Different Dogs: Different Tools (Stimulation)

Every dog is different and there are so many different tools and methods out there to help give your dog what they need to live a happy life and get all the stimulation they need to keep stable. Again everything I comment on and mention below if from my personal experience working with dogs and owning my own animal care taking business! Dogs love routine! Before we discuss the various tools and methods you can use, first let's look at the main things every dog needs from us:

1. MENTAL stimulation
2. PHYSICAL stimulation
3. YOUR TRAINING SESSIONS! Here's the time to try and complete your training/command goals with your dog; after they've actuated their routine of mental and physical stimulation to get them excited and focused for your training sessions that help you mold your pet and their everyday behavior with you and your household.

Mental Stimulation:

• HIGH VALUE TREATS: some dogs value balls over treats, some value wet treats over dry milk bones and some dogs even won't fully give you their attention without high value pork liver treats. This all depends on your dog, their reaction, ability to focus with you and the high value item....then you are able to see what's the best item to get my dogs attention when they are at their maximum excitement or even under stimulation levels. This helps significantly as well if you have a dog that ever refuses to move forward on their walk for no reason other than their personal mood that day. My goal is to always turn their mood around and get them excited for the day!
• KONGS: putting fresh fruit or peanut butter inside then freezing it... prepared to have your pup preoccupied for at least an hour or so! 
• PLAY TIME THAT INVOLVES TREAT AND/OR JACKPOT TRAINING: truly gets the excitement going
• INTERMITTENT COMMAND TRAINING SESSIONS that involve high value treats: Begin with short and often sessions to keep excitement high, then work on building their tolerance for long command sessions! Don't ever be disappointed if they get bored and walk away - brush it off your shoulder and see what you can do to cut the session short before they get bored and to build their tolerance! This could depend on their maturity as well!
• SPIRAL/SLOW/PUZZLE FEEDERS for dinner time: These can often feel like a stimulating puzzle and the reward is their dinner for many dogs! 
• TREAT PUZZLE TOYS: where they have to work hard at trying to figure out how to make the treat come out!
• DEER/ELK ANTLERS: They naturally fall off the animal, are collected and dried out by the manufacturers who then sell them to major stores or even at wholesale on amazon. My dog and many many other dogs that I've referred this item to have absolutely loved it. They drool so much trying to get the dried bone marrow in the center that then any pieces that come off don't splinter. It's all very malleable and safe from my experience and from the countless times I've seen this product used before from clients and friends alike!

Physical Stimulation:

• BACKPACKS and introducing very small weights: Please seek your veterinarians okay to begin weight training but I have seen this cause such an improvement and flourishing of positive attitude from the fully grown dogs I have used this tool on. Please visit Cesar's Way Blog on Backpacks for even more info and content on that. Introduce weight slowly, minimally, and use them in moderation and always ease slowly into this process with your dog! You could even use this during a walk if you're experiencing a lot of pulling and are looking for a potential solution - this works them out a bit quicker and reduces the pulling time the more you work with it! I won't use the pack on a young or still developing pup or if it's an incredibly hot day! Again - contact your vet to ensure your pet is healthy for this type of work out!
• WALKS: give commands, positive rewards and keep the happiness and excitement levels up during this time! Keep confident in your commands and when you need to start asking your dog to do something else rather than, perk their ears and stare at a squirrel for example! When they finally break and respond to you, be ready with a treat! This keeps this aspect of physical stimulation safe when you are able to notice when your dog starts reacting to their surroundings rather than keeping their focus on you and having a fun walk sniffing out the neighborhood!
• DOG WALKING SERVICE: Do your research and find someone you trust! A dog walking service can be an excellent break in your dogs day and relieve some of the physical exercise they may be desperate for by the time you arrive home from work. There is a lot a service like this can offer your pet, home and just your own personal routine and daily stress. I highly recommend you look into this route!
• TREADMILL: Not a lot of dogs or owners have this resource but can be an excellent method for those who aren't able to take long walks but have a high energy dog. The backpack with mild weights could even be introduced into this type of task to keep their excitement up - along with treats and rewarding them for focusing. This can be a difficult thing to teach and I ultimately suggest you seek out a local certified dog trainer to properly train your dog to walk on a mill. 

Mental AND Physical Stimulation:

• BACKPACK + TRAINING/COMMAND SESSION: Still too much energy and you're trying to have a quick training session, or to begin teaching your dog a new task? Try utilizing a backpack that we mentioned earlier - this could allow for physical stimulation at the same time you are mentally stimulation them with a quick command and reward session! See if their behavior and focus improves or remains when using this method. If something doesn't seem to make an impact, keep moving forward and try something new! I have seen such confidence come out of dogs particularly with my own experience with this method. These dogs also have had some introduction sessions with the pack prior to any command giving with it on. 
• PLAY DATES: Play dates! Oh this could wear your high energy or even any energy level dog when their partner is playful too! Even if neither are playful, both dogs will typically get a certain level of physical and mental stimulation. They're communicating with that other dog while engaging in safe play!
• DOG DAYCARE: This essentially would be like a doggy play date - but all day long, with new people, and all new dogs! For the right dog, this could REALLY mentally stimulate them not to mention the physical stimulation if they find a playmate to be best friends with all day! Dog daycare typically break up any play if it goes on for too long to avoid fixation and exacerbation, as well as usually a noon break time where everyone has to relax! When seeking daycare, be sure to ask about what their daily routine is with any and all dogs that are clients there! This could be a great solution for a busy dog owner.

....but until then I hope this may help you understand your animal, their quirks and how to work with them better! 

Sincerely Yours,

Paw Patroller (On Duty!)

Different Dogs: Different Maturity Rates

A Dogs [Maturity] - 

They come in all different shapes, sizes, drives, weights, temperaments and breed types (all factors of maturity!) but how can we tell when they're no longer acting like the typical care free puppy....for us to then expect them to finally settle into their maturity? For me personally, I've worked with so many dogs who I've seen from 8 weeks old until a year...or even larger dogs who I've seen develop over their whole lives and even just how they develop over a season. What I've noticed and others may tell you this too the smaller the dog, the faster the maturity rate; the larger the dog, the slower the maturity rate. This goes for toy, small, medium, large and giant breeds!

What does this mean? 

Well basically smaller dogs don't have too much developing they need to do before they hit their mental and temperamental "adult maturity" whereas the larger of their species need some more time to grow and learn. They even achieve their full adult weight as toy and small breeds well before any medium, large or giant breed. This most basic example or correlation rather with maturity that we can look at is weight within dogs and according to leospetcare.com "Studies done in the UK indicate that you can expect a small or medium breed puppy to reach 99% of it's adult weight somewhere between 9 and 10 months of age. Large or giant breed puppies take longer to mature, and don't reach this stage until they're at least 12 – 18 months old." Now that's just WEIGHT they're talking about and maybe you can begin to see how this reflects in the mental and temperamental maturity of a dog and HOW LONG it takes when they reach their "peak maturity." According to dogtime.com they spoke on the aspect of maturity rates always differ depending on the aforementioned factors of the dog itself, but here is a rough measure of maturity rates in them mentioned on their site:

• Puppyhood ends between six and 18 months of age.
• Adolescence starts between six and 18 months of age.
• Adulthood starts between 12 months and three years of age.
• The senior years begin between six and 10 years of age.

How can I apply this to my dog? 

Well take a look at their behaviors, energy rates, and temperament as they get older and the years go on. Expect this observation and the results to happen slowly the larger your dog, but you may see this puppy-hood to adolescence to adulthood shift happen even more quickly than most. For example, my dog who is a GSD and Pharaoh Hound mix had a very high temperament and had a "need for speed" as those in my household would deem it! His will was very high due to his breed along with other factors but we truly noticed him calm WAY down right around 5 years old! It honestly was such a behavior and energy shift - but absolutely no health issues of course. On our experienced and observational end this scale of "when will my dog mature or calm down!" truly matters on so many factors but is always a variant type of answer.. We just always see the commonality of these factors when trying to figure out our dogs maturity rate:

1. Correlates with how large that dog is going to / has grown to be! 
2. We look at age. 
3. We look at breed and temperament. 

I just want my dog to calm down already! 

Don't stress - your dog will have their moments until they mature out. Stay patient, stay calm and keep your imagination up with how to keep your dog busy! Expect a puppy to have a lot of "toddler" behaviors and often you can even see a lack of focus or hyper-focus on pretty much every little stimulus around - just because of how exciting a young adolescent puppy's surroundings can be! They really can't help it but these things will get easier the more you focus on your training, giving commands when you notice they're losing focus and wanting to become rambunctious, and just taking a step in their shoes to help you notice what your specific dog needs you to help guide them through learning how to be the polite dog for you! Younger pups tend to need exercise prior to training sessions in order to focus, and sometimes they often need brief yet repeated training sessions to keep their focus and excitement up! Take a peak for my future blog on different tools you can use for your dog and within that blog I'll touch further on the types of stimulation you can bring to your dog, what works, what doesn't and how to keep them happy all day no matter what the living situation or temperament your dog is in! 

.................but until then I hope this may help you understand your animal, their quirks and how to work with them better!

Sincerely Yours,

Paw Patroller (On Duty!)

Different Dogs: Different Drives

Different Dogs: Different Drives

AKC Chart and Guide to Purebred Dogs

There's always a great debate that's personal to the individual about adopting a purebred dog versus a rescue but today's article isn't quite about that. I wanted to open up the discussion that every dog is different, whether they are a purebred or a rescue. The primary things every dog has are natural instincts or drives; You are likely to find a terrier type of dog have much different quirks than let's say a GSD or even a shepherd mix. This is particularly noticeable in the animals adolescence - and in my personal experience the more you understand your dogs drives and needs, the easier your puppy-hood, training and onward would be with them! First let's discuss the 7 classes of AKC recognized purebreds and their drives:

• Terriers

AKC Terrier Breed Chart

• Short-legged terriers were bred to go underground in pursuit of rodents on their own, without the owner. 
• Long-legged terriers were bred to dig out varmints rather than burrowing in after them, also on their own.
• The terrier groups “bull” breeds were created long ago for not-so-welcomed (now-a-days) “sports” like bull baiting and dogfights but are today excellent companion dogs.
• These are dogs of great determination, courage and self-confidence, with an immense willingness and drive to 'hit the pavement' in search of its prey. Their usual terrain that they were bred to work on was one of water and rocky terrain!

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

You're likely to notice dogs of this breed or mix have a "passion for an argument" and their original drives to seek out rodents and never give up... leads them to be very determined pups! They're high energy, so you're likely to need to expend a good amount of their energy prior to a training session! Also, you could potentially expect funny quirks like gathering items (such as shoes) in your home to their bed. Expect neurotic tendencies to potentially grow if they don't have a way to expend their drives and energy. They truly were bred to pursue a rodent but on their own. Don't fret though, they just need someone just as adamant as them when talking and working with them. They can be excellent to work with the more you understand this determination drive of theirs and high energy; they listen so well the more you start asking tasks of them and you are on top of it. Stimulate and work with their drives and they will immediately connect to you and likely love the heavy direction and training you give to them!

• Toys

AKC Toy Breed Chart

• In a way, toys are “working dogs”—they work at being attentive, affectionate companions for YOU!
• This group was bred to be small and again; to be your companion!

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

They LOVE affection! Human attention and love is what they live for! Too much lifting of a toy breed and keeping them at you, rather than allowing them to walk on a lead more often can lead to possessiveness when they're lifted up by a human as a result. From my experience, I notice these toys breeds tend to really love just THEIR owner or just love everyone! Either way don't forget..they're always trying to think about you!

• Herding

AKC Herding Breed Chart

• These breeds move livestock. Herding dogs work closely with human shepherds, and their natural responsiveness makes them highly trainable.
• They are bred to be taught by a human, then to continue working on their own. 


What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?
They will love to pace. It's going to make them feel like they're actuating their herding drive. I've found even when there's action or a new stimulus to their area or environment they have a somewhat quick response and even you may see them begin to pace as well as a result. It's important to stimulate this drive with them or they could have a tendency to be neurotic and potentially show some mildly aggressive behaviors. It's easy to actuate this through a large fenced yard, teach them to keep a parameter to herd around you while in public and off leash (in a safe space) or even at a dog park or day care. They will love to herd the perimeters of the yard of active animals - and may even engage in play! I notice in my personal experience a lot of herding dogs have a strong ball drive! This can tend to be an even better reward than treats while training.


• Hounds

AKC Hounds Breed Chart

• All hound breeds pursue warm-blooded prey.
• Sight hounds: Bred to be sleek, long-legged and use explosive speed and wide vision to chase swift prey, like jackrabbits, squirrels and even antelope.
• Scent hounds: Tough and durable, they rely on their powerful noses to trail anything from a possum to an escaped convict.

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

Don't forget these dogs were bred with a strong prey drive. Once you start activating it and asking them to chase down live prey, this prey drive can get stronger and stronger; even resulting in digging or running away just to chase down the prey they have their sights on. I tend to avoid teaching sigh hounds on how to jump - some sight hounds can jump VERY high in pursuit of their prey! Scent hounds can tend to be kitchen scrap hungry but if you make sure the strong-smelling foods they have access to is strict and limited - you may have a better time keeping their begging under wraps! Scent hounds and sight hounds absolutely both love a large yard to sniff out, with birds and squirrels to chase out of their own accord! If you encourage it - you are encouraging their drive to hunt. That comes along with understanding you are activating their original and raw drive to hunt prey. This breed I notice tends to have a strong ball drive but also a high value treat drive. It depends on the dog, their personalities and needs can be different with each individual!

• Working

AKC Working Breed Chart

• The Blue Collar kind of pup! Bred to pull sleds and carts, do rescue work, guard flocks and homes, and protect their humans.

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

Working dogs require a certain way of greeting to earn their respect. If you come into their home and don't ask for their attention and wait for them to come to you, you're already earning your place in their hierarchy. Working dogs are so smart and depending on the dog they each were bred for a specific task. For example a husky is bred specifically to pull, and to stimulate their drive a harness and even a backpack proves to be extremely effective and stimulating for them. On another end, a Doberman was bred to protect the tax man while he was out collecting taxes; they were bred to defend and attack on command. A Doberman (along with any other working breed) when you don't train them to perform a new job and keep up with their routine, you do risk the animal sliding into their natural bred instinct (with any breed and particularly the working class of dogs). These dogs can be trained and filter their drives to being wonderful animals...even service dogs! They are so so smart! I've personally and have often used backpacks and weight packs on dogs in this class in my personal experience of working with these dogs when beginning to figure out how best to stimulate them!

• Sporting

AKC Sporting Breed Chart

• Breeds in this group were created to assist hunters directly on feathered game. This means they want to listen to your commands while working!
• Retrievers were built for swimming, specialize on waterfowl.
• The hunting grounds of setters, spaniels, and pointing breeds are grasslands where quail, pheasant, and other tasty game birds nest.

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

These dogs tend to be very fun, easy to work with, and works great with families. They love treats, balls, any type of walking tool and even a backpack if you felt inclined and you had an overactive dog! I've seen dogs of this breed love everything from simply sunbathing and watching their backyard or swimming and learning to catch ducks! They are bred to work with the OWNER so they tend to be easier when it comes to wanting to listen to you and train!

• Non-Sporting

AKC Non-Sporting Breed Chart

• These breeds have two things in common: wet noses and four legs. After that, this group is a patchwork quilt of wonderful and unique breeds whose job descriptions defy categorization in the six other groups

What does this mean when it comes to training and working with this breed?

This is definitely a "catch-all" class of dogs that are each hard to define because they are all SO unique! They have their own unique personalities and individual reasons why a pet owner may be seeking out a breed under this class of dog. Keep in mind their intelligence and what they were bred for...you should have a better time understanding them and training them through adolescence, adulthood, or even if they were rescued. 

Now, we discussed purebred working classes and drives but we haven't discussed mixes and rescues! The more that you see your rescue has quirky behaviors, certain desires or even certain unwanted behaviors that arrived out of nowhere; see if you can't figure out what your dogs main passion and desire is in these moments. Write them all down and see what tools or even what type of drives your dog may be exhibiting. Don't forget for training, some dogs are so excited about the treats you have, some won't react unless they're "high value" treats (like mine haha!) and some feel even more rewarded by using a ball! I can discuss tools, their purposes and how it helps with training in another article....but until then I hope this may help you understand your animal, their quirks and how to work with them better! 

Sincerely Yours,

Paw Patroller (On Duty!)