I am blogging on behalf of BlogPaws Pet Blogger Network and the AKC. I received compensation for my time from the AKC for sharing my views in this post, but the views expressed here are solely mine.
If you remember me tellin’ ya, my Lady joined the AKC GoodDog! HelplineSM a couple of weeks ago. She said we had ‘issues’ that needed worked on. I told ya she meant business! She wants to tell ya about makin’ the call.
Miss Molly is right about the issues. We have several dogs and each has developed their own bad habits and bad dog behaviors. Six of them are large 65-80 pound dogs with a 5 pound Chihuahua thrown in the mix. While they do pretty well with just the basics of sit and lay down, we have other issues that are really becoming a problem.
With several dogs, I had decided to enroll Maggie in the AKC GoodDog! HelplineSM. The service gets you unlimited access to trainers for one low price. The service will last her whole life through all her life stages. If there are new issues that come up, we will have access to trainers to help us with them.
I am hoping we can train Maggie and then follow the same tips to train the rest of the pack. They are all good dogs, they have just developed some bad dog behaviors that I needed help with. I decided to tackle the very frustrating issue of them ‘jumping at the door when visitors arrive’ first.
Making the Call
I made my first call to the AKC GoodDog! HelplineSM and spoke with a VERY friendly trainer. She listened to my issues and then gave me very detailed advice on how to work on our bad dog behaviors. I had several issues to talk with her about such as how to get them to stop jumping on visitors at the door, chewing problems, walking on a leash and even territory problems. She was very patient, understanding and knowledgeable. She explained solutions and tips for dealing with each bad habit.
Dog training advice to work on
The dog trainers advice on the jumping problem was to train each dog separately and on a leash, making them sit and wait. Eventually, adding them all together. I discovered that a lot of the chewing problems from the young ones we are experiencing may be coming from boredom. Therefore, I need to get them working. With them being German Shepherd/Lab mixes they need a LOT of exercise and love to ‘work’. For the leash pulling problems, she explained how to get them walk loosely on the leash. I have had issues of these walking me instead me walking them. It is not a lot of fun to have an 85 pound dog pulling you along for the ride. I look forward to putting her suggestions to work. While they don’t work with severe aggression issues, she was able to help me understand Seager’s aggression to the other male dog that comes into our yard. Seager is not necessarily aggressive, in his mind he is defending him territory and family. She suggested perhaps putting both dogs on a leash and allowing them to meet off of the property, while being controlled on the leash. The other male is the stray, Cooper as we call him, that comes around here quite often. It is something that we can try and work towards with the hope of them becoming friends.
We talked for about 40 minutes on the phone. She was very patient and stayed with me answering questions until I was satisfied I could give them all a try. She said if I ran into problems, or forgot how to do something, I can call back anytime and they will walk me through it again. I am very excited to put it all into action. At least now instead of it seeming like a mountain of hopeless chaos I have a workable plan to get them all trained. I will probably have to call back, but it is reassuring to know the Good Dog Helpline is only a phone call away when I need help. I will keep you updated on how it’s going. I know we are ready for some relief and it feels good to have a plan of action!
Connect with AKC GoodDog! HelplineSM
I encourage you to visit with the AKC GoodDog! HelplineSM at Website, on Facebook and follow on Twitter for even more information on this wonderful program!
Do you have dog behaviors you could use advice on?
The post Getting help with our Bad Habits from AKC GoodDog! HelplineSM #AKCDogLover #Sponsored appeared first on Miss Molly Says.