Eleanor Post & Lonely Hunters Dog Training

Zesty and her spicy recall! Sound quality is pretty terrible because there was a racket (distractions) going on in the background :)

This is another Moose who is sharp as a tack and will keep his people active

Nothing like a big, affable lab to brighten up your day! This is Moose, who happens to be my 3rd Moose this year! I have to say that every Moose I've met has been a real charmer. Looking forward to working with this guy on some leash reactivity and overly exuberant greetings with people.

To all of my clients - this is not about you (well, it could be a little bit about you, but I'm only writing this because it's so common). Are you a barrier to your own success when it comes to training your dog? Here's a checklist of things to reflect on. This is especially true if you're raising a puppy.... Are you trying to tackle everything at once? Loose leash walking, obedience training, recall off leash, tricks, separation anxiety, leash reactivity? If so - allow yourself the benefit of slowing down and getting comfortable with the basics first. For example, a communication system with your dog that makes sense to both of you can be the first step. Use that to slowly build on the other things. Avoid working in situations that are overwhelming for both you and your dog. Don't beat yourself up if things don't look perfect right away - look for better than before not the final picture. Do tools and treats and toys feel like cheating? If the answer is yes, then you're in for way more of a struggle than is necessary. Dogs do what's in their best interest. If you are attempting to do everything with some sort of mind meld, it's probably not working. Do you feel guilty all the time like you're never doing enough for your dog, but then when you do something to work on the relationship you doubt everything about it until you give up? Set the guilt on the back burner and stick with a program. Give yourself and your dog time to learn and get good at something before giving up on it. Are you constantly comparing your new dog to your last dog (and other people's dogs)? Imagine if you were in a relationship where that was happening to you. Your dog is an individual. Do you give in every time your dog wants something or shows the slightest hesitation, but then expect them to perform flawlessly when it's suddenly asked of them 10 minutes later? There's that struggle with feeling guilty again. From crate training to nail trims, there will be things in life that take getting used to. If you try to alleviate any form of stress across the board, do not expect your dog to be resilient when things happen that are out of your control.

I love this dog. I've had the joy of watching her grow up. Her owners have been so patient and diligent. They didn't expect too much too quickly and they understand that her freedom will have to be granted slowly over time. Even though she's good with other dogs and people they are being patient. ... Even though she has energy to burn - they are still using a long line, they are going step by step and not letting her get into situations that she isn't ready for just yet. When walks were getting tricky because of all the downtown distractions, they took the "ditch the bowl" suggestion in the a.m and used her food and treats to reward good decisions and give her something to do (training on walks). When lockdown meant long days at home, they took the suggestion of doing "find it" games and letting her use her nose to find a toy hidden in the apartment. They taught her to go to her bed and are working on her staying on the bed - key word is that they keep working on it! She doesn't get away with pushing them around and blowing them off, but they aren't all work and no play. She has plenty of play time as well as having rules. Even when you do everything right, your dog won't be "perfect" until you look back years down the road and realize they were pretty darn close. There's always something to work on, it's just the nature of having a dog. Her name is Poppy and she is blossoming!

Hard lessons when it comes to adopting dogs. "I can't have that" This is the phrase that's popping up for me in 2020 when it comes to dog training. ... I've thought about it quite a bit. It's a very practical and clear boundary for someone to have when it comes to what they are willing to accept when it comes to their dog. The thing is - "I can't have that" could very well mean "I can't have that dog". "I can't have that" is the criteria that needs to come BEFORE you get a dog. It's the criteria that service dog trainers use to select the perfect puppy from a group of prospects. "I can't have that" is the phrase that helps you determine what breed might be best suited to your lifestyle. What age of dog will be ideal. What size and temperament etc. If "I can't have that" comes after you adopt a dog, you may be disappointed or flabbergasted at what it's going to take to fix that problem (if it's even fixable). "Any dog, Any Breed, Any Problem" is not a guarantee that the thing you can't have can actually be fixed. What it often means is a prescription of lifelong management and effort on your part. If you have a "can't have that" what are you willing to put in? I can assure you that there are several things that will generally be required a) Time and patience b) Money c) A willingness to learn and apply the techniques suggested by your trainer. d) Upkeep Think of it this way - "I can't have that" is a often like saying "I just got a room mate who is staunchly conservative, a lifelong Republican and a die hard Trump Supporter but I can't have that and I want you to make them a huge fan of Joe Biden and I want their love of Joe to be authentic and genuine and last forever." So before you get a dog, get very clear and understand that even when you do all of the things right, you may still end up with a "can't have" on your list that can't be fixed within your time frame, or possibly at all. Then what happens? What compromises are you willing to make while we address the issue? You may need you to be flexible on that hard and fast line.

It's started...the emails and calls from people who decided that now (as in today or yesterday) is the time to adopt a dog. People that heard from a friend that I can help. The thing is, this is going to create a whole new kind of "triage" for dog trainers - the last minute adopters who are asking themselves what they got into. ... Separation anxiety, potty training, problems on the walk, barking.... Time to take a chill pill and remember that where there is a will (and a dog trainer who has been doing distance education and online support as part of ALL their training programs for a couple of years now) there is a way! Holy cow, my mind is reeling with all of the information that people are going to need over the next few months. I've been busier in the last couple of weeks than I've been in years...busy preparing for what is coming down the pipe. I've been so into doing distance coaching and education and now people are actually stoked about the prospect! If you're even toying with the idea of getting a dog because you suddenly have the time, we need to talk <3

In a wave of darkness I just got my first flash of inspiration! I can't believe it took me so long to realize this. After a brief message with someone today it hit me. This morning I was tempted to just stay in bed. I miss my family on the east coast, I worry about everyone and all of the "what if's" but after responding to an inquiry, it hit me.... There IS an upside to shelter in place AND to social distancing (aside from keeping us safer and flattening the curve of course!). People with a) Newly adopted dogs B) Reactive dogs and C) Fearful dogs You have a really amazing opportunity right now, it's something that normally we have to work really hard at planning or orchestrating. I found the dog training silver lining, not just one but several. Message me through facebook or hit me up through my website if you want to talk. My email is [email protected]

Stay open minded and make sure you have a broad perspective...otherwise, the squirrel may elude you once again. Wyatt Wandy Whipples

When you are working on control with your dog, whether it's obedience around distractions, reactivity, prey drive you need to continually be taking your dog's temperature. I'm being figurative here. Hot meaning your dog is getting stressed, overly excited, zoned in on something etc. If your dog is getting a little warm, work in that zone for a while and observe what happens. Does he cool off or is he getting hotter? Cooling off might mean his ears relax, he stops staring ...at something and starts to sniff the air instead, he looks to you or responds to you making a little noise. If he's getting hotter, move somewhere to let him cool down. If he cools off (body language relaxes, dog is able to tune in/respond to his name, take treats etc) move back in towards the heat and see if he can handle it a little bit better. This isn't going to be fixed in one day. This is just between you and your dog. You are the ones doing the work. We're not trying to burn our dogs (or ourselves) out, we're trying to build heat tolerance. You can't build it by running through the flames and it won't happen if you never leave the shade.

Lots of times during a session, people will be telling me a story about their dog, something that happened over the past two week or even sometime in the ancient past (in doggy years). This often is happening while a prime opportunity for the person to be rewarding, intervening or guiding their dog in some way is happening in the present. It might occur 10 to 15 times or even more in one session. This makes me wonder, how present are people with their dogs outside of a traini...ng session? Dogs do remember things, they can hold on to things, but that expression "dogs live in the moment" is really important because whenever you are with your dog, chances are they are far more aware of what is going on in the environment than you are. If you're with your dog, your dog is learning how observant you are and how you respond to different situations, people, dogs etc. If you are oblivious to something you know your dog finds threatening because you are thinking about something else, and this is happening over and over and over, don't expect your dog to change how they feel about that thing. The thing about working on changing a dog's opinion is - you have to be aware enough to see the opportunities to work on it.

A dog may not understand the difference between a real threat and a perceived threat, but they learn pretty quickly whether or not a human uses good judgement.

The "How to" isn't usually the problem, it's the "YOU CAN do" that is the body of the work.The "How to" isn't usually the problem, it's the "YOU CAN do" that is the body of the work.

What are we doing here in the Bay? I don't know if it's like this everywhere. People leaving their homes at 6 a.m, getting home at 7 p.m and still having work to do. Weekends are crammed with activities so that there's something to look forward to during the week, but it means there's no time to rest. When does the rest happen?... Despite all of this work, this incredible dedication to success, people are still having to worry financially, they are buckling down to pay off a million dollar mortgage in their 30's. Unless you come from money, you're treading water. Is this what University prepares people for? Debt, lack of sleep, working all hours of the night and day, putting off your own mental and physical health. You see that your situation is normal, this is what people need to do now to have a career, to be able to afford life and compete with your peers. Of course you're stressed out, and you're tired and distracted and your brain is saying "no more, please don't feed me", and of course your dog is becoming an indicator of all of this. We get dogs because we want to connect to the natural world. Yes, there are other reasons, but I think that's the main one. We have dogs and we have houseplants and we can barely find the time to care for either of these things because the life we're living here is not healthy. Dogs are an indicator species for us now. Their role with us has evolved from protector, herder and hunter into that of an alarm system for the imbalance in our lives. You need to take care of yourself in order to be able to take care of your dog(s). I am seeing too many people who are beyond burnout. They're getting sick frequently, they're not getting enough sleep, they're not eating dinner until it's practically time to go to bed. It's starting to feel absurd to ask people to devote any time to working with their dog, when I see that what they really need is to be putting themselves first. That's why I'm writing this, it's feeling wrong to encourage people to even try to learn something new. It should be exciting and fun to learn about your dog, but it can't be when your brain is already working overtime. People aren't drawing lines and saying "no" to a 50 hour work week with 10+ hours of commute time. This is the normal right now. We all have to survive, but we might have to start doing that without dogs if this is the new normal.

Whoah Nellie! You just got this dog and it's new to you. No one really knows the dog's background but it was running loose in the countryside when it got picked up and brought to the shelter/rescue. You wonder if maybe they were abused because they acted so shy. The first few days the dog was perfect. They didn't make a peep, they were so calm and they didn't seem to even notice your kids or the cat. ...Continue reading

Can I keep this dog? When sh*t gets real. When I first adopted Pearl, I was not the right owner for her. I didn't have enough experience, I didn't understand how to meet her needs. I tried based on tv shows and books and advice from friends and I was failing. I started a training program and when I didn't see immediate success ( tv shows) I asked my trainer if maybe she would want to take Pearl, or if there was someone out there who would be a better owner....Continue reading

Why getting a new dog means doing some real soul searching and self advocacy AKA don't trust the car dealership to sell you what you need. So you're going to get a dog. Where's the best place to start? The answer is, self reflection. You need to ask yourself a lot of questions, such as:...Continue reading

It's been such a long time since I've written a post for this page! Honestly, it just seems like mostly everything has been said before. So I wanted to try to think outside the box and write something really unique about dogs or dog training or dog breeds, but you know what? ...Continue reading

Before you get a puppy, not after... Before you get a puppy - develop a network of friends, family and neighbors who have social dogs so that you can safely socialize your puppy vs exposing them to uncontrolled settings with unknown dogs. You need to vet these dogs...what does that mean?...Continue reading

Dog Whispering Debunked (or explained) Good dog trainers aren't really dog whisperers, we just see a lot of the same patterns playing out...we are good at reading body language, we know what makes dogs feel at ease and we understand what stresses them out. A good dog trainer can seem like a "whisperer" because it doesn't take words to understand what a dog is going to do most of the time. ... It's easier to get dogs to do things with our body language than it is with our words. We understand that dogs are more influenced by how we hold ourselves, our facial expressions, how our hands move than what we are saying. It looks like magic, but it isn't - it's another language. We can tell the difference between content/exhausted panting and stress panting and panting because the dog is too hot. We can see if the ears are back in a way that indicates "I'm friendly and appeasing" vs "take one more step and I'll bite" A lifted paw...anticipation for something good, or showing signs of uncertainty. Raised hackles...excitement or tension or both? We look at a dog and we are seeing the condition of their coat, the way they hold themselves, their gate, whether or not they're using their eyes or their noses to investigate us. Calming signals (stress) in some dogs need to be measured against what is "normal" expression for the dog, whether or not they just appear to look anxious when they're just excited to see you. A knowledgeable dog trainer is taking in 1000 factors in the first 5 minutes of meeting your dog, they're filing for future reference, they aren't rushing to judgement or maybe they've already seen what they needed to see. This happens reflexively at some point, the way we scan a human being, first their face, their eyes and their expression, their posture, hair, skin, weight, muscle tone, teeth. When your dog trainer knows what's going to happen next, or can already guess several things about your life with your dog that seem impossible for them to know, it isn't some magical mind meld, it's a sign of competence and passion for the work. It's not whispering, it's experience, it's observation and talent that is rooted in an all out obsession.