Hello! My name is Kyle Kittleson – animal behaviorist and dog trainer – and this year I found out that more than 1,000,000 dogs die each year from getting hit by a car, I’ve known of a friend and his dog got hit by a car that led him to break his leg and contract an infection that spread to his eyes – suffering from conjunctivitis he then went blind as the owner didn’t realize, if you’re wanting to learn more about your pets eye health, swing by Pets Best. .
I am the proud parent to my yellow lab, Callie. When I heard about this devastating statistic – I knew I had to do something. Callie is not a pet. She is my child. It is my responsibility to take care of her. Can you relate as a pet parent? If you’re constantly needing more tips and tricks or have unanswered questions you could always head over to CentralParkPaws.net and see if they have the information you’re looking for over there.
[Side Note: I’ve been a professional animal trainer for the last decade and have worked with more than two species of animals. I used my experience to train my dog to stay Street Safe in less than 30 minutes!]
Okay, back to training Callie. I took her outside and did three steps! 3-easy, simple steps. It’s the same three steps I have outlined below. I couldn’t believe how quickly I got results.
I started the training at 5:11pm.
At 5:30, she was trained.
I was thrilled! With a few more follow-up/reminder sessions, Callie now completely avoids the street and will not enter the road unless I ask her to.
It doesn’t matter if there is a ball, a toy, food, or another dog in the road – Callie will not enter the street.
But I wanted to see if non-dog trainers could get the same results with their dog. So, I asked a handful of dog parents to try these steps out and all of them, without exception, saw the same results. More on that in a bit…
First, let me show you how I trained my dog, Callie…
In 3 easy steps your dog will not enter the street unless you want your dog to enter the street.
Step 1:
Teach Your Dog The “Safe Zone”
The first step was to teach Callie where it was safe for her to be. For her, that was anywhere except the street.
She was allowed to be on a sidewalk.
In a yard.
In a driveway.
But she was not allowed in the street.
So, I took her to the areas that were deemed safe and rewarded her for completing basic behaviors. Behaviors such as; ‘sit,’ ‘down,’ and ‘stay.’
By doing this, Callie learned that lots of good things happen in the “safe zones.”
When I train this step to people they usually tell me that this step “feels useless” or like it’s a “waste of time.”
Is saving your dog’s life a waste of time?
Let me assure you that this step is critical. By showing your dog where it is safe to be, you are setting the groundwork for what is to come.
I’m not interested in training dogs quickly. I am interested in training dogs correctly, the most efficient way possible.
By taking the time to build a reward/reinforcement history in your safe zone, it will make the rest of the process go more smoothly.
Step 2:
Teach Your Dog To Avoid The Street & Ignore Distractions
Boom – we were already making progress.
After we established a safe zone for Callie, it was time to show her the areas that were not safe.
For Callie, her “unsafe zone” was the street.
To begin this phase of training, I asked Callie to sit and stay at the edge of the sidewalk. When she didn’t follow me out into the street, she was rewarded and praised heavily.
I started to add distractions to the environment. I ran out into the street and made noises and went crazy! When Callie stayed put, she was rewarded.
When other dogs walked by, I rewarded Callie for staying put.
Finally, I chucked food out into the street and also called her to “come” from the street and guess what? Callie just sat there and looked at me.
Perfect.
“I was able to throw food, toys, and have other dogs walk on the other side of the street – and my dog, Callie, stayed put.
No matter what – she stayed out of the street.”
Here are just some of the distractions that Callie will ignore after I took her through this training.
- Squirrels, birds and other wildlife.
- Cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
- Skateboarders, bicyclists, and rollerbladers.
- Other dogs
Callie will also not go into the street if a ball, stick, or toy is thrown into the street.
WATCH HERE:
Isn’t that awesome! After seeing the quick results I got with my dog, I was so excited to know that she would avoid the street.
Remember, each year roughly 1.2 million dogs are hit and killed by a car. Those that aren’t killed are often left with debilitating medical conditions. This leaves them with a poorer quality of life and HUGE MEDICAL BILLS for their owners.
Take Dexter here for example…
Dexter was hit by a car and is now blind in both eyes and has medical bills of more than $250 PER MONTH!
His owner, Michael, found Dexter after he was hit by a car. Michael rushed Dexter to a vet where the vet (pro-bono) completed a life-saving surgery. Not only did Michael’s quick thinking save Dexter’s life but the vet’s generosity saved Michael a lot of money.
Otherwise, Michael could have been facing medical bills in the thousands or even worse, Dexter would have died.
Look, this is the reality:
Each year, 1.2 million dogs die from getting hit by a car.
It is up to you to protect your dog.
When I show people how easy it is to train their dog they get very excited! They see that with just a little bit of a time investment that they can actually keep their dog out of the street and also give themselves incredible peace of mind.
But then they quickly ask, “what do I do when I want my dog to go into the street?!”
“Don’t worry, ” I tell them. “I got you and your dog covered.”
Step 3:
Inviting Your Dog Into The Street
Of course, sometimes you will need to cross a street with your dog. To accommodate this necessity, I trained Callie to follow a very simple hand command. The hand command means “come.” I start by asking Callie to “come” and at the same time, I give this hand signal. Over time, she learns that the hand signal means come to dad!
Easy, huh!
I simply, move my hand down my side with my palm facing out when we approach the street. This tells Callie that it is safe to cross the street.
I prefer using a visual command, like this hand gesture, rather than a verbal command. It motivates the dog to look at you for more direction, rather than listen for more direction.
Don’t Forget:
If somebody else ever takes your dog for a walk, you will need to tell them about this hand signal! Otherwise, your dog will slam on the breaks every time you approach the street and your friend will get very frustrated.
I’ve made the mistake of not telling people who take care of Callie while I am away and I get a text message from them asking, “why won’t Callie cross the street? I had to pick her up.” hahaha!
I rather have a safe dog, then a dog that bolts into the road.
Training Callie to follow my hand. I use that hand command to invite her into the street when it is safe.
Training Callie to follow my hand. I use that hand command to invite her into the street when it is safe.
Do You Want to Train Your Dog to Be Street Safe?
If you are like most dog parents, your dog is your baby. You want your dog to be safe.
So, what I’ve done for you is designed an easy to follow video series for you to train your dog to become Street Safe. I’ve called this series Street Safe Dog. You will see exactly how I trained Callie to avoid the street and you will also be able to watch other dog owners (who are not professional dog trainers) go through the series. And let me remind you, safety on the street is as important both in and out of the car – if you’re travelling with your dog in the car make sure they are safely and comfortably restrained for their own safety. A survey by All Car Leasing found a worrying number of people weren’t abiding this simple rule. Keep our babies safe everywhere!
Your video series includes:
Module I: Building Reinforcement History
Module I improves the relationship with your dog and begins the training to keep your dog Street Safe. This course only uses positive reinforcement – no aversive punishment, shock collars, etc.
The goal is to create a better relationship with your dog so that your dog looks to you for direction, rather than reacting on his/her own and darting out into the street and putting themselves in danger.
Module II: Street Avoidance and Ignoring Distractions
Module 2 is where you really start to see results. By showing your dog that the street is off limits, your dog begins to avoid the street regardless of what distractions are in the environment.
Successful graduates of the Street Safe Dog course will avoid the street regardless of what is in the street or across the street. Sticks, toys, food, other dogs/cats, squirrels, will not lead your dog into the street for successful students.
Module III: Inviting Your Dog Into The Street
Of course, at times you will need your dog to go into the street. This is where Module III comes in. You’ll learn to invite your dog into the street when you want your dog to go into the street.
This module ensures that your dog will be crossing the street with you and when it is safe. It also reinforces your dog’s desire to look at you for direction.
To make the training even easier, you are also getting…
Access to Unedited Training Sessions
It’s easy for wanna-be dog trainers to show you perfect results when using well-trained dogs and flattering editing. I am not a wanna-be dog trainer. My system works and I prove it in these unedited dog training sessions.
There are four unedited training sessions in each module with real people, not dog trainers. They have had no experience in the course until we turned on the camera. Learn from me and learn from people going through the course.
1. My Quick Start Guide to Basic Obedience
While this course works for any dog, regardless of how well-behaved they may be, it works better with dogs who understand these three fundamental behaviors; sit, stay, and come.
Some people will pay hundreds of dollars to just learn how to train their dog to sit, stay, and come when called. Now you will learn how to do this, absolutely free.
2. My Secret To Dog Training
Dog training is easy. I repeat. Training your dog is easy. People make it difficult.
When I share my secret to dog training with you, you are going to throw your hand on your head and say, “of course! Why didn’t I think of that?!” Once you know my secret, you will be a better dog trainer than most dog owners in America.
3. Access to the Street Safe Dog PRIVATE Facebook Group
Everything you need to know to train your dog to be Street Safe is included in the Street Safe Dog Training Course. However, just in case you need more help or want to connect with other dog owners going through the course, you will be given access to our private Facebook group.
I pop into the group to offer free advice, answer questions, and keep you on track. My goal is to help you achieve your street safe dog training goals.
View More Bonuses HERE!
If you do nothing else, WATCH…
I did similar too both my Aussies (they have to look and make sure it is clear (but I used the same steps) I think road safety should be a basic like sit stay and there name (house braking is easy and well that too is on the list) I have also used the leave it (so they do not eat random things and will not take food unless it is given to them and told it is ok)
But thank you for putting this out there
How do I get the videos on street safe.?
Hi, I’m Steve. I read this blog and it is very informative and effective. And i agree that dogs should be taken for rotation. But I want to tell you something about the health of pets / dogs. When Dogs Have Eye Problems? But we don’t want it in our dogs. But we should be aware of this. I want to share some information about this..
Although there are many diseases in Dog/Pets species, eye diseases can be more deadly. Eye disease can be of many types such as KCS (dry eye), corneal ulcers, cataracts, cataracts, lid abnormalities, lens debility and other retinal diseases.
And I believe that “the eyes of animals have the ability to speak a great language” and with this in mind, we should take care of them. But sometimes your pet has a problem like eye disease, then the owner does not know what has happened to him.
If your pet has any type of eye disease or you are seeing symptoms, take him to the vet immediately, as he cannot tell you how much trouble you have. This can be a very complicated problem, I know that there are experts in pets or animal related diseases. North Houston Veterinary Ophthalmologists will examine and diagnose your pet and give you full estimates of fees and 24-hour care, along with lower and higher estimates of surgery if necessary. Contact them by calling 832-616-5005 – http://www.nhvophtho.com