News from Peta’s Action Center Alert

We have news about an exciting victory for animals!  Thanks in large part to e-mails, letters and phone calls, Utah legislators have amended state law so that government-run animal shelters are no longer required to sell dogs and cats to laboratories for use in cruel and deadly experiments.  Until now, Utah was one of only three sates that still mandated that animal shelter engage in this shameful practice.

This effort comes on the heels of a recent PETA undercover investigation at the University of Utah.  The investigation revealed that each year, more than 100 homeless cats and dogs from government-run animal shelters in Utah were sold to the university for use in invasive, painful experiments that are usualy deadly for the animals.

With the passage of this new law, homeless animals in Utah and the people who care for them, can rest a little easier.

(information gathered from peta.org)

Weekly Training Tip – Body Posture

Body Posture Affects Your Dog Interactions (March 24th)

I have signed up for 10 weeks of body work with my wonderful friend, Dan Schmidt, owner of Open Hand Body Work.  He does Feldenkrais and Structural Integration.  Look it up if you want to learn the details about what this is.  This week I am writing about how my sessions with Dan have changed my life and how you can apply it to training your dog.

Imagine someone coming up to you and asking you for support.  The person isn’t even looking at you.  The person is actually slumped over with their shoulders forward.  Now imagine a person coming to you asking you for support and this person is giving you nice direct eye contact and he / she is standing upright.  Which person are you going to be more receptive toward?  Probably the person who is standing upright.

The way you carry your body affects every interaction you have including the one with your dog.  I have had muscle pain for years.  In fact, I was the person who slumped over.  My back and shoulders hurt immensely when I even tried to stand up or sit up straight.  This was true until I worked with Dan.  Now my body posture is more erect.  I see myself walking and talking to others with confidence.

My dog who has had made amazing shifts with his car anxiety.  When I would walk him he was scared when cars would drive by us on the sidewalk.  I have been training him for a few months with many techniques including energy and reward-based training.  When my body posture changed I saw the hugest shift so far.  I believe the result is a combination of all of the techniques I am using.  My confidence with walking him increased drastically as my body posture shifted.  He became more confident and calm as the cars drove by.

This week pay attention to what your body posture says to your dog.  Change it up and watch the difference.  If you are really motivated to make a huge shift call Dan.  If you are like me I had no choice with my pain to even stand a different way.  He allowed me to stand grounded, confident and in my power.  My dog so sees it and feels it!  Amazing!

The Importance of Adoption

There is no right or wrong when it comes to getting your dog from a breeder and there are many benefits from adopting your dog from your local shelter or rescue. Here is a wonderful list of the benefits of adoption.

1.) The money supports the rescue or shelter you are receiving your dog from.  As a result, they are able to save even more dogs.

2.) Many times your dog is fixed (spayed and neutered) and vaccinated by the shelter or rescue before you adopt the dog.  If this is not the case usually they will support you to get the above done for free.

3.) You are saving a dog that desperately wants a home.  Some dogs don’t make it to new homes in their lifetime so it is wonderful to know that you can help save at least one.

4.) Generally you have a trial period.  Therefore, if the dog isn’t a match for you can tell the rescue / shelter and they will take the dog back.

5.)  If you receive your dog from a rescue there is a chance that your dog has already started dog training.  Many foster moms begin to train the dogs and socialize them!

6.) Again rescue groups want successful adoptions.  Many of them screen the potential owners thoroughly to make sure that the dog and the potential owner are a match.  Also rescue groups love successful adoptions and are generally more than willing to figure out a way to answer questions on training or behavior problems to increase the chance of success.

7.) The cost of adoption is also fairly low.

All of the dogs I have ever owned have been adopted.  If it feels good to you I would suggest that the next time you want a dog, consider adoption  I also am a huge advocate of Utah Animal Adoption Center , Utah Friends of Bassett Hounds,Greyhound Pets of America.

Happy Training!

The Power of Breath

The Power of Breath (Feb 24th) 

Let’s take a whole new spin on dog training.  I have been noticing more and more about how our emotions and energy affect how our dogs respond to us.  Our emotions affect how fast your dog will learn!  Wow…fascinating.  Most of you may know this already as it is not the first time I have mentioned it.  I am going to say that I believe 80% of the dog training results you create with your dog are a result of emitting confident and relaxed emotions.  Think about it when you are stressed, fearful, angry, sad, etc. your dog feels this and he is probably more focused on your emotions then what you are training him to do.

This past week I have had amazing experiences with breath and dog training.  What I am referring to is taking the time to ground yourself by breathing through your belly.  As you are doing this be in a place of allowing.  You can see white light traveling through your body and being emitted into the ground.  The point is that you are in the moment and are channeling your energy to become more balanced.

Here are three amazing scenarios that I witness this week with breath work and dogs:

1.) Last Wed I had my students breath at the beginning of class.  The dogs immediately became quiet afterwards.  To be clear they were barking before we did this and it wasn’t minor.  It was a huge shift!

2.) I was at my boyfriend’s house and our dogs love to play rough.  We took sometime in the morning to breath and meditate.  The dogs were drastically calmer and played less that morning.  They were more grounded.

3.) My dog is still moving through his fear of cars.  Today I breathed when I walked him.  I also slowed my walking pace.  He was much calmer as the cars went by.  Of course I was doing training.  The truth is disregarding the training he was calmer.

Take some time and breath before you train and during your training.  Watch the difference!

Reading Dog Behavior Week 4

Previous Weekly Tips

Reading Dog Behavior Week 4 (Feb 17th) 

This is the last week on the series of “Reading Dog Behavior.”  I hope it has been helpful for you.  This week I wanted to target other stress signs that your dog may show when he is out of alignment.  These stress signs can be a result of fear (defensive behavior), aggression (offensive behavior), excitement (over stimulation) or just over aroused in general.  If you see multiple stress signs make sure you do something to calm your dog.  It could be something holistic, checking in with your emotions or hiring Four Legged Scholars for training advice.

More Signs of Stress:

Moving quickly or pacing

Sweaty paws

Rapid or shallow breathing

Shedding excessively

Clicking teeth

Lethargic

Not wanting to eat or gulping food quickly

Dry Panting

Another tip that is helpful for you to know is that your dog will respond to stress in one of the following ways:

1.)   Fool Around (Displaying Calming Signals to Relieve Stress)

2.)   Fight (Bit or Attack)

3.)   Flight (Run Away)

4.)   Freeze (Totally Shut Down and Do Nothing)

5.)   Faint (Pass Out)

Reading Dog Behavior week 3

Reading Dog Behavior Week 3 (Feb 10th) 

This week I am going to focus on calming signals.  Calming signals are signs that your dog demonstrates when he starting to get stressed and is wanting to calm himself down.  If you see many calming signals then you know that your dog is pretty stressed.  Remember that any dog that is extremely stressed can bit or fight.

These signs can be shown during play and also during training sessions.  If you see them during a training session it is best to end the training the session on a positive note.  Some of these signals can mean different things in other contexts.

Here is a list of calming signals:

• Eye Blinking
• Freezing
• Slow Movement
• Lip Licking
• Backing Away
• Yawning
• Sneezing
• Stretching
• Shaking
• Sniffing
• Paw Lifting
• Scratching as if for no reason

Have fun watching your dog and seeing these signals this week! calmin

Reading dog Behavior week 2

Reading Dog Behavior Week 2 (Feb 3) 

Last week I gave some tips on determining if your dog is feeling fear (defensive behavior).  This week I am going to focus on offensive behavior.  Offensive behavior is when the dog wants to move forward and is generally more likely to want to attack immediately.  Generally when a dog is offensive we call him / her aggressive.

Today I am going to focus on offensive behavior. Begin to notice the signs below:

• The body is stiff rather than fluid.  The muscles are tense.
• The weight is shifted forwards.  So the dog may be thinking of moving toward the stimulus.
• The mouth is closed verses being open and relaxed.  The mouth could also be open and the lips are pulled forward.  The lips look like a “C” shape and you mainly see the front teeth.
• The ears are pulled forward on the head (erect).
• He / She may be hesitant to eat or he / she takes the treat with a very tense mouth.
• The tail is held upward from the neutral position.  It may be wagging very quickly.  When it is held high and wagging fast this is called a “flagged tail” (The dog is extremely aroused if this occurring).
• The movement is generally fast and jerky.  There is not fluid movement.
• The respiratory rate is fast.
• Direct eye contact is toward the stimulus.  Generally the eyes are big and round.
• The dog is silent or has a lower pitched growl or bark.

The more of the above signs you see in your dog the more your dog is feeling offensive.  If you are seeing only a few signs then the offensive behavior is present and it is of a lesser degree.

If your dog is feeling offensive in certain situations my advise is to contact Four Legged Scholars so we can switch the response to happiness / calm behavior:)

Also remember any dog that feels offensive is likely to bite.

Happy Training!
Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC 

Reading Dog Behavior

Reading Dog Behavior (Jan 27th)

Realizing what a learning curve it was for me to become really good at reading behavior, I thought it would be beneficial to write consecutive tips on how to read your dog.  Throughout the next few e-mails you will learn what your dog looks like when aroused verses being relaxed.

Today I am going to focus on fearful behavior. Begin to notice the signs below:

• The body stiff rather fluid.  The muscles are tense.
• The weight is shifted backwards.  So the dog may be thinking of backing away.
• The mouth is closed verses being open and relaxed.  The mouth could also be open and the lips are pulled backward showing many teeth.
• The ears are drawn back on the head.
• He / She may be hesitant to eat or he / she takes the treat with a very tense mouth.
• The tail is downward from the neutral position.  It may be tucked between the back legs.
• The movement is still (frozen) or jerky.  There is not fluid movement.
• The respiratory rate is fast.  You see intense panting.

The more of the above signs you see in your dog the more your dog is feeling fear.  If you are seeing only a few signs then the fear is present and it is of a lesser degree.

If your dog is feeling fear in situations my advise is to contact Four Legged Scholars so we can switch the response to happiness

Also remember any dog that feels fear if pushed could bite.

Weekly Training Tip – Commitment of Training

The Commitment of Training (Jan 22nd) 

It can be easy to procrastinate with dog training.  It also can be easy to create dog training to be a priority.  It is choice really.  Many life coaches that I know state “Commit and then the how shows up.”  This rings true to me.  If you are truely committed and it is a full body “yes” then throw away all of the hows!  The hows will just show up after you commit.

For those of you who are searching for a “how.”  Below is a tip on how to incorporate dog training easily in your life.  This is an amazing tool that I found on the internet.  As I expand and grow, I want to accomplish more and easily create organization.  As a result, I searched for some feedback on google on how other people structure and prioritize goals in their lives.  I came across a free website called Goal For It . Even though I have just started to use it.  I am a huge fan!

What you can do on Goal For It with dog training:

Create a list of what you would like to train your dog to do.  Check off what you have accomplished with your dog when the commands are completed.

Create a new Habit.  If training your dog on a routine has been hard for you.  Goal For It has a calendar.  On this calendar you can type in the commands that you want to train your dog and determine which days of the week you want to train them.  You can check them off when you have accomplished them.  There is also a reward-based system set up so you can reward yourself for creating a new habit.

Monitor and accomplish long term goals.  If you are training something intricate such as redirecting aggression, fear, or a command that requires a chain of multiple behaviors this is a great section to use.  On this section you can write what your terminal goal is and the steps that are needed to reach this goal.  You can use a picture to motivate yourself and also have  reward based system set up.  A deadline is possible too.

This program will also send you e-mail reminders if you wish

I hope you find this website as helpful as I have.  Check it out and formulate a new dog training habit in your life!

Weekly Training Tip – Self Care and Dog Training

Self Care and Dog Training (Jan 15th)

Huh?  What does self care have to do with dog training?  Everything.  Imagine if never did anything for yourself.  You just got up and took care of your dog.  You never ate, never showered, never went out with friends, etc.  In this extreme of what I wrote you would no long live. You would die.  Many of us do just enough to survive.  When we do just enough to survive we actually die inside.  Frustration, anger and sadness builds as our body is not loved and taken care of.  If we don’t take care of ourselves how can we expect ourselves to be grounded and centered when training our dogs?  How can we even expect to make time to train our dogs if we don’t even love ourselves?

Everyone has a learning curve on self care and love. My toss for you this week is for you to ask the question “How can I love myself more?”  As you do this notice how your relationship with your dog changes.

Here are some suggestions:

Eat healthy (eat more greens and fruits and less meat)

Exercise (go to the gym or better yet let your dog be your gym… meaning go running with your dog, bike ride with your dog, ski with your dog, etc.)

Keep your house clean.  The energy in your house effects your energy which effects how much energy you have to train your dog

Set aside time for just you.  I like to meditate, journal, and sometimes even walk without my dog.

You get the idea. Pick an area and work to create a fun transition with it!

One thing I realized I wanted to do for self-care was exercise more.  I hate going to the gym.  I find running invigorating and fun.  As a result I have started to run and the best part is as I am exercising I can excercise my dog at the same time.  I can also cover much distance faster than when I am walking which allows me to have more time to do other things in my life as well

Our body needs to be full of love before we can give away love

Hope you put much love into your dog training this week!