Sit Mofo Sit

Expert Dog Training That's Fun For You and Your Best Friend

Aggression

Talk to Your Dog Like a Drag Queen

Ok, right now you might be saying, “Huh, what does talking like a drag queen have to do with dog training?” Well.

Tone and attitude are super important in dog communication.

What you say doesn't matter as much as how you say it.

Rosco's family gave him up after 5 years of living together. He bounced from shelters to foster homes until he was finally adopted by my current clients.

His new family felt bad about his previous situation. They handled him with kid gloves, coddling him and speaking in baby talk.

As humans, we want to comfort the ones we love when they seem afraid. But rather than comfort, the baby talk from the client was inadvertently praising the fear and causing uncertainty.

Rosco was super confused. He met any request, like sit, with one of two responses. The first was a flop on his back and show of belly (submissive gesture.) The other was a growl and show of teeth.

The new family was madly in love with Rosco and dedicated to doing whatever it took to make him a good fit. The harder they tried to make him feel welcome, the more they coddled and baby-talked. And Rosco, feeling that timid and pitying energy, stayed in his shell.

In our first lesson together he was fearful and did not want to walk with me. I said “hey girl, hey” to him in my best drag queen voice.

The tone of a “drag queen voice” is clear, friendly, confident, and fun. It projects positive energy. It communicates a productive message. “Let's do the thing! This is safe for you!”

Tone matters. What you say doesn't matter as much as how you say it.

The entire family belly laughed and relaxed. Rosco felt the change of energy, relaxed, and immediately started walking by my side. It was a real aha moment for the dog and the family.

When things start getting too sad or serious, it doesn't work for anyone.

To me, drag queens are the epitome of not taking yourself too seriously. If you aren't familiar, here is a little banter from Trixie and Katya.

If your dog is hurt or frightened, “hey girl, hey” makes the situation less tense. It signals to your dog that you are in control, you are calm, and are going to take care of them.

If your dog is being plain old defiant, “hey girl, hey” lightens the mood for both of you. But, in true drag queen fashion let them know that they are absolutely going to do what you ask. Remember, you are more patient than the dog is stubborn.

Maybe drag queens aren't your thing, and if so thanks so much for reading this far. The same concept applies, though.

Draw your influence from the things that make you feel lighthearted and happy.

Your energy affects not only your dog but the world around you. Have some fun!

There are no “bad” dogs, just mofos with problems. Problems generally have solutions, and I’ve encountered them all. ( Check out my easy, 30-minute Potty Training workshop.)

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Filed Under: Aggression, Fear, Great Dog

My Dog is a Bully!

My dog is aggressive toward other dogs, what can I do?

Hey Mofo friends!

What do you do when your dog won't play nicely with others?

Lily was exactly this dog. My friend fell in love with her photo and adopted her from a rescue. Unfortunately, Lily was not a good fit for our circle of friends because she bullied everyone's dogs! Her behavior embarrassed her owners and they hung out with us less and less.

Luckily after about a year (better late than never, right?) my friends contacted me to help with Lily. It was super important for me to get this right. I missed seeing my friends!

Lily did inboard training with me for 3 weeks.

During the first week, I completely separated her from my dogs. She did not play with them or see them. She and I spent a ton of time bonding and doing one-on-one training exercises. We worked really hard and had fun together multiple times a day.

I planned to start her re-introduction to other dogs while walk/heeling, a structured activity that requires her focus on task. Much of that first week with me Lily was learning what heel means and how to behave while heeling.

Once Lily mastered the heel I enlisted a pal to handle one of my dogs. We all met at a location near my house where there were no distractions. (I love going to the cemetery for this – there are rarely other mofos there – people or dogs.)

We chose a cemetery road wide enough that the dogs could not reach each other from either side. My friend walked my dog on the left side of the road and I walked Lily on the other. We walked this way until the dogs were exhausted (probably about 45 minutes.)

Then, once the dogs were tired we had them do a “down-stay” next to each other for 10 minutes.

By now, the dogs had been together but unable to physically interact for almost an hour. At this point, they were accustomed to being in the same space, and both were calm. I gave the free command and allowed them to sniff each other. My friend and I kept absolute attention on the dogs, observing their behavior and body language.

They walked around a large field together, off-leash, with no incidents.

This was just the first step in controlling Lily's bullying behavior, but it was a huge success!!

There are no “bad” dogs, just mofos with problems. You can find specific step by step instructions on training your dog to heel and managing bullying behavior in my Basic Training course.

I'm always happy to help. Visit the Sit Mofo Sit Facebook page to check out more stories and solutions for your best friend.

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Filed Under: #doggoals, Aggression, Training

Help! My Dog is Biting my Guests!

Hey Mofo Friends!

Have you had to ask yourself:

Why is my dog is afraid of my friends?

or,

Why is my dog aggressive toward my friends?

A good support system is important for everyone, and a support system needs friends!

To tackle the issue of “unfriendly” dogs, I'll share the super simple solution that I used with a mofo named Skylar.

After the loss of a beloved dog, my clients were looking to adopt another dog. They were an older couple and weren't really interested in doing potty training and all the things that come with a puppy. So they searched for an older dog to bring home. They found Skylar from a Korean dog rescue organization.

Up until then, Skylar had lived a rough life out on the streets and at some point had lost an eye. As far as anyone could tell she hadn't experienced the love and comfort of a home and caregivers. My clients brought her home and she adapted famously to the couple, their home, and suburban life in general.

As is to be expected, Skylar was still nervous and scared when people approached her, particularly on her blind side. This issue became a full-blown crisis when guests visited the house.

Skylar’s new family had an “open-door policy.” Friends and neighbors came and went freely without knocking, and Skylar was just so damn cute that everyone wanted to pet her as soon as they saw her. These guests often immediately approached Skylar, and Skylar would snap and bite at them. NOT COOL.

That's the backstory. Here is the 3-step solution:

🐾 First, we set up a bed in a place where Skylar could see both doors, as well as the full periphery around her.

🐾 Then, we instructed visitors to knock before entering. This way, Skylar could hear the knock, and we had the opportunity to give her the new command (see next step). The knock allowed Skylar time to get to her bed without sacrificing the family’s “open door policy” – just adding that knock.

🐾 We gave Skylar “go to bed” as her new command (it's often called “go place” in old school dog training). Each time there was a knock at the door, Skylar was given the command and went to her bed. From the safety of her bed, Skylar could see everyone entering and felt more secure. Once the guest was inside, Skylar was given the release command and could approach the guest on HER terms.

Dog training is as much about teaching people as it is about teaching dogs. As this story illustrates, the solution for most mofo problems requires a little training for the dog and a little training for the dog’s family.

It took several training sessions, but within about 3 days Skylar learned and followed the command – leaving everyone happy.

Everything is awesome. Now go walk your mofo 🙂
~Lisa

There are no “bad” dogs, just mofos with problems. Problems generally have solutions, and I’ve encountered them all. For step-by-step instructions on training the Go Place command as well as everything you need to know about training your dog, check out my Basic Training course.

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Filed Under: #doggoals, Aggression, Fear, Training