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Lab mix Ace

Karen

Tuesday 9th of August 2011

I love the way you talk about breaking things down for the dogs. Do you have suggestions for the best way to teach my dogs (two) to lie down and stay while we feed our infant her dinner? (Currently this is the thrilling part of the day, because they stand under her and she either feeds them or drops food for them.) (They know "stay," but we've never trained them to actually be good at it.)

Thank you in advance! The easy solution when you have a baby is to put the dogs outside during dinner, but I'd rather them just lay down and then when dinner's over they can clean up for us!

Sincerely, Karen (and Amy - 9 months, JD (6 yr big "brother", and Tatzen 3 yr big "brother")

Lindsay Stordahl

Tuesday 9th of August 2011

Well, I teach all my foster dogs the command "out" which means "get your ass out of the kitchen!" They all catch on fairly quickly. If they put one toe in the kitchen, I say "out!" and walk towards them until they are out. Then the get a treat. Then I slowly increase the time they are "out" before they get a treat. I've had Cosmo for about two and a half months now and he will stay "out" until I'm finished with my meal. Then I might give him a small tidbit.

It is probably easier, though, to just teach the dogs to stay on their dog beds. All you have to do is be very consistent. If they get up, put them right back and repeat "stay." You may have to put them back dozens of times the first night. When they actually are staying, reward them with treats. I'd use their own dog treats vs. the human food. But maybe the baby food is a better reward for now. Slowly increase the time they have to stay before they get a treat. And eventually they should learn to stay during the entire meal. In the end, their reward could be the chance to clean up the floor. It might be easier to practice with one dog outside and one dog inside until they get a bit better. When one dog runs to get the food, the other is likely to follow. It's easier for them to concentrate without another dog around.

Good luck! Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting.

And remember to practice the "stay" command in all kinds of settings. You'll probably end up putting them back many, many times the first few days. But dogs learn quickly once they realize the owner is serious. Don't get upset, just calmly put them back and repeat "stay." And make sure to have a release word for them to get up again. Something like "free" or "Ok!"

Lauren

Wednesday 13th of July 2011

I am thinking about starting a dog walking business and i was wondering if you have to be licensed right away or do you have some sort of leeway?

Lindsay Stordahl

Wednesday 13th of July 2011

I assume you mean a business license? It depends on where you live. My city does not require every business to have a license. I wouldn't be too concerned. If your city requires it, look into getting one once you have a few customers.

Lindsay Stordahl

Monday 17th of January 2011

Send me an email at [email protected] to talk more about this.

Doody Digger

Monday 17th of January 2011

Would you be interested in reviewing the Doody Digger on your blog? If so, please send me your shipping address. We just started a company blog and twitter page.

Read about the product here. http://doodydigger.blogspot.com/2011/01/introducing-doody-digger-pooper-scooper.html

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