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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Teaching "Picky" Pups to Eat!

Eating is a learned behavior, which means that it is something that can be taught, just like any other behavior.  If you have a “picky” or food-selective pup, it is important to think about how we can teach them how to eat more consistently. 

This is an overview of our webinar on this topic. If you want more in-depth help & support on this topic, you can check out the webinar replay Teaching “Picky” Pups to Eat here! 

Besides getting good & consistent nutrition, there are many other reasons why eating is an important behavior for our pups to know how to do appropriately! 

• Training: Eating is a very helpful component of positive reinforcement training! There are lots of other ways we can apply positive training principles if using food isn’t an option, but being able to reward quickly with a treat is very convenient and efficient for a lot of training goals!  

• Enrichment: Being able to eat food out of food puzzles is a great way to exercise our dog’s brains and provide mental stimulation. If our dogs don’t care for the food in the toy, it is difficult to encourage them to play. 

• Threshold Assessment: If our dogs can eat food in most situations, we can then evaluate how comfortable they are in other scenarios. If we first have a solid baseline of “okay, my dog can eat food easily out of my hand at home where he is comfortable…” then we know if they all of a sudden can’t eat food out of your hand because you are outside in a busy park, then your dog may be over threshold. Using food is a great, easy, way to gage your dog’s comfort in a situation and provides a channel of communication between you and your dog. 

• Health Assessment: Eating can be a great way to evaluate your dog’s health. Again, if your dog can have a baseline eating behavior such as being able to eat comfortably at home, then when they pass up a meal or their favorite puzzle toy, we can know something isn’t quite right. 

We cannot emphasize this line of communication enough with our dogs! If our dogs can learn the behavior of eating, it can tell us so many things when they choose to, or not to, eat. 

It’s also important to note that some food-selective dogs that we might label as “picky” may in fact just be over-threshold in a lot of situations. For example, if you have a puppy that eats regular meals at home, and likes working for treats in its own backyard, but then won’t eat at training class, this is likely just because your puppy hasn’t yet learned the behavior of eating enough to withstand the exciting stimuli in that environment, and thus all of the other behaviors (watching other dogs, getting excited about the people nearby, etc.) are more likely to occur than eating.  Similarly, if you have a reactive dog (one that barks at other dogs or people or other things you encounter), that cannot eat food in the presence of one of these triggers, it may not be because your dog doesn’t like food, but rather the behavior of eating isn’t built up to withstand the level of difficulty where we are asking that dog to eat.  

So how do we teach our “picky” pups to eat?

• Reinforce Eating with Other Things: What does your dog enjoy doing?  How can we make access to that activity contingent on eating a treat or a bite or two of their evening meal?  Examples that I often use are activities like playing with a favorite toy, getting attention and praise from you, chewing on a yummy bone, getting access to a new area like a yard or getting out of the car, sniffing, peeing on stuff, etc.  Dog eats a bite of food, gets let out in the backyard to play.  Repeat!

• Set Appropriate Criteria: Think about what environments your dog might feel comfortable eating in.  Do they eat at home?  Do they eat in a quiet room by themselves?  Start with building consistent eating where it’s easy for them to be successful, rewarding them when they do eat.  Then expand the criteria a bit, such as asking for a bit of eating in the front yard. 

• Start with High Value: Many, many (although certainly not all) “picky eater” situations have been resolved simply by increasing the value of what you are offering.  If your dog is turning up their nose at the milk bone crumbles you have, perhaps starting with something a little bit more exciting like a small piece of hot dog or cheese instead.  It’s important to still focus on building consistent eating habits so that if the novelty of these yummy treats wears off, we have eating behaviors that can withstand moving to treats of different values. You won’t always need to give hotdogs & cheese if we are teaching our dogs that in general, eating is a pretty enjoyable activity!

• Avoid Upping The Ante Pitfall: For both training & meal feeding purposes, it can be easy to fall into the trap of increasing the value of what you are offering after your dog has refused the first thing you offered them.  This could look like picking up a neglected kibble bowl and adding in scrambled eggs and putting it back down, or reaching into the training treat pouch and finding that cheese piece after your dog has refused a piece of milk bone.  This can inadvertently teach your dog that refusing food will get them something better!  For meal feeding, we recommend instead if you offer your dog just kibble food and they refuse, removing the food and waiting until the next meal; if you want to add something to their food to make it more exciting, do it before you offer it to them for the FIRST time rather than after they have refused the plain meal.  For training, start with the higher value treats.  You can reduce the value as your dog is getting into the behavior pattern of eating. 

We are just scratching the surface here, and there are a lot more factors to consider when working with “picky” pups.  If you are interested in learning more, check out the webinar replay on this topic for lots of specific suggestions & video examples for teaching our pups how to eat with ease! 

Flirt Pole Games

Have you heard about this super fun toy & training game you can play with your dog?  

A Flirt Pole is a tug toy attached to the end of a rope, which is attached to a pole that you control. You maintain control of the toy with the rigid end of the pole so that you can move the toy around for your dog to engage with!  It can be a fun toy, an exercise tool, and our personal favorite: a training reinforcement tool. 

Our Favorite Flirt Poles:

• Outward Hound

• Pupford Retractable (for small dogs)

• Best Buddy

What makes the Flirt Pole different from a regular toy? 

• You Keep Control: When we use a regular toy as a reward, when tossed your dog can decide whether or not to bring it back.  We can spend a lot of time teaching our dog to bring toys back, but the flirt pole gives us a convenient short cut!  That’s not to say we don’t teach great release-on-cue skills, but it’s nice to keep ourselves involved in the game a bit more easily!  

• The Flirt Pole Toy Moves! A Flirt Pole can also be more engaging for most dogs than a regular toy. If you have a pup that isn’t as interested in regular toys, this may be the perfect solution to get them engaged! When you toss a regular toy, it essentially “dies” and loses its excitement. With the Flirt Pole, you continuously have the ability to make the scenario more or less exciting depending on what you need. 

The ability to control the toy easily, and make it move in exciting ways, really makes the flirt pole a great option to be used as a training reinforcer. You can easily make it vary in excitement based on your dog’s behavior. We can change the value of the toy and be very responsive to how engaging it is because we have prompt control of the toy.  For example, if we are teaching our dog how to release a toy on cue, we can make the toy go flat, or “die”, to make it less exciting, prompting our dogs to release the toy. 

What flirt pole games & skills should you teach?
Teaching good play skills is an important part of using & training with the flirt pole correctly & successfully.  

I teach the following foundation skills as part of my flirt pole routine:

• Get Toy on Cue - Our flirt-pole-playing pups need to know when we are ready to start the game! I teach “Get It” means it’s time to grab the toy to play!

• Release When You Freeze / Release When You Cue - Releasing when you are ready for a pause in the game is so important. I start by freezing the toy (making it boring), then immediately the game starts again when the dog lets go of the toy. After dog is quickly letting go of the toy, I start adding in a verbal release cue.

• Stimulus Control: Don’t Chase the Toy Unless Cued - The game doesn’t start until the magic words happen! After my dog has a good understanding of the “Get It” cue means the game is starting, I start adding in longer pauses before I give that cue, and maybe putting the toy in different positions (ground, hand, table, etc.). I reward my dogs for waiting by giving the “Get It” cue while they are doing a calm behavior instead!

• Pick Up Dead Toy on the Ground - I teach my dogs a cue that means run to pick up the toy that is lying on the ground, then the game starts. I use this for adding distance & distraction to recall & stay cues, as well as advanced sequences like agility where I might need the toy to be away from my hands during our training.

• Settle Between Toy Play - Being able relax and take a break between exciting things is such an important life skill! I use my flirt pole to practice this!

Once I have these foundation skills built, I incorporate the flirt pole as a reinforcer into a training routine for other important life skills! 

Here are just a few of the life skills that I have used the flirt pole to train & reinforce: 

• Good understanding of stimulus control (doing the right behaviors on cue and only on cue)

• Building a positive conditioned emotional response for scary or unpleasant things like wearing coats, loud noises, playing in the cold, etc. 

• Teaching eating skills for dogs who would rather play than eat food

• Building good manners skills around exciting environmental distractions

• Rocket recall & stays

• Tricks & fun!

To learn more about Flirt Poles & see lots of videos for teaching each of these skills, check out our webinar replay on Flirt Pole Games!  This webinar goes in depth on how we teach great flirt pole skills and how we use it correctly in our training structure!

All About Support Dogs - Emotional Support, Service Animals, & Therapy Dogs

September is National Service Dog Month! This is a great opportunity for doing a little bit of learning about service dogs, and other types of support dogs, to understand the differences and how to take your dog down each of these unique career paths. We get a lot of inquiries requesting “service dog training” when actually the prospective student is looking for therapy dog training - and vice versa! There is a lot of confusion around these terms, so let’s take a minute to learn how to distinguish between these canine support roles.

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A “support dog” is a dog that is selected or trained to assist an individual or many people in some way. Who they assist (one person or many) and what they assist with depends on what type of support dog they are. In this blog, we’ll cover the different types of support dogs and the basic training paths toward your dog being successful in one of those support roles. Please note that some of this information is specific to the state of Colorado, so if you live elsewhere please confirm the specific regulations for your region. 

Before we get into the details of the different types of support dogs, let's first talk about the Canine Good Citizen (CGC) evaluation. You’ll see this evaluation referenced throughout this blog. While this isn’t a requirement for all of the support dog jobs (read more details in each support dog section), it is a great benchmark evaluation of your dog’s skills before entering any of these support roles. 

To pass the CGC evaluation, your dog needs to master 10 skills, and demonstrate these in a test administered by an AKC CGC Approved Evaluation (at Summit Dog Training, that’s Amber!). 

Skills Tested: 

1. Accepting a friendly stranger

2. Sitting politely for petting

3. Appearance and grooming

4. Loose leash walking

5. Walking through a crowd

6. Sit and down on command and staying in place

7. Coming when called

8. Reaction to another dog

9. Reaction to distraction

10. Supervised separation

But what are the benefits to achieving your CGC certification? We highly encourage all our students to work towards becoming CGC-certified because the advanced training and evaluation process promotes responsible pet ownership, as well as provides mental and physical exercise for your dog. Additionally, the certification provides socialization skills and helps your dog to be the best companion they can be! This course also encourages the human-animal bond which leads to better communication between you and your dog for successful training. 

Suggested Training Plan For CGC

Step 1: Basic obedience and public manners. Take either Summit Dog Training’s Puppy Basics if your dog is 4-6 months old, or Good Dog Basics if your dog is 6 months or older.

Step 2: Continue refining skills and building the human-animal relationship. Take a Summit Dog Training Level 2 class of your choice. We recommend taking more than one Level 2 class before moving on to Level 3. 

Step 3: Become a Canine Good Citizen! Complete Summit Dog Training’s Level 3 Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Prep class. After the class, pass the CGC certification test provided by Amber. 

To learn more about the CGC evaluation process, click here.

Emotional Support Animal (ESA)

Update Spring 2021: Rules have changed and most airlines no longer allow ESAs on cabin flights.

Emotional Support Animals provide support to their owners for an emotional or mental disability, like: a learning disability, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), anxiety disorders, depression, motor skill disorders, PTSD, phobias, and more. ESAs are not trained to provide a specific service for their handlers, but rather provide comfort through their presence. 

Documentation from a licensed medical professional is currently the only legal requirement for your dog to become an ESA. An online registration does not give your animal any legal rights and is not required for your animal to be considered an ESA. Any online site advertising an ESA registry for your service dog is likely a scam, as a registry is not required at all. The only requirement is a letter from your licensed medical professional. 

Being an ESA gives your dog special rights. If your medical professional determines that you qualify for an ESA and provides the proper documentation, you are allowed to be accompanied by your ESA in the following places:

• “No Pets” Housing Policy under the FHA: Landlords cannot refuse you housing on the basis of your animal living with you if you have proper ESA documentation. They also cannot evict you on the basis of you having your ESA in the house. They must provide “reasonable accommodation,” which includes waiving any pet fees they may usually charge. Your ESA must not cause an “undue burden” to the landlord’s finances, and must not be a threat to other animals or tenants. 

However, being an ESA does not give your dog unlimited rights. ESA documentation does not give you the right to bring your dog into work offices if your employer has a no-pet policy. You may request through your Human Resources department to be able to bring your ESA with you to the workplace, but they may legally ask for your ESA letter and your request may be declined. Additionally, most public buildings including libraries, university buildings, and businesses do not allow ESAs on the premises. 

Even though no specific training is required for your dog to be considered an ESA, it is a good practice to teach your dog above-average public manners so that they can safely accompany you where they are permitted. One of the biggest reasons that the U.S. Department of Transportation is considering changing the rules concerning ESAs on flights is due to the increased number of incidents that have occurred because of poorly trained animals being brought on flights as ESAs. Committing to a high level of training with your ESA is essential so that they can set a good example and help those allowances to continue into the future!

Suggested Training Plan For An ESA

Note: Remember, there is no “ESA Certification” for your dog. A letter demonstrating your need for an ESA comes from your licensed medical professional and is not connected to the specific animal you choose as your ESA. Training is currently not required for your dog to be considered your ESA, but it is HIGHLY recommended. 

Step 1: Basic obedience and public manners. Take either Summit Dog Training’s Puppy Basics if your dog is 4-6 months old, or Good Dog Basics if your dog is 6 months or older.

Step 2: Continue refining skills and building the dog-human relationship. Take a Summit Dog Training Level 2 class of your choice. We recommend taking more than one Level 2 class before moving on to Level 3. 

Step 3: Become a Canine Good Citizen! Complete Summit Dog Training’s Level 3 Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Prep class. After the class, pass the CGC certification test provided by Amber. 

Service Animal (SA or SD)

Service animals are specifically trained to perform tasks or services for an individual with a disability. Some examples of service animal tasks include:

• Guiding those who are visually impaired or blind

• Aiding those who are hard of hearing or Deaf

• Alerting people to medical needs or emergencies such as seizures, low blood sugar, allergens, to remember to take their medications, etc. 

• Assisting those with mobility impairments

• Providing psychiatric services for owners with PTSD, OCD, schizophrenia, or other disabilities that require psychiatric aid or medications

Individuals with disabilities who are accompanied by their service animal are protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Service animals are allowed in any space that is open to the public. No extra fees may be mandated for housing for you and your service animal, and they are allowed in airplane cabins for flights at no extra cost. Representatives of public spaces cannot ask questions about your disability or demand proof of your animal’s certification. It is not required by law that a service animal wear a vest or any other identification. If your service animal’s status is not obvious, managers/owners/employees/overseers of public spaces may ask you to identify your animal as a service animal verbally by stating what service they provide to you. However, you cannot be charged fees for bringing your service animal into a public space, but you can be charged for any damage your animal does to the space. Your service animal can also be excluded from or asked to leave a public space if the animal represented a threat to public health and safety. 

There is no required “service dog certification,” although your dog must be trained in specific skills to help you in order to be considered a service dog. Furthermore, your service dog needs above-average public manners so that they can safely accompany you wherever you need to go. If your service dog is causing a disruption or behaving aggressively towards other people or dogs in a public place, you may be asked to leave despite your rights to a service dog under the ADA. Training for both public manners and your specific needs are both essential pieces of a service dog training plan. 

Suggested Training Plan for Service Dogs

Step 1: Basic obedience and public manners. Take either Summit Dog Training’s Puppy Basics if your dog is 4-6 months old, or Good Dog Basics if your dog is 6 months or older.

Step 2: Continue refining skills and building the dog-human relationship. Take a Summit Dog Training Level 2 class of your choice. We recommend taking more than one Level 2 class before moving on to Level 3. 

Step 3: Become a Canine Good Citizen! Complete Summit Dog Training’s Level 3 Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Prep class. After the class, pass the CGC certification test provided by Amber. 

Step 4: Continue training to work towards goal behaviours for your desired services and tasks. Depending on the goals, Summit Dog Training may be able to help you teach these service dog tasks! We also recommend Canine Community Heroes in Greeley, CO for specialized service dog training expertise.

Step 5: Seek certifications if you would like to achieve them (but avoid unnecessary/costly online registration that don’t actually provide you any real “proof” of your animal’s status). 

Therapy Dog

Therapy dogs provide comfort, services, and benefits on a voluntary basis through the human-animal bond. Their affection and interactions improve the lives of the people who the dog visits with their owner. Therapy dogs are well-trained, friendly dogs that are welcomed into facilities, upon approval, on a volunteer basis. Some facilities require certification representation for therapy dogs to volunteer there. While service dogs and ESAs are trained to provide support to their handlers only, therapy dogs are trained to provide comfort and support to other people.

Therapy dogs are commonly seen in:

• Hospitals

• Assisted living centers

• Airports

• Schools

• Workplaces

• Therapy services

Therapy dog handlers do not fall under the provisions of the ADA, and thus therapy dogs are only permitted in public areas that are designated pet-friendly, unless specifically invited by a facility to conduct therapy work on their premises. 

Suggested Training Plan For Therapy Dogs

Step 1: Basic obedience and public manners. Take either Summit Dog Training’s Puppy Basics if your dog is 4-6 months old, or Good Dog Basics if your dog is 6 months or older.

Step 2: Continue refining skills and building the dog-human relationship. Take a Summit Dog Training Level 2 class of your choice. We recommend taking more than one Level 2 class before moving on to Level 3. 

Step 3: Become a Canine Good Citizen! Complete Summit Dog Training’s Level 3 Canine Good Citizen and Therapy Dog Prep class. After the class, pass the CGC certification test provided by Amber. 

Step 4: Pass an official Therapy Dog test and certification (if desired or needed for access to facilities where you hope to volunteer). 

In Northern Colorado, we refer our students to Larimer Animal People Partnership (LAPP) or Human-Animal Bond in Colorado (HABIC) for completing the Therapy Dog certification process. 

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It is important to know the differences between each type of support dog as an owner and as a public civilian interacting with them. Understanding each dog’s role helps to better set them up for success and keeps everyone safe. If your training goals align with one of these roles, you can use these sample training plans to get started, or reach out to us for more information and help!

Note: The training plans outlined here are guidelines based on the average inquiry that we receive. If you and your dog have unique goals, or have already done some training together and aren’t sure where to jump in next, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for more customized assistance!

Teaching Your Small Dog to Love Getting Picked Up

Building off of our Small Dogs Need Training Too blog from a few weeks ago, today we’re going to talk about how to teach your small dog or puppy to feel comfortable when you pick them up!  This is applicable to dogs of all sizes, but especially important for small dogs who will likely have to experience being picked up more frequently throughout their life.

Here are a few reasons that we might need to pick up our small dog or puppy:

• Safety – something dangerous is coming and we need to get them to safety

• Hot surface – boosting puppy across asphalt that might burn their paws

• Over obstacles – up and down stairs, over a fallen log on a hiking trail

 When we are raising a puppy, we also usually carry them more frequently to get them to potty areas on time, to avoid contact with outside surfaces prior to vaccination, and because they just can’t walk as far as an older dog.  At first, most pups tolerate this carrying behavior pretty well, but it’s not uncommon for puppies to get to a point where being carried is not as comfortable or pleasant as it used to be!  This is when you might see unwanted behaviors emerging like squirming to get down, whining, biting at your fingers, or growling – your puppy is using these behaviors to tell you that they don’t like what you are doing!  This change in tolerance to being picked up can happen to some extent as part of a pup’s normal physical development (i.e getting bigger makes being picked up less comfortable), but often it is also a result of us over-using picking up or not teaching the puppy how to feel calm and confident about being picked up. 

The good news is that there are a quite a few things that you can do with your puppy or older small dog to help them learn a calm picking up behavior. 

1.     Limit Use: Let your puppy walk as much as possible, and use picking up sparingly and only as-needed. Yes, it can be very convenient to carry a pup around to hurry things up, but the more we do it, the more withdrawals we are making from this behavior bank account. Try to save picking your puppy up for necessary situations only (like going up and down stairs) and avoid using this tactic at other times.   It is also important to avoid picking your puppy up as a removal from an exciting situation, as this can really add negative emotions about being picked up.  It’s so easy to see our puppy getting into trouble (like chewing on something inappropriately) and scoop them up to redirect, but this can be extra frustrating for our pups.  Instead, try redirecting them in a different way that allows them to keep all four feet on the ground!

2.     Use a Cue: Make sure the puppy knows you are about to pick them up ahead of time by adding a cue!  I use the word “Boost” for Jamie.  When I started conditioning this word, I would give it as I reached down for him, just a split second before actually picking him up.  At the beginning, I always followed each cued pick up with a reward (see #3!).  Now, a few months later, I give it the verbal cue a bit further in advance (1-2 full seconds) and wait for his consent (see #5).

3.     Keep it Pleasant: We want our small pups to think getting picked up is a great thing! Condition pleasant things for calm in your arms.  I follow “Boost” with a treat, and rehearse with my puppy the short sequence of “Boost” —> pick up —> treat —> release back to the floor —> repeat.  We want the puppy to know that getting picked up doesn’t always mean a long carry or squeeze in your arms, but sometimes they get to go right back to what they were doing before.  It’s also important to make sure that we aren’t startling our dogs when we scoop them up, as this can be very unpleasant!  So using a cue to alert your pup to what is happening is tied into this point as well. 

4.     Calm Gets Down: We can teach our pups that being calm in our arms actually gets them out of our arms!  This goes back to the keeping it short and sweet intervals from #3 - if you pick up your puppy and they are calm for a few seconds, put them down.  Repeat!  When they are still and relaxed, they get to go down.  Now, we also have to keep in mind that if a puppy is really struggling to get out of your arms, not much good is served by forcing them to stay in your arms until they settle down. This will likely only exacerbate the situation. Try to notice calm behaviors to reinforce within the short intervals of time that our pups can handle, and if they are always getting to a struggling, biting mode then we are pushing things too far!

5.     Work Towards Voluntary Participation: Your dog can learn to tell you “Yes, I’m ready to be picked up!” When I first started working on conditioning pick up skills with Jamie, I didn’t really wait for his permission to pick him up per-se, but I also didn’t pick him up if he was actively trying to avoid it. If your pup exhibits finger biting or active avoidance (walking/running away) as soon as you reach for him, we have a bit of other conditioning and baby steps we need to do first in order to build back up to picking him up. But as we are seeing a good foundation being built where our puppies are having pleasant experiences when they are being picked up, the next layer that I like to add is getting my puppy to volunteer to be picked up.  At first this looked like Jamie giving a little weight shift up and into my hand as I placed it under his stomach.  I’d say “Boost” and because he knew what was coming, he’d do a little rise up off the ground (really slight at first, almost like he was going up on tip-toes), and then I would pick him up.  Once I started seeing this weight shift consistently, I started waiting to get this little bit of consent before lifting him. If I said “Boost,” reached down to pick him up, and he didn’t offer weight shift, I just waited in that position.  Usually he would offer the weight shift within a few seconds, and started learning through this that he had control over the situation - I wouldn’t pick him up if I didn’t get his buy-in.  Now that weight shift has morphed into a full launch-into-arms behavior, so most of the time he is participating actively in getting picked up instead of getting scooped.  This control goes a long way to building a resilient behavior that the dog will want to participate in.  This isn’t something to expect overnight (Jamie and I have been working on this for about 5 months now), but start with steps 1-4 above and then move to this when you are ready!

Jamie demonstrating a voluntary boost behavior with Charlie.

 Troubleshooting

• What if your puppy growls on one occasion when you pick them up? What do you do?

 If it’s a one-off event or the first time it’s happened, don’t panic.  Put your puppy down, and take stock of your environment.  Was something different about this picture than previous times you have picked your puppy up (i.e. perhaps a bone resource you were pulling your puppy away from, or perhaps they had just woken up from a nap)?  The more details you can collect and observe, the more information you will have to develop some training plan options for moving forward. 

The other thing I always check if I have a dog exhibit a one-off growling incident in response to a physical interaction is whether there is any pain or discomfort that I wasn’t aware of.  Sometimes our pups might be sore from playing rough with a friend, or maybe they have a burr stuck in their armpit that caused a pinch.  Rule out the potential influence of pain before proceeding to any significant behavior modification plan. 

Next, make a plan to review some picking up confidence!  Go back a few levels in difficulty (i.e. start with just reaching towards your puppy) and make it positive and fun!  Even if the incident was a one-off expression of discomfort for some reason, it’s always good to go back and review and build up that picking up behavior bank account.   

• What if your puppy or dog always growls when you pick them up?

Time to avoid picking them up at all costs for now, and work on some easier steps (like just reaching towards your puppy = treat) for the time being.  A dog trainer would be a great asset to your team to help you create a step-by-step conditioning plan to help your puppy feel more comfortable with this routine!

• What if your puppy or dog’s behavior towards you when you try to pick them up is pretty severe, resulting in attempted or successful bite towards you or a family member?

It’s time to enlist a behavior professional to help you create a step-by-step plan to modify this behavior sequence.  In the meantime, avoid picking up your dog at all costs, as this will likely just continue to make this situation worse.   

Surviving Puppy Adolescence With Your Sanity (and Love for Your Puppy) Intact

Blog post by Amber Quann KPA-CTP, CPDT-KSA

Jamie is 7.5 months old now, and based on the behaviors we are seeing emerge over the past few weeks, I think it’s safe to say that we’ve officially entered into the “adolescence” developmental phase.  

Puppies start to enter this developmental period around 6-8 months of age, and it typically lasts through the dog’s young adulthood at around 2 years of age.  Of course the adolescent developmental period is wonderful, magical, beautiful and harmonious, and “teenaged” puppies are always perfect and well behaved.

Just kidding. Puppy adolescence is one of the toughest periods of development for many dogs, which makes it a pretty challenging and frustrating time for puppy guardians as well!

What does Adolescence Look Like?

During adolescence, certain behavior patterns emerge or intensify that make our beautiful baby puppies feel like little monsters!  Some of the things to look out for:

• Increased Independence - This increased independence has biological motivations across species, encouraging young to start adventuring out on their own and “leaving the nest” so to speak. It just so happens that this isn’t something we really want our household dogs to be doing much of, so it can cause a bit of conflict!

• “Forgetting” How to Respond to Know Cues - During this time, I often hear things from puppy parents such as “But he KNOWS how to come when called, he’s just choosing not to!” or “He used to be so good at potty training, now he is having accidents in the house again.”  We might be tempted to label this as “stubbornness” rearing its ugly head, but we have to recognize that this is a normal behavior of the adolescent period and not something that is inherently wrong with our puppies. 

• High Energy & Impulsiveness - At a time when our puppies are ramping up in their physical stamina and energy, they are also usually exhibiting an increase of what we might call “impulsive” behaviors.  By this I mean behaviors that choose immediate reinforcement (feels good, gratifies urges, etc.) over delayed reinforcement.  So our puppies have a lot more energy, and a lot less self-control at this stage, which can compound into all sorts of troublesome behaviors!  Counter-surfing, chewing on inappropriate items, running away from you to keep playing in the yard instead of coming when called, etc.  Your puppy is now charged up and ready to go, and their lack of self-control is allowing them to barrel off in all sorts of inappropriate directions! 

What’s the Brain Up to?

While there isn’t a lot of research on brain development during adolescence in dogs specifically, there is research on this topic that has been done on adolescents of human, non-human primates, and rodent populations.  The behaviors that emerge during adolescence in these species are similar to the ones that we observe in our young dog population, so while we still need more quality research specifically on adolescence in dogs, in the meantime we can use some of what we know from these other studies to get a closer idea of what might be happening to our puppies’ brains during this developmental period.  

Basically, what we learn from studying adolescence in other species, is that this is a period where there is a lot of extra activity of the limbic system while the prefrontal cortex is still in development. 

Limbic System - “A complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, care of offspring).”

Prefrontal Cortex - “The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is the cerebral cortex covering the front part of the frontal lobe. This brain region has been implicated in planning complex cognitive behavior, personality expression, decision making, and moderating social behaviour.”

So as individuals enter adolescence, they experience an increase in activity in the part of their brain that controls mood, emotions, and drive to fulfill urges.  Simultaneously, the prefrontal cortex that is responsible for things like self-control, calm & rational decision making, and other functions that make the individual a pleasant member of a social group is still under development.  

For our puppies, this looks like a lot of acting on what feels good in the moment instead of rational, self-controlled decisions (“I’m gonna run off and chase this butterfly even though my human is calling me!”).  This is an oversimplification of the science, for sure, but I hope that it gives us all a little bit more compassion for our puppies as they are making decisions based on the brain power that is currently at their disposal, which is often less than what we’d like them to have when they are going through this challenging developmental stage! 

What can We Do?  (Save my Sanity!) 

The good news is that this is a developmental period, meaning it’s not forever!  Our puppies do “grow up” and learn how to control their impulses and make better decisions. They just need a little time, patience, and support to get through this!  Here are a few practical suggestions for saving your sanity and continuing to love and enjoy your puppy through this adolescent period. 

• Don’t Put the Crate Away Yet - Even if your puppy is doing great with potty training, chewing, and sleeping through the night, the crate can be a really helpful tool for surviving adolescence with your sanity intact. Your puppy still needs quality naps, and as their energy increases into adolescence, they may have difficulty putting themselves into sleep mode on their own.  This is where the crate time comes in.  If you have done your crate training work well as a puppy, this should be easy to carry over into adolescence.  The crate can be substituted for other types of management like exercise pen set ups, baby-gated into a quiet “nap-zone” like the laundry room, etc.  Jamie still takes at least one nap in his crate every day, to supplement the brief naps he is choosing on his own while he is out and about.  His naps in the crate are much deeper and longer than any of his self-chosen naps in another location, so the crate is still helping him get some good quality sleep that is essential for him making good decisions during awake time!

• Use ALL the Enrichment Games & Puzzles - If your puppy has extra energy in the morning and evenings around mealtime, this is a perfect time to utilize their food from the bowl for some positive activity instead of “getting into trouble”.  We’ve written here and here about our favorite types of food puzzles.  You can also turn mealtimes into training times as well!   I also recommend having some pacifier “lickable” toys (like Kongs, West-Paws, etc.) stocked up in the freezer so that you can pull this out easily throughout the day as your adolescent puppy needs a calming activity.

• Get Creative With Your Reinforcement - Sometimes the treat in your hand just won’t be as exciting as the opportunity to chase that squirrel across the yard, especially during adolescence.  This is a great time to get creative with your reinforcement strategies, and be a little unpredictable and fun for your puppy.  Here are a few ideas for adding real-life reinforcers into your routine. Think about the 5 things that your adolescent puppy is most distracted by on your walks or other outdoor adventures. You can actually turn these into reinforcers for your puppy by giving them access to these distractions when they do something that you like.  Additionally, incorporate some spontaneous reinforcements into your routine with your puppy, where your puppy gets a big enthusiastic “surprise” treat for doing something small like looking up at you when you are in the yard.  My colleague Nina has some great thoughts on this here. 

• Review Basics - It’s never a bad time to go back and do a little review, and as your puppy is entering adolescence it is even more important.  If you see your puppy “forgetting” how to do some of the cues they were a rockstar at previously, go back a few steps and build the behavior back up.  The good news is that the behavior fluency will return post adolescence, if we continue to help our puppies remember that these good behaviors pay off consistently!  Adventure Puppy Basics in our Virtual Classroom is a great way to start off with some review!

• Set Your Puppy Up for Success - As your puppy is working through this developmental period, there might be situations that they just can’t handle responsibly & appropriately yet. Sometimes the best thing we can do to help our puppy during this is to modify the situation to a level they can handle, or avoid these situations entirely.  For example, if your puppy has recently started jumping up on EVERY person that it sees with such enthusiasm, it’s probably a good idea to avoid areas with large crowds until your puppy has some improved self-control (comes with prefrontal cortex development) and has been able to rehearse a better behavior quite a bit. Instead, stand on the outskirts and let your puppy look and get rewarded for being calm near people.  Similarly, if your puppy’s recall behavior suddenly falls apart (like Jamie’s has been), go back a step in your criteria and rely on some management tools like a long-line to make sure that they aren’t rehearsing and getting rewarded for the unwanted behavior of running off.  I’m not saying to avoid difficult situations with your puppy entirely, but think about what behaviors you want your puppy practicing a lot of, and set up the situation so that those behaviors are most likely to happen!  You and your puppy will both leave the situation feeling happier and more successful, which means you’ll want to go practice together again! 

One last note - Adolescence is often a time period where the use of aversive training methods becomes really tempting, and it is even prescribed starting at this age by some behavior practitioners.  I totally get it - after recently watching my puppy dance away from me with a “treasure” in his mouth instead of coming back when I called him, I understand the frustration!  However, if we rush to apply unpleasant stimuli as punishment in situations where our dogs are primarily acting very consistently with their developmental stage, we can potentially do more harm than good.  Since the limbic system is in hyperactive mode of feelings over-drive, the fallout of applying aversive training techniques during this developmental time period may be more severe. 

Instead, let’s do our best to remember that this is a developmental period that we need to train & manage our puppies through with patience and grace instead of enforcing the law.  If you see something you don’t like (like Jamie running away instead of coming when called!), go back to the drawing board of your training plan and pick a few places to do some workshopping. 

Puppies entering adolescence are just that - young, socially immature creatures with very little self-control and a lot of drive to get their needs met as fast as possible.  It can be very frustrating for us in the middle of it, but the good news is that it isn’t permanent!  Pull out the whiteboard with your training plan and all the patience and love you can muster.  

Your puppy needs you on their team during this developmental period, and this starts by recognizing that your puppy really isn’t trying to give you a hard time - they are just doing what puppies do, the best way that they know how right at this moment of development! 

Keep your chins & paws up!   We’ll get through this together!

Small Dogs Need Training Too!

Blog post by Jess Cytron, Summit Client Communications Expert

If you are the proud pet parent of a petite pooch (how fun is that to say?!), then you have likely heard various disparaging comments claiming that they are not “real” dogs. Maybe you’ve been told that your pocket sized pal does “less” than their larger counterparts. How about the term “foo foo” dog? These comments are made jokingly by friends and family, however they carry a message that I for one am getting tired of hearing: you don’t need to do as much with your small dog. Additionally, the expectations around their behavior in society, unfortunately, seem lower. 

This has always irked me as an animal advocate (and animal welfare professional) because I think it greatly neglects the individuality that our dogs possess! Little dogs are not all one personality-type with the same behaviors, desires or drives. Too often in the shelter/rescue and pet care world we see behavior issues dismissed or not taken seriously enough because “well, he’s little.” We see this from coworkers, adopters, clients, and community members. It is understandable that some folks may hold this opinion. I won’t pretend that it isn’t important to consider body size when assessing a dog’s behavior in society, especially in regards to community safety. However, this does not mean that little dogs shouldn’t receive training and behavior modification when appropriate! And yes, everyone should train their dog (of any size!). Let’s talk about why!

Jess’s adventure crew! Photo credit: Silver Paw Studio.

Our compact canine companions can make fantastic adventure buddies. I think it is incredibly important to commit to giving your little dog a “bigger life” by setting them up for success through training. When I am out with my 30 lb poodle mix, or my 20 lb terrier mix, or my 9 lb chihuahua mix - my goal is that all of us enjoy ourselves. In the past, this has been difficult to manage because my terrier mix is on-leash reactive to people and other dogs. We’ve had instances where he’s redirected on my other two, though he’s never redirected onto me or my partner. I care deeply about both of us enjoying our outdoor time together, so I knew I needed to work on this with him!

While training my terrier mix, I’ve learned that every time we leave the house there are always chances to reinforce his behavior - yep, this is training! When he sees someone two blocks away and doesn’t react, or better yet, chooses to look for me (he’s ready for his treat and some reassurance!), I have the chance to reward him in the hopes that he’ll offer that same behavior next time we’re on a walk. This opportunity can present itself even if we are just loading up into the car. I know to keep his treats on me and reward whenever possible because that way, the next time I really need him to not react when we are hiking or walking, ideally he’ll offer me his attention instead, and both of us can enjoy the experience a little more.

I believe that one of the key elements of success in training your small dog is choosing to respect their choices and preferences. It is important that we do not interpret their size as permission to coerce them into behaviors because they are easier to manipulate physically. Here are some more great small dog training tips from the Whole Dog Journal.

It seems like a simple concept - train your dog! Well... sure! Yet you may be surprised how often folks have seen me training my small dog and comment saying “he’s so little, does he really need to be trained?”, or, “why bother clicker training him?” or, “it’s not like he could do serious damage to someone” - all because of his size. This is extremely problematic and discounts the importance of behavioral and mental health for our companions and ourselves! Anyone with a reactive dog can tell you that it can definitely take a mental toll on the human and the bond we all strive to form with our dogs. 

Little dogs are more than welcome in all of our classes. Our Summit Trainers all have huge hearts for dogs of all sizes and will always cheer you on for training your little dog. It is never too late to work on your training goals with your dog and we are always here to help! Stay tuned for further training tips from our resident “little guy” Jamie and our Owner/Head Trainer, Amber! 

To learn more about training with small dogs, check out our Little Rockstars: Training With Small Dogs - Webinar Replay here!

How to Modify Your Home for an Elderly Pet - Redfin Resource

We contributed to a blog post on Redfin about this topic, and wanted to share this great resource with you as well!

How to Modify Your Home for an Elderly Pet - Read the Full Article Here

There is a shifting cultural change in how people see their pets — they’re not just pets, but family members. We love them so much that their presence in our lives improves our mood and our relationships with other people, all while promoting a host of physical benefits. Our relationship with our pets makes them feel good too! They look to us not only for food and shelter but love and support as well.

As they age, of course, they need more support from us. Elderly pets have a higher risk of arthritis and joint problems, weakness, heart disease, kidney disease, senility, and dental problems, so they need extra assistance around the house as their bodies change. Whether you live in a single-story home in Portland or a multi-level townhouse in New York, simple home modifications can offset the difficulties of aging for our furry family members.

“Since elderly or even middle-aged dogs may struggle with keeping their footing on slick non-carpeted floors, a smart investment might be a stick-on floor mat that stays put but provides the traction your senior pup needs to stay upright when navigating your home. As hard as it can be to see our senior dogs struggle, it’s important to avoid jumping up in alarm every time your pup slips or tumbles, as this can add to their stress about the event. If you see your senior dog struggling, calmly and quietly get up and go assist them to a more comfortable position.” – Summit Dog Training

Check out the full article here.

Puppies & Toddlers - Positive Introductions Through (LOTS of) Management

Puppies & human babies are both so adorable, why not put them together and get a double dose of cuteness?

Lots of reasons, actually! 

The puppy default mode is to nibble, lick, grab & tug, bounce, scratch, and generally act like baby sharks.

Toddlers . . . pretty much do the same! 

Between the two of them in a toddler-puppy combo, there is a lot of potential for winding each other up (toddler squeal can easily produce a puppy frenzy and vice versa!) and practicing not-so-great play behaviors.

So how do we foster good, calm, gentle, pleasant, happy, relaxed, peaceful, and harmonious interactions between our new puppies and their small human friends?

Management. 

This is the biggest, most important piece of a successful toddler + puppy relationship.  Without it, you are setting up both toddler and puppy for a lot of frustration with each other, with potentially longer-lasting consequences. Don’t go down that road. If you are preparing to bring home a puppy to your household with a toddler, or just introduce your puppy to small children outside of your immediate family, save yourself a lot of stress by planning your management strategies ahead of time. 

I recently had the chance to introduce Jamie to my godson, Jack.  Jack is almost 9 months old, and loves dogs. He lives with an older dog who is very gentle and tolerant, but Jamie at almost 6 months of age was a different experience for him!

We utilized several different management strategies to help both Jack and Jamie enjoy their visit together. 

• Playpen for Jack – Jamie got to come and check Jack out at his pace, without risk of Jack grabbing for Jamie’s soft ears or Jamie nibbling on Jack’s small fingers.

• Baby-gate divider when Jack was on the floor – Jamie could check out Jack crawling around from a safe distance.

• Leash for Jamie – When Jack was crawling in closer proximity, Jamie really wanted to go play a kissy (bitey) face game with him. Jamie on a leash got to practice his offered down behavior and engage/disengage game instead.

• Jamie on Couch, Jack on Floor – At one point, Jamie was happily chewing a bone on the couch while Jack played nearby on the Klimb platform that we use as a ramp up to the couch. I made sure that there was plenty of space between Jamie with his bone and Jack’s play area, so that Jamie wouldn’t feel like his resource was in jeopardy. 

• Lap Introductions – When we were ready to let Jamie & Jack do some closer interactions, we held both of them on laps so that we could easily control the interaction on both sides. Jack could decide if he wanted to interact with the puppy without Jamie jumping on him, and Jamie could decide if he wanted to interact with the toddler without Jack grabbing him. Jack reached his hand out to Jamie, and Jamie leaned forward to give it some lovely licks.  I had a toy nearby to direct Jamie to grab if he got a little more interested in using his mouth instead of his tongue to play with Jack’s fingers. 

• Nap Times in Crate (& Playpen) – Both boys took several naps during their visits, Jamie in his crate and Jack in his playpen. Quality of interactions is better than Quantity, and both Jamie and Jack did much better for having some recovery time completely separate in their safe areas. 

Can you spot the management we are using in each of these photos?

Training.

In addition to management, there are some training skills that you can start with for both the puppy and the toddler! The puppy has to learn how it is appropriate to interact with a young human, within the limits of its ability as a puppy.  The toddler has to learn how it is appropriate to interact with a dog, within their limits as a young human.  Both pieces of this education are important, and again remember – you are dealing with two babies here, not just one.  So until you are well on your way down your training plan with both the child and the puppy, you will NEED management in your routine.  Don’t forget that essential piece.  

Training for the puppy – Here are a few skills that I find helpful for puppy to know to help them make good decisions about their behavior around a toddler. Remember, the puppy’s ability to do these things will depend on their age and development (and whether they have learned that these behaviors pay off!).

• Offered Down Behavior – Jamie knows that offering a down behavior is a good, calm way to ask for things or get rewarded from me.  Check out this video to get started with this behavior.

• Engage/Disengage (Look at That) Concept – Jamie knows that he gets rewarded from me for looking at exciting things and then turning away. Check out this video to get started with this behavior.

Training for the toddler – The toddler’s ability to do this will depend on their age and development.  

• Touch Gently Instead of Grab – Model this behavior. You can hold the child’s hand as they reach towards the pup and help them keep their fingers relaxed. Label it (such as “touch gently”), and remind & redirect the child to this behavior. Praise them when they get it right!  If they can’t touch gently yet, go back to management strategies above.

Remember, QUALITY over QUANTITY should be your mantra. Start with just a few minutes (or even just a few seconds) of quality interactions under the management conditions above, then separate the puppy and toddler completely to give them both a break.  Build up slowly, and practice your training skills to help both the child and the puppy know how they should be interacting with each other.  

For puppies and older children, there are some additional training & management strategies that can be used to help everyone have a safe and fun time. Stay tuned for additional blog posts on that topic in the future!