Tag: dog training game

Setting your dog training goals

Most people seek out dog training help when there’s a problem they want to solve. Or because they’ve acquired a new dog and realize it’s been a while and need a refresher.

Providing solutions for those immediate dog training goals may be how you found us. We hope you’re staying because we’ve opened your eyes to how amazing it is to have a training-game routine with your dog.

Setting some dog training goals

We often say that there’s no deadline for dog training games, and no one but you and your dog should set the pace for your progress.

But say you do have a specific dog training goal. And a timeline you’d like to achieve it. Absolutely go for it!

Once you and your dog are familiar with the 2-Minute-Training method, you can set your own schedule and play games that will let you achieve your goal. You can play as often as you like, tailoring your games to emphasize the skills your dog needs.

Like what?

Participating in the "Reading to Dogs" program is a great dog training goal.
Participating in the “Reading to Dogs” program is a great dog training goal.

Let’s say your goal is to do therapy work with your dog. There are many programs for helping people from children to seniors; from “Reading to Dogs” to hospice or comfort-animal therapy.

For many of these programs, getting your dog’s certification as a therapy dog starts with getting the Canine Good Citizen title from the American Kennel Club. 

There are 10 specific “tests” a dog must pass to earn the CGC:

  • Accepting a friendly stranger
  • Sitting politely for petting
  • Appearance and grooming
  • Walking on a loose lead
  • Walking through a crowd
  • Sit and down on command, stay
  • Come when called
  • React calmly to another dog
  • React calmly to distractions
  • Calm during supervised separation

Every single one of these “tests” can be the focus of a 2-Minute-Training game. If you’re able to play training games multiple times a day, you can change which one to work on – or focus on one or two through the day. For specific requirements of each test, check the AKC website, or look for an animal-assisted therapy group near you.

Competitive goals

Some of us get so addicted to playing training games with our dogs that we’re just itching to find a place to show off their skills. 

It’s become apparent that Hope’s French Bulldog Torque is adept at the skills required for Rally Obedience – and he just loves doing all the stuff. Hope’s goal for 2022 is to find, enter, and compete in Rally Trials. Her long-term goal is for Team Torque to earn a Rally Championship title. She has no timetable for that goal. Time, the pandemic, and financial considerations will all impose constraints. 

Those constraints don’t matter to Torque. All he knows is that he gets to play fun games with his mom every single day. He doesn’t care whether it’s “Stack your Rings” or “Figure 8 with distractions” – it’s all fun and games for Team Torque. 

What’s your team name?

Get serious about having fun with your dog. Call yourselves “Team (Insert Dog Name Here)” Be intentional with your training games. If your only goal is to have fun, and build your relationship with your dog – that’s a great goal. Commit to your team. If you design a logo – we’d love to see it!

Dog Training Game: Get it! / Leave it!

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

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

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

Stop and go

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

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

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

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

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

The hard part of Leave it!

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

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

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

Why a different treat?

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

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

Final exam

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

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

Most useful command

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

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

Training “Touch!” Dog Training Game

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

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

Tools of the game

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

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

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

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

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

Getting started with Touch! Dog Training Game

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Give it a name

Simon and Hope playing the Touch Dog Training Game.

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

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

Variations on a theme

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

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

Old reliable

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

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