WatchandTrain.com Online Dog Training

Listen To My Last Show

2008-01-29T08:06:00.001-06:00

Easy Dog Training Tips

2008-01-25T16:42:00.001-06:00

Did you know that there are training tasks you can work on when you are with your dog without even much thought? I always stress to my clients to "put the trainer hat on" a little more frequently throughout the day to achieve their goals. If you just think about training a little bit more every day, you can work on a list of goals whenever you are with your dog and he will be better trained before you know it!

Dogs (and people) learn through consistent patterns. Here are some examples of patterns that you can teach your dog every day. The key is to SAY THE CUE ONCE and then gently help your dog understand the meaning.

Turn right, turn left. When you are walking your dog, say, "left" or "right" a half-second before you turn that direction and then gently guide your dog that way. If you work on this whenever you walk your dog, eventually he will turn the correct direction on his own.

Stop. Say this every time before you stop your dog at a curb or before he hits the end of the leash if he is forging ahead on a walk. A more advanced exercise is to do the same while you are running. Make sure you don't jerk your dog when stopping. My next video that I am working on right now will cover this if you want to see it in action.

Excuse Me. My dog, Ranger, used to lie down in front of the refrigerator all the time when he was a puppy. He would seemingly read my mind and do it right before I needed something out of there. All I did was say, "Excuse me", pause for a moment and gently opened the door. The small movement touched him and he got up and walked away. Now, all I need to do is say, "Excuse me" wherever he is and he understands I need him to move out of my way.

These are just three examples of training strategies you can use every day.

Keep Your Dog Healthy

2008-01-25T16:41:00.001-06:00

It has been a rough couple of months with dogs that I know passing away prematurely. Two of my client's wonderful dogs died of cancer at a very young age. I hear more and more stories about this happening and it is difficult to know if it is happening more frequently or I hear about it more because I know thousands of dogs. It made me hug my three dogs more than I usually do (which is a lot) and to think about health issues in dogs. I fully realize that a dog guardian can make all the right health decisions for their dog and still have a terrible health issue occur with their dog. I know for a fact my clients treated their dogs with supreme care and fed them the healthiest of foods. Sometimes health issues just happen.

But, what are some topics for all of us to think about for the care of our dogs? In my experience here are some ways you can try and help your dog live a long, healthy life.

Vaccinations. Don't just assume you need to always get all the yearly vaccinations. Talk to your vet about options and do your own research. There is a lot of research that contributes to the philosophy that dogs have been getting too many vaccinations. This can potentially lead to health issues. Here are some books that talk about overall health, nutrition and vaccinations.

Dangerous Items. If your dog roams the house when you are not home, be very careful of objects in your home that might cause harm including food items, garbage, plants and cleaning supplies. About 6 years ago, I heard of a dog that died because he put his head inside of a potato chip bag and suffocated when it got caught. Terribly tragedy that could have been avoided if the bag was thrown away.

Nutrition. Consider the raw diet, or at a minimum, feed the best food that you can afford. I started feeding my dogs the raw diet many years ago when I met a woman at the beach that had six border collies. They were all in remarkable shape and I asked her how old they were. I expected her to tell me they were all under three years old. She proceeded to tell me, "This one is 12 years old, he is 10, she is 13, these two are 8 and she is 5". They were bouncing around like puppies and I asked her what her secret was. She instantly said, "Two words. Raw diet." Since then I have attended conferences, read books, and even emailed Ian Billinghurst himself in Australia to ask him questions. I have decided that it is a good decision for my dogs. But, I still find vets that are against the raw diet. The point is, you need to do the research and make the best decision you can for your lovable pooch. You can research nutrition at many locations, including this section at DogWise. If you need a good resource for premium foods, this site has many fantastic options.

Poisons. Be careful of potential poisons and harmful ingredients that your dog can ingest. Most people know about chocolate, but do you have poisonous plants in your home? Did you know that macadamia nuts are harmtul to dogs? See the ASPCA website for a list of toxins for dogs.

Stress. Alleviate stress in your dog's life. I firmly believe that stress kills both people and dogs. Think about the stress on your dog's body every day if she barks and is anxous around dogs or other objects in her daily life. Visit the Forums section and ask questions if you don't know how to do this for your dog.

Boredom. Train your dog to provide mental stimulation. Boredom is terrible for dogs and can often lead to foraging for food or destruction which can lead to ingesting something dangerous. Provide your dog with daily training to keep her more content.

Exercise. Provide physical exercise to help muscles, prevent boredom and help keep your dog slim.

Proper Weight. Don't overfeed your dog. There is information that shows that it is healthier to have your dog thinner rather than heavier. Being overweight affects the heart, joints and other organs in the body.

Hygiene. Brush your dog's teeth. Bacteria in the mouth can lead to kidney and other problems.

Dogs and Babies

2008-01-25T16:39:00.000-06:00

Worried About Your Dog and Your New Baby?

Having a new baby and worried about how your new baby and your dog will get along?

Listen to my radio show titled "Babies and Dogs Do Mix!" on Thursday, January 10th at Noon CST and call in with questions.

The call in number is (646) 378-1859 to call in live on the day of the show. And you can listen here directly on your computer.

If you miss the show, you can listen to my most recent show instantly at my website. Watch and Train.

Listen to all my archived shows including Tips for Barking Dogs, Holiday Dog Training Tips and Dog Training Resolutions.

Happy Training and Listening!

Free Puppy Socialization Tips

2008-01-25T16:38:00.000-06:00

Chicago is a wonderful place. It was ranked one of the most dog-friendly cities; there are lots of dog parks, a beautiful lakefront and tons of nice dogs and people for puppies to meet. However, Chicago's harsh, winter weather makes it a very challenging city to socialize a puppy in the winter months.

If you live in a cold weather town can you wait until the spring to socialize your puppy? The answer is no.

There is a lot of research to show that the critical socialization period for puppies ends at 12-18 weeks of age. What does that mean for you and your puppy? It means that you need to go out of your way to introduce your dog to every type of person, noise, and event that she will come into contact with – before she reaches 18 weeks of age. 18 weeks is not an absolute, depending on the research that you read, data shows that the critical socialization is up to 12-20 weeks of age. From my experience, 18-20 weeks of age is the most critical time.

What happens if you do not socialize your puppy during this critical socialization period? It means that there is a much higher chance that your dog will be frightened of people, noises, movement, handling or events that she comes into contact with later in life, unless she is comfortable with those stimuli.

One way to think about puppies’ brains is that they are like “little balls of clay” that are being formed with every new experience. Their relationship with the world is formed with each new experience. During this socialization period, they learn what they should be cautious of and also what they like. If they see something for the first time after this period of time, their normal instinctual reaction is to be more cautious.

The example that I use in my private practice is to say, “Your puppy is not afraid of the coffee table because she sees it every day and she knows that it means her no harm.”

That is how you should structure your socialization strategy. I want your puppy to "grow up" with everything that will be in her daily world. Ask a simple question. What will my puppy possibly come into contact with for the rest of her life? One important factor to keep in mind is that dogs do not generalize. What this means is that they don’t look at people and say, “I am comfortable with people.” They are only comfortable with the races, sizes, and types of people that they have come into contact with. If your puppy only sees tall men with brown hair, she might not be comfortable with small children, for example.

Can your puppy have a great experience with one child and be comfortable with children? Maybe she will, but probably not. Some breeds are actually easier to socialize than others. Labrador Retrievers and Pugs, for instance, are much less reactive than certain breeds such as German Shepherds. Being more reactive doesn’t make German Shepherds any less wonderful; it is just something to keep in mind. When you are socializing a more reactive dog you need to socialize him even more to ensure he is comfortable with the world around him.

With any dog, I recommend that you socialize your puppy as many times as possible to each event that you want her to be comfortable with. Regular, repeated exposures are critical for your puppy to learn to be confident. Do not fall into the trap of thinking that one interaction with one event is enough. Pair these events with wonderful treats and your puppy will enjoy the events.

Think of a fire engine as a socialization example. If your puppy hears the fire engine and then as it gets closer she gets treats, hopefully she will think in the future "I hope that noise happens again, I get treats when that happens!" That is the goal to have your dog happily anticipate something wonderful as a result of another event happening. If you give your dog steak every time he sees the mailman, your dog will LOVE the mailman!

So, what can you do to socialize your puppy properly in a cold weather city with the “socialization clock ticking?” Here are some suggestions for you:

Take your puppy to dog-friendly establishments with a pocketful of treats. Everyone time your puppy comes into contact with someone, she should get a treat. You can give the treats, or even better, give treats to the person that you meet to give to your puppy.
Have “puppy socialization parties” and invite your friends over. Ask them to bring big hats, glasses, Halloween costumes, baggy coats, wigs, and umbrellas. Everyone should give your puppy treats while wearing their various clothing items.
Bring out warm weather items such as inline skates and wear them in front of your puppy and give her treats.
Take your puppy to a good, positive reinforcement puppy class.
Don't stop socializing your puppy after the socialization period. Research indicates that dogs need continued socialization well past their initial socialization.
Play sound cds at a low level and pair with treats. Examples include thunderstorms, truck noises, baby noises, etc.
Practice daily handling exercises with your puppy daily and pair the experience with treats. Handling examples include gently pulling ears, rubbing paws, and brushing teeth.
Get your puppy used to people playing with her food or approaching her food bowl or bones while she is eating. Food aggression or resource guarding can happen if your dog is not comfortable with people around her food.
Introduce your puppy safely to lots and lots of kids.
Introduce your puppy to unusual sights such as elevator doors opening, crowds of people, big hats, snow blowers, moving shovels and anything else that is new. Pair each greeting with wonderful treats.
Practice "proactive" socialization. Do not wait until your puppy is reacting to a stimulus. The stimulus should not have any effect on your puppy and then she should get a treat.
If your puppy reacts to something or stops taking treats, move away to a location where she will take treats again.

Focus on socialization now and you can improve the chances that your puppy will grow up to be a confident, wonderful dog that you can bring with you anywhere.

Think of socialization as an investment. Put the time in now and it will pay off for years and years!

Resources:

BEFORE & AFTER GETTING YOUR PUPPY

CULTURE CLASH

SOUND SENSIBILITIES: THUNDERSTORMS CD

Free Dog Winter Tips

2008-01-25T16:36:00.000-06:00

Dogs and snow don't always mix. The salt can hurt their paws and cause them to limp. There are a few ways that you can help your pooch have a more comfortable snowy walk.

Did you know that if you take fresh snow and rub it directly on your dog's paw it can help rub off the salt? If the salt is really bad, this fix might be short-lived. Be cautious when crossing streets that are freshly salted, because dogs can have a tendency to stop directly in the middle of the street. Not good with traffic coming.

Clients always ask me my recommendations for dog products. Here are some recommendations to make your dog a little more comfortable and safe during the wintery holiday times.

Musher's Secret can help your dogs be more comfortable on the icy, salty sidewalks and street. I have used this product for years. It helps prevent "ice balls" as well as protecting paws from salt.

For the surest paw comfort, I like Muttluk brand dog boots. They are a little expensive, but last forever and stay on much better than the cheaper versions. After selecting the link, find your size that works for your pooch.

For safety when traveling, I always recommend a padded car harness. Besides helping with safety, It can help alleviate car sickness in dogs. The seatbelt slides through a loop in the back, which allows your dog to move around and lie down. However, if the car stops suddenly the seatbelt will keep your dog safe.

Once you get to your location, be sure to bring a variety of Kongs to keep your dog occupied while you and your family are together. Bring a variety of treats and canned dog food to stuff the Kongs. You can also freeze them with food inside to make them even longer-lasting.

If you give your dogs some activities, they will be much better behaved!

Happy Wintertime!

Teach Your Dog to be Behaved Around Guests

2008-01-25T16:35:00.001-06:00

Want your dog to be well behaved when you have guests over for the holidays? Listen in and call to find out some tips for holiday peace for all.

Call in live and ask questions.

Thursday, December 20th at Noon, CST

646.378.1859

Click on the graphic below for more information:

If you miss the show, there will be an archived file that you can listen to later as well.

Happy Listening and Training!

Jeff

Train Your Dog - Everyone Will be Happier

2008-01-25T16:33:00.001-06:00

I read an article in the New York Times on December 13, called Who Invited the Dog? about certain people feeling slighted if they are not allowed to take their dogs to social events or family gatherings. Some even went as far as to bring their dog unannounced to a party that was intended for people-only. It interviewed many people that consider their dogs family and tend to get upset if others don't have the same enthusiasm for their furry pals.

There were a few parts of the article that bothered me and most of the comments did as well. Assuming the writer presented an accurate portrayal, the descriptions of the dog guardians in the article painted them to be extremely rude, inconsiderate and often ignorant to say the least. The article mentions a few incidents where people brought dogs to social functions or family gatherings where the dog acted completely and utterly out of control.

Two aspects of the article really bother me:

The people interviewed in the article were inconsiderate of their human friends and family. For the most part they had untrained, unruly dogs that they wanted to spring on the rest of the world and did not always understand why people were not as enthusiastic to interact with their dogs. In one instance, one couple's dog was not misbehaved, but they were outraged that their dog could not participate in the activity of unwrapping Christmas presents because the fiancée of the woman's brother was allergic to dogs. They actually did not speak to the family for months afterwards because their dog was "banished to the guest bedroom".

The comments on the website that resulted from the article were mostly written in such a way as to paint all dog guardians as irresponsible, "dog fanatics" that treat dogs better than people and are basically lunatics.

I cringe when I hear about any irresponsible dog guardians because it makes it more difficult on the rest of us that do train our dogs, exercise them sufficiently, clean up their messes, and act respectful around people that don’t appreciate dogs. The ironic point of inconsiderate dog guardians is that they think their dogs are treated better and will be happier by “spoiling” them. Often times this is just a replacement for being lazy. In my experience, dogs are much happier with training, structure and rules rather than allowing them to destroy the house and jump on guest with no rules.

It might take more knowledge and time to actually train a dog, but it is much easier to make the excuse for unacceptable dog behavior by saying that, “She is just spoiled.”

I also hate to hear people speak with such venom towards dogs. You should read some of the comments in the article. I am not necessarily upset at the person making the comment, but the fact that their view of dogs is so tainted because of so many bad experiences with dogs in the past. I think about all of those misbehaved dogs with irresponsible owners that would be so much happier with sufficient positive reinforcement training and structure.

For the same reason that I wouldn’t want a guest in my home destroying my furniture and being rude to my guests, I would not want a dog in my house doing the same. If everyone humanely trains their dogs and sets ground rules, a lot more people will have the pleasure of meeting well-behaved dogs and both dogs and people would be much better off.

Dog Destroys Holiday Decorations?

2008-01-25T16:30:00.000-06:00

Does your dog love your Christmas tree or other holiday decorations? If there is any chance of chewing or destruction, it is a great idea to work on Perimeter Training. You can teach your dog to stay away from a location, or do not go past a specific perimeter.

You can apply this strategy to any situation that you want to teach your dog to stay away from a location. It could be something specific such as a coffee table with food on it, a specific room, or a Christmas tree. Here are the basics to teach this important behavior, using a Christmas tree as an example.

You need to make some decisions first. You need to decide the following:

What is the exact location that is off-limits? I recommend creating a very specific perimeter as the "wrong answer." You might even put a rope or other visual cue around the tree and teach him not to put any part of his body over this line.
How are you going to prevent him access to the tree before you have established a really strong behavior? Examples include crates, baby gates or putting him in another room when you are not home or watching him.
What is the timeout area that you will use during this training?
Now you are ready to begin. To teach consistency, your dog must never interact with the tree when you are not watching him, or he will learn that it is safe to do so when you are not there. To train any behavior the most quickly, the closer you can come to 100% success rate the better. If he is allowed to chew on the tree or lie under the tree (see photo to the right) it will be more difficult to change the rules later. Start consistent, stay consistent!

To practice training sessions do this:

Put your dog on leash
Walk him near the tree
Click and treat (or say, "yes" if you are not using a clicker) anything appropriate, including walking by the tree, looking at the tree, sitting, lying down, etc.
If he takes ONE step over the VERY WELL DEFINED line say, “Eh! Eh!” and gently guide him away from that location, and IMMEDIATELY give him encouragement when his body is in a proper location away from the tree. “Good boy!”
Continue practicing and make it more enticing for him to go near the tree, including throwing toys or treats in underneath it. Yes, this is entrapment, but often when you want to work on dog training, your dog acts differently because you are watching him. Sometimes you have to entice him to make a decision while you are there and gently teach him it is not appropriate.
The second time he puts a paw over the line, say, “Eh! Eh!” and gently guide him away and then give encouragement, "Good boy!"
The third time he puts a paw over the line, say, “Timeout” and gently move him to the timeout location. (see below)
Wait 10-30 seconds and remove him, only if he is quiet, and repeat.
Once he is timed out one time, the next time he crosses the line it is an instant timeout.
Continue until you can tell that he is thinking, “It sure doesn’t pay when I go near that tree!”

Troubleshooting
If you feel frustrated, focus on the CORRECT behaviors. Start by giving feedback at least every 6 seconds including verbal feedback, petting, treats, and toys when he is doing the right behavior. Keep him far away at the beginning and reward him for anything that is correct. Even if he is 20 feet away from the treat on leash, he should be rewarded, because that is one of the many possibilities that you want him to do in the future. If tomorrow he chooses to stay 20 feet away from the tree, that is great!

As you do more training, use more verbal feedback and less treats. Long-term, a big part of the reward is "staying with the party" and not getting timed out.

Timeouts
Timeouts can be very controversial. They shouldn't be. The philosophy behind timeouts involves teaching your dog that one behavior is correct and one behavior ends all the fun. You absolutely can use the crate as a timeout area. He will not start to hate the crate if he is normally comfortable in the crate. If your dog has Separation Anxiety, he probably can't be in the crate. That would not be fair to your dog. The recommendation for timeouts assumes that your dog is normally comfortable in the crate. So, for a dog that is ok with the crate, if he likes the crate at that moment as much as being where he just was, then it won't work as a punishment! I want your dog to be in the crate and have some thought such as "Aw, why did I end up in here? I want to be with the rest of the party!"

The interesting thing about timeouts is that they are technically a punishment. The definition of a punishment is to "add something aversive to stop a behavior". However, "punishments" do not have to mean choking your dog or being physical. That is never appropriate.

To properly use timeouts, your dog must understand what is APPROPRIATE. To accomplish this, make sure you reward a lot after each timeout for the correct responses, and manage him properly so he is not able to practice the inappropriate behavior when you are not watching him.

Questions? Post them in the Forums.

You can also see this strategy in action by purchasing the Counter Surfing video. This shows a coffee table as an example, but it an be applied to any location in your home. You can also download a chapter of notes from the Counter Surfing video.

"Sit-Down" Can Confuse Your Dog

2008-01-25T16:28:00.000-06:00

Providing clear instructions is critical in dog training. Have you ever thought about the cues we give our dogs from their perspective? Over the years I am sometimes completely amazed that a given dog is able to understand the trainer at all. All trainers present many different signals to their dog without knowing it. Have you ever said, "Sit" at the same time you are moving your hand in the "Sit" hand signal that you have taught your dog? That is called "blocking", which is presenting a dog two signals at the same time. The dog might learn one signal, both, or neither. In that case, is the cue for "Sit" the verbal cue, the hand signal, or the combination?

If you want your dog to learn BOTH the hand signal and the verbal cue, try this: say the verbal cue with a quiet body (no extraneous movements,) and then after one second, help your dog with the hand signal. If you have not established a hand signal cue, work on that first.

Lesson learned: Don't expect your dog to learn two things at once. Separate the two with a slight pause.

Next I want you think about specific language. What does "Sit Down" mean? Does it mean "Sit" or "Down?" People have a tendency to speak in synyonyms, colloquial speech patterns and slang. That is fine if you teach your dog all of those specific terms. But if you have not, don't expect her to know them. Use "Sit" or "Down", but don't use them together.

Lesson learned: Be specific with your language. If your dog is having trouble with something, ask someone to watch one of your training sessions to determine if you are being clear with your instructions.

One of the most common confusing messages that I see all the time is when people say, "Down" to their dog when she is jumping on people or on furniture that is off-limits. I recommend teaching "Off" to mean "keep your paws off that person or object". "Down" should be reserved for lying down. One reason that I am such a stickler about this point is that the meaning of the cue gets diluted over time. Think about asking your dog to "Down" off of your guests and furniture many times a day and then expecting them to lie "Down" when you want them to? You have defined one cue to mean two very different things.

Lesson learned: Define each cue to mean one behavior.

The last example is the common usage of "Leave it" and "Drop" used interchangeably. The lesson is the same as “Down” and “Off”, but there is a more noticeable and dramatic reason for making sure you are consistent. You could save your dog’s life by paying attention to this rule. If you need your dog to "Drop" something that may hurt her, you don't want her to pause to interpret what you mean. You want her to do the behavior as a reflex response. Many people use “Leave it” to mean both: “Move your mouth away from that object” and, “Drop it” to mean, “Open your mouth”.

Getting snappy, consistent responses requires conditioning through repetition of behaviors paired with a cue many, many times. Think movements in sports, responding to orders in the military, and typing as three examples. Why do athletes at any level practice for hours and hours? It is to get muscle-memory of behaviors and achieve a level of comfort with the action so there body easily does the movement without a lot of thought. This allows them to refine their movements, think about strategies, work on their role and not get bogged down in the details.

Have you ever asked your dog to do something and then gotten a really delayed response, or none at all? Of course you have. I have, every trainer has. That is part of the learning process. If you define “Leave it” to mean two different things, will your dog have a snappy response? Possibly, but you are leaving too much room for interpretation. Teach, “Leave It” to mean “Move your mouth away from that” and, “Drop it” to mean “Open your mouth”.

Lesson learned: Snappy responses require repetition of behaviors paired with a cue many, many times.

I am very excited about my next two videos, Stop and Puppy Biting. The Puppy Biting video also includes teaching a soft mouth using the game of tug, as well as teaching “Drop”. Look for both videos in the new few weeks.

Do you really like training theory? You should explore Excel-Erated Learning by Pamela Reid. This provides an amazing backround about learning theory, classical and operant conditioning, and the applications of learning principles to changing behaviors. This got me through Jean Donaldson's Academy!

Your Dog Must Run?

2008-01-25T16:24:00.000-06:00

This morning I took my three dogs, Ranger, Trooper and Linus to the park. This is a necessity since I have two Collies and a Sheltie and live in Chicago. Until someone moves in with a flock of sheep to keep them busy, it is my responsibility to provide them with a heavy dose of physical and mental stimulation. So, I took them to a park near my house and played Frisbee with them and threw the Kong on a rope. As usual I also worked on training to keep them sharp. I asked them to stop, come, go left, go right, finish, stay, etc. They had a lot of fun and were their normal goofy, wonderful selves.

A few minutes after we got there, a nice woman brought her 6-year-old Chihuahua into the park and asked if he could play. I said, "sure." She mentioned something about it being a good opportunity for him to run around. Her dog, Bosco, seemed perfectly happy walking around, sniffing and exploring; things that city dogs don't necessarily get to do a lot since they are usually on leash.

After about three minutes, the woman proceeded to leave and said something about, "Well, I guess he doesn't get it. He doesn't want to run." Then she left. I guess in her mind Bosco had to run or it wasn't worth her time to stick around. Maybe she thought that running was the only activity that showed that he was enjoying himself. I am not sure.

It started me thinking about the varied activities that dogs do. Some dogs like chasing other animals, playing fetch, getting belly rubs, sniffing on walks, or cuddling on the couch. But, how do we really know when they are having fun?

Maybe Bosco was having fun just sniffing around, or more likely, his person knew that he was bored. My three dogs each have their own desires for fun. Ranger loves to be chased, Trooper loves it when I grab the leash in the park and trail it so he can bite it. Linus loves fetch. How do I know? Because they continue to do the behavior. It is basic animal learning theory that states that an animal will do a behavior more than once if it is reinforcing in some way. If an animal repeats something, it is either to soothe an anxiety, a physical desire (eating to alleviate hunger), or because it is fun.

If you are not sure what your dog likes. Try many activities until you find something that he likes. I routinely do things once and wait and see if a dog responds in a positive way. For instance, I will pet a dog for a short amount of time, wait a minute and see if they move towards me or look at me, and then start petting them again. You can teach dogs to communicate their desires to you if you are observant and responsive.

Dog Training Tips - Be Consistent

2008-01-25T16:17:00.000-06:00

"Come on guys let's go for a walk."

Blank stares . . .

"Ranger, Trooper, Linus, Come."

Three furry friends come running.

I realized that I never taught my dogs what "Come on guys let's go for a walk" meant. That was many years ago, and since then I have taught them that, but it reminded me of the importance of consistent teaching and that . . . dogs don't understand synonyms! We talk this way all the time and humans are able to fill in the gaps based on the context of the situation or the sentence. Dogs might be able to understand based on inflection, situation or body movement, but they need consistent patterns to understand what we mean.

Try this: work for 30 seconds on your dog's easiest behavior -usually sit - rewarding each behavior and then at some point say, "blah blah blah" and just look at your dog. Most likely your dog will sit, but you did not ask her, did you? What you did was create a pattern of:

You say something
Your dog does something
Your dog gets a reward

Your dog tried to fill in the blanks about what you were asking her. She tried a behavior because it had been working for her in the past because she was motivated by the reward. Motivation is the single most fascinating subject on this planet because it drives all species every moment of the day.

So now let's get back to the original topic of teaching Come and apply the demonstration outlined above. You can use this information to be a great teacher by following the simple pattern of:

Say the cue (or make a visual cue with your hands) for Come
Help your dog get it right by gently helping her come to you either by gently pulling on her leash, tapping your leg, running the other way, crouching down, etc.
Reward
Say the cue
Delay the help just a bit to allow your dog to try and connect the dots
Help, if necessary
Reward
Repeat

You are creating a consistent pattern that will motivate your dog to do the behavior when she hears the cue. That is dog training!

You can get even more step-by-step instructions including high-quality video and downloadable notes at my online dog training website.

Happy Training!

Dog Training Myths

2008-01-25T15:51:00.001-06:00

There are so many dog training myths perpetuated by old school techniques, bad trainers, or trainers that do not give their clients the benefit of the doubt and "dumb down" everything into simple sound bites.

There are some very popular dog trainers spouting these "sound bites" that get re-hashed into common dog training lexicon. The ones that suffer are the poor dogs.

Here are some of the myths that get "whispered", shouted and repeated all over.

Eat before your dog so "he knows who is boss." This probably got started because trainers wanted their clients to just think about training on a daily basis. One reason that I also hear frequently is to mimic the wolf behavior of the alpha wolf eating first. This will supposedly teach your dog that he needs to behave because you are eating first. Don't worry about being the alpha, just train your dog! An easy way to think about training every day is to tie it to something people do every day - eat. While a person is eating, they might ask their dog to lie down and wait, which just helps with daily training, but is not a requirement for a dog to be well behaved.
Walk through doors before your dog -- same reason, so he "knows who is boss." Once again, just a way to remind a person to work on teaching their dog to be patient and to work on control. If a dog walks into a room before you, he just wants to go into the room faster than you, it does not make him "dominant."
Make sure your dog walks by your side, if he walks ahead of you he is being "dominant." Ridiculous. If you want your dog to walk next to you, train him and motivate him to do so. Both things take a little time and ability. If your dog is not trained, don't blame your dog, work harder on teaching him or find a good positive reinforcement trainer that can show you the proper techniques.

So much of successful dog training is based on working through challenges and figuring out how to motivate a dog to do something. It is really easy to blame the dog instead of becoming a better trainer.

Do Not Repeat Cues

2007-10-01T09:16:00.000-05:00

It is a bit ironic that this is the recommendation that I repeat most to my clients. But, this makes a HUGE difference in training. Any animal learns faster if there are clear instructions. If you ask your dog to do something and they don’t do it, there are a few reasons that they did not perform:
• They did not hear you
• They don’t know the cue
• They don’t want to do the cue
• They are distracted and lost focus on what is expected of them

It doesn’t matter which of the above reasons a dog doesn’t perform. You should pay attention to being a good teacher and achieving a reflex response by asking your dog to do something, wait for a moment, help gently – if needed, and then reward after your dog does the behavior.

Don’t worry about your dog getting something for “nothing” by rewarding if you help your dog by gently helping. An example of a helper is gently pulling the leash after saying, “Come”. Eventually your dog will do the behavior on his own.

See more tips at http://www.watchandtrain.com

Football Season - A Great Opportunity for Dog Training

2007-08-21T11:52:00.000-05:00

Yes, I love football. My wife is not too thrilled with this “problem” but she overlooks it once (or twice a week) during the winter. But, you know what? Your dog and your spouse doesn’t have to suffer! Use this as a structured training time to train your pooch. Here is one example of how to use your football time efficiently:

Don’t feed your dog her breakfast that day to make this even more of a special event
Take her food bowl and put it out of reach of your dog
During the game, take small handfuls of it and periodically give small bits of it while she is lying nicely either next to you on the couch or on the floor
Add more time in between tidbits to work on increasing patience and working on a nice “down stay”
You can also stuff bigger portions or treats in a Kong or other stuffable toy and give it to her to keep her busy
During the commercial break get up and do 2 minutes of training
Introduce more advanced placement commands and reward these: examples include “go to bed”, “lie down next to couch”, etc.
Once the game starts again, sit down and continue

What could happen by the end of the season:

Your dog will see you plop on the couch, remote in hand and lie down next to you
Your dog will see you sit down and go to her “spot”
Your dog will learn to be patient when she is not getting full attention
You will have a better trained, happier dog
Your spouse will be appreciative of all the hard work you put in and will enjoy your well-behaved dog even more

To find more suggestions for training, visit WatchandTrain.com

Exercise your dog – physical and mental

2007-08-15T14:51:00.000-05:00

In my daily dog training life I am constantly asked a simple question: How much exercise does my dog need? The answer depends on your dog. When my Collie, Ranger was a puppy, he needed three hours of exercise per day. How did I know he needed that much? When I did not provide him that much he was agitated, barked in the crate, was destructive and was just not as enjoyable to be around.

I probably could have gotten away with less, but what I did was what I recommend for all of my clients: train and exercise at the same time. A walk wasn’t just for exercise, but I worked on training, I chased him (one of his favorite activities) only after he came when I called him. I taught him all kind of silly but mind-exercising activities and tricks including “coffee table” – run around the coffee table, “hand-off” – take whatever object is in my hand as you run by, “nose down” – put your nose down between your paws, etc.

As with most dogs, as he got older his requirements lessened a bit, but he still is very high energy and LOVES training. My other two dogs love it as well. My Sheltie is high-energy as well, and my other Collie, Trooper is much lower energy but loves training.

I always recommend a MINIMUM of an hour of heavy-duty exercise including brisk walks, games of fetch, tug, or running at the dog park in addition to a MINIMUM of 15 minutes of training per day. Start there and adjust it as necessary.

The Importance of Handling Your Dog - What to do if your dog growls

2007-08-13T12:24:00.000-05:00

It is so important to gently handle your dog throughout his or her life. I received a typical call today from a client that is afraid because her dog growls when she puts on his his harness.

The challenge with growling is that it is much better than biting, but it does signify a problem that needs to be worked on. If you put your dog in a situation where he growls, and you move away from him, then he is learning that growling is effective and he can do it when he is scared. If he growls and you ignore it, he might bite.

If you notice growling, do not punish it. Move gently away and make a note of what you were doing right before the growling. Let’s just say you were putting on a harness. You need to break down the complete action into small steps and desensitize your dog to each step. For instance, putting on a harness could be broken down into these big steps:
1. Show dog his harness
2. Move harness towards dog
3. Open head hole
4. Move harness towards dog
5. Put harness over dogs head
6. Rest harness on dogs back
7. Move hand towards paw to bring it through front leg hole in harness
8. Lift paw
9. Put paw through hole
10. Lean towards dog
11. Touch clip under belly
12. Clip harness under belly

Each one of those steps could take a long time. For instance, step 4 “Move harness towards dog” could elicit a fear response. If this happens, you have to go at a slower pace, both while you are doing the exercise and take more days to achieve this step.

After each step, I recommend saying, “Yes” or Clicking and treating. If your dog shows any fear, move more slowly and end on a good note and then stop the exercise before he gets worked up.

If he is constantly getting worked up when you do these exercises, you are moving much too quickly.

To prevent issues like this, handle your dog throughout his or her life and give treats toys, or food after doing the handling. Done correctly, your dog will love it!

Dog Training Expectations

2007-07-31T12:14:00.000-05:00

Performance is something that changes moment to moment. When you are training your dog, you need to always pay attention to how well she is doing. If she is consistently distracted by something in the environment which causes her behavior to fluctuate, you have a couple of options.

Train another day. You might be at the dog park providing your pooch with some much needed exercise and you realize that she is extremely distracted and not paying attention to your cues. Get SOMETHING - even as simple as a sit - and then let her play.
Move farther away from the distraction and keep working. Do a quick session and then reward a snappy response by allowing her to go back to what she was doing.
Provide more help. If she is distracted and is not listening when you say, "Come!" have her trail a leash and hold it before you say it again. Then, say, "Come", gently pull the leash towards you, tap your leg, walk backwards, etc. To help the behavior happen. Then, reward her and do it again. When she does the behavior on her own, let her go back to what she was doing.

More tips like this can be found at my online video site.

Choke chains can increase aggression

2007-07-19T10:19:00.000-05:00

I got a sad call from a new client yesterday. She said her dog was showing signs of dog-dog aggression and, from the advice of someone in the dog park, she hired a trainer that uses choke chains. She said initially the training wasn't too physical, but she ended up firing him because of his increasingly abusive techniques when dogs were around her dog.
She noticed that since those sessions, her dog has gotten worse, and more anxious when dogs come into view. I was not surprised and told her that is one of my main reasons for never recommending physical, or fear-based training.

From a learning perspective this is what can happen and probably happened in this case:

Her dog showed signs of aggression
She got "popped" with the choke chain which is called "positive punishment" (many people and trainers incorrectly call this "negative reinforcement")
The pain possibly stopped her barking, but actually increased the anxiety (she was anxious about dogs coming into view because now it meant pain for her)
Her behavior escalated over time because now she became anxious about getting anxious. The way I explain this is that the pattern has been consistent that she will bark at some point, and now she has to worry about two things: the dog and the pain associated with the dog
She can't win. Either she shows anxiety and gets choked, or she has to quietly endure a situation that causes her fear

Dog-dog aggression can be modified using only positive reinforcement. I have been thinking about it for a while, but I am going to write a Dog Aggression E-book as soon as I can. I am editing videos for my dog training video site, but it will be a while before I have a dog aggression video. An E-book can be helpful and I have to help people realize that you don't have to use abusive methods to work with an aggressive dog.

Not enough time for dog training? Tips to find time.

2007-07-15T22:23:00.000-05:00

Everyone is busy. My wife and I are taking a guitar class together and it is amazing how the week flies by and I realize I haven't practiced enough.

I am sure you are busy as well and can never find enough time to train your dog. Here are some tips to help you find the time.

Do short training sessions before EVERYTHING that your dog wants. Examples include walks, dinner, belly rubs, games of fetch.
Use what I call the Calorie Bowl. Portion out your dog's daily food including a few tasty treats and put it on the counter out of reach. Grab handfuls of it throughout the day and do quick training sessions. When the food is done, your dog is done eating for the day. No worries about overfeeding and it forces you to think about daily training.
Use Kongs to feed your dog. Extracting food out of Kongs is a great way to provide your dog with mental stimulation.
Have a favorite outside-only toy that your dog gets for good behavior on walks. Give it to him or her for a snappy behavior such as walking next to you for 20 steps. Then, take it away and ask for more of the behavior before your dog gets it back.
One of my favorites: put training sessions in your calendar. Everything else is scheduled, why not training? One of my private client's favorite things about our sessions is that it reminds them to do weekly training. If you schedule it, you will find the time!

More tips like these can be found in my streaming online dog training videos.

Dog Summertime Safety Tips

2007-07-10T13:33:00.000-05:00

Wow is it hot. In Chicago it has been near 90 degrees every day for more than a week. I feel for those of you in hotter areas such as California or Arizona.

But wherever you live, it is important to keep in mind some basic safety tips for dogs. If you ever suspect your dog having problems due to the heat or ingesting something, get him or to the vet immediately.

Summertime hazards can be found in many places. This is not a complete list, but some of the more common issues. You can also visit the ASPCA site for up-to-date information on a variety of issues.

Overheating. Dogs can overheat on normal walks or even faster in the the car. Take lots of water with you, avoid the heat of day, take shorter walks, and NEVER leave a dog in a car alone, even with the windows open. A car can heat up to a lethal temperature in minutes. Just don't take a chance.

Theft. Dogs can get taken for medical experiments, dog fighting, or for their companionship. There has been a rash of small dogs getting taken out of cars in Chicago. The thieves smash the windows and take the dogs. Some police think that the thieves might look for reward signs and return the dog to the rightful guardian to claim the reward. Evil. Dogs also can get taken when tied up outside of stores or coffee shops or out of backyards. Be careful.

Ingesting Antifreeze. This is the main reason I never let my dogs drink out of puddles. I don't want them to get in the habit of doing so. Even a small amount of antifreeze can kill a dog, and to make it worse, the sweet taste attracts dogs.

Ingesting chocolate. There is a lot of great information out there about the toxicities in different types of chocolate. Dark chocolate and baker's chocolate is the most dangerous, but it is a good idea to keep all chocolate away from your dog. Here is an article about the dangers of chocolate at About.com.

Ticks. Ticks have got to be the nastiest looking creature out there. Besides the skin irritations they can cause, they can also carry Lyme Disease. Make sure check your dog thoroughly after every romp in a potentially tick-infested area. Learn more about Ticks at this informative website.

Giardia. Dogs can get this parasite from feces of other dogs. So, if you are out more with your dog in the summer, make sure you are in a clean area. Here is an article about Giardia. As you can see, it is a complicated topic.

There are a lot more dangers for dogs out there, if you have more that you would like to talk about add a comment to this post.

Have a safe summer.

Dog training guaranteed

2007-07-10T08:41:00.000-05:00

I use this post to get people to think about dog training, but also want to make sure you know about my online dog training website. You can learn how to housetrain your puppy, learn how to train your dog to perform proper leash walking, teach your dog to come when called, no jumping on guests or counter surfing.

I am currently working on my next video which will show you how to teach your dog to Stop on cue.

The videos are extremely high-quality and since they are so good, I offer a 100% Money Back Guarantee. You can review the videos and the accompanying notes for 10 days.

I put a lot of time and energy into producing a product that is helpful, easy-to-use and can help dogs all over the world. I hope you like it.

Watch and Train.com, online dog training videos.

Please check dog trainer references

2007-07-04T09:46:00.000-05:00

I was interviewed in April by the Chicago Reader about a horrifying situation about a dog trainer in the Chicago area arrested for animal cruelty. Read the article. I was interviewed to get a the perspective about, as a positive reinforcement trainer, why I think other trainers use abusive methods.

A lot of people don't think about the implications of who they hire to give them advice about the raising of their pet. Whether they think it is "just a dog" and you "just train it" or they just assume that dog trainers are screened by the state in which they operate, I am not sure. Besides requiring a business license, dog trainers are not screened or regulated in any other way at this time.

I don't think that this is critical because then it could open up all other kinds of questions. Who would do the screening, what would the criteria be, what types of training would be allowed, etc.

But, what you can do is to screen dog trainers yourself. Check references, check their training credentials, go watch them train if they teach classes. A bad trainer can give you terrible advice and really ruin the physical or mental well-being of your pet.

Dog trainers should be versed in learning theory, be members of organizations such as the APDT, attended seminars by other skilled trainers, studied at schools such as the Academy for Dog Trainers and/or worked closely with other trainers in a internship or apprentice situation.

You are hiring someone for his or her knowledge and experience. Make sure you know what you are getting.

Teach a dog to Come when called - the importance of consistency in dog training

2007-07-04T09:22:00.000-05:00

You say something
Your dog does something
Your dog gets a reward

Say the cue (or make a visual cue with your hands) for Come
Help your dog get it right by gently helping her come to you either by gently pulling on her leash, tapping your leg, running the other way, crouching down, etc.
Reward
Say the cue
Delay the help just a bit to allow your dog to try and connect the dots
Help, if necessary
Reward
Repeat

Housetraining tips - what not to do

2007-07-03T12:22:00.000-05:00

It still amazes me the frequency I hear people talk about pushing their puppy's face in an accident to teach her housetraining. This is a sure way to greatly increase your puppy's anxiety and potentially teach your dog not to go potty in front of you at all for fear of punishment.

Just don't do it.
What you do want to is to manage your dog to prevent accidents and motivate your dog to hold her bladder and reward her for going potty in the correct location. My favorite management option is a crate.

You can learn step-by-step crate training and housetraining techniques at my online dog training website.

Dog scared of fireworks?

2007-07-02T23:50:00.000-05:00

I was interviewed recently by the Chicago Tribune as well as a couple radio stations to help dogs overcome fear of fireworks. Here are the links if you want to read the information.

Pets Unleashed - Chicago Tribune Blog

107.5 Frank FM Radio Interview, July 2, 2007

710 AM, Seattle, WA Radio Interview, Friday, June 29, 2007 - Link to come

Dog Training 101 - Don't repeat cues and other dog training basics

2007-06-26T20:05:00.000-05:00

Just some quick thoughts to make your life as a dog trainer much easier. After training thousands of dogs, it still amazes me how the little suggestions can make the biggest difference.

Don't repeat cues. Each time you say, "Sit, sit, sit . . . SIT" you are creating more work for yourself. Why? Generally one of four reasons. Your dog did not hear the cue. Your dog doesn't know the cue. Your dog is distracted and you need to move farther away from the distraction. Your dog isn't motivated to do the cue. After you say a cue, you need to "help" your dog get the cue correct. For instance, if you say, "Come" and your dog doesn't come to you, gently put a leash on your dog, gently bring your dog to you, and . . . reward. Yes, you reward even if you are helping. You want to establish a pattern of your dog doing a certain behavior after hearing a cue and getting a reward. That is where the motivation comes in to play. Eventually if you follow the pattern of:

Say the cue once
Help your dog get the behavior correct
Reward your dog (even if you help)

Eventually your dog will do the behavior without help. You can see more examples of dog training techniques at http://www.watchandtrain.com

Train in short sessions. The best strategy is to do really short sessions (as little as one or two minutes) before EVERYTHING that your dog wants. For instance, before you take your pup for a walk ask for a "Sit", "Down" and "Stay" for 20 seconds. Then say, "Ok" (release) and put the leash on and go. This will force you to do training throughout the day, and will teach your dog that your cues have relevancy in her life. Motivation!

Pay attention to what your dog wants and use this as a reward. This goes along with the previous suggestion. For instance, if your dog wants to play with a squeaky toy, take it away, do a short session and then give it back as a reward. If your dog wants to say, "hello" to his friend Spike on a walk, ask for a "Watch me" and then allow him to say "hello". Then . . . do a quick "let's go" walk away 5 steps and then come back only if he is not pulling on the leash.

Stay close to home, if necessary. It is much smarter to stay 10 feet on either side of your front door for 20 minutes than to allow your dog to pull you around the block which teaches her to pull. Stay in a setting that is less distracting until the behavior improves before heading to a new location.

Use a Sensible Harness for pullers. There is a fantastic, humane harness called the Sensible or Senseation harness. Find it at Softouchconcepts. Use it instead of chokes or prong collars.

Happy training!
http://www.watchandtrain.com

To Sit or Not to Sit - Helping a dog with dog-dog aggression

2007-06-26T14:56:00.000-05:00

I work with dog-dog aggression a lot. I get lots of practice in the congested city of Chicago, and I use techniques that work. As with any training topic, there are many competing strategies out there, but I urge you to think about the psychology of anxiety and aggression.

If an animal is not hunting for food (one form of aggression) if they show aggression towards another animal it is almost exclusively as a result of discomfort. "You are too close, get away from me!"

To help a dog feel more comfortable, you have to help them BEFORE they start the "rehearsal" of the behavior. If the pattern is currently 1) I see a dog 2) Eventually I will bark and lunge at that dog. You need to change the pattern to 1) I see dog 2) I am calm.

This is how it works: If your dog currently is routinely in a situation where she ends up barking, she can start to predict the discomfort that will eventually happen and get more anxious earlier in the process. I think about it as getting anxious about getting anxious.

I like to use an analogy to a human experience to help my clients understand. If you are terrified of roller coasters, you might get anxious as soon as one of your friends even suggests going to the amusement park. You can already predict how you will feel at the park and start to go over that feeling in your head. Now think about how you might feel driving to the amusement park, walking through the gate, etc. The ANTICIPATION of the event can actually be stressful.

The same process happens with dogs. I usually get calls from new clients when their dog's behavior has gotten worse. "They used to be ok with dogs about 10 feet away, and now they bark when the dog is 50 feet away!"

So now, how do you fix the problem? I will post a more detailed answer at some point . . . want more info . . . comment on this post and I will do it faster . . . .

The main point I want to talk about today is the very common practice of having a dog sit when she growls or barks. Not inhumane, not always a bad idea, but . . . often it can send a dog into an anxiety-ridden tailspin.

If your dog is anxious 20 feet from a dog and you have her sit, she is MORE vulnerable sitting. If you have done lots of training and sitting is a conditioned response, now you've done it. Part of her brain is telling her to sit, and part of her brain is telling her to fight or flee (the two instinctual reactions when any animal is in panic mode). So now what can happen is your dog is anxious. She wants to run away or fight but is told to do something else that will make her more vulnerable.

What should you do? Move her away and desensitize her to the event so she doesn't even start to feel anxious.

Teach Emergency STOP!

2007-06-04T12:48:00.000-05:00

On Friday I met a client for the first session and met his wonderful 1.5 year old Labrador Retriever named Riley. Our session ended after some fantastic leash work, placement cues and some work on Stay. As I was leaving, my client opened the door for me just as a delivery man was opening the door on the ground level. My client immediately saw the worst. The door was open, the gate was open and Riley ran through both.

We immediately raced after him and, thankfully, Riley did not make it to the very busy street one block away.

But, that reminded me of the importance of all dogs learning Emergency Stop. My client and I will be working on that during the next session, but it takes a while to "stick". So better management around open doors is first on the list for my client to practice.

Here are the steps. As with any positive reinforcement dog training, there are a number of ways to teach the same behavior. Here are a couple.

Strategy One

Start out with a 6 foot leash
Place a toy or treat that your dog likes 10 feet away
As she walks away from you say, "Stop" and gently stop her movement
AS SOON as she is stopped Click (if you are using a clicker) or say, "Yes"
She should turn around after hearing the Clicker or the word "Yes", but if not, give her a treat no matter which direction she is looking
Do 5 repetitions of this and continue below
My definition of Stop is for a dog to do a "U-turn" and turn around and look at me. So if she if she is not already doing that, you will now add that requirement to the behavior. So now your expectation is "Stop moving AND turn around and look at me"
Move a bit farther away from the toy or treat on the ground and add a little noise with your mouth after she has stopped moving. Then, when she turns around, 'Click' or say, "Yes"
The goal is that she starts to anticipate the word "Stop" with something behind her after she stops moving. It is almost as if we want her to turn around and say, "What?"

Troubleshooting

Move farther away from the object that she is moving towards before starting the exercise
Stop her more quickly after saying "Stop" (always gently)
Provide "help" more quickly after she stops so she turns around more quickly. Helpers include a kissing noise with your mouth, tapping your leg, etc.
Think of this as a reflex exercise that is only successful after the necessary repetitions. Do not get frustrated. Practice daily in different situations.
Practice on a walk every time you walk up to a curb and eventually she will associate the curb with "Stop" and will start to do it on her own
Move to fixed length - not retractable - long leashes (12 feet or more) and continue practicing. Make sure you do not "clothesline" your dog. If she is moving quickly do not stop her too quickly. You should move to a short leash until you have more reliability if this is happening frequently.

Strategy Two
You can do this one if your dog loves toys. Use her favorite toy that you know she will chase. As long as you are in a safe, enclosed area, she doesn't even need to be on leash for this one.

Take her favorite toy that you know she loves to chase
Pretend to throw it
When she takes steps towards the direction you "threw it", say, "Stop"
As soon as she turns around (help her with a noise with your mouth if you need to) 'Click' or say, "Yes" and throw it the opposite direction you originally "threw it"
What you are doing is associating the word "Stop" with her action of turning around and running the opposite direction
That is what Stop looks like!!! Yippeee!

Visit http://WatchandTrain.com for streaming dog training videos for more tips and techniques like these. Each video comes with a free, orientation video as well as downloadable notes with more helpful tips and tidbits.

Corrections

2007-06-01T10:08:00.000-05:00

While working with a private client on Wednesday, we ran into another local Chicago trainer. It was interesting, because we were both teaching our clients the exact same lesson, using different philosophies. The goal was to have our dogs meet each other calmly. My client and I were walking a 2 year old wheaton terrier, and the other trainer and his client each had a dog that they were working with.

I used one of many strategies to get Misty to greet nicely. In this case, I asked her to watch me. Each time she watched me, she got to move a bit closer to the other dog. At a certain point I "lost her" and I moved her gently away and started again. So much of this strategy revolves around two things. Teaching a dog to pay attention and not be single-minded on the other dog and also through repetition teach her to "ask for permission" by checking in before greetings.

As we got closer to the other trainer and the two dogs, I noticed that each dog was wearing a choke chain. Anyone that knows me knows that I do not ever recommend using one of these "tools" for training. By definition, it adds pain to stop a behavior. This is called positive punishment. Often trainers will incorrectly label it negative reinforcement which is something different.

I heard the trainer tell his client that her dog should greet another dog on her terms and that she should "correct" him if he gets up from his sit too quickly. While I did not see her actually do this, this often means giving a pop with the leash to stop the dog's forward movement using the discomfort of the choke chain to help this happen.

On my way home I thought how unfortunate it was that while we were all teaching our dogs the same lesson, the word "correction" in the other trainer's case refers to adding discomfort or pain in the lesson. In my lessons, I "correct" a dog's actions by gently moving her away from her current location until she is able to focus on the task at hand and then continue the lesson.

The most troubling aspect of the word "correction" used in the physical sense is that it implies that there is a clear "right" and "wrong" and it is ok to punish dogs if they make the wrong decision. My strategy focuses on making sure that dogs understand what is expected of them and I encourage, motivate and reward the right decisions. If they make a "mistake" I don't hold it against them or decide that they are wrong. I look at the whole picture including the current location, the age of the dog, the amount of training the dog has had and adjust my expectations from there.

Stubborn

2007-05-31T17:30:00.001-05:00

This little word gets so many dogs in trouble. I hear this word used very frequently to describe a dog's behavior. It often is used to describe a dog that will not come when called or perform another behavior such as 'sit'.

Whether you want to call a dog stubborn or not, I think we can all agree on one thing. Dogs have a brain and they make choices. That is one of the wonderful, magical elements to enjoying a dog in our world. They are dogs, yet they become members of our human families! Think about that. Should it be easy to teach them our language and have them do things when we ask them? How difficult is it for humans to learn another language, yet when a dog doesn't learn a language quickly enough or chooses to do something else -- he is labeled stubborn.

Often when I see a dog that has been labeled "stubborn" I can very quickly identify that the trainer is not being clear with his instructions, is repeating cues or is using a lot of extraneous movements that are confusing the dog.

What is the opposite of stubborn? What about a dog that instantly does everything that a trainer asks. They sit beautifully, they come when called from a dead sprint going the other direction, they leave off-limits food without a second thought. Do you know what I call that dog? A well trained dog that is motivated to do those behaviors. That takes time and good teaching.

Think about a small child learning to ride a bicycle. She might start with training wheels to gain confidence and to make the learning process go smoothly. If you take off the training wheels and she falls down, are you going to call her stubborn or are you going to put the wheels back on and give her encouragement to try again?

Just because any creature doesn't do everything that is asked of him doesn't make him bad. Maybe he needs more practice, maybe his or her teacher needs a different strategy to make the teachings stick. Maybe he needs more confidence before he can master the new skill. Think about how many years a professional teacher goes to school to learn how to teach young minds.

You might be a professional teacher, but chances are there are others reading this post. Should you be able to instantly understand how to motivate a dog to do everything perfectly? Should your dog be able to do everything that is asked among the distractions of the world?

Focusing is a learned skill. That is a big message I teach my private clients to think about. When your dog walks outside, she is inundated with smells, sounds and movement that trigger many other reactions besides sitting or lying down or running to us. When you ask her to do one of those things, you are competing with innate desires to do something else. Will your dog do it?

Hopefully, if not, you will chalk it up to one more training exercise that you can work on and not call your dog stubborn.

Introduction to This Blog

2007-05-31T12:10:00.000-05:00

I want to use this forum to discuss dog training. I am not expecting to change every competing opinion, but, at a minimum, want people to be exposed to thoughts by someone who lives the life of a professional dog trainer.

One of the reasons for starting this dialogue is to react to issues and points of view that I encounter on a daily basis. While I would never pretend to know everything, my opinions and views are based on training thousands of dogs and tens of thousands of interactions as well as my formal training and continued reading and research.

My main philosophies center on the concepts that dogs are thinking, feeling, wonderful animals that are a part of human's lives and it is our responsibility to treat them with respect and provide them with the best chance to be well-adjusted members of our lives.