ISCDT – The Dog Trainer's School – Teaching You to Teach Them

Protect Your Dog From Heat Stroke

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke is one of the many dangers our canine friends face during the summer months. I’m sure you’re thinking, oh boy another blog about the dangers of leaving your dog in the car. That will absolutely be included in this article, but there are other tips I want to share in order to protect your dog from heat stroke and heat exhaustion.

Heat Exhaustion, also known as hyperthermia, is a medical issue that occurs when a dog is unable to regulate his own body heat due to overheating. The body temperature is also not within the normal range.

I hesitate to write what the normal range is, because heat stroke can lead to organ failure, death and heat affects breeds differently, I believe it is best to speak to your vet about your dog’s individual needs, rather than relying on general medical information online.

It is important to know that dogs are much more sensitive to heat than humans. A dog’s body temperature rises quicker than human body temperature because dogs pant rather than sweat.

What can cause heat stroke? Any hot environment can cause heat stroke. Age, activity level, medical condition, where you live and the type of breed affects a dog’s ability to handle hot weather.

Here are some situations where dog owners should take greater precaution:

Living in an area with high humidity. It doesn’t take a 90 degree day to cause heat stroke when you live in an area with high humidity. So limit your dog’s outdoor activity on any hot day. According to Dr. Barry Kellogg the Humane Society’s Veterinary Medical Association “Animals pant to evaporate moisture from their lungs, which takes heat away from their body. If the humidity is too high, they are unable to cool themselves, and their temperature will skyrocket to dangerous levels very quickly.”
If your dog has a short-snout, thick long hair or you own a dog with a double coat (even though they shed their undercoats in the summer), they are at greater risk of heat exhaustion or heat stroke during warmer months.
Dogs who are overweight, out of shape or have health problems are also at greater risk. This can happen to both young and old dogs, so we need to watch those young dogs who love to run and play.
A dog who has recently relocated to a warmer environment
A dog who lacks proper hydration and shade.

What are signs of heat stroke? According to Noah’s Ark Vet in Williamsburg, VA, “heat exhaustion can range from mild to severe (heat stroke). Symptoms to look for include, but are not limited to: Excessive panting, difficulty breathing, drooling, increased respiratory and heart rate, weakness, collapsing, seizures, bloody diarrhea, vomiting, glazed eyes, gums that look different than normal (bright red, gray, purple, or bluish). Symptoms can also include: signs of dehydration, dizziness, a dog who lethargic, is not urinating, or has a fever. Things to alert you to a possible fever is a nose that is dry and hot instead of wet and cool”.

If you suspect your dog is suffering from heat exhaustion or heat stroke, contact your vet or emergency animal hospital immediately. Online advice should never take the place of seeking veterinary care.

How you can prevent heat exhaustion and heat stroke:

🔥 Never leave your dog in the car on a hot day. Even a 70 degree day can cause severe danger for your dog. On a 70 degree day, the inside of a car can heat up to 90 degrees. Ten minutes locked inside a car on an 85 degree day, can raise temps to 102 degrees. Thirty minutes inside a car on an 85 degree day can reach up to 120 degrees. Parking in a shady spot or leaving the windows partially open will not help save a dog left in the car on a hot day. If you cannot run all of your errands with your dog by your side, leave your dog at home.

🚴‍♀️ Avoid taking your dog for walks during the hottest part of the day. If you must walk your dog, doing so during the early morning and evening hours is better than mid-day walks. Even then, shorten the walk time, avoid running, bike riding or climbing steep hills with your dog.

🚷 Limit walks and outdoor play to 10 minutes.

🌞 Keep in mind that as the sun moves across the sky, shade moves too. That means a dog left outside all day, may lack shady spots at some point, increasing the chance of heat stroke.

💦 While supervising your dog, provide a baby pool or sprinkler play to keep your dog cool. Frozen treats are also enjoyable on a hot day.

❄️ When you leave for work, remember to leave the air conditioner on for your furry friend. Inside a house can get extremely warm on a hot day.

🐶 On a hot day, it is best to entertain your dogs indoors. If your dog truly likes to play frisbee, flirt pole or fetch, outdoor play should be short, in a shady spot and be sure to have fresh water nearby.

Games to play indoors on hot days:

🙈 Hide and seek. Practice your obedience skills while you play. Use sit-implied stay or place to keep the dog in position while you hide. Then release the dog from command and tell them to “find you”. The reward can be petting or an enjoyable snack.

🍪 Find the treat. Put your dog in command (sit, implied-stay or place). Then create a line of dog food that leads to a special treat. My dog is blind so this activity takes longer for her than your average dog. Using the same method, hide the final reward and have your dog use his nose to sniff it out.

🪑 Create an indoor obstacle course using chairs, brooms and even blankets for your dog to crawl under, weave and jump over.

🐶 Practice obedience training or teach your dog a new trick. Once your dog learns a new command/trick, you can begin generalizing the behavior so your dog responds regardless of distraction or setting. Click here if you want to learn how to generalize commands.

✊ Play which hand. Place food in one hand, ball up your fist, then hold out both hands. Your dog smells both hands and picks which one has treats inside. She can tap the correct hand with her nose or her paw.

🥛 Which cup? The rules for this game are the same as “which hand” except you place the food under a cup. Using three plastic cups, place treats underneath two of them and have your dog search for the treat. As the dog better understands the game, place food under one of the three cups.

😎 Use food dispensing toys. Don’t have any? Place dry kibble in a Gatorade bottle (wide, hard opening) or use a paper towel or toilet paper tube (fold one end, drop food inside and fold the opposite end). Your dog will have fun trying to figure out how to release the food.

🙂 Play with food puzzles. Don’t have any? Use a cupcake tin. Place the food in each of the cups and then place a ball on top. The dog has to figure out how to get the food. Once she learns to remove each ball to gain access to the food, fill half the cups in the cupcake tin. Continue to place one ball in each of the cup slots. The dog has to find the cups filled with food.

We hope these tips and indoor games keep you and your dog safe and happy all summer long.

Listen to our Podcast –

Paws, Reflect and Learn with Katie on Apple, Spotify, Anchor or wherever you listen to podcasts.

If you are considering a career in dog training, ISCDT offers an online program featuring 18 hands-on lessons where students are required to work with dogs. Skill and ability is determined through a series of videos and short written homework that is submitted to your personal ISCDT mentor. ISCDT also offers a 1-week and 2-week in-person Shadow program, where students assist trainers working in the field. To learn more about the courses we offer, visit ISCDT.com

Photo credit: Laula Co on Unsplash

Teach Dogs To Take Treats Gently

Teaching a dog to take treats gently not only reduces the likelihood of being nipped, it teaches dogs impulse control. There are various techniques used by trainers to teach dogs to take treats gentle. I am going to begin by sharing methods I use. While my favorite methods work well in most instances, there are some dogs who benefit from a different technique. So, I’ll briefly describe some others too.

In our last blog post we provided reasons why dogs take treats rough. In that post, I describe simple technics that will help a dog take treats softer, so I encourage you to read that post too.

Verbal cue

‘Easy’ and ‘gentle’ are two words people use while teaching dogs to take treats softer. I prefer not to assign any verbal cues, because I expect the dog to consistently take food gently, without the need for a verbal cue.

Practice by holding food in your fist

Place a low-value food in the palm of your hand.
Close your hand into a fist. Place your hand at your side and move it straight ahead (toward the dog’s mouth). Refrain from lowering the food from above the dog’s head.
Dogs may wrap their mouth around your hand or gnaw your hand during this exercise. They may also scratch your hand with the front paws or muzzle punch* your fist.
Do not move your fist away from the dog. Keep your hand still and balled up until this behavior stops.
If it is too painful to keep your hand still, consider wearing a glove during this exercise.
When the dog stops exhibiting the behavior described in #3 and starts licking your hand, smelling your hand or when they move away from the hand, mark the behavior** and open your hand so the dog can eat the food out of the palm of your hand. Slightly cup your hand so the food doesn’t fall as the dog eats it.
Repeat this behavior.
Once the dog learns to take the low-value food out of your hand gently, practice with a higher-value food. Continue raising the value of the food, until the dog gently takes all food from your hand.
If the dog aggressively eats the food once you open your hand, back your hand away from the dog (straight away and not in an upward motion) and either close your fist or place a finger over the food to prevent the dog from eating it. Then repeat the first several steps outlined in this exercise.

Note: This method works best after the dog has eaten and with little distraction. A dog who is not hungry will grasp the concept quicker than a dog who is hungry or stressed.

Practice with an open, flat hand

Place the food between your pointer and middle fingers and hold it in place with your thumb.
Place your arm by your side
Move the hand holding the treat straight toward the dog rather than coming down from above the head.
The dog may gnaw at your hand, scratch your hand with his paw, or muzzle punch* your hand.
Keep your hand still and secure the treat until this behavior stops. Wear a glove if the dog hurts your hand.
When the dog gives up on the behavior described in #4, and instead licks your hand, smells it without nipping or when the dog moves away, mark the behavior**, release the treat from between your fingers, move your thumb out of the way and allow the dog to eat the treat. Slightly cupping your hand will prevent food from flying around while the dog eats it.
If the dog is overzealous when removing the treat from your hand, block it so the dog cannot eat the treat. This may require you to slightly move your hand back from the dog. Refrain from lifting your hand in an upward motion.

Note: Repetition and consistency are key when you teach a dog a new behavior. If you struggle with these exercises, practice when the dog is full (after a meal) and with lower value treats.

Until the dog learns to take treats properly, children and people living outside your home should refrain from feeding your dog by hand.

*A muzzle punch is when the dog bumps your hand with a closed mouth. The intensity of a muzzle punch can range from a soft poke to a more intense push.

**If you are not familiar with marking a behavior, we invite you to visit ISCDT’s blog for lessons on charging the mark and marker training. If you prefer, you can listen to our podcast, Paws, Reflect and Learn with Katie, Episode 1 and Episode 2, to learn about charging the mark and marking a behavior.

Alternate training methods:

Method One:

Hold the food in your closed fist, an open hand or between your fingers.
If the dog nips or comes at you with an open mouth, pull your hand away.

Note: I have seen this technique used many time. While this technique prevents the dog from endlessly gnawing on your skin, pulling your hand or fingers away as the dog closes his teeth on your hand can cause a tear in the skin.

A tear in the skin is typically not caused by the dog putting his teeth on you, instead pulling any body part out of the dog’s mouth can lead to a scratch caused by the teeth.

Repeatedly pulling the food away in a quick, upward motion, may end with the dog lunging harder and faster at your hand to get the food before you take it away. If you hold the food over your head or by your shoulders, the dog may jump on you in an attempt to grab the treat.

If you use this technique, move your hand straight back from the dog’s mouth rather than in an upward, sweeping motion.

Method Two:

Drop food on the floor rather than feeding the dog by hand.

There are instances where I will have clients follow this technique. Primarily when working with children and/or people who are truly afraid to feed dogs by hand.

You have to be careful that the food isn’t thrown or tossed across the room. Again, this action could cause dogs to move quicker to get the food before it scatters on the floor, especially if other dogs are present. It can also cause too much excitement for dogs.

I try not to use this technique, however, when I must use it, I instruct clients to drop the food at their feet rather than tossing or throwing it. I much prefer these clients reward their dog with scoop of peanut butter on a spoon or feed their dog from a food tube.

Teaching your dog to properly take treats from your open hand, not only reduces the chance of injury, it teaches your dog self control. Dogs should only receive rewards when they exhibit appropriate behavior.

Written by: Katie McKnight

ISCDT’s self-paced, 18-lesson, online course prepares you for a new career as a dogtrainer. Your personal mentor helps build your skill through written assignments and video submissions of you working with dogs. Visit ISCDT’s website to learn more: https://iscdt.com/product/iscdt-certified-dog-trainer-course/…

Why Dogs Take Treats Rough

We kicked off Season 3 of Paws, Reflect and Learn with Katie discussing why dogs take treats rough and how to teach dogs to accept treats gently. Too often we meet dogs that chomp down on your hand when you deliver a treat. It is important we understand why they act this way and how to teach dogs to accept hand-feeding properly.

Food is one of the most popular motivators in dog training. One scenario where food can be a problem is when a dog nips while eagerly snatching treats from your hand. Not only does this make it unpleasant to feed some dogs by hand, it can lead to injury. Not to mention that dog bites, even accidental bites, lead to trouble for the dog and its owner.

Below we’ve listed a few reasons that dogs take food from our hands too hard, along with tips to resolve each issue:

Pinching food between your fingers.

When delivering treats to a dog, do so with an open hand rather than pinching food between your fingers. Dogs don’t typically understand how to remove food held between pinched fingers and their attempts can end by nipping skin.

Feeding out of the palm of your hand provides a flat surface for dogs to eat from. This method usually leads to slower eating and gentler retrieval of food. Slightly cupping your hand prevents food from dropping to the floor while the dog eats it.

While this method works in many cases, there are dogs who continue to nip your hand while ravenously gulping food from it. These dogs require training to teach them how to take treats.

The treats we are offering are too good

Receiving food that a dog greatly enjoys is exciting for them. An eager dog can accidently nip hands while retrieving it. A dog who snatches food from your hand should not receive high-value food through hand feeding. Instead, use lower-value food when training your dog to accept treats gently. Increase the value of the treat as the dog improves with the training.

Note: the value of a treat offered is determined by the dog’s desire to eat it. While some dogs drool over meaty treats and cheese, others desire dry dog bones or dog kibble.

The hungry dog

In most instances, trainers prefer to work with a hungry dog. For this lesson the opposite is true. When it comes to teaching dogs to take treats in a gentle manner, the lesson is more effective when the dog is not hungry.

The dog is excited (lacks impulse control), stressed or fearful

Excited dogs tend to take food rough. These dogs are often high energy or worked up over the environment. They may run up to grasp food and then take off again to enjoy the fun surrounding them. In addition to torn skin or pinched fingers, feeding an excited dog can pose a choking hazard for the dog. Dogs should not be fed unless they are calm.

If your current location proves to be too exciting for the dog, hold off hand feeding until you and your dog are in a calmer environment.

Feeding dogs in the presence of other dogs (and other people) can cause stress for your dog. This can happen during meal time and when hand feeding. Stress over food doesn’t apply only to dogs with resource guarding issues. Feeding with other dogs around can cause stress for any dog. Especially when the other dogs are pushy or more assertive around food. Stress can lead dogs to lunge and tear food from your hand. In the dog’s mind, they are going to get the food before the other dog has a chance to steal it.

Some trainers suggest using your dog’s name before providing the treat by hand. This way the dog knows when the treat is coming their way and when it is not. While I sort of like this technique, I worry it will not be effective if overzealous dogs repeatedly push your dog out of the way and steal the treat meant for her.

Dogs are not only stressed in the presence of other dogs when food is present, people can cause stress too. Consider putting distance between your dog and the stressor while hand feeding. Commanding dogs to sit, down or go to place before hand feeding may help alleviate some of their stress. If that doesn’t work, hold off feeding your dog until after the trigger has left.

Note: Any dog who exhibits resource guarding around bones, toys or food, should be separated anytime those items are offered. Not only can you or another person get bit, a dog fight could break out.

A pet peeve of mine is when a fearful dog is forced to take a treat from someone they are uncomfortable with. A fearful dog could feel discomfort with family members, strangers or anyone else they encounter. When one of these triggers offer the dog a treat, it may cause conflict for the dog. They want the tasty treat, but don’t want to go near the trigger.

A fearful dog who takes the treat, will likely do so fast so they can get away. This can absolutely lead to torn skin or painful nips. Not to mention likely worsening anxiety for the dog.

Delivery of the treat

Believe it or not, the way you deliver the treat to your dog makes a huge difference.

Lowering the treat from above the dog’s head, may lead to the dog jumping in order to retrieve the snack. In this case the front legs come off the ground to grab the treat. In some instances, the dog lowers himself back to the floor before the treat is released from your hand.

Why dogs take treats rough
photo credit: Wyatt Ryan – Unsplash

Dropping the treat. Children and some adults want to hand feed the dog, but the moment the dog walks over to their hand, the person panics and drops the treat on the floor. The dog may lunge in an attempt to catch the treat before it hits the ground. This is especially true if other dogs are around.

Taking-it-back . There are also children and adults who extend the treat, panic and then pull their hand away when the dogs approaches them. This scenario may also cause a dog to lunge or rudely grab the treat from your hand before it disappears. Depending on where the person holds the treat (up over their head or against their chest) the dog could also jump on them to snatch the treat.

Hand-held food should be delivered level with the dog’s snout.

Tip: Anyone nervous hand-feeding dogs are better off feeding the dog from a metal spoon or through a hand-held feeding tube. Peanut butter or other smooth or paste-type food works well for this technique.

Lacking Bite inhibition

It is important that every puppy learn bite inhibition in order for them to refrain from using too much mouth pressure on people and other dogs. While most puppies learn bite inhibition from the dam and litter mates, that is not always the case. For those who lack bite inhibition, it is up to the owner to teach it.

Experience

If you allow dogs to grab treats out of your hand and fail to teach proper etiquette, your dog will never know their behavior is unacceptable. Dogs don’t know this behavior is rude. All they understand is that they get a food reward. They only learn that the behavior is unacceptable when the reward is withheld until a more desirable behavior is achieved. This is taught by consistently rewarding your dog only when that desired behavior is achieved.

In our next blog post, we’ll share training techniques that teach your dog to take treats gentle.

ISCDT’s self-paced, 18-lesson, online course prepares you for a new career as a dog trainer. Your personal mentor helps build your skill through written assignments and video submissions of you working with dogs. Visit our website to learn more: https://iscdt.com

Feature photo credit: Chewy on Unsplash

Calling All Dog Lovers!

ISCDT is hosting a Valentine’s Day Contest

In 100 words of less, tell us why your dog is special to you.

Email submission to info@iscdt.com

https://www.facebook.com/ISCDTDogTrainerSchool

Submit your entry and share the post with someone who absolutely loves their dog and wants everyone to know!

Deadline: February 7,2020

How to Teach your Dog a New Command 10x Better Than the Average Dog Owner

Owners grow frustrated when their dogs struggle to learn a command or exhibit a behavior. Often times, humans mistakenly believe the word ‘stay’, along with supporting hand gestures, are sufficient enough to prevent the dog from moving. Each time the dog breaks command, the owner reprimands the dog and repeats the sit command. Had they shaped the behavior, not only would they accomplish their end result quicker (dog sits and stays until released from command), the learning process would eliminate stress and frustration for the dog and the handler.

What is shaping?
Shaping is a process used to teach dogs new commands/behaviors by breaking the command down into small, rewardable steps. When the dog learns one step, another is added, until the full behavior is understood. This method engages the dog because rewards are given throughout the learning process.

Think back to your education. If teachers assigned 20 pages of information to study and gave a unit exam two days later, most of us would likely fail miserably. Our stress level would skyrocket. That is why teachers break units of study down into smaller parts. After teaching each section, they quizz students to assess their knowledge of the material. By the time the unit is finished, students are better equipped to pass the larger exam.

Teachers use the shaping process to teach their students. Dog Trainers use the same process to teach dogs. Let’s discuss the down command.

You can teach your dog almost anything using the process of shaping. The first thing you must know is that shaping a command takes patience, time and a well-developed training plan. Before you teach any command to a dog, you must prepare your lesson ahead of time. A simple lesson can go off the rails quickly if you aren’t prepared.

How do you begin your training plan?

You start with the final result.

What is the final goal you are looking to achieve? This goal could be teaching a dog to shake hands or teaching a puppy to sit on command. It could be getting your dog to roll over or remain on her bed during mealtime. You just need to know exactly what you want to accomplish.

2. Find your starting point.

What part of the command does the dog know? When teaching the down command, it is easiest for the dog to begin in a sit. If the dog fully understands the sit command, then that is your starting point. If not, then you need to begin by teaching sit. The starting point is equally as important as the end result.

3. Rewarding small achievements along the way.

What small achievements will you reward while teaching the command? You could begin by rewarding the dog anytime he lowers his head and keeps his butt on the ground. The second goal could be lowering his nose to the ground while keeping the butt on the floor. The third, lowering his nose to the ground (butt down) and moving one paw slightly forward. Continue to add small, rewarding goals until he lowers himself into a down.

In this step-by-step instructional video, Jessica teaches a puppy the down command using the shaping technique.

How to shape the down command

Our 18 week online program is a hands-on program where students are required to work with dogs. Skill and ability is determined through a series of videos submitted to the school. We also offer a 2-week and 4-month in-person internship. To learn more about the courses we offer, visit ISCDT.com

Katie McKnight

Mastering the Walk with a Reactive Dog

You take your dog for a walk, and another dog passes by. Your dog begins to pull you toward the other dog. He is also barking and lunging and making a lot of noise. You try to hide behind a car or shove treats in your dog’s mouth to no avail. All you want is to be able to take your dog for a walk!

This dog is reactive toward young men

The benefits of walking your dog are great. A walk gives your dog exercise and mental stimulation. Many dogs are home all day while their owner is at work. A long walk will help tire your dog out both mentally and physically. Dogs are meant to walk. Back in the day, in the wild, dogs spent much of their day in packs walking to hunt for food.

You should also be training your dog during walks. It’s the perfect time to work your dog. Having your dog heel (walk at your heel) while you walk takes a lot of concentration from your dog. He has to be sure to watch you and follow your lead. You should also work on sit, down, come, etc. while taking your dog for a walk. Keep your dog on his toes so that you are the main focus.

Teach your dog proper walking skills

Heel is the most important command for dealing with reactivity. If your dog is focused on you how can he react wildly to a passerby? Practice heel indoors with low distraction first and then build up to higher distractions. Make sure your dog knows this command and listens to it.

There are a few tools needed to help fix this issue. You need to have a quality prong collar (you may want to hire a trainer to learn how to use properly), and a Pet Corrector. Use the prong collar on walks to assist you in mastering the heel. You will have more control over your dog with a prong collar and you will be able to have nice walks.

When a distraction passes, make sure you move fast to get past it. Do not stop and ask your dog to sit. This is too difficult for the dog whose mind is already over stimulated. Put your dog in a heel and walk past the distraction. Try to figure out what distance your dog doesn’t react to the distraction and begin to work at that distance. Slowly, over time, work to get closer and closer to the distraction.

Reactive Dog after Training

Your dog knows heel and implements it well. If you still are having issues with your dog reacting, a simple spray of the Pet Corrector will likely snap your dog out of it. Do not spray it at the dog, spray it into the air. Try to spray it before a complete over reaction so your dog still has some focus on you.

With the right tools and good training, anything is possible. It should not take long for these techniques to work. If you are still struggling after trying these methods, reach out to a local, balanced trainer for help.

Jessica Freedman

How Dogs Learn

The number one misconception that dog owners have when it comes to training their dog is that canines learn the same way we learn. That is not true. Dogs do not think or learn the same way humans do. It is important to help your client understand that:

Dogs are not human.

Dogs are a different species

They act and think differently

Dogs use their eyes and nose to learn (social learning). They learn a lot of information about other dogs just by smelling butts. They also pick up on our mood by observing our body language. Their senses help them learn. As a matter of fact, dogs learn hand signals quicker than verbal commands, which is why most trainers use sign language in their training.

In addition to social learning, dogs learn through behavioural conditional methods discovered through extensive studies performed by Russian Psychologists Pavlov and B.F. Skinner. Their methods, known as classical and operant conditioning, are still used to train dogs today.

What is Classical Conditioning (Pavlovian conditioning)?A process that occurs when two stimuli are repeatedly paired. The cartoon below demonstrates how classical conditioning teaches dogs to associate things (photo credit: very well).

Basically, classical conditioning helps dogs predict what is about to happen. Example: grabbing a leash means they are going for a walk (makes dogs happy). Opening a particular cabinet means treat time (makes dogs happy). The jingling of keys means the humans are leaving (makes some dogs sad or anxious). The sound of a coffee pot signifies that it is a work day for humans (causing sadness or anxiety)

Classical conditioning can help dogs overcome fear (providing treats while grooming), but it can also cause fear (car rides always end in vet visits).

Animals, like people, must learn that consequence matters, which brings us to Operant Conditioning (a theory of Psychologist B.F. Skinner). This theory teaches us that a behavior can be changed by adding or taking a stimulus away from the dog. A stimulus can be food or toy rewards. It can also be an unpleasant sound or leash/collar correction. See the cartoon below for an example. (Photo credit: very well)

The principal behind operant conditioning is that a behavior positively reinforced will reoccur. A behavior negatively reinforced will lessen.

Discover how dogs learn through different forms of conditioning, including the stages of learning with ISCDT’s online or in-person programs.

ISCDT offers an 18-lesson course for those wishing to train dogs professionally. In Lesson One students learn about Classical and Operant Conditioning. The course delves deeper into canine behavior, how they learn and how we can communicate with this wonderful species. The course is offered online, which allows you to learn anywhere, and in person. Students evidence understanding of each lesson through written and video assignments. Students must have access to a dog(s) throughout this learning process in order for them to translate written work to hands-on training.

Katie McKnight

A Day in the Life of a Dog Trainer

Your day begins with a review of the appointments you have scheduled for the day. Review each case individually. It is important to know what you did with the dog at prior lessons and what the main goals of the client are.

If you are just starting out you may feel you don’t need to keep files, but as you get more and more business (you will!), you will not be able to keep track in your head.

To keep track of our schedules, we use a software program called 123pet. This software stores each client’s info and allows you to attach notes to the file. It also allows you to keep track of how many lessons you’ve done with the client and what program they have purchased.

On average, we see five clients per day, six days a week. Each lesson is approximately 50 minutes. The lessons are conducted in the client’s home. Since we are driving to the client’s house, be sure to leave travel time in between your scheduled appointments. We give ourselves 30 minutes of travel time on Long Island.

Now that you have reviewed your cases for the day, it’s time to go to your first lesson. At the lesson you need to go over a lot of information to transfer your knowledge to the pet owner. Therefore, if you are nervous to speak in front of people or just don’t like the company of others, this may not be the right career for you. Thinking this job is working just with dogs is a misconception. You are working with people too.
Your lesson went well and you feel great. Off to the next house!

As a trainer you will most likely have to work nights and weekends, so you can accommodate people’s schedules. You will not mind this schedule if you are doing what you love.

In between your lessons you may have to take time to work with your board-and-train client. A board and train can last anywhere from days to months, depending on your offerings. You need to feed, walk and train the dog in a certain amount of time promised to the client. When we have a board and train, we often decrease the amount of lessons we do in a day.

As a trainer you will be on the road a lot. Be prepared for a lot of mileage use and gas. You will definitely get to know your area very well and where the local fast food places are.

You have finished your last in-home training client and now you get to work with your board and train a bit before going to bed for the night.

Your day moves quickly and is extremely fun and enjoyable. You get to work with people as well as dogs and teach your knowledge to others. You get to make your own schedule and work as much or as little as you’d like. It’s a great gig! If you’d like to get started in a rewarding, fun career in dog training, sign up at ISCDT.com to get trained and certified.

Jessica Freedman

The Number One Piece of Information You Need to Know Before Working in the Dog Training Field.

I spent years reading books and articles and watching TV programs on the craft of dog training. I started each program filled with enthusiasm and willingness to learn. Eagerly, I filled my pockets with treats, attached the leash to my dog and applied the techniques I learned.

That eager look when you learn something new

Each training session ended in disappointment for me and frustration for my dog. Can you relate to this problem?

Sure, I taught my dog to sit, to play dead and to come when called. The moment I stopped luring her with treats or when I really needed for her to follow those commands, the attempt was a huge fail.

Despite the visions of dog-training perfection that swirled around in my fantasies, I did not come close to mastering that skill. Not until……

I enrolled in a school for dog training that I finally gained insight. You see, none of the articles, videos, books or TV programs provided the complete picture. How silly of me to believe a dog trainer would provide full disclosure on the internet — for FREE. If they provided all of their knowledge, dog owners would no longer need to hire them. The free content isn’t making them money, their income is derived from training dogs. The online information I poured over was marketing tactics to draw potential clients to their website, not education for dog-training wannabes. Duh!

The five-month online dog training educational program I took required me to study written material and to submit homework assignments that were graded by my mentor. Most importantly, the program required me to translate the written lesson into real-life training sessions with dogs. I did so using the four phases of learning, discovering the importance of marker training, reading my dog’s signals so I recognized stress during, and outside, of our training sessions. I even learned how to move past “being stuck” in my training and reaching success. The best part…

When I struggled with a command or behavior, no one took the leash from my hand to show me how to train the dog. Instead, my mentor coached me through the issue and pushed me to think outside the box until I resolved each dog behavior I encountered.

Training is so much more than teaching your dog to sit and give paw! I now understand how dogs think and how they learn. My knowledge of canine calming signals and body language removes the guesswork when communicating with dogs. My education helped me understand and recognize canine communication clearly. It separated the myths and inaccurate opinions of others from the facts of canine learning. Once we understand how to communicate with dogs and discover how they learn, we finally understand the craft of dog training.

Hands-on experience increases our skill. Education provides the knowledge. This is the one piece of information I wanted you to know before you dive into a career of dog training.

An ISCDT instructor/mentor will guide you through our Five-Month Online Dog Training Program so you can train dogs professionally.

Learn more from ISCDT.com

Katie McKnight

Ask the Dog Trainer Episode 3

A dog owner asked how she can stop her dog from jumping at people as they pass on a walk. Since she doesn’t see that many dogs on walks, she isn’t sure how to practice the new behavior. Jessica provides some tips for this question.

If you have a question for our dog trainers, email us at info@ISCDT.com or write your question in the comments.

ISCDT.com