All dogs deserve training

The truth about dog training: not every dog needs training. But every dog deserves training.

Let me explain.

There are some dogs that simply need training because their behavior and energy is too much to handle. They’re destructive, they don’t listen at all, and they act like the own every room they walk into. Those dogs NEED training.

Then there are dogs that are pretty well behaved. Maybe even really well behaved. So their owners simply deal with any problem behaviors that come up because they’re not “that bad”. But those behaviors may still limit what you do with your dog.

Those behaviors may keep your dog at home instead of running errands with you. They could mean that your dog stays in the crate when guests come over. They could really stress you out when you walk past another dog and yours loses all focus.

Living in a human world is weird and confusing for dogs. There’s a whole lot of sights, sounds, and smells that we need to teach our dogs how to respond to. And the more we can do that in a way that your dog understands, the more freedom and experiences your dog will be able to have.

We all recognize a dog that needs training -they’re pretty easy to spot. But don’t forget that your “pretty good” dog could become an incredible companion through training.

And who wouldn’t want the dog that’s the envy of the neighborhood?

4 Reasons Every Dog Should Have a Dog License

Getting your dog licensed every year is the law, but there is a lot of confusion around it. We’ve gathered all of the information that you need to know to make sure we’re all doing our part to be responsible dog owners in our community. So let’s discuss the four reasons why you should get your dog licensed annually.

1. It proves that your dog is properly vaccinated.

You must show up-to-date vaccinations in order to receive your license. That includes rabies. Keeping up with your dog’s vaccinations is incredibly important not only for your dog’s health, but for the health of other dogs that you may come into contact with.

2. It helps authorities return your dog safely to you if it gets lost.

Once you register your dog with your city, your contact information will be linked to your dog’s tag (so don’t forget to put that tag on your dog’s collar). So if your dog goes missing, authorities can quickly look up your information and get your dog safely home. If they can’t find you, your dog will go to a shelter for a holding period. Shelters are required to hold stray dogs for a set amount of time (typically 7 days in Madison). If you don’t claim your dog during the holding period, your dog could be put up for adoption.

3. It’s cheaper than a fine.

Dog registration typically costs around $20 for spayed/neutered dogs, and $25 for intact dogs. However if you get stopped with an unlicensed dog in Madison, WI you could receive a fine up to $124. Fees for other cities in our area vary.

4. Local shelters are supported by the fees.

Your fees aren’t just filed away in some arbitrary account… they go to help our community! Whether it helps locate lost animals, reunite lost pets with their families, or provide care for other animals in our shelters, those funds are put to good use. The more people that license their pets, the more funds these services have to help our community.

What do I need to know about dog licenses?

All dogs over the age of 4 months must be registered with your city. Your license is valid January 1 – December 31, and must be renewed annually. If you recently added a new dog to your family, there is a 30-day grace period for you to get your registration. If you move cities, you may need to register your dog in your new city, so check your new city’s requirements.

Every city has its own requirements on where and how to register your dog, but the basic requirements are the same across the board. Here’s what you need:

  • Registration form
  • Proof of rabies vaccination
  • Check or cash for registration fee (typically $20-$30, but varies by city)

That’s it! When you turn in your form and payment, you will receive a license tag that you should put on your dog’s collar with it’s ID tag.

Local Registration Links

You can find your city’s registration forms online to make your visit to the office even faster. We’ve included several of our local offices below to help. If you have questions regarding your specific city’s requirements, reach out to your local office.

City of Madison

City of Middleton

City of Monona

City of Sun Prairie

Town of Verona

Village of McFarland

Village of Waunakee

There’s nothing wrong with you or your dog

A lot of times I hear from people that their dog isn’t social, so there must be something wrong with them, right? They didn’t socialize them young enough, they didn’t train enough, they didn’t try hard enough, they didn’t… The list could go on and on and on. Just because your dog isn’t social doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with either of you.

Dogs that don’t like other dogs are perfectly normal. We live in a society where people like dog parks and they like having a dog be the life of the party. So we feel bad when we can’t join in on those things. But in reality, that doesn’t truly represent animal behavior. Dogs usually feel most comfortable when they’re with their own group, the people and dogs that they spend most of their time with. There’s structure, there’s routine, there’s accountability, there’s someone that they know how to play with, and someone that they can trust to keep them safe when things get uncomfortable. The truly social dogs that can get along with anyone and everyone are not the norm, they are the exception.

So when I hear people say their dog isn’t social, with worry in their voice, we tend to have this conversation:

Me: “That’s perfectly fine. Your dog doesn’t have to like everyone.”

And they respond with, “Are you sure? All of my friends’ dogs like each other, but he gets annoyed when they try to play with him.”

Me: “Yes, I’m sure. It’s no different than you not wanting to be best buddies with every person you pass on the street. His personality just doesn’t like playing with other dogs, and that’s OK.”

Them: “Oh my gosh. This is such a relief. I thought there was something wrong with us.”

And that, my friends, is the problem. There’s nothing wrong with you, and there’s nothing wrong with your dog. Stop holding yourselves to unrealistic standards and start enjoying the unique dog in front of you.

What I would much rather see is a dog that is confident in social situations, but that can relax and remain neutral in the presence of other dogs. I don’t want your dog to get overly excited when it sees other dogs, pulling on its leash to go say hi to everyone else, forgetting that you’re even there. What’s better than having the dog that’s the life of the party? Having the dog that can be around other people and other dogs, but knows how to stay calm and relaxed. Because THAT is the dog that you are going to be able to take everywhere with confidence.

There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with your dog. You just need to shift your expectations.

More than a kitchen dog

Dogs are incredibly smart, and once we show them how to do something (and we practice and reward and practice and reward and…), they will be able to reliably perform that command. In that situation that you practiced in.

You see, dogs aren’t great at generalizing information. This means that what they learn in one place (ie the kitchen) doesn’t transfer over well if you ask them to perform that same command in another place (the yard). If I practice all of my commands in the kitchen, and my dog can sit, down, roll over, shake, and spin without hesitation every time, that’s awesome. But unless we also practice those skills in the living room, on cement, at the busy park, in the middle of a hardware store, on wet grass, your dog will likely struggle when you actually need them to perform the command. You just have a good kitchen dog.

We need to take the time to really help our dogs generalize this new information by practicing. And practice a lot. The time that it takes your dog to perform the command in a new situation will be so much shorter than when you first taught it. She already knows the command, we’re just reminding her that she can now do it in new places. And the second time will be even faster. Until eventually, your dog will say “Alright lady! We’ve practiced this hundreds of times in so many places, I know exactly what you want, and I can do it anywhere!” That’s when you no longer have a good kitchen dog, and you have a dog that you can conquer the world with.

Recall drills – using the e-collar for clarity

Recall. It could save your dog’s life someday, so practice it!

We practice inside in low distraction-environments first to make sure the dog really understands what we’re asking of them. Here, Willow is practicing recall while we’re out of sight using the e-collar to help her. We use the pressure of the e-collar essentially as a game of hot-or-cold. As she gets closer, the stimulus from the e-collar lessens. If she gets farther away, the stimulus increases. This helps her understand exactly what we expect of her, and gives her the power to turn it off by finding her target (me). We do lots of repetitions to make sure she really understands this game. Did we mention that we’re on really low levels on the e-collar here? She’s working at a level 4 out of 100! That means she’s tuned in and ready to work.

Confidence building with puppies

So much of puppy training is about setting up a really nice foundation. That means building confidence, teaching them how to move with you, trying new things, and exposing them to the world around us. Daisy was pretty nervous with trying new things, so we took her to a park with lots of structures to explore, lots of smells to distract her, and lots of opportunities to make mistakes and try again. We used lures and love and praise to encourage her through anything that seemed hard, and we practiced it until it wasn’t a big deal for her anymore. Believe it or not, this is training and it’s going to set her up with such a nice foundation that will last a lifetime. Who said training had to be boring?!

Does your dog love other dogs too much?

Willow absolutely adores other dogs. The problem with that is, not all dogs adore her. She has a lot of energy and doesn’t know how to read their signals when they’ve had enough of her, and that’s led to other dogs correcting her. We don’t want that!

So we haven’t introduced her to Copper yet in the traditional sense. It’s not because I’m worried (I think they would actually love playing together). It’s because I need Willow to change how she sees other dogs. Right now she believes that every dog should be her buddy and she gets really amped up whenever she sees another dog. That’s a dog that you can’t trust out in public. Instead, I want her to become neutral around other dogs, and only go play with them when she gets permission from me. And we practice this by lots of place time around each other. Sometimes she’ll have to watch Copper play, sometimes Copper will have to watch her play, and sometimes they’ll just hang out together like this.

This changes the conversation entirely from Willow doing whatever she wants, to Willow developing impulse control and looking to me for direction. Once she masters this mindset, her world will open up so much!