March 2020 - 2 Minute Trainer

Set your dog up for success

An obedience student came up to Hope after class Tuesday to ask for help.

“How do I get R.J. (her 2-year-old Portuguese Water Dog) to stop counter surfing?”

“Tell me what happened, please.”

“We had some people over on Sunday and it was just embarrassing. I put the appetizers on the kitchen table and when I came back he’d eaten almost all of them.”

“Where were you?”

“In the other room with our guests.”

Hope’s student is doing great in her competition obedience class. But she hasn’t learned to transfer what R.J. is learning to everyday life. She did nothing to help her dog understand the rules of the house. R.J. isn’t the problem, his “mom,” Mary is.

What are some of the things Mary could have done to help R.J. understand how to be a good boy?

Put his collar and leash on and hold the leash
Have him “help” greet guests with a lovely sit (which he’s fully capable of)
Crated him away from the chaos
Not put food within reach
Not walk away, leaving the food within reach

We do understand that a gathering isn’t the best time or place to train your dog. That’s why we play training games every day – so when a scenario arises, our dogs have the tools to understand what we ask of them in any circumstances.

In Mary’s case, just crating R.J. away from the party may have been the best solution. They hadn’t prepared for the party and Mary wouldn’t have been able to do anything but pay attention to R.J.’s behavior. At two years old, R.J. is the equivalent of a human teenager who has no manners and no impulse control.

It turns out that R.J. practices the same bad behavior every single day. Mary said that she puts her coffee on the breakfast table, then goes to get her toast. When she comes back, R.J. is slurping away at the coffee.

Mary’s fault, all the way. Take the opportunity to give your dog a job, especially in a case like this where you are in a familiar environment, doing a routine task that doesn’t require all of your attention. R.J. knows how to sit and stay. Use that tiny interval to practice it! Have some rewards at hand and, when he succeeds, give him something better than coffee.

This is a classic case of the dog behaving in a way that gets him what he wants most. He likes coffee, knows he’s free to get it, and he gets to play a fun game of “keep away” when his mom catches him at it. Because you know she yelled at him and chased him off the table.

Dogs don’t really distinguish between “good attention” and “bad attention.” R.J. knows his “mom” is interacting with him and that’s the best thing in his world. It probably doesn’t matter that she’s yelling at him – she’s paying attention and playing with him.

Will he like it even better when “mom” learns to control the situation and he truly is being good? Absolutely! How about having R.J.’s favorite toy close at hand and rewarding his beautiful sit/stay with a game of tug? Much better! Or having him “help” you get your coffee with a beautiful “heel,” followed by top-notch treats for a reward? Wonderful.

Dogs do what’s most rewarding to them. What does your dog find most rewarding? Food? Toys? Pets? Yodeling with you? Whatever it is, make sure the best rewards are given for best behavior choices.

Face time isn’t necessary

Face time with your dog isn't always necessary. For your dog to get full understanding, vary your location, your position, your distance.

Your dog’s face is adorable. But you don’t have to look at it all the time. In fact, when you’re training, “face time” should be half or less.

When dogs first join the family, training starts right away. The first behavior most people start with is “sit.” You stand, facing your dog and say “sit!” You may even use a lure, holding it over the dog’s head and moving it so the dog naturally moves into sit position. You praise your good dog – “Good sit, Fido! Good sit!”

Context is everything to a dog

After a few sessions doing this, most people believe their dogs know “sit.” Perhaps – as long as those exact conditions are repeated. As we’ve discussed before, dogs learn in context. Fido knows sit, as long as a treat is held over his head, you’re standing in front of him for face time, and the lure is moved in exactly the same way.

It’s the same situation for any behavior. Down is one we see often – the dog does it as long as the owner is standing facing the dog, bends over, holding a treat, lowers the treat to the floor while saying “down.”

Change any one of those contextual cues, and the dog may look at you as if she’s never heard the word “sit” or “down” before. It can be frustrating for owners – they absolutely know their dog “knows” it. He just did it a little while ago at home.

Fix face time – fast!

Fortunately, the “cure” is simple. It doesn’t take long, and it’s easy to do. Start by changing your position. Stand next to your dog, instead of in front, and see what response you get. If your dog is still performing “sit,” that’s great! Try sitting yourself and telling your dog to sit. Still knows it? Fantastic!

Training note: Regardless of your position, your reward should always be delivered to your dog’s front. Even if you’re behind your dog, reach forward and deliver the treat to the “front.” This teaches the dog that he doesn’t have to “help” you – he can stay in place and still be rewarded for good choices.

Just start over – someplace else

If, however, your dog is giving you a blank stare, start at the beginning. If you’ve used a lure to teach it in the past, use the exact same sequence, just from a different angle. Expand your range – do it from any position around your dog; to his left, to his right, even behind. As long as the treat is delivered to his face, in a short time you should be able to walk completely around your dog, while she maintains position.

This exercise is the start of a good “stay” behavior as well as the position sit or down. And it’s useful not just for those who want to play dog sports with their dogs. It’s also useful for visits to the veterinarian, the groomer, or anyplace your dog needs to stay in place.

Why click?

The Clicker is a wonderful training tool

Many people question the use of a clicker in dog training. You don’t absolutely have to have one, or use one, but it’s a useful tool and we think everyone should try it.

In our social media groups about dog sports competition, there are people who are “never-clickers.” Their arguments are that:

I don’t have enough hands
It can’t be used in competition
It’s one more thing I have to “fade” (stop using)
I always have my voice with me

Those are valid points. And if you’re absolutely opposed to the idea, you can do without.

One the other hand, the clicker allows:

Everyone training the dog to “sound” the same
Is instantaneous to mark good stuff
Lets you delay the treat
Improves your timing

The clicker is particularly wonderful if you have a fast-learning, fast-moving dog who loves to do “stuff” with you. By the time you can say “good” or “yes,” Fido’s already doing something else, because your feedback wasn’t fast enough. Think it’s not true? We’ll loan you Hope’s Torque, or Fran’s Simon for a 2-Minute Session. Those boys are hard to keep up with, even with a clicker.

Just this week, Hope decided to add a “bow” to Torque’s repertoire. She thought about how to teach it, figuring to use a small box. She’d reward for putting his hind legs on the box the first session. Later 2-Minute Sessions would add lowering his front end while keeping his rear up in the air.

Torque already knows “back up,” so Hope put down the box and Torque was already moving, backing up onto the box. She clicked as soon as both back feet were on it, signalling immediately to Torque that he was right, right then. If she had waited at all, his front legs would have been on the box as well, and the criteria for the new trick would have been unclear.

When your dog is used to working with a clicker, it’s a clear and immediate signal to him (or her) that he’s a good boy. And he knows (or will soon learn) to repeat the behavior that got the click. And was followed, in short order, by treats!

Once our dogs learn to think, are rewarded for trying, and have fun spending time with you, it becomes easier and easier to develop new tricks, or behaviors. It’s fun and challenging for everyone – dogs and people!