Lately I've been giving a lot of thought to 10 minutes. We spent 10 minutes gawking at a Moose. We spent 1o minutes meeting a dog who had just bitten an employee. We spent 10 minutes sorting and putting on laundry.  Yet, 10 more minutes with your Dog can lead to amazing things.

For example, I can spend 10 minutes writing one of the most powerful tips that will fundamentally shift your relationship with your dog. Interested?

First, some background. I was recently asked about how to stop a cute little puppy from running away with family member's pants. Then, I was also asked how to stop a dog from bugging his elderly cat sibling when the sibling was resting. And on another call I was asked how to stop a dog from barking at the neighbors.  All of these problems had slightly different solutions,  some were short, some were long. But all started from the same place, a neat little trick I call the power of "AND." 

In the few minutes it takes to read and absorb this trick, and the a few moments to think about it and practice it - the power of 10 minutes to shift your relationship with your dog will become clear.

Second, it is important to realize that dogs who know they can make you happy are mentally healthier than dogs that are regularly confused, or believe you are very rarely happy with them. So if you don't praise your dog on a steady basis for coming when called, sitting when asked, or simply lying down under your desk quietly when working, they likely don't know they make you happy. 

If you need to find things to praise your dog for, think about what you do like. I hear, "I like it when my dog curls up on his bed, when I am reading," or "I like it when my dog comes to me when I call his name."  A quiet, calm, "good settle" with a smile on your face, when a dog finds his place under your desk can be the start of letting your dog know you like when he is there. A scratch on the neck every time your dog comes when called, shows your dog he is making your happy.

Third, saying 'No!' to your dog digging up your garden, or jumping on the counters is not a powerful choice to curb your dog's behaviour. It says I am unhappy with you with no instructions on how the dog can make you happy. There is no alternative path given to the dog except to stop what he is doing and let's face it, taking his paws off the table doesn't make you happy. You didn't want him to do it in the first place.

The Trick is found in the power of "AND." Next time a "No!" comes flying out of your mouth as your pants are dragged up the hallway by your playful pup try the power of "AND."  Here's how to do it. Any behaviour you want to stop, say "No AND...." ask them to do something that makes you happy. In the pant-pulling puppy case, it would be "No AND look here is a teething rope, please take it away and chew it, that would make me happy." For a dog who is bugging the elderly cat, it is "No AND would you sit. Oh what a good boy, that makes me happy." For a dog barking at a neighbour, it is "No AND can you lie down for me. Wonderful. Thank you that makes me happy," and so on. 

The power of AND is a 10 Minute lesson that will deepen the power of your relationship with your dog. A happy dog is a dog who knows that they can make you smile. 

We will be having a clinic on the Power of "AND" at the Muskoka Dog Social Club which is only 10-minutes from Hwy. 11 - you could have been here by now. The social club has wide-open, secured park-like settings made for dogs, with lovely outdoor seating, and an indoor activity centre for inclement weather. It's for Dogs and their People and boasts great evenings under the stars, and only 10 minutes from home. 

When working with dogs and their owners, we often ask them to have on hand three sets of treats, each with varying levels of enjoyment for the dog.  The lowest value treat is likely to be their dinner kibble - yummy, but not highly scented, with a dry crunch.  The second, mid-level treat may be diced carrot or apple cubes - lovely, moist, crunchy, low calorie, but not smelly. The third and most highest value is a moist, highly scented treat about the size of a pea. But buying high quality treat can be challenging both in price and finding a moist, pea-sized, smelly treat. So we like to provide this easy under $10 recipe which produces about 80 rewards.

Here's how we recommend investing $9.28:

You need a package of ground meat, around $6.00 and two cans of sardines or anchovies, approximately $1.44 a can. Add in one egg, about $0.40. Mix together and press into a well-oiled cookie pan. Cook the meat tray in a 350 degree oven, until well cooked. We don't burn it, but we dry it out - approximately an hour, but keep an eye on it. Once it is out of the oven, you should be able to move the cooked meat slab onto a cutting board and cut it into pea size pieces. You can freeze, if you make several batches. We have never counted how many we can get but would hazard a guess that we have over 80 pieces, depending on how you choose to cut it.. One other note:  we recommend you open the windows - it can really stink up the house, but your dog will love it.

We are often asked, why anchovies/sardines? The reason is simply to make the treats more smelly. Since dog's taste buds are not as advanced as ours, but their noses far more advanced, we rely on their amazing ability to smell, to attract their attention and create deeper pleasure sensations in their brain.

Any questions, we would love to hear them, just send them along to Sparky@executivepetservices.ca.