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Raising a puppy gives you a unique opportunity to prevent nuisance behaviours from developing into major problems. Learn how at puppy school.
Attending a professionally run puppy school is critical to having a well behaved dog joining your family. As we learn more about dog behaviour and development, there has become an increased emphasis on early, thorough, positive socialisation of young puppies. Research has shown that it is vital that this occurs during the Critical Socialisation Period […]
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Mark offers private, personal dog training sessions to help with most behaviour issues. Why Hire a Professional? It is quite normal to try and fix your dog’s behavioural issues by speaking to friends and family, searching Google, reading books, and watching videos on the internet. Often times this advice can contradict itself, and it can […]
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Mark Ehrman of Canine Counselling by Mark is the first Victoria Stilwell Positively Dog Trainer (VSPDT) in Australia. After completing a certificate in dog training and behaviour in 2006, Mark continued to study and learn about dogs and dog training. As a result of his continuing education, Mark changed the way he trains, adopting the […]
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Teaching your dog a cue (sit, down, stay, go to bed, etc) is all about COMMUNICATION.
Unfortunately we humans emphasise verbal communication way too much for our canine friends. They much prefer visual communication.
That’s one reason I encourage teaching your dog sign language (visual cues) in addition to verbal cues.
If you haven’t taught intentional visual cues, then you may be inadvertently sending conflicting cues visually versus with words. And this can be an issue for our dogs! 😣
An example is with my friend who visits my home. His mouth is saying “down, off, no jumping, sit!!” (4 cues BTW), but his hands are dangling and waving about above my dog’s head. To my dog, this is an invitation to jump up and interact with the hands. Since dogs prefer visual cues, he continues to jump up despite the verbal cues to not jump. 🤦♂️
If you’re struggling with a similar situation or find your dog just doesn't respond to the verbal cues, consider trying SILENT TRAINING. This means keeping your mouth closed for the whole time. 🤭 No saying “no” or “ah-ah” or even asking for another cue. Instead only speak with your body language, maybe a hand cue, or best just with treats and rewards for the desired behaviour.
This will force you to communicate with your dog without words. It is very challenging, but trust me, it will actually improve your communication skills because you will be using your dog’s preferred communication style. Practice it a few times and see how effective it can be!
So grab some treats, close your mouth, and see if you can get your dog to sit in your living room. Keep going. See how many behaviours you can get with your mouth closed.
Let me know how it goes in the comments below, or if you are having any problems, just reach out!
©2019 Canine Counselling by Mark
