Category Archives: Class Information

Housebreaking – Teach Dog WHERE You Want Dog To Pee & Poop

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Housebreaking – Teach Dog WHERE You Want Dog To Pee & Poop

Young woman cleaning after dog in yardHousebreaking & Potty Training for Your Dog
by Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

No matter what you call it – housebreaking, puppy potty training, toilet training, house training, Number One or Two,  Want to go out – we all want our dogs to learn to pee and poop outside.. We can help.

Your task is to teach your dog where the dog’s toilet is. Simple as that.

If the dog pees or poops in the house, you have not yet taught the dog where the toilet is.  Follow these steps for help with housebreaking. Also, register for training classes with us. How to teach housebreaking and other important lessons is a central part of our curriculum. See Puppy Kindergarten or Level 1 for older dogs.

  1. Find a place in your yard that you want to designate as the toilet.
  2. Routinely take the dog to that place on the leash and collar. Stand there. Do not interact. The dog can explore to the length of your Woman walking beagle dog to toilet area in yard leash but not farther.
  3. When the dog squats to go, praise and bring the dog immediately back inside. When they get inside, you can give them another praise.
  4. For housebreaking, I suggest you take them out each hour. If you can, keep a log of what the dog does on those each hour trips out.  In three or four days you will begin to see a pattern of the dog’s peeing and pooping.
  5. As part of potty training, when the dog is in the house you must keep the dog with you; the dog is restricted to the room that you are in just then. Keeping the dog with you is part of teaching the dog where you want them to pee and poop. When you are not able to keep the dog with you room to room, put the dog in the crate.
  6. A bell or other noise maker is an essential tool in housebreaking. I suggest you get a bell or some other noise maker that you can put near the door . Initially, each time you take the dog out, you raise the dog’s paw to hit the noise maker. It will become the noise the dog makes to tell you they have got to go out, but you need to teach the dog hit the noise maker to go outside to the toilet. If you just let the dog out when the dog rings the bell, the dog will learn that the bell gets them to go outside, not necessarily to toilet. You will not have taught the dog WHERE their toilet is, and the dog will still think that in the house is where.Old dog being scolded beside it's urine on the floor
  7. When the dog does ‘make a mistake’ and relieves themselves in the house, you must not call and correct for that. Too late. You will be correcting the dog for coming to you.
  8. When you want to take the dog out for a neighborhood walk or out to play, do not ring the bell.  But if the dog rings the bell you must take the dog immediately to the toilet area.
  9. I believe it does not take very many days to succeed in potty training  – teaching the dog where you want the dog to pee and poop if you are consistent with this process. See this American Kennel Club article on the importance of creating routine for your puppy.

 

Put Your Dog’s Nose to Work – Great Fun

By | | , , , ,
Comments Off on Put Your Dog’s Nose to Work – Great Fun

g their sense of smellAnn Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

The scent discrimination work at our school begins in Levels 3 and 4 with dog’s finding treats inside  identical metal boxes. Later the dogs identify boxes their owners have touched among the other boxes.  Later the training moves to metal, wood, leather and cotton items.

Conservation Employs Dogs to ‘Find It’

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on Conservation Employs Dogs to ‘Find It’

small dog follows a track in autumn - Jack Russell TerrierAnn Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

To find the hard-to-find, dogs are increasingly assigned that task in conservation projects around the world.  That is the conclusion of a study published in the Methods in Ecology and Evolution – by the British Ecological Society.  https://bit.ly/3sd2Y6h

While you and your dog may never be asked to search for an elusive lizard or the like, you can have fun putting your dog’s nose to work in the search exercises we teach.  https://bit.ly/3sbS14T

Researchers examined reports of 2,464 search cases, most of them (1,840) scientific projects.

They found “WDD (wildlife detection dogs) usually worked more effectively than other monitoring methods. For each species group, regardless of breed, detection dogs were better than other methods in 88.71% of all cases and only worse in 0.98%.”

Canine tasks vary widely from locating seedlings of invasive plants, the scat of endangered species or animal parts the product of poaching. See Working Dogs for Conservation, a non-profit organization with headquarters in Missoula, MT https://wd4c.org/about-us

 

‘Daily Exam’ exercise essential

By | | , , ,
Comments Off on ‘Daily Exam’ exercise essential

Part of socialization -- A daily exam for the puppy.

Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

There are at least five reasons why the ‘daily exam’ exercise is essential in early dog training and periodically for the dog’s well being there after.

Place you dog on his/her back between you legs belly-up.  In this position, you and your dog will be telling each other who is in charge and that the dog trusts you as the leader.  Of course, if the dog resists assuming this position, the dog may be telling you the dog does not accept you as leader and does not yet fully trust you.

After your dog lies quietly, exam the dogs parts — ears, teeth and gums, legs, feet and toenails, belly coat.  This is part grooming introduction and part physical exam.  In this process, you will be reducing the probability of a dog bite by getting the dog used to human hands in the dog’s mouth and handling the dog’s other primary tool — the feet.  Finally, the exercise teaches the dog to remain on task — in this case lying between your legs.

 

‘Daily Exam’ – essential in early training

By | | , ,
Comments Off on ‘Daily Exam’ – essential in early training

Examine teeth in the 'exam' position

Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

A must exercise for early in training is the ‘individual daily exam.’  Do it if you had time for no other training activity.  When the dog wiggles in this position, correct.  When the dog is  quiet, praise. The exercise teaches your dog who is in charge, demonstrates the dog’s trust in you, enables you to examine the dog for health issues, introduces your dog to grooming, reduces the probability of a dog bite by handling the dog’s mouth and feet, teaches your dog time-on-task behavior.  After you complete the daily exam, put your dog in the position we call ‘relax’.  Examine the dogs parts in this position, too. These exercises lay the foundation for excellent visits to the vet. Your dog becomes accepting of having its parts examined.

From this position, the handler can conduct a physical exam of the dog and begin the grooming and hygiene processes.

From this position, the handler can conduct a physical exam of the dog and begin the grooming and hygiene processes.

With the dog at rest on its side, you can conduct a physical exam.

With the dog at rest on its side, you can conduct a physical exam.

Border Collie Fun in Sun & Snow

By | | , ,
Comments Off on Border Collie Fun in Sun & Snow

4 Border Collie puppies playing in snowAnn Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

Our Border Collie puppies and their mother had fun in today’s snow and sun. This was the puppies’s first experience with snow.
Join them for our early spring dog training classes that begin the week of March 1. Here is a link to information and to register: https://dogschooling.com/virtual-dog-training/  4 Border Collie puppies playing in snow 2 Border Collie puppies playing in snow 4 Border Collie puppies playing in snow 7 Border Collie playing in snow

Guinness Record – Most Tricks in Minute by Two Dogs

By | | , , , ,
Comments Off on Guinness Record – Most Tricks in Minute by Two Dogs

Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

This California dog trainer and her two dogs set the record for most tricks in a minute by two dogs. One of the dogs set another record for fastest crawl.  In this video she also explains how she teaches the  tricks. Puppy Learning to hug the hander's arm

Many of the winning tricks are ones our students are teaching their dogs Join our tricks classes  – Great fun for both you and the dog. In this picture (right), the puppy is learning to hug.

Give Your Dog A Job – UK Study Lists The Naughtiest Breeds

By | | , , , ,
Comments Off on Give Your Dog A Job – UK Study Lists The Naughtiest Breeds

Ann Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online 

This entertaining report created by dog trainer Graeme Hall lists the five naughtiest dog breeds – dogs most in need of training, exercise and guidance from their families.

Let us help you keep your dog off the ‘naughty’ list.

The UK information came from a survey by the GoodMove, a home buying company in the United Kingdom, among its clients. How would you rate your dog?  What breed would you put at the top of the naughty list?

All dogs need jobs to do, and if one doesn’t create the job for their dog, the dog most likely will create the dog’s own – often one we don’t want.

Their ranking had Labs, Border Collies and Beagles at the top of their list. Read the article to find the other two.

 

Earn AKC Recognition for Your Puppy

By | | , ,
Comments Off on Earn AKC Recognition for Your Puppy

Funny dog holding gold, silver and bronze medal. An Adobe stock imageAnn Gafke’s Teacher’s Pet, 325 E. Dripping Springs Rd, Columbia, MO 65202
Phone: (573) 443-0716 or Email: Contact Us
Register Online

Our Puppy Kindergarten prepares your puppy for the first certificate exam in our school. It also qualifies your puppy to earn the American Kennel Club’s Star Puppy Recognition and to begin work on the AKC Canine Good Citizenship Certification (CGC).