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Tag: dog training

March 17, 2024

DogWatch Dog Story: Maggy

Maggy is a sweet, spunky English Springer Spaniel who has graduated from DogWatch hidden fence training. She’s so adorable and has such a fun personality, Jake and Afton with DogWatch are considering getting an English Springer puppy of their own. She lives in Mendota Heights where she loves running along as her parents and human siblings ride their bikes.

Before Maggy came into the picture, her family had a beloved Springer Spaniel named Angel. She was an affectionate and endearing girl who was so precious, her dad couldn’t imagine losing her. That’s when they called DogWatch to install a hidden fence. Angel was a little nervous at first and needed some coaxing to get her around the yard. But she learned her new boundaries and lived a long, happy life enjoying her freedom.

Maggy could never replace Angel, but she came into the house and revitalized the energy (and sometimes chaos). Unlike Angel, Maggy learned her boundaries very fast and never hesitated to use every inch of her yard. All dogs are a little different when it comes to acclimating to a dog fence and the new boundaries, even when being trained the same way. But in the end, they can all learn and enjoy the benefits.

March 19, 2019

DogWatch Dog Story: Mudge

Mudge the St. Bernard from Chanhassen is a DogWatch dog, but his family didn’t always work with DogWatch of the Twin Cities. With their previous dog, Mudge’s parents bought a dog fence from another company and it worked well to keep that dog in the yard. When they got Mudge, though, they decided to call us at DogWatch to help train him.

We put up boundary flags to show Mudge the boundaries of his yard and got to work. Mudge’s mom told us from the beginning: “He’s the sweetest puppy ever, but he doesn’t want to walk on the leash. He won’t try to pull you around, he’ll just lay down and not want to get back up.” And she was exactly right!

We had to get creative to train Mudge. Typically, we bring dogs around the yard on a leash over and over to help them learn where the boundary is and to stay inside the flag line. But if a huge St. Bernard doesn’t want to walk, that doesn’t quite work. Instead we focused on showing Mudge one flag at a time, we got his favorite toys involved, asked the neighbors to let their dogs out, and walked around with him off-leash (not usually recommended!).

After four days, we were happy and Mudge was happy. Finally, he was able to just take a nap in the yard. And his owners were able to trust that he wouldn’t walk off, even if they went to get the mail or went inside.

March 7, 2019

DogWatch Dog Story: Vinnie

Vinnie the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppy is a mild, sweet guy from Eden Prairie. When his parents got him, they had raised their kids and accomplished many things, but they had NEVER had a dog. Not even when they were kids. So they were a little nervous and wanted any help they could get.

They took a puppy class at PetSmart where they heard about DogWatch of the Twin Cities. They liked the fact that a dog fence would allow them to spend time outside with Vinnie without a leash and without a physical fence. They wanted some help decided where and how to install the hidden fence. “Should we cover the whole yard? Do an hourglass shape with the wire so Vinnie can be in the front yard or back yard, but can’t travel between the two?”

With some consideration and advice, we at DogWatch ended up giving Vinnie access to the front yard, back yard, and one large side yard. But the skinny side yard with hostas was off limits – we used the wire to cut off Vinnie from causing any trouble.

Vinnie is a little sensitive and nervous, so we started training him on a beep-only function. He didn’t receive a correction from his DogWatch collar until day 2 of training when he had done a few laps around the yard and started learning about his boundary. After 4 days and slowly increasing the shock level, Vinnie learned where he couldn’t go, but he also learned where he COULD go! He was afraid to get too close to the flags, but he wasn’t afraid to chase a ball in the front yard or sniff around the trees in the back yard.

We love working with unique dogs like Vinnie and unique dog people like his parents. We can help find the most effective ways to contain dogs and make dog owners’ lives easier.

October 27, 2017

Dog Fence Training Tips

The most important aspect of a DogWatch hidden fence, or any electric pet fence, is the training. The steps are simple and it doesn’t take very long, but it’s essential that it’s done correctly. These small adjustments will help training go more smoothly.

TRAINING SESSIONS
A typical training session consists of two laps around the yard, depending on your yard size. A dog’s attention span is fairly short, so don’t walk for laps and laps at a time or continue a training session for more than 20 minutes. After that timeframe, the dog is no longer learning anything.

Before, after or in the middle of a training session, take some time to play with your dog on the leash. If outdoor time is all about scary flags and corrections, it can be overwhelming and make your dog more nervous than he needs to be. Throw a ball in the air or just lay in the grass and pet your dog to remind him that the yard is still a fun place.

Talk to your dog and praise him while you take your training laps. That will help keep your dog’s spirits up and make sure he doesn’t associate you with the corrections. It’s all about the flags.

NERVOUS DOG
If your dog gets nervous, that’s OK. It’s very normal for dogs to get a correction and want to head for the house. The main thing to do is keep walking. Don’t let your dog dictate when the training session ends. Walk fast so your dog has to work to keep up with you.

It’s especially important to play with your dog outside if he’s nervous. During training, and after training if he continues to be nervous, play with his favorite toy outside and spend as much time as possible out there with him. Give him treats and belly rubs, and even feed him meals outside. That will allow him to feel more secure and use his whole yard.

GENERAL TIPS
Put your dog’s collar on every morning and take it off every night before bed. You don’t want him to know what the collar means. If it’s part of his routine, he won’t associate it with the boundaries outside.

Get your family members and neighbors involved with training. You want to make sure all of his normal distractions are covered so you can trust him once he’s off-leash.

Let your dog get the correction! You may want to save your dog from feeling the correction from his collar, but let him take that step past the flags to feel the correction. If he doesn’t feel the consequence of leaving the yard during training, he won’t stay in.

Call us! We want the training to be successful for you and your dog, so do not hesitate to call us along the way. If you’re having an issue, we’ve definitely heard it before and we can help get things back on track quickly.