Bonding and Building Trust - On training the "ideal dog"

Everyone wants to own their “ideal dog.” Whether that means having a big, playful pup or a small little couch potato, the description of this ideal dog can vary greatly from person to person. Whatever you picture as your perfect pet, people often share one common ideal trait: a dog that listens to you when you ask them to do something.

An obedient dog that pays attention when you say things like, “no jumping on the houseguest,” or “get off the furniture” is always ideal, but the question is, how do you get your dog to listen? The first step is to teach them a command that means a behavior. This is why taking pet training classes with your dog is one of the most essential things you could ever do. 

Through training, you can teach your dog behaviors that will not only help improve their quality of life¸ but it will make your job easier as well. Pet training can also teach your dog behaviors that have the potential of saving their life. Something just as important as pet training itself, however, is you, their human, being involved in your dog’s training.

Being present and active in training is critical in the reinforcement of your dog’s behaviors elsewhere. When you are involved in training, you are building a relationship with your dog that will greatly enhance the bond that you share. Beyond building that bond, training your dog also builds trust. Your pet begins to really understand that you are there to reward them when they do something good. If you are not the one teaching the dog behaviors, your dog never learns that they need to work for you. You have to teach your dog to listen to you, and they need to know when they do listen, they will be rewarded greatly.

More than just being involved yourself, it is important to have as many people in your household participate in training as possible. Having more people in the family involved helps confirm that everyone will be reinforcing similar things. 

Pet training is extremely important for you and your dog, and it’s so crucial that you are involved in your dog’s training as well. In recognition of January as National Train Your Dog Month, Morris K9 Campus realizes the importance of training and owner involvement and has collaborated with six different local shelters and rescues: 11^th Hour Rescue, Randolph Animal Pound, One Step Closer Animal Rescue (O.S.C.A.R.), Cold Nose Warm Heart, Mount Pleasant Animal Shelter and Coming Home Rescue. Every dog adopted from these shelters during the month of January can enter for a chance to win one of six 2-month training memberships to Morris K9 Campus! Call or visit these shelters to consider adding a new ideal pet to your family and to enter this exciting contest.

Fall Festival Safety Tips

Come out this Sunday, October 20th from 12 – 4 pm and join the celebrations as we host our 3rd annual Tip, Tricks and Tails Fall Festival at Morris K9 Campus! But, before you come out and enjoy the festivities, here are some dos and don’ts to keep everyone, both humans and four-legged friends, safe. 

Do use the right equipment. Getting your dog on the proper no pull equipment can make events, such as the fall festival, easier for both you and your dog. With the correct equipment, you can easily have control over your dog throughout the day. Don’t have a no pull harness, but you’re curious and wanting to try one on your dog? Stop by our no pull station outside at the festival and get your dog fitted by one of our dog trainers!

Don’t come with your pooch on a flexi leash. While flexis can be appropriate in certain situations, the hustle and bustle of the fall festival, as well as the amount of people and dogs, can make flexis dangerous. Make sure you come to the fall festival with your dog on a short leash no longer than 6 feet, in order to insure the safety of everyone and every dog there.

Do keep an eye on your dog when you are looking at vendors or talking to people. As distracting as it can be when you are shopping at one of the many vendors or watching the agility match, make sure you keep a constant eye on your pooch to make sure they aren’t misbehaving. 

Don’t assume just because your dog is friendly and wants to meet everyone, that every other dog is friendly and wants to meet your dog.  Keep an eye on your dog and don’t let your pooch bombard another dog. Always ask before your dog approaches another dog, and make sure you watch your dog’s body language in order to make sure they are enjoying the situation. If you aren’t sure what good dog body language looks like, check out a post we wrote about reading your dog correctly

Do bring treats and reward your dog for good behavior. What a great environment this can be for training! The festival atmosphere can be overwhelming to any dog, so make sure that you are rewarding your dog for doing the right thing.

Don’t get frustrated with your dog. Remember this situation is new, so don’t take any frustration out on your dog. Instead of punishing your dog for poor behavior, change their behavior by asking them for a sit or grabbing their attention with a cookie and reward them for the good behavior. The fall festival is all about fun, so make sure your set your dog up for success and make this festival a great time for them!

Do have fun! Of course there are some easy rules to follow in order to keep the fall festival safe for everyone, but above all, have fun! The fall festival is the perfect place to do some shopping, learn more about our new specialty classes, have your pooch participate in a costume parade, adopt a dog or cat, check out our agility match and much more!

Remember that the festival is FREE but we will be collecting food donations, both dry and canned food, for the local shelters in the area participating in the event. We are looking forward to see you and your pooch on Sunday!

Dog Park Goes Digital: iPhone App for Taking Your Dog to the Park

With summer fast approaching, everyone wants to get outside with their four-legged friend. The dog park can be an enticing place, a wide open area where your dog is free to play off leash and with other dogs. But the dog park can also be a place for concern, where different dogs with different personalities come together with little to no supervision. By preparing with the necessary tools, however, you can set your dog up for success in this situation.

One great tool is an iPhone app launched and created by well known dog trainer and shelter advocate Sue Sternberg called Dog Park Assistant. The app is designed to help control the park environment that you have introduced to your dog. It allows you to better understand your dog’s behavior and play signals by breaking down specific play types, so you can see what category your dog falls into. It also points out behaviors that you as a dog owner should be following while at the dog park in order to ensure the safety of you, your dog and others at the park.

Before going to a park, you can set up a profile for your dog on the app. This will include their breed, age and size as well as their play type. When you get to the park you can check in, similar to how you would check in on an app like Foursquare or Facebook. This lets the app know that you are at the park. After a few minutes, you will start receiving push notifications to your phone in order to make sure that you are paying attention and staying focused on your dog. One of the major issues at dog parks is that owners treat them as socialization events for themselves. They meet new people and talk, completely disregarding their dogs. While there is nothing wrong with getting to know other dog owners, remember that you are bringing your dog to the park to socialize them, therefore your undivided attention should be on your pooch.

The app will also show you a variety of behaviors that may be encountered at the dog park, broken down into different behavioral threat levels, with the highest levels labeled as red alerts. Every behavior includes photos, a detailed description and a video in order to help you better assess your dog’s behavior. Do your homework before you go and read up on red alert behaviors, so when spotted, you can quickly break up play before things get out of hand.

Navigating dog parks can be tricky, and poorly managed parks can be dangerous to your dog. Professionally supervised play is always recommended, as it includes individuals who have been trained to read dog behavior and know how to handle all dog play situations. Morris K9 Campus offers supervised daycare Monday through Friday; call to schedule your dog a free evaluation today! 

JOIN US FOR FREE PUPPY CLASSES!

Did you know there is a wrong way to socialize your puppy? It is possible to overwhelm or frighten them and cause lasting damage. Morris K9 Campus hosts free puppy classes in order to help introduce them properly to new dogs, places, people, children, sounds, objects.

Does your puppy need training for chewing, mouthing, jumping or potty training? Start your puppy off right.  Puppies 8-20 weeks are perfect to attend these classes. The schedule for free socialization and training are below.

Saturdays - 9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

11/10/2012

11/17/2012

11/24/2012

12/1/2012

12/8/2012

12/15/2012

12/22/2012

12/29/2012

To learn more details and to register for FREE puppy classes, click here.

Your Invited to Our Back to School Open House!



Would your dog make a good therapy dog?

Come find out if your dog would make a good therapy dog on September 23, from 1 to 3pm at Morris K9 Campus. Morris K9 Campus will host an open house, featuring, "Creature Comfort," a pet therapy organization. Creature Comfort will answer questions you have on what your dog needs to qualify. So if you are curious, visit us on Sunday to find out more information.

Creature Comfort Pet Therapy commenced in 2011. Their mission is to “provide a network of dependable, caring volunteers dedicated to sharing their pets love by visiting people in need of comfort and company.”

The Creature Comfort program only requires a one-time workshop, which after you complete, your dog will be evaluated to see if you both qualify. Once your pooch has been accepted as a therapy dog, they are able to coordinate visits for you and your dog, at places such as hospitals, schools, senior centers, just to name a few.

Pet therapy is used to help patients with a number of different issues. It has been shown to lower blood pressure, decrease depression and anxiety, speed the healing process, as well as other great benefits. Animals are used for therapy, because they can be viewed as less threatening, and are used as a source of positive interaction. Not only does pet therapy strengthen the bond between you and your dog, it also gives your dog a very important job.

In addition to the presentation by the pet therapy program, the open house will be an opportunity to meet our staff and find out more about our obedience training, agility and dog daycare. Tours of our facility will be given as well as FREE giveaways!