat. After that once again she goes on the place board and look at me to get her treat.  Finally she has to “Come” to me and “Look” at me. She will guessed and went to placeboard first, but when didn’t get the release she quickly fixes the problem and offers the behavior I wanted before getting her treat from the machine.  Please contact us if you have any questions.

Whenever you are training your dogs on a new command/trick   first start by teaching your dog what you want her to do.  After all it’s not fair to keep your dogs accountable for results for something we didn’t train he on.  Best way to do this is by luring the dog thru the exercise (command).  Give lots of praise and high value treats to keep the motivation up.

As your dog begins understanding the exercise you are training and execute it well repeatedly it’s time to give treats intermittently instead of every time your dog obeys the command.

Studies have shown that once a dog clearly knows what the command means, if you are not always giving her a treat she will try more consistently.  Another words by offering a treat unpredictably makes your dog give a greater effort.

Try it and let me know how well you did.

Puppies can be trained from a very early age as long as you don’t expect too much of them right away.  Your puppy has already been learning from her mom and litter mates for several weeks.  Although by seven weeks of age the puppy’s brain has reached an adult dog’s brain development, the next 6-8 weeks are the most crucial time for your dog’s social skills and you should be actively seeking opportunities for your  puppy to be exposed to many things (like children, trash cans, loud noises, other dogs).

Begin training your new puppy the moment that you bring her into your home. Remember, you are setting house rules & boundaries that will be in place for a lifetime.

At this early stage focus on the basics; house training, your pack’s rules, and learning to wear a collar and walk on a leash.
When training your puppy, remember that your puppy’s attention span is very short.

Here is another timely episode of Carolina’s Dog Master with Turk Akbay of Off Leash Dog Training.

Turk discusses the potty  training with Larry Sprinkle about Dos and Don’ts of Potty training.

Enjoy.

Whenever we bring a new dog to our house we need to be careful.  This is true even if it’s a for a few minutes, but especially important when you actually bring a new dog to your home for good.  Like during holidays.

Unfortunately every year hundreds of dogs and their owners get severely hurt (with all the good intentions) because they thought it’d be OK to put both dogs out in the back yard and let them sort it out.

As I have mention on the WCNC 36 Charlotte Today show There are a few steps you can take to make sure everydoggy gets along well handsomely.  Here is another post on the subject written by my Ridgeback Djembe back in 2009

First is to remember not to super impose your values on your dogs.  Older, Bigger, My sweetie etc. are human concepts and dogs will not obey by those guides.  Meaning ?  New dog maybe a higher ranking member pretty quickly (as in 2 seconds) regardless of size, age, breed

It’s best if you can make the meeting take place in a neutral area where the scent of the existing dog is not imprinted on everything/everywhere.

Take both dogs for a walk and insist on a good walk (loose leash, proper location in relationship to the guardian (this is you) and of course not competing with the other dog for a lead position IT IS YOUR WALK.  this will help reduce the stress on both dogs.

It’s a safe practice (we do this on the first day of our JumpStart students) for the new dog to spend first couple of days in the kennel/crate.  This practice will everydoggy safe while they get used to each others smells.

If you need further help please contact us or visit our Facebook page and post your question.