Eric Letendre

Help For The Reactive Dog

Next week I will be holding a seminar for the Potter League for Animals in Middletown, RI. It is a great shelter run by some great people. The seminar I’ll be doing is on reactive dogs, dogs that blow a gasket when another dog or person comes around. This has become a huge problem and I believe there are two reasons for this. The first reason is that choke and prong collars are too popular in group dog training classes. If this type of collar is used in training it should always be used in a very non-distracting environment –… Read the rest

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This Could Change The Way You Look At Dog Training

You ever read any Shakespeare? Even though I love to read I never have. But I am familiar with some of his sayings. And one of his best quotes is: “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.” Not one to disagree with one of the most famous writers in the history of the planet, but I think he is one word off. I think it should be worded this way: “There is nothing good or bad but ACTIONS make it so.” It’s not our thinking, it is our actions that can make something bad or… Read the rest

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Are Dogs Pack Animals?

Ever notice that myths are a big part of life? Myths are installed in our little brains while we are kids. The tooth fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa, and it goes on and on. And the dog training world is loaded with myths, most of them harmful to the development and training of your dog. Some of the biggies are: Wait until six months old to train your dog. Never play tug. Using food to train is bribery. Alpha roll your dog for bad behavior. If you are new to dog training it can be difficult to know what to believe.… Read the rest

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Avoid This “Spooky” Dog Training Mistake

Yesterday I posted a video of a reactive dog class that I am teaching. In the video you see six “reactive” dogs doing a sit stay very close to each other. I teach the class with no choke, prong or electronic collars. I am often asked why I don’t use choke or prong collars in class. My opinion is that you should never use an aversive collar in a group of other dogs. Especially when they are first learning. You see, many of the reactive dogs that I work with become reactive because of the very collars that are supposed… Read the rest

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“Hey Eric, Why Do You Keep Bashing Positive Reinforcement?”

I had an interesting email sent to me yesterday. Here was the question/comment: “Hey Eric, why do you keep bashing +R (positive reinforcement)?” L.N. I replied: “I’m not bashing +R. Why do you think that? Thanks,” Eric Here was the response I got from L.N.: “The last few emails have suggested to me you’re either not a fan/ do not fully understand it/ or you don’t think it’s very effective for certain things. Have I misunderstood?” L.N. FIRST: I appreciate your polite email questions and have decided to share them with the ADTM nation. Second: I fully understand and use… Read the rest

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“Hey, There Are No Letters Behind Your Name”

Met with a potential client the other day. The client was trying to make the right decision before she parted with her hard earned money and I was not the only dog trainer she was meeting with. How did I know? She told me. She then said something that made me laugh out loud. She said: “You have no letters behind your name. I met with two other trainers and they had letters behind their names.” “I’m sorry I laughed,” I said “Because this is tricky to explain. I don’t have any letters and probably never will.” You see, what… Read the rest

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Do You Trust Me?

The internet is an amazing thing. Take dog training for example. You literally have thousands of choices when it comes to choosing your dog training advice. The internet is also very popular with what is called affiliate selling. You can become an affiliate for many of the dog training courses available on the internet. Every time you make a sale you get a portion of it. BUT….. …..you can’t become an affiliate of mine. Why no affiliate program you ask? Simple. There is one element that is much more important to me than making sales. What is the element? It… Read the rest

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Does Your Dog Treat You Like A Giant Pork Chop?

So I walk into a new client’s house last week. I am there for about ten minutes when both the husband and wife roll up their sleeves to show me their arms. From their wrists to their elbows, nothing but scabs and bandages. Their six month old mix breed that they adopted has been chomping on their arms like a favorite chew toy. And here’s the rub: The dog is NOT being aggressive. As I was sitting there he started nibbling on my hands. He was trying to see if I would engage so I told him “NO” and pushed… Read the rest

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Do You Think I Have Big Ego?

“I love your sense of ego but have a question. What in God’s name is positive reinforcement? You name it constantly but what would be an example? I have a L O V E L Y bearded collie, she’s 7 years old is the apple of my eye. I have a bookstore, and she’s under the counter looking outside and when a dog passes by she barks, if they come in she greets them friendly, sometimes too friendly and people think she might bite them. How can I teach her to not bark or try to reach them when they… Read the rest

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“The Number One Behavior That I Work On In My Consultations”

Later this month I’ll be holding a seminar on reactive dogs at The Potter League for Animals in Middletown, RI. I don’t like the term “reactive dog” because it is not very accurate. A better term would be: “aggressive, lunging, out of control, barking, impossible to control on leash dog.” I got an email from Sarah, the Behavior Services Manager at Potters yesterday. In her email she stated: “I hope you are doing well. I wanted to reach out because Anastacia let us know that you are presenting on Reactive Dogs for the Potter Pet U in May. This is… Read the rest

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