City Dog Training, LLC

Living in the city presents special challenges for dog owners and their pets. While in other settings dogs have room to run through a field, swim in a stream or chase something furry to their hearts’ content, here we must find appropriate ways to stimulate and engage our dogs’ brains and bodies. Below are some games you can try even in the smallest yards and apartments.

Digging: Does your dog love to dig? Everywhere he shouldn’t? Digging is pure pleasure for many dogs, and a pure pain to the city gardener or tenant dealing with a tiny space. Rather than scolding your dog for something he so clearly enjoys, how about giving him a digging area? Whether a section of the yard or a kiddie pool or sandbox with a lid, fill an area with sand and, when your dog isn’t looking, hide a few toys, tennis balls and/or bones in the sand.

Show your dog where to dig – dig a little yourself, talk in an excited voice if he needs encouragement. Very soon that patch of sand will become everybody’s favorite place in the yard. Be aware that some dogs really like to throw that sand around when they dig, and you may have to sweep or rake sand back into the box from time to time. Re-bury the toys at night so your dog has new treasures to find each day.

Hide and Seek: Really! Your dog will love it. If you have a young puppy, start by just hiding in the next room or on the other side of the couch and calling her. You don’t want to frustrate her by making it too hard. When she comes galumphing in to where you are, tell her what a good girl she is and give her a few treats to reinforce the idea that finding her human is a wonderful thing.

With dogs of any other age, you can play this game all over the house and yard. Make your hiding places easy at first, and always be very excited when she finds you. As she gets the game, you can make your hiding places harder and more interesting. This is a great game for kids to play with their dog, and uses up a little kid AND dog energy - never a bad thing.

Find it: Put your dog in a sit stay (or tie the dog to a door or fence if he doesn’t know how to stay). Place a treat or toy several feet away from the dog, go back to him, say, “find it!” and release him from the stay or untie him. Let him get the treat and praise him. Do this several times, then “hide” the treat where he can see you do it – behind a tree or chair, for instance while he’s watching you– and again, release him and say “find it!” Whenever he finds the treat, praise him and tell him how great he is. If it’s too hard for him to find it, help him.

Vary the number of treats (or kind of toy) used, distance and difficulty as the dog gets the game. Hide them where he can’t see them. Eventually, you can hide several toys or many small treats around the house or yard and turn it into a veritable treasure hunt. This is another great game for kids and dogs, with plenty of running around but no direct mouth-to-hand contact.

For centuries wolves have roamed the countryside, traveling in social packs, raising their young and…

Arriving back home at 6:00 pm sharp for their bowl of kibble?

While there’s a lot to be said for the convenience of scooping a dog’s daily ration of food into a bowl, there’s nothing inherently natural about him eating from a container once or twice a day. It’s a fine and traditional way to feed a dog, of course, but there are ways to give your dog his daily calories that can engage his brain, enhance his sense of fun and training, and alleviate some of the boredom our city dogs endure each day.

Kongs: Sold under the brand name “Kong,” these hollow rubber cones are a dog owner’s best friend. The toys come in various sizes and strengths (get black if you have really tough chewers, red is fine for most dogs, blue swirls for puppies) and sizes (always bigger than can fit in the mouth whole or be choked on). Simply fill them with some or all of your dog’s daily food, stuff a few extra yummy leftovers in there, top it off with a good sized dollop of mashed sweet potato, cream cheese, peanut butter or any kind of cheese and stick it in the freezer. Or you can fill the whole thing with mashed spuds and leftovers, or mix the kibble in to the mix. Your dog will then get his meal, or part of his meal, over the course of a half hour or more as he works the food out of the Kong, licking and bouncing and chasing his dinner in a happy game. These are also great for crate training, giving something fun and rewarding to do during down time. Kong also makes a timed Kongtime dispenser that releases a filled Kong at intervals throughout the day.

Lunch Bag Hunting: Some dogs really love to stalk, pounce on, shake and “kill” their prey, in this case the Wild Lunch Bag. Take some or all of your dog’s kibble, put it in a paper lunch bag, inflate the bag so it’s not flat, and then fold or tape the end shut. Shake it so it makes an interesting noise, toss it into the air or throw it in the yard, and let your dog chase it, pounce on it and rip it open to discover his meal. You might have to demonstrate and “allow” him to rip the bag as he may well think you’ve lost your mind at first, but he’ll pick it up in no time. Expect kibble to scatter some when he rips and shakes the bag. Fear not – he’ll find it and clean it up. Supervise this activity so the lunch bag doesn’t get eaten too.

Feeding Toys: There are a growing variety of feeding toys, like Buster Cubes, Molecuball and Bongo Balls, that dispense treats or kibble a few nuggets at a time. Fill the toy with kibble, Charlie Bear treats or other dry pieces of food that will fall out of the holes as your dog bats and chases the toy around. It’s great to watch your dog sit and think and puzzle over the secret to obtaining the loot – often solved by bashing the thing with joyous abandon!

The Treats: Be sure, while you’re exploring these new entertainment meals, that you keep calories under control and the quality of the food high. Real meat and poultry, high-grade treats, vegetables, fruit and of course kibble are fine choices (no raisins, grapes, chocolate or onions!). Junk food is junk food for humans or dogs, so check the ingredients before you buy!

Walking along the city streets can be a real challenge for those of us with excitable dogs. While some people easily stroll along, their dog happily by their side, others of us find the strain of walking with a pulling, lunging dog takes the fun out of what should be an enjoyable outing with our pet.

One of the first steps is teaching your dog not to pull. A dog out in front of his owner and pulling on his leash is likely to find trouble, if not to create it, and nobody likes being dragged down the street!

Pulling: if your dog pulls you and you go in that direction, it’s working for the dog and there’s no reason for him to stop. You need to stop (or better yet, never start!) this habit. When you feel the leash go taut, stand still and be prepared to wait for your dog to notice you. You can’t be in a hurry when you’re training this. Say his name once, back up one step at a time, do whatever you need to do to get his attention. You’re waiting for your dog to walk towards you, not just in a peremptory “can we get moving please” kind of way, but a real connection. When he does move toward you, praise him, treat him and move on! His reward is to move forward again. You may only get one step until you have to stop again. This is normal (and can be very frustrating!), but stick with it. If you need to take your dog for daily walks for exercise while you’re training this, try using a no-pull harness to indicate that there’s no training going on and you’ll just be managing him this time out. Changing direction unexpectedly, make a turn you don’t usually make, and making a U-turn for no reason also helps keep your dog’s attention on you.

Good and Bad Habits: If your dog is really reactive to other dogs walking by - if she’s jumping, pulling and barking - it’s important to break her of that habit as much as possible. The more your dog does something, the more likely she is to do it again. That’s the good news and the bad news, because it means that the more you practice things you like (sit, come, down, roll over, shake, walk nicely beside me) the more she’s likely to do it. But it also means the more she does things you don’t like (barking, lunging, jumping) the more likely she is to do that, too.

Those of us in the city have a million obstacles we can use to our advantage to prevent unpleasant dog interactions from becoming a habit. With some treats in your pocket, Parked Car Slalom can be played. If you see something coming that’s going to arouse your dog, step between the parked cars, away from the distraction before your dog gets excited. Treat your dog for good behavior, and keep walking in and through the parked cars until the coast is clear. Talk to your dog, breathe so you’re not conveying tension, and keep your voice light and relaxed. And then chalk one up for you, who took away one chance for your dog to practice acting up, and gave one chance for her to practice behaving well!

The urban landscape is filled with opportunities for avoiding bad and building good habits. Learn to use whatever is nearby – bushes, trees, front porches, bus stop shelters, even an open umbrella or brief case can be used to block a view while you practice good behavior . Anything your dog is comfortable around can be used as a space for positive training and building better instincts. See our web site for recommended reading.