Dog B.O.N.E.S.

Dogs like to be spoiled as much as you do!!! This great tip comes from Truffles friend Coco. Coco’s owner will say “Spa Time!” and Coco will put her paws on her chest and throw her head back. The owner then lays her on her back and rubs her arms, paws, feet belly etc. This is a great way to get your pup used to you touching them. You can also check for ticks and fleas at this time. It’s also a great time to brush your dog. Truffle’s hate it when his paws are touched and it makes it difficult to trim his nails. Truffles must be wrapped in a towel with one paw out to cut his nails. He still moves and wiggles. He gets a calming treat an hour before the grooming process begins. For a male dog like Truffles, I like to say it’s time for a rub down. Olive oil is put on his paws when they are dry and making sure there are no ticks between the pads of his feet. Some dogs like massagers that vibrate at a very low speed. If your dog is scared at first, just lay the unit around where the d

There are several benefits of teaching your dog to come to your side. One is when someone knocks at your door. You can stop your dog from barking by asking them to come to your side.  On walks it lets you dog know the side of your body you want them to walk on.  When going up stairs this is very useful. Dog and their own could become seriously hurt if they are not on the same page as to who is walking on what side of the stairs.  Start with the dogs name, then a command, and then a gesture. Once the dog gets gets the hang of what you want them to do, go to just the  command with gesture. Once your dog is good with just those two commands, just use the ge sture. A smart dog will pick up the commands in the first couple of days.  Any delays longer then two days, start at the beginning where you left off. Any delays a week or longer start back at the very beginning of the training. 🐕My hope with Truffles is eventually just give him hand signals and not have to give him commands.

Dogs anxiety can be the lack of stimulation. I do not understand why anyone feeds their dog in a bowl. Dogs can be made to work for their food.  Placing hard dog food around the house and letting your dog sniff for it is a great way to feed them.  Putting the food in a bottle with the lid off or in a conge that they have to move around to get the food to come out is another good way.  Dogs need to chew and lick so having food to like on a licking matt is great way for your dog to get stimulation. Check out stuffing a bone.   Chewing a bone or licking yummy food like peanut butter or cheese from the bone or even a conge is a great activity for your dog.  Puzzle games where you put the food in a space and the dog has to move an object or push a button to get to the treat is another awesome way to give your dog stimulation.  Stuffed animals are a great toy for dog. Yes they can be messy. You can also get an animal shaped toy with a rope toy inside the object for you dog to chew on. 

  In ABA therapy, you want to look at a behavior and what brought about the behavior you don't want.  So you will break the behavior down to three parts easily remembered by "the ABC of behaviors." A stand for at antecedent or in other words, what happened before the behavior. (The dig was laying on the bed.) B stands for the behavior. When their was a knock at the door, (the dog started barking loudly and jumping around.) C stands for consequence. If no consequences or reward given, the behavior continues. If you reward this bad behavior you don't want, it will continue, as the dog has no clue you want a different behavior.  (Telling your dog to come to your side and reinforcing that behavior with a treat, praise, or clicker.)

  Today I was leaving and picking up all of Truffle's toys and tossing them into the bathroom before I left. I didn't have anything he could really chew on. As I was picking up a small bone, I thought about putting a dog treat inside. This would keep him busy until I got back. It worked!!!! I broke the treat in half, stuffed in the bone, and he loved trying to get the treat out!!!  Truffles has tried to get the inside of the treat out for a few days now. He is even trying to toss the bone in the air to see if the treat will come out.  🐕 I also put these treats in the Tire Toy so Truffles has to work to get the treat out. 

  Today I took truffles for a walk. It's the third time he's gone up and down the stairs. He waits for me and always stays to one side. Today, Truffles got excited hearing the kids and other dogs, and in a hurry went to the wrong side of the stairs. I stopped and didn't move. When Truffles went to the correct side I said, "Good Boy." Truffles understood it was good what he was doing. Then we preceded. While on walks we started playing the Stop and Go game. He is getting the hang of it really quickly. Now when we go up the stairs, I tell Truffles to stop and he waits nicely.  Both of these "cues" lets your dog know what you need them to do. The more you communicate with your dog what is good, the more you will get good behavior out of them. Once your dog knows what you want them to do, the less frustrated as a dog parent you are.  Praise the good behavior and ignore the bad behavior is a motto in the would of autism. 

  Make your own crinkle toy, that your dog will love out of an old sock.  Take an old sock and your dogs treat bag.  Cut the top of the treat bag and place inside the sock.  Do not clean out the bag. The smell makes your dog enjoy the toy even better. Place the treat bag inside the bag and fold the top of the sock inside.  Sewing with string the top of the sock closed making sure to go through the dog treat bag.  Sewing the dog treat bag will help to keep it in place.  Here is a picture with Truffles in his Lair with the toy. He loves it.  🐶We do not get any financial compensation for showing the Nike sock or the Canine Carry Outs dog treats.  💋Truffles played with this sock until it was in need of being thrown away. We did not even get a chance to wash it before it was destroyed. 

The best way to use crinkle toys is at bed time!  If your dog sleeps with you, and may not be tired when you are, a crinkle toy might be the best option. Crinkle toys are: Not annoying, the sound doesn't bother most. Washable, so just toss in the washer with the sheets. Inexpensive, so get lots of them for your dog to choose from. Keep a few on our around the bed and if your dog can't settle down, offer the toy. 🐶

Truffles loves to "find it." I place treats hidden around furniture etc when he's not in the room. Then I bring him in the room and say find it. I will walk to an easy seeable treat, snap my fingers at it and say, "find it." This way he knows something is there if he doesn't see it. You do not have to use treats, you can use your dogs favorite toy.  * Be careful as this could also make your dog want to go to the bathroom. 🐶 *Remember dogs are colored blind. I used to tell Truffles to get his blue monkey. Then I remembered he can't see colors. If your treat is the color of your floor, they can't see the treat and have to use there since of smell.  Dogs possess only two types of cones and  can only discern blue and yellow  - this limited color perception is called dichromatic vision.

  Playing this game with autistic children was helpful for walks, stopping a child from running up the stairs, and stopping from running away from a parent or me! While going for a walk, you randomly day STOP. Make the child stop. When the child stopped you have praise. When ready to go you can say go or in a fun, cartoon way day, let's go! (Did anyone else hear Donald's or Goofy's voice? You can do the same thing with your dog. Then when you need your dog to stop, you can give the command. Once the dig gets the command try going to stay. Have your dog stay by giving a command and a have gesture. I put my hand out like saying stop. Eventually, I want to give had gestures to Truffles and not need to say a command. Now we know why ABA therapy is a lot of sign language. 🐕You don't have to train with food, you can train with praise. Dogs love praises and attention. 

  Dog B.O.N.E.S helps you change behaviors in your dog.  B ehaviors  O r  N aughty  E vents  S olved The therapy for autistic children, is the same therapy for dogs. The creator of Dog B.O.N.E.S used to be a certified Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) for children of autism. ABA is a lso called behavioral engineering, This is a scientific discipline that applies empirical approaches based upon the principles of respondent and operant conditioning to change behavior of social significance. The creator also holds a Bachelor's Degree in Behavioral Science. She has worked with children of autism, in level three and four children facilities, and with severely mentally impaired (SMI) adults. She may know a thing or two.  If you have an issue with your dog and need assistance, please email DogBonesBehaivors@gmail.com. Truffles is our mascot and you can follow him on  TikTok.  Truffles is a Miniature German Schnauzer. His owner got him when he was about seven months old. He was a stray dog

If you live in an apartment, you may not want to take your dog outside all the time for walks. Their are two options, the sandbox and the grass pad.  Truffles uses what I call the "sandbox." This is an oversized box with kitty litter in it. You can, scoop the poop, and then toss in the trash or flush the toilet. The kitty litter gets stuck in Truffles paws so I got a matt that collects the clay. He also likes to put his paws in the box and then pee. I put the edge of his blanket that he lays on just under the box. This has stopped him from doing this.  There are also grass pads that you can use. They say you can wash them, but I do not use them. If you use a grass pad on the balcony and then carry through the apartment to get to a bathtub to wash, I don't think I would be a fan.  When Truffles goes potty in the sandbox, I reward him by voice and get really excited.  To teach Truffles to go in the sandbox, I would clean up his urine and feces and put them in the box at fir

I recently moved into a new community and everyone wanted to check out the new puppy Truffles. When we got to the dog park, several dogs came to the fence and were aggressive. One of the things I noticed is that no one had treats to reward their dog with good behaviors.   One dog owner said that his dog was “gate aggressive.” I asked him where the treats were to give to his dog. He stated he did not want to reward bad behavior. I agreed but stated when the dog moved from the fence and gave him the behavior he wanted, he then could give the dog a treat. He agreed. Please bring the treats and reward the behavior you want your dog to have. This is basic 101 dog training! * Gate aggression is also called barrier aggression. When this happens and your dog is leashed. Move the dog from the gate and when the dog calms down. Reward and tell the dog they are good. This lets your dog know that you like their behavior.  *Truffles did not like the treats I provided on the walk that day. He

My puppy Truffles loves to chase after the empty water bottle, with holes in it, and have the treats roll out on the floor. I bought some small apple juices to get the containers to use just for this. When someone knocks on the door, I have an important phone call, or I am busy and he wants to play, he gets one of these already made up.   Purchase the bottles:   Cut holes or use a solder gun: (Tip) Don’t cut holes to far at the bottom or the bottle or on one side. This way you don’t have treats or dog food spilling everywhere. (Tip) I cut triangles in the bottle because it is easier to do when making holes with a knife. 🐕This can be dangerous as it is hard to control the sharp knife or scissors.