Trainers Cringe When You Use The Smith Machine For These Exercises

Training Your Dog for Emergencies: Does Your Dog Know These Skills? As natural disasters become more common, it's important to plan ahead in case you and your dog need to evacuate your home someday. Part of being physically prepared in the event of a natural disaster includes things like making sure your dog is microchipped, preparing "go bags" for your dogs that contain vaccinations and more. Evidence, dog food, treats, toys, collar/harness and leash, updated ID tag on your dog's collar, and any medication your dog needs. It is important to develop a training plan in advance of working with your dog to ensure that your dog has the skills to stay calm and pay attention to you if he ever needs to go outside. As you can focus on the emergency situation and not. Your dog's behavior. Ideally, you'll have some warning and be able to evacuate yourself to a pet-friendly hotel or stay with friends or family outside of the danger zone. If not, the American Red Cross and other local groups may be able to help you access dog-friendly evacuation options. In some cases, you will be able to provide care for your dog yourself, but in other cases, the dogs will be separated from their owners. Check out your dog's training skills for friendly strangers There are some dogs who are nervous or uncomfortable around people outside of their immediate family, which can make things more difficult. The ability to be comfortable being led away or being with a friendly stranger is very challenging for some dogs, but it is a skill that all dogs should possess, especially in an emergency situation. You can make the experience of being cared for by a stranger much less stressful for your dog if you practice this skill in advance. Training methods If you and your dog or puppy attend an obedience class, ask your teacher or fellow student to watch your dog when you go to the car or go to the bathroom. You can practice this skill at home with friends and family members as well as at pet stores. Ask these people to give your dog a treat, or play with your dog for a few minutes as you leave the area. When you go back, stay calm, and likewise when you go home, avoid exfoliating your dog. Practicing this skill regularly will help your dog feel more comfortable if they need to be cared for by someone other than you in the event of an emergency. In addition, being able to get along comfortably with a friendly stranger is part of the AKC Canine Good Citizen Testing.. Familiarity with Distractions and Crate It is overwhelming, chaotic, and stressful for people and dogs when a natural disaster strikes. To help prepare your dog to be able to follow your cues in stressful situations, make it a regular practice to work with your dog not only at home but out in the world. It is important to make sure your dog is comfortable in their crate. Training Tips To introduce your dog to the crate, throw some treats in the crate, and praise when your dog goes in to get the treat. Leave the crate open and when your dog comes out, toss another treat and repeat. We want to teach our dogs that going to the crate means something good (a treat) happens. As your dog becomes more familiar with the game, they will begin to offer to go into the crate on their own when you treat them once inside the crate. At this point, you can start closing the door for a few seconds, toss the treat in the crate, open the door, and give the treat again while your pet is still inside the crate. This will ensure that the dog continues to build positive associations with the crate. You can begin by gradually increasing the length of time your dog is able to stay still, starting with just a few seconds, up to a few minutes at a time. Giving your dog a reasonably durable, rubber toy treat, kibble, or peanut butter filled and frozen can be helpful. These safe toys give your dog something to occupy their mind while in the crate and can help your dog relax while you are away. Place your dog's crate in a quiet part of your home where your dog can retreat for some alone time, but also incorporate the crate into your regular activities with your dog. You can play games with your dog by hiding treats or toys inside the crate. You can also feed your dogs food in their crate to add value and create positive associations. Note: Dogs should not be left in kennels for long periods of time. Four to six hours is maximum for dogs that are comfortable in their kennels and less for puppies. settle down Being "off switch" and being able to sit/relax and rest in front of you is a helpful skill that all dogs can benefit from, and it will come in handy if your family experiences a natural disaster and is out and about. . By requiring a "sit" your dog will learn to rest at your feet while you are able to focus on talking to someone, filling out paperwork, etc. lesson: Learning begins at home in a low-stress environment. Your dog is drawn to you and has many small treats on hand. Your dog's kibble works well for this, so you can work on learning this skill over time. Ask your dog to "down" (or lure them into the down position with a treat) and when they are comfortable praise and give a treat. Give praise and cuddles when your dog is down. When your dog wakes up, don't say anything, just stop the treat. Ask your dog to lie down twice and repeat the steps above to give calm praise and treats while your dog is in the down position. 2 This is a time when you can start adding in verbal cues of your choice such as "settled" or "relaxed." At this point you can start varying the frequency that you treat your dog as they stay in the settled position, and increase the length of time you ask your dog to settle before releasing the word. As your dog becomes more familiar with the skill, you can start working on the skill in more stressful environments such as your back or front porch, on the sidewalk, and slowly progress to more stressful environments. This can be done while you are talking to someone, in the park, in pet stores, etc. The more experience you can give your dog to practice living in a stressful environment, the better prepared you and your dog will be to get used to it. Emergency skills. Over time, it will become a default behavior for your dog to sit comfortably and wait in front of you while you walk outside or stop in the yard, which is the ultimate goal. place A modern version of the above skill is "place training". For this skill, the dog sits comfortably on the bed, blanket, towel, etc., but not always directly in front of the owner. Sometimes you need your dog to rest and stay but not next to you, especially when going out, so your dog's ability to stay comfortably away from you on the bed or blanket is important. Study Location: You can use anything for this: a shallow dog bed or a low training platform, but you can also use a dog bed, a blanket, or a towel. In the event of an emergency evacuation, you may not have access to all of your preferred training equipment, so start teaching this skill by using a variety of options including a bed, a blanket, and a bathroom (these are ideal because that non-slip backing will help them not move when dogs come at them). Begin this activity in a quiet area with minimal distractions. Lay your dog down on a mat or bed and tell them to lie down or lure them. Follow the "solution" instructions above to reward your dog for staying on the bed/mat - the goal is to add value to this space. After several repetitions, add a verbal cue of your choice, such as "place" or "bed." Start your lure towards the mat/bed, and first, stand in front of the mat and use your paws to ask your dog to go to it, treat and praise when they do. If your dog isn't "in place," it means they don't understand yet and you may need to lure them a few more times before moving on to this step. Now we want to reinforce that period, so keep praising how well you've worked to "get" it, and give small pieces of treats (or kibbles) while your dog is down. The goal is not to force your dog to live in a formal manner, but rather to reinforce and build value in being comfortable in a particular space. You can now start sending your dog to the "place" from a short distance and then come to reward, then leave, going back and forth to praise and treat as your dog settles on the bed/mat. At this point, you can begin to vary the frequency that you treat your dog as they stay in the settled position and increase the length of time you spend settling before you give your dog the word to leave. allow said If it is safe to do so, you can also practice with your dog on a 4- to 6-foot leash (this should only be done with full supervision). A leash is not meant to force the dog to stay in place, but rather an emergency backup in case your dog gets up while you are in the room or a little distance from your dog when outside. While none of us likes to think that we will ever be forced to evacuate our homes, it is important to be prepared for the possibility. If a natural disaster strikes your area, advanced preparation and learning skills for your dog will help reduce stress for both of you during this difficult time.