Puzzle Me, Please! - Part 4

Puzzle Me, Please! - Part 4

By Taylor Heid

We get asked all the time what toys we would recommend to keep dogs busy at home! Our last blog post about different enrichment toys for pups was back in 2019 on DIY projects at home. Previously, we also posted Part 1 and Part 2 blogs on our store-bought suggestions. However, store-bought enrichment toys have taken off in the last 5 years with more creativity and a focus on dog behavior. Did you know sniffing and licking is a calming behavior for our dogs? So not only can we keep them busy, but now we can help them in facilitating self-regulation through encouraging these natural behaviors. 

There are so many options that it can be overwhelming to know how to choose which type of toy will be best for your dog! We recommend first looking at what your dog seems to enjoy, both with their current toys and in their natural self-soothing behaviors.  If your dog had their choice of activities, do you think they would most like licking, working at an interesting food puzzle, sniffing, or chewing? 

For example, I observed that my dog, Riley, had been licking frequently in the evenings. She was displacing this need onto inappropriate items (her fur/paws or furniture!). Once I realized licking can be a self-soothing behavior I jumped on the internet to find some licking toys to help transfer this behavior to more appropriate items that would serve the self-soothing purpose even better!

It can take a little trial and error to discover what toys serve your dog’s needs best and which they enjoy the most. Don’t get discouraged! The most important thing to consider is what gives your dog the most benefit on top of some fun.

Here is our updated list of enrichment toys that get the thumbs up:

These are affiliate links. Summit does receive a small “kickback” if you purchase via the links below, at no additional cost to you.

Lickables

Licking is a natural calming behavior. Toys that encourage licking can be great to cure boredom and simultaneously help your dog regulate their many emotions! Here are two different toys that promote calming licking behaviors.

LickiMats - There are so many to choose from! They can serve many different purposes, such as adding a suction cup for baths. Collect them all! Here are one and two examples.

Pupsicles -  These can be more of an upfront investment, but I think worth it for the long run. I am enjoying how easy it is to make the pupsicle treats at home. You can buy pre-made ones for ease, but you can also create your own with the treat tray to accommodate allergies and make low calorie treats for everyday use. Here is the most popular pupsicle on the market by Woof. 

Feeders

New designs of feeder bowls are coming out constantly. I think it is fun to have different designs so when your dog has mastered one, you can switch it up to keep them stimulated. Here is one from Outward Hound I am excited about. It is definitely on my wish list for Riley, as she could use a new challenge. 

We have always been a big fan of SodaPup’s durable treat dispensing toys (we even keep them in stock in our training room)! Recently, SodaPup has come out with a whole new collection of feeder bowls. They have created many new intricate designs, but the cool thing is these bowls can also be used for other activities, similar to the lick mats. Make sure to check out their instagram for so many ideas! And a bonus: they are from Boulder, Colorado! Here are some of my favorite new designs: Honeycomb & Great Outdoors 

Tip: If you aren’t sure what to fill your food-based enrichment toys with, there are many store bought options. Check out your local pet store for squeeze pouches or other pre-made dog treats made specifically for filling enrichment toys. You can also look for dog-friendly recipes online, or keep it simple with just some kibble in a layer of water and freeze it! Freezing all your treats is a great way to up the difficulty of a toy and make it last longer!

Sniffing Toys:

You may remember when snuffle mats started taking off around the pandemic. These were crafty DIY options for stuck at home play. If you aren’t familiar, a snuffle mat is anything that encourages sniffing behaviors (another naturally calming behavior). At first, this was commonly done through fabric in fun designs to hide the treats in. They were such a big hit that they have become more commonly manufactured. Here are a few examples of how snuffle mats are being taken to the next level: Themed Mat & Roll-Up Snuffle

Chewing toys:

Lastly, we have the classic chewing toys. Benebone has taken the lead for me when it comes to chewing toy brands. Just when you thought there couldn’t be any more designs, they consistently come out with new shapes and flavors to keep it interesting for dogs. I personally really appreciate that Benebone provides unique flavors, which helps my allergy dog who can’t have the typical dog flavors; like chicken, beef, and pork. Here is Riley’s current favorite from Benebone, but make sure to browse all their new bones: Fishbone

It is important to evaluate the difficulty of toys your dog needs. Some toys come with varying difficulty levels, like puzzles. Start with level 1 and work your way up to prevent frustration. Even if your dog masters level 1 immediately, it will still give them the confidence to keep at it when the difficulty is raised. Always observe your dog with a new toy to ensure they are playing with it appropriately and safely. 

The point of all these toys is to enrich your dog in different ways (encourage being calm or using brain power as a form of exercise), and it is a bonus that your dog stays occupied and distracted. We also recommend sitting with your dog while they are playing and having fun for a great bonding opportunity too! 

Did we miss any of your favorites on the list? Tell us in the comments! 

Happy puzzling!

Consent Petting

Consent Petting

By Benah Stiewing

There are few things better than cuddling up with your dog - simply petting a dog is scientifically proven to increase our oxytocin (a chemical that increases happiness) and decrease cortisol (a chemical that produces stress). However, it’s easy for us to forget that the fluffy, adorable dog in front of you also has needs and desires, and may prefer to be touched in certain ways at certain times, or not touched at all. Consent petting is the practice of reading your dog's body language to determine if, when, and how they want to receive physical affection. This practice is about promoting autonomy and choice in your dog, and can be extremely helpful for more shy or nervous dogs. When we give an animal the ability to choose something, rather than use force, we are showing the animal that we listen to them and will respect their needs.

As a general rule, if you touch your dog in a certain way and they move away from you, it’s safe to assume they didn’t want to be touched like that at that moment. However, just because your dog moves away once doesn’t mean they never want to be touched that way! You may love hugs from certain people at specific times, and other times want nothing of the sort. If your dog reliably moves away from you when you touch them in a certain way, you can assume that sort of touch is unwelcome, but if it only happens at certain times it’s possible they don’t like any touch under those circumstances. 

There are a few key forms of communication you can look for! These behaviors are often described as calming signals or cut-off signals, as they generally communicate a dog’s desire to pacify some form of perceived/felt stress or conflict. If you notice your dog practicing these behaviors during an interaction, consider pausing your action and giving your dog a moment to themself. These behaviors include:

• Lip licking: dog licks their lips or flick their tongue out from their mouth.

• Yawn: dog yawns, sometimes with their lips more curled back.

• Turning away: dog turns their head away from the person/dog that is making them nervous.

• Raised paw: dog slightly raises a front paw.

• Stiff body: dog’s muscles tense and movement slows.

• Tail raised: dog’s tail goes half-mast or slightly higher, maybe with a slow wag.

• Shake off: dog shakes off entire body.

Now that you’re familiar with some basic communication signals, it’s time to get started with consent petting! Obviously, your dog cannot say “Yes” or “No,” but they can use their proximity to a stimulus to let us know how they’re feeling. 

• When your dog places themself within an arm's distance from you, use your hand to scratch their neck, under their chin or behind their ears.

• It's always better to go under, than over! Reaching over your dog's head can be uncomfortable for them.

• Scratch them 2-3 times, and then stop and move your hand back onto your lap.

• If they stay where they are or move away from your hand, don't pet again.

• If they lean in, nudge you, or paw towards your hand, repeat the above steps for another few scratches.

• Repeat!

• As you get to know your new dog, you can learn if they like to be touched, how they like to be touched, and how they cmmunicate wanting or not wanting physical affection.

• In general, if a dog is moving away from you, that's a good indication to stop, and if a dog is moving towards you, that's a good indication to keep going.

Want to dive deeper into canine body language and communication? Consider watching our webinar, Learning Your Dog’s Body Language! This webinar provides a detailed, holistic approach to understanding your canine best friend.

Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses & online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog!  If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Building Blocks for an Off-Leash Recall!

By Benah Stiewing

Rock-solid, reliable recalls are an incredibly important skill for you and your dog! Recall, or coming when called, is critical to you and your dog being able to enjoy the world together, off-leash. Building an off-leash recall is about managing our dog’s freedom as we cultivate a strong history of reinforcement between you and your dog. 

So often without realizing, we only call our dogs when we are calling them away from something, perhaps that delicious chicken leg that fell from a trash can, the dog who lives next door, or a very speedy squirrel. Our dog’s recall word very quickly comes to represent loss and our dogs are well aware of this. The dog hears their name or recall word and quickly creates more distance between them and their handler because they don’t want to experience a loss. 

To begin changing this narrative, we start by building value for a new recall word. Practice calling your dog using this word a few throughout the day, but only use this word if you are in an environment with minimal distractions (i.e. your living room, without any toys or other pets present) and have high-value reinforcement to reward your dog with when they have successfully come to you. Use motion and verbal encouragement to add value to the behavior. I toss a treat to get my dog away from me. Once my dog has eaten the treat, I say “Fido, come!” in a fun, light voice, turn away from Fido, and run away (short, small steps), saying “Yay! Wow!” as the dog continues moving towards me. When my dog reaches me, I click and reward with high-value treats. I repeat this game multiple times every day for a few days, and gradually begin adding more distance and choice. We begin to generalize the behavior by moving into different rooms of the house, and eventually into the yard. If my dog is unsuccessful, I need to take a step back and decrease difficulty temporarily before making it harder again. 

Here’s a video of the foundation pieces of this game!

We do not start letting our dogs off-leash out in the world if we aren’t absolutely confident of a few key things: 

1. If our dog doesn’t come back to us, they are not in danger. 

2. We have the highest-value item in the environment. 

3. Our dog is not going to have to make a difficult choice between us and something else. 

If we want to give our dog more freedom in a high-distraction environment before we feel they are ready for off-leash, we are going to use our recall transition tool, the long-line! This is just a really long leash (30-50 feet) that we would want on a back-clip harness. (Our favorite long-line is this one from Trust-Your-Dog!)  We reward our dogs everytime they offer engagement while we are out in the world, no matter the type of leash or exercise. We want it to be a reliably reinforcing behavior for our dogs to check in with us. This is especially important to practice on the long-line as we begin to increase freedom. 

Go slowly with your recall training! It takes time to build value for coming back when called, and know that it’s impossible to spend too much time on each expansion of freedom. We want coming back to us to represent the absolute best time with food, praise, or toys. Use your environment to reinforce! Recalling your dog away from their best canine friend? Reward with food, then release them back to playing. Remember the fundamental principle of what recall should represent, and don’t use your recall when your dog has to do something they may not fully enjoy, like being leashed and directed to leave the fun activity. 

The skills I describe here are just the beginning! If you and your dog want more guidance as you build this behavior, we have a webinar just for you! Check out the Off-Leash Hiking Prep webinar here!

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Summit Dog Training offers group dog training classes & private lessons in Fort Collins, Colorado, as well as online self-study courses and online private lessons for education on how to live the best life with your dog! If you are looking for more training support, please don’t hesitate to contact us! We’d love to help you and your dog get ready for any adventure.

Our Facility Cleaning Routines for Puppy Wellness

Written by Meredith Decker & Amber Quann

When you bring a new puppy home, you want to make sure to protect them from anything that may hurt them. It can feel daunting to bring them into a space like a training room that many other dogs have occupied.  You may have gotten recommendation from your rescue, breeder, or trusted veterinarian to wait until your puppy is fully vaccinated to take them out in public.

Early socialization is so important to healthy puppy development, and there isn’t time to waste! The optimal window for early puppy socialization actually closes before puppies are fully vaccinated, so avoiding socialization opportunities before 16 weeks can actually be detrimental to the dog’s behavioral health. Because of this, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior’s position is that puppies should start positive socialization group experiences as early as 9 weeks of age, after at least one vaccination and deworming.

“In general, puppies can start puppy socialization classes as early as 7-8 weeks of age. Puppies should receive a minimum of one set of vaccines at least 7 days prior to the first class and a first deworming. They should be kept up-to-date on vaccines throughout the class. The primary and most important time for puppy socialization is the first three months of life. During this time puppies should be exposed to as many new people, animals, stimuli and environments as can be achieved safely and without causing overstimulation manifested as excessive fear, withdrawal or avoidance behavior. For this reason, the American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior believes that it should be the standard of care for puppies to receive such socialization before they are fully vaccinated.”

We carefully curate the our training room environment to minimize risks to our young puppy students. Our training room is thoroughly cleaned daily (we share more about our cleaning routines below!), and we evaluate each puppy during each service for health and wellness. No environment can be completely without risk, and we understand that your veterinarian may have different recommendations for when your puppy should start group socialization. Your veterinarian treats physically sick puppies and we work with behavior challenges in dogs often associated with missing early socialization periods, so we are coming at this from two different sides of the issue. Both sides are very important to consider as you decide what is right for your puppy. If you decide to wait until your puppy is fully vaccinated at 16 weeks, we'd love to see you in our Level 1 Puppy Basics class or drop-in to Puppy Playschool Plus.

We know that you want to do everything in your power to keep your puppy safe and healthy before their final vaccinations. Balancing this with the need for healthy early socialization can feel tricky. We want to do everything we can to build a safe environment for you and your puppy to come and learn, and a piece of that is by keeping our training rooms clean and sanitized.

The Summit Cleaning Routine

Both training rooms are cleaned and disinfected daily, and deep-cleaned once a month with an attention to detail.

All of the toys that your puppy may play with are cleaned daily; monthly, we also sanitize each of the shelves where those toys are stored so that the toys can remain clean once they are put away. Not only does it keep everything safe, but it also keeps things looking nice and neat.

A lot of time is spent making sure the floors where your puppies love to wrestle remain safe and clean. We always vacuum and mop after the end of our classes, and this is done at least once a day. During our monthly cleanings, any moveable item, such as our x-pens or chairs are moved from their usual spot, and each corner and crevice is cleaned. Special care is taken to make sure any debris is removed and then that area is properly mopped with kennel-grade disinfectant and there is no residue left behind. 

We never forget about cleaning our cleaning supplies either. The mop, mop buckets and vacuum are all cleared and cleaned to make sure they're working as best as possible to maintain our standards.

When it comes to our Adventure Camp (drop-off learning for puppies 9-16 weeks), we take extra precautions to make sure we keep your pups safe. Any toys they may use such as puzzle toys, kongs or chew toys are washed and scrubbed with our other dishes at the end of every Camp day. This also applies to any cots or platforms your pup might play on. We spray them with our disinfectant and wipe them down so they are clean for next time. Any accidents that may occur during Camp are promptly cleaned up and we make sure to restrict access to that area while we clean so puppies won't be exposed to the mess or the disinfectant.

We screen our Adventure Camp puppies ahead of time for health, and ask all puppy parents who use this service to keep us informed if they notice anything unusual about their puppy’s health or behavior ahead of a Camp day. If we notice any signs of illness while a puppy is at Camp, we make sure to take proper precautions by keeping that puppy separate until they can be picked up early, and initiate additional deep cleaning on that day by washing all sheets, towels, or soft toys that were played with that day, and anything that can't be cleaned (such as the popular sniff boxes) are disposed of and replaced.

Your puppy's physical health is just as important as their social development, which is why we take the time to keep our training rooms clean and safe. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us!

Check out these photos from our #12 classroom during a monthly deep clean:

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Check out other blog posts:

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• 2023 21
• 2022 1
• 2021 3
• 2020 12
• 2019 11
• 2018 11
• 2017 22
• 2016 22

February is the Month of LOVE

Our dogs are a huge part of our lives, and they shower us with love all year long.  Here are three ideas for how to show your special four-legged someone how much they mean to you this month!  
 

1. Go on a "Micro-Adventure" together.  These mini adventures are one of our favorite things to build a positive relationship with our dogs.  They don't have to be long or elaborate, just simple things that you can do together, like running errands, taking an extra walk to the park, or just riding around in the car.  I just did this with my dog today - he got to ride with me to the grocery store, stop by Kriser's Natural Pet, drop by the training facility, and then end it with lots of attention at the bank.  He loved it, and he's sound asleep now!  We wrote more about micro-adventures in this blog; check it out for more ideas!
    
2. Get them a new toy!  But not just any toy - one that will challenge them mentally as well as physically!  One of our favorite categories of toys are food puzzles.  We wrote all about them in this blog post; check it out to see which option your pup might light best!
    
3. Teach them a new trick!  Our dogs get so excited to learn new things with us!  And their "trick" skills are often the most exciting and reinforcing to our dogs, because we get so excited about them too!  Teaching your dog something new can be as simple or elaborate as you want, but either way it's sure to be a fun time for both of you!  I just taught my dog Roo some new tricks and he loved it!

These are just a few ideas for making this month a great month for you and your dog!  If you come up with other great ideas, we want to hear about them!  Tag us in your adventures on Facebook or Instagram and use #SDTmonthoflove so we can share in your excitement!

Why We LOVE Clicker Expo

It has been a crazy (good kind, I think) week coming off of one of the biggest events of the year in the life of many positive reinforcement dog trainers: Clicker Expo 2017 in Portland, OR.  Over three days of dog nerds from around the country geeking out together to the genius of the gods of the positive reinforcement training world, an impressive lineup including Ken Ramirez, Dr. Susan Friedman, Kathy Sdao, Hannah Branigan, and so many more!  

Charissa and I came back from this immersion with lots of new ideas and inspirations.  Some of these ideas may not seem so practical once we come down off the CE high induced by exposure to the greats of our industry and a significant lack of sleep, but we'll see.  It was a wonderful trip.

Attending training conferences also never fails to inspire me to fine tune my training with my own dog.  Roo is a wonderful pup, and as much of my time and energy is devoted to helping other humans and their dogs build positive relationships together, he often gets the short end of the stick.  But after Kathy Sdao encouraged us to consider taking more time to do activities that "keep our candle burning," I am trying to be more intentional about spending time with my own heart dog - he is, after all, one of the reasons I love training as much as I do!

The first concept I put into action was based on Hannah Branigan's presentation "High Precision, High Scores."  In this lecture, she broke down the behaviors sit, down and stand and discussed how to get the precision movements you need in order to offer peak performance in the obedience and rally ring.  I decided I should go back and take a look at how my dog performs the "sit" behavior to see if he was doing it the most efficient (and precise) way.  Turns out, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but still could use a little bit of improvement!  Here's our first session working on this.  I am selecting for a "tucked" sit where his hind legs come up to meet his stationary front legs instead of a "rock-back" sit where his front feet follow his rear back.

So sorry for the terrible video quality!  Can't seem to fix it, but if you want to see this clip in better quality, check it out on our instagram feed here.

Next, we tried some concept training, inspired by Ken Ramirez's lab on this topic.  We started with Match to Sample, which is teaching the dog to indicate the object that is the same as the object you present to them.  Roo had this concept in less than a 10 minute training session, and I started introducing novel objects as well.  This game is built on other skills (follow a target, settle at station, respond to a cue, etc.) that we have worked on previously.  Check this out!

How cool is that?!  Can't wait to see what else he learns next.

These are just a few of the fun tidbits we brought back from Clicker Expo.  We can't wait to improve our class curriculum, our behavior modification protocols, and our client interactions based on our new ideas.  Learning new things helps us to be the best that we can be, and we can't wait to pass along that benefit to our students and their dogs!

Happy clicking!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year . . . With a Well-Behaved Dog

The holidays are here!  Lots of fun and family and good food will be taking place over the next month, and everything is all hustle and bustle and cheer . . .

Until the dog counter-surfs and runs helter-skelter through the house with the pristine turkey and in-laws and cousins and aunts and uncles all join into a high-speed chase that jostles the perfectly-set table already brimming with food (sparkling cider splashes everywhere!), wakes up the baby (and the next-door neighbor's visiting grandmother), tips over the newly-decorated Christmas tree, sprains little Johnny's ankle (holiday ER trips are part of the family traditions, right?), and otherwise completely decimates the perfect Hallmark moment you had going.

That picture might be a little extreme, but you get the idea: your pup has the potential to either be a Christmas-card worthy gem or a complete moment-wrecker.  But with a little preparation, we can help our dogs keep towards the positive side of that scale!  Here are a few tips for a well-behaved dog this holiday season:

1. Prepare to give your dog plenty of exercise BEFORE the festivities begin.  Thanksgiving morning is a great time to get outside with your dog, even for just 20 minutes, before the relatives arrive!  If you can't do this, delegate: maybe one of your visiting nieces or nephews would be willing to spend 10 minutes playing ball with the dog in the backyard while dinner is cooking!  The more you keep your pup's mind and energy engaged in constructive outlets, the better behaved they will be!  We have holiday drop-in classes specifically for this reason!
    
2. Invest in some constructive activities for your dog, like food puzzles!  Some of our favorites are Kong (classic Kongs can be stuffed with peanut butter and yogurt and frozen ahead of time so they take longer to enjoy; Kong wobblers are a great way to give your dog their meals AND give them some extra brain activity too!), Orbee Snoop (another fun and interactive way to give your dog their meal!), and food mazes like these from Outward Hound.  Giving your pup something to do before they find a less constructive way to get their energy out is key!
    
3. Give your dog their own space and some structured quiet time throughout the festivities.  Lots of people, food smells, and other chaos can be overwhelming to your dog!  Giving them some chill time on their favorite mat or in their crate might be just what they need.
    
4. If you can foresee a situation where your dog is not going to be successful at doing the right thing, manage that situation to set your dog up for success.  If your dog is an excited greeter at the door, put them safely away in another room or crate before your relatives arrive.  The holiday rush isn't the time to start teaching a better greeting method!  If your dog is a habitual counter-surfer, make sure to manage their access to areas where food is being prepared or stored.  Dogs are opportunistic, and even if you have been making training progress, the holiday feast isn't where you want to put those skills to the ultimate test.  Use baby gates or other management tools to set your dog up for success!  If you have time to train a little bit here and there, reward your dog for settling on their bed just outside of the hub of activity.  Toss a treat (or a sample of turkey if you are feeling really generous!) every few minutes to reward your dog for having self-control in the face of all of that temptation! 
    
5. Remember that your dog is a dog!  It won't be perfect, just like your kid or your various relatives might get on your nerves on occasion!  But setting your pup up for success is the best way to get through the chaos in a positive, constructive way.

Another holiday tip: brush up on your knowledge of foods and plants that can be toxic to your pup!  The ASPCA Poison Control Center is a great resource!

Shelter Dog 101 - New Class!

Summit Dog Training Associate Trainer Charissa Beaubien KPA-CTP, CPDT-KA (read full bio here!) has a passion for helping shelter dogs transition smoothly into their forever homes.

Charissa with her own shelter pup, Dylon.

Through past shelter experience as well as in her current capacity as the Behavioral Technician for Humane Society of Weld County, Charissa has seen first hand how timely and applicable training advice can make the difference between a rescue dog staying with their adoptive family or being returned to the shelter.  In order to assist more rescue pups and their new families, we are adding a new class to the schedule: Shelter Dog 101.  This four week course is specifically designed for the needs of shelter dogs making the transition to "normal" life in a loving family.  Many shelter dogs come with challenges that other dogs don't always face, like separation anxiety, destructive chewing, potty training, and understanding polite play and social manners.  This course provides a way for new adoptive families to get support specifically for these issues, as well as get started bonding with their new shelter pup, in a fun and supportive class setting.  

Adopting a dog from a shelter is a wonderful choice, but can be a significant financial investment depending on the physical and mental health of the dog.  This class is a way for us to make training more accessible to adoptive families and get everyone started off on the right track!  If you are interested in the class, pick up a coupon from your dog's Northern Colorado rescue (we'll be distributing those very soon!) or send Charissa an email with a copy of your dog's adoption papers and we'll send you a coupon directly!   

Puppy In The Park

I just need to brag about some great students for a minute! Over the summer months, we met weekly in City Park, Fort Collins, for Puppy In The Park drop-in class.  This class was for graduates of my Puppy Basics and Puppy Confidence classes who were looking for extra opportunities to practice the skills they learned in new and more challenging environments.  And let me tell you, between baseball games, family reunion gatherings, and distracted PokemonGo players wandering through our makeshift classroom, the learning environment at City Park has certainly provided lots of great challenges!  

Cassie's mom sent me these pictures from one of the classes, and looking through them made me so proud!  These pups have all made great progress since we've started working!

Cassie the Australian Cattle Dog

Ryder the Australian Cattle Dog

Anaali the Golden Doodle

Briar the Labrador Retriever

Stinson the Hungarian Puli

Chief the German Shepherd

Great job, everyone!  Keep doing fun things with your pups!