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The All Dogs Blog

How to teach a polite mouth

6/25/2018

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We all know that dog that just about takes our fingers off every time we offer her a treat. We can feel those sharp teeth and we can see the barely contained excitement at the prospect of something yummy. Instead of enduring this time after time, you can teach your dog to accept treats from you in a calm, controlled, polite manner.

​Start with a pouch full of stinky, yummy treats, and a hungry dog. 
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Step One: Put your dog in a 'sit'. Position your hand above her head with a treat between your fingers or in your palm. Be careful not to drop it! Slowly drop it down close to your dog's mouth. If your dog attempts to reach, jump, snap, or move in any way to grab the food out of your hand, immediately remove your hand up and over the dog's head. 

The idea here is to wait until your dog's mouth is closed and her body position is relaxed and not in motion (up or forward) before delivering the treat. 

As you repeat Step One above, the rapid movement of your hand will instruct your dog that the only way to get the treat is through calm patience. As your dog becomes proficient with this, you can thing bring your hand to your dog's mouth from different positions and on different angles. If you find your dog is just too aroused to do Step One well, use lower-value treats, along the lines of her every day kibble, for example. 

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Step Two: Add the training of a soft mouth to this exercise. Place the treat in your closed hand and offer it to your dog, letting her sniff, smell, and nose at it. When the dog begins to mouth, nudge, and push at your hand, say "OW!" and freeze your hand in position with the treat still held inside your closed fist. When your dog moves back from your hand or licks it gently, say "Good. Take it." and open your hand, palm facing up. 

Repeat the above until your dog stops mouthing, biting, and pushing at your hand. Repeat every day over 14 days to practice and proof. This exercise is wonderful for training your dog to have polite manners when food is around and potentially accessible. Consistency is key here: do not allow your dog to have treat unless they are taken politely and with control. This will ensure good behavior around children, adults, the elderly, and anyone who just might be around with some food in hand.  

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stop the madness! How to teach your dog to calmly greet visitors at the door

6/4/2018

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Dogs greeting new guests at the door is a common household complaint. The truth is, your dog's excitement isn't a case of disobedience, he just doesn't know how to properly do it. The advice I'm going to give here is appropriate for dogs who are happy and over-stimulated at the door. My next blog post on the subject will touch on unhappy, fearful dogs at the door who are poorly conditioned to unfamiliar humans. 

A happy, overstimulated dog is hugely social with everyone he encounters. The moment the doorbell rings or someone knocks at the door, this dog is racing over, barking away, and bouncing about. Often times, in the midst of this, a frantic owner is trying to get ahold of the dog by the collar and hold him back from the door and the arriving guest. The new arrival then makes a huge commotion over the dog, with high-pitched voices, petting, and overall exuberance. No amount of scolding, yelling, or physical withholding can contain this dog who is soon labelled 'hyperactive'. 

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In this scenario, the behavior from both the owner and the visitor in fact reinforces the dog's behavior, in terms of owner restraint and attention from the new visitor. What's important to understand here is that in this over-excited, aroused state, the dog's limbic system (or emotional, "hind" brain) is active. When the limbic system is at work, the cortex, (or analytical brain) is unable to take over. It is a biological mechanism that your dog is unable to control. 

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What we as dog owners must do, then, is to set up scenarios in which the dog can rehearse instead the behaviors that you do want. Place your dog on leash, and a rug or dog-bed approximately six feet from the door. Place treats on the outside of the door, and arm yourself with a pouch full of them as well. They should be highly valuable to your pooch. Enlist the help of an adult your dog knows well and likes. 

Step One: As the guest enters (with a treat in hand), stand back on the rug or bed with your dog firmly on leash. This is to ensure your dog cannot jump up. Stay calm, even if your dog isn't. Have the guest approach one step at a time until she can deliver the treat to your dog (but ONLY if your dog is still in a sitting position). Once this happens successfully, praise your dog and retreat into the rest of the house. 

Remember, practice makes perfect. As you do this exercise again and again, it will become boring to  your dog, and his excitement will wane and then disappear as he learns exactly how he is expected to behave when this particular visitor comes to the door. This is precisely what we want. Once Step One is firmly rehearsed with your dog, repeat and practice with different guests at different times, and let your dog amaze you at what he is capable of! 

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    Camille Salter is the founder of All Dogs Pet Services and a certified, knowledge-assessed dog trainer (CPDT-KA)

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I cannot say enough good things about Camille and her team. A few months ago, I had to temporarily close my own dog walking business due to an unexpected and debilitating health issue. Camille's team not only stepped in to cover a significant number of "my" dogs, they did an exceptional job. This would not have been possible without Camille's management capabilities and her walkers' skill level. I don't know if there is another company that could have done this. Camille and team, thank you for taking such good care of "my" dogs, "your" dogs, and giving me the time to heal. If you are looking for a walker, there is no company I could more highly recommend than All Dogs Toronto." - Kate Fink

We have been sending our Goldendoodle to All Dogs for over a year, ever since Zoki was a young puppy. While we are at work we know that Zoki is in a safe and supportive environment where she has learned to interact well with other dogs. Ben and Camille have made it possible for us to continue to have active, professional lives, and a young dog. Since Zoki is so at home there, it has been easy to leave her for a week when we have both had to be out of town. We highly recommend their thoughtful and well-informed care. - -- Christina Kramer and Richard Franz


I cannot say enough positive things about Camille Salter, the owner of All Dogs. From the moment my rescue dog and I met Camille, I knew she would work wonders. Her demeanor, grace and confidence made my dog fall in love her instantly. She is so incredibly knowledgeable that I try to soak up as much information as I can from her.


I highly highly recommend Camille Salter and All Dogs. Whether you are looking for a professional trainer or walking, she will provide you with all of the tools needed to ensure your dog is set up for success.

Camille is truly a pillar in the community of canine training within Toronto.

Thank you Camille!! - Tessa Vaskas


Camille and All Dogs have been amazing for our Basset Hound, Columbo. We have been using the service for the last six months. Columbo started with puppy training with All Dogs and he has learned all the commands. Training has been reinforced during Columbo's puppy visits which has helped greatly during his growth and development. Camille and her team are on-time, attentive, supportive, great with our Columbo and our house. We appreciate everything that she has done and recommend her to anyone. " Andrea Suhay


"Camille is amazing. Really understands each dog’s unique personality and applies individual techniques based on it. I use their daycare, boarding, training, walking... my dog always comes back better behaved & full of love and Camille is so insightful that I learn about my dog, too! My dog adores her. Super trustworthy and effective." Kathryn Kearns


"I highly recommend Camille and All Dogs Pet Services. I recently used All Dogs Pet Services to walk my dog for two weeks while I was out of town. Camille was able to accommodate walking my dog on short notice. Camille is very pleasant and cheerful to deal with and from the first meet and greet Camille had with myself and my dog Charlie I felt confident that Charlie would be safe and in good hands. I will definitely call Camille again and recommend her to all my dog owner friends." - Richard Fernandez



Overall, Camille definitely made being away from my babies a far less nerve-wracking experience! I trust her and would hire her again in an instant." - Amanda Factor


"I can't say enough positive things about Ben and Camille!  Camille (and her large  support of other trainers) have assessed Bax, and we are all happily working through his (fearful aggression, "spoiled Prince" and bulldog tendencies) and MY issues.  Thank you, Ben and Camille, for your patience, care and love for my sweet fat Baxter. I know that he is in the best hands whenever I have to go out of town!"
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"—Camille looked after our diabetic Cat and did a fantastic job. He was going into remission right when we had a 1-week vacation scheduled. Camille was more than up to the task. She had to measure his blood daily and give him the corresponding amount of insulin. It was very reassuring knowing we had a real professional looking after our critter. She did a great job of looking after our apartment also and we didnt even know that was something she would do. Couldn't possibly give a stronger recommendation for this company." - Holt Mansfield

“I adopted Frank not even a month ago. I’ve been training him myself, and got him to do ’sit,’ ‘down,’ ‘come,’ and ‘wait,’ at home. But when we went outside, it was a different story: he got a bit too excited, and that led to pulling on the leash, which wasn’t a pleasant experience for either of us. He never made eye contact with me, and calling his name and offering treats of all sorts didn’t do much, either. Working with Camille turned this around after just one session — she was so patient and calm with both me and Frank, and taught me how I could get Frank to connect the dots between paying attention to me and getting food. Since then, he comes and sits upon command even in the most distracting situations like being surrounded by other dogs in a park with firetruck siren blaring in the background. It’s been so rewarding to start developing this bond with Frank that will last a lifetime. Thank you Camille!” - Maythe Han


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