More canine rules to live by: Looking for a family friendly, sweet bachelor with a soft and cuddly personality? If so, then Cooper is the man for you! Cooper, pictured here with one of CGHS/SPCA’s youngest supporters, Jaxon Jurgenson, is all smiles as he absolutely adores being around children. Cooper is one of our longest term residents, having been surrendered just before last Christmas. A 5-year-old pitbull mix, he has a heart of gold and is extremely smart and gentle. He knows sit, down, and will even give you two paws at the same time for a treat! Cooper would prefer to be the only animal in the household.
| I’m always so appreciative when Ron Perez’s administrative assistant, Aaron Clause, takes the reins of this column and jumps in to assist. His article on vacation planning around our animal-filled households was informative and spot-on. Thanks, Aaron! We stated our canine rules for better living last printing, and we’ll proceed to complete our to-do list here, still referring to the wise words of Marianne. REWARD EVERY EFFORT. I believe in reinforcing every completed job that a dog performs. My “working the assembly line” paycheck system is consistent to teach a new command, and becomes variable with the dog’s increased knowledge and experience. The verbal marker, cue, or signal, is always present, from beginning to end. EACH COMMAND IS GIVEN ONLY ONCE. I’ve written many articles on how unproductive and damaging a repetition of commands can be. My number one dog NEVER repeats a command to the pack. If he or she did, they undermine their ranking and status. In addition, the more we repeat commands, the more repetitions dogs require. Say it once, then lure the dog into the correct response. You can then remind the dog how well he or she is doing, while remaining in that behavior mode. RELEASE EVERY COMMAND. When we are training stationary exercises such as the sit, down, wait and stay, etc. we need to verbally mark the moment that your dog can move on to another behavior. Many dogs have difficulty with the stay command, because they were not trained with a specific release word giving them permission to move. |
PATIENCE, PATIENCE, PATIENCE. We need to be sensitive to the learning curve of each individual dog. Like ourselves, some are quick learners, others have a slower, steadier approach to new lessons. We need to have textbook timing, make the lesson “the best game in town,” and be aware that confusion is not stubbornness, disobedience, or dominance. Usually we are responsible for the mental log-jam when teaching a new command or behavior.
PRAISE YOUR DOG BY VERBAL
SIGNAL before giving your edible paycheck! For many dogs, their most important currency or minimum wage is a high value food reward. We must tell them they did it right, before we write that paycheck. You do not want to inadvertently teach your dogs to only work for the treat bag. You want to imprint your dog to the verbal signal (praise) that they did it right.
TRAIN BEFORE OR BETWEEN MEALS. Yum Yum — eat ‘em up! Work with the hunger clock — not against it.
END EACH HOMEWORK (TRAINING) SESSION POSITIVELY. We always end our on-leash homework sessions with track-its, a motivational running back, recall, or the Blow-and-Go game. All very stimulating, predatory, and upbeat.
Our elegant and pixie-ish solid black Staffordshire terrier Sadie is one of our “New Leash On Life” favorites! She is affectionate, and an eager and willing worker, and could go to a home with many different definitions and dynamics and still fit in well. Her handler Kyle tells me that “she’s not a morning person.” I love it — a laid back snuggle bunny, without the extra energy to burn off that makes so many terriers famous. Thanks to handler Travis for preparing Baloo so well for his new home in the Adirondacks. Thanks to Rob and Ron who step up and in as needed. Kudos to the Columbia County Jail Dog training team!
Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org.
Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The food bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours.
All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.
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Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.
PRAISE YOUR DOG BY VERBAL
SIGNAL before giving your edible paycheck! For many dogs, their most important currency or minimum wage is a high value food reward. We must tell them they did it right, before we write that paycheck. You do not want to inadvertently teach your dogs to only work for the treat bag. You want to imprint your dog to the verbal signal (praise) that they did it right.
TRAIN BEFORE OR BETWEEN MEALS. Yum Yum — eat ‘em up! Work with the hunger clock — not against it.
END EACH HOMEWORK (TRAINING) SESSION POSITIVELY. We always end our on-leash homework sessions with track-its, a motivational running back, recall, or the Blow-and-Go game. All very stimulating, predatory, and upbeat.
Our elegant and pixie-ish solid black Staffordshire terrier Sadie is one of our “New Leash On Life” favorites! She is affectionate, and an eager and willing worker, and could go to a home with many different definitions and dynamics and still fit in well. Her handler Kyle tells me that “she’s not a morning person.” I love it — a laid back snuggle bunny, without the extra energy to burn off that makes so many terriers famous. Thanks to handler Travis for preparing Baloo so well for his new home in the Adirondacks. Thanks to Rob and Ron who step up and in as needed. Kudos to the Columbia County Jail Dog training team!
Feel free to call us with any questions at 518-828-6044, or visit our website at www.cghs.org.
Stop down and see us at 125 Humane Society Road, off Route 66 (about a mile south of the intersection with Route 9H) in Hudson. Our hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Wednesday and Sunday. The food bank is open to any from the public in need of pet food or for those wishing to donate food anytime during business hours.
All of our cats and kittens are “Furrever Free” with all expenses paid. Spay/neuter clinics for cats are $65 male or female, including a rabies vaccination and a 5-in-1 feline distemper combination vaccination. Nail clipping services are available every Saturday from 10 to 11 a.m. at the shelter, no appointment necessary, for a donation of $5 for cats and $10 for dogs.
***
Charlene Marchand is the Chairperson of the Columbia-Greene Humane Society/SPCA Board of Directors. She may be contacted by email at cghsaaron@gmail.com.
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