Dog Training Games Archives - Page 13 of 13

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!

Dog games: Ring stacking game for dogs

Yes, your dog is smarter than a two-year-old!

And you can easily teach your dog the ring stacking game, one of baby’s favorite toy games!

All you need is a post, rings that easily fit on it, some treats, and your dog. We recommend a clicker, too, but it’s not essential. As long as you consistently “mark” good decisions, a word (good!) is fine.

Step by step

When you start teaching your dog something new, break the behavior down into little nuggets that can be assembled into the whole behavior.

With the ring stacking game, start with just one ring. Put it on the floor near your dog. The goal is to get your dog to pick it up, but she doesn’t understand that, yet. Watch carefully. When she looks at the ring, mark it! If she gets close to the ring, mark it! If she sniffs it, mark it! If she picks it up, celebrate! Good dog! Lots of treats!

What if your dog moves the ring with a paw, instead of her mouth? Ignore it. It’s not what you want, and it may cause confusion if you change the criteria later. Mouth? Yes! Paw? Try again, that’s not what we want.

Next on the agenda

The next step is to have your dog move while holding the ring. The easiest way to do this is for you to start moving as soon as the dog has the ring in his mouth. If he drops it, stop. Wait for him to pick it up again and start moving.

At this point, you can place the post you’ll be using to stack the rings. When your dog has the ring in his mouth, move toward the post and wait. At first, if your dog drops it anywhere touching the post, reward. We want to let the dog know that the ring has to touch the post. When he has that idea, we’ll get pickier and expect him to place the ring over the post.

Onward!

We have a total of six rings. We use diving rings because the rings that came with our post were too chubby for our dogs to hold and manipulate easily. Now we toss all six rings down and our dogs, knowing the game, get each one, carry it across, and place it on the post.

If the ring doesn’t go over the post, just wait. The lack of reinforcement (praise and/or treat) will let your dog know it’s not quite right and, hopefully, he will try again.

Here’s a successful session in which Torque completed the game in about a minute with all 6 rings:

Torque plays the ring stacking game

Hints for success

Reward for the “same thing” only about three times per session. Looking at the ring is great, but we want to move on after the third time. Picking up the ring is terrific – three times. Then we need more. If you expect your dog to do more, he will!

Keep each session short – that’s why we call it 2-Minute training. Dogs think and process what they’ve learned. The next session, either later or the next day, start with a brief “refresher.” If your dog is stumped, take a step back to the point he/she was successful.

Dogs learn what’s “good” by associating the “thing” with the reward. Try to place your reward (treat) near the post, so your dog knows the post is a good thing. She may not know what to do with it right away, but she’ll be happy to be around it.

This may sound odd, but “show” your dog how the game works. You pick up a ring (you don’t have to use your mouth – you have thumbs!), carry it over, and put it on the post. Dogs do learn by watching.

Try not to be frustrated or lose patience with your dog. If it’s all brand new, it may take some time to catch on to the ring stacking game. Keep in mind that playing only two minutes at a time, a dozen sessions is less than half an hour. Read about a session a while ago when Torque completely forgot how to play the game.

Remember how dogs learn

Just by watching how your dog relates to the game, you’ll be able to see how he/she learns. Some dogs will get it right away. Others will learn one step easily and have difficulty with another. Just like us, all dogs have unique learning styles.

Part of learning is processing. You may have one completely awful game session. The next time, your dog may be brilliant. Giving your dog time to “think” about it helps them achieve success.

If you do have a session that falls off the rails, just stop and regroup. Your dog is doing the best he/she can, willing to play with you. Be grateful for the wonderful companion you have and try again later.

How to achieve stress-free car rides with dogs

Do you dread having to take your dog anywhere? Does your dog’s car anxiety stress you out, too?

Over the past year, most of us have been spending more time at home. We’ve haven’t been going much of anywhere, and neither have our dogs.

Our dogs familiarity with travel and car rides has lessened, and even those dogs who were accustomed to going places and doing things may now get nervous.

Name of the game

Booker and Tango are accustomed to the car and going places. — Pre-pandemic, Booker and Tango frequently rode in the car with Fran to trials and on road trips.

Familiarity is the key. Dogs, like us, get nervous in unfamiliar situations. Car rides with dogs qualify, especially if the only place the dog goes is scary.

Think about it from the dog’s perspective. If the only time he/she gets in the car is to go someplace where scary and/or painful things happen, you’d hate the car, too. Veterinary care and grooming are both necessary for our dogs, but neither is fun for the dog. Hope and Fran knew when they got puppies that as grown-up dogs they would be spending a lot of time in the car – going to obedience, rally and agility trials as well as on road trips, so they translated their crate training from the house to the car.

To turn things around and achieve stress-free car rides, start slowly, from the beginning.

Make it fun

Start where your dog’s anxiety begins. If he/she is nervous getting near the car, walk him her around the car, chattering calmly to your dog and delivering treats. Or play with a favorite toy near the car. Open and close the doors, all the while playing or rewarding for calm behavior.

Don’t force the dog to get closer, let them take it at their own pace. Coddling isn’t required – it’s not okay to be scared. Speak calmly and encourage exploration, but don’t force it and try not to get frustrated. You know there’s nothing to worry about. The task is to convince your dog that’s true.

Step by step

Like all 2-Minute training games, after a couple of minutes, you’re done for the session. You can come back to it later, but give your dog time to absorb the fact that he/she had fun near the big, scary, noisy thing.

When your dog is fine around the car, have him/her get in it. Again, give treats or play with a toy for a couple minutes. Reinforce for your dog that the car is a positive place.

When your dog can enjoy the treats or toy in the car, hook him/her up to whatever restraint you use in the car and have another play session. At this point, if you have another person who can help, one of you get in the driver’s seat while the other plays with, or gives treats to your dog.

Noisy scary

The next step is to have the dog in the car and turn on the engine. Make sure you’re outside, or the garage door is wide open to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning. Play or treat for a couple minutes. If you don’t have a helper, give your dog a treat-filled toy. Use a high-value food stuffed in the toy – peanut butter or spray cheese work well for most dogs.

If your dog is able to focus on his/her chew or treat toy, you’re well on your way to stress-free car rides with your dog. Take a short ride around the block and back home. As you’re able to take your dog in the car for longer periods, try going to a park or somewhere dog-friendly and playing a fun training game as we discussed in the post, “Take it on the road …”

Building on success

Stay at whatever step as long as you need to. If your dog is too nervous to take treats or play, stay there until she gets more comfortable. A nervous glance, then back to the game is fine. Rejecting the treats/toy due to nerves means your dog has reached his/her limit and you may even need to go back a step.

When you are able to progress to actual trips, be sure you go fun places where nothing bad happens. Take your dog to a park and go for a walk. Or a pet shop and let him/her choose a new toy. Then straight home.

Accentuate the positive

You can replace anxiety with anticipation if you teach your dog, step by step, that there’s nothing to worry about. As your dog gets used to new things, they’re less scary. If you make car rides routine fun, you’ll have stress-free car rides with your dog.

Start training dog tricks with target practice

Are you intrigued by the idea of training dog tricks and even, possibly going for that Trick Dog title? We hope you are.

Last week we talked about the reasons to do dog trick training: https://2-minute-trainer.com/2020/12/18/dog-trick-training-is-not-only-fun-it-strengthens-the-bond-with-your-dog/

Where do you start? It’s one thing to read a list of tricks and think “my dog could do that,” and another to teach your dog how!

You and your dog communicate without language. You know particular sounds your dog makes mean something. We all recognize when our dogs act a certain way, they’re trying to tell us something. And we each know our own dogs’ unique traits.

Opening a channel

Sharing a language would really help, wouldn’t it? A first step in creating that training language between you and your dog is to train a basic behavior that will be a common theme for many of the tricks you can train.

One of the most useful is target training your dog. It’s easy, it takes almost no time, and it’s something your dog will recognize and relate to regardless of where you are or what game you’re playing. We use it for training in all of the dog sports for competition.

Get started with a target

First you’ll need an actual, physical target. We use the white plastic lids from food containers: whipped butter, sour cream, ricotta cheese, etc. We wish ice cream lids were plastic, but they’re not so they don’t hold up.

Torque (French Bulldog) is touching the target with his nose - he'll get a reward for that! Target training is one of the first steps in dog trick training.

Get your target and some treats. Put the target on the floor and if your dog reacts to it in any way, put a treat on the target. If he/she looks at it, sniffs it, licks it, paws at it, any reaction gets a treat. Be sure to put the treat on the target – we’re building value in the “thing.” Don’t hand your dog the treat – he/she already thinks you’re wonderful.

The actual behavior you really want is for your dog to touch the target with her/his nose. We’ll get picky about that after your dog realizes that the target has value. For now, any interest in the target gets a treat. Five times. Then pick up the target.

Control the target

It’s important that the dog doesn’t have access to the target when you’re not paying attention. If your dog touches it, and you’re not there to reward the touch, all the progress you’ve made is lost and the target loses value. So if the phone rings, or you have to grab more treats, be sure to pick up the target.

Once your dog catches on to the game, and it shouldn’t take long, you can start changing it up a little. Only reward when the dog’s nose touches the target – stop rewarding for paw touches or looks. Move the target around and see if your dog will run to it. You can even have more than one target and play with your dog moving between them. This is easier if you also have more than one person, or else you’ll be running back and forth with your dog!

Most people are amazed at how easy training dog tricks is. We’re not sure if it’s really easy, or if we have so much fun doing it, we don’t notice. Introducing the target only takes a few minutes. In almost no time, your dog will adore the game and know the “touch” or “target” trick. Training dog tricks really is just this simple.

Target love is deep

Once your dog knows the target game, he/she may find them places you may not expect. Hope’s first French Bulldog, Dax, adored her targets. Her first competition in agility was at an indoor soccer facility. And there were lots of round, white circles on the turf. She checked out quite a few of them! Good girl!

More recently, Hope used the target to introduce Torque to a new trick – “Hide.” She draped a throw over a portable table a few inches above the floor. She tucked the target underneath. Torque was in a “sit, stay,” and watching the whole procedure. He recognized the target right away and was raring to go. When Hope said “Go (his release word) hide!” Torque dashed under the table, touched the target, turned around, laid down, and stuck his face out under the throw. And just like that, Torque started his “Hide!” trick. (See last week’s post!)

Teach the target

We know it won’t take long to teach your dog to “target.” Let us know how it goes! We’re happy to answer questions, and we love hearing about the progress you and your dog are making with your 2-Minute dog training games!

Dog trick training – how to & why!

Why do dog trick training?

So many reasons!

It’s fun
Grows your dog’s understanding and vocabulary
Challenges both you and your dog to learn new skills
Deepens your bond with your dog
Prevents boredom
Provides an activity when you can’t get outside
Lets you give your dog focused attention in a short amount of time
Makes great videos and memories

Dog “tricks” or behaviors can be anything. Many years ago, it was almost a cliche that the dog went out to fetch the paper every morning. Of course most dogs didn’t really do it, but it was a trick that everyone thought their dog could do.

A cute new trick Torque is learning is "hide."

And there’s always something new to try! Hope and Torque just started working on “Hide!” She draped a blanket over a portable folding table, and put a target under the table. Torque started at normal heel position, and when he got his release cue, he charged right under that blanket to find the target. Click and reward!

The cutest part was when he turned around and was peeking under the blanket. That’s another benefit of dog trick training – they’re so incredibly cute!

Of course we don’t really think that Torque knows “Hide” after only one session. We’ll see what happens when we try it again. We’ll record next time so you can follow along on his progress. Just like we’ve been sharing Tango’s learning to “Go Bowling.”

You and your dog can do it

When you and your dog are familiar with the fundamentals (see Book 1: Clicker and Place), you can expand your dog’s repertoire to include any trick or behavior that you can imagine and your dog can physically perform. Lately we’ve seen quite a few videos of skate-boarding dogs. If that’s something you’d like your dog to do, go for it. Thousands of YouTube views await your awesome dog!

Going viral might be fun and profitable, but it’s not predictable. What every single dog can achieve, however, is a “Trick Dog” title. From home. Via video.

It’s true. You don’t have to leave your dog’s comfortable training space. To earn an American Kennel Club Trick dog title, all you have to do is have your dog perform 10 tricks, each one twice, on video. And, since you’re interested in dog trick training, we’d even bet that your dog already knows a few of the Novice Level tricks, which include things like:

Speak
Crawl
Fetch
Get a named object
Get in a box
Climb onto a platform or step
High five
Hold it
Jump through a hoop or over a bar
Kiss
Shake
Spin
Touch

There are more, but that gives you a good idea of the level of difficulty for the first level of dog trick training. As you progress through the five levels, the difficulty increases – but as you progress, so does your ability and your dog’s prowess!

Dog trick training

Of course your video does need to be evaluated, and you need to know someone who can do it. Fortunately, you do! Hope is an AKC CGC and Trick Dog Evaluator, as well as a S.T.A.R. Puppy instructor. If you’re interested in pursuing Trick Dog titles for you and your dog, just shoot us an email (trainers@2-Minute-Trainer.com) and we’ll get you started!

Loose leash dog walking – curing the pull

Want to cure your dog of pulling on leash? Would you love to enjoy loose leash dog walking? It’s easier than you think. Stop giving your dog so much information.

Too much information

Think about it. If there is constant pressure on your dog’s collar (or harness), he or she has absolutely no reason to look for you, pay attention to you, or check on your whereabouts. Your dog knows exactly where you are and what you’re doing without a glance. You are, reliably, at the other end of the pressure.

That’s just one of the reasons retractable leashes are a bad idea. There is always, by design, pressure on the dog’s collar or harness. There’s no way to avoid it, unless the retractable’s lock is deployed. And if the lock’s always deployed, you’re just carrying a leash that’s huge, awkward, and heavy. Ditch those retractable leashes!

Keep some things to yourself

If, on the other hand, your dog isn’t getting any feedback from the leash, he or she will “check in” to see where you are and what you’re doing. And, if every check-in is rewarded, chances are your dog will do it more often. It doesn’t have to be a big thing. A simple “good boy,” or tiny treat is just fine.

In this case treats would be better, because your dog has to come to you to get the cookie. We know it’s a natural reaction to meet your dog halfway to deliver the treat, but don’t. Let your dog come all the way back to you for the reward. It teaches your dog so many positive things. You’re the primary source for all good things. Staying closer to you means less distance to cover for treats. It doesn’t take much effort to get a reward.

Breaking the pulling habit

If loose leash dog walking seems beyond your reach, take it in small steps. However long your dog’s been pulling, it may take equally long to break the habit.

All dog walks can’t be training walks. There are lots of different kinds of walks with your dog: exercise walks, potty walks, training walks, gotta get out of the house walks. And training works best if that particular walk is short, focused on training, and no other behavior is allowed (including pee breaks!). To signal a training walk, you may want to have a particular outfit for yourself, and your dog, that lets him/her know what’s going on. Dogs do know the difference when you put on the jacket with all the pockets, or he gets to wear a different collar.

Start right with a loose leash

When you have your dog hooked up on leash, some treats in your pocket, and a training walk on the schedule, have a plan. You’re probably not going to get much of anywhere the first session, if you even manage to get outside.

Loose leash walking has not yet been attained.

Put on the leash. If it stays slack, give a reward. If you take a step and the leash tightens, stop. Don’t say anything. If your dog is behaving like a pulling fool at the end of the leash, ignore it. Stay quiet. At some point, your dog will realize that things aren’t going according to (his) plan. This is the moment that he may look at you. If he does, you’re allowed to say “Good Fido!” (Use your dog’s name, not Fido.) If he comes toward you, let him see you have a yummy treat in your hand. And he has to come all the way to you to get it.

When your dog is close to you and the leash is slack, try taking a step or two. As soon as the leash tightens, stop. Wait for your dog to acknowledge you and come to you.

Remember – we said you wouldn’t be getting very far on this “walk.”

Quick on the uptake

Dogs are pretty smart. As soon as your dog figures out that you really mean it – that pulling isn’t going to be allowed any more, he/she will get on board. Every time you have a training walk, your dog will remember sooner, react faster, and come more quickly. They have to be convinced you’re serious. So be serious about the behavior. It will open up so many more possibilities for having fun on loose-leash walking with your dog. For more fun games to speed you on your way to loose leash walking with your dog, check out Book 3: Let’s Go For a Walk!

Training games make great dog pictures

Want to take great dog pictures?

Turn “posing” into a training game!

Torque does not like having his picture taken.

If, like us, you have a dog that turns away every time a camera (or phone) is pointed at him, you know it can be challenging to get great pictures. Especially if, like ours, your dog is a dark color.

We don’t know why Torque tends to be camera-shy, but he is. So when we want to take his pictures, we make it part of a training game. That boy is all-in for any training game!

Move around

When starting the “pose” game, the first step is to have your dog stay in place while you’re moving around. Ask for your dog’s best position (sit or stay). Grab a handful of treats. Then start moving! As long as your dog stays in place, go back and reward every couple of steps. When you run out of treats, use your dog’s release word, and done!

When your dog is comfortable with your movement, try carrying your phone or camera with you while you move. Fake (or really) take pictures, stopping your motion, clicking the shutter, then moving again.

Get down

Down at Booker's level - a great picture.

We’re really short people, but we’re still much taller than our dogs. We’re even taller than our friends’ big dogs. The result is that most dog pictures are taken from above, and don’t show dogs’ real expressions.

The answer is to get down to a level even with your dog’s head. Then your dog’s face will show a natural expression – which is the one you know, love, and want to keep forever in good pictures.

The problem with getting down at your dog’s level is that it’s an unusual move for most people, and your dog won’t understand what you’re doing. If your dog is like ours, they’ll see it as an invitation to get up in your face and either lick, play, or have a “nutsy puppy” episode.

If this happens for you, make getting down to dog level part of the motion sessions. Your movement doesn’t have to be all standing up. Try crawling, kneeling, squatting and reward your dog for staying in place.

Look at everything

Aside from dogs not staying still, the biggest obstacle to getting a good portrait of your dog is clutter. Before you ask your dog for the sit or down, check the area you want to take the portrait. Frame it in your phone and look at every part of the area. Are there verticals that will give your dog antennae? Is there something bright or distracting in the background? Either shift where you’re working, or remove the object.

Lastly and most delicately

People with girl dogs don’t have this particular issue, but for those of us with boys – no one wants to see your dog’s boy bits in every picture. Three-quarter poses are excellent for using front legs as visual blocks. Over the years, with mostly boy dogs, we’ve become adept at hiding bits and we know you can, too!