Trick Training Instructional DVD
Over the past few weeks, we have been filming and editing our first instructional dog training video, Unleashed Unlimited Presents: Trick Training Volume 1. After receiving many requests from our Youtube subscribers, we finally decided to make the video to show some fun things you can do with your dog with just a little bit of training.
We took 8 eye-catching, fun, and exciting dog tricks and have broken them down step by step in a way that is easy for your dog to understand. Because the training approaches taken in the video are so versatile, they can be applied to any method of training ensuring that everyone, regardless of training preference, can enjoy the information in the video. We completely explain and demonstrate the following dog tricks…
- Weave between your legs
- Spin & Turn
- Retrieve Underwater
- Center between your legs
- Reverse
- Go thru
- Place on your back
- Crawl
Tricks are one of the things that Unleashed Unlimited enjoys most about dog training, it really is a lot of fun to have your dog do these things with you. Seriously, when would you ever need your dog to swim underwater? You won’t, but you can sure have fun watching him dive to the bottom of a pool for a sunken toy. Boredom and routine are avoided, and it adds variety, balance, and a new set of challenges for you and your dog. So if you are looking to have more fun with your dog, order your copy of this how to video today.
Zogoflex Hurley
Introducing Hurley™ – Guaranteed strong! Designed to be recyclable and to create virtually no waste during the manufacturing process. Hurley is all the fun of a ball and a bone in one durable toy.
Made from extremely pliable, one-of-a-kind material, Zogoflex®. This versatile toy is bound to give your favorite chomper hours of enjoyment – GUARANTEED! The manufacturer promise to replace Hurley if it can’t withstand your dog’s chewing, one time only. And, for those four legged water lovers, this toy even floats! To keep your dog looking cool at the park Hurley comes in three electrifying colors.
Measures 8.25″
Dogs of the World
I read a blog the other day by Robin Macfarlane, a training mentor and friend of ours in Wisconsin, and it brought back some thoughts. She speaks of her recent trip to Greece and the noticeable difference in dog behavior compared to that of the United States. Cesar Milan has also spoken of this in his native country of Mexico, and we have witnessed the same in Aruba and also back home in some instances. Have you ever seen dogs in foreign countries or with a homeless person?
In the cases of dogs in Greece, Mexico, Aruba and the pets of homeless Americans, rarely do you see acts of aggression, dogs are not jumping on people, or experiencing other typical problems that people of this country frequently experience. Dogs in other countries are sometimes treated very different then they are here; in some countries they are more welcome in public areas and they act very different. Homeless people move forward in search for food which is provided by the owner, as well as water and anything else he may need. They learn to cooperate and perhaps work together effectively, and the person pushing the cart is always leading the way. These dogs understand hierarchy, structure, pack mentality, they get enough exercise, they work for their food, and they are treated like and allowed to be dogs.
The photo below was taken during our trip to Aruba a few years ago. Lounging by the rock is one of the many homeless dogs (well I suppose he does have a place he calls home); he lives at an old church on the coast. We go out of our tour bus and l spotted him, he was in need of some minor vet care, but looked completely content lounging under the rock. We also saw several dogs in lounging in people’s unfenced yards, walking along the street, and laying around the downtown areas. In no way are we saying that homeless pets are better off, but what is the main difference between these dogs and ours?
Sometimes in America dogs are thrown birthday parties, carried in expensive purses, ribbons and bows are put into their hair, and we spoil them in so many ways. Don’t get me wrong, we love our dogs like family, but we realize that they are dogs and are not treated as our precious little children and are not supposed to fill emotional voids in our lives.
So what does all of this mean? Well, to you, all of us, it hopefully really drives home a point that these animals are DOGS. That means we need to communicate with them in a way that a DOG understands, we need to be the leader that our DOG needs, we need to provide the proper balance that your DOG needs, and we have a great responsibility to our DOG to interact with them the way that makes sense to them, and not always a way that makes the most sense to us. Love your dog, train your dog, play with your dog, be good to your dog, but remember that they are DOGS!
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Orbee Sport Football
This football shape has the look and feel of the classic pigskin. Your dog will love running for the long bomb.
The Orbee Sport Football is made of Planet Dog’s award-winning Orbee-Tuff compound, which is sure to last for a long time. Even with the roughest chewers, this is sure to go the distance!
Just like a real football, this toy takes unpredictable bounces and always keeps your dog guessing.
The Planet Dog is 6″ long and is made in the U.S.A. Recyclable, non-toxic and rinses clean.
Taking Ownership & Shelters
Many animals end up in shelters every year, they are discarded like old laundry, they escape from their yards and get lost, owners move and leave the dog behind. Many people seem to think that they come out of the womb knowing how to behave in a way that we need them to. They are not given the attention or exercise they need in order to co-exist in the home environment, so they are kept outside and in the process become more difficult to deal with, they become destructive in the home as an outlet for their energy. Dogs bark, they jump, and they even sometimes potty in the house; they do all of these things because they were not trained to quiet, go potty out side, and to sit to greet people. Perhaps the owners got the dog for the kids, whom are realistically too young to take on such a big responsibility, they no longer have time, the list goes on and on. This is, in my opinion, not being very fair to the dog and very frustrating.
The key is education, in every facet of dog ownership; it is work, it is also a commitment and an expense. You can however try to educate yourself before you make the decision to purchase or rescue a dog. There is information all over the Internet about owning a dog and the responsibility involved and some difficulties you may encounter; not to mention the abundance of trainers that are waiting in line to teach you. If you are thinking of a particular breed, do your research about the requirements of such a breed, temperament and their characteristic traits. Consult a REPUTABLE breeder, contact a trainer or ask your veterinarian for advice. Make sure the energy level and temperament of the dog will be suitable for your family and life style. This is of course not a guarantee; it is what you do with the puppy when he gets home that counts but it may help point you in the right direction. Speak to someone on staff at a local animal shelter whom is familiar with the behavior of the dogs that are in their care. Tell them about your lifestyle and family members and they may help you choose as well. If you are not looking for a dog with abundant energy, how about an older dog; there are plenty of these and they are a great choice as well. We recently went to visit a client that had just adopted an 8 year old Basset Hound, he was awesome! Ask yourself if you will go out of your way to give your dog what he or she needs even after the novelty wears off.
Poor choices and lack of responsibility and ownership often leads to great dogs ending up in shelters or worse. Many dogs end up in shelters for the craziest reasons, I was told a story that someone gave up a dog because it did not match their couch; this blew my mind!!! I had a chat with someone last week about adopting a dog from a rescue organization, but by the time she got in touch with whom ever she needed to speak with, the dog had been put down. I do not know what the circumstance was or why, it could have been several things. She expressed anger with the rescue and I can understand her frustration.
It is the people that do not take ownership of these animals who are at fault for shelters being overcrowded. If there are behavior issues, I can guarantee there is a trainer or behaviorist that can help you or at least do a good evaluation on the dog after meeting and working with him for a bit so you know what your dealing with. Many behavior issues can be prevented through proper handling, socialization and leadership skills; all of which should be started by the time the dog reached 16 weeks old and should be continued. Training is often easier than you think, provided you are consistent and follow through. You must however, be willing to donate the time to your dog. Not everyone may be up for the challenge, and not all behaviors can be fixed, but then there are the dogs that just need some simple house manners.
I am a dog trainer and have a rescue dog that came with his own set of aggression issues when being handled. It was not listed on his evaluation from the shelter, as it may not have been present; sometimes these things do not come out until the dog is in a home environment. After putting the training time into the dog, we are now at the point where he goes into such relaxation that I can clip his nails and preform handling exercises with out a reaction when he had previously bitten. It most certainly did not happen overnight by any means and not all people are willing to take the chance or able, I get that. I am so relieved that I was the one that adopted him. If it was not me who was lucky enough to make the choice, I do not know if he would be here today; he is a fantastic dog and we have built a relationship on trust. Our dogs are not perfect, they are dogs. People are not perfect either and are not expected to be, and sometimes it may be beyond the owners control to have to surrender an animal.
There are certainly viable reasons to seek out a shelters help but the dog not matching the couch, going potty in the house, barking, or not being fair to a great dog that does not truly know his role and what is expected of him because he has not been taught is inexcusable in my opinion. Unfortunately, this exists and probably always will. Dogs many need to be re-homed because of issues with children present in the household (as long as the shelter is aware of the issues when the dog is brought in so that they can test the animal and re-home to the right environment if it is an option). At the same time, it is not fixing anything, just passing it on to someone else, whom may in turn, have a better environment for the dog.
There are various types of animal rescue organizations such as breed specific rescues, general shelters (some are no kill and some use euthanasia), and organizations that rely on fostering. They all exist nationwide, they all have the same intention – to save as many as they can. This of course takes money, whether it be from fund raising, donations, adoptions, or state and local funding.
Many dogs need the shelter to get a fair shot at life. Those who are abandoned and neglected may have a new start on life once temperament tested. The shelters that use euthanasia are often the ones that hear feedback about not giving dogs a chance. However, it can also be detrimental for a dog to be in a shelter for a long period time and they can deteriorate. They are overcrowded and underfunded many times an rely only on volunteers in order to run efficiently. As sad as it makes me, they can not all be saved. There are just too many and not all are rehab-able in many respects. The shelters do their part to the best of their ability, they have too many dogs on their doorsteps.
It is a vicious cycle and I guess my point is that the shelters sometimes take the heat for needing to make decisions that they do not enjoy making. It is not the shelters fault that these animals are there; it is lack of education and ownership. Many people are not aware of multiple aspects of dog ownership, they need help and do not have ill intent. They just need education.
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It’s a Balancing Act
“All work and no play…..”, everyone is probably familiar with that statement. There are so many things in life that we must balance in order to enjoy life without feeling stressed out. There are the pressures of work, children, relationships, health and leisure time. We try to fit it all in so that we can get a little bit of everything in the right measure, of course this does not always happen. Work is overloaded and we end up taking it home, the kids or a significant other need attention and you haven’t relaxed and had five minutes to yourself in 3 weeks. Then of course you have to take the dog or dogs for a walk but that is a pain in the neck because they are horrible on a leash, so they end up not getting out at all. All of these things add stress to our life, as a result we implement some time management skills to help overcome it and make time for everything; this balance may indeed be different for each individual.
Dogs also need balance which will differ from dog to dog depending on each individuals needs and the particular dog. Lets take a high energy, high drive dog, a Border Collie or Labrador Retriever for example. These particular dogs may require more exercise than lets say a lower energy dog like a Basset Hound. (I don’t like to be breed specific because it is not always the case). It is the high energy dogs I would like to speak about.
There are many outstanding high drive dogs that will go for that ball or Frisbee until your arm is falling off. If this dog is not getting the exercise he requires this often leads to frustration and pent up energy that will eventually come out in some other form, they need an outlet physically as well as mentally! However, we can’t just bring our dogs to the point of exhaustion before they can calm themselves. It is important that these dogs be taught to chill out and relax according to your schedule. If the dog is not taught to calm, and is always “on” he may perhaps always be on edge.
Dogs should also be taught to pay attention to their owners through training. Does this mean you want to train your dog 8 hours a day? Of course not, but training also needs to be balanced; some dogs need more processing time, among other things, and of course each dog is different.
If you are thinking about adding a new dog to your household choose one that perhaps has an energy level similar of that to your own. If you are the type of person that is not too active, you may perhaps want to choose a dog with an energy level that matches your own. They still need to go for walks and to be exercised, trained, and mentally stimulated but the physical exercise requirements may be a bit less.
Play with your dog, challenge your dog mentally, exercise your dog, train your dog, monitor your dog, and most definitely let your dog be a dog; this is all so very important. Balance these things out appropriately depending on the individual needs of your dog. Your dog will love you for it!!!
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Greatest American Dog: My Thoughts
After watching the first episode of CBS’s Greatest American Dog, I have to say that I am a bit disappointed in the show. Maybe I was the only one, but I was hoping for more of a show that highlighted cool things that people can do with their dogs, as opposed to a costume ball filled with editing room created drama.
I know reality shows are not reality and the goal of the show is to entertain viewers, and not to actually find the Greatest American Dog, but if the goal actually was to find the G.A.D., I would hope that the talent pool would be much deeper. I don’t see how the producers could have allowed most of these dogs onto the show, most of them don’t even have a solid recall.
I am not a negative person, nor am I claiming to be the world’s greatest dog trainer or have the world’s greatest dog, but I can guarantee that our dogs, as well as most of our clients dogs, could beat the dogs on the show at any given challenge. That is a big statement, regardless of me being smug or just confident, but I actually believe it to be true. You can decide for yourself by checking out some of our videos.
Alright, so the show is not focused around training dogs, that’s fine. One thing that I do like about the show is that it highlights the deep bond between dogs and their owners, something in which we can all relate. When all is said and done, recall or no recall, owning dogs is all about the irreplaceable bond that exists between us and them, and that is reality.
What were your expectations of the show, and now what are your thoughts? We would love to hear from everyone, feel free to leave your thoughts in the form of a comment.
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Where’s My Dog?
- monitor the movement and location of up to 10 dogs at a time
- has a range of up to 5 miles
- save locations such as your truck, the lodge, and prey locations
- alerts owner when the dog is on point
- and much more
Slobber-Wick Squeek Bone
Planet Dog’s new fast-drying, easy-cleaning Slobber-Wick® Bone comes in two colors to accommodate a wide range of droolers. This is the only toy like it out there, genius design.
Each has a gusset to add extra “chomp” to your dog’s soft toy gnawing experience and a double-bellow squeaker that makes this toy irresistible.
Take your pick of pink or blue and let the good times roll!
Each bone is 8″ long and can be machine washed.
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