Tag: 2-minute tip

Careful where you put it! – your dog’s reward, that is.

Reward = communication

Boston Terrier dog's reward is high for the "sit" command.

Your dog learns what’s “good” through the timing and placement of rewards.  The dog’s reward lets him/her know to do it again. Rewards are your training currency.

That’s worth repeating. You are communicating with your dog not only with your words, but also with the timing and placement of the rewards you give.

Notice the placement of the reward for Simon (right). We’ll talk about that in a bit.

A dog’s reward can be other than food

It doesn’t matter what the dog’s reward is – treats, toys, petting. Your dog is getting information – “That was good! Do that some more! I liked that! What a brilliant puppy you are!” Fran’s giving Simon a tiny treat above – so she can give him lots!

Timing is critical, but it takes time

Timing is something you develop. You’ll get better and better at it over time. Clickers make timing easier – you can click right away and delay the actual reward. The clicker is also called a “bridge” for this reason – it’s a way of getting from the behavior to the reward, marking the “good,” even if there’s a delay in reward delivery.

Placing the reward is key

Placing the reward properly is something you can be good at right away. The rule is simple – always reward with the hand closest to the dog – like in the picture above. 

It not only keeps things simple, it’s practical, and much safer for everyone.

Safety first!

Think about it: If your dog is on your left and the treat is in your right hand, your dog will cross in front of you to get the treat. And you’ll trip over your dog. Or kick your dog. It wouldn’t be good.

If you’re playing training games where your dog is in front of you, have treats in both hands. Then you can deliver the message “Good Dog!” randomly and not have your dog nuzzling at the “treat side.”

Reward for “Sit!”

If you’re teaching your dog the word for “sit,” reward high. When the dog’s head goes up, its butt tends to go down. It’s taking advantage of a dog’s natural behavior to play training games.

Reward for “Down!”

If you’re teaching your dog the word for “down,” reward between the front paws. If your dog has to reach for the treat, chances are he’ll get up. That’s not what we want. 

Stay is different

If you’re playing “stay” games – reward where the dog is. Don’t have them reach or stretch in any way. 

Remember – your dog learns these games through the timing and placement of rewards. Send the message clearly!

By rewarding fear, are you training your dog to be shy?

Couple cuddling a small dog and possibly rewarding fear

We all want to protect the ones we love from the evils of the world outside. Are you going too far? By rewarding fear, have you accidentally taught your dog to be shy? Are you actually discouraging your dog from exploring the world? Have you been rewarding your dog for being fearful?

A classic example of this happened in the shop recently. A very nice man with his one-year old little terrier mix came in to get a harness and some goodies for his dog. The dog, named “Precious,” was hesitant. Many dogs are. Coming into a new place can be reason for caution. And our tile floors are somewhat reminiscent of a vet’s office. 

We get it – that’s why we generally give the newcomer some time to check stuff out, sniff around, get used to the place. At first, we speak gently and don’t approach until the dog is ready. Then we might put a hand out, ready for the dog to sniff, if it seems interested. We never run up and start petting.

Rewarding fear: exactly the wrong move

Instead of encouraging Precious to check out the shop, sniff the toys, see where the treats are stashed, her owner picked her up at the first sign of retreat. He spoke soothingly to her. And told her it was okay.

He rewarded her timidity.

What would you do?

Instead of removing her from the “scary” stuff, Precious’s owner could have given her the time to get used to things. If she “asked” to be picked up, he could have encouraged her to explore. He could have rewarded her for being willing to check things out, instead of denying her the opportunity to try.

It’s sometimes a little tough for us to keep our “retail” hats on, instead of immediately switching to “trainer” mode. We tried – offering a treat to Precious and talking gently about letting her explore, but he focused on getting his puppy a harness and wasn’t really open to other discussion.

The writing on the wall

Unfortunately, we can see the writing on the wall. If he stays on the path he started, Precious will become more insulated and her world will contract. He will stop taking her on jaunts to the local pet shop because she doesn’t enjoy it. Instead of teaching her to cope with the little stresses of life, he will remove them.

Are you protecting your dog from stress instead of teaching them to deal with it? If your dog is afraid of something, do you encourage him/her to check it out? And reward for every step closer? 

Give them the world

Dogs learn from us all day, every day. If we teach them that something’s frightening – it will be. Just as, if we reward them for exploring, they’ll learn that the world is a fun place to check out. Every outing can be a new adventure – depending on how you teach your dog to react.

Take it on the road – train everywhere

Don’t by shy!

Take your 2-Minute Training Games on the Road! Train everywhere you go.

For our dogs to really understand any behavior, we “take the show on the road” and train everywhere we go with our dogs. It’s one thing for your dog to know “sit” in the kitchen. Someplace else is different. 

Generalization is key

Dogs have to be taught to “generalize” stuff. We see it with our obedience students all the time. They come into class swearing up and down their dogs know “sit.” So we tell them to hand us the leash, step away from their dogs, and tell the dog to sit. Rarely does it happen

And the student thinks we’ve “set them up” for failure. Not at all. We’re trying to explain that dogs naturally absorb the context along with the specific behavior. Sitting at home, with a set routine, in a particular place, at a particular time, is all part of it.

So to complete your dog’s understanding of anything you’re trying to teach, you have to change all of it. Not all at once, but in stages to expand your dog’s comprehension. One of the barriers we find is people being shy about playing training games in public.

Eyes are everywhere

These days we all know there are eyes everywhere.

But if you’re out with your dog, nobody’s watching you. They’re watching your dog. How cute he is. How much fun she’s having, and how adorably he watches you. And how incredibly well-behaved she is. And how much they wish their dogs paid attention to them the way yours does with you.

So don’t be afraid to take your show on the road. Train everywhere. Go to the local park. Or the pet store. Anyplace dogs are allowed. Try your 2-Minute Games wherever you are. 

You and your dog should be proud of what you’re learning, doing, and accomplishing. Eventually you’ll take for granted that your dog can go anywhere and be a welcome guest. 

Take the first, brave step to ditch your “stage fright” and take your dog on a 2-Minute training game “date.” You’ll go further, faster, when you start the journey sooner.

What does your dog’s name mean?

If your dog is ignoring you when you say his name repeatedly, there's a reason for that.

What would you guess is the most overused word in dog training?

No?
Here?
Leave it?
Sit?
Come?

All good guesses, but wrong. It’s your dog’s name.

Your dog’s name doesn’t mean much

By itself, after your dog has learned it, the name doesn’t mean much. If you’re just being goofy and making up silly songs to sing to your dog (like we do!), it’s a lyric you try to find lots of rhymes for. Just hanging in the air – it doesn’t give your dog enough information to work with.

Attention!

Calling your dog’s name should be used for attention as in: Hey Fido! Perk up your ears because I’m going to tell you something else! By itself, the name is not a command, and gives your dog no information.

But by itself it’s not a command, a correction, a celebration, or anything else. It’s the alert that should tell your dog that more information is coming:

Fido, come!

Rover, sit!

Spot, place!

Repetition becomes part of the behavior

One of the most common tendencies we see in our students is the habit of repeating themselves. Or adding an “oh!” to the dog’s name, as if that conveyed more information than just the name by itself. If there’s something you want your dog to do, just say it! 

And give your dog a second!

And give the dog a moment to figure out what the word is and take action.

Saying it again, before your dog has a chance to process the conversation, will lead to your dog assuming that the repetition is part of the behavior. That’s why we don’t “correct” errors – we start again. Otherwise the error and the “re-do” become part of the behavior.

A friend of ours has a Viszla who’s a very good dog. But his “mom” says “dog, stay!” at least three times before she leaves him. Consequently, if he hears “stay” once, or twice, he doesn’t do it. Three times is the charm for this guy. Because that’s what he’s been taught. Not on purpose, but nevertheless, it’s stuck.

It’s difficult to catch yourself – we all do it. We call our dog’s names and expect them to do something – stop eating dirt, come to us, sit, whatever. But without telling them what we want, how are they supposed to know? 

Dogs aren’t mind-readers! 

If you want to practice getting your dog’s attention – call his/her name. And reward when he/she looks at you. 

Whenever there’s something more you want your dog to do when you call, include that “something” when you call. Give him a chance to figure it out, and reward when he does. 

Old habits die hard

Our morning habit is to have coffee, semi-wake-up, and then go down to the basement to our training area and have some fun with our dogs.

Dogs thrive on schedules

Each dog gets a turn. And, since dogs thrive with schedules, they go in the same order every day: Booker, Tango, Torque, and Simon.

It does require a little bit of mental gymnastics – what works for one dog isn’t universally true. They each have their favorite “tricks” they like to do. And, at least once a month, if we can think of one, we like to teach a new one.

It’s easy for Fran to come up with new stuff to teach Simon – he’s just a year old and most of his training so far has been spent on the fundamentals: sit, down, stay, walk nice on a leash, release cue. But recently Fran’s been expanding his repertoire with some fun tricks.

Tango knows how to put his toys away

Fran has trained Tango (Brussels Griffon) to put his toys away, into a bin.

One of the fun ones we teach is “put stuff away.” Tango’s version of this one is the cutest, since he actually puts dog toys in a bin. He’s never cared about toys, so they work fine as training tools. 

It’s more problematic with the other dogs, who adore dog toys. We don’t have them lying around the house – we want our dogs to be playing with us when they have toys. So for the other dogs, we use a bunch of kitchen utensil odds and ends; spoons, strainers, ring molds, etc. 

Train one “spoon” by itself

We start training with one “spoon” by itself. The same training sequence always holds:

  • clicks for looking 3x
  • clicks for touching with your mouth 3x
  • clicks for picking it up 3x
  • clicks for moving with it in your mouth 3x
  • click for dropping it 3x
  • Clicks for dropping it in the bin  

There’s no deadline

The first day we may not even get the three “looking” clicks. That’s okay! There’s no deadline. It takes a while for dogs to understand that it’s okay to keep trying. And it may take a bit of time for the dog to figure out which part is getting the click. We have no way of knowing what dogs actually think – or how they interpret our interactions.

We started out…

We’ve been training a couple of decades now – and we learned in the bad old days when we never let a dog make a decision. And every once in a while, despite how hard we try, we fall into bad old habits. With Simon’s first try at “spoons,” he was a rock star. Whether he’d learned by watching the other dogs, it was just luck, or he somehow understands English, he got it – first time.

Resetting Fran’s brain

The test of whether a dog really knows something is whether he/she can do it again. So the next time Fran and Simon tried spoons, probably about 10 days later, he knew nothing. For whatever reason, Fran lost her mind and started saying things like “no!” when he started gnawing on the spoon – taking it from him. She put it down and started coaching him to “take it!” A quick question – “What are you doing?” stopped her in her tracks and resetting her training brain.

The old way of training was to force a dog to do something, repeatedly. Not let the dog make any mistakes, and certainly not let them choose anything. It was effective for people who could impose their iron wills on their dogs over the long term. It produced a lot of Obedience Champions.

We want our dogs to choose to abide by the rules

But it didn’t work for those of us who don’t want a permanent job watching every little thing our dogs do. We don’t want to dictate every aspect of their lives all the time. We want our dogs to be our buddies, who know the rules of the house and choose to abide by them. Just like we do.

Sorry, Mom – I’ve Got Other Plans Today

Your dog’s allowed to say “No.”

Training is not happening today.

“Don’t wanna. Not gonna.”

Not all the time. Not always for the same thing. But it’s okay if your dog gives you the “Not feelin’ it today!” signal.

Positive Reinforcement is equivalent to enlightened self-interest

The basis for positive reinforcement training is letting the dog learn that his/her own “enlightened self-interest” rewards being with you and doing what you ask. Fido chooses to do what you ask because he knows, through experience, that something he wants to happen will follow. It can be a toy, a treat, tummy rubs – whatever your dog loves that’s rewarding for him.

A trainer we know recently posted about her own positive reinforcement experience at a restaurant. A place she and her husband frequented fairly regularly, over the span of months, was on their “go to” list. Last time they went, the food wasn’t as good, the servers not as attentive, the entire experience was not up to par. And on the basis of that one experience, they’ve decided to find alternatives. 

That’s how fast things change for us, and for our dogs. Despite months of “positive,” a single negative was all it took for them to rethink their behavior. 

Let it go

So if, for whatever reason, your dog doesn’t want to play a certain game today – let it go. Switch gears and do something else. Either a different game for the same behavior, or change it up entirely. And the next time you try the rejected game, up your reward. Either choose a more valuable reward (a tennis ball instead of a tug, cheese instead of Cheerios), or increase the rate of reinforcement. 

The reason doesn’t matter

You may never know why the dog didn’t want to play that game that one time. Fran’s Tango stopped wanting to play “put your toys away” the other day. He just stopped in the middle and lied down. We puzzled over it for a minute, then realized that it was a cold, humid day and he might be in pain from arthritis. On that day, Fran played a different game with him. And the next time she tried “put your toys away” she put the toy box closer to the toys and Tango enjoyed the game immensely. 

Training is training – over all species

A classic book training book is “A Dog and A Dolphin” by Karen Pryor. Training is training. Over all species. If dolphins don’t want to work with their trainers, they simply swim away. There’s not a lot a land-based human can do to force a marine mammal to obey. They get their fish regardless. Dolphins play with people because they enjoy it. And our dogs should love playing training games with us, too!

The first time, let it go…

If your dog isn’t responding as you’d expect for a single training session, let it go. If the issue persists, try looking at the game differently. What is your dog seeing? What kind of response are you giving? Did you give mixed signals, or a negative reaction to something?

Some dogs are so sensitive you have to be careful. Say you’re playing a game and clicked when you didn’t mean to, or dropped a treat. Did you say “ugh!” because you were frustrated with yourself? Your dog doesn’t know you weren’t talking to her. That could be all it takes for a very soft dog. That game might be poison now, and may take lots of reinforcement to remove the stigma.

Not a big deal

But don’t make a big deal out of it – either the refusal to play or finding a reason. There are some times when, just like us, your dog’s just not that into it. It’s okay. Tomorrow’s another day.

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

Torque had fun with a foam roller freestyling!

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!