DogBoy's Dog Blog

Teaching your dog new tricks is fun, exciting, and incredibly rewarding. Training your dog is also the first step towards building a strong human-dog bond

The two questions I hear a lot from potential clients are: “how much will training cost?” and “how long will training take?”. These questions are not easy to answer, especially if I haven’t met your dog yet. Each dog has their own unique set of needs that makes giving a blanket answer nearly impossible. However, the biggest variable in answering these questions is not your dog’s behavior or breed, but you, the client!

The Average Cost Of Dog Training In Austin

An easy answer for cost is that private sessions will average about $100 per hour in the Austin area. The prices will vary from trainer to trainer. Generally, you have to spend more to have a trainer come to you than if you go to them.

It may be tempting to save money by choosing the lower cost. However, I always remind my clients that some behaviors are better worked on at home than anywhere else. The last thing you want to do is spend less money up front on classes that are ineffective. It's better to know that you are getting the right type and quality of training the first time.

Group classes are usually a more inexpensive option, but aren’t always the proper fit depending on what you want to work on with your dog. The benefit of group classes is that they are a lot of fun, and a great way to bond with your dog without immediately spending money on private training sessions. You should definitely consult with a trainer to determine what will be the right fit for you and your dog.

So your dog knows how to sit, down, stay, come when called, leave it, and walk on a loose leash. That's great. Those are extremely important foundational behaviors that all dogs should know, especially when you ask them to. But, what about the behaviors that we'd love our dogs to perform on their own?

Generally, when we think about what a dog should know, we go to those usual basics. While knowing these skills is vital for your dog and you to have an enjoyable relationship, there are some skills that we tend to not think about, or overlook:

Self-Settling

This is something that I put a large amount of stock in. It is extremely important for dogs to be able to self-soothe and self-settle. This means that a dog who is not being directly interacted with can simply hang out without trying to do a million things at once. You would be surprised at how few dogs have this skill.

1. How Much Time Do You Have For A Dog?

Before getting a dog, make sure you have the time for one. You should have a clear idea of your family’s activity level, and how much time you have to dedicate to training and enrichment activities. Examples of enrichment activities with your dog include:

• Exploring a new park together.
• Hiding their food bowl for dinner time.
• Teaching them new tricks and games.

You will want to make sure your dog’s energy and needs will be compatible with what you can give. Dog’s age, breed, and upbringing can contribute to their overall behavior.

2. Go Get A Dog Crate Immediately

The dog crate is AMAZING! It’s a great tool to help with housetraining young puppies as well as adult dogs. Crates also help keep your house safe while your new dog is adjusting to their new environment and learning what types of behaviors are acceptable in their new home.  You should treat any new dog in your household as if they aren't house trained initially.

When this topic came across my desk to write for the DogBoy’s blog, I was very excited. This is a heavily discussed topic among professionals and the public alike, and it also frequently appears in the media.

Back in November, I was lucky enough to attend the Pet Professional Guild’s very first Force Free Summit. While I was there, I was able to attend a seminar presented by Ken McCort on this very subject. It was a fascinating seminar, and it left me feeling much more educated on how breed and behavior inform each other.

It also provided me with an answer to the question. The answer: Yes, and no.

Snakes are a big problem for dog owners in Texas. This isn't just a problem in rural areas. For people in urban areas there are also risks of dogs becoming victims to snake bites. Unfortunately, there are not many training options for snake avoidance without the use of aversive techniques like shock collars.

Dog owners worry WAY too much about their dog’s behavior in public. It’s understandable though. If there is one thing most people have in common, it’s that we wish we cared less about what other people think of us. The vast majority of us care a lot about how we are perceived in public. We put great effort into our clothing, our makeup, our accessories, and are even careful about who we associate with to avoid others getting the wrong impression of us.

Feeding time is a very important aspect of training our dogs that we often forget about. In most homes, dinner time is more of a missed training opportunity than anything else. But, let's face it, we don’t all have an hour to dedicate to using every single piece of kibble as a training treat. Especially for those of us who have dogs that are eating 2 or more cups of dog food for every meal. So, how can we take advantage of feeding time for our dogs as a training opportunity, without giving up our whole evening of relaxing?

Whether you are bringing home a new puppy or an adult shelter dog, odds are you have some housetraining to do. Even if the animal rescue, dog shelter, or breeder tells you that your new dog is house trained, you are generally better off treating your dog as though they are not.

Even when you move to a new house, it is a good idea to spend a couple of days treating your dog as though they are not housetrained.

House training your dog can be one of the more frustrating things to work through, but the good news is we are here with some tips and tricks to help you out along the way.

1. Timing is everything.

When you are house training your dog, timing is your best friend. With puppies, the rule of thumb is that your puppy can hold their bladder for the same number of hours as they are months old, plus one hour. So, if your puppy is 3 months old, they should be able to hold their bladder for 4 hours. This does not mean that they absolutely will. What it means is, if you will be gone for more than 4 hours, you should provide them an approved place to go potty like a potty pad or an indoor grass patch .

When you are home, it is a good idea to start off taking your puppy out every hour. If they go to the bathroom, great! They get to relieve themselves and get to run around and play. If they don’t, that's okay, you can try again later. To your puppy, they are getting to spend more time outdoors and bonding with you. As you get to know your puppy better, you can start extending the time in between potty breaks.

Your puppy should always get an opportunity to potty before you leave, no matter how recently they’ve gone, and as soon as you get home. Your puppy should also always be given an opportunity to potty about 30 minutes after a meal. Those will be prime poop times!

When you are first thinking about training your dog, it’s very easy to get caught up in this cycle of questions:

• “Is dog training worth the money?”
• “My dog has no glaring behavior problems, why should I train them?”
• “What would me and my dog focus on in dog training?”
• “Does my dog really need dog training?”
• “There’s too many options, where do I even start?”

It can be difficult to figure out the answers to these questions, for your specific situation, by scouring Google, Yelp, and other internet resources for answers. Even if you do have a specific goal with your dog, where should you start? It can be tricky to make the right choice. The good news is, this week we are going to walk you through the different training service options we offer at DogBoy’s Dog Ranch to help you answer that very question.