Making a game of dog manners

Dog manners are like classic books. Everyone wants to have read them, but nobody wants to actually read them. Every dog needs to know household manners, but teaching them can be tedious. How many times can you say “Leave it!” or “Off!”

We get it. Teaching your dog to “gimme paw,” “roll over,” or “spin” is fun. It’s not only light-hearted, it’s usually pretty quick. Whereas teaching your dog not to jump on visitors takes time and effort. You’re also starting at a disadvantage – “taking away” something is harder than “adding on.”

Change your mindset

But it’s all a matter of perception. You know “manners” aren’t as much fun as “tricks.” But that’s an entirely human construct. We naturally are more resistant to things we “have” to do, as opposed to the things we “want” to do. Nobody likes to do their chores! 

Your dog doesn’t know the difference. Your dog only knows that you’re paying attention to her. And she likes it! That, however, can change. If your tone and body language change when you approach the “Not Fun” training sessions, your dog will pick up on it and reflect your mood. If you don’t like it, your dog won’t either.

Don’t lie to your dog

You don’t have to pretend you love the Get it! / Leave it! dog training game. You should, however, approach it with the same enthusiasm you show toward the fun stuff. It’s not the game that matters. It’s carving out the time to focus on your partnership with your dog. Every single 2-Minute session adds to the relationship. 

And when your dog shows that he understands “Leave it!” as thoroughly as “High Five!,” celebrate with the same reaction. Have a little party with treats, toys, and tugging! The things that are hard, like dog manners, should be celebrated even harder when they’re conquered. It’s easy to overlook good behavior because it’s what we expect. But your dog will be “good” more if it looks, sounds, and feels better than being “naughty.”

Everybody does it

As competitors in dogs performance sports, there are all kinds of precise positions/behaviors that we practice with our dogs. The vast majority of obedience performance scores are all about “Heeling,” so we do it a lot. 

Torque showing off his nice dog manners

How do you make a game of walking around with your dog? Especially when he’s supposed to be watching you the whole time, exactly aligned with you?

Easily! You start by meeting your dog’s eyes and smiling. This is the best dog in the whole wide world and he’s yours! Then you ask your dog “Do you wanna play with me?” And the tail-wag or wiggling butt lets you know that your dog is ready for any game. Even boring old “heeling.”

Not a marathon

The next step is setting up in absolutely perfect heel position, and telling your dog how wonderful that is. You set off, (leading with your left foot!) telling your dog “Heel!” as you’re about to take your first step. He responds matching you perfectly, tail wagging happily. And after three perfect steps, you break off and celebrate. “Yay, dog!” Here’s a treat! Or a tummy rub. Or a quick fetch your toy!

Three perfect, happy steps are a great foundation. We don’t have to heel a mile. Not even a block. We’d rather do a few steps perfectly than lose the enthusiasm for the game. It also keeps it fresh for us. Perfect heeling is, in all honesty, a pleasure to watch. And a pain in the butt to achieve. It’s also one of the dog classics.

Dog Training Game: Get it! / Leave it!

Dogs are binary creatures. It’s yes or no. Black or white. On or off. Get it! Or Leave it! Dogs don’t have shades of gray that let them process things like “just this once,” or “sometimes.”

Once you really understand this, dog training is much easier. You’re actually not tormenting them by holding dogs to strict criteria. You’re really being precise, clear, and explaining in a way your dog will understand. And giving him/her an opportunity to get things absolutely right!

Dogs don’t like “sometimes,” or “maybe.” If you let your dog do something sometimes, it’s confusing for the dog. 

Stop and go

There are times that you want your dog to do something, then stop doing it. That’s where the “Get It! / Leave It!” game comes in handy. You may want your dog to “fetch” keys you dropped. That doesn’t mean he/she needs to grab your keys every time.

This is a game to play when you’re tired and really don’t feel like being super energetic. You can sit in a chair or on the couch to play this game, with your dog in front of you. All you need is a bowl of treats and your dog.

Teaching Simon "get it leave it" with the "Whacha gonna do?" game.

Take about 10 treats and put them in your hand, palm up, facing your dog. When your dog is sitting politely in front of you (remember your “Whacha gonna do?” game? from Book 4: Impulse Control.) take a single treat from your palm and give it to your dog as you say “Get It!” As your dog is munching, especially if he/she took it nicely, you can say “Good Get It!”

Do this about five or six times. Just hand your dog a treat and say “Get It!” and praise for showing good manners. 

The hard part of Leave it!

For the next treat, take it from your open palm and say “Leave it!”, closing your hand around the treat. Do not let the dog get the treat, even if you have to endure some nibbling. Most dogs will test to see if you’re serious about it. When your dog backs off, say “Good Leave It!” 

Put that treat back, choose a different treat, and start again with “Get It!” “Good Get It!” 

Randomize the number of “Get Its” before trying another “Leave It!” but be sure that the “Gets” far outnumber the “Leaves.”

Why a different treat?

What’s the point of discarding the treat your dog had to “Leave?” Picture using the “Leave It!” when you’re out on a walk and your dog encounters goose poop. When you tell your dog “Leave It!” it means he/she is never supposed to go near that particular thing. And that by “Leaving It!” he/she will be heavily rewarded many times with even better stuff from your hand.

Imagine your dog knowing this behavior so well that he/she never again tries for the goose poop. Instead, your dog will make sure you see that icky stuff, notice she’s virtuously ignoring it, and she expects to be rewarded. It’s a scenario that will play out if you practice your “Get It!” and “Leave It!” game.

Final exam

When you think your dog understands “Get It! / Leave It!” it’s time to put them to the test. The mentor who taught us this game, many years ago, went to the ultimate extreme. He picked up McDonald’s french fries on the way to class and scattered them all over the floor. Our dog-and-handler “final exam” was to walk across that floor with the dogs ignoring the fresh, delicious fries. And every single dog was able to do it.

Don’t start with french fries. Expand your dog’s understanding by dropping the treat on the floor instead of keeping it in your hand when you say “Leave it!” When your dog succeeds most of the time, you can move on to other items to drop, or get, and other rooms and places to work in.

Most useful command

“Leave It!” is certainly a more-used command than “Get It!” in most of our lives. It can even save your dog’s life, depending on what he/she found lying around. 

Practice the “Get It!” too. And if you teach your dog the names of different objects, people will be amazed when you tell your dog to “Get the keys!” and he does!

Training Game: teaching your dog to tap

Teaching your dog to “Tap” is another little training game to play anywhere. 

Little games that don’t need anything but you, your dog, and some treats are useful wherever you go. If you’re waiting at the vet’s office the game can help reduce your dog’s stress. If your dog obsesses on the neighbor mowing the lawn, you can get attention back by playing a game. Whenever you need to reclaim your dog’s focus, having a few games to play will make it easy. (“Touch” is another game we talked about a couple of months ago.)

Making sure that every interaction with your dog is positive and fun ensures that your dog will want to engage with you. If he/she can always count on having fun (and treats!), there’s nothing better. Not even the squirrel climbing the tree across the street.

Teaching “tap”

Does your dog use his/her front paws to get your attention? Many dogs do, and you can make use of this habit to lay the foundation for the game. 

For us, Booker is the one who uses his paws the most to get attention. As a matter of fact, it’s really annoying. You’re sitting there on the couch and he comes over next to you and grabs your hand. Which is how television channels change and texts turn into gibberish around here.

Instead of getting annoyed, use the dog’s natural habit to play the game

Tapping the shoe

Our vision of the game has the dog “tapping” the toe of a shoe with his paw. To change Booker’s annoying habit into a fun game, we brought a shoe with us when we went to relax on the couch. Teaching your dog to tap may require equally strange props!

With the shoe either next to us or on our lap, we ignored Booker pawing at us until he touched the shoe with his paw. Then he got attention, pets, and treats! That’s really all it takes to get a dog choosing to play a game. It’s fun to watch them figure out what action is triggering the reward.

Do it again!

The hardest part is being patient. Booker “patted” lots of different things until he zeroed in on the shoe. The game stays the same until the dog figures out that tapping the shoe is what gets the cookies! 

Once your dog is successful about three-quarters of the time, it’s time to start asking for more. If the shoe was on your lap, can the dog tap it when it’s next to you? How about if the shoe is on the floor? Across the room? And finally, how about on your foot?

Tap dancing

The goal of the game is for the dog to tap your toes alternately, left and right. Once your dog has the idea of tapping a shoe, the rest should be relatively simple. Remember to keep moving forward, but not so fast that your dog (or you!) get frustrated. If your dog is having some trouble taking the next step, wherever you are, just go back and reinforce where she was successful. Small steps get you there! 

Torque taps Hope's shins. Teaching your dog to tap is fun.

It’s okay to set your own criteria for every game you play with your dog. Torque, Hope’s French Bulldog, likes to “tap” her shins rather than her shoes. It wasn’t worth it to Hope to change his mind – he’s engaged, having fun, alternating his “taps,” and playing with her. Shifting his focus down to her shoes didn’t seem important. Especially when it’s easier to see his cute little face when he taps her shins!

Even finicky dogs work for food & Puppy Pushups game

It seems counter-intuitive. Even if there’s a full bowl of food available, dogs work for food. The exact same food that’s in the bowl.

People do the same thing. The psychologist’s name for it is “contra-freeloading.” Even when “free” stuff is available, people will still work for reinforcement, whether it’s money, food, or other valuable rewards. Some of those rewards may be intangible, but they still exist. 

More than just the food

We’ve all heard the saying “When you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Dogs love “working.” Even when your dog knows the house rules and grows into a beloved family member, training should be part of life. It’s how we create our dogs’ best life. That’s something we want for everyone we love.

Try it yourself. Your dog will absolutely choose to play training games with you and work for food. If your dog is indifferent to food in a bowl, turn that meal into a training game. Ask for anything! We just gave a step-by-step for the “Touch!” game – alternate hands. Move around. Just don’t bop your dog in the nose with your “Touch!” hand! See if your dog doesn’t get excited about the game and the rewards she gets for playing!

You’ll see a change from fussy eater to eager worker, probably in that first 2-Minute session. And the faster and more fun your game is, the more food will disappear.

Puppy push-ups

Simon is sitting in his work for food session.

Another good mealtime game is “Puppy Push-ups.” Traditionally, it’s a fast-and-furious timed game. How many times can your dog go from “Sit!” to “Down!” in one minute. We like to add another position cue – “Stand!” That way we can mix it up. If your dog doesn’t know all three, now is a good time to teach that, too!

If the game only has two positions, your dog knows what comes next. He doesn’t have to listen or pay attention if he knows what’s coming. Since we want the dogs to actually understand and listen, what comes next should be a surprise. Adding the third position command to the mix does the trick. Your dog never knows what you’ll ask for next, so she has to listen and be ready!

Reward for speed

The more enthusiastic you are about the game, the happier and more excited your dog will be. Dogs feed off our energy. If you’re tired after your day, fake it. It turns into genuine enthusiasm when your dog responds and gets excited to be playing with you.

In the throes of the game, keep your criteria for rewards clear. While it’s better to give too many rewards than too few, try to stay on track and only reward when your dog performs the position you called. If you ask for a “Sit,” and your dog lies down, then stands, or looks confused, wait a few beats before you repeat the command. If he still doesn’t get it, take a tiny break for him to get his head together. Take a step to the side, ask for a touch, and start over. 

Just like us

When dogs get too excited, they can stop listening and start doing any old thing to make you smile. It’s adorable, and you can certainly switch gears and have a “freestyle” session. That’s one where you don’t ask for anything, but let your dog have fun and reward the creative behaviors that she creates.

If it’s not what you intended, it’s still okay. You may want to move to a different spot to indicate that it’s a change of games. You can play any game at any time – that’s the beauty of having an entire repertoire of choices for you and your dog.

Training “Touch!” Dog Training Game

The “Touch!” dog training game can be a pocket game you pull out and use any time you and your dog are together. It’s great when your dog is stressed, if you’re waiting at the vet’s office. Or if your dog is intently focused on something that’s none of his business, like that other dog on a walk. 

To make this a go-to game, you and your dog must play it often. And your dog has to love it. Absolutely adore it. When your dog values playing this game more than any other stimulus, you can play it to keep your dog’s attention where you want it. That’s when it becomes one of the most useful tools in your dog-training toolbox. 

Tools of the game

“Touch!” doesn’t require much stuff. Just you, your dog, and some treats. Really prime treats. Leftover steak kind of treats. 

This may be a good place to talk about the “hierarchy” of treats. Dogs have preferences, just like people. You may adore fruit. Blueberries may be the fruit you reach for every time. Somebody else (Hope) may be allergic to blueberries and avoid them like the plague. She’d reach for the chocolate, instead. 

We’ve talked before about putting together a “trail mix” of treats for dog training games. This should be a mix of high value (cheese), medium value (Cheerios), and low value (kibble) bits. The examples are our dogs’ particular preferences. You’ll know best what your dog’s favorites are and the tidbits she pushes away.

We know one person whose dog’s favorite thing in the world was shrimp. She went out of her way to get dried shrimp to use as training treats. We’ve also talked about Hope’s Dax, who adored celery. Most dogs love popcorn and you can certainly use air-popped popcorn in the mix. 

When your dog never knows what the next treat will be, it keeps things fresh and exciting for the training games. Use your dog’s unique trail mix for most training games. Use the favorite for introducing a new game, especially one like “Touch!” that you mean to use often.

Getting started with Touch! Dog Training Game

The mechanics of a dog-training game like “Touch!” are simple, but not intuitive. Doing it this way gets the message across to your dog most clearly. Nobody’s watching – if you want to practice the moves before you try them out on your dog, go ahead. 

Remember when you’re playing dog training games that you’re trying to communicate complex ideas to someone who doesn’t speak your language. And doesn’t have a common frame of reference. Your dog wants to play the games and have fun. Be as clear and confident as possible.

Have a bunch of treats in a bowl or small container near at hand, but out of your dog’s reach. If your dog has a tendency to wander away, or disengage when he/she doesn’t understand, put on his/her collar and leash and just let the leash drag on the floor.

Step 1: Put your hand out to the side, palm side facing your dog. Call your dog’s name. If your dog looks at your palm, touches your palm, interacts with your palm at all, take a treat with the other hand and hold it in the middle of your palm for your dog. You are feeding the treat from the open palm with the other hand.

You’re probably asking why you can’t just have a treat in the palm you want your dog to touch. And the answer is: because we’re not luring the dog to touch. We’re teaching the dog to decide to touch. 

There may come a day when you need to get your dog’s attention but you don’t happen to have a treat handy. If the only way you’ve played the game is with a visible reward, your dog doesn’t know the right choice to make. He/she loves the lure, not the game.

Another important point: don’t reach out to your dog. Let your dog come to you. If you start reaching out, your dog’s natural instinct will be to back up. You don’t want that. Let your dog come to you.

Give it a name

Simon and Hope playing the Touch Dog Training Game.

When your dog touches your palm, you can start calling the game “Touch!” As you’re giving the reward (with the other hand, all the time!), you can say “Good Touch!” “That’s Touch!” “What a good Touch!” As well as the game, you’re also teaching the name of the game. 

Remember to only play for a two-minute session. You can play a couple times a day, but not for long. Since this is such a simple game, your dog should “know” it fairly reliably in a week or so.

Variations on a theme

Once you’ve established your palm as the target to touch for treats, you can change hands, even alternating once your dog understands. Don’t be surprised if your dog doesn’t “get” that it’s the same game when you change. Remember that dogs don’t generalize naturally – it’s a learned behavior. Just because your dog understands “Touch!” with your left palm doesn’t mean she’ll know it with your right, or with your mother’s palm, or anyone else’s. 

You can play the Touch dog training game anywhere. Take the game outside, to the park, to the pet store. In particularly difficult environments be sure to reward heavily and not go too far too fast. If your dog is having difficulty at the park, go back to your own yard and practice more there.

Old reliable

The Touch dog training game is what we use to get our dog’s focus, break his attention from someplace it shouldn’t be, and pass time when we’re waiting. You can alternate palms, play sitting, standing, kneeling, running, walking, wherever. It’s also useful when you’re playing another game, like “Boxey” and need to take a break while you reset. 

Transitioning from one dog training game to another is easy. The more games you and your dog know, the more fun you’ll have.

Boxey Game Part 2: Your dog can be creative

In last week’s tip we talked about getting started with the Boxey game. Now it’s time to take it further and showcase your dog’s cleverness. Your dog can be creative with the right encouragement.

Remember that you’re never allowed to say “NO!” when you’re playing Boxey with your dog. Aside from biting or chewing the box, whatever your dog does with it is okay. If your dog is wildly creative and starts playing volleyball with the box, reward it, name it, and for pity’s sake get it on video so you can make a fortune.

Stop telling your dog what to do

The nice thing about playing Boxey is that you have no particular objective in mind. Most dog tricks or behaviors have an end goal. Our only goal here is to teach the dog that it’s okay to try different stuff. There are absolutely no negative consequences with this game. The worst that should happen is, if your dog absolutely intent on chewing the box, you call it quits for this session and try again later. Maybe with a different box, if that one’s too attractive for gnawing. 

Torque playing Boxey - he's got 3 legs in the box!

The possible actions that your dog may come up with to interact with the box include:

  • Sniff it
  • Nudge it
  • Pawing at it
  • Put a paw in it
  • Put two paws in it
  • Three paws in 
  • All four paws in
  • Left paws in
  • Right paws in
  • Back paws in
  • Backing into it
  • Jumping over it
  • Sitting in it
  • Lying in it
  • Turning it over
  • Turning it on its side
  • Putting something else in it
  • Moving it

Hopefully you’re getting the idea that your dog can be creative with the box however it occurs to him. 

Getting your dog out of the box

Once your dog figures out the box is his/her “sweet spot,” you may have some difficulty getting your dog to get out of the box. That’s one of the reasons we say to only reward the same behavior three to five times. If you keep delivering treats for your dog sitting in the box, you’ll never get him out. 

Speaking of getting him/her out, dogs trained with positive reinforcement can cycle into what we’ve heard called feedback loops. They keep doing the same thing over and over, regardless of whether it’s being rewarded, because they can’t figure out what else to do. There needs to be a way to break the cycle.

One of the behaviors we use to settle our dogs down and get their minds back in the game is the hand touch. It’s a whole other game, which we’ll talk about in next week’s tip. In the meantime, if your dog is becoming box-obsessed, just pick it up and try again another time.

It may take some time

Most dogs spend so much of their lives getting directions from people that it’s hard for them to break away from that and think for themselves. 

But thinking creatively is a great way to keep dogs (and people!) of any age interested and engaged. If you’re reading this tip, that means that you’re interested in giving your dog the best life possible – which means encouraging him or her to use every bit of brain power possible. Dogs are smart. Channel that ability into paths that will delight instead of getting into trouble. It’s better to have a dog that bats a box around than one that chews electrical cords out of boredom.

Some dogs are more creative than others. Among our own dogs, it’s the old guy, Tango, who comes up with the most creative ways to use Boxey. Torque is the least. 

It’s more challenging to play Boxey with a less-creative dog because it requires you to be more patient and think more creatively yourself. As with Torque, if he can’t come up with anything new, we’ll take the initiative and present him with a new “look” – like putting the box on its end instead of its bottom. Or placing it on top of another box. Or hiding a treat underneath it. 

Your dog can be creative. And so can you. Together you’ll come up with your own Boxey variations and your own shared repertoire of games.

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

Hope plays a training game with Simon

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.

How to help dogs afraid of loud noises

We helped Peanut the Mastiff, afraid of loud noises.

This week we were called upon to help a dog afraid of loud noises. It’s not your typical case. Peanut is a Mastiff. Not a toy dog, not a “lap dog.” Peanut weighs more than we do.

Peanut is about three years old now. We met him when he was a puppy, just twice as big as Hope’s French Bulldog, Torque. Peanut’s always been timid, but puppy class helped and he was doing well with consistent exposure to different situations.

Pandemic shut-down

And then the pandemic struck. Peanut and his family have had limited contact with the outside world for almost a year. For easy-going dogs, it’s probably not as critical an issue. For Peanut, it stopped his progress in its tracks. 

His owners are a lovely, active couple who make sure their dog gets plenty of exercise and goes for long walks daily. They even made sure he got out in the worst weather. On truly bad days, the husband would take Peanut out for a walk and, if they got too cold or it was too sloppy, they’d call for a ride to get home.

Which is where the issue with noises arises.

Two facets of a single problem

Peanut needs a ramp to get up into their car. They can’t lift him – he’s over 100 pounds. One day last week the ramp dropped away from the car and made a loud noise on the garage floor. Peanut was terrified. He wouldn’t go near the ramp again. It took them hours to convince him out of the car.

They just didn’t know how to help their dog. They replaced the ramp with a different one, but Peanut wouldn’t go anywhere near it. 

Wisely, they called for help. A single issue, the dog’s fear of loud noises, has two different training solutions. One to address the ramp issue. The second is changing Peanut’s noise phobia. 

To get Peanut to use a car ramp again, Peanut has to love the ramp. Now it’s a fear object, with all the terror of the noise itself attached to the ramp. 

To get Peanut over being afraid of loud noises, he has to learn to ignore them. 

Learning to love again

Peanut the Mastiff is afraid of loud noises and must learn to love his ramp.
This ramp is free-standing – you can read more about it at GollyGear.com.

The ramp aversion is the more immediate problem, since Peanut won’t be able to go anywhere if he won’t use the ramp. An added complication for them – Peanut has severe food sensitivities and is a lackluster eater at the best of times. Fortunately, he is toy-motivated and loves to play with his toys.

Since this is an intense situation, we’ve set some rules for Peanut. All of his toys, every single one, has been removed from the household and hidden in a bin only the people have access to. Several times a day, they take a toy and stand by the ramp. When Peanut puts a paw on the ramp, he gets to play tug with the toy and person. Only if he puts a paw on the ramp. 

What we’re doing is attempting to transfer the value of something Peanut loves (his toy) to something he avoids (the ramp). Everybody’s going to have to be patient. Overcoming fear isn’t fast. And Peanut’s fear may be more powerful than his love for his toy at first. Ultimately Peanut will learn to love the ramp – he’ll associate the best rewards with it. (Read more on this: https://2-minute-trainer.com/2020/05/01/all-behaviors-are-equal/)

When Peanut is stepping on the ramp with a single paw fairly consistently, the next step will be to wait for two paws. And reward with play. Then three, and four. Then walking consistently.

Small steps

Peanut’s owners may also face a problem when they move the ramp. Right now it’s in their family room while they address their dog’s fear of loud noises. When they make progress, it will have to move to the garage. And the process may have to start all over again. 

We’ve talked before about dogs not being able to generalize. Once people learn to use a spoon, all spoons “work” the same way, regardless of what they look like or where they are. That’s generalizing. Dogs don’t make the same mental leap. A ramp in the family room may not be the same as a ramp in the garage. 

Fear of loud noises

The other part of the issue Peanut’s owners need to address is their dog’s fear of loud noises. Contrarily, we don’t want Peanut to love noise. Instead, he needs to learn to ignore it.

In separate training sessions from his ramp game, his owners are going to make their household much louder. One of them will bang pots while the other plays tug with Peanut. Or yell across the house at each other. Or play loud music, or explosion recordings, or fireworks or thunder. If Peanut learns that noise is just a part of life, his life will be less fearful, more fun, and improve immensely. 

Get loud

If your dog is afraid of loud noises, try pairing noise with things your dog enjoys. If your dog is food motivated, it’s a little easier for you. Just play those loud recordings during your dog’s mealtimes. Even better if you feed by hand and ask your dog to do “stuff” during meals. 

Trying to turn around an established pattern may be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Take it step by step and change the fear into a trigger for something good and/or fun to happen. You and your dog will both be happier if you can overcome the fear of loud noises.

Get your dog to come dashing to you every time

Booker is playing "keep away." He had not learned to come.
Booker playing “keep away.”

Do you have a dog who likes to play “keep away?” It’s frustrating and can be scary – especially if you’re in a heavy-traffic area.

You can get your dog to come running to you whenever you call. One of the best games for recalls (“come”) just turns “Keep Away” around! What do you think would happen if YOU were the instigator of this version of “Keep Away?”

Catch Me If You Can

This game asks that you act against every instinct you have. When your dog takes off running away from you, or dances just out of reach, everyone’s first impulse is to run after the dog, or try and grab him. It’s natural. And it’s wrong.

Instead, you’re going to work with the fact that your dog has exactly the same instinct. After all, both humans and dogs are predators. We share the “chase” reaction. So we’re going to use it.

Playing the game

In a controlled environment, where you know your dog can’t get away from you (indoors, or a fenced area), bring your leashed dog and have a pouch of really top-notch treats ready to use. If your dog is more toy than food motivated, bring the best tug toy your dog loves. If you can hide the toy so your dog doesn’t realize you have it, even better. We’ve been known to stuff toys up under our shirts if they don’t fit in a pocket.  

When you get to the safe spot, without saying anything to your dog, drop the leash and take off running away from him/her. If your dog isn’t paying attention, you can yell his/her name while you run away. 

Really run. No half-baked pretend running, or sideways running to keep an eye on your dog. You’ve made sure Fido can’t get away. All dogs are faster than we are. Get into the spirit of the game. Run!

As soon as your dog catches up with you, grab the dog’s collar with one hand and start shoveling treats into his mouth with the other. Or if you have that toy, whip it out and play tug. Celebrate!

A note about using toys as rewards: The reward is playing tug with you. It’s not getting the toy and playing by himself. Don’t drop or throw the toy. Keep hold of it and offer it to your dog for a game of tug. If you let your dog play by herself, you’ve undone all the good you just achieved. We’re establishing that you are a component of the reward. Without you, there’s no fun game.

Do it again

After a half-dozen treats (or so), or a minute of tugging, start the whole thing again. Take off running, away from your dog. When she catches you, reward with a jackpot of treats, or a game of tug.

Rinse and repeat

That’s all there is to it. Playing this game will teach your dog that coming to you is always a good thing. There will be treats, toys, and you!

You’ll find more fun games that will convince your dog that the only place he wants to be is with you in Book 2: Come!