You’ll find Perry Higginbotham in the company of dogs – chubby and mischievous puppies, highly trained dogs, and every conceivable pup in between. Locally, Higginbotham is known as the Southeast Dog Whisperer because he can take wild, unruly pets and turn them into first-class citizens.
Higginbotham has been involved in dog training most of his life. However, he turned his passion into a full-time career in 2006 after attending Triple Crown Academy to become a professional dog trainer and behavior specialist. He owns his own business, Perry’s K-9 Training Academy, and also trains dogs through PetSmart, where he offers a number of programs at all training levels.
If you have a dog that could use a few more mannerisms, check out Higginbotham’s Words of Wisdom.
1. Train your puppy.
“A trained puppy is much easier to handle and there are far fewer incidents than untrained dogs. It’s much easier to prevent your dog from doing unwanted behaviors if you’ve spent a little time training him.
2. Constantly ask yourself: Do I want this behavior from my dog or not?
“If it’s not, we don’t want to reinforce that behavior at all. Examples of this are jumping and begging.
3. Socialize your puppy from an early age.
“The first seven months of a dog’s life are the most critical social learning period. That doesn’t mean the problems can’t be fixed later, it’s just harder. Take your puppy with you to as many places as possible to expose him to as many different situations as possible. Don’t just take them to the vet or the groomer. Fun things don’t happen there.
4. Don’t scold your dog afterwards.
“Many pet owners scold their dog after discovering something the dog has done wrong. For example, potty in the house or chewing on a shoe. Dogs live in the moment; whatever they look at, it is what they think When we find something wrong we normally call the dog to show him why we are upset and agitated The dog thinks he is in trouble for the last thing he comes to do and that has come to us. We build an avoidance towards ourselves and teach our dog not to come to us because bad things happen.
5. Consistency is key to training our pup, and everyone in the house needs to be on the same page.
“Always follow through. If you tell your puppy to do something, even if you don’t care if he does it or not, you have to make him do it. You can always release them to go back to what they were doing.
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