Category: Dog Training Articles

#4 Essential Dog Item: Doggie Gate

Closing and sectioning off your house while you have a dog living in it, is strongly advised for several reasons. Dogs shouldn’t have the run of the house. They shouldn’t be allowed to go wherever they want all the time, especially while you are out of the house.

Being sectioned off and contained often gives dogs a sense of safety and helps them to relax. Kind of like in a den or burrow. This is why the crate works well for calming dogs. It also reminds them that they aren’t the King or Queen of the land, YOU are. 😉 You get to decide where they will wile away their hours, not them. You get to give them permission and keep them where you want them. Isn’t that great! It’s all about you! In addition, we are setting the dog up for success, by not giving them access to the front window to bark at all moving things, or go upstairs and randomly decide your new shoes are now hers for the enjoying. Dogs do random things. Keeping them contained in the kitchen, or area where they are not near front windows, and can have an accident on the floor if they need to, and cannot get into too much chewing or otherwise destructive trouble, is the way to set up your home for life.

Above, you can see a picture of a gate for wide areas, and a gate with a kitty door. No matter your doorway or space, there is a gate for you!

Larger pet stores will have gates, such as Petsmart, Petco, Pet Food Express in the Mission on Market street. Smaller stores will have them as well, so do go ahead and check them out first if they are more convenient. However, if you can’t find something you need or like, check out baby gates at baby stores. And online.

No matter how angelic or old or small your pup is, you should have a pet gate to section them off while you are out of the house, or having guests over that don’t like dogs, etc. If you have a crate, leave it in this area for your pet to use if they feel insecure ever.

A treat pouch is a little bag that clips onto your waistband or belt, or even clips around your waist as a fanny pack. If you are bringing a dog to live with you, you absolutely must have this. (They should come free with all adoptions and breeder purchases, in my opinion!) After you have established relationship and basic training, you will not need the treat pouch as much. But, you should have one anyway. There will always be new situations that you will need to teach your dog how to behave in, especially in a place like the Bay Area, where there are so many outdoor and different things to do (like the Golden Gate Park Pet Pride Day!) A lot of dogs also like to push boundaries during their teenage years, and even their whole lives! Bully breed dogs are stubborn, determined, and strong, and most of them (especially French bulldogs), will test you to see if you really mean it… every day. Having a pouch of yummies on your hip is going to help your cause immensely!

Treats do not need to be given for every single correct behavior and obeyed command. (Which reminds me to remind you - treat your dog when she does something right! Too many people forget to reward good behavior when it happens!) It’s good to mix it up, and use voice or touch praise as well. This ensures the dog doesn’t get so accustomed to getting a treat all the time, and relax and get lazy. Not giving your dog a treat every time he sits or comes back or leaves the nasty ice cream wrapper alone, makes them keep hoping and working to see if this time they get a treat!

If you are worried about your dog getting chubby, or need to slim her down already, or have a dog that really needs a lot of training and behavior modification, you can use her regular meal kibble as treats, or at least put some of them in the mix, so that the dog will never know if they are going to get the awesome piece of hot dog, or their usual dinner. This also keeps them on their toes and working.

You can find a ton of different styles of treat pouches, ranging from about $5 on. I recommend Noe Valley Pet Co. or other independent pet stores in San Francisco that will help you figure out what style you want.

Every dog should be walked on a leash no longer than 6 feet, and not retractable or too light. Leather is light, but strong and durable. If you are not comfortable purchasing leather, other light weight materials will work as well.

The leash should be held in two hands while walking your dog for maximum control, like in the picture below:

This is the leash you should use for all walks and training, unless you are working with a long line or off leash. Dogs need to be connected to their trainer/parent/leader. The leash is a line of communication. It says “Hello, I’m here, and you need to be paying attention to me and listening to me.” For example, If you just adopted a dog, only let her off leash when she’s in the house and you aren’t training for at least the first 3 months. It will establish a relationship faster. And the short, leather leash, is the best kind to help you do it.

Related articles

• Dog-Walking Etiquette: 7 Tips for a Better Walk (dogster.com)
• Is Your Dog Really Ready to Go Off Leash? (dogster.com)
• Our Top 4 Dog Walking Tips (bellashouseandpets.com)
• To Leash or not to Leash (woopwear.com)
• Cool dog leashes choices for your adorable pooch (indianpetstore.com)

Dogs today live different lives from their ancestors. Their ancestors were bred to perform specific jobs. Terriers were bred for their quick, tough, and hearty personalities and bodies, to catch rats and rabbits and other small vermin, thus removing them from castles, stables, and farms. The Great Pyrenees dog was perfected by 1407 in the mountains between Spain and France to guard sheep and other livestock from predatory animals in the mountains like wolves and bears. And of course, there are game dogs, bred to collect animals that had been killed and return them, and dogs bred to guard property from would-be intruders. These dogs were hand bred to have the desire to perform duties every single day. Our dogs today still have a lot of this desire, even if they are mixed breeds, or come from a long line of house dogs. Partly due to the thousands of years of hand breeding, and partly due to their genetic ties to wolves, who are wild animals, and live from the instinct to travel and hunt, much as human beings used to do.

For this reason, all dogs need to have this purpose-desire in them addressed and nurtured. Unfortunately, not enough people walk their dogs every day. A dog needs at least two walks a day, and the length of those walks depends on the size and energy level of the dog. In addition to this, some dogs need play and training every day as well. One way to provide a kind of mental stimulation that dogs need, is to feed them or treat them from a treat dispenser. This is a contraption that has small openings for kibble or treats to fall out of when it is moved and rolled. This interests the dog, challenging them to find ways to get the food out of the ball. They have to get it out of corners, from under the couch, away from the cat, etc. It’s a game. Dogs should have a natural interest in it. (If they don’t, they have been under-stimulated for such a long time, that they don’t understand the challenge, and this will be another blog post). It prevents destructive behaviors that are a result of boredom, (such as barking and chewing) and it fosters natural hunting and foraging behaviors, stimulating the natural mind state of a dog.

Some dog parents choose to feed their dog their daily meals out of the treat dispenser. This is a great idea, and if your dog takes to it, I recommend doing it every day as well. You want to give it to them after their walk, and right before you either leave the house, or sit down to work. This way, they are engaged while you are leaving, and they will settle down for their nap after they are done eating.

Below is a picture of my all time favorite treat dispensing toy. It also happens to be my Number One Essential Dog Product. It’s called the Starmark Treat Dispensing Chew Ball Dog Toy. And it just so happens to have been developed by my instructors at Starmark Academy for Professional Dog Trainers. I like it because the holes are small, so the kibble doesn’t fall out too easily, and because it’s round, so it can easily get away from the dog and they have to follow it, but the treats will fall out as it rolls. It’s also made of really durable rubber, so it will last a long time. And you can take it to the dog park and use it as a fetch ball as well!

You can find this ball at most pet stores, and always online.