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!

Weekly Training Tip – Training and Play

Training and Play (Jan 8th) 

I find many people separate training and play time.  It is important to include them together.  Your dog will not only work for food but will also work for toys.

There are a few benefits for training your dog during play.  One is that it teaches your dog to control impulses (biting and jumping).  Asking your dog to perform a command during a play session allows your dog to create a pause in play.  Pauses create a time for your dog to relax and decrease arousal ( For those of you that are familiar with calming signals. Pauses are also a calming signal.).  Also when your dog is playing, he is in the primitive / reactive part of the brain.  When you are asking your dog to perform a command, you are switching him from his reactive part of the brain to his cortex / thinking part of the brain. The faster your dog can make these shifts during play the easier it is to manage overall arousal in your dogs life

So what does play and obedience trianing look like together?  Here is an example with a game of fetch.

• Ask your dog to down.
• Click when your dog downs. Then immediately throw the ball for your dog to fetch it.
• When your dog brings the ball to you, ask him to drop it.  When he does ask him to target.
• Click when your dog targets (touches your hand on command).  Then immediately throw the ball.
• Repeat the above process with any command: leave it, watch, come, sit, stay etc.  Use different commands rather than the same one every time.

You can also do the same process with any type of play such as tug-o-war, hide and seek, go find it with a treat, chasing a lazer light razer on the wall etc.  Object play is best to manage arousal and decrease bites in play.

Create play to be fun and a learning experience for the both of you!

Happy Training!
Johanna Teresi, Professional Owner and Trainer for Four Legged Scholars LLC 

Find out how they really feel!

Readings with Patty Pet Psychic
This weekend
Saturday and Sunday 12 to 5
Petco at 6842 S Redwood Road
With your animal or from a photo
$10 for 15 minutes

801-503-2599

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Weekly Training Tip – Intention

The Power of Intention in Dog Training (Dec. 31st)

This weekly tip was inspired from personal experience this week.  My dog, Seiki, has for unknown reasons at the moment developed fear when cars pass him when we are walking on the sidewalk.  Most of the time when I have walked him in the past I walked with the intention of exercise for Seiki and I.  As this new transition arose I noticed it was difficult walking, Seiki and I felt frustrated.  Everytime a car would go by he would become fearful and then would want to run and dart around on his leash.

I began to notice today what my intention had been in the past and realized that I wanted to change my walking intention during this new transition.  My new intention when walking Seiki is now ” I am walking to be in the present moment with my dog.  I am also walking to create a positive association with my dog and cars.”  With this new intention my frustration was gone.  Our walk was now peaceful.  I did not focus on exercise.  Instead, I focused on the behavior of my dog.  I rewarded him with a special treat every single time a car past by to formulate a new association with cars.  I enjoyed our time together.  Seiki walked nicely on the leash and the darting on the leash was totally gone

This week pay attention to the intentions that you create before walking and training your dog.  If your dog barks at other dogs, people, etc. and your intention is to walk for exercise this isn’t in alignment with creating a quiet dog.  If your intention is to focus on your dog and to create quiet behavior with stimuli then your results and your emotions will be much more in alignment.

Remember as you and your dog change your intentions will change.

Also, notice your intentions with your dog as you approach the new year!

Happy Training and Happy New Year!

Johanna Teresi, Professional Trainer and Owner of Four Legged Scholars LLC