Category: dog training made fun

It’s okay to fib to your dog

It’s never okay to lie to your dog. It’s really difficult to regain their trust once broken. However, there are circumstances when it’s okay to fib to your dog. We know. We’ve been living through it this week.

But really, never lie. If you click, your dog gets a cookie. Every single time. Otherwise you chance breaking a behavior you spent time and effort teaching. Keep every promise you make to your dog. If you’re always honest, and your dog can always trust you, they’re much more likely to do what you want when you want.

Being honest with your dog includes never calling them to you for things they don’t like, like a bath. It’s a dirty, rotten betrayal to yell “Dog, come get a cookie!” and when they come, shove them in the tub. Every time you call your dog it should be for something good, or yummy, or fun. That way they’ll come every time. We talked about this most recently in an article relating to dog care behavior – with a cute picture of Simon checking out his toothbrush.

When we give this example to our in-person students, someone invariably asks “So how do you get them in the tub?” The answer’s simple. You go get the dog and bring it to the bathroom. Don’t make your dog choose in that situation. 

So when can we fib?

It’s okay to fib to your dog to convince them everything’s okay. That you’re in charge, and they’re just fine. It’s okay to fib to reassure your dog that things are normal.

We’re doing it this week. Hope’s French Bulldog Torque had emergency surgery to remove his right eye that ruptured. He came home right after surgery, a bit drugged up, but pretty functional. 

The best thing we can do for Torque now is pretend that everything’s okay. Nothing’s changed as far as he’s concerned. Even in the few days since the surgery, he’s adjusting. He moves his head so he can see what’s going on. 

The hardest thing for us is carrying on like nothing’s happened. If we let him know that he’s changed, or even defective in some way, he’ll act like it. So as far as Torque’s concerned, it’s business as usual.

Calming consistency

Keeping to our regular routine is key. Our habit is to start every day with 2-Minute training games with our dogs. Each dog has a turn while the others are in their crates nearby. We usually train in age order. 

This week Torque must wear a cone to protect his eye. He’s also supposed to stay calm and do nothing to raise his blood pressure while he heals. So heeling it is. It’s something we practice regularly. He doesn’t have to pick anything up that may contact his face. And it can also give his brain a workout without being too strenuous.

There’s all kinds of ways to make heel work challenging for you and your dog. Working on side-stepping, heeling backwards, changing directions, straight “fronts,” finishes (both left and right), are all little things that are useful, especially in Rally, and keep something as simple as walking more interesting. 

Adjusting to the change

Torque is already adapting to his new circumstances. He’s turning his head more so he can see Hope when he’s in heel position. He had a little trouble aiming for the treats at first, but he’s got that one covered. He’s also gotten into the habit of bashing his cone into our legs to let us know he’s there. The bruises will heal, just like Torque will.

As we pretend that everything’s normal and okay, it becomes the truth. When you don’t quite know what to do to make everything alright, you fib like it already is. It’s not even a little white lie. It’s making it happen.

3 ways to streamline dog training

Training your dog should be one of the most joyful and stress-free parts of your day. Each little two-minute session should be fast, fun, and something you look forward to. Here are three ideas to make getting to the fun part a little easier and for you to streamline dog training.

Idea Number 1: Covered treat bowls 

It’s easy to find inexpensive little bowls with lids. Make up a big batch of your dog’s favorite “trail mix” and distribute it among the bowls. Scatter them around the house so every room has a treat container. Customize your dog’s treat mixture to reflect their preferences and make the mix a combination of high, middle, and low-value treats. That way your dog never knows what’s coming, and always hopes it’s the favorite. Be sure that all the treats are shelf-stable and will not get moldy. Some ideas to include are: kibble, air-popped popcorn, freeze-dried chicken heart pieces, circular oat cereal pieces, anything that’s small, dry, and a favorite for your dog. A recent student of ours used woven-wheat cereal squares. Worked beautifully, because her dog is crazy about them. 

Having the treats close by makes it convenient to reward your dog spontaneously, especially when you’re trying to build your dog’s vocabulary. Say you walk into a room and your dog is lying there, it’s the work of a moment to say “Good Down!” and hand your dog a treat. But if the bowl wasn’t there, you couldn’t do it. If you had to leave the room to get the reward, your dog would probably follow you and the moment is lost. 

With rewards close at hand, it will also remind you to mark the good decisions your dog makes – even if you’re just hanging out together on the couch. If a TV doorbell rings and your dog perks up but doesn’t bark – that’s a good decision worth rewarding. If someone walks by your window with a dog and your dog watches silently, that’s worth marking.

One of the most basic tenets of dog training is “what gets rewarded, gets repeated.” Make it easy for yourself to reward good behavior so your dog’s scales tilt that way more often.

Idea Number 2: Keep a list of games

You have all kinds of training games you play with your dog. Some have the names we gave them, others you’ve adapted and have your own names for them. If there’s a specific place that you go to train, keep a list of all your games there. That way, when it’s time to train but you don’t know what to play, the “cheat sheet” is right there. An instant way to streamline dog training.

You can keep your list with your Session Log Book, even inside the front cover. We even try to jot down the date when we play a training game. We don’t want to go too long without playing certain skills games, like “Whatcha Gonna Do?” or “Looky-Loo.” Like any skill, training games can get rusty if they’re not used. (In the photo, Torque is doing “Gimme Your Face!“)

Idea Number 3: Keep a phone stand handy

Of all the training tools available to you – video is the most useful. You don’t have to share, or post, or even keep the videos you take of your training. But you should watch to get a different perspective on your training game sessions.

In addition to seeing (and hearing) all the times your timing was a bit off, or that you gave your dog the wrong direction, you’ll also see all the things you did right. It’s actually fun to go back and see how far you’ve come from where you and your dog started.

Another reason video is so valuable is that you can see and appreciate how smart, happy, and adorable your dog is. To actually see how your dog looks at you from a different perspective will make your heart swell. In a recent class, Fran took Booker for a spin through the Rally Obedience course and a student remarked on the lovely attention he paid to Fran throughout. The student didn’t even realize her dog’s gaze was almost identical when it was their turn. 

We’re always open to new, fun, and functional hacks to make playing dog training games better and more fun. If you have a favorite trick you use to streamline dog training, please let us know!

Getting your dog to think about it

How do you get your dog to think about it? To take a moment and choose well? We’ve said many times that the point of training is to get your dog to make good decisions. But what does that look like? 

The biggest part of the formula is on you. Stop making all your dog’s decisions. Stop telling them what to do all the time. Stop using “No!” 

Instead, when you see your dog about to choose poorly, how about you make an attention-getting sound and say “think about it.” Don’t move in unless you see your dog decide. Give them a moment to realize there’s a better choice.

Whatcha Gonna Do?

The game our students seem to play the least is “Whatcha Gonna Do?” Which makes us sad, because it’s one of the best ways to teach your dog to practice impulse control. And almost all naughty dog behavior stems from following their impulses. 

Instilling some self-control goes a long way to curing most bad dog behavior. Give them the skill to pause and think, rather than just give in to their worst tendencies.

Totally worth it

Last week Hope introduced “Whatcha Gonna Do?” in her household obedience class. And met with the usual resistance. It’s not the game that’s most fun for people. Your hand can get all slobbery and some dogs will nibble, so there can be a little bit of pain. But it’s worth it. 

The whole premise of “Whatcha Gonna Do?” is letting your dog discover that it’s rewarding to not follow impulse. The dog gets nothing as long as they’re being impulsive. The moment they choose to think, they’re rewarded.

When you start playing “Whatcha Gonna Do?” the dog doesn’t understand the rules of the game. At first they may get frustrated and just glance away by accident. Reward that. Even if it’s not deliberate. It’s the first clue your dog has to figuring out the rules of the game.

Be patient

It’s really hard to communicate with a different species who doesn’t speak your language. Who doesn’t think as you do. But you can explain things by teaching in ways they understand. Dogs learn by the timing and placement of rewards. If you’re playing “Whatcha Gonna Do?” and the dog looks away just because they’re getting frustrated, reward that.

It wasn’t on purpose, but it was what you wanted. And dogs can figure out what got them the reward. For most dogs it’s a process of trial and error.  “I don’t get what I want by nibbling on mom’s hand, what should I do instead?” Or “I got a treat for turning my head. Maybe I should do more of that.”

Precepts of training

The three dog training truths to apply in all your games:

  1. Dogs always do what’s most rewarding to them.
  2. What gets rewarded gets repeated.
  3. Dogs learn by the timing and placement of rewards.

Your job as a dog trainer is to be clear about what you’re rewarding. In time, your dog will discover how rewarding it is to think before they act. And they’ll do more of it.

Treat your dog’s symptoms

Treat your dog’s symptoms. You can’t know the cause.

It’s a harsh truth all dog owners must face. You’ll never know why your dog does some stuff they do. They’ll never tell. Even if you’ve known your dog since they were born, you can’t know what they’re thinking so you have to treat your dog’s symptoms. 

Most of us get pretty good at reading our dogs’ unique signs and patterns. The good, the bad, and the silly. We’re pretty convinced that potty-training dogs is a combination of teaching the dog and starting to recognize your dog’s signs that urgent action is required.

Since you can’t know the “why,” you’re left to deal with treating the symptoms of your dog’s quirks.

Some don’t matter. We have no idea why Simon, Fran’s six-year-old Boston Terrier, thinks he can dry himself on the hardwood floors. He runs around rubbing himself on the floors as if there were moisture-wicking properties in wood. He does it every time he comes inside from the rain. It’s weird. But it’s harmless. We ignore it, other than to watch him, thinking how strange it is.

Not so benign

Other behaviors aren’t so benign. The dog of a training student of ours started growling and showing teeth to her 13-year-old son. The dog was only recently adopted as an almost-two-year-old. She’ll never be able to tell us why she was feeling threatened by that son, one of four in the family. But she was, so we developed a plan to treat the symptom. That son now hand-feeds the dog her dinner, plays training games with her, and always interacts positively with her.

In this case, sharp observation also helped. The owner noticed that this son was the only one who constantly wears a hoodie with the hood pulled over his head. When the son didn’t have the hood up, the dog was fine. Why is the dog threatened by people in hoodies? We’ll never know. And she’ll never tell us. We treat the symptom and gradually let the dog learn that hoodie-wearing people are okay.

Deal with the quirks

Some people think dogs are dogs. That dogs are interchangeable. We recently spoke to someone who called about classes. She urgently needs help training her 13-month old Bernese Mountain Dog / Poodle cross breed dog. In the conversation, she mentioned that her current dog isn’t anything like the dog she lost, a Labrador Retriever. Of course not. They’re completely different kinds of dogs. She said she’d thought a dog was a dog. As if only the color, size, and fur differed among dogs.

Every dog, like every person, is a unique individual. Unlike people, we have no way of communicating in words with our dogs. We can never get explanations of why they do what they do. We can only deal with and train the symptoms.

Watch for when

If your dog has a behavior that needs to be turned around, notice when it happens. And where. What’s going on that might have triggered it? You may not hit the nail on the head right away. But knowing how to play training games has given you the ability to break things down into small chunks. Experiment with the circumstances that trigger your dog’s unwanted behavior. When you hit on something that may be a factor, you’ll know where to start training. 

In the case of the dog fearing the hoodie, they’ll start with a sweatshirt by itself. Let the dog check it out. Sniff it. Paw at it. When she no longer reacts at this stage, the son can put it on (without the hood up), sit quietly, and give her treats for being close. When she’s okay with that, he can fold up the hood a bit at a time. Step by step, treating the symptom.

We had another student whose Great Dane puppy wouldn’t go for walks without their older dog. He stopped dead in the driveway and refused to move. We’ll never know why solo walks were scary. Treat the symptom. Start even with the older dog and gradually let him (and the person walking him) lag behind. Over time, the distance will increase to the point that they’re not walking together at all. Treat the symptom.

Dog biting pants? Why it happens and how to stop it

Most first time puppy owners have identical wardrobe malfunctions.There are holes in the bottoms of their pants. Sometimes also in their legs. So your dog biting pants legs is a common malady.

So why do dogs, and especially puppies, grab onto your pants when you’re walking? And what can you do to make them stop?

The simple answer is that dogs are predators and designed to see and chase motion. Their vision may not be as acute or colorful as ours, but they’re aces at seeing movement. 

Pouncing on prey

Dogs still have most, if not all, of the instincts of their wild canine ancestors. We’ve heard domestic dogs described as perpetual juveniles. They’re practicing their hunting behaviors; chasing, pouncing, and shaking.

Of course your dog or puppy has no intention to hurt you at all. That hole in your ankle where a tooth snagged was purely accidental. But it also means it’s a behavior you have to stop. It’s only cute the first time you imitate Frankenstein’s monster’s walk, dragging one foot with a puppy attached. 

What to do about your ankle biter

Now that you know what’s going on, you need a plan to stop it. Since your dog is actually inviting you to play, the first option would be to have a tug toy you “trade” for your pants. 

It may be a bit of a pain to have a toy stuffed in your pocket to whip out whenever your dog is “chasing” you, but it’s better than trying to mend another pair of pants. 

You don’t have to play for long, and it should be a tugging game. Remember to tug side-to-side, never up and down, to avoid damaging your dog’s neck.

In time, your dog will associate your movement with playing with a toy and will get one for the game. You can encourage this by naming the toy when you toss it and tell your dog to fetch it – “Get the tuggy!”

What if there’s no toy?

If you forgot to carry a toy, the way to stop the pants-biting is to stop all resistance to the tugging. This is the same technique you use to get your dog to drop something. If there’s no tension on the object (or pants), there’s nothing to tug. 

Stop moving and pulling away from your dog. If you’re incredibly agile and your balance is amazing, you can move when your dog moves, hopping to keep tension off your pants leg. We don’t know anyone who could actually do this, but it paints a funny mental picture, doesn’t it?

Another way is to walk out of your pants and leave them with your dog. If you’re not in them, they’re not interesting.

Not cute anymore

Unfortunately, pants biting  isn’t a puppy behavior that dogs grow out of. They have no reason to. They get your full attention, a fun game, and you used to laugh when they did it. So your dog biting pants is not something the dog is motivated to stop.

You can get them to stop, if you take away the fun of the game. Think about what your dog is getting out of it, and remove it from the equation. If there’s a particular place in your house where your dog does it, change the way you walk there. Walk backwards (facing your dog), or remove your pants before you go there. Or arm yourself with a tug toy to have a minute of fun with your dog.

Train. Don’t Complain.

Train, don’t complain.

After Rally class one evening we were standing around, talking with our students. One of the great things about getting involved in dog sports is the terrific people you meet. You may have absolutely nothing else in common, but there’s a connection you share. We all love doing stuff with our dogs. Anyway, she was saying that she didn’t dare bring her significant other to class because her dog would be distracted and want to go to him. Which is exactly the wrong way of looking at the situation. You shouldn’t avoid the things that distract your dog and cause them to lose focus. Train, don’t complain!

All the “excuses” we make

It doesn’t have to be something as big as a person. We’re all guilty of trying to avoid distracting our dogs. Have you ever hidden a toy behind your back? Or “shushed” someone making noise elsewhere in the house? Or asked a spectator at a dog even not to rattle that candy wrapper? Or keep dropping popcorn? Or wafting delicious hot dog smells into the ring?

Life is full of distractions. People drop things that make noise. At dog events people applaud. Or slam doors. And make announcements over public address systems.

We can’t keep our dogs in a sound-proof, distraction-proof bubble for training. To succeed, in competition and in life, dogs have to have the skills to tune out the distractions and focus on what’s important. We talked about this with the “Looky Loo” game previously. 

Train through the distractions

If there’s someone in your family that your dog absolutely adores – do your training while that person is around. Every time your dog looks at you, have a party and reward. If the other person cooperates and ignores the dog, you should have your training partner focused in short order. When you and your dog succeed, the other person should celebrate along with you and your dog. This lets the dog know it’s okay to be with somebody else. 

It’s really just a matter of proving to your dog that playing training games with you is more rewarding than anything else around. Easier said than done. But you can do it. 

Distraction training

One of the very first household obedience classes we ever took had a wicked “final exam.” Keep in mind this was just a class at our local park district. Before class, our instructor picked up multiple orders of french fries from the golden arches place. And he threw them all over the floor in the training room. Our exam was to walk our dogs from one side of the room to the other. Without our dogs nabbing any of those yummy-smelling french fries. 

And you know what? Every single one of the dogs (ours included) was able to do it. Because in just six weeks. our dogs learned that playing with us was more rewarding than anything else. 

Take your time

Start out simply. Whenever there’s a tempting distraction, just reward your dog for looking at you. If it’s something the dog really, really loves, like their favorite person, make the reward the highest-value treat in your arsenal. Before long your dog will glance at the other person coming in and snap their attention to you – source of all things good and delicious.

Build up your dog’s tolerance for the distractions. You don’t want to flood the dog with so much input they’re overwhelmed. Be mindful and creative with your distractions. Before you dump a bowl of popcorn in your training area, start with boring wads of crumpled paper. 

Build on success

Like all training, push ahead when your dog is successful most of the time at the level you’re at. When your dog can ignore their favorite person sitting still, can they still focus if that person is on the phone? walking around? headed for the door? 

The key element is to realize when and how you’re protecting your dog from distractions. If you’re holding a toy behind your back so your dog won’t see it, it’s time to bring it to the front, stick it in your waistband, and let your dog see it. When your dog actually does what you’re asking for, whip that toy out and have a great game of tug. No more excuses. Train, don’t complain. Remember that dog training is a bargain we have with our dogs. They get what they want when we get what we want. It’s how all great teams function.

Build confidence with “What’s That?” Dog Training Game

The “What’s That?” dog training game helps your dog explore the world with confidence. It’s great for every dog, but can be life-changing for shy or timid dogs.

It also encourages you to shop in one of our favorite places for dog-training gear – your local dollar store. You’ll want a variety of different objects. Vary the size, shape, and material the objects are made from. You can certainly start with stuff you find around the house. Just be sure that nothing you use is breakable or cherished by someone.

First step:

Get your clicker, your timer, a boatload of treats, the object you’re playing the game with, and your dog. When you’re ready, start your timer and place the object on the floor. 

Typically, your dog will glance at the object. Click and reward near the thing. Looking at it is the first step. If your dog doesn’t keep looking at it, stand over the object and stare at it (like in “Boxey”). Kneel if you need to get closer. Your dog will probably be confused, especially if you’ve spent their life telling them “leave it.”

That’s okay. Be patient. Stare at the object and wait for your dog to look at it again. You’ll almost be able to see your dog shrug and think “I don’t see what’s so fascinating, but she thinks it is, so I’ll humor her.”

When your dog has received three to five rewards for looking at the object, it’s time to ask for more. It can be anything – nosing at it, pawing at it, stepping on it, mouthing it, licking it. Whatever your dog does, click and reward near the object.

You never know

Every dog is unique and despite knowing your dog well, you can’t predict how they’ll react to different objects. 

In Hope’s Beginner Obedience class there are two dogs with opposite personalities. One, a Newfoundland, seems outgoing, confident, and ready for any game.

The other, a miniature Poodle mix, is shy and often tries to hide behind her mother.

Which dog do you think was freaked out by the idea of walking on bubble wrap? To everyone’s surprise, the Newfie was scared of it. The Poodle mix didn’t really even notice it was there and danced right over it.

Take it at your dog’s pace

Decide what the goal is for every object you introduce to your dog. If it’s something they can pick up, you may want them to pick it up and hold it. Something like a small white board that you can write messages on. It may be something you want them to carry, like a small tote bag. Or a foam roller you want them to push. Or a step you want them to sit on.

With your ultimate goal in mind, shape your dog’s behavior with your rewards. Remember that what gets rewarded gets repeated. If you want your dog to hold the object in his/her mouth, only click and reward for using his mouth. Every object can have its own game, but they all start with “What’s That?” 

Next step

You can also let your dog guide the direction of what’s that. If you don’t have a particular goal in mind, see what your dog does with the thing and go with it. Always ask for more after your dog has received a few treats for a particular interaction. Look can be followed by sniffing, licking, pawing, etc.

If your main objective is to build your dog’s confidence, you can set up a circuit of different things around your training area. Encourage your dog to check each one out. If they’re not interested or confused, go stand by the object, stare at it, move it a little, and wait for your dog to come check it out. With patience, it will happen.

Expanding their world

“What’s That?” can be played anytime, anywhere, as long as you have rewards with you. When you’re out on a walk and your dog sees something new and different, how do they react? If they’re hesitant, it’s time to get enthusiastic and say “What’s That? Let’s go see!” 

The more things your dog has the opportunity to explore, the more confident they will become. Once they’re familiar with the “What’s That?” game, they’ll know they’re safe if you’re encouraging interaction.

With clicker dog training, every “click” is a promise

Clicker training is a fast, simple way to communicate clearly to your dog. Every click says “good dog!” and every click is a promise of reward.

Many people seem reluctant to embark on clicker training their dogs. We get it. The timing and mechanics take a while to smooth out. But it’s worth it. As fluency increases, it gives you more flexibility in training your dog. Every “click” is a promise to your dog. It’s an affirmation dogs love (you’re doing good!) and a pledge that their good work will be rewarded.

Everybody’s clumsy at first

Whether you hold the clicker in your hand or have it on a wrist strap doesn’t matter. There are times it’s not where you need it to be. Or you drop it, or it twirled around your arm and isn’t where it should be.

It doesn’t matter. Your dog doesn’t care and won’t tell anybody that you may have messed up. Your training class teacher has been there, done that. It’s worth sticking with it to be able to use this great training tool.

Nobody has enough hands to manipulate leash, clicker, and treats at the same time. The whole concept of the clicker is its use as a bridge between the behavior and the reward. It lets your dog know “Yes! You’re doing it right!” 

Clicker familiarization

Dogs catch on really quickly to clicker training. Most dogs get it after a single session: Have 10 treats in a bowl. Click and give your dog a treat. 10 times. That’s it. You’re on your way to having your dog love the sound of the clicker.

Picture of clicker dog training tool

At first you absolutely have to give your dog a reward every single time you click. Even if you click by accident. Even if the clicker hit the ground and clicked. Remember that dogs don’t understand “sometimes” or “maybe.” The value of the reward transfers to the sound of the click. Done consistently, it will always make your dog happy. If you don’t follow through, you diminish the value and your dog won’t care about the click.

Better than “Yes!”

There are a couple of reasons that a vocal marker like “Yes!” doesn’t have the same impact as the clicker. It takes longer to talk than click. Once you become used to using the clicker, it’s almost automatic; you see something you like and you click. If you use a vocal, you have to think about it. It has to process through your brain rather than going right to your reflexes.

The clicker is also a sharper sound, more distinguishable in a noisy or distracting environment. Even in a clicker training class, the dogs can tell when it’s “their” clicker that made the sound. We’re not sure how they know, when everybody has the same equipment, but they do.

Give it some time

If you’ve dismissed the idea of clicker dog training, or at some point decided it wasn’t for you, give it another try. You certainly don’t have to use it all the time, or for every behavior. But there are some games where it’s priceless. It gives you the freedom to lock your eyes on your dog and mark the action you want precisely. When Hope’s French Bulldog Torque is playing his “Bowling” game, he knocks down all 10 pins, hears a click as each one goes down, and then runs back for his reward. It started with one pin, one knock-down, and one click. Games can grow click by click.

Help! We broke our dogs!

We broke our dogs! Hope’s Torque is broken. So is Fran’s Booker. 

Not physically. But some training games have apparently been erased from memory. Absolute rock-solid training games have been corrupted or are missing entirely.  

Not to worry – when you train step-by-step, you can always recover what was lost. You just go back to the beginning, step-by-step, and see where the behavior falls apart. And take it from there.

Similar and different

It’s just coincidental that both of our dogs are broken at the same time. We play training games with the dogs individually, so there isn’t any cross-contamination. And the circumstances are different, too.

In the case of Fran’s Booker, it’s his Ring-Stacking game that’s gone with the wind. He’s always been a special dog. If he were human, he’d be tested for where he falls on the spectrum. Being an 11-year-old dog, we pretty much stand back, assess what he’s up to, shrug and say “Bless his heart.”

Booker discovered that stealing the rings, sticking his cute little butt in the air and chewing on them was more fun than carrying them to the post and stacking them. He’s okay for the first one, but then it’s like his brain glitches. 

Fran’s taken it back to the start. Heavily rewarding him for picking up the ring, carrying the ring, taking it over to the post, and putting it on. Each step is deliberate. And she’s no longer tossing a dozen rings out for the game. One at a time. Heavily rewarding for each step of success. 

We don’t know if Booker will ever play a full Ring Stacking game again. It doesn’t really matter. He has fun. Every dog in your life teaches you something. Booker has been expanding Fran’s capacity for patience for years.

Hope busted Torque herself

Hope’s always pushing the limits of what she asks Torque to do. One of her recent ideas backfired – big time. 

At the end of Torque’s Bowling Game, Hope decided that he could help “clean up” the bowling pins. She asked him to “get it,” a behavior he already knows. He did, and even brought it over to the basket where the little plastic bowling pins are stored.

What she didn’t figure on was how much Torque would enjoy fetching and squishing the bowling pins.

When Hope says his “Go Strike!” command, he runs to the pins, knocks over a couple, then starts grabbing them and squishing them. Oopsy. 

Fortunately, he drops them when told. He even puts them in the basket. But for the moment, his “Go Strike!” is striking out. So sad that we broke our dogs.

The action plan is to go back to the beginning and use incredibly high-value treats to reward Torque for just knocking the pins down. We’ll start one at a time, and discontinue the clean-up part for now. He just needs to remember what this game is about. So even though we broke our dogs, we’ll get them back.

Does it matter?

Yes and no. No, we really don’t care if our dogs are whizzes at Ring Stacking or Bowling. What does matter is that we all agree on the rules of the games we play. 

Dog training is a constant give-and-take bargaining with your dog. They get what they want (your attention, treats, praise) when you get what you want (good choices).

You get to define the rules for every single game you play with your dogs. Your dog, your game, your rules. The secret to success is keeping those rules crystal clear for your dog.

Dogs are Copycats

It’s not your imagination. Dogs are copycats. Your dog copies what you do. Copying is one of the ways dogs learn. And it’s not restricted to watching and imitating other dogs. Dogs mimic people, too. That’s why you shouldn’t be surprised if your dog starts digging in the yard after “helping” you with gardening. 

Even more impressive, one study proved that dogs not only can copy what you do – they can do it with a significant delay between the time it happened and they’re asked to repeat it. 

Demonstrate what you want

A while ago, when we were first developing the Ring Stacking game, Hope was teaching her French Bulldog Teddy the steps. We’d just started taking video of the sessions, so the camera was on. 

Teddy had just about all pieces of the game; picking up the ring and going over to the post. The actual placement of the ring on the post was the issue. He kept nudging the post, dropping the ring in the vicinity, but not placing it on the actual post. 

In the video, you see Hope showing Teddy what she wants. She probably was doing it out of frustration, rather than really demonstrating. But then you see Teddy stand there and think about it, then place the ring precisely on the post. 

At the time, we didn’t know for sure that dogs learn by copying. But it paid off.

Other dogs show them how

It’s true that puppies learn from an older dog in the house. Potty training is much easier when the newcomer has an example to follow. Same with other household rules – most puppies will follow the lead of the established dog. That’s a big reason that two dogs are easier than one, although not if both are the same age. Or littermates. For most people, getting littermates isn’t a great idea.

It’s optimal to play training games with only one dog at a time. But that doesn’t mean training in isolation. With four dogs in the house, three are in crates at the side of the training area, watching the proceedings.

Did you teach him that?

Sometimes when we’re ready to introduce a dog to a game another dog knows, we’ve been surprised. While performance isn’t perfect, the dog already knows the game. It prompts a discussion that goes 

“Did you teach him that? I didn’t teach him that!”

“Wasn’t me!” 

“Oh, he got it from his brother!”

Try it for yourself

Think of something to do that your dog can copy. In the research we read, one of the things owners did in the lab was stick their heads in an empty bucket. A vast majority of the dogs in the study were able to copy the action after seeing it only once.

Make sure the demonstration is something the dog is physically able to do. Our dogs are too short to get their heads in a five-gallon bucket, so we’ll use something lower. Give the action a name, like “Copy!” using it for all kinds of different actions. 

That’s how you teach the dog to mimic you, rather than performing a specific behavior. We’ve even seen it in action with the dolphins at the Dolphin Research Center in Marathon, Florida. The trainers there use a specific signal for “Imitate!”

In no time, you and your dog will be playing “Simon Says!” with all sorts of behaviors. Be sure to get it on video – you’ll need proof of your dog’s genius!