2 Minute Trainer

Anything Lassie Can Do – Your Dog Can Do Better!

Any dog can do anything!

Lassie was incredible, but your dog can do anything she did.

Any dog can learn anything. Unless the task needs thumbs. Then, maybe not.

Other than that – if you can think of it and define the steps it takes to get there, you can teach it to your dog.

However – there are lots and lots of people, dog trainers included, who limit themselves and their dogs with the labels they slap on.

“Good enough is okay – he’s a French Bulldog.”

“Shepherds can’t be trained all positive.”

“He’s a Pointer – retrieves aren’t his thing.”

WRONG! All of them.

Don’t put labels on your dog!

Our dogs’ breeds may influence how we teach them, but not whether they can be taught, or the standards we expect.

For example: Housebreaking is an absolute and everyone teaches their dogs to “potty” when and where they should. All healthy dogs are taught to keep their homes clean and eliminate appropriately. It may take a while, especially with dogs adopted from less-than-ideal circumstances. But it’s a priority, so owners take the steps necessary to achieve this vital training.

We set the criteria, teach our dogs what it is. And expect them to achieve it.

Different criteria for different breeds? Only if you set them that way.

We have a friend with a French Bulldog competing in Obedience. Our friend also has a Border Collie, a breed known for its achievements in all kinds of dog sports. Our friend has different criteria for her Border Collie than for her Frenchie.

Is the BC smarter than the Frenchie? It depends on how you rate intelligence. Border Collies love to work and will “heel” all day, given the opportunity. Frenchies would rather lounge on the couch than “heel” and her dog has taught her to expect minimal effort. From our perspective – the Frenchie has trained our friend and may be the smartest of the three.

The only different criteria may be the reward!

If you have a “Working” breed of dog – like a Border Collie or a German Shepherd, the “work” of training may be ample reward for your dog. They’re bred to work with people and to love that work. They may not “need” any other rewards – but the attitude you get may amp up even more if rewards are offered.

“Companion” breeds, like French Bulldogs, Pugs, Chihuahuas, and many others, may need to be convinced that training is more fun that napping – but it’s easy to do. If you ask your couch potato dog to come play a game with you, let him/her know there are treats involved, they’ll certainly check out what you’re offering! And if you let them know; with your tone, your rewards, and your praise, what good dogs they are, how clever they are, and how much you love them, they’ll do it more. Love it more. And meet every expectation you have for them.

Bottom Line: You and Your Dog Can Do Anything Better Than Lassie!

You and your dog can do it. Set the standard. Teach the steps. Reward the progress. Have some fun with your dog.

Don’t Kill the Clicker!

The Clicker is a wonderful training tool

Your clicker is a wonderful training tool. Don’t kill the clicker by overusing it.

You’ll be amazed how quickly your dog will learn to respond to the clicker. He may even smile and/or wag when he hears it.

So it’s tempting, when your dog is off exploring and you need him to come quickly, to reach for the clicker.

Put it down …

Think twice! Then put the clicker down.

If you use the clicker to call your dog it becomes your “come” or “recall” command and stops being useful for anything else.

It becomes “come get a cookie” rather than “good job! You figured it out!”

The Click is NOT a Command

The clicker will help you build a perfect “come” command. But hearing that sound is a reward for a job well done, rather than the command itself.

If the clicker turns into your recall command – how do you let your dog know, from across the room, that he’s doing a good job staying in his “place?” Clicking tells your dog she’s a good girl no matter how far away she is, or what she’s doing.

Trying to expand the meaning just won’t work.

Dogs’ brains are binary – on or off, left or right, black or white. They don’t have shades of gray. An object has a single purpose – like the clicker. Either it says “good dog!” or it’s “come here!” Trying to make it perform two functions will confuse your dog and muddy your training.

Attitude is everything

“Fake it ‘til you make it!” Your attitude is everything.

You’re not imagining it – it’s science

Science has proven it works – faking a smile will actually lighten your mood. (Citation: Association for Psychological Science). Even if you’re not in the mood to play games with your dog – do it anyway. You’ll feel better and have fun.

But not when you’re in a really bad mood

But be careful – if you’re in a really foul mood, your dog will pick up on it. Your dog knows you and knows all the tones of your voice, the nuances in your movements, and the emotions behind your attitude. Don’t suck the joy out of training for your dog – fake a happy tone, a smile, and a positive attitude.

Your voice is the most important factor in judging mood. Fake it if you have to – “baby talk” works just fine. Chances are if you start acting ridiculous, you’ll both get the humor of the situation and your mood will lift. Your dog will never tell anyone that you acted silly. Our best friends are reliable that way.

Have fun with old favorites for a change

If your patience is particularly short one day, it’s okay to go back to old favorites and just have fun with some favorite behaviors. It’s not a good idea to try to teach your dog something new when your mood isn’t optimistic. There’s no point in fostering frustration for both you and your dog.

Or let your dog take the lead. Grab some item they’ve never seen before and let them figure out “stuff” to do with it. Be sure it’s something unbreakable that won’t be ruined with tooth marks.

Fun with a foam roller

The other day Hope was feeling a bit out of sorts. Nothing really wrong, just not inspired. For their morning session, she let Torque take the lead. She got a big foam roller (Fran’s physical therapy nemesis from an old injury) and just put it in the middle of our little training area. And told Torque to “freestyle” and just have a good time.

Torque’s never been a particularly creative dog in training, but he went for it. He rolled it with his front feet, pushed it with his nose. And, in no time, Hope was having fun with her dog. Her mood lightened, she felt happier, she was smiling.

Your dog knows

And when she started smiling, Torque knew it and got up on it with those front feet. When it rolled to the other side of the space, he tried putting his back feet up on it. (Fran helped out and held it steady so he could). In just a couple of minutes, everybody was having fun.

Your dog is all kinds of therapy. She can be a reflection of your mood. A nursemaid when needed. An amazing companion. A playmate. Try not let your bad day become one for your best friend.

Cute stuff?

Does your dog do cute stuff on his or her own?

Your dog is adorable. He or she does really, really cute stuff that you didn’t teach him, but it’s so amazingly darling that you’d really like him to do it more.

It’s really easy to turn your dog’s cute mannerisms into cued behaviors.

Name it and reward it!

This is a natural behavior - Ceilidh "danced."

We do it all the time! Torque “hugs.” Booker “dances.” And before Booker, our girl Ceilidh “danced” too (left). Tango wipes his beard. Actually, that one isn’t as cute as it is necessary. If you have a dog with a beard, you know that if you don’t teach them to wipe on a towel after they drink, the water is all over the house.

Hopefully, we’ve already trained you to have treats in every room of the house. If you don’t have your clicker handy, you can use “Yes!” for a marker word.

First decide what your want to call your dog’s habit that you want to turn into a trick. When you see your dog doing that “thing,” just click and say “good hug!” or “good dance!” or “good bow!” All dogs do cute stuff like play bows, or rolling over, or rubbing their backs on the floor.

Name it, reward it, and your dog will repeat it!

Be prepared with “Plan B”

“Huh?”

There are days we’d swear one of our dogs (it differs by the day) is an idiot who never learned anything, ever. You know those times – you start a high-energy, 2-Minute session and they stare at you blankly when you say “Sit!” or “Down!” or “Come!”

When it happens, and it happens to everybody on occasion, the best thing to do is just shift gears and try something else. Don’t abandon the session! Just go to “Plan B!”

"Plan B" is almost always better than continuing a fruitless session or abandoning it altogether.

Choose a different training game – or no training at all! There’s no timeline and no repercussions for not fulfilling one day’s plan. You’re certainly allowed, even encouraged, to just grab a toy and play “tug” or “fetch” with your dog.

What does your dog want to do?

On the other hand, if you think your dog is just “testing” you – try something else to engage him or her. Start with tug and turn it into a “hand touch!” Sometimes your dog can lead the session and let you know what he wants to do.

Hope’s Frenchie Torque’s favorite training game is “tap,” where he alternates paws touching Hope’s foot. There are sessions where he runs up to her and “taps” without prompting. And some days, he gets to choose! Other times he’ll get his “tap” at the end of the 2-Minute session – if he plays the game Hope wants, first!

Delayed learning does work

There are times when your dog just doesn’t seem to be “getting” what you’re teaching at all. If your dog usually learns something in about three to five sessions, and it’s just not coming, put it away for a week or so. Then try again. You might be amazed that the behavior you thought was never going to happen has almost been perfected by letting it lie dormant for a time.

Your dog is unique, and so is his learning

It will take a while before you know your unique dog’s learning pattern. What games she enjoys, which kinds of behaviors she finds easiest and which are most difficult. You may recognize similarities if you keep track on the worksheets available for download for each of the courses. The worksheets are a training tool that comes in handy.

Your dog can pick up on your energy

Dogs will also pick up on your preferences for training, too. Your energy level may be different for “place” than it is for “come.” If you take video of your training – watch yourself the first time through. Then watch it again, noting how your dog reacts to you. If your tone or energy changes – so does your dog!

Under the weather training

Simon was a little under the weather today. We did some training anyway.

Simon is under the weather today. So we did a little under the weather training. Nothing big, but not up to his lively, energetic self. We make a practice of individually training all the dogs before work in the morning. (Unless we’re working on a group exercise, of course.) The dogs who aren’t training are in their crates in the area. They can watch while they relax. I didn’t want Simon to feel left out, so I had to decide what I wanted to work on that wouldn’t overtax or over-stimulate him.

Why train today?

You might ask why bother to have a training session with Simon at all when he’s not feeling up to par. For one thing, he enjoys it, and it might help him feel a little better. And we’ve found that dogs love consistency. They love routine. If Simon sees his “brothers” training and he doesn’t get a turn, he’s perfectly capable of throwing a tantrum. Or he’ll mope. And a sick, mopey dog is worse than just a sick dog.

Of course, if Simon were severely ill, more than just a little under the weather, we would have been preparing to go to the veterinarian, and not training. We’ve lived with enough dogs to recognize a little bug versus something worse.

So, what did we do?

I didn’t ask for anything new. We worked on positions – the “Get in,” Sit, Down, and we worked on Stay. Simon will be competing in Obedience, so these are important. We did a little bit of heeling – that precise almost-walking that we do in competition Obedience. But not too much. And a little, tiny bit of focus forward – Simon holds his stay when he really wants that toy thrown in front of him.

We didn’t work on anything new – I wanted to keep the session stress-free for Simon. So we worked on reinforcing and perfecting behaviors that he already knew. Learning new things, no matter how much fun the session might be, brings a little stress.

How long?

2-minutes, of course!

Keep those plates spinning!

Your dog’s skills are constantly changing. You and your dog have a lot of plates spinning!

Lots of new behaviors

For the most part, his/her repertoire is expanding as your 2-Minute-Training journey continues. Your dog is learning how to learn – offering new behaviors, paying better attention, becoming a team with you, and you’re building a great relationship as your understanding grows.

And then, for no reason, your dog looks at you like she’s never heard the word “Place!” before. Seriously, dog?

What’s going on?

It could be one of a couple of different things.

Short-term to long-term memory

When dogs (or people!) learn new things, it takes a bit of time for them to become part of our skills list. When anything is transferring from short-term to long-term memory, it can get lost for a little while.

The other possibility is that while you’ve been training other stuff, “place” got a little bit neglected. When was the last 2-Minute session that focused on “place”?

Remember the Ed Sullivan show?

This circus dog knows her stuff! She's keeping her ball balanced while dancing on her hind legs! Lots of skills here.

The skills our dogs learn are like the “Spinning Plates” routine from old variety or circus shows. As the number of skills (plates) grows, it gets more difficult to keep each going. An occasional refresher session is all it takes to renew the behavior.

Hope hadn’t been working “place” with Torque in a while. They’d been having fun with tricks like “tap!” and putting stuff away. When she remembered, it only took one little session to remind him, and his “place” was back!

It might be time to revisit old skills

Just like it’s never too late for a dog to learn new things, it’s never a bad time to revisit old skills. It’s a good idea, especially if you’re having a difficult day, to just go back and refresh some familiar, fun skills that you’ve already mastered.

It’s nowhere near as frenetic as actually “spinning plates” – and it’s fun to relax and revisit the “oldies but goodies.”

Here’s a YouTube video of Henrik Bothe performing his plate-spinning act.

Get it on record!

One of your most important tools is your smartphone

One of your best dog training tools is your smartphone!

At least a couple of times a week, take video of your session with your dog. If somebody else is around, ask them to do it and be sure to get both you and your dog in the frame. If not, invest in a little tripod and set it up so both of you are visible.

Do it! No one else has to see the recording.

Do it even if you hate being on video. Even if you hate your voice. Even if you’re wearing clothes that aren’t fit for public viewing. Even if you haven’t showered or done your hair yet.

Why?!?

It’s a great way to keep track of where you’ve been.
You can see how good (or bad) your timing is when you’re rewarding your dog
Your dog is adorable.
You’ll have a way to visualize your progress.
If your dog isn’t understanding something, you can see where he/she loses interest.

No one has to see it but you. Unless your dog does something hysterically funny, in which case you’ll be happy you have the recording so you can upload it to YouTube and get rich!

Aside from your training log, which we’ve provided for download, your video is a great tool. When you’re in the moment, playing with your dog, there are things you don’t notice even though they happen right in front of you.

Watch your video at least twice

Watch the video at least twice – once concentrating on you, once concentrating on your dog.

Were your cues in the right place? Did you make sure you had your dog’s attention before you told her what you wanted her to do? Was your reward well-timed? Did you tell her “good girl!” often enough?

Especially notice the rewards

The most important feedback you give your dog is the timing and placement of rewards. Were they often enough? Were they in the right place? If you’re rewarding your dog for “down,” the reward should be placed on or between the dog’s front paws. It’s crucial that the dog doesn’t have to sit up to receive the treat!

What can you learn?

There are all kinds of little things you can learn from your video. It could show a stress signal from your dog, like yawning or licking his muzzle, that indicates he’s not sure what he’s supposed to do. If you notice where in the game that’s happening, you’ll know that particular part of the behavior needs extra attention – maybe as simple as more frequent rewards, or going back a step and trying again.

Video is a tool you have right in your hand. Be sure to keep those early ones – you’ll want to look back and see how far you’ve come!

“Socializing” Isn’t What You Think

Do you like everybody you meet?

Nah. Us neither.

Do you think you should be friends with everyone?

No way!

Social = Polite

So why is it that we feel pressure to have our dogs “like” every person and every dog they encounter?

They don’t have to – any more than we do!

Dogs do have to learn how to behave politely in their world. That’s what “socializing” truly is. Teaching our dogs to cope with their surroundings without freaking out or behaving inappropriately.

Social = Calm and Attentive

Dogs are well-socialized when they can remain calm and attentive to you. That means you can walk down the street with your dog, go to the park with your dog, sit in your yard with your dog. And your dog won’t bark inappropriately, won’t jump on people, won’t chase cars (or bicycles, or skateboards, etc.), won’t lunge at other dogs, won’t chase bunnies (or squirrels, or cats, etc.).

We don’t know where the notion came from that dogs need to be “friends” with the world. Dogs don’t need dog friends. They don’t need to love every person. They need to know how to ignore all the distractions of life so your life together can be peaceful and calm.

We’ve always said that manners are the “social grease” that keep civilization running. We may not all like one another, we may not agree on everything. But we can all act politely and respect each other’s space.

A dog who is well-mannered in public is properly socialized. Ignoring strangers – both people and dogs – is perfectly acceptable, socialized behavior.

Finding the fix

You know how you can overlook stuff that’s right in front of you? Like the time you searched all over for your phone and you were holding it in your hand?

Traffic jam!

We’ve been suffering with a traffic jam at our house forever. We have a very narrow entryway from the back door of the house. And when we come in from the yard, all the dogs congregate in that narrow entry, waiting for their “go home!” treats.

Needless to say, with four dogs and two people trying to get into a space that’s not more than nine feet square, it got a little crowded. And a little tense.

Oh yeah, we’re dog trainers…

Then one day we remembered we’re dog trainers. We had to think of a behavior we could teach the dogs that would solve the crowding issue. And get them out of the doorway before bad weather arrives and coats, boots, and parkas are added to the mix.

It was a perfect opportunity to put our own 2-Minute-Trainer system to work.

We thought about what we wanted to accomplish:

get the dogs to move further into the kitchen and out of the doorway.
We pictured what we wanted the result to look like:
all the dogs lined up, sitting on a yoga mat.

We decided what we wanted to call the behavior:

Line Up!

We implemented the plan on our next entry.

When we called the dogs into the house, we immediately moved over by the mat for the Line Up! We called the dogs over, saying Line Up! As each dog stepped on the yoga mat we told him to “Sit!,” gave him a treat, and said “Good Line Up!”

All the dogs lined up, out of the entry way. — Simon, Booker, Torque, Tango

All of the dogs still sitting on the mat got a treat each time another dog joined the “Line Up.” So the first dog on the mat got the most treats! Now all the dogs dash over to the mat when they hear “Line Up!” And we go down the line rewarding each dog multiple times. When everyone’s inside and we’re done, we give our dogs their “release cue” – “Go!”

We solved the problem in just two days. So far we haven’t asked the dogs to maintain a particular order in their “Line up!” behavior, but that would be an easy addition if we want to add it later.

Dogs love routine and love knowing what they’re supposed to do. Giving them a better choice has reduced the aggravation of coming in the house. Seeing them all lined up, sitting like good boys, lets us enjoy coming home every single time.