Seminar update!

Retraining your Pushy Dog

This is designed as a problem-solving tool for the dog who thinks he is mightier than he really is. You will need to use some of these ideas daily, forever, and some will only need to be implemented monthly, or annually. But, you must use them all until your dog knows his place again. In an attempt to make your situation lighter than it may be, we will call the dog in this article Cujo¹.

When your dog is finally behaving how you need him to behave, remove one training exercise at a time, over a period of three weeks. If you see a digression in his behaviour, add the last exercise that you dropped, until you feel he is ready to move forwards, without pushing you again. Some things, such as doorway management, can never be let go and need to become a lifetime ritual.

I suggest doing four of your favourite steps once a month for the rest of your dog’s life. If there is any part of this program that is liable to get you bitten while you're doing it, DON'T DO IT and instead GET HELP from a professional!

Umbilical cord - As much as possible when you are at home, keep Cujo attached to you. Put a 6 foot leash on the dog, and attach the other end of the leash to a sturdy belt around your waist. Ignore him and go about your business. Having to constantly watch what you do and where you go will make your dog realize that he does indeed need you. Even if your dog naturally follows you all around, this exercise will still benefit him more than you can imagine. This is one of the most valuable things that you can do with your dog, albeit, slightly annoying! This must be done for a minimum of one hour a day.

Obedience x 2 - This one is sheer repetition. Every day, for two weeks, you need to ask your dog to do fifty sits, and fifty downs. You can use food, but no longer as a lure. Your food needs to be in your pocket, hidden, and then it needs to appear magically for a job well done. You are not allowed to bend your body, or use hand signals. Your dog needs to learn to go off the verbal alone.

If he cannot do that, begin to minimize your cues. If you currently point the entire way to the ground, now point almost the whole way, minus an inch. After ten successes with that approximation, now point with two inches between your finger and the floor. Eventually your point should be a minor finger movement, with your arm stationary. Then, you can remove the finger point.

Do not touch your dog to praise him. You can feed him for being wonderful, but as previously mentioned DO NOT have the food visible, nor can you let him know there is even food available. Get your hands out of your pockets. If this is too hard, have the food on a table top, and run to the counter to feed him once he has done his work. Ideally, if you are ready for this step, all food will be off your person, and instead, run into the kitchen and grab a treat. This obedience is fact of life, because I asked you to. Do not be mean and militant, but do expect Cujo to sit, simply because you said so.

Dogs are not born bored. We carefully train it into them. Even though you are doing such large repetitions here, there is absolutely no reason that they cannot be fun.

Eating - When food is left down for the dog to eat ad lib, the dog owns the food. Ownership is where your pushy dog tries to take control. You must take must take possession of the food. Feed the dog twice a day, in a confined area such as a crate or the bathroom.

Sometimes, while your dog is in the middle of eating, scoop down into his bowl and add an incredible treat. Sometimes put your hand in there and simply let him eat a mouthful from your hand. If he freezes, realize you have rather large issues and phone a dog trainer to help you through it.

If your dog is hungry, he will eat. The bowl goes down and five minutes later it gets picked up, period. If your dog did not eat, they will in the next session. If you have already created a bad eater, it might take some remedial training to fix it.

For Picky Eaters: If the dog does not eat the whole meal on a regular basis, give half the regular amount at the next meal, until the dog is cleaning the bottom of the dish. Once the bowl is being cleaned, add a little more at each feeding until you feel your dog is eating enough, or until food starts to be left at the bottom again.

Water must always be readily available.

Down Restraint Introduction - At least once a day, handle the dog. When your dog is lying down comfortably, sit behind him, with his legs facing away from you. With one arm over his neck, and the other over his hips, hold his underneath legs close to the joints. This hold is all in the elbows. Push them towards the ground.

When he is being a good boy, have give in your arms. Even if he is struggling to get up, don't allow him up, but do have give in your arms. If you pin him, he will fight, and rightfully so. You need to gently and firmly hold, and outlast him. With many dogs, the key is to control your mind and not go to mental war with your dog. Relax your own self, and focus on why you love your dog. This will help them settle.

Once he is calm, release your hand that is holding the rear, and massage him all over. Go slow and deep into his tissue. Handle his feet, his ears, his mouth, his neck, and every other part that you can think of. If the dog fusses then stop massaging and maintain your hold. Then when he calms again, repeat the massage.

Eventually you want to progress to handling your dog all over. Rub one body part thirty times. If he is calm, move to another body part and rub thirty times. If this is hard, then continue to rub an additional thirty, then once he is calm, move away from that area, and massage one that he really enjoyed. Then, go back to the challenging location again. It is important that you don't let go of a body part when your dog tells you to, or you will teach him that fussing is the right answer. Instead, hold on, and as soon as he relaxes just a smidge, let go and massage him somewhere else. It is important that the dog has a positive experience - that Cujo realizes that you will be handling him and it's of no concern. He needs to learn that giving in to you is winning, as it feels really good to be handled and massaged.

When he is completely relaxed and almost asleep gently say “OK” and release the dog. Anticipate to be doing this for a minimum of thirty minutus until you get that desired level of relaxation. If Cujo will not allow you to handle him like this without getting angry or escaping, DO NOT do this exercise. Do the rest of the exercises and contact me for help. If you feel your dog tense up as you grab a body part, do not continue. Instead, phone me! Same applies if your dog freezes for a nano-second. Abort and seek professional help.

Graduation Step: Man Handling - If you have children, it is a reality that your dog will be man-handled. Once you have mastered Down Restraints and Handling All Over, you need to teach your dog to handle more invasive touch. Purchase a tray of meatballs, and cook them. Your dog gets one meatball per touch. Then, pull his tail, and feed him his well deserved meat ball. Gently pinch skin, and feed a meatball. Teach your dog that for every invasive touch, while not pleasant - the rewards will be huge.

I'm-The-Owner “Down” - At least once a day, just because you felt like it, tell the dog to lie down. When he does, use your voice only to tell that the job was well done, then say “Okay”, and walk away from your dog.

Purpose: This lesson is exceptionally important if you are having relationship issues. They need to learn to listen and obey us – just because! It is also a very humbling experience for their huge ego’s when we just walk away! I mean really, the nerve! In their young punk little minds we should feel honoured to live with them, so how could we just walk away! How could we not want to scratch their cute little ears, and feed them, and take them on a walk, and tickle their legs and . . . !

Collar Grabs: Place a cookie in your right hand, behind your back. Walk up to your dog, and with your left hand forward say "collar". Grab your dog with your left hand, instantly release, and then feed him with the right. Teach him that you reaching for his collar is a very good thing.

I Go First, and You Get Out of My Way! We indulge our dogs so much, or at least I do mine. I am sure that this is the reason that most of us even have dogs. Or that is why you are in trouble now and find yourself reading this article! Doorway control is a very important leadership tool that you must master.

Don't allow him to go through doors ahead of you. Do not allow him to go up or down stairs ahead of you. Don't allow him to lead you down hallways. Always position yourself so you are leading and he is following. Please don't be nagging at him to stay or wait. He just shouldn't do this. You are not allowed to warn him, instead you have to make sure that it does not happen!

If he's lying down, do not walk around him. Put your feet on the floor and shuffle right through him (note you don't kick the dog, merely push him gently out of the way) - make him think about where you are and what you're doing. You change the situation so you are in charge of it.

Start watching who moves whose feet when. Does your dog get you to move your feet? If so, you need to take control and change this. Do not allow him to jump up and move you backwards. Don't let him push into you and shove you aside. Take control of his foot placement. A respectful dog will have still feet when in your presence.

Work Off Energy - Exercise your dog, plain and simple. A tired dog wants to sleep, not get in trouble! A daily off-leash romp for forty minutes can make even the worst dog more amiable.

If forty minutes does not even take a drop out of the bucket, get him to wear a weighted back-pack on his walks. I ask dogs to carry ten percent of their body weight. For some this is nothing, while others act like they are carrying a small house on their back. Dabble, and let your dog tell you what his perfect amount is.

Do not play ball as your main form of exercise. This will keep your dog in an aroused state for longer and longer. Play ball by all means, but use this in conjunction with long tiring walks.

And the Biggest, Most Important Tip – Crate train, crate train, crate train. Buy a crate that your dog is able to go inside and turn around in and no bigger. Read my crate training article for training tips. Ignore him when he is screaming. Only let him out when he is quiet otherwise you reward screaming – and you will really regret ever doing that as you will create a dog that learns if he screams, he gets his way. Once you have a crate trained dog, crate him for a minimum of ten minutes a day, just because. It will do wonders for your relationship.

1. The dog throughout shall be called Cujo for clarity and ease of reading. Cujo will be referred to as 'he' where necessary. No harm is intended for any dogs named Cujo, nor any implications made that male dogs are more aggressive than females. Sex allocation was only done for ease of reading.

Copyright by Monique Anstee. May be reprinted without permission 1) if used in its entirety without editing; and 2) provided copyright notice remains in place.