Kathy Santo's Dog Sense

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 17: Halloween!

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 16 - Returning To Normal

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 15 - Reentry After Intensive Board And Train

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 14 - Intensive Board And Train

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 13 - Progressing Your Training

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 12: Dog Training 24/7

Episode 11 - Proofing

A Day In The Life Of A KSDT Puppy

Episode 9 - What's This

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 8: On The Road Again

Kathy Santo Dog Training Episode 7: Housebreaking Your Puppy

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 6: The Ultimate Dog Owner's Guide to a Peaceful and Drama-Free Thanksgiving

Kathy: Welcome to Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense Episode Five: How Many Heels Do You Need? And I'm here with my trainer and good friend, Sarah, who is out in Colorado. How's the weather out there? Sarah: The weather is absolutely beautiful. How are you guys doing in Jersey? Kathy: I think it's the first official day of Fall. Sarah: It’s getting there. Kathy: Yeah, I'm not, I'm not ready for the cold weather, which I know you love.  Sarah: Yes, I do. Kathy: But anyway, so in classes lately I've been realizing that my students have lovely formal Heels. They have not-so-lovely when they're not on a formal command. And I kind of wanted to sort of flesh this out and talk about the difference between formal heel and informal heel and everything in between. So, when you tell your dog to heel, when I tell my dog to Heel, there's a message conveyed and that means, “Stand next to me, pay attention whether it's peripherally or with your head up and change pace with me, change direction with me. Basically you and I are in sync.” And to some degree or another. I mean there's competition heeling that we do that's really high level, and then there's the sort of pet student who has that, but maybe it's a little bit looser. But either way, the dog has a very strong understanding of paying attention to your body language. But I've noticed that when the dogs aren’t on a formal Heel, pandemonium breaks out, riots occur and the dog doesn't look anything like a trained dog. And I think that's a problem. Sarah: Absolutely. So what we had talked about briefly before is that, so when you put your dog on a leash and you start walking, what is the dog's expectation and understanding of how they should be behaving in that specific scenario when no verbal command is given. Because, like you said, we have the formal Heel where, you know, the dog sits next to us beautifully walking, heeling, looking up at us, all that. But what you're going to go into further, I think is something that most owners don't even think of, or they just think that the dogs should automatically know it and they don't. So while we're not connecting a verbal command to it, it's something that still has to be taught. Kathy: I feel like the leash should be the cue.  Sarah: Yeah. Kathy: Right? I clip it on you, we are now conjoined and there's an expectation I have, but it's not fair to have that expectation if you've not taught it to the dog. And so the dog is like, “Well you didn't say Heel, so that's why I'm pulling towards that tree.” And so I think there's a middle ground. I think it's not formal and it's not, “Sniff, be a dog, and go potty.” I think there's something in between. And what I've been telling my students to call it, I mean I don't care what they call it, but we were saying, “Here we go.” And “Here we go,” to me, is a moving version of what I called, “Standby.” Now, when I was teaching seminars, I would have my dog out for demos as seminar people do. And there's a point where, you know, you do this demo, people ask questions and you're going to do another one, and you don't necessarily want to put the dog on Place or in the crate. You want the dog near you, but you don't want the dog disconnecting and just going off into the raspberry bushes. So, I taught my dog “Standby” and basically what that means is, “You're off duty, but we're going to do something again soon. So sort of stay connected with me.” And then when I wanted the dog to do something, then it would be a request. So I feel like this Heel that we're talking about is the moving version of “Standby.” Do you know what I mean? Sarah: Yeah, absolutely. And that sounds perfect because you'd be walking with them, it would be a loose leash Heel around the neighborhood, but they would not be able to pull you to the tree to pee on it or pull you to a person walking by to go say, “Hello.” The dog would understand that because they're on the leash, they still need to be kind of paying attention to you. They don't have to be looking at you, they don't have to be totally in-tune to you, but they still need to be aware of you. And I think that's so important. Kathy: Right. So let's do a couple examples. If I had a dog who was on no command, it was, “Okay, go play,” and I walked up to you. Quite likely, my dog would go up to you, maybe try to get a scritch, maybe sniff your feet, you know, just be a dog. And I could decide whether that was appropriate or not. If I asked my dog for formal Heeling and I walked up to you, I'd walk up to and my dog would be looking at me and when I stopped, my dog would be sitting next to me and my dog would remain in that position until I gave him a release command or another cue to do something else like, “Lie down” and go to Place. So the middle ground in that is, I say to my dog, “Here we go,” or whatever you want to call it, and we walk towards you and I stop and my dog is not expected to sit. He could actually come across the front of me. He could hang out around me, he could be at the end of his leash without tension, but he couldn't interact with you, he couldn't grab crap off the ground. He’s just sorta, like, hanging out. And the importance of that, I feel, is if you're walking with the dog and they're just, sort of, in this mode and somebody walks by you with a stroller with a kid in it, or a bag of groceries, or even, like, a really cool leather coat. Like, I don't want my dog licking you or, like, sniffing you. Right? And they do that and you know it wouldn't be cool if you had a kid who did that, right? Reached out and grabbed somebody's bag. So it's kind of like that. So what you're saying is, “I'm not going to make you maintain position, but I'm going to make you maintain some general rules of society. Don't lick people.” Sarah: So when you're teaching this to students, you are putting a verbal command on it. It's not implied with just the leash? Kathy: No, I'm clipping on the leash and say, “Here we go,” and my hope is that, eventually, that will be the cue. Although, it's not going to be really important to me, because if I don't give you a cue then you're on an, “Okay, go play.” You know what I mean? So those are my three different ways I walk, Now here's how we're teaching it. I have the students completely changing up their hand position. Because, normally, they have the leash in the left hand or the right hand and it's on their hip. For this, I have both hands set on my body.  Sarah: Okay. Kathy: So the picture looks different. So their expectation of what we're doing, if they notice you, is going to be something other than Heeling. And I have them say, “Here we go,” and we start walking super slowly. Like, “La-la-la,” like looking around. I'm not locked in on the dog, my body isn't oriented that way. I don't have that, I guess that intensity that comes with we are Heeling now. You know what I mean? Because it's not about big control. It's just about, “I want you to show me what you understand.” And what I'm finding is the dogs are like, “Wow, what's this?” They're interested because you're totally different.  Sarah: And also because you’re not giving them any cues or anything. They are kind of looking at you a little bit more frequently being like, “All right, well, what's next?” Like, “What do I do?”  Kathy: Right. And it's really, sort of, soft body movements. It's not like sharp turns. You're just sort of moving with your dog. And I'm finding the dogs are getting more in tune with the people because there's not as much direction. Because once I say, “Here we go,” I'm not repeating it. And if you go off into a direction I'm not, I'm going to gently take you by the collar and guide you into my, kind of my hula hoop area. I'm not guiding you to my leg again cause that's Heeling, right?  Sarah: Right.  Kathy: Guiding you into the space around me. And they're figuring this out pretty darn quickly, which is exciting. And it doesn't matter how much training you have personally or your dog has, they're getting this. And I think because it's an easy concept. Don't put tension on the leash, when you do, I'm going to bring you back, and when you have a loose leash, the world is your oyster to some degree.  Sarah: Yeah. Yep. So then the reward for the dog. So we talked about...So if they do apply tension on the leash, collar grab, back them up into your little bubble, your hula hoop. And then when the dog, maybe after a couple of reps, then learns, “All right, if I stay in this kind of general vicinity, I have a little bit more freedom.” You’re marking, rewarding it with just some food or... Kathy: You know, you could do food. It depends on how much your dog lights up about food. You know, because I don't want to create that crazy, like, “Whoa. Yay!” And then my dog is, like, at the end of the leash again. So in the beginning I'm just being very soothing,“Good boy.” Because that's going to be my whole countenance. It's very low key. It's very “West Coast.” I'm never “West Coast,” so it makes my dog go, “what is happening?” And so you just get that super chill vibe. Now we're practicing it in a controlled area. We’re not going out into, you know, the farmer's market, or a busy street, or a parking lot where there's cars and people. I'm literally taking this step by step in my house in a hallway or in the training building where we have nobody else in a room. It's gotta be low key. Then we started to set up distractions. So what I did with my classes this week, was after they had the concept and they were familiar with it and they were doing really well, I gave them the option of approaching objects. So I had...objects are really interesting because you think, “Oh, we're going to put down a bowl with food in it.” But that's really not what you encounter on walks. Right? So handful of leaves. I had a Stacey sweatshirt  there on the floor, a bag, somebody's bag, somebody’s Dunkin Donuts cup, right? Food on a chair. So we're walking through this minefield and basically asking the dog, “What do you understand about when we're on, ‘Here we go?’ Do you think you can go there? Do you understand the, ‘stay with me?’” And they're like, “I could go over there. That's a cool Dunkin donuts cup.” We’re like, “Oh yeah, I think so too. But no, you can't do that.”  Sarah: Are you doing this with the Beginner classes or more Intermediate or Advanced?  Kathy: I'm not doing this with Beginners yet.  Sarah: Okay.  Kathy: I think with some of the Beginners, we're still working on, “How do you hold the leash.”  Sarah: Right. Right.  Kathy: You know, markers, reward, verbal thing.  Sarah: Right. And the Beginner dogs may not have the impulse control to be able to work through some of those challenges too.  Kathy: And they don't have a background history in Collar Grab either.  Sarah: Right. Right.  Kathy: So if they start reaching for the collar and they haven't built reinforcement and value for it, the dogs, you'd be like, “Yeah, now I'm gonna run farther from you.” Somebody asked if they can put the leash around their waist. I'm not a fan of it. I guess you could, but I just feel like in the beginning stages I'd want you to have both hands on the leash just in case something heinous occurs.  Sarah: Yup. Okay, so what were some of the distractions you guys are working through?  Kathy: People. So then we had a lineup of people and I had everybody against the wall with their dog in a Sit or a Down/Stay. And then one person was the working person and they would walk up to a person and they would decide how many feet away worked for their dog. And so I think three and four feet were pretty much great. Now again, remember that the dogs with these people are trained. So I'm not just walking up to somebody with a dog who's wild, it’s on a Sit/Stay. So they walk up, they say, “Hey, how are you?” And the dog’s, like, “I don't know what I should do. Like, should I sit? Maybe I'll just stand here”. And then they would say, “Here we go, go to the next person.” So that was a big deal would amp that with the people who they were talking to me, like, “Oh, my God! What a cute dog!” You know? Then seeing if the dog was going to fall for that, and then adding on, they had food in their hand and then they were playing with their dog excitedly, so there's a dog distraction so you can really level it up. Also, location changes are important. So it's in the school, it's in the front of the school, it's at their house. It's everywhere. “Can your dog do this no matter what?” And I was thinking that those people who had an issue with their dog being too crazy when people come to the house that they would love this.  Sarah: Yeah.  Kathy: Right? Because what's your biggest problem? Your dog runs up to people. So snap them on a leash, take them to the foyer, open the door, and the dog is like, “Hey, you know, I can't go see you, but I understand that this is my space.” And I think the reward for the dog at some point becomes intrinsic because it's less structured. They can do more, right? They can move a little more, they can see a little more, but it's not that formal, “At my left side thing.” Sarah: Yeah. It also provides a looser walk for the dog where they can experience the environment a little bit more fully than if they were on a formal or a little bit more focused Heel. So some dogs who may be reactive or they're just, they're too amped by their environment, you want to start them on those other ones. But then when you want to start to challenge the dog, you move back to this kind of heel, you're then able to let them experience the environment a little bit more and see if they're able to have those good decision making skills to make the right choice. Kathy: Exactly. And I think it gives the owner a better experience, too, because once you have this nailed down, you know you're not doing as much work and you're actually having a conversation with people and you look normal. You're not going to get your finger up going, “Right here. Sit.” Right. We're having new conversations and relationships with people. They’re like, “Wow. You, you do have eyes. It's cool.”  Sarah: Yeah. Kathy: So I think we're gonna run with that a lot more in classes. Again, Puppy and Beginners, they're not going to do it, but I think Beginner II, Intermediate, Advanced, we're just going to throw that at them and everybody's responding to it really well. The students are thrilled. The dogs, I think, are thrilled and it's a quick win when you're at that level. So everybody feels good about the process. Sarah: Yeah, absolutely.  Kathy: Alright. Anything else?  Sarah: Nope, I think we're good. Kathy: All right, cool. So that is it for this episode of Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense. Thank you so much for spending some time with us and I hope you guys will join us again soon. If you have any comments or show ideas, please reach out to us through our website at kathysantodogtraining.com and as always, if you like what you hear, jump over to whichever subscription service you downloaded from and like rate, subscribe, tell a friend and share this episode somewhere to help spread the word so we can continue to create an awesome community of dog lovers and learners. Happy training, everyone!

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 5: How Many Heels Do You Need?

Kathy Santo Dog Sense Episode 4: Solving The Adolescence Puzzle In Dogs ft. Kamal Fernandez

Kathy and Sarah discuss Kathy's top ten ways to improve your dog's training!   Transcript: Kathy: Welcome to Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense, “Episode Three: My Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Dog's Training Right Now.” I'm your host Kathy Santo, and I'm here to teach you everything I've learned in my over three decades of training dogs, their families, competing in dog sports, writing about dogs, and being a guest on radio and TV shows. I am so glad you joined us today,and I'm also joined by one of my trainers, Sarah, who is currently training dogs in Fort Collins, Colorado. Hey, Sarah! Sarah: Hey, everyone! Kathy: So today I'm so excited to talk about the top 10 ways to improve your dog's behavior right now. And I know that you implement all of these ways with your students out there in Colorado as well. Sarah: Yes, absolutely. Kathy: And so the first one is...I'm going to let you do it. I'll make a little drum roll. Sarah: Perfect! So the first one's going to be your “Release Cue.” Kathy: And maybe people don't know what that is. The release cue is the recess bell. It tells your dog when they're done. And I see, and I know you do as well, so many people like ask their dog to do something. For example, sit, and the dog sits and they're, like, “Good dog!” And the dog just walks away like that. Sarah: Yeah. Exactly. Kathy: That can't happen. You have to tell the dog when I start and then you have to tell the dog when it's over. Alright, what's number two? Sarah: Another thing just from the release cue is also to make sure that you're consistent with what words you're using when releasing your dog, and that goes across the board with the whole family as well. You got to pick one word and that's your release cue. Kathy: Yeah, because it can't be, “Okay!” And the other one's, like, “You're done dude.” And then the other one is, “Break!” Like, it can’t. If you have people in your life training your dog with you, you need to have a meeting, you need to post something on the fridge and it says, “These are the words we're using.” Stop confusing your puppies and dogs by using every word in the dictionary instead of just one consistent word. Sarah: Yup! Alright, so next up we have “Working In Different Environments.” Kathy: Yes, because just because your dog can sit when you're in the kitchen facing north, holding a cheese stick does not mean they're going to sit outside. And yet, we hear this all the time, people are, like, “Ah! There was a squirrel and it was running in the yard and I told him to sit and he didn't and he knows better and he's just blowing me off!” No, your dog is reflection of you as a trainer and that's not to make you feel guilty or start heavily drinking. It's just to explain to you that your dog only knows what you've taught them. Sarah: Right. Kathy: So if you were teaching this in a quiet environment, there's no transfer initially. Dogs don’t generalize like you want them to, or like people do. You can't sit them down on a rock and say, “Dude, look. Whenever I say sit, no matter what else is going on, you have to do it right.” I mean, like, I wish I could. We're working on that. We’re working on that. Sarah: You're working on an app for that right? Kathy: I am! There's going to be an app for that, but for right now, you got to dig in and do old fashion work. You've got to put the dog in multiple situations and teach them that the sit in the kitchen means the same thing as I sit in the yard with the squirrel and beyond. Sarah: Exactly. So one way to get that is to then, so the next thing we have, is leverage what they want into training. Kathy: Ooh, you do that one. This reminds me of episode two when we talked about “No Bowl Month”. Remember that? Sarah: Yes. Okay. Kathy: I think we just lost... Sarah: I was distracted by one of my dogs. Kathy: Oh, no! Sarah: Yeah! So all the time. What? I mean all the time I used my dog's food, their breakfast or dinner or, if you have a cup of their lunch as well, to train them. Use that and use it in your training to help build your relationship as well, which we talked about in that episode. Kathy: Right. Then when they see you as the person who owns everything and they have a working relationship with you, like, “Hey, what if I do this?” And you're, like, “Hey, and then I'll give you this.” And, and people get inky about this Sarah and you know, from your students, they're, like, “I don't want to have to train with food forever!” Sarah: Exactly. Kathy: And you won't, I promise. Sarah: We hear it all the time. Kathy: Yeah, exactly. But for the time being in the beginning or when you're trying to get past an issue, this is what you need to do. Sarah: Exactly. We can fade out the food later on, at the later date. But right now you need you to have to be able to pay them. Kathy: Exactly. Alright. Now number four, “Be Consistent With Commands,” which we talked about and “Expectations.” So I feel that people, they watered down the training because the situation is chaotic. So, for example, if somebody comes in your house, your dog knows how to sit and you say sit and instead of saying they lay down and you're just like, oh, it's fine. Here's a cookie. You did something right. Sarah: Yup. Kathy: Yeah. We need to make sure that it means the same thing. And your criteria or expectation is the same every single time. Sarah: Yup. And also, for another big one that we see a lot is for the place command. The place command means all four paws are on whatever you pointed to. Whether it's a place bed, a towel, a rock when you're out hiking, a bench at the park place means all four paws stay on your place bed that if one part comes off that's not place. And a lot of times that's the one that I see a lot that gets watered down. Kathy: Right! People are like, “Oh, they still have three on.” Yeah, but tomorrow to be two. Sarah: Right. Kathy: And then it will be just one. Then they'll just be near it and you're, like, “I don't know...they used to know this now that just blow me off.” Sarah: Exactly. So yeah, if you yeah, if the expectations aren't clear the entire time the dog was going to get confused and at that point it's not their fault. It's the, it's the trainer or the handler/owner's fault. Kathy: If we had a nest cam on people all the time, we’d cry about, but we would be able to point out these situations and explain to them better how to fix it. Alright, next. Ooh, I love this one! Plan and set the stage for your training session. So many people get inspired to train and they're, like, “Yes, I'm going to train the dog.” And they get the leash and the dog and the food and they're, like, “Wait, okay, where's my other leash? Okay, wait, oh, I need a toy. Oh, what am I going to do today?” And they waste, like, 20-30 minutes trying to figure out what they're gonna do. And now the dog is tired, and bored, and it just falls apart. So for me, I have a plan. And the reason I have a plan is because I write down every single thing that I do in training sessions. And no, it doesn't take me a long time. Brevity is a gift. It takes me, like, a minute to write down, “sit: terrible, work on it more. Down: Awesome. Next step is ready.” So it's like my little shorthand. So I pull out my notebook before my dog is with me. He's crated, he's gated, he's somewhere, but not with me. I say, “Ooh, today I'm going to work on doorway protocol and I'm going to do it in 10 minutes when I know the kid across the street walks his annoying dog on the front line, uh, and my dog's thinks that's really interesting.” So it's my distraction. And then I get my food, I get my dog, I make sure that the dog is really outside across the street. And then I start my session, and I also time it. I time sessions because I would train for hours. Sarah: Exactly. Kathy: I had cut myself off, but I like my students to set a timer, because I want them to train the five minutes or the 10 minutes that we decided to do, so that they don't cheat and cut corners. Sarah: Right. And your training session doesn't need to be an hour long. Kathy: No. I mean, I wish it was. Sarah: We would love to train for hours on end. Then it comes to a point where they're not learning anymore. Kathy: Right. And you just sort of digging away at the progress you made. But that's why we have multiple dogs, Sarah, because we love to train and so we just go from one dog to the next dog. So we’re dog trainers. Oh, wait! And also setting the stage. I like to train in the bathroom with young puppies and dogs that are really distracted. Um, I have many videos of me sitting in a bathroom where the toilet papers off the role, the shower curtain is pulled, the mats off the floor and the window shade is pulled down. And by default, I am the most interesting thing in that room and I get a lot more engagement that way. And that's how I spent a lot of the early days with all of my new dogs and some clients dogs to just building that relationship. Sarah: Yeah. That can be for puppies, or dogs, who are brand new to you, or do you, or if you’re working on engagement and attention. That's a great, that's a great stage to do it in. Kathy: Because you set them up for success Sarah: Yeah. Kathy: And you set yourself up to be the best thing ever. Ooh, I'm looking at number six, Sarah, and it's about “How Long Should The Training Sessions Be?” And we just talked about that. Sarah:Exactly. Kathy: Five minutes. We love it. Sarah: Yeah, so up next we have, so also, and this queues into exactly what we were just talking about, is “Know Your Dog.” Kathy: Correct. Train the dog you have! Not the dog you wish you had, not the dog you used to have. Do you have a dog with a lot of endurance? A lot of engagement? Is he bored? Could he care less about, you know, the food that you have? I mean, you've got to stack the deck in your favor and you come into this with a hungry, lonely, and bored dog or puppy, and understand the needs of that dog to maximize every single second that you have with them. I also want to point out, though, that those sessions, if we say a 10 minute session, probably five of those minutes are are playing, you know it's like I do a of things, three or four reps and then “Woo!” tug toy and then we do a few more reps or something else and then I run away and say their name. So this is not just, like, sitting in math class, or whatever class you didn't like, where the teacher is just sort of drilling you. This is fun stuff, because in addition to learning commands, our dogs are learning to build the relationship with u. And as I always say, “The leash is not the relationship. The cookie is not the relationship.” What's going to save you when the dog gets out the house, or the yard, and he’s booking for the road. The only thing that saves you in that moment isn't the chicken mcnugget that you give him for training, it is how he feels about your relationship and what you have taught him is acceptable and where your criteria is for that come command. That's it. That's all you have. Just you. Sarah: Yup. Kathy: All right. So next “Control the Environment.” That's kind of our bathroom tip, right? Sarah: Yeah, it really is. Yeah. Kathy: Like, I'm not going to go train my dog in the middle of the living room when I have guests over or kids, you know, playing or outside in the yard when my neighbor's lawn people are there, I'm just not going to do it. I'm going to make sure that whatever level my dog is, he gets the environment he needs to succeed and grow. Not just stay at the level he's at, but go into the next level and advance. Sarah: Yup. Kathy: Alright, next we have “Training The People”. Oh, that takes longer Sarah: When you get questions all the time. Like, you know, “Is this class, can we have this class with our kids, too?” Or, “Can our husbands come to this class?” Kathy: Yeah. And we say that's a much longer class. Much, much longer. It's funny though, whenever I meet a new client and they bring their kids, I can always tell how well a dog training is going to go after spending an hour with them. Uh, yeah. So, yeah, you had to train the people in your life too. It's, if you're the only one training the dog and you're being consistent, yes, the dog will listen to you, but you could have saboteurs intentionally or accidentally retraining all the good stuff you're doing. So make sure everybody's on the same page. I will accept the answer of, “Well, I'm just not going to ask the dog to do anything from the people who live with you.” And that's fine by me. They don't want to participate. That's fine, but they can't use any of your commands that your training. Sarah: Yeah. And also, I thought about what the, the game you used to play with your kids when they were little in the dog training. Kathy: Yes. When they get there little baggies of food. Sarah: Yes. Kathy: Yeah. So when my kids were little, they come home from school and each of them got a little baggie and I called them “The Keys.” So if you had a key, meaning a piece of cookie, uh, dog cookie that is, you are allowed to say the dog's name. And so when they said the dog's name and the dog paid attention to them, they would throw them a cookie. And if they ran out of keys, they could just say, “puppy puppy.” And what that did was it maintained the dog’s intention or understanding of their name being something amazing that they got a lot of rewards for. And my kids were participating in the training and not undoing it. I train kids, too. Alright. Sarah: I always use that trick. I love it. Okay, so the final thing we have is “Understanding Body Language.” Kathy: Yes, because it's the native language of your dog. Imagine if you went to a different country and you didn't understand one little thing that everybody was saying. Well the problem is there's no communication now, right? So people are talking to dogs and they're, like, “Stop it. What are you doing? Blah, blah, blah.”, and the dogs are, like, “I don't get your language.” And they're telling you things like, “stay away,” or, “I'm afraid,” or “I'm unsure.” And you don't know their language either, so you're sort of blowing it, blowing by it and offending them and they're offending you, and it's just a hot mess. So what we want you to do is have a better understanding of what your dog is trying to tell you with their body, which is the native language of dogs. To do this, I created, well at the school, if you were in Jersey and you were in our classes, you would be able to come to a free body language seminar every single month. We do live dog demos, we do videos, we freeze videos, and we say, “Look at that, look at this. What do you think is going to happen next?” And most people are surprised when we freeze the video and they'd say what's going to happen next when we play the video, and something totally opposite happened. And so we feel that this education prevents fights and bites and also make your relationship stronger because who doesn't want to hang out with somebody who understands them? Right? Sarah: Exactly. So huge. It's such like a big point that we have to get across to students is that they have to understand what their dog is telling them. Their dogs don't speak English, but they speak with their bodies. Like, they were always communicating with us. It's whether or not we understand them. Kathy: Yeah. People are saying, people say to me, “Oh my dog's not doing anything,” and I'm like, “Oh, he is!” Sarah: They are misinterpreting what they're saying. So you know that, they think it's funny when the dog is growling over them over a cookie on the ground or something and we're like, “Listen, this is going to progress to so much more than that.” They're, they're misinterpreting it too. Kathy: It's like when people send us the Christmas cards and it's the kids and the dogs, or them and the dog and they're hugging or we just like, “Oh my God!” And so we wind up using them as instruction, like, “See this dog? Having a bad time, kids having a good time. Dog is having a bad time.” Sarah: Yeah Kathy: But to help you guys understand that what I've done is, I've taken that body language seminar that I give live and I'd made a Webinar. Now what I want to say, Sarah, and you know what I'm going to say, when I recorded this Webinar, I just did it for my students who know me and my level of sarcasm and snark...so...surprise! We're going to give it to you guys, but I want you to keep that in mind. I'm speaking to people who, we have a very familiar relationship with, so a little sassy just, you know, roll in it. Sarah: Everyone needs to watch this, nevermind, your awesome commentary. It's just, it's so, it's so beneficial for everyone to be, to be learning this and then sharing it with your, if you have dogs in your family, share to every single family member, share to your neighbor, share it to everyone you know, so that they are also able to understand what, what they're seeing when they're looking at a dog. Kathy: Absolutely. It's, it's really invaluable for everybody and we want everybody to learn from it, so we're making it available. All right, Sarah. Well, this I think was one of my favorite podcasts. I think this was, this is going to help a lot of people pretty quickly. And... Sarah: We covered so much stuff! Kathy: We did! And even if you just take one or two of these things and make that change to your life with your dog, uh, you're going to see a huge improvement. Alright, so that's it for this episode of Kathy Santo’s Dog Sense. Thank you, Sarah, for hanging out with me again. I'm reminding you guys to check out my “Canine Body Language Webinar,” and the link to that will be posted along with the podcast. Thank you so much for spending time with us, and I hope you'll join us again soon. If you do have any comments or show ideas, we’d love to hear them. So reach out to us through our website at kathysantodogtraining.com, And as always, if you like what you hear, jump on over to whatever subscription service you use to download this podcast from and like rate, subscribe, tell a friend, and share this episode somewhere to help spread the word so we can continue to create an awesome community of dog lovers and learners. Happy training everyone!

Kathy Santo's Dog Sense Episode 3: My Top 10 Ways To Improve Your Dog's Training Right Now

I’m your host Kathy Santo and I’m here to teach you everything I’ve learned in my three plus decades of training dogs, their families, competing in dog sports, writing about dogs, and being a guest on radio and TV shows.

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Kathy Santo's Dog Sense

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