Does your dog use the stairs safely?

This is an especially important question for new puppy-owners! But we could all look to make sure we’re avoiding accidents - to us as well as to our dogs - by teaching them right from the start.

First of all, your stairs are safer if carpeted, but this isn’t essential. A mat or some sort of non-slip surface at the bottom of the stairs is important, especially as at the foot of most staircases there is a sharp turn. Puppies are particularly vulnerable to injury on slippery corners!

First of all, you want to make sure the stairs are gated, so there’s no free access to them without you being there to supervise.

And this is how you start: 

1. At the bottom of the stairs, your dog is on lead

2. Place a treat on the first step.

3. Let your dog eat it then place a treat on the next step up.

4. Step up beside your dog as he ascends, step by step, treat by treat.

5. Slow and steady till you get to the top!

If your puppy is freaking out, just do two steps then lift him off. Work at this gradually till you can step all the way up. This will take as long as it takes.

Now you’re at the top! 🎉

So how to get down again?!

Use exactly the same method. You may need to keep the lead shorter now (without putting pressure on his neck, of course!) to make sure your dog doesn’t try to race down.

And it’s super-important to ensure there is a treat not only on the bottom step, but also on the mat at the foot of the stairs. You want to ensure your dog always steps all the way down and doesn’t leap off early! .. as you’ll see Coco does correctly in the two videos on this page.

Next stage

Gradually, you’ll be able to remove the lead from the exercise, and space the treats out a little more (though be very slow to remove the last two on the way down!).

And once you know your dog has got this, you’ll be able to let him go up and down on his own.

You’ll need to find other stairs for him to get used to as well - concrete stairs, other sorts of house stairs, metal stairs, log stairs …

Once you’re both expert at this, you can have some fun together, going up and down stairs:

Coco learns stairs

Safety for us!

Incidentally, there’s a lot of nonsense talked about who should go through a door first. Real nonsense.

Certainly, your dog shouldn’t barge through doors, but once they can wait for permission to go through, I always send mine through first. I don’t want an excited dog to take my legs out!

Same goes for stairs.

I always send my dogs up or down stairs ahead of me. It’s simple commonsense!

No need to get tangled up in dominance nonsense.

Stair agility!

Once your dog is comfortable on the stairs, you can develop his balance skills and have fun with some stair games

Here’s a video to give you some ideas - see how much Coco is enjoying this!

And for lots more answers to your questions, get our free email course here!

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How much should I feed my dog?

Great question! But before you can decide HOW MUCH to feed, you have to decide WHAT to feed. 

Here's an article to help you work out what's best for you and your lifestyle.

Back again? Good! Let’s now see how to work out how much of your chosen diet to give your dog. 

If you have decided on buying a commercial food you'll see instructions on the bag or tin telling you how much to feed, and the first thing to do is totally ignore these!  

These will be general guidelines and not tailored to your individual dog. We all know people - even in the same family - who are a completely different shape and size from each other, and respond very differently to food. Don’t you hate those friends who can plough through chips and cake and still fit a size 14?!

So you have to adapt to your particular dog’s food and nutrient absorption.

So now what??   

Working out how much to feed is actually much easier than you may think. 

Working like a stockman you need to feed to condition.

And how do you assess your dog's condition? Search the internet for body condition charts and you'll see some great illustrations of what your dog should actually look like, from the side and from above.

Then after studying your dog carefully with your eyes, use your hands to confirm what you see - especially if your dog is swathed in fluff and curls and you can’t see much of what’s underneath.

1. Ribs - you should be able to feel all of them, but not cut yourself on them.

2. Spine - feel those little knobs down her back?

3. Pin bones - the top of the pelvis over the back legs. These points should be very easy to feel.

4. Neck roll - is the back of the neck soft and “empty” skin rolls? If it’s solid and in bumpy rolls, you’re in trouble.

Now, naturally, there’s variation between breeds. Some have a very flat back and the spine knobs and pin bones are not so easy to detect - but they should be findable!

I use this system all the time to keep my dogs in their best condition. I never feed what food guidelines suggest.

As an example of the variation between individuals, I have three dogs:

1. English Shepherd, f, spayed, 24kg: she gets 11-12 oz of raw food a day.

2. Whippet, f, spayed, 11kg: she gets 9 oz a day

3. Miniature Poodle, m, entire, 7kg: gets 6 oz a day

So you can see that if I fed my Whippet in proportion to what the others are getting, she’d look like a toast-rack! … or my ES would look like a hippo. 

As a dog’s weight is one of the most important things to get right in order to promote a long and healthy life, this is something you want to spend some time on. 

It may take you two months of adjusting quantities gradually, of continually feeling your dog - and keeping a careful note of the numbers - before you can settle on a suitable amount.

Puppies

Here’s an exception for you: growing pups!

Here the best thing to do is feed to appetite, as well as to condition. Don’t starve your puppy! Like us, they grow in spurts, so may suddenly become much hungrier. Go with this. But don’t forget to be checking condition at the same time.

 

What does my dog think?

Another great question! Here are some answers for you.

How many meals?

And here’s a general guide on how many meals you should be feeding:

Exceptionally tiny or large dogs may need some variation.

Some dogs prefer to eat once a day, usually an evening meal.

Others may enjoy a snack earlier, breakfast or lunchtime.

Let your dog guide you!

You'll find lots more about what to feed and when, and how to use treats effectively in your training, in the books at www.brilliantfamilydog.com/books

And for lots more answers to your questions, get our free email course here!

How long will it take to settle in my new dog?

We expect it to take a while for a puppy to settle in to our home, don’t we?

Well - we should! But some folk expect to get an instantly devoted and trained dog as their 8-week-old puppy’s feet land in their home. This is unrealistic, and you will find many articles on www.brilliantfamilydog.com to help you to get your puppy off to a great start.

But when it comes to older dogs, this expectation of speedy assimilation into the household mystifies me.

We’re talking about a re-homed adult dog or older puppy here.

Now this rehoming may be because a perfect home became unavailable - e.g. the owner died.

Or it may be because the dog has been found wandering on the streets and taken in with no knowledge of past history.

Or it may be that there is a little history (though how true that is is questionable, seeing as that history comes from people who no longer want the dog and are happy to make excuses for their abandonment).

The dog may have been in several homes.

Or in none.

It may have suffered neglect, abuse, or at the very least, a lack of understanding.

If the dog is handed in as an adolescent, most likely it has had NO training or guidance whatever, and now it’s running riot and its neglectful owners have lost patience and just want to shovel it off to someone else to deal with.

And all this may manifest in manic behaviour, “aggression”, resource guarding, lack of response, being shut down aka learned helplessness - not to mention pulling on the lead, stealing, chewing, running off, and the rest.

Your dog arrives with baggage!

So you can see that whatever route your dog took to arrive with you, whatever reason he has found himself in a shelter, he has a load of history and experiences to deal with.

And that means YOU have a load of history and experiences to deal with!

With the possible exception of the dog whose owner died, and who will be confused and sad and lost, your newly-rehomed dog is the victim of his past life.

He has no idea what’s going on!

He has no idea who to trust - if anyone. Maybe his trust in humans has been shattered?

He has no idea whether you are another staging post in his messed-up life, or that he’s with you for good.

He may have no conception of regular meals, comfy beds, a secure home, true love and companionship, trust.

He may not be house-trained.

He may think he has to snatch and steal in order to get anything, then snarl over it in order to keep it.

And he has more than likely had ZERO training. Of any kind, good or bad.

He may only know punishment and abuse and be fearful.

He may have been let run wild and thinks that’s the way his life will continue.

He may never have worn a collar or been on a lead.

He may have had to doss down wherever he could find a bit of shelter, never able to sleep soundly for fear of attack.

How quickly will this dog settle in with you?

You can see this is not going to be an overnight thing!

In fact, any new dog, from whatever circumstance, can take a good couple of months to settle in with you, learn all your (strange!) ways, know that you are now his home.

And to trust you.

Depending on his history we could be looking at many months.

Depending on how much damage needs to be undone, many many months.

But of one thing you may be sure!

With the possible exception of the dog whose owner died, this dog was not in a shelter because he was a perfect, perfectly-trained, pet dog!

No-one gives up a wonderful companion unless they are in extremis.

You are getting a botched, mishandled, possibly abused, basket-case of a dog.

Be clear on that.

BUT

BUT BUT BUT BUT BUT!

This does not mean that this dog won’t become your best friend, one who gives you enormous pleasure, enhances your life, gives you a purpose, and returns your affection and dedication 100-fold!

My first dog was a Battersea Dogs’ Home special - found wandering the streets. Poppy became a Working Trials Champion, with an entire alphabet of letters after her name!

You can learn her story in our free Workshop here.

She was an amazing dog with which my dog-owning life was blessed. She set me on the path of force-free training, of having endless fun building a close and enduring relationship with a member of another species.

She rewarded me by taking me all over the British Isles to compete and enjoy the company of other likeminded dog-owners, and it was with a heavy heart that I sat on the kitchen floor and held her in my arms when she left us, aged 16.

By all means get yourself an older dog!

But be sure that you view your future together realistically, and not through rose-tinted spectacles.

Love may not be enough.

Dedication, training, coaching, knowing where to go for the right guidance - all this is essential!

[HINT: try that free Workshop to get you started on your new life together!]

How patient are you with your dog?

I’m delighted to see the successes that students get as they work steadily through the Brilliant Family Dog Academy.

Their appreciation of how this has changed so much for them shines through their comments:

Here’s what KW had to say on the transformation of her dog’s recall: 

“Wow, just WOW!! The smile on her face as she flew towards me said it all.”

And here’s another heartfelt comment:

“A big thank you to Beverley and team. My dog has come a long way - he now plays and socialises and is lovely on the lead. He loves the focus games and his big sister is certainly enjoying life - and we have a lovely family dog!” LS

 And what about this one?

“My puppy and I continue to love the program. He is coming along in leaps and bounds. We seem to be building a lovely bond and I just love the way he continually looks at me to see what fun thing we are going to do next. This programme is great. We wouldn’t be in such a great place without it. Thank you.” SL

You’ll notice that all these comments are about the huge change in the relationship between owner and dog - the improved behaviour just rolls along with it!

So you can see why I’m so sad when I get occasional remarks from students saying that after a week their dog is unchanged and they don’t think it’s working. 

PATIENCE!

Your dog didn’t become as he is overnight!

And you won’t change everything about him overnight!

Actually, plenty of students do find they get results very fast … but those are the ones who apply themselves and knuckle down to do the work! Hmmm - wonder if there’s a correlation there …?

Magic Wands?

Nobody has a magic wand.

Though Lacy is doing her best here!

And you need TIME and PATIENCE to get the results you want with your dog.

Just as you do with anything else!

You wouldn’t enrol on a foreign language course and expect to be speaking Chinese or whatever within the week.

So whyever would anyone think that they can undo years (or just weeks) of poor training or bad experiences within a few days.

I’ve actually had people say after ONE DAY that their dog hasn’t changed yet!

It is a fact that your dog’s behaviour is a direct reflection of the training you’ve given him.

They don’t come out of the box ready-trained.

You get Dog 1.0. The upgrades you have to apply yourself!

And I and my professional trainer team just love guiding you in this!

Here’s what VW had to say about the individual coaching she got in the program:

“Wow, thank you so much for your lovely words! I was feeling so low the other day, not just about my lack of progress with my dog and then I posted and you and the other trainers were so wonderful and supportive and encouraging, it made a HUGE difference to me and how I felt generally as well as our training. I cannot thank you enough for that alone.

Thank you for helping me to be the best for my dogs, and for your really kind words.

I am on week 5 of this training and it is brilliant, truly helpful and working so well.”

Why not give us a whirl?

We’ll give you all the lessons and the support - but you have to bring your dog and your patience yourself!

See you there!

How much time does your dog spend sleeping?

Did you know, that - just like us - if dogs don’t get enough sleep it shows in everything they do?

You may be familiar with managing a toddler - in which case you KNOW exactly how important sleep is! An underslept baby is a cranky, crying, cantankerous, mess! You can do nothing with them till they’ve had the proper amount of sleep.

We know this.

And if you’re starting off with a new puppy, you need to make sure that sleep is right up there in importance, along with what and how often to feed, and enriching your puppy’s life.

Everything else can wait!

Until you manage sleep, you will have that cranky, cantankerous toddler for a puppy - and this usually manifests itself in manic behaviour and especially puppy biting.

If you’re struggling with your new puppy’s behaviour, read these two posts, and follow the steps exactly!

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/new-puppy-will-i-ever-sleep-again

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/10-ways-to-stop-puppy-biting

Things will change for you very fast, once you put these methods in place.

Grown-up dogs

But many people don’t realise that this need for sleep continues for ALL their dog’s life!

Dogs, like many animals, need much more sleep than we do.

And like all of us, they suffer if they’re not getting it.

Know how much a healthy dog needs to sleep every day?

It’s 17 hours!

17 hours!

I spoke about this at length in this post:

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/my-dog-is-busybusy-all-day-long-and-never-stops

And if your dog is always on the go - hop over there right now and read the story about Tim and learn how to help your dog just as fast!

There’s more help for you in this post too:

https://www.brilliantfamilydog.com/blog/i-love-my-dog-and-i-love-my-sleep

A bee in my bonnet?

Now you’re thinking I’ve just got a bee in my bonnet about all this!

But the reason I feel the need to revisit this subject is because it seems to be such a secret for so many people!

Especially first-time dog-owners and puppy-owners.

They think that the puppy will take care of his own sleep needs.

Nope.

Like everything else we want to happen in our home with our companion dog, we have to manage it, and teach strong foundations from the start.

Quite a few folk arrive in the Brilliant Family Dog Academy, pulling their hair out in frustration at their new dog’s behaviour!

And before we can teach the dog anything new to “fix the problem” we have to sort out the household management.

Only then is the dog in a state where he can learn.

And, you know what?

There’s nothing more satisfying than seeing your dogs flat out sleeping peacefully, the house calm and quiet, while you get on with what you have to do, knowing your dog will be in a friendly, obliging, malleable, mood when he eventually stretches, yawns and starts his tail wagging again!

Want a bit more help after you’ve read all these valuable articles? Get our free email course here, which will show you how to deal with lots of those little daily annoyances your dog may be passing your way!

And comment below on how changing your dog’s sleep patterns has transformed your life together! 💤   💤   💤  

Check other post that might help your brilliant dogs:

I have a new puppy: will I ever get any sleep again?

How much does your dog sleep?

Errorless Housetraining and Crate Training

Puppy Crate training demystified

I love my dog AND I love my sleep!

Why do people want to fight with their dog?

I’m not, of course, talking about people organising dogfights - which is barbaric and against the law in most civilised countries.

What I’m talking about is the need people often have when they get a dog, to order it about, “command” it, make it do things, stop it doing things, control it, in general have a master-slave relationship.

Do they get a dog because they need someone to boss about?

Thing is, this is a-a-a-a-ll conflict.

Conflict-based.

This is what leads them to complain that their dog is “stubborn”, “defiant”, “ignores me”.

The way some people want to be with their dogs is centred on conflict.

And it’s a mystery to me!

Love

The great dog trainer and trailblazer in how we treat our performance dogs is Susan Garrett.

And she saith:

Dog training is really relationship building

 This is what it’s all about, guys!

It’s not about making your dog do something, or stopping it doing something.

It’s about developing a relationship with your dog, living a full and enjoyable life with another creature. From another species, sure - but a sentient being who can work things out, solve problems, seek pleasure, who has fears, likes and dislikes, JUST LIKE US!

Remember Shylock’s impassioned speech in The Merchant of Venice?

“If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?”

He was talking about being a Jew. He could have been speaking as a dog, or any other animal!  

Frustration

If you’re frustrated with your dog on a daily basis, I suggest that it’s because you are looking for Confrontation and Conflict on a daily basis.

It’s an “I’m right, so you must be wrong” approach. Whereas anyone who has ever lived happily with another person knows that it’s Compromise and Compassion that win the day.

If you’d like to find a better way to live with your dog - to banish conflict from your life and have fun instead - start with our free Workshop here and sprinkle a little stardust in your home!