My Dog Won’t Come When Called!

September 18, 2009 By

Being able to call your dog to you in a emergency is a critical ability, yet many people have problems training this. It’s actually a pretty simple behavior to train if you are willing to observe a few basic rules and put in some time practicing.

A recall is a behavior we train for emergencies, not for routine situations like coming in from the yard or for meals. For these situations use another cue. For example, when we are done playing in the yard I use “Inside!” and my dogs run into the kitchen. Sometimes they get a treat for that. (Most of the time they don’t, which makes it all the more tantalizing.)

When you have to use your emergency recall, you want your dog’s immediate attention and you want him to come to you as quickly and directly as possible, without hesistation. In order to insure this we follow these rules:

  • A recall is always rewarded with something special. We do not fade out rewards like other commands.
  • A recall never ends something fun or starts something that is not fun. This is why we use other cues for routine situations that may not be rewarding.
  • When practicing always guarantee success. The goal of practice is for a recall to be automatic.

Caffeine is distracted by the toy. I call: “Caffeine! Here!” She immediately turns and runs to me as fast as possible. When she reaches me she sits and waits for her reward. She only gets up when I release her with an “O.K!”

So, a full recall consists of four behaviors:

  • Find me when I call your name.
  • Run to me when I say “here.”
  • Sit at my feet when you get there.
  • Stay there until released.

We train complex behaviors like this by breaking it down into steps. Since the most difficult part of a recall is sitting and staying, we practice that first:



Practice this call/step exercise, gradually adding more steps and adding more time at the end. Adding time at the end is easy: feed very small (and very tasty) treats, one at a time. Always feed at least seven.

After a few days of practice and solid performance at six steps at a time, add some distance. This video shows two different exercises for that.



The first exercise adds some speed and distance to the previous exercise. You may need someone’s help to hold your dog to keep her from following you. As you practice this, start spacing out your treats at the end to add even more duration to the stay at the end.

The second is a “run away recall.” Running away from most dogs usually results in them chasing you, like a game of tag. Use that to make practicing your recalls a game.

Keep practicing, for as long as you and your dog are together. This is a critical emergency behavior and you don’t want it to get rusty! Make sure you use a special treat and make sure you reward her every time! For some really snappy behavior, add a game of tug at the end, after the treats!

Look here more training tips and tutorials. Click here if you are interested in home or group class training.

Five Ways To Stop Your Dog From Jumping Up On People

September 11, 2009 By

boxer_jumping_up

Jumping on people, whether it be at the door when visitors arrive, out on walks, or just about anytime, is one of the top three or four complaints I get from clients. Jumping up is a very common problem and solving it can be very frustrating.

It’s important to keep in mind that dogs jump up because they want to greet people. They jump to get our attention and/or to reach our face. It is not a dominant behavior, regardless of what some say. As a matter of fact, in doggy etiquette a face-to-face greeting frequently involves licking the lips of the other dog to show appeasement. Harsh corrections risk changing a happy reaction to meeting people into something much more undesirable.

Here is a list of five steps you can take to put a stop to your dog from jumping up on people. Your solution will probably be a combination of these steps, not just one and certainly not all of them.

  1. Calm down – We frequently react to jumping by raising our voices and pushing the dog away. Doing this actually increases the intensity of the situation and makes it worse. Your best bet, regardless of which of the other steps you take is to calm down. Not only are your attempts to get your dog to stop reinforcing the behavior (she is seeking attention and getting it), it’s also possible that they feed an already anxious dog’s excitement level. Set up practice sessions so you don’t get so upset and try to act as even-handed and calm as possible.
  2. Ignore it – ignoring jumping up is frequently recommended, but rarely seems to work. There is a very good reason. Most people do not really ignore the behavior. They make exceptions (or excuses) for some situations, such as for specific family members or locations. The goal of ignoring a behavior is extinction, but extinction will only occur when the behavior is truly never reinforced. If it is reinforced infrequently, the behavior will most likely get worse. I discuss extinction in depth here on Dog Star Daily.
  3. Train a rock steady sit – one of the best ways to remove an annoying behavior like jumping up, is to identify an incompatible behavior and train your dog to do that instead. Sitting is a great example – jumping up and sitting at the same time is very difficult, even for the more determined dog. In my earlier post on jumping up I discuss training sit as a greeting.
  4. Teach how to greet politely – maintaining a sit in the face of people is very difficult for many dogs. Instead of training a sit, you could training “Say Hi,” an alternative greeting that allows you dog to investigate the new person without knocking them over.

    Here is a document on training this behavior.

  5. Manage the situation – sometimes your best bet is to just avoid the situation, especially in the early stages of your training. Think of every time your dog jumps up as practice, and that she is getting better at it. If you are having visitors and believe that your dog will have problems restraining herself, manage the situation. Put her in her crate, close her into another room, or maybe keep her on leash. You can either introduce her after everyone has entered, or just keep her separated and avoid the situation altogether.

Look here more training tips and tutorials. Click here if you are interested in home or group class training.

Lure/Reward Training: Training Sit

July 5, 2009 By

Lure/Reward is exactly what it sounds like – luring the dog into doing something and then rewarding him for doing it. It is a very useful technique for many circumstances, especially basic obedience.

Here is a video of me putting sit on cue with Caffeine. (Actually, Caffeine already knew this, but it’s a decent representation.)




The lure is anything that your dog will follow such as a piece of kibble or a toy. The reward is almost always the lure itself.

Lure/reward training use a positive reward marker to “mark” the instant the dog performs the behavior being trained. For example, when training a sit, the moment the dog’s rear end hits the floor would be marked. A frequent marker is the word “yes.”

The process of teaching a behavior with lure/reward training can be explained in a few basic steps:

1) Lure the behavior and mark the instant your dog performs it. (This is step 1 in the video.)

2) When the behavior can be reliably lured, add the cue or “command” before the lure. (This is step 2 in the video.)

3) Get rid of the lure as fast as possible. Continue to mark and reward the behavior, but only produce the reward after the behavior is performed. (This is step 3 in the video.)

4) Once the behavior can be reliably acquired, stop marking (and rewarding) every instance. Reward at random.

There are a few important concepts embedded in these steps.

Don’t introduce the cue (or “command”) until the dog has mastered the behavior. Dog’s tend to respond to visual cues, such as a lure, better than audible signals like words.

Get rid of the lure right away. This is critical to avoiding “show me the money-itis.” A treat you have to show your dog before he does something is a bribe, not a lure.

Once the cue is taught and the lure is removed, it’s time to start rewarding at random. Behaviors that are rewarded at random are very strong and reliable. A behavior that is always rewarded falls apart the first time a reward is missed.

Steps 1 – 3 should usually occur in one session, unless the behavior is particularly complex or there is some exceptional difficulty.

Moving to step 4 can be tricky – too soon and the behavior may fall apart. Too late and you’ll get the same result for a different reason. For basic obedience the general rule is to shift to random rewards after the behavior is reliable is a few different places with some basic distractions, usually after about a week of regular practice.

Attention: How to get your dog to pay it to you

June 30, 2009 By

Why does your dog pull on leash? Because she’s not paying attention to you: she’s paying attention to the tree, hydrant, dog, or piece of dust she’s trying to get to.

Why doesn’t your dog come to you when you call? Because he’s paying attention to where he is (or where he’s going) instead of you.

Why doesn’t your dog drop your sock? You can see where I’m going with this.
attention
How do you get attention? By being more interesting than everything else. This doesn’t mean that your dog should only have eyes for you, it just means that when you ask your dog should want to pay attention to you.

Play the name game. Start at home in a quiet room and gradually work your way up to distractions both inside and outside. It may take a long time, but it’s amazing how much easier it is to ask your dog to do something when he’s actually looking at you.

There is also a video covering this exercise here.

Visit my training tutorials page for more training information and some videos. Visit my services page to see how I can help you.

Crate Training

May 7, 2009 By

Caffeine and Gage love playing in their crates

Should I Crate Train My Dog?

Crate training can be a confusing issue for some dog owners, especially those adopting a rescue or shelter dog. The idea of confining a dog to a cage seems a little bit cruel – maybe even inhumane – but many dog trainers and behaviorists seem to recommend it. What’s the real deal?

A crate can be a powerful training and management tool, but it is not always necessary. It is most useful under two circumstances: housetraining a new puppy (or adult dog that has not been housetrained, such as some dogs from shelters or rescues) and preventing destructive behavior when you cannot monitor the dog yourself to prevent it. There are other applications, but these two are the most common reasons.

Is confining a dog to a crate cruel? When used properly a crate can actually enhance a dog’s life by giving him or her a comfortable place to relax, especially in a high energy and/or multiple pet households. Used improperly it can be cruel and inhumane. Let’s set some guidelines for proper use before we cover how to train your dog.

  • the dog is never physically forced into a crate
  • the crate is never used as a punishment
  • the crate is for short term confinement, it is not a way of life for 8 hours a day, 5 days a week

Home is Where the Heart Is

The first step in crate training is convincing your dog (let’s call him Buddy) that the crate is a great place to be. If Buddy is a shelter or rescue dog, he may already associate the crate with long periods of isolation or other unpleasant experiences. If Buddy is a puppy or simply a dog with no crate experience, he may find the crate frightening. We will need to change how Buddy feels about the crate. Creating a positive association, with the help of food, toys and a little bit of interior decorating, does this.

Before we start training , make sure the crate is comfortable and inviting – it shouldn’t look or feel like a cage, but more like a cozy den.

Most dogs prefer open-wire crates to fiberglass or cloth travel crates as their permanent home. They feel more open and tend to be more comfortable, especially in warmer weather. The travel crates are great for travel since dogs tend to remain calmer when they cannot see what is going on around them, but at home Buddy will want to be able to see what is going on.

After you have selected the proper crate, fit it with a pad or blanket and, at least for the initial training, resist the urge to place it in a quiet corner or isolated area where Buddy feels he has been placed in solitary confinement. Being isolated from the rest of the family will be more stressful than being placed in a crate, this is especially true for shelter and rescues dogs, that may have already spent too much time isolated, although puppies can find isolation stressful also.

After the crate is set up, start your The Crate is Wonderful! PR campaign:

  • Periodically, when Buddy is not around the crate or not looking, drop some treats into the crate, as far back as you can get them.
  • Feed Buddy in the crate, always with the door open
  • Give Buddy chew toys in the crate. If he takes the toys out of the crate to chew on them, trying tying them into the crate so he has to stay inside in order to chew on them.

After a few days, Buddy should starting hanging around the crate on his own. You may even catch him sniffing around inside, looking for the magically appearing treats or his chew toys. As soon as Buddy seems to be associating the crate with good things, start to work on an enter cue, such as Go Home. Toss a treat in the crate and then praise Buddy as he goes in and gets it.

Once Buddy is reliably entering the crate on cue, change the exercise slightly – instead of throwing treats into the crate first, tell him to enter, wait for him go in, and then toss him the treat. If he doesn’t go in on his own, just wait – don’t cue him again, and don’t throw the treat in. If he doesn’t go in after waiting for a few minutes, end the session. Try again in 5 minutes or so, still withholding the treat until he goes in on his own after one command. Have patience – he’ll go in eventually.

Time to Pick Out the Curtains

Now that Buddy will enter the crate on cue, our crate training can advance to the next level. Start closing the door for gradually longer periods of time. Close the door, feed him treats through the grate for a minute while calmly praising him, and then open the door. After doing this several times, close the door, give him a few treats, then get up and walk around the room for a few minutes, give him more treats, and then open the door. While you are increasing the period of time the door is closed be sure to keep the experience pleasant and positive and, above all, quit while Buddy is still having fun and before he starts to get nervous. Work your way up to at least 15 minutes, with you out of the room for at least part of the time.

After Buddy is comfortable with staying in the crate for a quarter of an hour, you should be able to quickly advance to a few hours at a time. Try it while you are home watching TV or doing housework.

If Buddy soils his crate, be sure he isn’t in the crate for too long a period of time. You might also have him checked for a bladder infection if he urinates often. This is another common issue with shelter and rescue dogs. If this doesn’t help, contact a trainer for advice. If at all possible, do not crate Buddy for more than 3-4 hours at a stretch without a break.

Help! My Dog Jumps Up!

May 7, 2009 By

Dogs like to greet each other nose-to-nose. When they see a familiar human, jumping up to reach their face is a very natural reaction. Some view this jumping up as an attempt to overpower or dominate people while the opposite is more likely to be true – puppies tend to greet their mothers with face-face contact and licking their lips. Jumping up to reach your face is frequently a sign of appeasement and not a threat.

This desire to say hello, along with mixed signals from humans makes jumping up a very difficult behavior to eliminate. Fortunately, with a bit of time, a lot of patience, and most important, consistency, you can address this problem. They key is to give your dog an alternative to jumping up, such as politely sitting and waiting to be greeted.

Jumping up to greet strangers while walking in parks or on the street is a common complaint, and can also be one of the most embarrassing things a dog can do. But like the songs says, you can get by with a little help from your friends.

Jumping up on the street

Recruit two or three helpers for a 10-minute training session. It’s important to work for short periods of time – never more than 15 minutes, and to make sure you quit on a high note. Don’t keep training until everyone is tired and you are doing nothing more than practicing mistakes!

Walk your furry friend (let’s call him Buddy) clockwise around the block, while your helpers walk counter-clockwise, separate from each other. When Buddy meets the first helper and commences his hearty greeting, the helper should act like she’s completely offended and appalled – gasping and moving away. Give the sit cue and reward Buddy with a treat when he sits. Have your helper approach again, and if Buddy remains seated, have your helper greet him calmly, without encouraging him to jump up. If Buddy jumps, repeat. Repeat with the various helpers until Buddy catches on and sits automatically each time a helper approaches.

But remember! Never train for more than 10 or 15 minutes at a time! Lassie didn’t pass her first audition either.

Chaos At The Front Door

Another common time for a dog to jump up is when you arrive home, simply because they are so thrilled by your return. Try the following exercise when you come home.

Start by being mentally and physically prepared to be jumped on. For the first few exercises, don’t wear nice clothes when you are practicing, and be ready to spend some extra time. When you are returning from somewhere such as work, have treats prepared at the door or in the car too. If you are concerned about your clothes, consider stashing a smock or long coat in the care too.

When you are entering the door, don’t have valuables or groceries in your arms; wait until the dog is under control before trying to bring them in. When you open the door, if Buddy jumps up, step back and close the door (making sure everyone is on the proper side of the door). Repeat this until Buddy sits without jumping and without the “sit” cue. Be prepared to repeat this many times the first time you try, but remember never more than 10 to 15 minutes. Also, if buddy sits, reward him – even if it is only for a few seconds. Once you get that pause, quit the first session and try to get a slightly longer pause next time.

When you are training your dog to stop jumping up, never raise your voice, push your dog away, or try to “knee” him. These actions will tend to make Buddy more excited, and only make things worse.

While your are training your dog for any behavior try to keep these things in mind: Keep sessions short Keep sessions happy. Never lose your temper. If you feel your patience starting to slip, take a break or call it quits. You and your dog should enjoy training. Always end a session with success. Always leave – and enter – on a high note. Good luck and most of all, have fun!

House Training

May 7, 2009 By
Cool dog by a hydrant

Cool Dog by A Hydrant

The secret to house-training is, alas, there is no secret. House-training requires time, patience and above all, consistency. There is no secret formula, no high-tech tool and no magic technique.

 

In a nutshell, house-training consists of the following steps:
1. Scheduling – establish a schedule for food and elimination.
2. Supervision – until the puppy or dog is reliable, regulate his/her freedom in the house.
3. Training – when the dog needs to go, take him/her to a regular spot and reward the dog for going there.

Before the dog comes home establish a place for the dog to stay when unsupervised. While implementing a house-training program, unsupervised refers to a dog that is not accompanied by a human that is carefully observing his or her behavior. Untrained dogs must be confined to a safe place where they will not eliminate. Dogs, including puppies, will not soil where they sleep – this is where crate-training and house-training overlap. If you cannot or will not use a crate, identify another spot, such as a small laundry area or bathroom. Use small gates or an exercise pen to cordon off a small area for the dog to sleep in. If the area is too
large, the dog may find a spot to soil. Their instinct is to not soil where they sleep: they don’t automatically know not to soil an arbitrarily enclosed area.

At the same time, establish a toilet area. It is important that you establish, from the very beginning, where it is acceptable for the dog to relieve him or herself. For very young puppies it may be a good idea to have a spot prepared outside near the door that resembles the sort of place you will want your dog to use as an adult, such as wood chips, leaves or sand. Dogs are quite literally creatures of habit and tend to favor certain places and surfaces, so if you train your puppy to go on the roses… .you may end up creating a lifetime habit.

On a related note, if your goal is have the dog consistently go outside, it’s best to skip paper or wee-wee pad training if at all possible, since you will eventually have change that habit too. Of course, it you have a very small puppy and are training during extreme weather, it may be unavoidable.

When you first get your puppy home, you should take a trip to the vet as soon as possible. Urinary tract infections and other medical conditions can make house training almost impossible.

Finally, establish the schedule. The schedule needs to be one that both you and the puppy or dog can stick to. Puppies can only hold
it for so long so more frequent potty breaks must be allowed. Meals should be scheduled regularly, not free fed throughout the day. However, never deprive a puppy of water for the sake of house-training!

At the same time, make sure the schedule is one that you can stick with. The dog cannot fit into a schedule if you cannot either.

Once a schedule and sleeping and potty locations have been established, training begins. Training is simply a matter of supervising the dog in the house, taking her outside at regular intervals, and placing her in her sleeping location when she cannot be supervised.

If you know where she is at all times and what he is doing, accidents don’t happen. If an accident does it is your fault: you either left her unsupervised or failed to read a signal. Never, ever, ever punish a dog for making a mess. At best, the dog has no idea why you are upset. At worst, the dog will be afraid of eliminating in your presence, which will make house-training almost impossible. Remember, other than not soiling his sleeping area, the dog has to be trained. He does not understand what the fuss is about.

When a puppy stops playing and starts sniffing and hunting around as if looking for something, that something is probably a good spot. Calmly and quickly take him outside to the designated spot. After a few times, you will learn the signals and probably start to anticipate when your dog needs to go.

Regardless of what you are doing, have the dog with you. Give the pup some of his toys to play with. If you are moving around a lot, keep him on leash. If you are seated at the sofa or computer, give him some toys. But keep watching! This is where consistency comes in. For the first few days, your dog will require constant and consistent supervision.

When it comes time to take the dog outside, whether as scheduled or because he seems to need to go, follow the same procedure:

Take your dog out on leash to the designated toilet area. Do not send him out. Go with him so you know what he actually did and so that it is clear why you are going out: going out to play and going out to make are two different activities, at least until the dog is trained. Stand quietly, and let him find the right spot. If after a few minutes or so (it will be different for each dog, some are real fussbudgets about that perfect spot) he hasn’t eliminated, go back inside. Again: it should be clear why you went to that spot. Try again in a 1/2 hour or so.

When he actually does go, praise him enthusiastically. Let him know that you are very proud of him, and reward with a game of tug, fetch or maybe a treat. This is your chance to create a positive association with going outside, at the spot, in front of you – and that is what you want!

Remember your dog’s routine. Most dogs will develop a pattern regarding time of day and what happens when. This pattern will obviously change as the dog matures. While you are learning your dog’s routine, take him out immediately after he wakes up, after he has eaten and after all play sessions.

Once a dog is house-trained, it is very rare that he loses it. If a previously trained dog starts to have accidents, your first step should always be a trip to the vet.

For a great e-book on house training check out <a href=”http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00480OBSU/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=theheightofco-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399349&creativeASIN=B00480OBSU”>Way to Go! How to Housetrain a Dog of Any Age</a> by Patricia McConnell. It is <b>the</b> book on housetraining.

Visit my training tutorials page for more training information and videos.

How to Play Tug

May 5, 2009 By

Update: check out the extended version of this page on Squidoo

Playing tug is a great way to have fun, bond with your dog, and provide him or her with important exercise and mental stimulation. Fitting it into your dog’s exercise regimen has many benefits for both you and her.

Some clients are surprised that I recommend playing tug because they have been told it teaches dogs to bite or develop other nasty habits. Others have been told to make sure they always win because of that mystical pack leader thing they hear about on TV.

Because of these myths, I think it’s worth providing a quick demo and explaining how I have been taught to play tug and how it can be a fun, rewarding, and educational game.

Tug must be played with rules. These rules keep people and dogs safe.

1) The toy is released when the dog is told to release it.
2) Teeth never touch the person or the person’s clothes.
3) The toy is only taken when permission is given.
4) The human is responsible for keeping things under control.

A game of tug should pretty much follow this script: the dog performs a behavior (or few) on cue, offer the toy, play tug, the dog releases the toy on cue… lather, rinse, repeat.

The commands in between the tug sessions perform a few functions. First, they mix in some mental stimulation in with the physical exercise. They also act as a control for the dogs excitement level. If your dog start to get too wild, mix in more behaviors in between sessions, maybe ask for a wait or a stay as demonstrated in the video. The play sessions in the video were made deliberately slow and sedate because I was limited in what I could film and wanted to keep the action easy to follow.

Finally, mixing in the cues is training the dog without treats. After a few sessions, you should have dog that will work for a tug toy. How cool is that?

In the video Caffeine has a hard time giving up the tug toy (it’s Buddha’s and she is obsessed with it,) which gives me an opportunity to point out how to deal with a dog that will not release the toy: stop playing. Don’t yell, don’t pull harder – just stop. Pulling and raising your voice will simply excite the dog and probably make her think you are still playing. Stopping makes the game boring.

When initially introducing the release cue, you may need to use food. Take a treat and literally place it on her nose. She’ll open her mouth, dropping the toy, and take the treat. Say yes! and then give the tug toy back. After a few repetitions, say give or release (or whatever cue you wish to use) before you place the treat on her nose. After a few sessions, stop using the treat.

If teeth touch you or your clothes. Stop the game. Again, do not get excited, push or shout. The game stops and the dog has to calm down before the game continues.

Gage is initially not interested in playing tug at all. He is a very nervous dog and, believe or not, is shy around the camera. I took advantage of this and started out with the same mistake many people make: I held the toy up in front of his face and waited for him to take it. Most dogs, especially a nervous one, will not respond to this. I coaxed him into playing by soliciting a chase, a strategy that usually works with a reluctant dog. Sometimes you have to try tricks to make the toy a bit more interesting.

Also, some dogs have preferences when it comes to toys. Caffeine usually plays with a plain nylon rope. She will not under any circumstances play with the cotton rope toy I use with Gage. Gage would immediately tear the Buddha’s sheepy tug or Caffeine’s rope to shreds with his hard mouth and the way he pulls when he finally gets excited.

Find a toy that your dogs loves and use it only for tug. When the game is over, put it away, out of sight. When the tug toy comes out, your dog should always be excited and ready to play!

Tug teaches your dog how to play. Rather than teaching them to bite, it teaches them what to bite and when. Dogs know how to bite – the trick is to get them to bite the right things – toys. Tug doesn’t have winners or losers (unless you count the poor toy.)

Now go play with your dog!

How to Perform CPR On Your Dog

January 23, 2008 By

What would do if your dog was injured? This isn’t something we like to think about, but it can certainly happen. Above is a very helpful video on canine CPR from Pets America.

Surprised? Yes, there is such a thing as canine CPR! It takes a bit of practice to master, but dogs, just like people can be saved with CPR.

Also, here is a helpful PDF on canine CPR from Drs. Lori (DMV) and Henry (MD) Feldman.