Internet Inquiries: “How Do I Get My Dog To…?”

00:00 — Kati introduces Off Leash and Unfiltered and Diamond Canine Dog Training’s behavior and puppy-training…

Speaker 1: <silence> Welcome to Off Leash and Unfiltered Trigger Warning. I'm Kati Peppe, delivering the Truth in Dog Training.

Speaker 2: Hey everybody. Welcome back to another episode of Off Leash and Unfiltered. I'm Kati Peppe, owner of Diamond Canine Dog Training in Biddeford, Maine. We specialize in eco training, both for off leash obedience and behavior modification. So helping people stop all of those annoying unwanted behaviors like leash pulling, barking, jumping up, counter surfing, all that business as well as more serious things like leash reactivity, aggression, resource guarding, separation issues, all that stuff and love, love, love doing in-depth state of mind, work with dogs that are anxious or fearful or nervous. Uh, we also do puppy training, so that's who we are and what we do.

Speaker 2: And this podcast is our way of just sharing everything that we see and do and talk about with you guys. So we are super passionate about setting the record straight and getting the truth out there about all of this stuff because there's just so much false information on the internet, uh, so many YouTube trainers that are, um, spreading narratives that are just plain false.

Speaker 2: So we're pretty passionate about being open about everything that we do, um, and you know, how behavior really works and just making this information available for those that are, are looking for it because it is so hard to find. And so that's who we are and what we do, and that's what we're doing here today. So, and I just wanted to have a little fun this episode, and I thought it might be interesting to log on to my web browser and in the search bar, click how, you know, type, how do I get my dog to, uh, and see what auto completes for suggestions.

Speaker 2: And so I'm gonna run down through the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 8 suggestions, the eight top suggestions in my web browser to how do I get my dog? So this is gonna be a fun one, <laugh>.

Speaker 2: So the top se top suggestion, uh, was how do I get my dog certified service dog, which isn't even a grammatically correct sentence, but we can kind of ascertain what people are going for <laugh> with this question. So, and it's actually a really good question because most people don't know the answer to this question. Most people have a very misguided, um, idea of what a service dog really is and how your dog can become a, a recognized service dog or how any dog becomes a recognized service dog. So I actually think this is a great question.

03:00 — Service-dog certification is often misunderstood and may be sold by companies exploiting unnecessary demand.

Speaker 2: Um, and you, I can see why it's one of the top questions people are asking on the internet because there's a lot of confusion out there around this topic. So if you are interested in having your dog become a certified service dog, let me answer this question for you.

Speaker 2: You don't, you just don't. So can you, yes. Do you have to? No. Does it mean anything? No. <laugh>. So anybody really can offer a certification for service dogs, but it's difficult to explain to people that it's actually somewhat meaningless. So I'm sure there are some institutions that are better than others and have higher standards than others. And so sure, if you get a certification from them, you can feel good about that, right? Because you know, they have high standards and your dog passed those standards, um, which is great. And so I'm not gonna say there's no value in it, but there is not any regulation around this.

Speaker 2: So from a government perspective or from a legal perspective, you do not need any kind of a certification for your dog to be a service dog.

Speaker 2: So in a sense, there might be some value in doing it, but a lot of these companies are just companies that are preying on people to buy something that they don't need to buy. Um, and but oftentimes to these folks are people that don't have a true service dog. They don't really have a real need for a service dog. They just want their dog to be a service dog, or they want their dog to be recognized as one so that they can gain access in public places where they otherwise wouldn't be allowed, right? So, and people refer to that usually as a fake service dog, right?

Speaker 2: And there is so much tension around this is a real hot button issue right now. Fake service dog this and fake service dog that, and it's true, there's a lot of folks taking their dogs into places where dogs aren't supposed to be and they're just slapping the word service dog on them and they're misbehaving.

Speaker 2: You know, sometimes I'm sure people get hurt, other dogs get hurt, you know, flights get disrupted and things of that nature because the dog doesn't have the skills to be in the environment that they're in. And obviously that's bad and we don't want people to do that. Um, that being said, some people make it like their life duty to go around, like pointing the finger at dogs and accusing people of having fake service dogs. And maybe they do, maybe they don't. Generally speaking, my rule is to mind your own business unless a dog is really creating a problem.

Speaker 2: And by the way, real service dog or fake service dog, doesn't matter if your dog creates a problem, it will be asked to leave. So you're not guaranteed public access anywhere with a service dog if they're not well behaved, okay? But there seems to be this thought process out there that all real service dogs are well behaved and all ill behaved dogs couldn't possibly be real service dogs.

Speaker 2: And that's just not true. It's just not true. There's still dogs, right? And the truth is, there's no certification program out there that's gonna guarantee your dog will always be well behaved. There just isn't. That really comes down more to the breeding process and training process. I would argue that they're both very important, but people that have made it, their life's passion to breed dogs for service really go out of their way to produce dogs of a temperament that is suited for work and public access. So they tend to be mellower, right? You don't see as many nervy dogs, jumpy dogs.

07:00 — Temperament and breeding matter more than certification, and no program guarantees lifelong public behavior.

Speaker 2: You don't see as many hostile dogs, obviously, or reactive dogs. They tend to be more mellow. Um, they learn quickly, but they're not overexcited, that sort of thing.

Speaker 2: The dog's temperament is probably the most important piece to having a true service dog. And there's nothing any certification is gonna do for you there. Your dog's either cut out for it or they're not, right? But even, even one of those dogs has a great personality. That doesn't mean at some point something couldn't change, a behavior couldn't crop up. Of course it could. It's a dog. Uh, so I think that's actually a really fascinating question. But the, it's not a regulated thing. Um, so here's the requirements for you to have a true and genuine service.

Speaker 2: Dog is a, you must be diagnosed with an official disability, okay? So it has to be a recognized disability that you were diagnosed with by a doctor, and then b, your dog that you're going to categorize as a service animal must be trained to perform a task directly related to your disability. So it helps you in some way with this official disability diagnosis, right? So whatever it is that you're disabled by your dog performs a task that will help you in the event you are afflicted by this disability while you are out in public.

Speaker 2: So you can imagine that could be any number of things, right? But if either of those things is not true, then you do not have a genuine service doc, right? So if you're trying to come up with tasks that your dog could do to gain the title of service dog, then they're just not, they're just not a service dog. And it might not be a good plan for you to try and make that happen. You might be trying to force something that just shouldn't be right. Now, if your dog satisfies both of those, or I shouldn't say your dog, if both of those criteria are satisfied and you do have a diagnosed disability and your dog does perform a task that assists you with this disability, then you have a service dog.

Speaker 2: You don't have to get a CER certification.

Speaker 2: You can claim your dog as an official service dog in that situation, but again, they need to be well behaved. And if they are not, they will not be allowed to accompany you into public places. You will get kicked out if they're not well behaved, right? And so people that have real serious disabilities and genuinely need a service dog, they often are getting dogs from places that have special breeding programs in place and special training programs in place, right? So they're breeding a very particular temperament of dog. And, um, you know, and even a lot of those dogs they wash, like they don't make it because they're just, their temperament just isn't quite suitable.

11:00 — Public access also requires that the service dog remain quiet, controlled, and non-disruptive.

Speaker 2: It's not perfect for what we want for this type of work. And so oftentimes they have a breeding program in place. The dogs that aren't deemed suitable are sold to pet homes.

Speaker 2: And the dogs that are suitable will go through a very intense in-depth training program, right? Where they are learned, um, where they are, are taught to be very well behaved and to respond to specific commands in a specific way, in a variety of environments, right? And during that process, more of the dogs will wash and they won't make it through because they'll be suited, they'll be deemed just not suitable for the program, right? But you don't have to go that route. You don't have to pay the thousands and thousands of dollars for that. But that's what a lot of folks do when they do have a genuine disability and need for real service.

Speaker 2: Um, and I'm sure there are lots of programs out there to assist people with the cost when they're in a position like that. However, any, like I said, anybody with a diagnosed disability who has a dog trained to perform a task to help them with that disability can just as well apply that service dog label to their dog. And so long as their dog is well behaved and not disrupting things in public, they're just as entitled to public access as the person who paid $70,000 for their dog. So that's how that works. Interesting one, <laugh>, the next suggestion by my, uh, web browser was, how do I get my dog to stop bark?

Speaker 2: It's a great, those of you that have listened to me for any length of time will know the answer to this one. So you have to apply a punishment to the behavior of barking. Well, how do I do that? Kati, okay, this is how you would do that. Your dog starts to bark. You're going to say, no, that's important. So people usually hear that and it's one in one ear and out the other. And then when it comes time to do it, they're not actually doing it right? So it's important that you say no at that moment before you do anything, okay?

14:00 — For barking, Kati recommends saying “no” immediately before delivering a tangible consequence.

Speaker 2: Say something, then do something. So you'll say no. And then after you say no, you're going to deliver that correction.

Speaker 2: And that can be anything that your dog hates, so long as it doesn't cause any harm to the dog. So a very common one, if you don't have any of the other tools that we talk about, is to use a, use a bonker. Bonker usually works great for barking, it's just a rolled up cotton towel, right? Usually fold it in half lengthwise and then roll it up real tight. Put rubber bands on the end. That's your bon So you'll say no. And then you're gonna whiz the bonker right at your dog. Hopefully you're gonna, it's gonna land and make contact right in the melon area, okay?

Speaker 2: Right on the top of the head would be ideal.

Speaker 2: Not the butt, the head, nothing hard in there. It's just a towel. It isn't going to hurt the dog. But most dogs really, really dislike it. So it's a great correction. And everybody has these at home and they don't cost a lot. And that's why we really like them. And they also work great for any arousal related behavior, you know, like barking, uh, because it operates just on a different wavelength than say an eco or prong collar where you're actually trying to deliver something that's physically uncomfortable. This is more mentally uncomfortable. So it's actually a whole different type of correction than the other stuff that we often use.

Speaker 2: Um, but you'll say no. And then you will follow up with a tangible negative consequence that your dog finds intolerable.

Speaker 2: Now your dog might have to see this two or three times for them to put together that pattern. And then they go, oh, every time I bark, dad says No. And then this thing comes whizzing at my head and I hate it <laugh>, right? So few things happening there, but at the end of the day, what matters is your dog is gonna associate barking with a correction. But that well timed no is important because over time, with a little repetition, your dog will realize that the no predicts the correction. And that's just gonna help you In other situations where other behaviors might crop up, your dog will understand what the word no means.

17:00 — Repeatedly pairing “no” with a consequence teaches the dog what the correction marker predicts.

Speaker 2: Um, and it will give you a very precise way of pointing out to your dog why you're correcting them. So having a good no is important. In fact, we will often tell people to say no and then bunk their dog like I just described before, there's even any barking going on, right?

Speaker 2: So if your dog can pair the word no to a correction before all that happens, then you're gonna be even more effective when it does happen. So I'm not saying every day that you should be saying no and just bonking your dog. Like that's not the direction I'm giving. Um, what I'm saying is take a couple of minutes and teach your dog the meaning of no before you start using it in real life, right? And it feels like the meanest thing in the world to people. Um, but <laugh>, it's not, I swear. And there's not gonna be any harm to your dog.

Speaker 2: It's not gonna hurt them. It's not gonna damage your relationship. But what it is gonna do is it's gonna give you a new tool that you've never had in your tool chest before.

Speaker 2: Number one, it's gonna give you the ability to tell your dog to expect a negative consequence. It's going to give you the ability to point out to your dog exactly what they did that caused the consequence. It's gonna give you added precision. And so it's gonna make you much more effective and it's gonna make your dog much more clear on what's happening and why. And it's also gonna give you a tool that now brings down arousal and makes everything easier. 'cause once your dog knows what no means in the future, when you say it, that arousal is gonna plummet, right?

Speaker 2: So arousal makes everything really hard. The dog doesn't hear things the same way. They don't see things, they don't feel things the same way. Nothing's the same when your dog is aroused. But once your dog, once you have a good correction marker and your dog understands that, no predicts a correction when they hear it, that arousal will come way down.

Speaker 2: And now your dog is gonna be super easy to manage. At least that's the hope. That's what usually happens. Um, so pair the word no with a correction, right? By saying no, and then waiting a couple seconds and delivering a correction. Um, and then use that when your dog barks. So you'll say, no, follow up with the correction. And I just before we move on, wanna point out that if you say no and your dog stops the behavior, they stop barking, you still have to correct them. 'cause that's a super, super common mistake. Probably the most common mistake people make.

Speaker 2: And what happens is the barking just regenerates, or you have to say no constantly, right? Because your dog has learned they can still bark. They can still bark, and then they just have to be quiet when you say no, right? And so then you just go through your whole day bark, no bark, no bark, no.

Speaker 2: Okay, well that's a fail. Your fucking dog is still barking. <laugh>, okay? So the idea is to knock out that behavior. That doesn't mean they'll never bark again, but whatever this context is where your dog has like this crazy neurotic barking, the idea is to actually change that behavior so you don't have to be all over them all the time, which means after you say no, if you had to say it, you have to follow up with that correction. That's a good one. I can see why people are searching for that one. How do I get my dog to stop eating poop?

Speaker 2: Oh, that's a good one too. And guess what? The same way, <laugh> the same way, right? So you're gonna see this common thread when we're talking about unwanted behaviors, um, that they're pretty much all treated the same. And I'm not saying there's never any nuance.

Speaker 2: I'm not saying that at all, but you know, these are pretty simple, basic, straightforward, uh, behaviors. You know, barking, eating, poop. These are just things dogs do because they're dogs and they can be annoying, right? So when the dog starts to eat the poop, ugh, or even before that, they see the poop. They're going over to the poop, they're starting to sniff the poop, right? They're giving the poop too much attention and you know, they're going to eat it because that's what they always do, right? So you don't even have to wait for them to eat it.

21:00 — For poop-eating, intervene when the dog notices or approaches feces rather than waiting until…

Speaker 2: You can see that process starting to play out. Now is your moment. You're gonna say no,

Speaker 3: And

Speaker 2: Then you're going to follow up with an extremely negative consequence, right? And so for any behavior that you truly wanna eliminate, especially a behavior like this that, you know, there is never, never a context in which you're gonna be like, yeah, it's okay this time. Eat the poop, right? Like, there might actually be times where you don't mind if they're barking. Um, there might be context where barking isn't a big deal, especially like when you're playing with the dog, they can bark, right? So I'm not saying don't correct barking meaningfully, but I'm saying maybe it's not as important, right?

Speaker 2: Whereas eating poop, like there is never a time where I want you to eat poop or like, I'm gonna let that slide, it's just not okay. It's gross, it's dangerous. That's how dogs get diseases. I wanna put this to bed. I want to put it to bed forever.

Speaker 2: So that's exactly what we're gonna do. We're gonna say no once the dog starts giving too much attention to the poop, and then we are going to follow up with an extremely negative consequence. Again, it can be anything that the dog doesn't like. Um, as long as it's effective and it can't cause any harm to the dog. So we never wanna cause harm to the dog. You know, we're not hitting, kicking, doing any of this crazy stuff that like a lot of people probably want you to think we do. Um, we're always, you know, it's a good firm leash pop.

Speaker 2: It's a correction on an e-collar, it's a bonker, which is just a cotton towel. Um, some people use noisemakers or spray bottles. Um, we find for the most part, these aren't great because the consequence just isn't, uh, meaningful enough and the behavior regenerates.

Speaker 2: But all dogs are different. Some dogs might hate water enough that that just sticks forever, right? So depends on your dog. They're all different. But you, at the end of the day, what's true for all of them is you have to tie a consequence to that behavior of eating poop. You have to tie a consequence to that, that just absolutely makes it not worth it to go check out poop. Don't even think about eating the poop, okay? And you know what, it's really easy to, it's not the funnest thing to do, but it's really easy to do.

Speaker 2: And if you do it right, you don't have to do it again. Okay? You do what I just described once or twice you're probably gonna be done, right? And keep an eye on it. Like with all bad behaviors, it's like, yeah, keep your eye on it, test it once in a while, um, just so you can make sure behavior's not regenerating.

Speaker 2: Um, because behavior is a little bit unpredictable, of course, you can't always expect like one correction to just stick forever. It's unrealistic. It might, but it might not. So periodically, you know, if you have something like this, just test it out and see, see if your dog's still making good decisions, right? But if you really do this properly, they probably will be, they probably will be. And just knock that out, right? And then you just don't have to worry about it anymore. So it's not a thing anymore, right? And so you hear all this crazy stuff, put pumpkin in their food, put pumpkin in the poop, spray it with pineapple.

Speaker 2: Do you know, it's just complete lunacy, right? Or obviously keep the poop picked up and it's like, yeah, but there's gonna be poop anywhere.

25:00 — Emotional support animal certifications provide no public-access rights and generally have no legal significance.

Speaker 2: You know? And do you, and you just shouldn't have to, like, you should just teach your dog not to eat poop, period. I also, I just find it hilarious that like, dogs love eating pumpkin, right? Because that's, people say feed your dog pumpkins. They won't eat their own poop. Poop, um, poop. Well, they like eating the pumpkin. So why would they be less likely to eat the poop if it tastes like pumpkin? Like, am I missing something here? Like, what is this freaking logic anyway? Just correct the damn dog. They won't eat the poop anymore, I promise.

Speaker 2: <laugh>,

Speaker 2: How do I get my dog certified for emotional? I have to assume that that means to be an emotional support animal. Um, and the answer to this is much the same as a service dog, except the fact is there's really no point in doing it because it doesn't mean anything and it doesn't gain you anything. So emotional support, dogs are not given public access rights. So if there are institutions out there taking people's money to certify dogs as emotional support animals, that's fine. I suppose. Like if that's something you wanna do that makes you feel good, do it, but it doesn't gain you anything.

Speaker 2: You do not get public access rights for an emotional support animal. Um, so again, it is somewhat of a meaningless, uh, certification. It's just, you know, there might be places out there that this is their passion and they've come up with some criteria, some standards that dogs have to meet for them to give you this certification.

Speaker 2: And that's okay. But again, anybody can do that, right? So like, I offer some specific certifications here as well, um, but it doesn't really mean anything except it means that the dog or the handler, or both, depending on which certification we're talking about met my standards for my program, right? So they, they satisfied my requirements. That's all it means. It doesn't mean anything really to anybody else, right? But still something to feel good about if you know your dog met standard X, Y, and Z, right? But it just, it doesn't gain you anything necessarily. Um, so no public access for emotional support animals.

Speaker 2: How do I get my dog to eat? Well, that's an interesting one, <laugh>. So in fact, you know, I will dive into this a little bit. I've talked about this before. Most people freak out if their dog just stops eating or, you know, eats less than usual.

Speaker 2: So, and the reason I know this is because dogs will come in for board and train and oftentimes they're a little anxious about, you know, 'cause they're in a new place and everything and they don't always, they don't always eat their, their dinner that night. They don't always eat their meals, um, the first couple days. And that's very, very normal and very, very common. Um, and it's just not a thing to worry about. And I really, I no longer even tell people when that happens. Um, I'll tell them when they pick the dog up, but I don't tell them, you know, if we're two days into the dog coming to me and they haven't eaten, I'm not gonna mention that to the owner.

Speaker 2: Uh, why? Well, number one, because I know it's not something to worry about. I know the dog will eat. I know that.

Speaker 2: I know they will. They always do, right? So by me telling the owner that all I do is upset them, right? Because they're already emotional, they miss their dog. It was hard for them to leave them. They're worried about them. They have all this irrational stuff going on in their head about what the dog is thinking and worrying about being abandoned, which dogs aren't doing. Um, and so by me being, oh yeah, your dog's not eating, it just freaks people out. It just freaks 'em out. So it's not that I'm dishonest, I will absolutely tell them, uh, what the sequence is the dog went through when they came in.

Speaker 2: And it's good for them to know that too, especially considering they may leave their dog with someone else in the future and they may see the same thing, but in the moment I'm probably not gonna tell them because it's so common and it's just meaningless.

Speaker 2: Like, it doesn't mean much unless the dog's actually sick in some way. So, and here's the thing that we see a lot is puppies eat a lot because they're growing and developing so quickly, and then they hit a certain age. And it's usually somewhere between, uh, five and 10 months, depending on like the size of the dog, the breed, and, you know, their metabolism and everything. But somewhere between five and 10 months that dogs caloric needs are just gonna drop right off a cliff and they're not gonna eat so much anymore. Not all dogs, a lot of dogs would just eat themselves to death if you'd let them.

30:00 — Appetite commonly drops between five and ten months as a dog’s growth and caloric…

Speaker 2: Um, but quite a few. It's not uncommon for dogs to be like, eh, I just, I don't need all that. So it happened with my pug fairly young. I think he was five, maybe slightly older than five months, and all of a sudden he just wasn't.

Speaker 2: So he would eat his food voraciously every breakfast, lunch and dinner, you'd put it down and he would just immediately inhale it. And now what happened was, we noticed he just wasn't as enthusiastic about it. He'd kind of meander over to it, sniff it, wait a few seconds, then start to eat, and then he started just kind of turning his nose up at lunch and just didn't even want it. And here's the thing, that's normal. It's just normal. He's getting older, he's developed quite a bit. He is not growing as quickly. He doesn't need it.

Speaker 2: So that's normal. And what happens, I think it's confusing that we're feeding these small dogs, these large portions of food. And then it just doesn't seem to make sense to us that when our dog is bigger, that they're eating less. So we keep feeding them like they're a puppy and then they just don't need that food. So, you know, they kind of slow down. And then what happens next is we go, oh, well geez, she's not eating. I better put some chicken broth in there. Or maybe even just some pieces of chicken or some tuna fish or some gravy, I guess.

Speaker 2: Sweeten the pot, right? And so then the dog eats it and then the next day the same thing happens and they turn their nose up and it, so we go and we mix in all of our goodies and then they eat it.

Speaker 2: And the next thing you know, the dog's never gonna fucking eat their food unless you put all this stuff in it <laugh> that you've been bribing them with. And so now not only do you have to put all this crap in your dog's food to get them to eat, but they're also eating double what they need to eat, right? Because they wouldn't be eating it if you weren't putting all this crap in it. So now they're eating all this stuff they don't need, they're taking in all these calories they don't need. And now your dog's getting fat, right?

Speaker 2: So now you have an overweight dog, which of course is, you know, we love to feed our dogs and see them happy, but so now, you know, you're almost force feeding your dog in a way. It's borderline abusive. It's bad for their joints and their long-term health and their, uh, lifespan.

Speaker 2: You don't want your dog to be grossly overweight, you know? And I'm not one of those people that sees a dog. And you know, if I can't see, you know, the last rib on the dog or feel them easily, I'm, oh, your dog's super fat. Um, and you know, people love to judge people with overweight dogs, but it's like, let's not intentionally make our dogs obese because it makes us feel good to see them eat. You know, stop worrying so much about your dog eating unless your dog seems sick in some way. Okay? If your dog is, um, losing a lot of weight and they're obviously underweight, or you know, looks like they're going to be underweight, like they're not eating, um, or you know, they have a fever or they're throwing up, um, bowel movements aren't right, you know, those sorts of things, then yes, obviously you probably should see a, a veterinarian.

Speaker 2: But if the only thing that's happening is your dog is just eating less food, big deal. If your dog seems fine in every other way, stop worrying about it. Just stop worrying about it. So my advice is no free feeding for dogs that are like this. You really shouldn't free feed anyway. It's not my favorite. Don't like it. Uh, food goes in in the morning, give your dog 15 minutes to eat it. If they don't eat it, just remove it from the kennel and it does not go back and don't give them another chance to eat it guys in an hour or at lunchtime, don't do it.

34:00 — Kati recommends scheduled meals, removing uneaten food after fifteen minutes, and avoiding free feeding.

Speaker 2: It doesn't go back in until dinnertime. And then they get another chance. Either eat it or not. 15 minutes, then it comes out. So this is gonna teach your dog. You don't have to eat it, okay? But if you don't, it goes away. It's not gonna sit there all day and wait for you to feel like eating. I'm not gonna come mix all kinds of stuff in with it. Here it is. Take it or leave it. If you don't need it, you don't want it, okay, I'll take it away and we'll try again later, right this evening.

Speaker 2: And that's it. And most dogs will get into a really good pattern of eating when you put the food in. Um, and if they don't eat it all and you see that recurring, then that probably means you're feeding them more than they need. So just back it off a little, right? And then you just watch your dog's body weight and adjust is, is my dog too thin? Is my dog overweight? Right? But if your dog genuinely isn't eating enough, uh, and they are underweight, then obviously have them seen. But that's very rarely the case.

Speaker 2: How do I get my dog to drink more water? Um, same thing like make the water available. If they don't want it, they don't want it. Unless you're seeing some kind of illness, some kind of consequence to them not drinking enough water or potentially tied to them not drinking enough water. Don't worry about it. And the, the higher quality your food is, especially if you feed your dog raw, which obviously contains a lot of moisture, the less your dog is going to drink. So dogs that are fed raw, drink very, very little, they get a ton of moisture from their food.

Speaker 2: So just something to be aware of. If you switch your dog to raw, you're probably gonna notice a drop off in their water intake. And there's nothing wrong with them. That's normal.

Speaker 2: How do I get my dog to poop <laugh>? Well, in my experience, you ask them to heal <laugh>. That always gets them to poop. Uh, we have kind of a running joke here because every time we do heel practice with the dogs, that's when they need to go and they'll just kind of drop trial and go right in the middle of the floor <laugh>. So, um, motion generally is helpful for dogs that need to poop, but it also depends on the individual dog. So a lot of times if you have a dog that's on the anxious side, um, you'll bring them outside and what will happen is they wanna spend all of their time investigating, investigating, investigating, like smelling everything, seeing everything.

Speaker 2: And every little sound and sight and everything catches their attention. Uh, every smell catches their attention. If you have a dog like that, it's highly likely that every time they start to poop, they're gonna stop.

Speaker 2: Or every time they get close to getting into that routine of pooping, um, something else will get their attention. So with dogs like that, we usually recommend not walking them all over the place, but just kind standing still in one spot on a short leash. Yeah, let them walk back and forth or do their circles or whatever they're gonna do, but naturally they're just gonna kind of hit the end of the leash and they're not gonna be able to go anywhere. They're gonna just turn around and go back the other way, which then kind of stimulates that.

Speaker 2: It kind of replicates that pooping behavior, right? Because what do dogs do before they poop? They usually kind of walk back and forth or do tiny circles. And so if you can mimic that by just standing still with a short leash and you kind of get your dog to naturally do that pacing or circling behavior, that will often result in pooping.

38:00 — Standing still with a short leash can encourage circling and help distractible dogs begin…

Speaker 2: Um, 'cause now they can't just keep on walking and sniffing and keep on walking and sniffing. They get sucked into doing, um, those very, they're still moving, but they're very tight motions. Um, they can't go far. So they end up doing that pacing circling, uh, motion, which then sort of stimulates them to go. So that's one good tip. I've heard a lot of people, trainers, um, sticking matchsticks in dog's bums to get them to poop, to kinda stimulate them. I've heard it works every time. I have never tried it and I don't plan on it <laugh>.

Speaker 2: So my motto is like, if you don't go, that's fine. We're just gonna put you back in your kennel. Uh, and we'll try again later, <laugh>. So it's not that important to me that when I take the dog out, they go poop. It just isn't. Uh, the other thing you might wanna consider doing though is tying a command to pooping.

Speaker 2: And to do that, what you wanna do, maybe have a clicker and some treats handy, some high value treats. And the second your dog starts to poop, you can tell he is about to do it, you're gonna give the command whatever you want that command to be, right? And this takes kind of a long time, usually with most dogs, but you'll just say the command every time they start to go. So it's super easy. And what will happen over time with some repetition is they'll start to link this verbal command to the pooping, right? Because one always happens before the other one always perceives the other.

Speaker 2: So it becomes predictive. And then one of these times, you know, six months, 12 months down the road, you're gonna give the command and your dog is gonna drop and go, uh, which is pretty cool, which is pretty cool, but it can take a long time to teach.

Speaker 2: Um, and then after your dog completes the pooping, you could click and feed for that if you wanted to. But just setting up that pattern of, I say this word just as I can tell, you're about to start going. Um, and so that way they're happening in sequence command poop, command poop, command poop, right? Not because your dog knows it, but just because you're smart enough to say it right before they go. And then eventually your dog will know it because they will learn, oh, this word, this behavior, this word, this behavior, this word, this behavior.

Speaker 2: So it's just like we teach obedience, it's the same thing. Word then predicts a behavior.

Speaker 2: So a few things you could do there, but generally speaking, uh, motion helps to get things moving. Last one, how do I get my dog registered as an ESA? That must be emotional service animal. And again, meaningless, not something you need to do, doesn't gain you anything. Is there a registry? Probably there's probably more than one. There's probably hundreds of them. So anything anyone can find to make money off from people who have these animals, want these animals or desperately are seeking some kind of acknowledgement, um, trying to validate their dog as a particular type of dog, as having a particular job, as being a service animal in some way, shape or form.

Speaker 2: Um, you know, they will, they'll do it and they can make a living doing that. And you know, again, that's okay. I'm not saying that shouldn't be legal, I'm just saying know what you're paying for, right?

Speaker 2: So, uh, what is your reason for wanting your dog registered as an ESA? So I think that's the important thing, and I think that's the important thing when it comes to service dog or therapy dog or whatever it is you want your dog to be, think about why you want a quote unquote registration or certification. Um, and then you can decide whether or not that's actually something you should do, because none of those things will grant you anything extra in all of those capacities, whether we're talking about emotional service dog or we're talking about a therapy dog, or we're talking about an actual proper service dog.

Speaker 2: There is no certification, there is no registry that will gain you anything from a legal perspective. It just doesn't matter. Which again, I think is news to a lot of people. And it is, it's confusing. It was confusing to me too before I got into this field.

Speaker 2: I didn't understand it either. Um, and you know, none of these, none of these prompts in here from my web browser touched on therapy dog. But same thing, right? So lots of people want to have their dog be a therapy dog and go into hospitals or nursing homes and, you know, places like that and just say hi to people and cheer them up. And I think that's, that's a, it's definitely not in our line of business. That's not the type of thing we do at all. We're always telling people not to touch our dogs. Um, but I think that's great, you know, if the dog is cut out for it.

Speaker 2: So it's really, really important that dogs want to do that work, that they like seeing people that they're very comfortable and happy to do it, and they like the affection in the greetings. If your dog is not in that camp, they should not be doing that work <laugh>.

Speaker 2: So that's the most important thing with that therapy dog. Um, but again, as far as any kinda certifications or registrations, it just doesn't matter. It just doesn't matter. So a lot of people do the a KCA good citizen, and you know what, I think that's great. That's fine. It's a fun thing to do with your dog. It just doesn't fucking mean anything. It means nothing, right? Except it might mean something to you, which is fine. If that's the case, then like, I think you should do it. And that's good. And I've got lots of clients that have done that, and that's wonderful.

Speaker 2: And I used to do those certifications, but I kind of, um, stopped doing that to be honest, because I realized just how meaningless it really is, especially because it really boils down to the instructor who's doing the certifications. And a lot of times there's a lot of leeway given <laugh> that shouldn't be.

Speaker 2: And so what good is it if the standards aren't upheld, right? And so it's really just, again, in my opinion, it's, it's a fun thing to do with your dog, but it's mostly, it's a way for someone to get money for something that doesn't really gain you anything. But if you're just doing it for you because it's fun, because you like it because you think it's cool because you want your dog to be able to meet these standards of this specific organization, which would be the A KC, fine, great. Nothing wrong with that, right? But if you want your dog to be a therapy dog, you don't have to do that.

Speaker 2: I'm not saying it's a bad idea to do that. I'm saying you don't have to. So there is no, from a legal perspective requirement for that right now. Let's just say that you have a specific nursing home locally that you wanna take your dog to as a therapy dog.

45:00 — Therapy facilities may impose their own requirements, but online registrations do not create legal…

Speaker 2: They might have their own policy on what they want, right? So they might say, Hey, anyone that's gonna bring a dog in here, we want them certified with this institution. Like they could do that, right? That's their prerogative. It's their their institution. They don't want dogs coming in there unless they have X, y, z. Well, that I could see. I'm sure that's a thing. Um, and that makes sense to me, right? Especially if they've learned, hey, we like this organization, we like their standards, we know they hold dogs to them. We want you to go there and get a certification and then your dog can come in here as a therapy dog.

Speaker 2: That makes sense to me. I don't know that that's common. Um, but I have to assume, you know, if I was responsible for managing a place like that, that's probably what I would do, right? But you can find a million places online that offer you registrations and certifications and um, all this stuff for service dogs and emotional service animals, therapy dogs. And you should know none of it really gains you anything from a legal perspective, right? None of it necessarily helps you in any way or is required in any way unless a specific entity that you want to visit, maybe a specific airline, a specific hospital, a specific nursing home tells you this is what we wanna see, then that's different.

Speaker 2: But from a service dog perspective, that is not legal. So they cannot require that of a service dog. All they can require is that you are diagnosed with a disability and your dog is trained to assist you in some way to perform a task to assist you with that disability. And your dog cannot be disruptive. They cannot require anything else. So I have lots of people tell me, oh, they want a certification. Oh, they want paperwork. There is none. There just isn't any. And I presume that this is happening because there are so many folks that are trying to make their dog service dogs when they're just not right.

Speaker 2: They're what we call those fake service dogs. They just want their dog to be able to go with them everywhere into restaurants and on airplanes. And these dogs are being disruptive. So now everyone's starting to crack down and trying to figure out how they can filter out all these trouble making dogs that shouldn't be there.

Speaker 2: That's what's happening. That's what's happening. But that's it. Those are all the top prompts, um, <laugh> generated by my web browser. I thought that was kind of fun and a lot of good questions on there. I can see why people are, uh, searching for answers to these questions. So hopefully you got something out of this episode. Please, please, please feel free to email me, Kati Kati at Diamond Canine dot com. That's Diamond, C-A-N-I-N e.com. Send me your questions, send me your topics, anything you want covered. Would love, love, love to hear from you. Thank you so much for joining us today, and I look forward to next time.