Tag: dog training games

Sign Language of Dogs

Do you realize that dogs can understand motions as commands? That’s their “sign language.” At the upper tier of obedience competition, there’s even a behavior, called the “signal exercise” where all the owner can do is motion to their dog. They can’t talk, they can’t move, other than one hand/arm. It’s amazing to watch and even more fun to teach!

Part of the package

Hope is signalling Simon "Touch" with her palm toward him at face level.
Every time Simon sees a palm at face level, he bashes his nose into it: “Touch!”

Most people don’t even realize that they’re signaling their dogs through their motions and their words. Just about every dog owner on the planet will point at the floor when teaching their dog to “down!” It doesn’t mean anything to the dog, but everyone does it. It’s our instinct at play – if we want the dog down on the floor, we point at the floor. 

Eventually, if people practice and are consistent, most dogs eventually understand that we mean “down” when we point at the floor. Interestingly, the obedience signal that most people use for “down” is the arm going straight up from the shoulder, not towards the floor at all. We’d guess that’s because we want to make sure the dog can see the motion from 30 (or more) feet away in competition.

There’s nothing wrong with pairing words and motions when communicating with your dog. The point is to realize that you’re doing it. And that, if you do the same thing the same way all the time, your dog will inevitably associate the two – word and motion.

Conscious uncoupling

It’s always a bit of a shock to our beginner students when we ask them to stand up straight, not move, and tell their dogs to “Sit.” Rarely do any of the dogs get it right. Because every single person came into class absolutely convinced their dogs knew the word “Sit.” You can see people almost twitching to point at their dogs’ butts, or dangle a treat over their heads. That sign language of dogs, along with the words, combined to form “Sit!”

It’s a good idea to “uncouple” the sign language and the words. Having your dog understand either one, or both together, means that there’s no situation in which you can’t communicate with your dog. If you’re in a very loud space, or far away, your dog may not hear you, but can see. Or you may be someplace where it’s just not feasible to point at the ground to get a “Down.” 

Another kitchen game

Try playing “Puppy Pushups” with your dog (we talked about “Puppy Pushups” a few weeks ago). Start by using both your “sign language” and your words. After just a couple of repetitions, try leaving out the motion. Or the words. See how your dog does. In a familiar game context, your dog will probably catch on quickly. When your dog gets it right about 80 percent of the time, increase the distance between you and your dog. Will she do it from five feet away? 10? How about across the street? With just your words? Only on the signs?

It doesn’t really matter which words, or signals, you use. Pick something you’re comfortable with, that you’ll easily remember. If you want to use the same motions that are most common in Obedience Competition, check out the exercises from the 2019 AKC Obedience Classic. (The Signal Exercise is right after the heeling.) Most “handlers” use the same signals and it will give you a chance to see them and their amazing dogs in action.

Dog training nuggets are easy to digest

Dog training nuggets work best. Not chunks. Not whole banquets. Little bittie morsels of fun that let you enjoy moments with your dog. It’s playing structured demi-games that have the side benefit of bettering your bond and building their understanding.

Too big a chunk of anything will choke you. Even if it’s your most favorite food in the universe (chocolate!), you won’t enjoy too big a bite. And chances are, it’ll color your future impression of that food if you couldn’t digest it last time.

Components are key

Most people don’t realize how complex even simple behaviors are until they’re asked to break them apart. Take a simple dog game like “Fetch.” Lots of dogs, especially Retrievers, seem born knowing how to play. It goes with the whole “retrieve” part of the breed. 

Other dogs, like French Bulldogs or Boston Terriers, don’t have a clue. That doesn’t mean they can’t or shouldn’t play. It just means we have to teach them.

As part of Obedience competition, one of the exercises in the second level is fetching a dumbbell. Whether you want to play fetch in the backyard with a tennis ball, or step into the competition venue, the basics are the same:

Dog has to:

  • Wait while you throw.
  • Pay attention to the flight of the object.
  • Run to get the object.
  • Find the object on the ground.
  • Pick up the object.
  • Hold the object.
  • Run back to you while holding it.
  • Drop the object when asked.
Booker practicing retrieving his dumbbell. He was fed tiny dog training nuggets so understands every part of the behavior.
Booker the Boston Terrier understands the dumbbell retrieve – he was fed tiny dog training nuggets for this behavior!

Who would have believed there are that many steps to such a simple game? The Retriever may jump ahead to the end of the story. But the French Bulldog may have to play each step as a separate game, learning and being rewarded at each step. Breaking a behavior down into its tiniest steps is one of the building blocks of the 2-Minute Training Method, as introduced in Your 2-Minute Training Journey.

Does it take long? No. The first step, waiting while you throw, builds on your “stay” command and probably won’t take more than one or two 2-Minute games. None of the steps takes long by itself. Because you have a clear focus for the game and you know when your dog achieves the goal. 

Keep the goal in mind

The success of your 2-Minute Dog Training depends on keeping all the training game nuggets easy to digest. It’s fun to play “Take it!” with a dumbbell for two minutes. It’s horrendously dull and demotivating to do it for an hour. 

And just because the eventual game of “Fetch” is played in this order, you don’t have to play the game’s steps in that order. If your dog understands each little nugget, it doesn’t matter what order you play them. If your dog is confident in all bits of the game, he’ll always be happy to come to the training feast.

Making a game of dog manners

Dog manners are like classic books. Everyone wants to have read them, but nobody wants to actually read them. Every dog needs to know household manners, but teaching them can be tedious. How many times can you say “Leave it!” or “Off!”

We get it. Teaching your dog to “gimme paw,” “roll over,” or “spin” is fun. It’s not only light-hearted, it’s usually pretty quick. Whereas teaching your dog not to jump on visitors takes time and effort. You’re also starting at a disadvantage – “taking away” something is harder than “adding on.”

Change your mindset

But it’s all a matter of perception. You know “manners” aren’t as much fun as “tricks.” But that’s an entirely human construct. We naturally are more resistant to things we “have” to do, as opposed to the things we “want” to do. Nobody likes to do their chores! 

Your dog doesn’t know the difference. Your dog only knows that you’re paying attention to her. And she likes it! That, however, can change. If your tone and body language change when you approach the “Not Fun” training sessions, your dog will pick up on it and reflect your mood. If you don’t like it, your dog won’t either.

Don’t lie to your dog

You don’t have to pretend you love the Get it! / Leave it! dog training game. You should, however, approach it with the same enthusiasm you show toward the fun stuff. It’s not the game that matters. It’s carving out the time to focus on your partnership with your dog. Every single 2-Minute session adds to the relationship. 

And when your dog shows that he understands “Leave it!” as thoroughly as “High Five!,” celebrate with the same reaction. Have a little party with treats, toys, and tugging! The things that are hard, like dog manners, should be celebrated even harder when they’re conquered. It’s easy to overlook good behavior because it’s what we expect. But your dog will be “good” more if it looks, sounds, and feels better than being “naughty.”

Everybody does it

As competitors in dogs performance sports, there are all kinds of precise positions/behaviors that we practice with our dogs. The vast majority of obedience performance scores are all about “Heeling,” so we do it a lot. 

Torque showing off his nice dog manners

How do you make a game of walking around with your dog? Especially when he’s supposed to be watching you the whole time, exactly aligned with you?

Easily! You start by meeting your dog’s eyes and smiling. This is the best dog in the whole wide world and he’s yours! Then you ask your dog “Do you wanna play with me?” And the tail-wag or wiggling butt lets you know that your dog is ready for any game. Even boring old “heeling.”

Not a marathon

The next step is setting up in absolutely perfect heel position, and telling your dog how wonderful that is. You set off, (leading with your left foot!) telling your dog “Heel!” as you’re about to take your first step. He responds matching you perfectly, tail wagging happily. And after three perfect steps, you break off and celebrate. “Yay, dog!” Here’s a treat! Or a tummy rub. Or a quick fetch your toy!

Three perfect, happy steps are a great foundation. We don’t have to heel a mile. Not even a block. We’d rather do a few steps perfectly than lose the enthusiasm for the game. It also keeps it fresh for us. Perfect heeling is, in all honesty, a pleasure to watch. And a pain in the butt to achieve. It’s also one of the dog classics.

Top 10 tips for dog training

End of Session

Booker and his dog training school essentials. We used the Top 10 tips for dog training with Booker at school.
Booker’s first day of school – long ago. The Top 10 tips for dog training came in handy!

This week marks the end of the first session of in-person dog training classes in 18 months. Our Beginner students have come so far, and we’re so proud of them. We developed this list of Top 10 Tips for dog training to remind them of things we’ve worked on. It’s hard to take notes when you’re supposed to be paying attention to your dog!

The Top 10:

  1. Focus on your dog for the entire training session. Your dog gets all your attention the entire time. Just as you don’t want your dog to misbehave, you don’t want to miss any “good stuff” that should be rewarded. If “good” looks the same as “naughty,” the devil will win every time. 
  2. Keep it short, fast, and fun. Dog training isn’t an endurance event. Both your and your dog’s attention spans are limited. (See #1.) That’s why we call it 2-Minute-Training. Two minutes at a time may be too short – but 15 minutes is too long for most dogs. Neither one of you can or should maintain intense focus for that long.
  3. Ignore the stuff you don’t like. The more attention you pay to barking, mouthing, jumping, biting, etc. the more your dog will do it. Your dog thinks you’re playing the game. Dogs don’t distinguish between “bad” and “good” attention. They just know you’re engaging with them, which they love.
  4. Pay your dog. Every single time. Especially when they’re just learning. If you worry about your dog getting fat from an abundance of treats – use their meals as training treats. There’s nothing special about dog food in a bowl. Dog food from your hand makes it very special! (You might enjoy the article about your dog’s reward bank.)
  5. When you are in motion with your dog, always reward from the hand closest to the dog. If your dog crosses in front of you to get the treat, they will trip you. It will hurt.
  6. Do not repeat commands. If your dog doesn’t understand “Sit!,” they’re not going to understand “sit, sit, sit, Sit, SIt, SIT, SIT!” If they don’t do it the first time, either you don’t have the dog’s attention, or the dog doesn’t understand the word. 
  7. Build your dog’s vocabulary. Dogs are capable of understanding hundreds of words. Your job is to teach those words. When you are teaching a new word, like “bed!,” stand by the bed, look at the bed, and when the dog shows interest in the bed say “good bed!” and throw a treat in the bed. Repeating the word pairs the object (or action) with its name. Infants learn language through constant repetition, even before they’re verbal. Dogs can learn the same way.  
  8. If you’re in a bad mood, angry with your dog, frustrated, or cranky it’s not a good time for a training session. The only exception is if training your dog is your happy place and you can put everything else aside for the 2-Minute session. 
  9. There’s no such thing as too many training sessions. If you want to play training games with your dog for two minutes every hour – go for it! More is better in this case. Try to get in at least one or two sessions every day. If you don’t have two minutes to play with your dog most days, you shouldn’t have a dog.
  10. Don’t hurt your dog. There’s no popping the leash, pushing on hips, choking of dogs in positive reinforcement training. We are teaching our dogs how to make good choices. Dogs should approach every training game session with joy and anticipation. Tails should be wagging. 

Bonus: Beginner Training Games:

Dogs don’t judge

Afraid of doing it wrong? You don’t have to be. Dogs don’t judge. 

Some people are reluctant to try new things. Especially if they’re in a public place, or if they’re being watched. We see it in our dog training classes all the time. We have to encourage people to be louder, more active, keep trying, talk to their dogs, etc. Because we’re all afraid of being judged.

Dogs don’t judge

One of the best, and most fun, things about 2-Minute dog games is that there’s never a buzzer or anyone yelling “wrong!” You can play and adapt every game to where you and your dog are right at that moment. And dogs don’t shut down or quit – they’re encouraged to keep trying.

“Try again!” is a phrase that makes our dogs wiggle their butts – it means they get to keep playing. That particular attempt may not have been rewarded, but they get to keep playing and discover what does get the cookie.

You can’t “break” your dog

Positive reinforcement training will never “break” your dog. We have seen dog victims of harsh methods who may never recover to become normal dogs. That doesn’t happen with training games. The “worst” consequences for the dog is not getting a treat. And another opportunity to try.

You also don’t have to worry about getting things right every time. Just like our dogs, we have another chance to play and try again.

This week we’re playing a new game with our dogs. We’ve seen videos of dogs riding skateboards and thought it looked pretty fun. So we got our dog a skateboard!

See what they think

Whenever we introduce a new training tool (toy!) to our dogs, we take the first session or two to see what they think of it. If it’s something that’s familiar, the introduction doesn’t take long and we can start a new game behavior quickly. If it’s something as alien as a skateboard, we want to see how the dogs react before we formulate a game strategy. That’s exactly how we start even the very first dog training game, “Boxey.”

Each of Fran’s dogs reacted a bit differently:

Booker's second time on the skateboard. Dogs don't judge - he was all about the fun.

Booker (8-year-old Boston Terrier) dashed right over, put multiple paws on the deck, and wasn’t fazed in the least when it started moving. His game will emphasize putting three paws on, then moving it with purpose.

Tango (12-year-old Brussels Griffon) doesn’t see too well at this point, but is so familiar with training games that when he noticed something new in the space, he went over to it. He sniffed it, got paws up on it, and was clearly willing to play.

Simon (2-year-old Boston) ran over to the skateboard and was in constant motion. “You want this?” “How about this?” “I’ll try this!” “One paw good?” “Three paws?” “What about shoving it across the room?” 

Clearly none of them was afraid of the item itself, or its movement. And we’ll play games tailored to each dog. Booker’s game will work on refining technique. Tango will probably learn “go for a ride” with us moving the board. Simon’s game will focus on focus. That pup is smart as can be, but still has the attention span of a puppy Boston.

Dogs just want to have fun

We didn’t worry about doing something “wrong.” The dogs got to “meet” their new toy, and we were able to get an idea of each dog’s training game. The next time the dogs see the skateboard, we’ll have a plan for each one – what action will get a “click and treat,” and which one will be ignored. 

The plan doesn’t always happen. Because they’re dogs. That’s okay. We don’t have to be perfect, and neither do the dogs.

You don’t have to worry about getting things “wrong” in a dog training game. Dogs trained with positive reinforcement games will keep trying, keep exploring. Rewards are great, but most dogs adore playing the game. Most will keep trying, just because playing with you is fun.

And if you click at the wrong time? Just give your dog the cookie and try again. Nobody’s perfect and your dog will forgive you. Your mistake may confuse your dog for a minute, but that’s okay. Nobody got hurt. Nobody saw. Dogs are adaptable. Dogs don’t judge. And your dog loves playing with you.

You can bank on your dog training games

Can you bank on your dog coming when called? Every time? In any situation?

Can you bank on your dog's recall if there's a skunk?

Let’s set up a scenario. You’re in the back yard with your dog after dark. You both hear a sudden rustling from the cluster of daylilies in the corner. 

You catch a glimpse of a black critter with a long white stripe down its back and scream “Razzmatazz, COME!”

Does he? 

Tilting the odds in your favor

In this case, which was very real, Razzy came bounding over. Hope grabbed him and ran for the house. The skunk was gone by the next time we went into the yard.

Were we absolutely sure that Razz would obey in the face of a fascinating and smelly distraction? No. But we tipped the scale in our favor by playing dog training games.

Money in the bank

Every time you reward your dog for making a good decision, like “Come!” you’re tilting the scale in your favor. Your dog will remember that “Come!” always results in something good happening. 

Building up that account of “good stuff” lets you get away with the occasional time when you don’t have a reward handy, but you really need your dog to obey. Like when there’s a skunk in the yard.

Razz did get a bunch of treats when we got inside.  And our eternal gratitude for being such a good Griff. 

But the account was depleted just a bit. That happens whenever the payoff isn’t immediate. Which means you have to build it back up, rebalance the scales, to make sure the account is full next time you need it.

Always pay your dog

Many people look to lessen or stop rewarding their dogs “after they’re trained.” There is no “after.” Dogs are always learning and paying attention. If you stop rewarding a behavior, the dog will stop doing it. See “Food is dog training currency.”

Wouldn’t you stop going to work if there was no paycheck? Or, even worse, if it bounced?

Every training game you play, every reward you deliver, is money in your dog training account. If you have to “spend” that balance to be safe from the skunk, be sure to replenish the account on a regular basis.

If you do, you can always bank on your dog.

Training is all about your bond with your dog

There are all kinds of reasons to play training games with your dog. There’s a whole list of positives: improve manners, build trust, inspire confidence, etc. But the most important one for most people is that it deepens and strengthens your bond with your dog.

Many people think that because there are multiple people living in a home that the dog is a family pet. Maybe. But if one person is primarily responsible for that dog’s care, their bond is stronger. And if one person is always the one to play training games with that dog, that bond is powerful. If the same person both cares for, and plays training games with that dog – that relationship is unbreakable.

Unbreakable bond with your dog

Fran has trained Tango (Brussels Griffon) to put his toys away, into a bin. Training games strengthen the bond with your dog.

We got an illustration of that this week. Fran’s 2-year-old Boston Terrier Simon is in need of some road work to build his stamina before his agility career takes off. Fran’s taking him for his workout at the time she’d normally play training games with her two other dogs, Tango and Booker.

Tango is a 12-year-old Brussels Griffon. If you don’t know Griffs, know that they’re generally one-person dogs. Tango was extraordinarily so when he was younger. You can read all about it in Fran’s book Tango: Transforming My Hellhound. He tried to bite anybody else. 

He has mellowed through the years. Now Hope can handle him easily, and he generally pays pretty good attention to her. When Fran’s not home, he’s happy to follow Hope around instead.

But he doesn’t “get” playing training games with Hope. That’s reserved for his person. And Tango adores playing his training games. The game today was supposed to be “Put your toys away” which is his favorite in the world. He bounces when he retrieves the toys from the pile, he bounces when he heads over to the toy box to put them away. 

Never heard it before

Tango is adorable when he sits there, stares at you, and has a completely blank look on his face. He never heard “Put your toys away!” before. Unless Fran says it. 

The take-away here is that if you want your dog to be a family dog, everybody needs to play training games with him/her. (We wrote about this a couple of months ago too.) You can all play the same games. Or each person can have a unique training game. But everybody has to play.

If, on the other hand, your objective is that unbreakable bond between one individual and a dog, that person should play training games. Just once a day helps. Several 2-Minute-Training games per day will cement the relationship forever.

Boxey Game Part 2: Your dog can be creative

In last week’s tip we talked about getting started with the Boxey game. Now it’s time to take it further and showcase your dog’s cleverness. Your dog can be creative with the right encouragement.

Remember that you’re never allowed to say “NO!” when you’re playing Boxey with your dog. Aside from biting or chewing the box, whatever your dog does with it is okay. If your dog is wildly creative and starts playing volleyball with the box, reward it, name it, and for pity’s sake get it on video so you can make a fortune.

Stop telling your dog what to do

The nice thing about playing Boxey is that you have no particular objective in mind. Most dog tricks or behaviors have an end goal. Our only goal here is to teach the dog that it’s okay to try different stuff. There are absolutely no negative consequences with this game. The worst that should happen is, if your dog absolutely intent on chewing the box, you call it quits for this session and try again later. Maybe with a different box, if that one’s too attractive for gnawing. 

Torque playing Boxey - he's got 3 legs in the box!

The possible actions that your dog may come up with to interact with the box include:

  • Sniff it
  • Nudge it
  • Pawing at it
  • Put a paw in it
  • Put two paws in it
  • Three paws in 
  • All four paws in
  • Left paws in
  • Right paws in
  • Back paws in
  • Backing into it
  • Jumping over it
  • Sitting in it
  • Lying in it
  • Turning it over
  • Turning it on its side
  • Putting something else in it
  • Moving it

Hopefully you’re getting the idea that your dog can be creative with the box however it occurs to him. 

Getting your dog out of the box

Once your dog figures out the box is his/her “sweet spot,” you may have some difficulty getting your dog to get out of the box. That’s one of the reasons we say to only reward the same behavior three to five times. If you keep delivering treats for your dog sitting in the box, you’ll never get him out. 

Speaking of getting him/her out, dogs trained with positive reinforcement can cycle into what we’ve heard called feedback loops. They keep doing the same thing over and over, regardless of whether it’s being rewarded, because they can’t figure out what else to do. There needs to be a way to break the cycle.

One of the behaviors we use to settle our dogs down and get their minds back in the game is the hand touch. It’s a whole other game, which we’ll talk about in next week’s tip. In the meantime, if your dog is becoming box-obsessed, just pick it up and try again another time.

It may take some time

Most dogs spend so much of their lives getting directions from people that it’s hard for them to break away from that and think for themselves. 

But thinking creatively is a great way to keep dogs (and people!) of any age interested and engaged. If you’re reading this tip, that means that you’re interested in giving your dog the best life possible – which means encouraging him or her to use every bit of brain power possible. Dogs are smart. Channel that ability into paths that will delight instead of getting into trouble. It’s better to have a dog that bats a box around than one that chews electrical cords out of boredom.

Some dogs are more creative than others. Among our own dogs, it’s the old guy, Tango, who comes up with the most creative ways to use Boxey. Torque is the least. 

It’s more challenging to play Boxey with a less-creative dog because it requires you to be more patient and think more creatively yourself. As with Torque, if he can’t come up with anything new, we’ll take the initiative and present him with a new “look” – like putting the box on its end instead of its bottom. Or placing it on top of another box. Or hiding a treat underneath it. 

Your dog can be creative. And so can you. Together you’ll come up with your own Boxey variations and your own shared repertoire of games.