Our Maine residency dog training program, what is it?

Mannerly Mutts Dog Training is located in Maine.   Many different programs are offered at the Maine dog training facility.   Many people have not heard of a residency dog training program, also known as a board & train program.
What it is:  A Board & Train or Residency Training Package is one where your dog stays with us.  A dog in training receives two hours of training per day in addition to exposure to a home environment while training.  Residency or Board & Train is a great way to get up front work done by professionals for getting a start on puppy training, getting a start on house breaking, and getting professional help with behavioral problems (aggression, fear, or reactivate behaviors).   Dogs in training train here, and go into public distracting areas to train when ready.   This way your dog gets complete exposure to every day life situations that go beyond their home and yard.


Benefits:   All the up front work (including traveling to different locations when your dog is ready) is done by a professional dog trainer.   This saves the owner a lot of time and effort in the beginning of training.   The training can also go faster, because the dog is not being trained by the owner, who has a learning curve to scale, but by a professional trainer who has handled many different dogs of varying breeds and temperaments.   If the owner has been having long term problems with a behavioral challenge, a professional dog trainer is not going to be intimidated by the dog, and will know how to guide the dog through various scenarios safely (for the trainer, the dog, the public at large).    In this way, you will be better prepared to maintain your dog once their behaviors have improved to being socially acceptable.  Taking a dog or puppy into a structured environment used to training and handling dogs, also gives the dog a strong foundation for their future behavior as a well trained family member.


Included in the Board & Train Package:  1)  Two hours a day individualized training attention and work for your dog 2) Training blog that you can follow including video of the work done with your dog 3)  play, exercise and rest time provided for your dog 4) excellent boarding care while your dog is here and 4) follow up lessons to train the owner on how to interact with their dog and maintain their dog's training.   The leashes and collars we use are also for sale at Mannerly Mutts.   If you want to purchase these from us, they are available for an additional fee.


Price:  This price is based on two hours a day of training (70.00) plus the boarding expense (30.00) to total 100.00 per day.   However, the minimum board and train package we sell consists of a three weeks.   There is not much we can make a dent in with less than three weeks to work.   Therefore, the board & train or residency program starts at $2,100.00 with each day thereafter being 100.00 per day (or 700.00 for each additional week).  
This program is for a variety of purposes:

1. The owner does not have the time for the up front work.   We can bring the dog through all the basic obedience training through to distractions, and then provide a maintenance schedule and lessons.
2. The owner has a dog with behavioral challenges.   Often times an owner will find themselves in a situation where they are afraid of or intimidated by their dog.   This program can take the dog out of the environment, work with him, and then have the owner come back for follow up.   By this time a language has been created (IE commands and behaviors that have been taught) that make the process for the owner and dog much easier.  We can bring both the dog and owner back to a place where both eventually feel comfortable with the other.
3. An owner wants a really well trained dog:)   So they want the bulk of the up front work done by a professional dog trainer.
4. An owner lives far away, but wants our services for training their dog.
5. To begin the training process before a puppy or rescue dog enters their home.

If you find yourself in need of this service, please fill out our client interview form.  
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Leash Protocols for Young Puppies

The most common mistake that I see people do with their puppy is start the off leash portion of their training too early. Puppies make owners overly confident that they will stay this way, by the natural instinct of a puppy to stay close to their leaders. However, early lessons that they can get away with their puppy speed, will unfortunately carry over as they grow into adulthood and make their natural curiosity and wander lust worse than it needs to be.

It also starts to inhibit any problem behaviors related to prey drive. In puppy hood you can begin to teach the skills not to chase small furry animals, large furry animals, and cars. All of these things have the potential to be deadly to your puppy and future dog.

At the point that dogs are puppies is a great time to start the checking in process that you are going to desire before allowing your dog to go loose. I do this with puppies or adult rescue dogs with almost no training by doing the following:

1. Inside, while not supervised (definition being complete concentration on the puppy or dog), they are either tethered to me OR in their crate. When I am stationary, I provide a dog bed and toys that they can play with. This is not the sit on the dog exercise, which limits the dog to an area just for quiet. Be aware of where their teeth are in relation to the leather lead, as puppies and adult dogs are fully able to chew through a leash with their back molars very quickly. Otherwise I let them hang out and play around me. If they are tethered to you, you are likely to become aware of when they are in distress of needing to pee or poop. You will also be alerted to their movement immediately.
****NOTE: If I have a puppy that I suspect will worrying the leather lead and I doubt my ability to be aware of it, it is acceptable to use a rope for an indoor ONLY lead or old belt for an indoor ONLY lead for this so you can both relax, and you don't' accidentally loose something valuable. Most puppies are not so stubborn in doing this, but I have had a few small terriers that managed to get their way (and one Thai Ridgeback). So while I was teaching them not to do this, I was using less valuable leads for the inside puppy training. Some puppies are more determined than others.
2. Inside while supervised (definition being complete concentration on dog or puppy), I do allow them to play off lead and most likely with me or a family member. If they are content playing with toys alone, I allow them to do that. Do keep an eye on them though, because they can become bored with that toy and wander off to do something bad. I have a bunch of play sessions that I schedule into my day to allow them this sort of freedom. With a puppy these can be limited to 15 to 30 minutes, and is a good bonding time for the puppy and owner. IF there is a possibility that they are going to be naughty while supervised or have an accident, it can be very handy to have them dragging the leash inside. It is sometimes much easier to step on and grab the leash, than to need to pursue a puppy to catch their collar.
3. Outside, I would only allow a puppy to be completely off leash in an enclosed area unless in a rural setting where you are 100% confident that puppy is staying with. Otherwise, they are most likely dragging a long line. This way you can gently and efficiently stop any dashing off by stepping on the line or grabbing it. This starts the process of the puppy at least starting to ask or check in with you first before you release him/her. You do need to watch for the long line tangling around other dogs and themselves. Be sure that you don't do this near high traffic areas, just in case. It's not in most puppies natures to become serious flight risks at this point, so catching a 20 foot leash should be relatively simple.
4. Bathroom times, I will bring them along on a long line as well (sure to flick the line out of the way) unless I have an enclosed area to let them out in. In some cases, if the owner needs to have their dog eliminate on a six foot leash (they live in the city or they want it to happen on a walk in an area that has a leash law), it is prudent to start that training now. If dogs are given room to go to the bathroom, which I normally have no problem with, it becomes difficult later on to teach them to go on a six foot. I don't think that is your situation, but it is something to think about, if this does apply to you for some reason. (for instance when you take him to where you work, you might find that you have this need)

Although it sounds like more work now than one would want, it saves you a lot of aggravation later on. So many owners come here with dogs that have never been on a leash. When you have large areas to let your dogs off at home, it's easy to forget that you may come across an unexpected distraction when out. Also as you discovered, that distraction can live right across the street from you. Now is an excellent time to ensure your dog has more freedom in the future when it counts, and less while they are very young puppies learning the ropes.

It's also what starts this sort of calm and confident personality in your dog (in balance with the crate training providing a bit of independence early on). That demeanor in your future dog helps people have more confidence in your dog and your ability to handle him in public. Your future dog will have lost none of his ability to have fun and rip it up as needed either.

Remember, you can't do off leash what you can't do on leash first. This is really important to remember in order to keep you from unnecessary aggravation later on.

Crate Training for Confident/Resistant Puppy

Objectives: Using a crate is important for many reasons. House training, boarding, possible veterinarian visits where they are staying hours or overnight, safety in the house (puppies will try and chew wires and all sorts of things left to their own devices), just having a shower without worrying about what puppy is getting into, and separating out from company that may be afraid of dogs, in general. The objective is to create a peaceful place where your puppy or dog knows they are safe and comfortable to rest and relax.

Equipment: Crate, flat collar on dog (so you have some hold on him putting him in or out), toys placed in the crate already, and a lot of patience. You don't want your puppy to see you getting frustrated. This is all a learning experience for them.

STEP 1: With a pretty confident puppy, I will say crate and place him right in. If he resists to much on the collar, I would pick him up and place him in the crate. If he goes willingly with a light collar tug, let him know he is a "good boy" by saying good boy and giving him a bit of a scratch on the chin after he is inside, being sure not to let him make a move to go back out. A treat would be totally acceptable for this as well.

STEP 2: Close the door and walk away out of sight. Do not look back or in any way comfort or talk to the puppy, even if he starts whining right away.

STEP 3: Wait for that moment of silence. Walk back immediately, have him sit (you could lure him with a treat if he does not sit right away, but he was doing well here), and open the door if he is quiet (only). If he starts the whining as you are walking to the crate or starting to open the door, walk away quickly again, and wait until he becomes quiet.

Day 1: First day, I would do much like we did and do a few reps with us returning immediately. I have him sit and be quiet while I open up the door and release him with a word like "break". Since we haven't worked stay as yet, don't require him to sit there for any length of time beyond a couple of seconds.

Day 2: Second day, I am looking for a few minutes of silence and once that happens return and let him out to play. I would spread those reps out about an hour or so apart. These are now totally separate instances and not all in a row. What this means is he needs to do 3-5 minutes of silence all at once before I return. He needs to sit (you can lure at this point), and be quiet as I open the door. So any break without the release word given first means that I reset the clock again.

Day 3: If he is handling the few minutes well, I am now bumping this up to 10 minutes of silence in a row before returning. (Don't forget sitting and quiet when the door opens)

Day 4: Assuming he is handling the above well at the end, now I might bump this up to 15 minutes. (don't forget, sitting and quiet when the door opens)

Day 5: I may bump this up to 20 minutes. (don't forget, sitting and quiet when the door opens)

At some point you will notice that puppy starts to relax in the crate and get preoccupied with toys or sleep. As long as he has his exercise and play times met, he should be like most puppies and realize it's no big thing. It is not a bad idea to have the crate in a separate room as you do, so he doesn't get distracted by seeing the family members that he wants to play and be with instead. If he starts to be nice and quiet on his own with no fuss, let him start to be until you are ready to work with or let him out again.

Some puppies, as mine did, get very cued in by the sound of feet. Occasionally there can be another step needed to proof the puppy not to cry if footsteps don't come his way. Being that you have a family of children and adults there, he will probably not have a time that he does not hear footsteps of some sort, and that will be helpful to you. So automatically, he will need to learn to ignore that distraction. This problem can happen if there is only one handler alone with the puppy at a time training for this. If it is necessary for the dog to be trained while other family members are not there, once the dog learns to be quiet for a few minutes and that you will return, you can start make audible footsteps around an area while not going to him and expect him to ignore that for a period of time followed by silence before the handler returns to him.

The beginning part relies on the fact that he knows that noisy puppy equals the puppy not getting what he wants, only his being quiet ensures that. So we return immediately in the beginning to set the puppy up for that realization. Then we need to be sure that footsteps don't mean that the puppy is entitled to release just because he hears his family member.

NOTE: Puppies learn at their own pace. If he takes longer to become comfortable at shorter intervals of time, that's okay and don't push him beyond until he is pretty comfortable with A period of time before bumping him up. Sometimes being smart means your puppy will try every alternative to break you of leaving him in there. If he has a special toy, you might want to have that available to him ONLY in the crate, at this point. A puppy finds it comforting to have something to settle down with, and keep him occupied until he gets sleepy.
Remember, if you think it's that he needs to go to the bathroom (like in the morning), you may release him to go. When you get to doing the longer times, I would work them around his house training schedule so that he goes out first and that does not become an issue. This works well into house training, as it's my practice that no play or exercise is associated with going out to the bathroom. If you have a working schedule, or appointments to go on, you want your dog to eliminate as quickly as is possible (giving room for the fact that it may not be instantaneously). Usually a good five minute time frame is sufficient, as long as you aren't mixing this in with play or exercise. If you do, they learn pretty quickly that they can keep you out with them longer, by delaying the point at which they go to the bathroom, perhaps until they go inside.

So what I do with puppies is they have a period of time where I wait until they are all done, if there is any question, I pop them back in the crate for 20 minutes and then check out whether they need to go again as part of my house training in the beginning. Once that is all over with, they come back inside (most likely eat) and separately we will do our exercise or fun activity.

During this crated time in between, you can train your dog on this as well. If they really really needed to go, they would have gone in the allotted time. So you can feel somewhat confident that they will not go in their crate during the training times as you go along. If they had completed number one and two, you can be quite sure that is not the problem.

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Housebreaking Tips

I get a fair number of calls a year for house training advice. I give out a lot of tips for free, due to the fact that while many want the trainer to take on the time and patience to house train their dog, few really want to pay the trainer for their time to do this. Many think that they should not need to pay for such "easy" work. It is i n fact easy work, but time consuming and requires organization, diligence, consistency, and patience. This takes an enormous amount of time out of a trainer's schedule that could be used for something else. I charge 700.00 per week for this with no apologies or deals. I am putting my house and household's well being on the line. Two hours and boarding are a fraction of the time that I will give to the project. Frequently it means I am giving up quite an amount of sleeping time to be sure the dog goes out when they feel they need to go, and making up a schedule and plan for the owners. This does not come cheap, nor is it my favorite type of work by any means. However, if someone is willing to pay for my work for it and needs some serious help, I am more than happy to oblige them.

Here are a list of tips that I give to owners that are seeking to housebreak their dog:

• Puppies NEED to go out more often than adults. Some can sleep through the night, and others can't. Some will need to go out about every two hours at first.
• When first bringing home a puppy, crate training and tethering when your attention can not be on them are great solutions. Let puppy or dog inside for loose play only after they have done number one and two as expected when first entering your home (and in their outside area obviously).
• Write down the times of any "accidents" and add those times to your schedule of when you let your dog or puppy out, until a reliable pattern develops.
• After an accident, immediately bring your puppy or dog outside.
• Keep separate bathroom times when your puppy or dog goes out vs play times. If the dog or puppy does not pee or poop within a reasonable time frame, return them to their crate for about 20 minutes, and bring them out again. Repeat until they have done their business outside.
• The reason for keeping play and bathroom time separate is that dogs will naturally want to play and extend the time. If you make it clear there is a certain time for bathroom and it needs to be done soon, then you will be able to get your dog in and out and then go about your day.
• Be aware that feeding times help you determine about when your dog will need to go. Most dogs need to go out before they eat. Some find that the eating moves things along after too. Notate the times in your journal that your dog pees or poops after they eat.
• Dogs and puppies need frequent access to water, but at night you can pick times (like 7 PM or so) that you put the water away that when your dog out later (at 9 pm for example) they won't feel the need to go out again (in general, every dog's system is different).
• Especially for puppies, after training, exercise and play puppies normally need to go to the bathroom. I usually break puppies in class after a half hour for a potty break. Dogs may need this too, it depends on the dogs system. After a play or training session, it's always a good thing to check if your dog or puppy needs to go out.
• Train your dog or puppy to alert when they need to go by use of a bell or something else to make noise. Also be aware of what your dog or puppy's signals may already be.
• BE SURE THAT YOU LET YOUR DOG OUT DURING SCHEDULED TIMES DURING THE DAY, ONCE YOU KNOW THEIR SCHEDULE. ALSO SHOULD YOU HEAR THE ALERT, LET THEM OUT!!!!
• I do not recommend pad training a dog, unless you are a city dweller and really need this.
• If you work and can not get home during the day, have a pet sitter let your dog out.

Looking for results-orientated dog training? Call Mannerly Mutts at 207-361-4395. Or call Maine Dog Trainer, Robin Rubin, for your Maine Dog Training needs.

Socialization Strategies for Puppies

Puppies are in need of much learning and guidance. One of the most important things to do is to socialize your puppy well in the critical early weeks and months.

The first thing that you want to check is that your vaccinations are up to date, and that it is safe to take puppy out to areas with other dogs and puppies. Take a moment to have a discussion with your vet about the best plan.

Realize that this is not just about letting puppy loose with people and dogs. There is more to socialization than that. You want to monitor within reason how they react to other people and dogs, and also to control the interactions with people and dogs so that your puppy feels safe with you. Ideally practicing training exercises is also a great way to socialize. For instance, practicing a sit before greeting a human friend or a canine friend.

In reference to 2, do some research to find out what puppy play looks like. Talk to professionals about appropriate corrections and signals that dogs and puppies give each other. You want to find out when it's a good idea to step in, and when it's a good idea to let your puppy learn from other canines.

Have your puppy on a leash and collar for safety, especially if you are outdoors and anywhere near traffic. If you are anywhere near traffic, be sure to have the handle of the leash well gripped in your hand. While socializing, an alternative to having your puppy off leash is simply having them drag the leash. That way you can easily intervene when necessary.

Find as many outdoor and indoor places as you can to expose your puppy to new noises and sounds. Remember, the puppy most likely will not feel comfortable with them at first. It is the owner's job to guide the puppy confidently into and out of the experience so that the puppy feels more comfortable the next time. Do not coddle the puppy. It's OK to pet and reassure the puppy, but you don't want to block their learning and taking in of the experience either.

Live in or near York Beach Maine? Here are some ideas that other puppy or dog owners can add to their socializing strategy.

• There are some very pet friendly banks in York Maine. Kennebunk Savings Bank has not balked at customers bringing their dogs in. Be sure that they are ready to remain calm, not pee, and be enjoyable in the bank. Responsible pet ownership allows for these socializing opportunities to remain open to the dog owning public.
• Long Sands Beach in York Maine is an excellent place to socialize your puppy. This is a place dogs (under control and ideally on leash if not fully trained) can get used to the sights and smells of other dogs, children, people, seagulls, water, wind, ET AL. Beaches provide a lot of distraction and learning opportunities for dogs. Above is Bristol, who is still a puppy at just a little over 1 year old. It is very hard for her to keep position among all the excitement around her on the beach.
• Restaurants, coffee places, or ice cream stands that allow dogs to be outside as owners and customers eat are fabulous places to socialize your puppy.
• Many pet supply places these days allow for pets to come in. Groomers, veterinarians, and other canine professionals normally welcome your pets as well, and may provide a cookie to make less pleasant visits less stressful in the future. Below is Boris at York Maine's local pet supply, Ann-imals.
• Finally, don't forget to socialize your puppy inside the home!! Puppies need to know that people you know, who may be strangers to the puppy, are allowed in and welcome when the owner says so. If you have a dog with a territorial or protective aspect to their behavior, this is a very important thing to do. If you are in doubt about whether you are doing any of this correctly, please call in a professional trainer to help!

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