January 2023 - 2 Minute Trainer

Give your dog time and tools

Do you give your dog time? Or do you expect your three-month-old puppy to be housebroken in a couple weeks? Leash-trained in a month? Stay out of the trash / laundry / mud instantaneously? It would be interesting if dogs came pre-programmed for all the “right” behavior. But they’re not machines. They’re living, breathing, thinking beings. And dogs need time to learn.

Say you’re out in public and you see a parent and child about two years old. The child is on a crying jag, screaming, kicking, and out of control. And the parent shouts and smacks the child.

You’re shocked! It’s obvious the child is overtired and the situation needs calm, not escalation. You don’t expect a two-year-old to know how to act in public, be perfectly potty-trained, and a pro at self-soothing. But many people expect a months-old puppy to be all of that and more.

Why positive reinforcement dog training “fails”

Positive reinforcement dog training is the best, scientifically proven means of training your dog. It works on people, it works on dogs. It doesn’t work fast, and it’s often misunderstood. Just like a human child is given time to learn at their own pace, without repercussions, dogs need time to learn, absorb, and practice good social behavior.

Lately there’s been a lot of nonsense floating around social media that positive training equals letting a dog do whatever it wants, whenever it wants. Nothing could be further from the truth. Dogs trained with positive reinforcement understand the limits of behavior and abide by them because they know. Not because they fear punishment if they fail.

Complete opposites

The nastiest trend in dog training lately is “balanced” training. From the explanations, it seems like this is a capricious mix of punishment and reward. If the dog does something good, it’s rewarded. If it does something “bad,” it’s corrected. But how is a dog supposed to know which is which? And how is “good” different from “bad”? Can you imagine living life at someone’s whim? Never knowing when something you do is going to end in pain? Dogs deserve better.

Until your dog understands how to be “good,” it’s up to you to limit the dog’s options for “bad.” If your dog steals shoes, keep shoes out of reach. Does your dog dig in your backyard? Go with him and keep him on leash. If your two-year-old child is fascinated by trucks, you stop him from running into the street. You don’t wait until he’s in traffic to act. You teach him not to do it. And pain isn’t part of the lesson. When one strategy in the 2-Minute method isn’t working the way we expect it to, we move to another: our “Plan B” – never a painful lesson.

Frustrating for the dog

One of our students has a bright, exuberant Miniature Poodle who she wants to compete with. One of his persistent problems in Hope’s competition Obedience class has been with the recall exercise. Instead of running straight to his Mom, at least half the time he runs over to Hope and starts jumping on her “Hi, I’m here!” “Hi!” “Hello!” “It’s me!”

Since Hope never encourages him, rarely looks at him, pets him, or talks to him, she didn’t understand why he does it. Until last week. His mom brought him into the building on leash, and he immediately spotted a new person. The dog ran over to this person while his mom said “He’s going to jump on you.” Since classes are at a dog daycare facility, it didn’t bother the person. Hope, witnessing this, told the dog’s mom she shouldn’t allow it. And was firmly told to mind her own business.

This dog will never understand why it’s okay to jump on a random man in the lobby and not the judge in the Obedience trial. His mother could easily turn this around – the dog is smart and eager to learn.

Keys to dog training

Dogs are easy to train if you abide by the key rules:

Be consistent. The rules are always in effect. Either it’s never okay to jump on people, or it’s always okay. Dogs know black and white. Shades of gray are alien.
Learning takes time. Be patient. You’ll know when your dog starts to think about their choices. Be on the lookout for those moments of decision – when your dog thinks before acting. That little hesitation before choosing the right thing is a triumph. Celebrate all the little wins.
Until your dog knows, control access. Remember there are three ways of dealing with dog behavior. Ignore the things you don’t care about. Manage the things your dog doesn’t know yet. Train the things you want your dog to know.

Give your dog the tools and the time

Real World Dog Training

How true-to-life is your dog training routine? Is your dog up to real world dog training? What happens when you’re in the middle of a 2-Minute training game and someone in the house starts banging pots in the kitchen? Or somebody opens the door, either leaving or coming home? Does your dog stick with the game and play with you? Or do they run off to see what the fuss is about?

It’s hard to focus on what you’re doing when somebody elsewhere may be more interesting. Dogs are really curious beings – they always want to be in the middle of the action. How do you get your dog to stick with what you’re doing, rather than run off to explore that odd sound in the other room?

Being with Fran was more rewarding than exploring. — Being with Fran was rewarding

The best answer is to set up the situation and teach your dog there’s nothing more interesting than playing training games with you. The harshest test we ever dealt with was many years ago in a puppy class. Our instructor stopped at a fast-food restaurant on the way to class. He threw fresh, yummy-smelling french fries all over the floor. And our job was to walk our puppies from one end of the room to the other – without the dogs grabbing a single morsel. We’re delighted to report that all the puppies succeeded. And, when that trial-by-fire was over, he allowed us to share a couple of fries with our good dogs.

Are you more interesting than a french fry?

If you’re not sure, it’s time to fill your dog training games with fun, energy, and really high-level rewards. If you use a bunch of different treats your dog loves, have a fresh batch of this “trail mix” handy. If your dog’s favorite reward is playing tug, stick a great tug toy in your pocket, ready to whip out at any moment. Randomize rewards so your dog never knows when the next one is coming.

Dogs love schedules and patterns and it’s easy to fall into habits in dog training. To pull an example from obedience competition – in the “Recall” exercise, when called, the dog runs to you from across the room and sits directly in front. When told or signaled, the dog then “Finishes” the exercise by going to heel position at your left side. There are two different ways for the dog to get there. He can either go to your right and circle behind you to get to heel. Or he can swing into position toward your left side.

The Finish always follows the Recall. Every single time. Which means that dogs, being smart, understand what’s coming next. And they “save you the trouble” and go right into heel position instead of stopping in front. Which, depending on the judge, can mean failing the exercise. So how do you fix it?

Randomize it! If dogs don’t know what’s coming next – they pay attention to what’s actually going on. Sometimes ask for the circle finish. Other times the swing. Still others, tell your dog to wait and go around them!

Embrace the chaos

Randomizing all the factors in dog training games ensures your dog can ignore distractions, focus on you and your game, and disregard outside influences. Ask your family to make weird, random noises from various rooms. And if, after a quick glance, your dog stays with your game, reward heavily – an instant game of tug, and series of high-value treats, a quick belly-rub/wrestling match.

Just like playing games in different locations cements the learning with your dog, working through various distractions will help them focus when you need them to. If your dog is incredibly distracted when the doorbell rings, get a doorbell app on your phone and play different rings during 2-Minute dog training game sessions. If it’s somebody talking on the phone that your dog can’t resist, ask someone to sit to the side during your game and talk into the phone (whether or not there’s someone on the other end).

Set your dog up with different scenarios you can practice in a controlled manner. If your dog is constantly underfoot when someone’s trying to prepare food in the kitchen, have a mat or bed in there and practice “place!” Create real world dog training dilemmas and help your dog deal with them.

No training bubble for you!

Your dog lives in the real world. Set her up for success by creating real-life situations and getting her to concentrate despite the distractions. It’s tempting to stay in an isolated environment where your dog is always perfect. But it’s like the first-time parents of a newborn infant insisting that everyone be quiet because the baby’s sleeping. Baby has to learn to sleep through all kinds of real world noise. And doggo has to learn to focus in the real world, too.

“Drop It!” dog training game

“Drop It!” is one of the top three commands every dog should know. It can, potentially, save your dog’s life. We know – we have personal experience. The “Drop It!” dog training game is an important one to teach your pup early.

One day we had our dogs out in our own fully-fenced yard. Hope looks over to see her French Bulldog Dax chewing on something. Not good. Hope went over and told her to “Drop it!” Luckily, she did. It was a three-inch long stick of rat poison. Unfortunately, the sticks are about five inches long to start with.

It was a scary time, but getting the majority of the poison away from her, and a quick trip to the vet saved her life.

How did the poison get into our yard, you ask? It turns out that someone in the neighborhood used them in their own yard. The wildlife in the neighborhood – squirrels, birds, raccoons, opossums, skunks, etc.- didn’t know that only rats are supposed to eat them. They thought they’d discovered a bountiful feast and carried them all over the area. As far as we know, Dax was the only dog that found one. But we were cleaning up other animals for weeks.

Was it legal for our neighbor to do this? No, it wasn’t. Did we sue them to recover veterinary costs? Yes, we did. And won. However, no dollar amount would matter if our dog hadn’t recovered.

Teaching “Drop It!”

The first phase of “Drop It!” is relatively easy. It’s just trading toys with your dog. Start with a toy they like, but aren’t crazy about. You can either use two identical toys, or toys that have the same relatively low value. Play tug with your dog for a few seconds with one of the toys. Then hold the toy still while the dog is still holding it, and say “Drop It!” while you start moving the second toy with your other hand. The moment your dog releases the first toy to grab the other one, say “Good ‘Drop it!’” And play with the second toy – same procedure. That does it for the first “Drop It!” lesson.

Tango plays the "Drop It" game with his toys - dropping them in the bin. — Tango plays the “Drop It!” game with his toys – dropping them in the bin.

Dogs will be wary of letting go if they think that’s the end of the fun. As long as the game continues, the dog should be okay with swapping one fun thing for another. When it’s time to end the game entirely, rather than swapping, don’t ask for the “Drop it!” Instead, use something like “That’s all!” and offer an incredibly yummy treat.

Yes, we’re bribing the dog to do what we want. We’re okay with that. Until the dog understands the command, and will reliably do it, we use whatever positive means necessary to get the result we want. Taking away something valuable may cause dogs to guard it. And resource guarding can become a big problem.

Next step in “Drop it!”

To progress the “Drop It!” game, use a variety of different toys and/or treats, gradually introducing items your dog finds very valuable. It’s one thing to get a ball-loving dog to drop a rope toy. It’s another to get them to actually drop the ball.

If your dog is crazy about a certain toy, or kind of toy, be sure to have multiples of that identical item to teach drop it. Even the most well-trained dog may be reluctant to drop a cherished item. It may take a while to work up to the most valuable resources.

Go at your dog’s pace. If they don’t believe that the “other” item is as good as the one they have, they may not willingly obey the “Drop it!” Some dogs, like our own Booker, are more interested in the interaction with their people. The item doesn’t matter as much as the game.

Torque, on the other hand, prizes the ball above anything else. To him, having the toy is more important than the game. “Drop It!” is a persistent struggle for him, and when his better nature wins, he’s rewarded with even more time with his beloved ball. And if you’ve played the “Carry It” game with your dog, the “Drop It!” dog training game is the next logical, and important, step.

Know your dog

Knowing your dog’s personality and reward hierarchy is key. Stay with the less-valuable items as long as you need to build your dog’s trust in the game. Don’t make “Drop It!” the end of fun – reward with more time and use a different cue to end the game. You may even find that using a timer is beneficial. Your dog will learn that the “beep” of the timer signals the end of that game. Keep in mind that dogs love routine. If you always end the game when you hear the beep, your dog will know it’s time to go do something else.

“Carry It!” dog training game

Once your dog learns “Pick it up!” the next step is to hold it and take it someplace. It’s time for the “Carry it!” game.

For this game, use the same variety of objects you used for “Pick It Up!” If there’s a particular item you’d really like your dog to learn to carry, like a small whiteboard or tote bag, play the “Pick It Up!” game with that object so they’ll be ready to hold and carry it.

Imagine the social media posts you can create if your dog holds a whiteboard! Or how people will react when your dog carries their own stuff. Or even better – helps bring in the shopping!

Fun and maybe useful dog games

Booker loves the "Carry it!" dog training game - he puts away his foam blocks! — Booker loves the “Carry it!” dog training game.

Having your dog carry stuff for you has practical limits – they’re often not allowed places their skills could be put to use. But it is a fun and impressive behavior – from “go get me a soda!” to “put your toys away.” Fetching and carrying are things long associated with dogs. But most people don’t realize it can go far beyond a tennis ball or dog toys.

It doesn’t matter how old your dog is, what breed it is, or whether you’re an experienced dog person or not. All dogs can learn whatever you choose to teach them. Once dogs are familiar with 2-Minute Dog Training Games, they’re eager to try new stuff, happy to play, and enthusiastic about learning.

The start of “Carry it!”

If you’re using a clicker (and we hope you are) it’s easy to introduce your dog to the concept of keeping hold of an object. Play the “Pick it up!” game and, rather than an instant click, delay it. At first, just a tiny moment. If your dog is like most, as soon as they hear the click they’ll drop the object. We want to prolong the hold. So when your dog picks up the object, let them know they’re good – “Yes! Good dog!” but don’t click right away. Count to two, then click. If the dog immediately drops the object when they hear the click, say “good drop!”

The next step is to actually move while holding the object. Once your dog is holding it for a couple of beats, take a step back, encouraging your dog to come with you. If they drop the object rather than moving with it, stop and stare at the thing. “What were you doing?” or “You forgot something!” Wait until the dog picks it up and this time, just lean back. Your dog may not be ready for a whole step.

Add on gradually

As always, your dog will let you know when it’s time to add – both more time for the hold and more distance for the carry. When your dog is getting it “right” about 75 percent of the time, ask for more. Another step. A longer hold.

If your dog doesn’t like holding stuff, one game to turn that around is to tug on it. Just like pulling on your dog’s leash causes them to resist and pull more, tugging on something your dog is holding in their mouth will usually cause them to clamp it harder. That resistance is a trait you can take advantage of with both “hold” and “drop” behaviors.

You probably noticed that the “Drop it!” behavior is part of both holding and carrying. If your dog is a “it’s mine and you can’t have it” kind of dog, you’ll want to play “Drop it!” games separately. Next time we’ll go over the games for teaching “Drop it!”