al ci Offi Ahimsa Dog Training Manual A Practical, Forc-Fr Guid to Problm Solving & Mannrs pl m Sa Grisha Stwart, MA, CPDT-KA, KPACTP author of Bhavior Adjustmnt Training: BAT for Aggrssion, Frustration, and Far in Dogs
Ahimsa \uh-him-sah \ n. a Buddhist doctrin of non-violnc. Also a fun, modrn, scintific approach to training your dog! Dog lovrs: Larn to solv and prvnt a varity of problms, including barking, far, puppy socialization, houstraining, sparation anxity, and pulling on lash. Pro trainrs: Gt mor ways to tach skills and solv problms. Sav tim on writ-ups by using this book as an in-hom rfrnc for your clints. Brdrs:: Snd your puppis hom with this book to start thm off o on th right paw. m Sa Of th thousands of dog training books out thr, it's rar finding on that has somthing nw to say or prsnts th scinc of positiv training in a uniqu and maningful way. Clar, concis, informativ and xtrmly usr-frindly, this book dsrvs a prominnt plac on vry trainr's bookshlf. Paul Owns, bst-slling author of Dog Whisprr; A Compassionat, Nonviolnt Approach to Dog Training pl From puppyhood to larning thory, Grisha has don what sh dos bst: tak complicatd subjcts and mak thm asy to follow and simpl to undrstand. Nan Arthur, CDBC, CPDT-KSA, KPACTP/Faculty, author of Chill Out Fido! How to Calm Your Dog If thr s somthing you want your dog to do, or stop doing, thr s a good chanc this book addrsss it. Dbbi Jacobs, CPDT-KA, CAP2, author of A Guid to Living with and Training a Farful Dog Grisha Stwart is th foundr of Ahimsa Dog Training in Sattl, which has ovr a dozn popl on staff and has won many awards, including Bst of Sattl and Bst of Wstrn Washington. Grisha is a popular intrnational spakr, dog trainr, and formr mathmatician with a passion for dog training. Ahimsa Dog Training, LLC Sattl, WA, USA www.doggizn.com
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual Sampl A Practical, Forc-Fr Guid to Problm Solving and Mannrs Grisha Stwart, MA, CPDT-KA, KPACTP Publishd by Ahimsa Dog Training, LLC Sattl, WA
Prais for Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual: From puppyhood to larning thory, Grisha has don what sh dos bst: tak complicatd subjcts and mak thm asy to follow and simpl to undrstand. For pt parnts, this book is a nic foundation book to tak thir puppis and dogs toward bing a Canin good citizn, and hlps problm-solv som of th most common issus that ar prsntd to trainrs and bhavior xprts rgularly. Byond th basic mannrs instructions, this guid also touchs on far and ractivity; offring hlp to th avrag prson so thy can bgin taching skills that will lay th building blocks toward a happir and mor rlaxd dog. Sampl Finally, this is a grat guid for rscus to giv to adoptrs, and for trainrs to hand to thir clints; all with th goal of hlping dogs liv in pac and harmony with thir humans, and visa vrsa. Th Ahimsa Dog Training Manual is a must for any pt parnt s bookshlf and a bonus for trainrs to gt, yt anothr publication by Grisha. Nan Arthur, CDBC, CPDT-KSA, TmT-m-KSA, KPACTP/Faculty, author of Chill Out Fido! How to Calm Your Dog Of th thousands of dog training books out thr, it's rar finding on that has somthing nw to say or prsnts th scinc of positiv training in a uniqu and maningful way. Grisha's nw booklt, th Ahimsa Dog Training Manual, dos just that. Clar, concis, informativ, and xtrmly usr-frindly, this book dsrvs a prominnt plac on vry trainr's bookshlf. Paul Owns, Bst-slling author of Th Dog Whisprr; A Compassionat, Nonviolnt Approach to Dog Training and Th Puppy Whisprr: A Compassionat, Nonviolnt Guid to Early Training and Car. - 2 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual This book is a grat rsourc for anyon intrsting in undrstanding, or incrasing thir undrstanding of low strss, forc-fr handling and training tchniqus. Pt ownrs will find it a usful primr for dvloping a positiv and trusting rlationship with thir dog. If thr s somthing you want your dog to do, or stop doing, thr s a good chanc that this book addrsss it. Dbbi Jacobs, CPDT-KA, CAP2, author of A Guid to Living With and Training a Farful Dog This is it! This is th asy-to-rad, concis handbook that vry rsponsibl dog ownr will want to rad. This manual splls out practical, stp-by-stp training solutions whil ducating th radr on th scinc bhind th thory. Grisha is th lading authority on Bhavior Adjustmnt Training (BAT), S. and shars hr uniqu mthod to bring about chang in a positiv, forc-fr, csc-s-fr, and far-fr fr nvironmnt. Sh shows us a nw way to tach loos-lash ash walking; on that is fr from frustration and maps a clar stratgy for us to follow. Th dog world is gratful to Grisha for taking tim out of hr busy schdul to giv us this wondrful rsourc. Sampl mpl lp.p Kyra Sundanc, rnownd d Stunt Dog Prformr, author of 101 Dog Tricks Whn Fido arrivs at th intrsction of Good Dog Strt and Bad Dog Ally, which way will h go?" asks Grisha Stwart in hr book, Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual.. Grisha's book can hlp you manag Fido's nvironmnt and train him to mak good choics. Sh offrs a varity of forc-fr ways to train common bhaviors, and hr writing is always ngaging and as frindly as hr mthods. s. Your dog will dfinitly njoy your training sssions basd on this book. Toti Andrson, CPDT-KA, KPA-CTP, author of Puppy Car and Training and Your Outta Control Puppy: How to Turn Your Prcocious Pup Into a Prfct Pt and Past Prsidnt of th Association of Pt Dog Trainrs GREAT rsourc for puppy buyrs! It givs th basics for vrything a dog nds to larn in asy-to-undrstand trms. Brdrs should us it in thir puppy packt! Can I gt thm in bulk? Michl Brnr, Viszla brdr! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 3 -
Sampl - 6 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual Communication & Larning Go Both Ways 1 Scinc is simply common sns at its bst. Thomas Huxly Sampl Whn you start to train your dog, you might b just trying to tach your dog to listn to you, but good training is mor than simply taching your dog to pay attntion, it s also about paying attntion to your dog s Sy nds, what maks hr strssd, and whn sh is having troubl undrstanding ng what you want hr to do. Your dog is alrady paying attntion to vrything around hr, including you. Larning about body languag will hlp you undrstand your dog and allow you to communicat mor clarly with your own body languag. Aftr w discuss th natural communication btwn you and your dog, w will xplain how your dog larns to do what you want, using th scinc of larning. Undrstanding Your Dog s Communication I m sur that on major rason that you ar rading this book is to larn how to tach your dog to pay attntion and rspond to you in a rliabl way. I could start th book with that,, but thr s a foundation that I d lik to lay down bfor you bgin trying g to influnc your dog s bhavior. I d first lik you to look at what your dog s ars, ys, tail, and othr body parts ar doing and larn to intrprt thos movmnts as body languag with maning. Your training will go a lot mor smoothly if you can undrstand mor about what your dog is saying to you along th way. First, lt s talk about your dog s tail. Contrary to popular blif, a wagging tail dos not ncssarily man that your dog is happy. A wagging tail mans that a dog is xcitd, that thr is adrnalin coursing through th dog s vins. A wagging tail gos with both happy and unhappy motions. Th good nws is that you can usually intrprt what s going on using th typ of wag, th hight of th tail, and th rst of th dog s body languag. For xampl, if th wag xtnds through th whol body, so that th dog s! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 7 -
hind nd is wagging back and forth, that s a prtty good sign. If th body is stiff and th tail is wagging, that s usually a bad sign, i.., th dog is basically saying back off. Th dog s tail is part of th spin and th tightr th muscls in th back, around spin, th highr th tail gos. Tight muscls ar a sign of strss or conflict. pl m Sa Hr s an xrcis. Stand with your ft firmly plantd on th floor. Imagin that somon has thratnd your childrn. Tak in a dp brath that maks your chst puff out. What happns to your tailbon? Your spin archs a littl and your tailbon movs out. If you had a tail, it would v just gottn highr. Now imagin that you wr a timid prson and somon was about to strik you. Turn your had and crouch to avoid th blow. -8-! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual pl m Sa Your tailbon tucks, dosn t it? It s th sam for dogs. A tail that is high in a flag is a sign that th dog is on th vrg of fighting. A tuckd tail is a sign of far and such a dog may also fight if sh is cornrd. Now imagin that you v just won th lottry and do a happy danc. Rally, do it right now if you can do so without looking goofy. What happns to your spin? Your spin is loos and your whol body wiggls. That s joy! Calm, Happy Dog: Loos joints, soft or wiggly body, ars at middl/nutral position, dog moving at a normal dog pac, soft ys looking at you but not staring hard, tail wagging in a circl at a modrat pac, rlaxd down, slping, laning into ptting, taking trats asily without snatching, mouth soft and opn, brath rat or panting matchs th tmpratur and lvl of xrcis th dog is doing, dog walks in curvd lins and body is slightly curvd whn approaching othr dogs or popl. Th black dog hr, Panut, was showing calm attntion to m whil I took his pictur on a camping trip. In th photo, his mouth is opn, h is looking at m, his hight for him, th pupils ar not ovrly dila ars ar mid-hight dilatd (rflctiv), h is sitting on cu. Th muscls in his fac ar standing out a tiny bit, but that matchs th lvl of xrcis. Signs of Strss or Conflict: During your training sssions, you should notic that your dog is having a good tim, rathr than showing th signs of strss that follow. If you do s signs of strss, tak a brak and think about what aspct of your training is causing strss. Mayb you ar accidntally using punishmnt whn you rally should b using rinforcmnt, mayb your body languag is causing strss, or prhaps you ar asking too much for your dog s skill lvl.! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA -9-
- 10 - pl m Sa Tight muscls Yawning Ears pinnd back lik th boxr shown hr, ( lt m gt away ) Ears tippd forward ( I rally nd that ball or I m going to gt that guy bfor h gts m ) Sniffing around distractdly ( this training is confusing and strssful ) Dog walking in slow motion Dry panting that dosn t match th tmpratur Scanning for dangr had turning quickly to look in all dirctions at onc Suddnly moving fastr during wrstling (arousal lvl incrasing) Turning away to avoid touch ( lt m gt away ) Tongu flicking out quickly lik th boxr in th pictur ( I m a bit uncomfortabl ) Snatching trats quickly ( I m only still hr bcaus I lik lik th trats ) No apptit for trats ( I m so strssd that I can t vn at ) Tail high in a flag ( go away ) Tail tuckd ( lt m gt away ) Body crouchd down ( lt m gt away ) Body xtra tall and squarly facing somthing ( go away ) Dog avoids you or instantly rolls on his back whn you approach or rach for him ( plas don t attack m ) Urination during grting ( plas don t attack m ) Stink-y had turnd away but ys staring at you or anothr animal ( this is min! ) Stiff/frzing (spcially with a hard star) Barking Baring tth! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual Growling Biting How can you us your undrstanding of ths bhaviors? Watch your own dog intract with othr popl and dogs to s what is normal for your dog and which body posturs ar signs of strss. A tuckd tail for a curvd-tail dog (Shiba Inu, Pug, Husky, tc.) looks lik a nutral tail for a Goldn Rtrivr. Th hight of a happy tail for an Italian Gryhound can look lik a tuckd tail for a Grman Shphrd. Watching your dog s body whn h mts othrs can b a powrful larning xprinc! How dos his body chang whn h ss squirrls? Whn sh mts th nighbor s dog? Whn h mts your nic? Whn your partnr pts hr on th had? Whn you pt him on th sid or chst? Us this information about your dog s strss lvl to guid how you intract with your dog. pl m Sa! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 11 -
pl m Sa Lili Chin imag, rprintd from Bhavior Adjustmnt Training by Grisha Stwart - 12 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual pl m Sa! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 13 -
Larning Thory So far, your dog has trid to rad your intntions by watching what you do whn you ar around hr. Now that you know mor about body languag, you can us your body s movmnts to communicat intntionally with your dog, but th words that com out of your mouth may not hav any maning. That s whr a simpl application of th scinc of larning coms in. My goal with this sction is to giv you a big pictur dscription of how dogs larn. W ll gt into th dtails of ach bhavior in th chaptrs that follow, but knowing how your dog may hav larnd to do what h s currntly doing may hlp convinc you that h s not stubborn or stupid. H s just rsponding to th consquncs that hav com from you and th rst of his nvironmnt. So h s alrady traind just not in th way you want him to b. At Ahimsa, w th scintific principls of larning thory as th modl training. Sus That may sound tchnical, but it s not. Th basic ida of th thory is thatsthat dogs only do what works for thm. By this I man that normal animals, including dogs and humans, rpat bhaviors that ar followd by rinforcmnt mnt and dcras bhaviors that rsult in punishmnt. It s lik survival of th fittst tst for bhaviors, basd on th consquncs that ach bhavior brings. All bhaviors that contribut to th dog s survival and happinss surviv and othr bhaviors go xtinct. Both rinforcmnt and punishmnt can involv ithr giving things to th dog or taking thm away, so that givs us a total of four typs of consquncs for changing bhavior. Thr s a wid thical gap btwn thos diffrnt consqunc catgoris bcaus of th strss that thy caus. If you rmmbr th basic ida that your dog s bhaviors ar a rsult of consquncs, you r ahad of th gam. Lt s s look at th four ways that consquncs can affct bhavior. Sampl - Four typs of consquncs for bhavior Lt s brak that down. If a dog dos somthing, lik bark, you can follow it up with four diffrnt typs of consquncs. I lik to think of thm in trms of th motion thy caus. Brain rsarch is showing us that dogs do hav motions, vn if thy may not b xprincd with th sam lvl of consciousnss. Bhavior is rinforcd by flings of joy or rlif. Bhavior is punishd by causing a fling of discomfort or loss. If a dog barks and h fls joy or rlif, h s likly to bark in a similar situation in th - 14 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual futur. If h barks and fls discomfort or loss, h s lss likly to bark again in a similar situation. Lt s look at this in mor tchnical trms. You can us rinforcrs (stuff dogs want,!) or avrsivs (stuff dogs avoid, ") to train, but thy don t hav th sam ffct, vn though this chart maks thm look qual. If you r using artificial avrsivs (") on your dog, lik chok chains, lctronic collars, tc., stop now! It s bttr lat than nvr. Lif s too short to add mor pain, spcially whn you can train your dog and solv problms without it! Thr can b unprdictabl sid ffcts of using forc-basd mthods, lik an incras in aggrssion. Instad of using artificial avrsivs (") to train, I us th intllignc and crativity that maks humans suprior to st a dog up for succss, so that I can rward Sr with things th dog wants (!). That mans I st up th situation so that doing what I want is th obvious choic for th dog.. I rarly us any kind of punishmnt, m, vn! = stuff dogs work to gt tim outs (ngativ punishmnt), but " = stuff dogs work to avoid spcially avoid corrctions involving pain, far or discomfort (positiv punishmnt). With my own dog, somthing lik ack pops out of my mouth on rar occasions. That said, I know it s not particularly hlpful to just shout at th dog, but I m a vrbal human bing, plust and it just happns. Whn I do say ack, I go through th situation again in my had to s if thr was a way to handl th situation without rsorting to ound sounding lik a cav dwllr. Any tim you find yourslf wanting to us punishmnt, your job is to chang th situation so that you can us rinforcmnt instad. That s th intllignt way to b a ladr, rathr than using brut forc. W ll talk mor about that in th chaptr on problm solving, Gtting Rid of Problm Bhaviors. Sampl p Rinforcmnt is anything that incrass motivation to do a particular bhavior, i.., maks that bhavior strongr/mor likly in th futur. Punishmnt is anything that dcrass motivation to do a bhavior, i.., maks a bhavior wakr/lss likly.! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 15 -
Th Positiv column mans that th dog is gtting somthing, ithr somthing thy want to happn or somthing thy don t want to happn. Th Ngativ column mans somthing is takn away from th dog. Thy can b rlivd or unhappy about that. Think subtraction or tak-away. Hr ar th four ways to rward and punish bhavior: Positiv Rinforcmnt (sking JOY, PLEASURE). Th dog gts somthing thy lik and that maks thm mor likly to rpat whatvr thy just did. If thy sit and gt a cooki, thy ar mor likly to sit again. Positiv rinforcmnt is our primary mthod of training. Ngativ Rinforcmnt (sking RELIEF). Somthing th dog was unhappy or strssd about wnt away whn sh did a crtain bhavior, Spy so that bhavior is mor likly to b rpatd. An xampl of what I might do is notic that in a grting, a puppy turns hr had away from m, so I stop ptting hr (s info on BAT in th sction on far and aggrssion) to rward hr had turn and honor hr rqust for rlif of social prssur. An xampl of what I would NOT do is to shock or buzz a dog with an lctronic collar until sh sat down. Sitting would still b rwardd, but I would not considr that to b human training. Ngativ Punishmnt (avoiding SADNESS, LOSS). Somthing th dog wantd wnt away whn sh did a crtain bhavior, so sh s lss likly to rpat it nxt tim. For xampl, your dog jumps up for attntion and you lav th room for 15 sconds. Jumping up ld to hr not gtting what sh wantd, so it s lss likly to happn again. Positiv Punishmnt (avoiding DISCOMFORT, AVERSION, FEAR). Somthing unplasant happnd to th dog whn sh did a crtain bhavior, so sh s lss likly to rpat it nxt tim. For xampl, in old-school training, if your dog jumpd up, you would jrk on hr lash. Jumping up ld to hr fling pain, so it s lss likly to happn again. Sh s also mor likly to b strssd, so I avoid it. Corrctions, such as jrking on th lash, stim (aka lctric shock), kicking th dog, squirting with watr, and pinning th dog down to achiv calm submission ar all in this catgory. Shaking your fingr at th dog or saying tsst ar only in this Sampl - 16 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual catgory if doing thos things actually punish th dog s bhavior many dogs don t sm to chang thir bhavior prmanntly whn scoldd this way, although it somtims stops th bhavior in th momnt or gts your fingr bittn. For som dogs, that kind of attntion is actually rinforcing! NOTE! B.F. Skinnr, fathr of th scinc of bhaviorism, found that punishmnt is not ffctiv in th long run bcaus punishd bhaviors don t go away compltly. You nd to rinforc somthing ls that you want th dog to do.. For any problm bhavior, thr is a rplacmnt bhavior that you can rward. Sa - Focus on th good stuff pl m lling th food, toys, and opportunitis that th dog liks, I By controlling control th dog s bhavior. T Thr s hr s no nd to shout, squirt th dog, shak hr by th scruff, alpha roll hr, or do anything ls that dosn t fit my viw of how intllignt bings should trat on anothr. Sinc w hav th optio option of training any any dog to do anything without fforc, orc, thr s no rason to us barbaric, outdatd mthods. Punishmnt usually gos hand in hand-in-hand with th outdatd dominanc thory, which urgs popl to gt th uppr hand on thir dogs by doing things that rang from th bnign (ating bfor th dog) to th inconvnint (walking through all doorways first) to th dangrous (pinning th dog to th ground or lifting th dog in th air by his collar to cut off th airway). At Ahimsa Dog Training, w count on th scinc of animal bhavior and don t nd to rsort to outdatd mthods involving forc. That frs us up! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 17 -
pl m Sa to do things lik tach dogs to do cool tricks, lik lying down on a prson s back (s th photo), which might b considrd worrisom domination in old-school training. Dcads ago, scinc movd us byond th nd for dominanc-basd mthods to hlp fix problms w hav with our dogs. For xampl, th Amrican Vtrinary Socity for Animal Bhavior urgs vtrinarians to avoid rcommnding trainrs who us dominanc-basd mthods. Unfortunatly, old-school mthods hav gaind traction again du to popular tlvision shows, but fortunatly, popl ar starting to tak off th ros-colord glasss and rcogniz that kind of training as abus. If you still njoy dog training TV shows that us chok chains, tak a look at th color of th dog s tongu whn th trainr lifts th dog into th air by th collar to put th dog into a submissiv stat. Th dog s tongu can actually turn blu that way, so that s not submission submission th dog is just passing out. Anothr way to s what s rally going on is to turn off th sound and watch th show in trms of th strss/happinss bhaviors that I mntiond th book. at th bginning of th If a dog trainr, bhaviorist, vtrinarian, or frind suggsts any s that mak you uncomfortabl, don t do that training with your tchniqus advocat. As th human, training dcisions ar dog. You ar your dog s advocat. ntirly upon your own conscinc ultimatly up to you and rst ntirly conscinc. If you hav alrady don that kind of training, don t worry. You can still tach your dog using th tchniqus in this book. Your dog will lov th chang! If your dog could talk, h would probably quickly forgiv your training mthods usd in th past and thank you for bing opn to larning about forc-fr training. - Killing with kindnss: a not on rwards Rwards ar somthing that w giv or do to dogs in an - 18 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual attmpt to rinforc bhavior, but a rward only works if th dog actually finds it rinforcing! For xampl, ptting will only rinforc bhavior if your dog njoys bing pttd at that momnt. A surprising numbr of dogs rally don t lik bing pttd in th way that popl pt thm, and thr ar usually tims whr dogs don t want any ptting at all. It s kind of lik having your mom hug you whn dropping you off for high school in front of that cut guy you hav a crush on. If your dog dosn t lik ptting, you may actually b punishing hr for bing good! Hr ar som ways you can know th diffrnc btwn ptting and pstring. If you rach for your dog and sh pulls away, it s not ptting. It s pstring! Ptting is not rinforcing at that momnt. Us th 5-scond rul for ptting. Don t pt for mor than 5 sconds at a tim. Aftr at most 5 sconds of ptting, pull your hands away and s what your dog dos. If sh nuzzls your hand or looks at you, sh probably njoyd th ptting. If sh holds in on plac or turns/movs away, you wr pstring hr. If a dog flips ovr on hr back, as if to gt a blly rub, sh may not actually want that.. Sh may just b afraid of you. If it s not your dog, assum that th dog dosn t actually want a blly rub. With your own dog, sh might indd want a blly rub. Howvr, instad of th 5-scond rul, us somthing mor lik th 1-scond rul, i.., stop aftr just barly ptting hr blly. In th blly rub sssion sn in th photo o on th prvious pag, I stoppd vry scond or so to mak sur th dog, Jams, was still njoying it. My dog, Panut, actually prfrs for m to massag his back whn h gos into blly rub position. I put my hand btwn him and th floor or bd, palm up, and mov along ong his back, massaging th muscls on th sids of his spin. Think about it, which part of you rally nds a massag, your back or your blly? If you want to mak it mor likly that your dog will njoy ptting from you, us wiggly fingrs, i.., massag vrsus patting him. Mak contact with th part of th dog that is closst to you, rathr than raching ovr his body to touch somthing farthr away. Crouch down and turn sidways to th dog, rathr than laning ovr him. Toys and trats ar xcllnt ways to motivat your dog. It s important to not us thm as a brib, but rathr to hav thm b a surpris. In othr words, whn you us trats or toys, try to hav thm not b obvious to th dog until aftr h s don what you ask. For xampl, hav th trats in your Sampl! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 19 -
- 20 - Trat Exampls: Dog food (kibbl) Chs Vggi hot dogs Frz drid lamb lung Salmon strips Chickn Tug toys Ftch toys Ic cubs Frz-drid or frsh vggis Papr towl rolls Food puzzls pl m Sa hand bhind your back, in your pockt, in a trat pouch, or bttr yt, tak th trats off of your body at last som of tim, lik up on a shlf or hiddn in a tr. Try to surpris th dog with th rward aftr h sits or dos whatvr you v askd him to do. You ll larn mor about how to us trats ffctivly in a bit. Lt s talk about which trats or toys you can actually us with your dog. Basically, anything that is halthy to th dog can b usd as a trat. You can vn us som unhalthy things, but try not to giv your dog too many of thm. Look for natural and organic ingrdints with nams that you can rcogniz. Avoid foods that contain corn, sugar, ingrdints sourcd in countris with low standards for procssing food, and anything with th words animal, by-product, or digst. Whil w r on th subjct of halth, watch your dog s wight, too. Your dog should hav a waist if you look at him from abov, and you should b abl to fl your dog s ribs asily through th fur. If not, you nd to ithr xrcis your dog mor, us lowr calori trats, trats, us rgular dog food as trats, fd lss dog food ovrall, or all of th abov. Considr mor than just th halth factor for trats. Your dog will lov th bhaviors only as much as sh lovs th training trats you usd, so don t gular ho hum dog food. Gt trats and hav your dog just us your rgular sampl thm and rat thm from low to WOW.! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual Dogs Larn Through Exprinc: Puppy Socialization Taching your dog dosn t just involv tlling hr what you want hr to do, and vic vrsa. It is also about taching your dog that sh livs in a world that is saf and prdictabl, and how to cop with it whn it is nithr of thos things. If you hav a puppy, socialization should b your main focus in th wks and months to com. Puppy socialization is lowstrss xposur to various aspcts of vryday lif popl, dogs, surfacs, noiss, tc. As author and trainr Pat Millr has said, "Th ida of puppy socialization is to giv th dog a gnrally optimistic viw of th world" (my mphasis). Why should you car? For on thing, puppis who ar not wllsocializd oftn hav problms with aggrssion or mannrs latr in lif. Unand undr-socializd Sav dogs ar not comfortabl with th world thy liv in and ar lss abl to cop with chang than thy should b. Many dogs at th shltr that look abusd wr actually just undr-socializd as puppis. Popl ar oftn afraid of th grms that thir puppy might ncountr whn thy ar out in th world, but th major killr of dogs in th U.S. is not disas, it s bhavior, which is dirctly corrlatd to puppy socialization. For most of th dogs, that could hav bn changd with arly socialization and puppy training. Bcaus of our currnt undrstanding of th importanc of bhavior, and bcaus of vaccin advancmnts, w can start socializing puppis arlir than w usd to do. Most of th nw puppy vaccins can b givn starting at 6 wks old, and start bing ffctiv for rlativly clan nvironmnts about 10 days latr. Prvious vaccins s would fight with th immunization givn by th mothr and thus los ffctivnss, but nwr vaccins hav solvd this problm, so w can vaccinat arlir than w could yars ago. Aftr your puppy gts his first round of shots, h is rady to b carfully xposd to th world. W still nd to minimiz risks for disas until th vaccinations ar complt (usually 3 sts of combo shots) and kp th socialization fun for your puppy. That s th ky to vrything socialization is a fun xprinc for your puppy. If your vtrinarian disagrs, you can tll hr/him that th Amrican Vtrinary Socity of Animal Bhavior rcommnds starting puppy classs 7 days aftr your puppy s first st of shots, in most cass. You can s thir position papr onlin at http://avsabonlin.org/rsourcs/position- Sampl! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 21 -
statmnts (also includs positions on dominanc, how to choos a trainr, and mor). Mak sur that th school that you tak your puppy to kps mdical and motional risks to a minimum. For xampl, at Ahimsa, w hav th facility profssionally cland with a virucid th night bfor ach puppy class, ask all puppy ownrs for proof of vaccination, and ask our studnts to avoid th dog park whil thy ar in puppy class. W also hav a spcial class for youngr puppis, calld Baby Puppy, so youngr puppis do not hav to start out in th main kindrgartn class. If your training school dosn t hav that option, th instructor should b doing somthing to mak sur youngr puppis ar not bullid by oldr puppis. For xampl, young puppis can watch play tim from bhind a barrir at first. Your puppy is larning and socializing right now, during vry scond that h s awak. Popl usd to say that you couldn t start obdinc training with a puppy until it was six months old. But thy mant you couldn t proprly Sppy punish a dog until that ag with a chok chain, bcaus of thir growing puppy bons. With positiv training mthods, you don t hav to wait to bgin training.. Using positiv training, som dog brdrs snd hom puppis that t alrady know how to sit on cu. That s just on mor rason to b dog-frindly you ndlyandly a you can tach your puppy mannrs now! You can and should start taching your puppy basic cus, lik sit, down, tc. using th tchniqus in this book. But your main focus during puppyhood should not b on obdinc typ bhaviors, but rathr on socialization with othr puppis, dogs, humans, surfacs, sounds, and mor, as wll as vryday mannrs within your hom. Puppis ar socialization spongs. Things that thy xprinc in this tim priod will stick with thm forvr. Sourcs lffr, diffr, but many say that th primary socialization priod is up until 12 2 wks. From 12-16 wks, thy ar larning as wll, but not as quickly as thy did up to 12 wks. Evry nw xprinc for your puppy should b positiv, i.., accompanid by trats, prais, and/or fun. Up until 6 months, you should only hav your puppy in socializing nvironmnts that you hav solid control ovr. Evn aftr that, your puppy is still socializing. You may b surprisd to larn that th full socialization priod for a puppy is two yars! But your dog will b your companion for 10 to 15 mor yars, so why not invst som tim into crating an optimistic dog now? To what sort of things should you socializ your nw puppy? Evrything!! Your puppy should xprinc a bit of cold, funny noiss, strang hats, intrsting txturs, calm rstraint (prais and rlas it whn Sampl - 22 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA
Th Official Ahimsa Dog Training Manual it is calm), othr dogs (your own dogs ar not nough!) and many othr things. Puppis should also larn to stop mouthing, gradually (s th sction blow on puppy biting). All of ths topics in a good puppy socialization class, but you should start with xposing your puppy to nw things now. Socialization dosn t just man play with dogs. You can sarch onlin for "Puppy s Rul of Twlv" to find an articl by Margart Hughs with a varity of idas. Dog-dog intractions should b controlld and positiv for your dog. You can socializ your young puppy with dogs in a positiv puppy training class, a puppy playgroup, or a nighbor s yard, but not th dog park! On rcnt study found that dogs about 6 month of ag wr th targt for th most aggrssion in th park, mor than any othr ag group. Onc your dog is old nough to go to th dog park, and you dcid it s worth th risk, protct him from by moving along and not ltting him gt harassd by othr dogs. Sharm If you hav a small-brd dog, you should probably wait vn longr than six months bfor going to th dog park, if vr. Thr ar opportunitis for play and socialization outsid of th park, and you should tak advantag of thm. Your dog is still 'socializing' vn if sh is not doing rough-and-tumbl play, so going on walks with frinds and mting oldr dogs who do not play will still b vry usful. Shy dogs can gain confidnc around dogs who arn't trying to gt thm to play and dogs who tnd to gt ovrly rild up will larn mannrs around dogs who immdiatly going into play mod. Again, mak sur all xprincs ar saf and gnrally positiv for your puppy. Your puppy should b abl to lav or stop an intraction whnvr h wants. Slow down and add distanc if your puppy is scard! Plas rad through th information on BAT and countrconditioning conditionin in this book, vn if your puppy has not shown any fars. Both tch tchniqus ar hlpful for socialization. Now lt s start talking about som of th tchnicalitis of training. In our puppy socialization classs and adult dog classs, w us clickr training. What is it, xactly? Rad on! Sampl lp! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA - 23 -
Thank you for rading!! If you likd th first chaptr of this book, you can purchas it as an book or paprback from http://doggizn.com/stor, Amazon.com, or othr Sizn.co Sbooksllrs. Sampl For hlp with your dog in Sattl, visit http://doggizn.com - 24 -! 2012 Grisha Stwart, MA