Is your dog overweight because your last trainer told you to feed her hotdogs? You fed her as strangers approached, as dogs walked by, and every time you saw a squirrel. You fed her every time she sat, every time she lay down, and every time she barked out the window. Sometimes when you fed her, you thought, “Am I reinforcing her for barking out the window, though?”

Your gut instinct was right. Your dog learned that when she barks out the window, the next thing she should do is run to you and get a nice piece of hotdog. What an awesome game! 

Your veterinarian says that if your dog doesn’t lose weight, she’ll need knee surgery. She’s also at risk of getting diabetes.
 

How are you going to get your dog to listen to you without the hotdogs?  
 

One of my newer clients called me for help with her rescue dog. She’d been training with food, but quickly realized that when her dog is outside and fixated on another dog (or person) she could “wave a steak in front of his face and he wouldn’t notice.”  
 

Sound familiar?  

Here are some training tips to help you reach your goal of a friendly family dog who is nice to strangers, doesn’t pull on the leash, and is a healthy weight too:  
 

1. WHAT DOES YOUR DOG LOVE? — Your dog loves YOU! She will likely work for your praise. You should use your voice to praise your dog. Be aware that dogs who are very high drive and excited already don’t need your “Good sit!” to have as much enthusiasm as if your child just got into the university of their choice. All dogs are snowflakes. Figure out whether a calmer tone helps your dog know she’s done a good job, or if you need a little more enthusiasm (because your dog is a little bit shy and requires more encouragement.)  
2. TOUCH — Along with your voice, some dogs are very happy to work for being petted. We’ve all seen a police dog getting thumped on the rump for a job well done. That doesn’t mean YOUR pet dog enjoys that much enthusiasm and force. Some dogs like that and some dogs don’t. Your dog may be a little shy and likes a gentle chest rub. Bottom line, know YOUR dog. 
3. TOYS — Your dog loves tug o’ war. Use this to your advantage. Your tug toy is now your dog’s reward. Ask them to heel, lay down, or sit and reward them with a bit of tug. Before using this method, teach your dog a reliable “drop it” command. 

PRO TIP: Dogs love to work for food and will often work for their food ration. Instead of using unhealthy, fattening hotdogs use their daily ration of Norman’s Naturals for training rewards.  
 

We hope you have lots of fun learning about what motivates YOUR dog. Drop a comment below and let us know what your dog loves to work for.  

~Alyssa Foulkes, MSc, Dog Behaviourist  
 

Alyssa loves helping dog lovers build better relationships with their dogs. Beyond Dog Training offers in-home, in-car, and online training in Guelph, ON and the surrounding area. 

Customer Spotlight - Auswill Farms

Mike Schumacher is a 3rd generation farmer, with 2015 marking the centennial for Auswill Farms. 

Originally purchased by his grandfather is 1915, Mike and his wife Brenda bought the farm in 1995.  Their son AJ helps out, and of course, grandson Liam likes to pitch in too.

The Schumacher's choose to use all IP seeds and compliments that choice with  Bio-Ag products such as

Bio-Lac/Seaweed/Sugar, Ocean Harvest Dried Seaweed Meal, Perma-Guard (DE), Bio-Ag Kelp Fertilizer, Black Earth, and Bio-Ag Calf Starter.  They use the Bio-Lac/Seaweed/Sugar to help with fermentation and feel the cows are healthier and are better milkers due to the high quality of their corn silage.

The Schumacher's are longtime customers of Bio-Ag and we wish them continued success and many more generations of farmers to come

PCAI Bio-Lac/Dried Seaweed Meal/Sugar
Get 5% Off for the Month of May

Bio-Ag and the Hastings Country Plowing Match

John Sweeting has been a Bio-Ag dealer since 2002 servicing the Peterborough area.  One of his favourite events to attend is the Hastings County Plowing Match in Tweed.  The show hosts over 200 exhibitors and Bio-Ag is proud to be one of them.  We recently had a chance to chat with John about his experience at the show and why he attends.

Hi John, thank you for sitting down with me today.  Why don’t you tell me how you got started with Bio-Ag?

With Bio-Ag, alright well that’s a bit of a story.  I think it goes back to 2002 or 2003; there was an advertistment in the farm paper at the local Ag office about a meeting of producers getting together about organic milk.  Murry Bast was the speaker who was coming down to give a presentation. I’d heard of Murray because of my field of farming organically and I always wanted to hear him speak.  I was also really interested in the topic of organic milk production. So I went to the meeting and asked a few questions.  And at that point in time there was some literature that came in the mail and a letter attached in the envelopes asking if I knew or would possibly be interested in taking on Bio-Ag Distribution.  They sent me a binder and I had an interview, so here we are

And the rest is history

Yes and the rest is history

You attend the Hastings County Plowing Match every year; why are you drawn to this show?

I have a bit of history that goes back into Hastings County.  I think it was the year of 1986 they hosted the International Plowing Match.  And from that experience the gentlemen who worked on that decided amongst themselves that it would be worthwhile to start their own mini plowing match.  So it just kind of grew to what it is today.  It’s basically the “Outdoor Farm Show” version for East-Central Ontario.  It draws people from Ottawa, Renfrew, Kingston and up north into Barrie. It’s 10+ acres of tented city so there is a lot for people to see like demonstrations of new machinery or whatever their focus is for that year.

How do you think you benefit most from attending?

I think it’s the face to face contact.  The people who are interested and come into the tent you are more likely to do business with.  Through that I guess it’s a more efficient time than making random cold calls.  Then you have current customers, who you don’t see quite as often who might come by with a question.  And just that one on one contact and networking and building relationships is what makes it worth attending.

What is your favourite part of the two day event?

My favourite part? I guess it’s a case of the whole Ag business coming together.  And for people of Ag background it’s a day they look forward to and see all the different vendors who have displays.  It’s hard to explain Nicole; Its like-minded people and a certain type of energy when you get a show together.  Like I say it’s hard to explain.

Of all the people you talk to, what products do you find they are most interested to learn about?

There could be a variety it could be from any variety of livestock concerns or soil health.  It depends on the day of the show and if there are questions.  I think it’s a case that we deal with a lot of people that are critical thinkers and a lot of them probably have questions when they come to the show.  Because we have consultants and distributors in our name they want to consult with us a little bit to see if we have the answers.  That’s probably the best way to put it.

Now is there anything that people can expect?

There is a network of knowledge that we as a company have to draw on because of our dealer network and head office.  If there’s a question I can’t answer right away I can soon find out.  There will be a general variety of the products we carry displayed so people can see what we have.

Maybe they should just come to the show and visit you at your booth?

Exactly

Thank you for talking to me today John and we hope you have a good show this year!  If you would like to talk to John or get connected with him please head to the Hastings County Plowing Match and stop by his booth!  

For more information about the show please visit their facebook page 
HOSTED BY:

SCOTT AND ANGELA TRUDEAU AND FAMILY
302 STOCO RD. TWEED
http://www.hastingsfarmshow.ca/