Tag: training
Cesar was right! Give a dog plenty of exercise (and socialization) and his behavioral issues go away!
(To be fair, any dog trainer will tell you this; I don’t mean to single out Cesar specifically.)
Here he is, sitting by a curb. It’s one of the rules we give him. When we stop at an intersection and need to wait for a walk signal, we make him sit first. When we allow him through a doorway, we make him sit first. When we play fetch with him, we make him sit first. It’s good doggie discipline.
I took Mocha for a nice hour-long walk today. Sometimes he’ll bark at bicyclists and skateboarders. Other times, he’ll growl at pedestrians and other dogs. Occasionally, he’ll lunge at someone he probably perceives is threatening, perhaps because of his protectiveness.
But during this walk, he was totally fine. Hurray for exercise and doggie discipline!
I had the leash high up on his neck and kept him by my side the entire time. This is what I do whenever I walk him for bathroom breaks and exercise. Thankfully, I’m beginning to see a change. The protective behavior is subsiding.
What does this mean? We need to walk him more often. Like every day. Our jobs don’t always allow us this free time, but we try our best. We take him on long hikes once a week and 3-mile runs about two-to-three times a week.
For some dogs, that’s probably enough. For a Jack Russell Terrier mix like Mocha, it’s not quite. And ironically, the more we exercise him, the more fit he becomes, and the more exercise he needs. On the plus side, we’re also getting more fit too. (Need to lose weight? Get a Terrier!)
Now that it’s getting nicer outside, perhaps I’ll start working in a downtown cafe and take Mocha with me. It’s a nice 1.5 mile walk away, which ought to give him the exercise and socialization he needs. And, of course, the exercise I need.
Part of our training regime for Mocha is to have him sit before we let him throw a doorway. He learned this rule surprisingly quickly. It took him only three tries before he understood what he is supposed to do at the doorway. Good dog.
Mocha has been a bit of a difficult dog ever since we left him in a kennel. We’re not entirely sure if it’s the kennel’s fault – they have a good reputation amongst other dog owners in the area and I doubt they mistreated Mocha in any way – though the act of leaving Mocha alone for a while may have triggered his anxieties. Since we rescued him from an animal shelter, it’s possible he was abandoned by his previous owners and started to worry when he felt we were abandoning him too.
However, Mia and I are both busy working professionals with busy schedules. At least once a month, we have to travel or leave Mocha alone for most of the day. We hate doing it, but it’s not always possible to bring Mocha along with us, especially when we’re staying with friends who are not comfortable with dogs either.
So for long trips, we leave him with Melvin & Cabbie’s parents, who take great care of him. Every time I watch them wrestle, I see a great big smile on Mocha. It’s so obvious that he loves being with other dogs.
Which leads us to conclude that his recent behavioral problems may be solvable by getting a second dog. Another solution would be more exercise and activity, which we’ve been trying. A second dog, however, could play with Mocha and give him the social interaction that he craves. Also, we’re not always able to give Mocha the exercise and activity he needs because of our aforementioned schedule. Perhaps a second dog could.
Unfortunately, that’s easier said than done. A second dog presents its own challenges, such as increased costs, time to find the right companion, additional training needs, etc. We also know of a few more long trips we’ll need to take. We can’t expect Melvin & Cabbie’s parents to take care of four dogs. Placing two dogs in a kennel for weeks would be damn expensive too. And we couldn’t bring our dogs along on a trip to another country either.
So what do we do? Sigh. We don’t know yet. We’re hoping more exercise, training, patience, and love can help the little guy. Hopefully that will be enough.
We took Mocha to Big Sur this past weekend. His friends Melvin & Cabbie came along too.
During the trip, Mocha was… difficult. Since leaving him at a kennel, he’s been insecure & nervous, which has manifested as barking at strangers – mostly men, but sometimes women & children too.
At home, this means 2AM barks that wake us and neighbors up. At Big Sur, it meant snarls & growls at our friends. Sigh…
We’ve been trying the exercise, discipline & affection technique that Cesar Milan recommends. We’re also still trying to get him comfortable with a clicker, though he still cowers from it. But perhaps we need the help of a professional dog trainer.
So dog trainer hunting I go. Hopefully I can find a good one nearby. Poor little fellah seems to be pretty insecure these days. I hope some good training will help.
I got me a clicker today! In addition to some Cesar Milan-style exercise, discipline & affection, I’m going to apply some clicker magic on Mocha.
Except… he’s afraid of the clicker. How’s that for irony? Mocha’s a nervous dog who’s barking at people out of fear, so I decide to begin clicker training to restore his confidence – except clicker training scares the heck out of him.
Ah well. Guess I’ll have to try a softer clicker on him, like the clicker on a pen or something. Scaredy dog.
This is Mocha after a nice three-mile run first thing in the morning. It’s part of my new training regime for Mocha. Exercise, discipline & affection.
Ever since leaving Mocha in a kennel, he’s been a changed pup. He’s more skittish, more nervous, and a lot more barky.
During the day, he’s usually pretty good. Playful, goofy, and pretty chill. But at night, he’ll bark at people walking outside, even if it’s neighbors that he once happily sniffed & licked.
Suddenly, he started barking at every person we encountered on his bathroom breaks. Even the nice neighbor and their kids. That was the last straw.
According to Cesar Milan of The Dog Whisperer, one way to restore order and banish the bark is to assert your dominance. Become the pack leader.
I thought I was doing that already, but perhaps not. Or perhaps the time in the kennel knocked me out of that position.
So starting today, I’m getting Cesar on his ass. It’s going to be all about exercise, discipline, affection, and calm & assertive pack leadership, dammit!
After a month of trying the Gentle Leader Headcollar, we decided to try our luck with the Gentle Leader Easy Walk Black Harness instead. The headcollar was frustrating Mocha too much, with little evidence of acclimation. The Easy Walk Harness was much better.
As advertised, the harness slipped on to Mocha easily and without resistance. It was surprising how little he cared about it. He just stood there while we fumbled with the straps. The harness isn’t difficult to put on, though it may take a few tries at first.
During our walks, Mocha didn’t pull much at all. And when he did, the harness stopped his forward momentum. It was pretty awesome.
Letting him go potty was a bit tricky though. He sometimes likes to pace for a while before getting down to business. The harness seemed to distract him from his, er, duties (no pun intended). He even seems to be compensating in an odd manner – by walking diagonally as he’s searching for the golden spot. We were afraid the harness was going to teach him to walk diagonally indefinitely, but nah. He walks normally once the harness is off.
We also discovered a side benefit. Normally, the harness straps on such that the leash is attached to his chest. However, it’s possible to outfit the harness so the leash is at his back. That means this can double as a regular, non-training harness.
Why is that a benefit? When we take Mocha for our runs, a traditional neck collar chokes him. And the standard Easy Walk Harness configuration makes him run diagonally. But with this new arrangement, he’s able to run without restriction. It’s pretty cool.
Our Assessment
- The Gentle Leader Easy Walk harness is a great alternative to the headcollar, especially for Mocha.
- It actually works! Mocha’s pull has been cut down significantly on our walks.
- Flipping it around, the harness doubles as an effective way to run with Mocha.
Final Verdict
We’re impressed, even after a couple of weeks of use. I think we’ll be using the Easy Walk harness exclusively now. It’s a great product and I think even Mocha would highly recommend it, when he’s not walking diagonally to pee.
We’ve been using the Gentle Leader Headcollar
on Mocha these last few days. (The photo above obviously isn’t Mocha.)
On a regular leash, he’s a locomotive – he’s crazy (loco) and always wants to be on the go (motive). In other words, he pulls so fricken hard that he hacks & chokes. A friend recommended the Gentle Leader headcollar because he had heard it worked well. The reviews online looked favorable too.
I’m not so sure Mocha agrees. With the headcollar on, he does follow obediently. But as soon as we stop moving, he goes into Ahh-spider-on-my-shoulder! mode. His paws are all over his face, desperately trying to pull it off. He is usually able to remove it too.
According to the instructional video, you can acclimate your dog to the headcollar by rubbing his muzzle and giving him treats. I’ve been trying that and it hasn’t helped yet. To be fair, we just started using it a few days ago.
The instructional video also explains that if your dog can remove the headcollar, it isn’t on tight enough. So I tightened it to the point where he can barely open his mouth – which the video warns against as well. Maybe Mocha has an oddly-shaped head or something, but it seems like tightening it doesn’t work, nor loosening it up.
After a few hours of returning home and relieving Mocha of the restraint, he suddenly goes nuts. He darts back and forth at top speed, like he’s chasing something or being chased. Like the vacuum cleaner has come alive and is chasing him, ready to suck away his doggie soul.
We this this crazy behavior is Mocha’s way of throwing a temper tantrum. He’s been doing this every night since using the headcollar. I guess he really, really hates it. So we’re going to stop using it for a while to see what happens.
Our Assessment
- While we are walking Mocha with the Gentle Leader headcollar on, it works like a charm. He follows obediently without playing the choking game to himself.
- As soon as we pause, he’s all paws, frantically trying to tear it off his face.
- Putting it on too loose means Mocha is able to tear it off. Putting it on too tight means Mocha can’t open his mouth.
- A few hours after removing it, Mocha throws a crazy temper tantrum.
Final Verdict
We’re still uncertain about the Gentle Leader headcollar. Perhaps Mocha’s head is shaped funny and this product just doesn’t fit him. Or perhaps I’m doing something wrong when I place it on. I dunno. After a few more days, we are going to continue the treats and muzzle rubs. If he still continues to act up after a month of training, I’ll give up on this product.
We’re so happy Mocha likes his crate. I wonder if his previous owners crate-trained him. At night, he walks into his crate on his own to go to sleep. I know it takes months for some owners to crate-train their dogs, so we’re damn thankful that Mocha appears to be comfortable with his crate.
However, he doesn’t love his crate. Not yet. He prefers to chill out at our feet or in his favorite corner. So I’ve been trying to complete his training. And with our combined strength, we can end this destructive conflict and bring order to the galaxy! Uh… Ahem.
So I was saying… I’ve got to continue his crate training. With plenty of treats, hopefully it won’t be too difficult.
