Blog • Page 3 of 36 • Three Dogs Training

Dog Training Supply List

This dog training supply list includes your dog’s wearable equipment.

Many dog training tools are specific to training class but most of them will be useful in classes, at home, on walks, and more.

TP is not a dog training supply — Your dog may disagree about what is and is not a training tool. But you will hold firm on no TP.

Collars, harnesses, and leashes.

For most of our dogs, it is good to use the same equipment for walks, hikes, or classes. Occasionally we will use a longer or shorter leash for different activities.

Collars

Flat collar – these are the basic collar everyone thinks of when they think of a collar.
Martingale collar – this collar allows the collar to close just enough to prevent the dog from squiggling out. This is my preferred collar.
I happen to be a fan of the Lupine collars linked above. They are well made (US), guaranteed (even if chewed), and they have loads of nice patterns 😊

Harnesses

Understanding the difference between a back-clip harness and a front-clip harness is critical.

If your dog’s harness has the leash clipping to a d-ring on the dog’s back, this is a back-clip harness. In most cases, this will increase pulling as it engages your dog’s oppositional reflex and they will push their chest against the front of the harness reflexively (they just can’t help it).

A Front-clip harness will have a d-ring on the dog’s chest where the leash will attach.

Front clip harness is a dog training supply

This is a front-clip harness. Notice the leash is attached to the harness on the front of the dog’s chest.

This will reduce the pressure against the dog’s chest and decrease or eliminate the oppositional reflex. This will stop or reduce greatly the pulling battle that often goes on during dog walks.

Here are three well made and reasonably priced front clip harnesses.

Freedom No-pull harness. This fits the best and has a secondary back clip if you want to switch between back and front clipping.
The Easy Walk Harness. This can take some tinkering to get it to fit right. But if it fits your dog, it is a good front-clip harness.
The Sensation harness. This was the first of its kind and still well made and secure.

There are many other front-clip harnesses. I find the ones that have what looks like a breast-plate in the front move side-to-side too much to be effective. The Whole Dog Journal has a nice article outlining many different front-clip harnesses.

Leashes…

There are far too many types, styles, textures, and lengths of dog leashes to list them in this training supply list.

I prefer leather or biothane leases for my own dogs. These materials sit more comfortably in my hand than cotton or nylon. For either, I like three-quarters or five-eights width. For most women, an inch width will not allow the hand to fully close around it. So, the three-quarters or half inch will allow for a more secure hold.

The length of leash will vary. For an average walk in the park, four or six feet is fine. Six will allow you the most flexibility to allow your dog to move away to eliminate. But four is easiest if your dog is playing with other dogs on leash. For hiking or playing in an unfenced area, a longer ten to twenty foot leash will allow for maximum flexibility.

Leather is the softest and sturdiest leash I have found. But it is not waterproof.
Biothane leashes are waterproof and as easy on your hands as leather (they don’t slip or burn). They come in a variety of colors, lengths, and widths.
A subset of these is the multi-leash. This is a leash that has multiple connection points to allow it to transform from a six-foot leash, to a three-foot leash, to a wrap-leash, or even a tie-out.

General Dog Training supply product page

Managing Dog Aggression Toward Babies

The first rule to keeping your child safe from your dog is keeping your dog safe from your child – LJ Edwards, “Please Don’t Bite the Baby…”

Question:

“How do you keep your child safe from your dog?”

Professor Boo, I have an 11 year old female German Shepherd and a 10 month old baby at home. My dog has always been friendly towards my baby girl and usually kisses her and licks her a lot. My baby is always after the dog, using her as a “ladder” to stand up, grabs her tail and face and usually my dog just walks away but today was the first time she growled at her and showed her teeth when my daughter tried to grab her (my daughter was in my dog’s sleeping area.) Does that mean she might bite her? I love my dog dearly but my baby comes first. What do I do?
Patty L.

Pinball gets to see that great rewards come when he ignores the silly toddler.

Answer:

This is common when little ones begin to toddle around and use the dog as a walking “helper.”

All dogs can bite if they feel they have no other way to stop something that either scares them or hurts them. Cute as it may be to see baby loving the dog, most dogs are not comfortable with this kind of grabbing. It can hurt your dog when a little one tugs on them especially an older dog.

It should not have to come down to a choice between the dog you love and the child you love.

To keep your child safe from your dog, always remember that your baby doesn’t know she may be hurting the dog and your dog is “please stop,” when they growl. Your job is to stop your child before your dog gets to the point where she feels the need to “correct” the baby. There are some simple rules that will help keep your child safe from your dog.

Please start out by thinking of your dog like an open pool in your back yard. You would never turn your back on your baby around an open pool. You would never let her dangle her feet in the pool without you right there, next to her. And you would always be right there to catch her if she fell, etc…

Please follow these rules:

Dog and baby are never alone together.
You are always right between them for now.
Your child can only touch the dog when you are guiding them as to how to gently touch your dog.
Your baby never wakes the dog, pokes the dog or lands on the dog when your dog is sleeping.
Your dog is never chased by baby – not with walker, not with toys and not on her own.
No dog is ever used as a walking helper for a toddler.

The first rule to keep your child safe from your dog is to keep your dog safe from your child.

In addition to the above, review of basic skills that allow parents to get their dog out of a potentially dangerous situation quickly. It is often easier to call the dog away from the child than to ask a toddler to stop advancing on a resting dog. This may mean some new or review training either individually or in a classroom. In my book “Please Don’t Bite the Baby, and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs,” I cover a number of quick techniques to get your dog out of a situation before trouble occurs.

Too many dogs are euthanized each year because they are viewed as aggressive to their toddler. Much of this can be avoided if we try to understand that for most dogs, toddlers can be scary. Most dogs try to warn the toddler away and too many parents punish the dog for the growl. This leads to a dog who feels like they have no alternative but to bite.

Always remember

When your dog growls, she has given you a great gift – she has told you she is uncomfortable with what your child is doing. Take that gift and return the favor to your dog by following the rules above and teaching or reviewing some really basic skills to keep your child safe from your dog.

Click here for more on how keep your child safe from your dog.

For more on Please Don’t Bite the Baby, and Please Don’t Chase the Dogs, click here

Summer Time Dog Training

Three Dogs Training class enrollment.

Okay maybe summer cooking school is not for your dog. But…

Three Dogs Training is.

Summer session starts Saturday June 3rd 2023

Basic – 9:00 am
Distract O Doggie – 10:10 am
Intermediate – 11:20 am

Then… Your dog will get to wear this kind of hat!

For more information:

click here or contact Lisa@threedogstraining.com

“A Dog Named Boo” Discussion on Dog-Eared with Lisa Davis

Lisa Davis MPH generously invited me to talk with her about A Dog Named Boo, How One Dog and One Woman Rescued Each Other – and the Lives They Transformed Along the Way

Lisa Davis brings her twenty-five years of health experience and her love of dogs together in her PodCast “Dog-Eared” to interview authors of dog related books, memoirs like A Dog Named Boo and other advice and inspirational dog-related titles.

Check out Dog-Eared and enjoy.

Pet Partners Evaluations

My next set of Pet Partner evaluations is scheduled for April 22nd.

To enroll, you will need to go to the PetPartners.org website and go through your account to your registrations. You will be able to search for evaluations in Mahopac, NY.

There are four spaces available, so enroll early.

If you have questions, contact PetPartners directly.

Here’s a peek into a portion of Boo’s last evaluation – 2012.

If you would like to be a volunteer for the evaluations (humans only), it is a great way to get a sense of what is involved in the process. Contact me to be a volunteer.