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Easy Dog Training Tips

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

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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?

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

"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:

1. You say something
   
2. Your dog does something
   
3. 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:

1. Say the cue (or make a visual cue with your hands) for Come
2. 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.
   
3. Reward
4. Say the cue
5. Delay the help just a bit to allow your dog to try and connect the dots
6. Help, if necessary
7. Reward
8. 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

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.

1. 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.
   
2. 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."
3. 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.