Bark in the Park in Lebanon, TN

Join us this Saturday for Bark in the Park and enjoy an afternoon of contests, vendors, food and fun for dogs and their people! There will be a pet photo booth, a microchipping ID clinic, “Pawcasso” paw print paintings, great silent auction items and much more!

Admission is just a $5 donation, and kids 12 & under are free! Plus, the first 500 people through the gate get a special goody bag. Proceeds benefit the Humane Association of Wilson County.

Bark in the Park will be held on Sat. May 3rd from 1- 5pm at the Wilson Bank and Trust on West Main Street in Lebanon.

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1st Annual Dog Lovers’ Singles Mixer, Sat. May 17th from 2-5pm.

Miss Kitty’s Bed & Bath presents the 1st Annual Dog Lovers’ Singles Mixer to benefit the National Canine Cancer Foundation (www.WeAreTheCure.org).

Bring your pooch pals and come enjoy live music, wine, hors d’oeuvres and hay rides along 22 beautiful acres. Walk along meadows, woods and let your canine companions splash in the creek as you mingle with other animal-friendly singles!

A $10 donation is requested at the door.

The mixer will be held at 2953 Spanntown Road in Arrington, TN on Sat. May 17th from 2-5pm. Call 292- 1900 for details, or visit Miss Kitty’s online at www.MissKittys.com .

Yesterday I wrote about when you should start training your dog, at what age. I told you that the perfect age was 16 weeks or four months old, but actually, I fibbed a little bit. There’s another time that you can start training your dog, and that’s any time after eight weeks old. It’s called puppy imprinting.

Puppy printing is all motivational and all fun. It’s not considered formal training. At eight weeks of age your puppy’s mind is like a little sponge, he wants to learn new things. We use treats or even pieces of his kibble to teach him some different exercises that include the sit, the down and coming when you call. Keep in mind that this is fun and there are never any corrections. If your puppy does it wrong, we do it again till he does it right.

At my dog training facility Canine Behavior Specialists in Brentwood, Tennessee we actually offer a program called Surviving Your Puppy. In that program, we discuss all types of things the new puppy owners should know. One of the things we discuss is puppy imprinting. We actually show our clients how to implement the puppy imprinting program. Over the years I’m always amazed when it’s time for formal training at the difference between the dogs that did the imprinting and the dogs that didn’t do the imprinting. The difference is amazing.

When you get your next puppy, find a good trainer in your area to teach you how to do puppy imprinting, you won’t be sorry.

One of the questions I’m asked most often is how old should my dog be before I start formal training. As far as I’m concerned that’s an easy answer, 4 month (16 weeks). At four months old your puppy is like a blank canvas waiting to be painted with all the training you want for your new family member. At four months your dog hasn’t developed a bunch of bad habits and he’ll never be easier to physically manipulate because he’s getting bigger everyday. Years ago we used to wait till the dog was 6 months to a year old but not today. Ten years ago training methods were different, not as motivational as they are today. If you choose a trainer who uses motivational methods 4 months is the time.

So now that we’ve established the age what type of training should we do? It gets confusing here because there are several choices, including group classes, private in-home lessons and even the board and train programs that many trainers offer. Let’s talk about each type of training.

1. Group Classes

A group class is an inexpensive way to get your dog trained and also has the advantage of socializing your dog around other dogs and people. However if your dog is easily distracted the group class may not be the best option. I have literally conducted group classes for thousands of people over the years and I can tell that it works for some dogs and not others.

2. Private In-Home Lessons

In-Home lessons are my favorite for training the new puppy for several reasons. First we are training in the home, and usually that’s where we want the dog to behave the most. In-Home lessons allow us to see the dog with the family in its environment so that we can not only help train but also help solve behavior issues. Also in this type of training there are no distractions so the dog and the owner get the full benefit of the lesson without distractions.

3. Board and Train Programs

Board and Train programs are also sometimes called Doggy Boot Camp. This is where you leave your dog with a trainer from 2-4 weeks depending on the programs provided. The trainer trains your dog on a daily basis and SHOULD give you back a trained dog GUARANTEED. If they don’t guarantee it don’t leave your dog. The key to the success to this program is the follow up lessons for you. The trainer has to teach you how to handle the trained dog and you need to train on a daily basis to establish your relationship with the dog.

So if I needed to make a decision on which type of training to do, the in-home private lessons are a no brainer as long as I will commit to training on a daily basis. If I have NO desire to train then the board and train program is the answer. Group classes come in last.

Hello everybody and WELCOME! I’m excited and happy to welcome you to my dog training blog page. I hope that the information I give will help you with training issues you may need to resolve with your dog.

If you are not familiar with my name you may be saying ….who is Wayne Booth and what does he know. Feel free to visit the ABOUT page for more information.

If you have questions send me an email and let me see if I can give you some good advice and help. And don’t forget to signup so we can send you an email each time we update with a new article.

If your located in the Nashville area feel free to visit our dog training website at CanineBehaviorSpecialists.com

Thanks
Wayne Booth