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Training Tip Archives
Table of Contents (Click on Topic)
 Teaching Your Dog Not To Be A Kangaroo (Don't Jump on Humans!) |
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-No Fail Training-
When starting to teach your pup or dog a new skill, set up the training to ensure success. In other words, if just starting to teach your new pup to come when called would you put him in the middle of a crowded room with his toys all around? Nah, I didn't think so! You would probably go to a hallway with you at the open end and him near the other end.
Or when teaching him to sit, would you yell at him across the yard to sit? Oh, you wouldn't do that either? Hmm, catchin' on pretty quick to the concept! Maybe, you'd have him with his leash on, your hand on his butt and treat above his nose, and then give him the command "sit". Or whatever "no-fail" set up would work! Only your imagination is the limit!
And, always remember to praise your dog a lot in the early stages of learning.
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-Bonding with Your Buddy-
Now that you have a pup, you become Pack Leader! Congratulations on your new leadership role, but with leadership comes responsibility (darn it!). So, you also want to bond with your little girl as well as establishing yourself as Pack Leader. Well, let's not hold you in suspense on how to do this any longer! First, coax her to follow you around, using treats and your voice. Don't give her a treat everytime, though. Do this for a few minutes each day for three or four days. Next, get a five or six foot leash. Then, attach it to your belt. (Bet you can figure out how to do it!) You don't have a belt? Well, get one! Or, get a longer lead and wrap it around your waist.
What the heck are we doing, you ask. Ok, I'll tell you. You will attach Little Miss Furball's collar to the other end of the leash. Everyday for 7 to 14 days, for at least 15' each day, you will have her tag along with you as you wash dishes, cook dinner, walk outside, go to the restroom (hmm, on second thought, maybe not), watch TV or whatever. Preferably for 14 days, but if you can't we understand. You will be surprised how fast she catches on to this drill. Don't do a lot of coaxing. Rather, place some responsibility on her to keep an eye on you and your movements. Be gentle, though, so you don't jerk her too hard with sudden movements. You may want to put her in her crate for a good rest after the 15 minutes are up. And, if you want to go longer than 15', don't let me stop you! She will look to you as her leader, learn the rudiments of heeling, and bond to you. Good deal, huh?
And, this can also be done with an older dog, who needs to learn the “the order of things” and bond with you.
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-The Chase Instinct: It Can Save Your Dog's Life-
Most dogs are born with a chase instinct (it's not so much cats, just the chase!). Encourage your pup to chase you in the yard, even at an early age. However, do not (and I repeat, do not) (ok that's enough repeating, we have a smart audience) return the favor and chase your pup. He will think you should chase him and we don't want that! We want to use this in order to perhaps save your pup's life one day. When your pup chases you, always let him catch you, the whole while saying "here" or "come" and then when he catches you, give him lots of praise and a treat and some fun play. Of course, this also trains him to come when called. But why the chase?
Well, let's say that your pup has gotten away from you in the park and he has gotten so fast you know you can't catch him. Believe it or not, as soon as you get his attention, begin to run away from him perhaps showing him what looks like a treat as you run. With a little luck the chase instinct will kick in and he will say to himself "Oh, boy, play and treat time!" And, remember to praise him and play with him (as you put the leash on him). Avoid scolding, now is not the time. We don't want Mr. Wild Thing to get punished when he comes to you like he should! Just be more careful next time and avoid letting him get away!
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-Teaching Your Dog to Speak-
Ok, I hear you, you want to learn some 'Stupid Dog Tricks'. Now, before you embark on this one, be prepared. Once some dogs learn to speak, it opens up a whole new world of communicating. It's easier to teach a dog to speak than 'hush'! Well, if you're foolish enough to try this, here's how to do it!
First, decide on a one syllable command to use and ONLY use that command (I suggest the word "speak".) Next, for a couple of weeks every time your dog barks on her own, IMMEDIATELY say "speak". You are doing associative learning, not the command-behavior-reinforcement sequence at this time. This is very important to remember. You will begin to see subtle clues when your dog is starting to bark and your timing will now begin to be such that you will say 'Speak' right before your dog barks. Now is the time to say "Good girl" after your dog barks. Don't yield to temptation at this point and try to give the command to elicit the behavior. Continue to do associative training, with verbal praise, for a couple of weeks. One caution at this stage: if your dog starts barking several times, ONLY give the speak command once every five or six seconds. We don't want Ms. Fluffy to associate two 'Speaks' with the behavior. Work on your timing, try to beat the bark by a split second. Remember, eye contact, too!
Now, try to transition to C-B-R (command, behavior, reinforcement). But, wait til your dog is energetic, excited, focused on you, and in the mood to bark. Have a few treats in your pocket. Get her to bark simply through excitement, using the associative technique once or twice. Now, if she remains excited, use eye contact, and say 'Speak!' If she barks, immediately give her a treat and say 'Good Girl!' Now, get her excited again, and ready to bark. Make eye contact, and give the command. If successful, repeat the treat and praise. If not successful, AVOID saying 'Speak' more than once, and return to associative learning, timing your 'Speak' to be right before a bark. Even if successful, give no more than three commands in a session. Eventually, you will have a talking dog! But, be prepared!
You can also add a hand signal after your dog is proficient. Give the hand signal as you give the command and your girl should eventually learn to speak on just the hand signal. Remember to praise and reward all early successes!
Be patient with this trick. It took almost a year for my Golden to learn, and just a week for my Flat-Coat.
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-Communicating with Your Dog, Part I: Knowing Your Dog-
I believe the basic principles of communication are (1) Knowing your dog. (2) Listening to your dog. (3) Delivering your message. The primary cause of training failure is failure to communicate. Hmm, sounds vaguely familiar to us who also have children! Using the right training method or succeeding with an "unwilling" dog is really based on the three distinct principles mentioned. And, each of us is perfectly capable of succeeding IF we make the commitment. Once you establish communication with your dog, both of you know it. It is truly a wonderful feeling, bridging the species gap. It's almost as fulfilling as when we bridge the generation gap with our teenagers!
Here's some exercises which will help you really get to know your dog (Yeah, I hear you, he's 5 years old and you already know him. Just give this a shot, anyway, ok?)
First, observe your dog for one or two minutes, and mentally say what he is doing (He's scratching, he's rolling over, he's running in circles, he's looking at me with his tongue hanging out, ad nauseum!) Do this at least every day for a week, and it will soon become a pleasant habit and you will observe your dog with a similar intensity as he has observed you!
Next, the second week observe your dog for a minute or two at a time and try to "get in his skin", feeling, thinking and experiencing the world through his eyes. A simple way to do this is to say mentally your dog's thoughts as you observe him (I'd love to catch that cat; I am so hungry, this grass tastes yummy; no, this isn't the best place to pee, nor this, nor this; Oh, gosh, I am so happy to see you!!!) Try to think like a dog!
So, we've really been doing simple exercises in empathy, you say. Yeah, right again! Tune in next week for Part II!
-Communicating with Your Dog, Part II: Listening to Your Dog-
So, you're now starting to think like your dog. (Hey, quit drooling while I'm eating, please?) Now, let's "listen" to your guy. Or, more aptly put, let's really read his body language and observe his reactions to us. Watch his face, his ears, his tail, how high he carries his tail, his walk, his eyes, his mouth,the hair on his back and neck. You want to observe his happy reactions? OK, look closely at thim as you are getting ready to feed him. Most often, you will see ears up or carried higher, mouth open, eyes fixed upward on you or the food, tail high and wagging. His steps will be more like prances. These are the reactions you want during training.
Then, observe his reactions when he is being made to do something he doesn't want, like go into his crate when he's having fun playing, or when he is scolded. You will notice the ears go down, the eyes look towards the floor, the tail is low and not wagging, the mouth closed, or almost closed, the head may also be slightly bowed, and his steps will be slow.
Now, notice the different reactions he has based on the tone of your voice. Find the tone to which he reacts with the happiest body language. That should be the general tone of initial training, encouragement, and praise. Notice the tone of voice that elicits the saddest body language. Avoid using this tone, except when a verbal correction is needed. And, don't use the happy tone when you are verbally correcting. Dogs tune in much more to the tone than the command or word.
In normal training you want to notice your dog's body language at all times. If he is tired or bored you will note much of the same body language as when he is sad. If your happy tone won't get him motivated maybe that's enough training for one session!
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-Communicating with Your Dog, Part III: Delivering Your Message-
First, your dog is like a person: his attention needs to be focused on you when you have something to tell him. Second, you need your command to be short, clear, and understandable (one syllable if possible). Third, a command should be given once, if at all possible, with the behavior induced in the early stages, or compulsory later. Fourth, consistency may be the most important part of the formula. A fifth principle is what I call structured repetition. And, lastly praise and/or reward a good approximation of the behavior initially. We want our buddies to understand what we are trying to tell them and asking them to do.
Ok, here's a brief scenario illustrating this stuff. You are teaching your dog to lie down on command. Have him sit in front of you, looking at you with a treat in your hand (focused attention). Use the command "down" (short and clear). Right before giving the command, take a treat slowly down to the ground, allowing the pup to follow it, hopefully lying down to get the treat. As he is lying down, give the command "down". (Inducing and giving the command once). Then, repeat this two more times and take a minute break. I call this a "set".Repeat the "set" three times total with a minute break between sets (structured repetition). And, if someone else is also training the pup, make sure their technique is the same as yours and don't change the way you train a behavior in the early stages (consistency). When each "down" behavior is successful, give him the treat and praise him (reward).
Your training time should be less for puppies. In fact, just two or three sets (3-5 minutes) with a pup under 16 weeks should be fine, especially if you do this daily. With basic obedience, usually no more than 20 minutes at a time is fine with dogs over six months. However, ALWAYS note your dog's attention span and body language. One six month dog may be able to handle 20 minutes, another one perhaps only 5 minutes.
Please remember, dogs are very easily confused in the early stages of learning something new. Be patient! So, again here are the guidelines for "Delivering Your Message":
1. Attention on you.
2. Command is short, clear, and understandable.
3. Give command once.(Primarily "inducing" in early stages).
4. Consistency in training and between trainers.
5. Structured repetition.
6. Praise/reward reasonable approximations of behavior in early stages.
Oh, a question from the audience: " Will these guidelines work with my two year old kid? " Hmm, now there's a thought!
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-A.To Dig or, B.not to Dig, That is the Question -
Most owners answer B., most dogs go with A. So, we got a little quandary, don't we? We'll share a hint that helps dogs change their thinking on this one. This won't work with every dog, but it is always worth a try. It may not completely cure recreational digging, but it should greatly reduce the occurence.
We will put our buddy's poop in every hole he digs, covering it with a thin layer of dirt that came from the hole. Now, you can't let him see you do this at all or he may catch on to the trick! You need to do this religiously with every hole, no matter how deep or shallow. And, remember to keep toys, bones, etc. in the yard to occupy him. Change the toys and bones out every couple of weeks. Play with him and periodically allow him inside and take at least occasional walks outside the yard. Digging is sometimes a boredom reliever and an outlet for pent-up energy
However, if you never play with your dog, and keep him outside, rarely allowing him to change his environment, you encourage recreational digging.
If this method doesn't work, it's best to immediately consult a professional trainer to determine an effective and safe aversive method.
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Stay (Just a Little Bit Longer!)
Like the old beach music song (before the Four Seasons did it, by the way!) we want our dogs to stay, the longer the better. Once the dog reaches 6 months, you really need to expose him or her to this command. Here's the drill:
1. Put dog in a sit in front of you with a short leash on her collar (Don't hold the leash yet). But, do not say "stay" right away. We don't want Princess to think the command is "sit-stay".
2. Wait 2 seconds, say "stay" firmly and quickly, as you say it grab the dog on each shoulder, and push down, to "plant" the butt firmly on the ground. (Not harshly, of course)Your dog will look at you like :"what in the name of Sam Hill are you doing!"
3. Release your grip quickly, unless the dog moves to get up. Then, repeat the command as you grab the shoulders , planting the butt in the ground. Repeat this three times, waiting only 2 or 3 seconds between commands. If he stands up repeat the "stay" and "butt plant", using one hand on butt if necessary.
4. Decide on a release word, ("OK" works for me). After this 3 command set wait 3 seconds saying the release word. Grab the leash and walk the dog at heel for one minute.
5. Repeat the above two more times, so you have done three sets of three. YOU ARE TEACHING THE MEANING OF THE WORD STAY,not so much the behavior.
6. Now, you MUST set aside three days in a row to do the initial stay command training, if at all possible. Remember it will only be about 5 minutes a day.
7. On the second day you may try the dog on verbal command only, if she did fine the previous day, otherwise use the "butt planting" method. If using just the verbal method wait at least 3 seconds between saying "stay". This also avoids the dog thinking the command is "stay-stay". Again, 3 repetitions and use the release word, then take a stroll at heel, and do two more sets.
8. On the third day, if the dog did fine, you will give the "stay" command, wait 5 seconds, then give the release word and walk for 15 or 20 seconds at heel. Take about a one minute walk after every three stays.
9. Now you are ready to take ever increasing steps back, keeping Princess in a stay. It's always best to keep the Stays short at this stage of the game.
10. If Princess gets up from her stay walk calmly to her, "butt plant", repeating "stay" and try again.
11. Also, now have her wait at stay for her food til you release her.
Now that your dog has learned "Stay", she should be a big "hit"wherever she goes!
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-Teaching Your Dog Not To Be a Kangaroo (Or, How To Stop Max from Jumping on You)-
First, have your dog learn a reliable sit, if he doesn't already know this. A reliable sit means the dog will sit at least 4 out of 5 times, using one sit command each time. If Max doesn't do that yet, work on "sit" til he does. Shouldn't take longer than a week.
Now that he has a reliable "sit", next time he starts to jump on you immediately say "Sit". If he sits, then praise him nicely and pet him a little. If he doesn't sit then wait a couple of seconds and repeat the command, and push his butt down to make sure he sits. Then, praise him and pet him. You will find that he will quickly learn not to jump on you, and will come up to you and sit for attention. But, remember to praise and pet him when he does it right!
However, there are often others in the household, and they will each have to be consistent and tell him "sit" or Max the dog will still be Max the Kangaroo with them!
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