March 2021 - 2 Minute Trainer

Basic Dog Training Games – Game #1: Boxey

Where do you start with dog training games?

It’s a great question, especially if you don’t have an immediate issue to solve and want to start strengthening your relationship with your dog and build your dog’s understanding.

We’ve talked about training natural behaviors and about training for the whole family, but where do you start?

Start with the basics

This week we started training with a family who just adopted a nice little dog. Huey is a young adult Chihuahua/Terrier mix. He’s a nice little dog. Doesn’t mess in the house. Doesn’t bark in the apartment. He doesn’t have any huge behavioral issues. He also doesn’t know how to do much of anything.

Huey is also a smart little guy. When he gets bored and restless, he finds ways to entertain himself. Like stealing a roll of toilet paper and strewing it all over the house.

Tired dogs don’t look for ways to cause mischief. Occupying a dog’s mind, even for two or three 2-Minute dog training games a day, will make sure you have a tired dog. And a tired dog is a good dog. Remember how tired you were after school tests? That’s what 2-Minute dog training sessions are for your dog. But a lot more fun.

Game 1: Here’s a box

The first step is to teach your dog how to learn. And, as part of that learning, trying stuff is okay. As a matter of fact, trying new stuff is fantastic! No matter what your dog does during this game, you’re not allowed to say “No!” You’re also not allowed to make negative noises. You are allowed to re-set.

The stuff you need for this game is a bowl full of treats, your clicker if you use one, and an open box large enough for your dog to sit and/or lie down in, short enough he/she can step into. It can be cardboard or plastic, whatever you have around.

Get your treats, clicker, and box and call your dog. Put the box on the floor between you and your dog. Don’t point at the box, move it, or call it anything at this point. You can stare at the box, and talk to your dog. “What is that thing? What are you going to do about it?” It doesn’t matter if you’re standing, sitting on the floor, or in a chair.

Anything your dog does to interact with the box gets a “click & reward!” Looks at it, sniffs it, nudges it, puts a paw in it – all count. The only thing we wouldn’t reward would be chewing or biting it.

This week you could almost see Huey thinking “What the heck is that? Why should I care?” He ignored the box at first. His mom was patient and just stared at the box. When Huey finally glanced at it, he got a click and a treat, tossed into the box.

Deliver the reward by tossing it in the box. We’re showing the dog that the box has value. Huey was consistently staring at the box after only three or four clicks.

Next on the agenda

Dog training games - starting with Boxey. — Booker’s an old hand at “Boxey.” Here, he was rewarded for having 2 feet in the box.

Very soon, hopefully within just a few treats, your dog will fall in love with his/her new “goodie box.” That’s when you ask for more.

“That was good! What else can you do?” If your dog just looked at the box, wait for him/her to move it. Or put a paw in. Anything that “ups the ante” with box interaction.

It’s important to keep progress moving. It encourages your dog to try something different, something new. He/she is trying to figure out what will get the treats. Don’t be stingy, but keep moving along.

This sequencing will teach your dog to keep trying new things, using his/her brain and body to push the limits of what he/she knows further. And you’ll both be amazed what your dog can accomplish. If you’ve never seen a dog smile, we can almost guarantee it will happen.

Next week’s tip will continue “Fun With A Box,” expanding the behaviors that your dog may come up with and how you’re both learning that it’s a team game – your dog gets what he wants when you get what you want.

Everybody play dog training games

Everybody who lives with your dog should play dog training games. It’s the only way to make sure the dog listens to everybody.

“Board and train” programs are popular now, especially with the many inexperienced people who have acquired dogs in the last year. It sounds like a great idea – send your unruly dog away for a couple of weeks and you’ll have a model citizen canine back.

It doesn’t work that way. The dog may behave wonderfully well for the trainer, but unless you’re familiar and comfortable with the methods, gestures, and words used to get the dog to “be good,” the dog obeys the trainer, not you.

Dogs are wonderful at keeping things in context. “Mom” always insists they sit and stay before she’ll put their food bowls down. She gives them a “release” word, and they’re free to eat. On the other hand, “Dad” is a soft touch and never makes them wait. They swarm as soon as the food bowls leave the kitchen counter.

Have your own games

Every member of the family can play their own games with the dog. Or you can share. It doesn’t matter. What matters is that the dog has a relationship with each member of the family. Even children can play training games.

Oftentimes, they’re better dog trainers than adults, because they don’t have the built-in inhibitions that many adults do. Children often feel more free to talk to dogs, get down on the floor, and play games.

Family dynamics

Dogs understand that they can have different relationships with each member of the family. The crucial point is that each person establishes, and maintains, a relationship with the dog.

We kind of fell down on the job, here. We are sisters who share a house. But we don’t “share” dogs. Because we compete with our dogs in various dog sports, including Obedience, Rally, and Agility, we have specific goals for many of our training games.

Establishing a strong teamwork relationship with our individual dogs is essential. So the other sister, especially when the dog is young, has a tendency to back off.

Get in there and train

The consequence of this was brought home this week. Fran’s 2-year-old Boston Terrier Simon has no training relationship with Hope. He doesn’t pay any attention to her. None.

Simon is a smart and good little guy. But there are things he does that are, not “bad,” but really annoying. And he hasn’t listened to Hope at all when she’s told him to knock it off. Here’s a post about another aspect of dogs being annoying.

Play dog training games

That changes today. Hope will take over at least one game session a day with Simon for at least a week. Then we’ll maintain the connection with at least one or two sessions per week.

It’s opened our eyes to the possibilities we’ve been missing by training our own dogs exclusively. Swapping dogs will not only help us live peaceful lives, it will build a better relationship with each dog in the house. We’ll also learn to be better trainers as we get to know how each dog plays.

Use what’s natural for your dog

All dogs have better scenting ability than people. And all dogs are faster than humans. All dogs have the ability to learn new things throughout their lives. But some dogs are better than others at some things. What’s natural for your dog?

When people domesticated dogs and developed different breeds, dogs became specialists. Certain breeds of dogs became adept at specific tasks. Terriers are independent hunters who “go to ground” (dig) to find their prey. Scent hounds follow a trail. Retrievers get stuff. Herding dogs herd. It’s what they do.

That doesn’t mean that your Chihuahua isn’t capable of tracking a scent. It means that it’s not as natural a behavior for her as it is for a Bloodhound.

Training games take advantage of what your dog does naturally

The most successful training games take advantage of your dog’s instincts. Use what’s natural to play games your dog will understand, enjoy, and succeed with.

Like what?

We know that Boston Terriers, like Boxers, use their paws a lot. It’s how the breed “Boxer” got its name, from the breed’s tendency to stand on their hind legs and “box” with their paws. Even if your dog isn’t one of these breeds, if he uses his paws a lot, turn it into a game. There are a bunch of tricks for this, including the classic “Shake,” and/or “High Five.” If you teach both of these, be sure your hand signals are very different so you don’t confuse your dog.

It's natural for some dogs to use their paws. Torque is playing a paw game, tapping Hope on the leg.

Paw games work well for little games when you’re waiting around with your dog. If you’re in the waiting room at the vet’s office, you can play a paw game. Torque (Hope’s French Bulldog) uses his paws to tap her legs, alternating right and left. It’s another variation that works in tight spaces.

What else?

Some dogs are definitely more vocal than others. If your dog is chatty, why not build it into a behavior that you can signal? You can even make a game turning on and off the sounds with different hand signals or verbal cues.

Some behaviors can even turn into little skits – you can develop a dialogue, incorporating your verbal and hand signals. Perfect it, record it, and it may be the next TikTok sensation. What’s cuter than a dog seeming to understand and talk back?

They do understand

The part that you understand and many people don’t realize, is that your trained dog really does understand. She may not be able to “talk,” but dogs are capable of understanding hundreds of words, if we bother to teach them.

There’s a new product that teaches dogs to “talk” by stepping on programmable buttons. We’re not sure we want to hear what our dogs have to say all the time, but we know we want them to understand us.

If your dog does something interesting, mark it, either with a clicker or a “good!” Chances are your dog will do it again. If you reward the behavior, then name it, it will become part of your dog’s repertoire and fun for both of you. Even when we’ve seen a “trick” a million times, it still makes us smile. See our tip on Trick Training – tricks are not stupid!

Follow your dog’s lead

It’s okay to follow your dog’s lead. You don’t always have to be in charge.

Back in the olden days when we started fairly serious dog training, our first instructor intoned: “Never let a dog make a decision. He’ll always make the wrong one.”

When you know better, you do better. We know better now. We know how to guide our dogs to making good decisions. The dogs love learning and love playing training games, because they get to figure things out and have fun doing it.

Tango changed the game

Tango has been learning to bowl. We've learned to follow our dog's lead.

Tango’s been learning to “bowl” for 15 sessions so far. In 2-Minute-Trainer time, that’s just about half an hour. In almost every session, Tango has picked up a bowling pin. And used it to knock into another pin. He obviously enjoys using a “tool” for the game.

It surprised us, because Tango (Fran’s 11-year-old Brussels Griffon) has never played with toys. He doesn’t carry stuff around, and really doesn’t interact with many objects. He’s a short-faced dog, who has limited vision at this point in his life.

Thinking about it, we wondered if he is uncomfortable knocking over the pins with his muzzle/beard. He’ll never be able to answer the question, but we can follow his lead and change the game.

No rules for your training

Remember that you and your dog are the ones who make the rules for your training games. Tango and Fran aren’t bowling for any objective other than to have fun. Hope’s French Bulldog Torque loves bashing into things, including bowling pins. Tango doesn’t. Tango’s game can be different. We can follow our dog’s lead.

Fran decided to incorporate a “tool” for Tango to use to knock down the pins. She found a suitable object (a Mickey swizzle stick she found in the house) and started using it in the sessions with Tango.

Step by step

Like all new games, Fran introduced the Mickey stick by rewarding Tango for looking at it. Then touching it. Then picking it up. Then holding it. Then moving with it in his mouth.

Because Tango loves playing training games, he’s proving a quick study. In the first session he was already walking around with it.

As you and your dog gain familiarity with step-by-step training games, you’ll find your dog “skipping ahead,” too. It’s proof that your dog gets it, loves it, and will always have fun playing training games with you.

Follow your dog’s lead

Unless you’re aiming for a particular dog sport competition which has its own rules – you’re the one who decides the shape of your dog’s training games. If your dog likes doing things a certain way – why not follow your dog’s lead?

Tango did compete in dog sports. When he was competing in Agility and Rally Obedience, he learned how to perform according to the rules. He’s retired now. And he’s got opinions about how things should be done. It’s okay to do things his way. He’s a very good boy.

You can follow the progress of Tango’s bowling in our weekly newsletter, where we post the videos, as well links to our weekly 2-Minute-Training tips and general dog news.