October 4, 2023 • 28 mins
In this episode, we sit down with a professional dog trainer and CEO of Dog Training Elite, Mark Mestas, to talk about ways to reduce the number of dogs surrendered to shelters due to behavioral issues. Today’s show explores the transformative power of effective training for dogs which can make all the difference to their future. Discover expert tips, heartwarming success stories, and invaluable insights into how you can make a difference in the lives of your canine friends through the art of positive training. Whether you're a dog lover, aspiring pet owner, or rescue dog volunteer, this episode will leave you inspired and ready to rescue, rehabilitate, and train.
EPISODE NOTES: Transforming Troubled Tails: A Chat with a Dog Training Expert
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/save-a-pooch-rescue-dog-welfare-pet-life-radio-original--6669238/support.
EPISODE NOTES: Transforming Troubled Tails: A Chat with a Dog Training Expert
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/save-a-pooch-rescue-dog-welfare-pet-life-radio-original--6669238/support.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:02):
Is pet Life Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Welcome to save approach on netline radio. Thank you for
listening in today. I am Beverly is Law your host.
Our guest today will be sharing his insights on how
training can reduce the number of surrendered dogs in the shelter,
as well as that training can help rescue dogs acclimate
to a new home after the shelter. We have a
professional dog trainer and CEO of Dog Training Elite, Mark Mestis,
(00:46):
is here with us today to share his insights and experience.
So when we get back from these messages, we will
hear from Mark.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business
with an ad in pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows.
There is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms,
(01:18):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit Petlife Radio dot com slash advertised today.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Let's talk pets on petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
Welcome back to sable Food. We are talking with Mark.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Meestus, CEO of bog Training Elik about the transformative power
of effective dog training. Now, thank you Mark for chatting
with us today about your experience and insights. I guess
I'm gonna like ask this first because.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Okay, it would just make answer a lot of questions.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
So in your opinion, would you say dog that were
surrendered to shelters because of behavioral issues could have been rectified?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
I would say a lot of them can be absolutely rectified.
The amounts that are surrendered just because of that of
bad behaviors and no training is pretty astounding. A lot
of people have this picture of a dog that maybe
they grew up as a kid, or they watched a
movie and saw this dog develop in this movie, and
(02:43):
when they get the dog, reality hits and it is
not at all what they imagined. And a lot of
times it's, hey, you know what, I can't handle this.
It doesn't fit in my lifestyle, or it's not exactly
what I thought it was going to be. And so
we see or we've heard about a lot of surrendering
because of the lack of obedience.
Speaker 6 (03:05):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Now this is like excluding obviously the situations that are inevitable,
like a death of an owner. But when it comes to,
you know, the behavioral issues. Yeah, I agree, there's a
period where there's the uh, how do you say, the
glorified image of Lassie, Oh.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
My gosh, do you remember Lastie?
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So when it comes to trying to deal with that,
like what is your for the adopters, Like, should I
guess a lot of it is because of the children.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yes, So I would say when you're going to look
for a dog for yourself at the shelter or a
rescue or something like that, you really need to look
and be honest with yourself about how active you are
and what you want to be doing with the dog.
And a lot of these people that end up surrendering
a dog, from what I've witnessed and seen and stories
(03:55):
that I've heard, is they really get a dog that
is way too much energy for their lifestyle, you know,
they get a dog. One of the big ones of
the movies that came out Had It has a few
Belgian Malinoas in it, right.
Speaker 6 (04:10):
Oh, gosh, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
We had this big influx of Belgian malinoaws that right,
the dogs are meant for protection, but like not just
any protection. You're talking serious protection, police, military, and that
type of thing, and these people will go, that's the
kind of dog I want. Well, the training that goes
into those dogs to get them to do what's on
(04:34):
film is absolutely it's one dog is a full full
time job, and so people don't understand. We also, every
time a new movie comes out with a dog, you
see an influx of that type of dog, and people
just don't think about what actually goes into that type
of dog. We had when Marley and Me came out,
(04:54):
we had an influx of yellow lamps. Well, certain labs
are kind of you know, they'll lay around the house
all day and play when you want, but a lot
of them they're they're meant to be hunting and retrieving,
and so they don't understand that. Even though that one
particularly was talking about a dog that you know, was
unruly and stuff, but it's always more fun on to
(05:14):
see on film than to actually have the family heirloom
chewed up and you're like, oh, oh my god, I
can't that's gone. So really being honest with yourself and
your family of where you need your energy level to be.
If you're hiking every day and that dog is going
to go, absolutely have a higher energy dog. However, if
(05:35):
you are a lower energy person, then you need to
get a dog that is low key, is pretty mellow,
is just going to be laying around the house and
is perfectly happy with cuddling with you all weekend. So
that is the big thing where you first start, in
my opinion, is making sure you get energy the right
(05:55):
energy level.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
Dog.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Absolutely not pretty much answer. What my next question was
how common is it for people to get a dog
that doesn't match their lifestyle? And you just mentioned, well, yeahs,
depending right the conquences.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
It absolutely does, and it changes from time to time,
and we do see an influx depending on the movies.
But that I think is the key. And one thing
that we do is there's also a problem with the
weather on getting some of that energy out if you
do have too high of an energy a dog, or
even right if you're up north it gets super super cold.
(06:36):
Well you don't want to go out and sub zero
temperatures with your dog, And in places south it gets
oh my gosh hot, where the dogs even have to
wear boots just to get to the car, you know.
So how do you get a dog to actually get
the right exercise when you have this extreme weather. And
one thing that we do is we teach our clients
that have this problem with higher energy dogs to run
(06:59):
on a treadmill. It's not as good as a walk,
but it can take that edge off for the months
that are just absolutely miserable outside and that that is
really reduced for a lot of our clients the need
to kind of go I don't know if I can
take this dog. It's way more energy than I intended.
And the dogs really end up loving it when when
(07:19):
you do it properly and you put them on.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
The eyes wondered about that.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Yep, Yep, they really do. I've had some clients that
are a little bit more on the they have quite
a bit of money, and they'll leave when they go
to work, they'll leave the treadmill on all day and
have a camera on it, and that dog will hop
on and off, on and off, on and off all
day getting its energy out, you know. And then other
dogs will just yeah there and a lot of dogs
(07:44):
will just kind of hop on there and we teach
them to do it without being tied to it, and
that way they can just that way. It's a safety issue,
right if you want to go watch TV and you
put your dog on the treadmill, you don't want to
connect them there and keep them on there. And now
they are getting tired. So this makes it so they
can hop on and off at will and that type
of thing.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
That's amazing. That's a great suggestion and that it's great.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
One thing I wanted to point out there when when
I notice some rescue organizations bringing in dogs from abroad,
and like you mentioned, with the weather, a lot of
these dogs from a hot climate are going to winter climates.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Oh, what have you seen any trends of those type
of dogs going back into this shelter because the owner
doesn't know how to acclimate them.
Speaker 6 (08:36):
That a really good point.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, yeah, the I haven't really seen where weather too
much is has been more of an issue for a
dog coming over from a service member was over in
Afghanistan or Iraq and brought over a stray dog. I
have met people that have that usually the problem with
those dogs is not with the weather, but there's a
(08:59):
lot as far as that goes with weather goes, there
is a lot of different things that different makers are
coming out with. So there's a swamp cooler vest for
really hot hot times where you can put it in
some cold water and that type of thing and it
works as a swamp cooler. Really making sure all the
different types of dog water bottles they have now that
(09:21):
make it easy for the dog to actually drink is
pretty big and keeping the dog hydrated and that type
of stuff has been a huge benefit. And then there's
even now I mean obviously there's like dog sweaters and
stuff like that, you know, but so I do and
have not so much now, but in the past I
(09:42):
have done ultra marathons and I have a blue healer
that would run with me, and I got him specifically
because I knew he would keep up with horses and
yead for so away can go a long way. But
if I was in any super super cold area and
I decided to go do that because I'm in in Utah,
and I would go up into the mountains when the
(10:03):
snow was knee deep on trails and he'd come with me.
There's even stuff for active dogs to keep them dry
and warm and then I would put boots on him
to and get him used to that to be on
the super cult so it's not freezing his pads. But
there's a lot of stuff out there now that you
can will really help dogs with the different types of weather.
It's not full proof obviously, especially the heat. You know,
(10:27):
you have to keep watering it, keep watering it, keep
watering it. But it does help where you can be
out there a little bit longer than just going to
the car in severe weather.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, that's not something people need to look into now
in terms of you know that say that the dog's human.
When it comes to training, the dog's human also have
to be trained to have a complete equation. What's your
take on that, because I do notice I have a
lot of trainer friends and they explain, like these dogs
(10:57):
that are really misbehaved and they're close it's being surrendered,
and I'm like, no, keep training it. And they say, well,
we can only do so much if the owner doesn't.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Do it correct and I would say it's I don't know.
I would say the most important part is on the
owners actually to have a door and the consistency in
doing that, and that is one reason why We have
our training programs the way we have them where the
majority of our franchisees do the training at the people's
(11:30):
home with the family, not just one person but whatever everybody.
Because even say you live with some roommates and you
open that front door, right if that roommate opens that
front door, they need to be able to call the
dog back. So maybe they're not doing all the training,
but they need to know at least, hey, don't jump
(11:50):
up on my friends and my family, don't do this,
don't do and when I open the front door, I
can call you back. You're not running out the front
door and that type of thing. So what we really
do and how we kind of look at it is
we at the franchise level we train people, which is
the franchise e to train people to train their dog,
and we get it going and we go this is
(12:13):
how you do it, this is what to expect the
dog to do, and then we head it over to
them and say let me see you do it, and
then we critique them and help them and okay, you're
doing this, you need to do this, and it really
help with their confidence and knowing exactly what to do
and that one on one really takes them a whole
(12:33):
lot faster and further because they are learning, you know,
a private teacher. So if you just have it where
you send your dog out and they do all the training,
that dog will learn great for that person, right or
the trainer. But once you try to do it, that's it.
Dogs are area and people specific. Okay, So even when
(12:55):
we teach in the living room and we go to
the hallway, the dog goes, oh, I don't have to
listen here anymore. No, you do, and we work them
through that. And then when you go from you know,
mom to dad again, the dog goes, oh, I don't
have to listen to you. No, you do. And what
people don't first understand is that difference. Well, the dog's
(13:16):
working great for you, Well yeah, it doesn't think it
has to listen to you, kind of like kids. You know,
you're not my mom, you're not my dad. I'm not
going to listen to you. And the dogs just have
to learn they have to listen to everyone that they're
supposed to listen to, of course, but really teaching the
people and I found it is the important part. And
giving them tips, tricks, hints, I guess not hints because
(13:38):
we don't want to play games with them or anything,
but really giving them a road map on how to
constantly train their dog, but live. And that's what I
see people that are failing in their dog training as
far as just a regular house dog is they go, oh,
I did my training, I went to the classes, or
(13:58):
they came here so many times and now it's done.
Training is all is for the rest of the dog's life.
It just becomes shorter and easier because you have that
expectation and the dog gets a habit. But what I
do is I go, Okay, you need to think about
all of these things that you want to do. Is
going for a walk as training. You think about telling
the dog to not bite this or to this as training,
(14:19):
and that is just living with the dog and giving
the people that the mindset, the tools and the knowledge
in order to make that go forward and to really
set them up for success. Is somewhere where I actually
see the most problems with some dog trainers. And you
really become a teacher, a person teacher and to really
(14:43):
be successful and make sure those clients are the most
successful they can have to where they have that dog
that they had pictured in their mind when they were
a kid, that you have to make it to where
they learn what to expect and how long it's really
going to take, and that it's always going to be
a process. That they're not robots, and really we don't
want them to be robots. That absolutely realiti we want
(15:05):
their you know, their goofiness and everything. But then we
also need them when we say come to come, because
we don't want them getting hit by a car. We
don't want them up to saying hi to someone that's
afraid of dogs or doesn't like dogs. So really learning
how to teach the people and setting them up for
expectations like I teach. When I tell teach someone how
(15:27):
to teach your dog to go to their bed, the
bed or a place, you know, a cod or something
like that, I tell them, Okay, what I want you
to do is when you're teaching this, I want you
to put this in front of the TV. And I
want you to just watch TV like you do most nights.
But the dog needs to stay on the place. And
because it's in front of you, you can now watch TV.
(15:47):
And when that dog gets up, you see it get up,
and then you go and you train and you get
it back on the place and then you go sit down,
and then you go a little bit and the dog goes, well,
I think I'm done. Now you go, no, you're not.
You need to stay on there and you can work
that long devity of that command while just watching TV
or a movie with your family and setting people up
for that idea and teaching the people the little shortcuts
(16:09):
that you learn as a dog trainer really really helps
that success in the overall obedience and happiness of the
family and the dog.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Absolutely, yeah, it is a lifestyle. My dad's like the
complete opposite of what a trainer would like to like
to see in a client. But we're just gonna have
a quick break and when we get back we'll continue
talking with Dog Training Lead CEO Mark Fustus. Molly, here's
(16:40):
your dinner. See that's not give food.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Don't let that happen to your precious cat. Elevate your
cat's eating experience with the cat tree tray. The cat
tree tray keeps your cat's food off the floor and
conveniently located on the cat tree. It's the perfect way
to eat. It's a beautiful brought iron tray that easily
attaches to your cat tree and keeps dogs and other
gritters out of your cat's dish. A must from Multi
(17:08):
Pet Households. There's a six inch trade for large bowls
and a four inch tray for smaller balls er just
your cat tree trade today. Go right now to cattreetrade
dot com. That's cattreetrade dot com. C A T t
R E E t R A y dot com.
Speaker 5 (17:29):
Let's talk past it, Let's done.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Pettfe Radio Headline Radio.
Speaker 7 (17:33):
Atlve Radio dot com.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
Welcome back to Stable Foods.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
We are talking with Mark Mastus about how affective training
can reduce the number of dogs being surrendered to shelters
or helping dogs transition into their new homes. So what
advice do you have for pet adoptors to help their
new adopted transition into the home with as much ease
as possible.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
So there really is a little bit of a trick,
and it's super simple, thankfully, right of introducing your dog
and setting up expectations for the for the new dog
that's coming into the home right away, and the trick
is you invite them. Yes, okay, we'll go back here.
I'm kind of going around right, But one of the
(18:28):
things that you'll want to do is you do not
allow the dog to just roam throughout the house and
explore by itself.
Speaker 6 (18:37):
That's one of the first things that I hear exactly.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
That's what everyone like, like, hey, here's your new house got.
So you're letting the dog take the lead and just
do whatever it wants and if it smells something, it'll
mark or it'll do you know, it's it's really taking
control of the house. So what I have all of
my clients do, or all of our clients do, is
(19:01):
when they bring home to the dog, the dog is
only allowed in one room per day. So when you
first bring men, say it's the living room, you are
going to have them on a leash, and you are
going to walk around that whole one room that day
and that's where they're going to stay. And you are
taking the role of I am the boss, and I'm
going to take you around and let you know where
(19:23):
you're allowed to go. And the dog goes okay, and
it's sniffs and you let them sniff. You let them
do their thing, but now you are leading it. And
that's another thing is is you walk and you take
the dog around and sniff at your pace. You don't
let the dog pull you with that leash around. So
day one you do that. The next day maybe you
take them down the hall and you introduce them to
(19:45):
the hall. Maybe the next day you take them to
a bedroom. Say if you don't ever want them in
the kitchen because for whatever reason it's too small, you
don't like them in the kitchen, well you never take
them in there. Never taking them in there. Now you
have created a boundary and said this is off limits.
And you can do that also when if you walk
in there and they go to walk in, you can
(20:06):
push them back and say ah no, and they'll learn, oh,
I'm not allowed in here. I've never been allowed in here.
And setting that boundary from day one makes it to
where it's a lot easier and the dog just goes,
oh okay. One of the harder things to do is
to allow them to go everywhere and then decide, ooh,
I really don't like them in my you know wherever
(20:28):
because of the hair. And now I've allowed him to
do that, and the dog goes, wait a minute. I
used to be able to and now the dog it's
going to be a chore. And so anytime you move
or you bring a dog home, set the boundaries, don't
let them just explore the whole house by themselves, and
you show them where they're supposed to be, and it
(20:49):
really makes it to where the whole thing becomes a
whole lot easier. You're going to reduce the amount of
accidents that they have in the house because you are
taking that lead, showing them this is my and you're
allowed to be in it, and giving him those boundaries
that dogs very very much needed crave and right, Billy,
really makes it a whole lot better.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
That's amazing and I've heard of that. Thank you for
that for that too.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Now, if they start getting anty that they're only allowed
on that we're one room and the owner.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
Is like, oh, I'm feeling guilty, stick to it right.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yeah, just you really have to stay. I mean it's
it's day one. You're going to be playing with the
dog a lot. You're going to be so excited to
have it, go for a walk, get that energy out.
So the dog's not coming in there and only in
the one room. I mean, we're not just going to
just put him in there and put gates up and
then leave them. You know, we're doing stuff, and you
do want to in the room that you are most in.
(21:43):
You know, if the front door comes into the kitchen,
I'm not going to just keep them in the kitchen.
I'm gonna I'm gonna probably want him in the living
room where he is and stuff like that. But so
they kind of go through the kitchen. But it really
sets up the ability to make sure the dog understand
the boundaries of the house. And it really does reduce
(22:05):
the potty training. It reduces even some chewing and setting
up the expectations from the very beginning. The dog just
has never known any different and the training goes so
much easier.
Speaker 6 (22:18):
Yeah, absolutely, I can see that awesome.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Now, before we wrap up, your business caters to several
different types of training I see from service dogs, therapy dogs,
personal protection training. Do you have any highlights of successful
rescue dogs graduating from these programs?
Speaker 1 (22:36):
We do. We don't really see too much normally in
the protection dogs or anything like that. Sometimes we'll teach
what we call a bark and hold to some of
those where it's really just a bark and they could
be barking for a ball or a treat, but the
bad guy doesn't know that. You just put a scary
word behind it or something like that, you know, gotcha, Yeah,
And so it's almost like teaching speak really. Of course,
(22:59):
the serious dogs are different, but so we don't really
see that much in the protection dogs. But we have
had quite a few therapy dogs go through across all
the franchises for going into going and helping nurses and
so they'll go to the hospitals and work with hospitals
and because there's quite a bit of stress in there
(23:21):
and that helps that. And then every once in a
while there will be a rescue that will work for
a service dog. However, the service dog is so much
more because the dog really has to be put together, yeah,
to have a confidence in itself and in the owner
(23:42):
you know, or the handler, And to start a dog
when it's older is usually it's a lot more difficult.
And to do that from a dog that was surrendered
for some reason, usually you're not dealing with a dog
that was really set up to do that. For however,
(24:03):
we have we have had it. Off the top of
my head, I can't I can't think of an exact
person or anything, but we have had that happen. And
when you do it right. It also depends on the
type of service with the more important ones where say
diabetic alert. Usually with that you really really need to
(24:25):
start them as a puppy, you know, because it is threatening.
But if you get a bigger dog that's kind of
a slug and it is more for say mobility, where
they just need something to counterbalance, that can be done.
And then with psychiatric also if for PTSD or anxiety
(24:47):
or something like that, that can also, but you have
to get a dog that is not at all nervous.
It's more of just was surrendered because it is gung ho,
you know, and it's just oh, here we go. Oh
and they're like, okay, this is and then putting rules
and boundaries and then teaching it the task of something
like deep pressure therapy where the pressure on the chest
(25:10):
can help the person calm down, or in their lap
behavioral interruption for sometimes something we see often when people
get really nervous, they pick their cuticles and their nails
and stuff and end up hurting themselves that they don't
even realize till after. And that's something that you can
usually teach fairly easy for an older rescue dog. But
(25:33):
again you need that dog that is not at all
really shy isn't. They're not aggressive, they're not fearful, they're
not anxiety or anything, and they're just a happy, go
lucky dog that was too much energy. So we have
seen quite a bit of success with those.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Yeah, it's great that you guys have those specialized programs
because not all training has created equal.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
So that's great.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
No, it's not. And we're seeing a lot more service
dogs people who for the PTSD and for anxiety and
stuff that really need them. I mean, yeah, it is
absolutely The reward for me for a service dog for
someone with PTSD or high anxiety is absolutely incredible. When
(26:19):
I go to the store like Target with them for
the very first time and they're trembling and I literally
have to take the dog from them and just say,
I just want you to walk and I'm going to
make sure the dog does what it needs to do.
And by usually the third or fourth appointment in public,
after we've gone through all the basic stuff and started
other things, they have their dog. They're a completely different person.
(26:41):
They're confident, they're walking around with their dog, and I mean,
I just help them get their life back and to see, yeah,
to see that is just and it does happen with rescues. However,
if you are going to look at a rescue for
that have whoever is going to train the dog. If
(27:01):
it's you, okay, but get someone who has done it
before to make sure that it is a good dog
for you than mentality. The mental state of the dog
is the right one. And really get a professional to
help you pick that dog out, even if it is
a rescue or a puppy or anything like that, because
it is so much easier and better and you have
(27:23):
a higher success rate if you have someone that knows
what they're doing.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Absolutely yes, did you hear that?
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Dad?
Speaker 6 (27:33):
Awesome? Well, we are out of time.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks to our
show producer. Also mark this Mark Winter for making the
show possible. You can learn more about dog Training Elite
at dog Training Elite dot com, which will also.
Speaker 6 (27:47):
Be on the show notes page. Do you have any questions, comments,
our ideas for a show, Please email me.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
At Beverly at petlife radio dot com. 't till next time.
Speaker 6 (27:56):
Spread Animals and
Speaker 5 (27:57):
Catching Let's talk bets every week on demand only on
Petlife radio dot com.
Is pet Life Radio.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
Let's Talk Pets.
Speaker 3 (00:22):
Welcome to save approach on netline radio. Thank you for
listening in today. I am Beverly is Law your host.
Our guest today will be sharing his insights on how
training can reduce the number of surrendered dogs in the shelter,
as well as that training can help rescue dogs acclimate
to a new home after the shelter. We have a
professional dog trainer and CEO of Dog Training Elite, Mark Mestis,
(00:46):
is here with us today to share his insights and experience.
So when we get back from these messages, we will
hear from Mark.
Speaker 4 (00:57):
Take a bite out of your competition. Advertise your business
with an ad in pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows.
There is no other pet related media that is as
large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than
pet Life Radio with over seven million monthly listeners. Pet
Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms,
(01:18):
and our live radio stream goes out to over two
hundred and fifty million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Odyssey, tune In,
and other streaming apps. For more information on how you
can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network,
visit Petlife Radio dot com slash advertised today.
Speaker 5 (01:39):
Let's talk pets on petlifradio dot com.
Speaker 6 (01:52):
Welcome back to sable Food. We are talking with Mark.
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Meestus, CEO of bog Training Elik about the transformative power
of effective dog training. Now, thank you Mark for chatting
with us today about your experience and insights. I guess
I'm gonna like ask this first because.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Okay, it would just make answer a lot of questions.
Speaker 3 (02:13):
So in your opinion, would you say dog that were
surrendered to shelters because of behavioral issues could have been rectified?
Speaker 1 (02:21):
I would say a lot of them can be absolutely rectified.
The amounts that are surrendered just because of that of
bad behaviors and no training is pretty astounding. A lot
of people have this picture of a dog that maybe
they grew up as a kid, or they watched a
movie and saw this dog develop in this movie, and
(02:43):
when they get the dog, reality hits and it is
not at all what they imagined. And a lot of
times it's, hey, you know what, I can't handle this.
It doesn't fit in my lifestyle, or it's not exactly
what I thought it was going to be. And so
we see or we've heard about a lot of surrendering
because of the lack of obedience.
Speaker 6 (03:05):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (03:05):
Now this is like excluding obviously the situations that are inevitable,
like a death of an owner. But when it comes to,
you know, the behavioral issues. Yeah, I agree, there's a
period where there's the uh, how do you say, the
glorified image of Lassie, Oh.
Speaker 6 (03:20):
My gosh, do you remember Lastie?
Speaker 5 (03:22):
Yep?
Speaker 1 (03:22):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
So when it comes to trying to deal with that,
like what is your for the adopters, Like, should I
guess a lot of it is because of the children.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
Yes, So I would say when you're going to look
for a dog for yourself at the shelter or a
rescue or something like that, you really need to look
and be honest with yourself about how active you are
and what you want to be doing with the dog.
And a lot of these people that end up surrendering
a dog, from what I've witnessed and seen and stories
(03:55):
that I've heard, is they really get a dog that
is way too much energy for their lifestyle, you know,
they get a dog. One of the big ones of
the movies that came out Had It has a few
Belgian Malinoas in it, right.
Speaker 6 (04:10):
Oh, gosh, yeah.
Speaker 1 (04:12):
We had this big influx of Belgian malinoaws that right,
the dogs are meant for protection, but like not just
any protection. You're talking serious protection, police, military, and that
type of thing, and these people will go, that's the
kind of dog I want. Well, the training that goes
into those dogs to get them to do what's on
(04:34):
film is absolutely it's one dog is a full full
time job, and so people don't understand. We also, every
time a new movie comes out with a dog, you
see an influx of that type of dog, and people
just don't think about what actually goes into that type
of dog. We had when Marley and Me came out,
(04:54):
we had an influx of yellow lamps. Well, certain labs
are kind of you know, they'll lay around the house
all day and play when you want, but a lot
of them they're they're meant to be hunting and retrieving,
and so they don't understand that. Even though that one
particularly was talking about a dog that you know, was
unruly and stuff, but it's always more fun on to
(05:14):
see on film than to actually have the family heirloom
chewed up and you're like, oh, oh my god, I
can't that's gone. So really being honest with yourself and
your family of where you need your energy level to be.
If you're hiking every day and that dog is going
to go, absolutely have a higher energy dog. However, if
(05:35):
you are a lower energy person, then you need to
get a dog that is low key, is pretty mellow,
is just going to be laying around the house and
is perfectly happy with cuddling with you all weekend. So
that is the big thing where you first start, in
my opinion, is making sure you get energy the right
(05:55):
energy level.
Speaker 6 (05:56):
Dog.
Speaker 3 (05:57):
Absolutely not pretty much answer. What my next question was
how common is it for people to get a dog
that doesn't match their lifestyle? And you just mentioned, well, yeahs,
depending right the conquences.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
It absolutely does, and it changes from time to time,
and we do see an influx depending on the movies.
But that I think is the key. And one thing
that we do is there's also a problem with the
weather on getting some of that energy out if you
do have too high of an energy a dog, or
even right if you're up north it gets super super cold.
(06:36):
Well you don't want to go out and sub zero
temperatures with your dog, And in places south it gets
oh my gosh hot, where the dogs even have to
wear boots just to get to the car, you know.
So how do you get a dog to actually get
the right exercise when you have this extreme weather. And
one thing that we do is we teach our clients
that have this problem with higher energy dogs to run
(06:59):
on a treadmill. It's not as good as a walk,
but it can take that edge off for the months
that are just absolutely miserable outside and that that is
really reduced for a lot of our clients the need
to kind of go I don't know if I can
take this dog. It's way more energy than I intended.
And the dogs really end up loving it when when
(07:19):
you do it properly and you put them on.
Speaker 6 (07:21):
The eyes wondered about that.
Speaker 1 (07:23):
Yep, Yep, they really do. I've had some clients that
are a little bit more on the they have quite
a bit of money, and they'll leave when they go
to work, they'll leave the treadmill on all day and
have a camera on it, and that dog will hop
on and off, on and off, on and off all
day getting its energy out, you know. And then other
dogs will just yeah there and a lot of dogs
(07:44):
will just kind of hop on there and we teach
them to do it without being tied to it, and
that way they can just that way. It's a safety issue,
right if you want to go watch TV and you
put your dog on the treadmill, you don't want to
connect them there and keep them on there. And now
they are getting tired. So this makes it so they
can hop on and off at will and that type
of thing.
Speaker 3 (08:04):
That's amazing. That's a great suggestion and that it's great.
Speaker 1 (08:09):
Yep.
Speaker 6 (08:10):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (08:11):
One thing I wanted to point out there when when
I notice some rescue organizations bringing in dogs from abroad,
and like you mentioned, with the weather, a lot of
these dogs from a hot climate are going to winter climates.
Speaker 1 (08:27):
Yep.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Oh, what have you seen any trends of those type
of dogs going back into this shelter because the owner
doesn't know how to acclimate them.
Speaker 6 (08:36):
That a really good point.
Speaker 1 (08:38):
Yeah, yeah, the I haven't really seen where weather too
much is has been more of an issue for a
dog coming over from a service member was over in
Afghanistan or Iraq and brought over a stray dog. I
have met people that have that usually the problem with
those dogs is not with the weather, but there's a
(08:59):
lot as far as that goes with weather goes, there
is a lot of different things that different makers are
coming out with. So there's a swamp cooler vest for
really hot hot times where you can put it in
some cold water and that type of thing and it
works as a swamp cooler. Really making sure all the
different types of dog water bottles they have now that
(09:21):
make it easy for the dog to actually drink is
pretty big and keeping the dog hydrated and that type
of stuff has been a huge benefit. And then there's
even now I mean obviously there's like dog sweaters and
stuff like that, you know, but so I do and
have not so much now, but in the past I
(09:42):
have done ultra marathons and I have a blue healer
that would run with me, and I got him specifically
because I knew he would keep up with horses and
yead for so away can go a long way. But
if I was in any super super cold area and
I decided to go do that because I'm in in Utah,
and I would go up into the mountains when the
(10:03):
snow was knee deep on trails and he'd come with me.
There's even stuff for active dogs to keep them dry
and warm and then I would put boots on him
to and get him used to that to be on
the super cult so it's not freezing his pads. But
there's a lot of stuff out there now that you
can will really help dogs with the different types of weather.
It's not full proof obviously, especially the heat. You know,
(10:27):
you have to keep watering it, keep watering it, keep
watering it. But it does help where you can be
out there a little bit longer than just going to
the car in severe weather.
Speaker 6 (10:35):
Absolutely.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
Yeah, that's not something people need to look into now
in terms of you know that say that the dog's human.
When it comes to training, the dog's human also have
to be trained to have a complete equation. What's your
take on that, because I do notice I have a
lot of trainer friends and they explain, like these dogs
(10:57):
that are really misbehaved and they're close it's being surrendered,
and I'm like, no, keep training it. And they say, well,
we can only do so much if the owner doesn't.
Speaker 1 (11:05):
Do it correct and I would say it's I don't know.
I would say the most important part is on the
owners actually to have a door and the consistency in
doing that, and that is one reason why We have
our training programs the way we have them where the
majority of our franchisees do the training at the people's
(11:30):
home with the family, not just one person but whatever everybody.
Because even say you live with some roommates and you
open that front door, right if that roommate opens that
front door, they need to be able to call the
dog back. So maybe they're not doing all the training,
but they need to know at least, hey, don't jump
(11:50):
up on my friends and my family, don't do this,
don't do and when I open the front door, I
can call you back. You're not running out the front
door and that type of thing. So what we really
do and how we kind of look at it is
we at the franchise level we train people, which is
the franchise e to train people to train their dog,
and we get it going and we go this is
(12:13):
how you do it, this is what to expect the
dog to do, and then we head it over to
them and say let me see you do it, and
then we critique them and help them and okay, you're
doing this, you need to do this, and it really
help with their confidence and knowing exactly what to do
and that one on one really takes them a whole
(12:33):
lot faster and further because they are learning, you know,
a private teacher. So if you just have it where
you send your dog out and they do all the training,
that dog will learn great for that person, right or
the trainer. But once you try to do it, that's it.
Dogs are area and people specific. Okay, So even when
(12:55):
we teach in the living room and we go to
the hallway, the dog goes, oh, I don't have to
listen here anymore. No, you do, and we work them
through that. And then when you go from you know,
mom to dad again, the dog goes, oh, I don't
have to listen to you. No, you do. And what
people don't first understand is that difference. Well, the dog's
(13:16):
working great for you, Well yeah, it doesn't think it
has to listen to you, kind of like kids. You know,
you're not my mom, you're not my dad. I'm not
going to listen to you. And the dogs just have
to learn they have to listen to everyone that they're
supposed to listen to, of course, but really teaching the
people and I found it is the important part. And
giving them tips, tricks, hints, I guess not hints because
(13:38):
we don't want to play games with them or anything,
but really giving them a road map on how to
constantly train their dog, but live. And that's what I
see people that are failing in their dog training as
far as just a regular house dog is they go, oh,
I did my training, I went to the classes, or
(13:58):
they came here so many times and now it's done.
Training is all is for the rest of the dog's life.
It just becomes shorter and easier because you have that
expectation and the dog gets a habit. But what I
do is I go, Okay, you need to think about
all of these things that you want to do. Is
going for a walk as training. You think about telling
the dog to not bite this or to this as training,
(14:19):
and that is just living with the dog and giving
the people that the mindset, the tools and the knowledge
in order to make that go forward and to really
set them up for success. Is somewhere where I actually
see the most problems with some dog trainers. And you
really become a teacher, a person teacher and to really
(14:43):
be successful and make sure those clients are the most
successful they can have to where they have that dog
that they had pictured in their mind when they were
a kid, that you have to make it to where
they learn what to expect and how long it's really
going to take, and that it's always going to be
a process. That they're not robots, and really we don't
want them to be robots. That absolutely realiti we want
(15:05):
their you know, their goofiness and everything. But then we
also need them when we say come to come, because
we don't want them getting hit by a car. We
don't want them up to saying hi to someone that's
afraid of dogs or doesn't like dogs. So really learning
how to teach the people and setting them up for
expectations like I teach. When I tell teach someone how
(15:27):
to teach your dog to go to their bed, the
bed or a place, you know, a cod or something
like that, I tell them, Okay, what I want you
to do is when you're teaching this, I want you
to put this in front of the TV. And I
want you to just watch TV like you do most nights.
But the dog needs to stay on the place. And
because it's in front of you, you can now watch TV.
(15:47):
And when that dog gets up, you see it get up,
and then you go and you train and you get
it back on the place and then you go sit down,
and then you go a little bit and the dog goes, well,
I think I'm done. Now you go, no, you're not.
You need to stay on there and you can work
that long devity of that command while just watching TV
or a movie with your family and setting people up
for that idea and teaching the people the little shortcuts
(16:09):
that you learn as a dog trainer really really helps
that success in the overall obedience and happiness of the
family and the dog.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
Absolutely, yeah, it is a lifestyle. My dad's like the
complete opposite of what a trainer would like to like
to see in a client. But we're just gonna have
a quick break and when we get back we'll continue
talking with Dog Training Lead CEO Mark Fustus. Molly, here's
(16:40):
your dinner. See that's not give food.
Speaker 2 (16:45):
Don't let that happen to your precious cat. Elevate your
cat's eating experience with the cat tree tray. The cat
tree tray keeps your cat's food off the floor and
conveniently located on the cat tree. It's the perfect way
to eat. It's a beautiful brought iron tray that easily
attaches to your cat tree and keeps dogs and other
gritters out of your cat's dish. A must from Multi
(17:08):
Pet Households. There's a six inch trade for large bowls
and a four inch tray for smaller balls er just
your cat tree trade today. Go right now to cattreetrade
dot com. That's cattreetrade dot com. C A T t
R E E t R A y dot com.
Speaker 5 (17:29):
Let's talk past it, Let's done.
Speaker 2 (17:30):
Pettfe Radio Headline Radio.
Speaker 7 (17:33):
Atlve Radio dot com.
Speaker 6 (17:45):
Welcome back to Stable Foods.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
We are talking with Mark Mastus about how affective training
can reduce the number of dogs being surrendered to shelters
or helping dogs transition into their new homes. So what
advice do you have for pet adoptors to help their
new adopted transition into the home with as much ease
as possible.
Speaker 1 (18:05):
So there really is a little bit of a trick,
and it's super simple, thankfully, right of introducing your dog
and setting up expectations for the for the new dog
that's coming into the home right away, and the trick
is you invite them. Yes, okay, we'll go back here.
I'm kind of going around right, But one of the
(18:28):
things that you'll want to do is you do not
allow the dog to just roam throughout the house and
explore by itself.
Speaker 6 (18:37):
That's one of the first things that I hear exactly.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
That's what everyone like, like, hey, here's your new house got.
So you're letting the dog take the lead and just
do whatever it wants and if it smells something, it'll
mark or it'll do you know, it's it's really taking
control of the house. So what I have all of
my clients do, or all of our clients do, is
(19:01):
when they bring home to the dog, the dog is
only allowed in one room per day. So when you
first bring men, say it's the living room, you are
going to have them on a leash, and you are
going to walk around that whole one room that day
and that's where they're going to stay. And you are
taking the role of I am the boss, and I'm
going to take you around and let you know where
(19:23):
you're allowed to go. And the dog goes okay, and
it's sniffs and you let them sniff. You let them
do their thing, but now you are leading it. And
that's another thing is is you walk and you take
the dog around and sniff at your pace. You don't
let the dog pull you with that leash around. So
day one you do that. The next day maybe you
take them down the hall and you introduce them to
(19:45):
the hall. Maybe the next day you take them to
a bedroom. Say if you don't ever want them in
the kitchen because for whatever reason it's too small, you
don't like them in the kitchen, well you never take
them in there. Never taking them in there. Now you
have created a boundary and said this is off limits.
And you can do that also when if you walk
in there and they go to walk in, you can
(20:06):
push them back and say ah no, and they'll learn, oh,
I'm not allowed in here. I've never been allowed in here.
And setting that boundary from day one makes it to
where it's a lot easier and the dog just goes,
oh okay. One of the harder things to do is
to allow them to go everywhere and then decide, ooh,
I really don't like them in my you know wherever
(20:28):
because of the hair. And now I've allowed him to
do that, and the dog goes, wait a minute. I
used to be able to and now the dog it's
going to be a chore. And so anytime you move
or you bring a dog home, set the boundaries, don't
let them just explore the whole house by themselves, and
you show them where they're supposed to be, and it
(20:49):
really makes it to where the whole thing becomes a
whole lot easier. You're going to reduce the amount of
accidents that they have in the house because you are
taking that lead, showing them this is my and you're
allowed to be in it, and giving him those boundaries
that dogs very very much needed crave and right, Billy,
really makes it a whole lot better.
Speaker 6 (21:09):
That's amazing and I've heard of that. Thank you for
that for that too.
Speaker 3 (21:13):
Now, if they start getting anty that they're only allowed
on that we're one room and the owner.
Speaker 6 (21:17):
Is like, oh, I'm feeling guilty, stick to it right.
Speaker 1 (21:20):
Yeah, just you really have to stay. I mean it's
it's day one. You're going to be playing with the
dog a lot. You're going to be so excited to
have it, go for a walk, get that energy out.
So the dog's not coming in there and only in
the one room. I mean, we're not just going to
just put him in there and put gates up and
then leave them. You know, we're doing stuff, and you
do want to in the room that you are most in.
(21:43):
You know, if the front door comes into the kitchen,
I'm not going to just keep them in the kitchen.
I'm gonna I'm gonna probably want him in the living
room where he is and stuff like that. But so
they kind of go through the kitchen. But it really
sets up the ability to make sure the dog understand
the boundaries of the house. And it really does reduce
(22:05):
the potty training. It reduces even some chewing and setting
up the expectations from the very beginning. The dog just
has never known any different and the training goes so
much easier.
Speaker 6 (22:18):
Yeah, absolutely, I can see that awesome.
Speaker 3 (22:21):
Now, before we wrap up, your business caters to several
different types of training I see from service dogs, therapy dogs,
personal protection training. Do you have any highlights of successful
rescue dogs graduating from these programs?
Speaker 1 (22:36):
We do. We don't really see too much normally in
the protection dogs or anything like that. Sometimes we'll teach
what we call a bark and hold to some of
those where it's really just a bark and they could
be barking for a ball or a treat, but the
bad guy doesn't know that. You just put a scary
word behind it or something like that, you know, gotcha, Yeah,
And so it's almost like teaching speak really. Of course,
(22:59):
the serious dogs are different, but so we don't really
see that much in the protection dogs. But we have
had quite a few therapy dogs go through across all
the franchises for going into going and helping nurses and
so they'll go to the hospitals and work with hospitals
and because there's quite a bit of stress in there
(23:21):
and that helps that. And then every once in a
while there will be a rescue that will work for
a service dog. However, the service dog is so much
more because the dog really has to be put together, yeah,
to have a confidence in itself and in the owner
(23:42):
you know, or the handler, And to start a dog
when it's older is usually it's a lot more difficult.
And to do that from a dog that was surrendered
for some reason, usually you're not dealing with a dog
that was really set up to do that. For however,
(24:03):
we have we have had it. Off the top of
my head, I can't I can't think of an exact
person or anything, but we have had that happen. And
when you do it right. It also depends on the
type of service with the more important ones where say
diabetic alert. Usually with that you really really need to
(24:25):
start them as a puppy, you know, because it is threatening.
But if you get a bigger dog that's kind of
a slug and it is more for say mobility, where
they just need something to counterbalance, that can be done.
And then with psychiatric also if for PTSD or anxiety
(24:47):
or something like that, that can also, but you have
to get a dog that is not at all nervous.
It's more of just was surrendered because it is gung ho,
you know, and it's just oh, here we go. Oh
and they're like, okay, this is and then putting rules
and boundaries and then teaching it the task of something
like deep pressure therapy where the pressure on the chest
(25:10):
can help the person calm down, or in their lap
behavioral interruption for sometimes something we see often when people
get really nervous, they pick their cuticles and their nails
and stuff and end up hurting themselves that they don't
even realize till after. And that's something that you can
usually teach fairly easy for an older rescue dog. But
(25:33):
again you need that dog that is not at all
really shy isn't. They're not aggressive, they're not fearful, they're
not anxiety or anything, and they're just a happy, go
lucky dog that was too much energy. So we have
seen quite a bit of success with those.
Speaker 6 (25:49):
That's awesome.
Speaker 3 (25:49):
Yeah, it's great that you guys have those specialized programs
because not all training has created equal.
Speaker 6 (25:55):
So that's great.
Speaker 1 (25:56):
No, it's not. And we're seeing a lot more service
dogs people who for the PTSD and for anxiety and
stuff that really need them. I mean, yeah, it is
absolutely The reward for me for a service dog for
someone with PTSD or high anxiety is absolutely incredible. When
(26:19):
I go to the store like Target with them for
the very first time and they're trembling and I literally
have to take the dog from them and just say,
I just want you to walk and I'm going to
make sure the dog does what it needs to do.
And by usually the third or fourth appointment in public,
after we've gone through all the basic stuff and started
other things, they have their dog. They're a completely different person.
(26:41):
They're confident, they're walking around with their dog, and I mean,
I just help them get their life back and to see, yeah,
to see that is just and it does happen with rescues. However,
if you are going to look at a rescue for
that have whoever is going to train the dog. If
(27:01):
it's you, okay, but get someone who has done it
before to make sure that it is a good dog
for you than mentality. The mental state of the dog
is the right one. And really get a professional to
help you pick that dog out, even if it is
a rescue or a puppy or anything like that, because
it is so much easier and better and you have
(27:23):
a higher success rate if you have someone that knows
what they're doing.
Speaker 6 (27:27):
Absolutely yes, did you hear that?
Speaker 1 (27:30):
Dad?
Speaker 6 (27:33):
Awesome? Well, we are out of time.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
I really appreciate you taking the time. Thanks to our
show producer. Also mark this Mark Winter for making the
show possible. You can learn more about dog Training Elite
at dog Training Elite dot com, which will also.
Speaker 6 (27:47):
Be on the show notes page. Do you have any questions, comments,
our ideas for a show, Please email me.
Speaker 3 (27:52):
At Beverly at petlife radio dot com. 't till next time.
Speaker 6 (27:56):
Spread Animals and
Speaker 5 (27:57):
Catching Let's talk bets every week on demand only on
Petlife radio dot com.
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Betrayal: Weekly
Betrayal Weekly is back for a brand new season. Every Thursday, Betrayal Weekly shares first-hand accounts of broken trust, shocking deceptions, and the trail of destruction they leave behind. Hosted by Andrea Gunning, this weekly ongoing series digs into real-life stories of betrayal and the aftermath. From stories of double lives to dark discoveries, these are cautionary tales and accounts of resilience against all odds. From the producers of the critically acclaimed Betrayal series, Betrayal Weekly drops new episodes every Thursday. Please join our Substack for additional exclusive content, curated book recommendations and community discussions. Sign up FREE by clicking this link Beyond Betrayal Substack. Join our community dedicated to truth, resilience and healing. Your voice matters! Be a part of our Betrayal journey on Substack. And make sure to check out Seasons 1-4 of Betrayal, along with Betrayal Weekly Season 1.