Q. I have a 1 and a half yr old female pit bull. My problem is I can't get her to stop chewing and eating on wood!  What can I do to deter her from doing this?

A. Hi therei! Cassie from HEX here. The first and most important thing with a one year old pit bull is physical exercise - and I don't mean just letting them out in the backyard. They need a lot of mental stimulation, walks, structured exercise, you can play games (like this one: http://www.fullbullsne.org/.../the-find-it-game-great...). There is going to be basically NO solution to this issue without addressing the physical exercise/mental stimulation part. Bored dogs do a lot of stuff like this, and for some dogs, a 45 minute walk a day is nothing. I can tire my dogs out better at times with a 20 minute training session than a 40 minute walk - it appeals to their intelligence and gives 'em some brain work. When our dogs are chewing excessively like that, it's usually because (not usually - basically always) because they have too much pent up energy and they have to expell it somehow... You can leave her alone with ONE or two safe chew toys (like Kongs, stuffed with food - although I have one pit that can rip through even the black Kong). There is a product called "Bitter Apple" you can spray on your woodwork, although it isn't enough to deter certain dogs. Also, is she spayed? If she isn't, I would get her spayed - how is this relevant? Because a dog that isn't fixed is likely getting pretty frustrated around that age, especially if there are other un-neutered/un-spayed dogs in the area. Without addressing the exercise and possibly the spay, this is going to be a tough one to fix, but otherwise, it's not so bad Utilize gates/crates, shut some doors, to the areas she's been targeting, and remember this, too: you cannot effectively correct a dog after the fact, so if you didn't catch her in the act, don't even bother - you are likely to make it worse.

Almost forgot to mention - often the issue with this, in addition to what I said above, is actually a deficiency in diet.  Nutritional deficiencies manifest in weird ways with dogs eating weird stuff.. I LOVE the raw diets that are out there and has made huge improvements in health and behavior in dogs simply by making sure they are getting what their bodies need... www.preymodelraw.com has a lot of cool info on that.

Hope this was helpful!  Thank you to our partner organization Full-Bulls NE at www.fullbullsne.org for hosting this weekly Q&A, and please visit HEX Dog Training at www.facebook.com/hexdogs and give us a like!

Cassie-Leigh Stock, owner, HEX Dog Training
www.hexdogs.com

Just over 4 years ago I adopted a 95 pound 1.5 year old black Lab, who came from a good home... but they didn't understand what it meant to have a Lab puppy.  He had absolutely no discipline!

House-broken and knew how to sit (sometimes) but that was really it.  Anyone who knows or has owned a Lab understands that an undisciplined 1.5 year old Labrador retriever can be a little crazy... Okay, completely nuts!

He was horrible on leash, his recall was terrible, he tore through indoors like a bull in a china shop, he shredded, chewed, destroyed anything he could get his pearly white teeth on!  I met Cassie the day I picked him up.  I had a leash wrapped around my hand, wrist and arm a dozen times and I could barely control him.  I asked if she trained and we started classes the next week!  It didn't take long to get some of the craziness handled and quickly he turned into one the best decisions I've ever made.

Cassie knew exactly how to focus his energy and grab his attention.  She taught me as much as she taught Gus.  I've grown up with dogs my whole life.  I know quite a bit about them but I didn't know how to handle one that was full grown, quite strong and quite determined.  She taught me how to handle all of that.  My Lab is my best friend and one of my biggest accomplishments. I'd be lost without him. I'd be lost without Cassie-Leigh Stock!

-Meg B., Bellingham, Massachusetts

"Place" command is one of the under-valued cues taught in dog training, and I LOVE it.  There are a million ways to teach it, too, but the following is my favorite!

What "place" is:

A cue in which you SEND your dog to a specific target/location (like a bed, mat, towel, or any moveable marker or combination thereof, MEANING: Spark & the HEX Dog gang has this cue generalized well enough that if I "activate" an object by touching it, and then cue "place!" they understand that I mean that specific object or target in that instance).  Once they are on the "place," the dog remains there (in a sit, a down, or a stand, your choice) until released by the handler.  I like my dogs to lay all the way down on the place, but that isn't a requirement.  Most people are satisfied as long as their dog is ON the place, regardless of which position he wants to be in.

Why we do it:

Place cue is amazingly useful in a variety of situations!  Seriously!  I use it when we sit down to eat and don't want the pups underfoot; I use it when I feed them; I use it when I open the refrigerator so there aren't four pit bull heads in the freezer!  I also use it when people (visitors) come in the door and I need the dogs in a safe spot.. I also use it all the time in class when my dogs assist and I need them to go to a specific location.  SO useful!

NOW... for HOW we do it!

Prep work: get yourself something you want to use for your "place" to start teaching it: a towel, folded in half, is fine, or a kitchen/bath mat.  Consider using a clicker for this.  (A clicker is just going to be your marker to tell  your dog, "YES, that's what I wanted you to do.")  A verbal marker is good also, but you do lose a little precision.  I say "YES" in place of a click if I don't have a clicker handy.  ALSO, you NEED to have a release word to teach this in any valuable kind of way, so pick one right now!  A release word is just a cue to tell the dog when the behavior is over.  My dogs' release words are: break, release, free, at ease.  I have also used "fall out." 

1) Spend a little time with your dog on a leash, walking him back 'n forth over the place.  It's not unusual at all, especially in puppies, for the dog to show a little aversion to a weird surface at first.  (Some dogs don't care at all, some will try avoiding it at all costs in the beginning... lol.  Just keep walking him back 'n forth and around over it, and you can even throw a treat or two onto it until your dog isn't showing any aversion to stepping on the place.  This becomes especially relevant if you graduate to having your dog "place" on different items, i.e. if you're part of the HEX Dog Crew, you can place on rocks, plastic chairs, stumps, scratchy "wipe your feet" type mats, etc.)

***NOTE!*** Don't give the verbal cue "place" until you are on step 4 and have your dog readily going over to the place & sitting down.  RESIST the urge to nag "place, place, place, PLACE, PLACE" as you're going through the steps - your dog doesn't speak English & he doesn't know what you want yet.  It's annoying to me (in classes!) and it's annoying to your dog to repeat "placeplaceplaceplaceplace" while you're trying to teach it and neither of you has any idea what you're doing yet. lol.

2) Get a pocket full of treats ready.  Here's where it can get tricky: you can certainly use the treat to LURE your dog onto the place, but I prefer to do it in a way that makes the dog use his brain a little more.  I find I get better results by trying to do less of a "lure," and more of a "hint," i.e. I'll walk my dog around the place, move it (the place) a little bit with my foot, and when the dog looks down to acknowledge it/see what that was, I click and deliver the treat.  (Remember, the click is to tell him when he was on the right track - it's NOT to get his attention and especially not to reprimand.)

3) I continue to move around the place, clicking & treating any interest my dog shows in the place.  What you will eventually start to see (and it can take a good 15 minutes the first time you do this), is a dog looking down at or pawing the place as if to say, "Ok, I'm not sure exactly what you want me to do yet, but does it have something to do with THIS?"  Why yes, yes it does, sir :)  After you click and deliver the treat, say your release word ("break!") and walk him off the place.  DO NOT TREAT FOR THE RELEASE, only for touching the place.

***Again, nothing wrong with simply LURING your dog onto the place with the treat, or for that matter, walking him over to it and getting him into a sit with your leash, HOWEVER... neither of those methods require your dog to REALLY use his brain, and I find I get a more enthusiastic lifetime response if I teach it by having him try to "figure it out" to a certain degree.***

4) As your dog is getting the idea to touch the place with his feet, withhold the treat a bit until he tries something else (they usually SIT at this junction and that's what we want!), especially if you are close to them & they know you have the treat.  You can also simply CUE "sit" at this point, although again, I like to have the dog figure out as much as possible.  I can usually initiate the sit simply by moving the treat UPWARDS.  It's like giving a "hint" instead of just saying it or luring him into it.  You see what I'm getting at here?

5) As you have your dog going to sit on the place, and he's getting the idea of that, start to have your dog WALK OVER TO IT at greater distances, meaning... I walk over to the place, and stop short about a foot 'n a half from where I WAS standing right next to it.  You can lean and reach over with your hand to indicate that you want him to go to that TARGET.  "Place" doesn't just mean "sit/lay down next to me;" it's going to mean GO OVER TO THAT TARGET.  Slowly increase the distance you are sending your dog to the place, and change the location of the place as well; this way, you are helping your dog generalize that the cue "place" means GO TO THIS TARGET (not that section of the house, etc.).  ***When you have your dog walking over to the place, even if it's just from a few feet away, start cuing "Place!" RIGHT WHEN HE STARTS WALKING OVER TO IT.  Don't wait until he's all the way there.  "Place" doesn't mean "sit."  It means "go over to that target and sit/lay down/stay" until released.  As said previously, what position you want him in is up to you.

***Don't forget to give your release word ("free!") EVERY single time you're letting your dog off the place!***

A few common issues that come up teaching "place:"

> Your dog starts stopping halfway over to the place as you increase the distance:
    If this happens, no sweat, simply calmly go over to him, pick up his leash, and bring him over to the place.      He's just confused.   Reward him once he gets there.

> Your dog isn't staying on the place until released.  Again, GET HIM and bring him back over the place and sit     him down on it.  Keep calm.  As your dog gets more proficient at place, no longer reward him if he breaks         prematurely.  (You can end up with a dog that breaks every three seconds so you'll come over there, bring     him back, and give him the treat again!)

Hopefully, this was a comprehensive description of the behavior, and I hope you guys have tons of fun teaching it!  Here are a few videos (via facebook) of the HEX Dogs demonstrating the command!

Dually demonstrates long distance "place" for breakfast!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201292748779915&set=vb.1208335158&&theater

Double Dog "place!"
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10201293370995470&set=vb.1208335158&&theater

Thanks for reading, and please visit us on facebook here and check out our actual website here!
Cassie-Leigh Stock, ABCDT, CTDI, AKC-CGC, CDT
Owner, Higher Expectations Dog Training & Behavior Modification
President & Founder, New England Bully Breed Club

This person has had it.  On so many different levels.  ONE of those levels is the insane amount of people who should have just gotten a different dog instead of the dog they CHOSE.

I am sticking up for the "bad dogs."  "Bad dogs," you say??  "No such thing!  Only bad owners!" and I AGREE wholeheartedly.  HOWEVER, if you were me, and worked with the type of dogs I work with on a daily basis, you may, LIKE ME, get to a point where you feel the need to say to the HUMAN masses.. STOP trying to make every dog be this picture-perfect image of what the ideal Disney dog is supposed to be, and acknowledge the poor kid for what he actually IS and work with him based on IDENTITY, not some silly, fur-mommy version of what YOU think he's supposed to be.

Just for the record, I have NO problem with any breed specifically.  I have no problem with ANY breed, based on breed.  I have a BIG problem with some of these owners, and here's what I mean...

People come to me every week, every DAY, with the same type of issue... "My dog started barking at other dogs." "My dog started lunging at strangers on walks." "My dog started fighting with my resident dog."  I am NOT excusing any of these behaviors, and it is NOT right to chalk it up to: "that's just how he is."  Again, that is NOT what I'm saying.. but what I am saying is this:

STOP trying to make every dog be this Picture Perfect Image of what this "ideal" dog is supposed to be.  Dogs are individuals - that is one thing they certainly have in common with us.  People get guard breeds (Mastiffs, Dobermans, American bulldogs, Borboels) and wonder why, as they are maturing, their dogs are getting a little weary of strangers... Why the F*CK do you THINK?  Did YOU pull the same sh*t at age twelve as you did when you were 24?  (Hopefully not... Thank GAWD I'm not either of those ages anymore... lol.)  And not for nuthin', but you KNOWINGLY got a guard breed (i.e. dog meant to be a guard dog - guard against some sort of stranger, be it human or [other] animal - in some sense of the word), and then expected it, without your proactive intervention, to just grow up to be this super people-friendly, loving, uber-happy "I love everybody"-type dog just because YOU got it and didn't abuse it??  It doesn't make any sense.  That's where Education comes in, and "I didn't know" is NOT a good enough excuse.

Let me reiterate for the record, I am NOT saying that every member of a certain breed (i.e. guard breeds, in this instance) are going to be or behave or act in a certain way based on their breeds.  Did you know that only .25% of a given dog's genome are responsible for the way a dog looks?  Meaning the other 99.75% have to do with EVERYTHING else: digestive system (any idea how complicated THAT is?), sight, circulatory system, brain stem, etc. etc. (isn't enough space in this article to illustrate the point as profoundly as I'd like to).  What that means is just because a dog is a member of the "retriever" breeds does NOT mean that he is automatically going to retrieve - plenty of people I know will attest to the fact that there are many Labs, goldens, flat-coated retrievers, who could give a F*CK about retrieving.  It does happen.  The point of that paragraph was that just because a dog is a member of a certain breed (or even/especially MIXED) does not mean he/she will carry the traits of the known breed, meaning I am not discriminating against breeds based on breed.  That would totally go against everything I stand for.

THAT being said, back to the point:  I'm sticking up for the "bad dogs."  I have four pit bull type dogs myself ranging from American pit bull terrier (my service dog) to Great Dane/pit bull dog mix.  One of them, named Patches, has more of a defensive demeanor than the rest.  I have done a TON of work building up his confidence, and building his trust in me to handle a given situation, HOWEVER... if I am alone in the car with him at night, best not stick your hand in my window, and I have no desire to f*ck with that.  Same goes for when I am in the house alone with my four pit bulls roaming around (usually snuggling with me on the couch or playing games together), and the FedEx guys knocks.  They hit the door like a ton of bricks - you've never seen a delivery guy run back to their truck so fast; and I can easily call them off, meaning I say, "Boys, here."  And they come right back.  Not even kidding.  But if I don't know who's there and I'm not asking them to do anything, I don't interfere.  I let them take the upper hand.  They trust me to handle the situation, so if I say, "Hey, enough" that's good enough for them: they will instantly let you right in and anyone who has been to my house can attest to that.  What boggles my mind is the insane amount of people who try to change the innate characteristics that are natural to a dog to suit their own needs to the point that it becomes UNREASONABLE.

If you wanted a Labrador retriever, why didn't you GET a Labrador retriever?  My dogs are amazing and a handful COULD be "dog park dogs" - if you seriously want to know how I feel about dog parks, see this: http://www.hexdogs.com/2/post/2013/05/ask-me-how-i-feel-about-dog-parks-here-it-comes.html - but I choose not to subscribe to that (arguable) lunacy because I have PIT BULLS.  If any negative interaction DID occur, in which direction do you suppose the finger would be pointed??

An amazing amount of people come to me in desperation to GET their dog to be a "dog park dog."  Let's be real here: not every dog is meant to be a "dog park dog."  Quite frankly, I think it's stupid.  For one, the most obvious article on the long list of reasons I HATE the dog park is this: DISEASE.  You may have NO idea how many stupid people bring their dog to the dog park minutes or days after they got it off Craigslist, or as a foster - even stupider (word?).  These people have no idea what they have - or don't have - and they just unknowingly bring it right in to the park to expose everybody to... hmmm... the amount of illnesses I could interject here is amazing - did you know many of these diseases, including a super-common one, Giardia, is transferable to humans (rarely, but still)?

NOT only that, but you CANNOT control the type of "supah smaaaaht" individuals that come to the dog park.  As indicated in the previous paragraph, people bring dogs they don't even know to the park.  They - the humans - text.  They have picnics.  They drink coffee.  They don't pay attention to their dogs riding each other.  They are just generally dumb as sh*t.  You can't control everybody else's actions, so you are left to control yourself & your dog.  To PUT your dog in that position is sometimes (not just sometimes) asking a lot, especially if yours has a history of fighting with other dogs.  Not "smahhht."

In short, WHY is this article entitled "Sticking Up for the Bad Dogs?"  Because I feel like screaming from the roof-tops - I'm doing it via internet at four in the morning - "WHY, if you wanted a f*cking Labrador, didn't you GET a Labrador?"  (ONCE again, because I know the comments are coming - nothing against Labradors.) 

Nothing in this WHOLE article suggests NOT training, NOT socializing, simply ACCEPTING the fact that your dog "is how he is..."  That is NOT what I mean.  I mean the OPPOSITE of that.  DO train.  DO socialize.  DO break molds.  NEVER accept it when some idiot trainer says "You will never __________________."  Never accept that; do the damn thing.

But on that note, I am sticking up for the "bad dogs" when I say this: recognize your dog for who he is, seek out the advice of a qualified - TRULY qualified - professional, and let's be real.  STOP trying to make every single dog your stereotypical golden retriever; (and for the last time, if you haven't picked up on the fact that I am generalizing here and not taking a "dig" at a specific breed, I don't know what to tell  ya).  View each dog for the individual that he is, and work together accordingly. If, for some insane reason, I wanted a "dog park dog," I wouldn't have gotten PIT BULLS.  There is a wise-ass saying that goes, "if at first you don't succeed, do what your f*cking dog trainer told you to do in the first place."  In many cases... FACT.

***Love it or hate it, thanks for reading, and please visit us on facebook here as well as our regular page: www.hexdogs.com***

Trick training has SO much value beyond just impressing your friends.  It builds relationships, builds confidence, builds skills and is certainly just plain fun!  Here is how to teach your pup to "Army Crawl!"

Trick of the Day: Teach "Army Crawl!"
Prerequisite: "Down"

Ok, to start this trick, ask  your dog for a "down."  Once he is fully in the position, take a treat between your fingers and wiggle them in front of him, moving the treat forward on the floor.. You are basically trying to tease him into pawing for the treat..

***Tip*** Don't move the treat forward too quickly, or he'll end up getting up!  You're trying to keep it "wiggling" but close to his front paws...

When you get even the smallest motion forward, mark it with a verbal marker ("YES!!") or a click.  (Personally, I love the clicker, but I use both a verbal and a clicker - not at the same time! - depending on the scenario.)  After you mark,  you must in fact GIVE him the treat :)

Once he's getting the hang of it, and ONLY when he's getting the hang of it, add your verbal cue "Crawl!"

Repeat the process, at first rewarding only the smallest movements forward and progressing to an actual distance crawl!  The way to properly build on this as he gets better is to ask him for the down, and then hold the treat about a foot in front of him and ask him to crawl TO it.  Then you hold it two feet away and ask him to crawl to it, etc. etc.

Get it? :) It's a really fun, cute, impress-your-friends type of trick!  Tricks for treats, the day after Halloween! Enjoy yourselves, feel free to share and ask questions here on Higher Expectations Dog Training & Behavior Modification's facebook page.  Also, check out our actual website at www.hexdogs.com.  We LOVE pictures, too!

-Cassie-Leigh Stock, owner, HEX Dog Training