Bad Dog Boot Camp

Answers to common questions

When dogs come for boarding and training we like to make sure they are in good health. This way we don't have to worry about the health risks to the other dogs that are here. We would like to make sure that your dog can participate in the activities.

01

What do I need to provide in order for my dog to board with you?

The dog needs to be current on their shots. We need a copy of their current shot records. We also need your vetinarians contact information should the dog have a medical issue and we can't reach you. Other than that we normally only need the dog, their food and any medications. We have boxes of toys, lots of dog beds, leashes and kennels. Dogs are pretty adaptable and will usually settle in without much else.

02

What will my dogs day be like?

The dog spends its day in the room with me while I'm working. This gives me the opportunity to work with the dog in a typical environment to where the dog may exhibit the problem behaviors. This also allows me to correct the behavior consistently and make the behavior changes quickly. It puts the dog on the right path quickly.

Once the work day is concluded, depending on the temperature outside, we go out to play. It gives the dogs the opportunity to run off all that energy they've been storing up. Some days we go for hikes in the mountains. Some days we hike along the river so the dogs can stay cool and if they like to swim they can do that. This gives the dogs an outlet as well as the much needed exercise they need on a daily basis.

After playtime, depending on the weather, the dogs may come in and be put on a grooming table to get dried and then brushed if needed. The dogs waiting to be dried or brushed rest and learn about being calm. In the evening it's dinner time. We teach the dogs to sit and wait for their food. All of the dogs will line up at their bowls and wait for the "okay". When the "okay" is given they can eat.

For the rest of the evening is typically time to chill. The dogs will be in the family room with our dogs and our three kitties and other dogs that are boarding at the time. Depending on the dog we may work on some obedience or behavior. If there are specific behaviors or commands a dog doesn't want to do, we work on those. It’s not up to the dog to say what they will or won’t do. The dog doesn’t have to like what they are being told to do. For example, some dogs don’t like baths, getting brushed or nail clipping, but it’s about the health of the dog so it's something that has to be done. Afterwards they get lots of praise and rewards. They start to learn good behaviors. Nothing bad happened and just the contrary, lots of good came afterwards. I find that most dogs want to do the behavior that they originally resisted.

03

How long does it take to change a behavior?

It typically takes an hour to teach a dog a different behavior from what they are used to. Getting the behavior to stick for any length of time is normally a week but depending on the dog and the behavior it could be more. Sometimes, some dogs are resistant and they don't want to change. They have been doing a specific behavior for so long that it takes more time for the behavior to be acceptable by the dog. It varies per dog and has to be determined after assessing the dogs behavior for a couple of days. It usually only takes a week and it normally doesn't take more than three weeks but the dogs can always change that. Here's a good example of this dog that came for boarding and training. The dog was a 9 months old German Shepherd and he already weighed 95 lbs. The dog’s obedience training was easy but after the first day it was observed that the dog had aggression issues around the guarding of food and toys. I notified the owner and we agreed the dog would need two weeks. I changed the behavior gradually over a couple of days but it took more time for the change in behavior to be ingrained in the dogs mind.

04

How do you change a dogs bad behavior?

To set the premise for this, the dog is stuck in a learned conditioned behavior. The dogs focus on the bad behavior needs to be broken. Then the dog needs to be given an appropriate new behavior. To do this, as crazy as this might sound, we typically use a squirt bottle filled with half water and half vinegar. Neither the water nor the vinegar hurts the dog and the vinegar is a natural disinfectant. When the dog exhibits the bad behavior I use the squirt from the bottle to break the focus on the bad behavior. Then I tell the dog what I want them to do, like go to their bed. When they go to their bed they hear the word “GOOD”. GOOD is the marker we’re using to let the dog know that the behavior is the desired behavior. The marker is also followed by a reward. The reward could be excited praise or another type of reward. The key to success is in the timing and the consistency. If you’re not consistent you’ll get inconsistent results. Being consistent requires more work initially but a lot less work overall.

Here’s an example of how quickly this works. I was boarding a dog and it was the dogs first time here. The dog had an issue with destroying things and swallowing them which could lead to health issues. To compound the issue, the dog was pretty much deaf (unless you screamed very loudly). When I was talking with the owner they pointed out a small bone that was laying on the floor about five feet away. The bone was big enough that none of the other dogs would ever consider swallowing it. The owners of this dog said their dog will pick it up and swallow it. I already had the dogs leash so I picked up a squirt bottle ready to do some training. I let the dog see the bone and when the dog started to pick it up, I squirted the dog in the nose. The dog sat back and looked at the bone like “what was that”. The dog started to pick up the bone again and the same thing happened (the squirt either in the eyes, ears or nose). The dog sat and looked up at me wanting direction. I gave the dog a toy to play with and praised the dog. The dog was here for a week and never touched that small bone again. With the correct timing, accuracy of the “correction” (the squirt) and the consistency, the dog was told what not to do followed by what they can do.

05

I thought the best method to train an animal is with a clicker and positive reinforcement?

The best method to train an animal is with positive reinforcement using marker training (clicker). I love using marker training and it is the fastest way to teach a desired behavior. There are two parts to training with marker or clicker training. Firstly, you can only mark a good behavior when you see it and are ready to mark it. This means you have to have a lot of patience (the good behavior doesn’t happen very often so your opportunities are limited) and a lot of time (in one instance a person using a clicker took over a year to train out a dog’s aggression issue). Most people don’t want to, or can’t afford to, pay for a year’s worth of boarding and training. That means we’re given a very short amount of time to change a dog’s behavior. I have to change the focus on an unwanted behavior quickly. I do this with marker training once I’ve distracted the dog from the undesired behavior. I tell the dog what not to do, what I want them to do and then I mark it by saying “GOOD” (you could use other words as the marker or use a clicker) followed by the reward of praise, treats or even a toy that the dog really likes (value of the payment for the good behavior). I have a lot of dogs brought to me that don’t like treats or toys and could pretty much care less about attention. For dogs like this, they are almost impossible to train using marker training. You have to find something that motivates the dog. If there is no payout for the dog to do anything, then there is nothing to be rewarded for. Sometimes it’s finding a reward with a high enough value. Sometimes it’s about building trust (something else that could take a long time).

Here is an example for demonstration. I had an eight month old puppy come for some training. The puppy was jumping on everyone, trying to get them to play. The puppy would grab the people by the arm with his mouth. Because of the unwanted behavior the puppy was isolated to a room in the house and he was free fed. The puppy was confused, and he was not treat motivated. He didn’t care about playing with toys but he craved attention. To resolve this it all started at feeding time. I would put the puppy’s food down and if he walked away the food was picked up. This was repeated at every meal so eventually the puppy became hungry and decided he better eat while it was there. The puppy wasn’t isolated from anyone or anything during this so he was still allowed to be social. The puppy learned that he didn’t get the attention that he wanted until he was calm (in a sitting position), then he was rewarded by being petted. After a few days of getting the puppy’s food on track, and with the help of the rest of the pack, the puppy started wanting the treats when they were offered. With the puppy’s desire for attention and his food drive returning it was possible to start doing more marker training. When the puppy would come running up, he's about ready to jump, he found that a treat was in his way and he had to sit to get the treat. This stopped the puppy from jumping on everyone. Once he got the concept we could move off of treats and onto only praise. The problem was solved. The puppy was taught that being calm got him all kinds of attention.