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How’s your dog training energy?

Does your dog mope through training sessions like Eeyore plodding along? You can easily up your dog training energy. Last week we talked about our dogs getting tired and losing focus. This week the shoe is on the other foot! Just look in a mirror!

Our dogs reflect us in many ways, including energy level. You can change the mood in the room and your dog, by upping your own energy level.

We know there are some days you just don’t feel it. Dogs pick up on our moods and, very honestly, show us how we’re doing.

Try recording it

You don’t have to take our word for it. Set up a camera and record a session. For the first part of the session, speak quietly, move slowly, don’t celebrate. In the second part of the session, talk happily, move quickly, get energized.

You’ll see an immediate difference in your dog. If you have a “hyper” pup, you may think you need to control the energy level in the room to keep your dog focused. The opposite is true. Focus on your dog, keep the connection and the feedback flowing.

The test of your dog’s understanding of what you’ve been training is his/her ability to still listen and play with you while excited. That’s when you know you’re doing great, having fun, and being an effective dog trainer.

Energize everywhere

One key to getting your dog to play with you anytime, anywhere, is to up your own dog training energy level. This is another instance where you can, and should, “fake it ‘til you make it.”

Will your dog know you’re faking it? Maybe at first. But get louder, slap a fake smile on your face, look into that adorable dog face and remember you love playing with this dog who adores you.

Torque usually has plenty of energy when he puts his toys away.

Hope saw it just the other day with Torque. They were playing “put your toys away” – a game Torque normally loves. But he was distracted and moving slowly, if at all, between the toy pile and the bin he was supposed to put them in.

At first, Hope said “Torque, what’s wrong with you?” Then she realized that her dog was reflecting her attitude and demeanor. She was low energy, and her dog mirrored it.

So she got loud, smiled, and moved faster. The change in Torque was instant. He was into the game right away and put all the toys away with a smile in his step. Hope’s energy level mattered. Yours does, too.

The closer your bond with your dog, the more closely he/she will reflect your mood and energy level. There are some days all you want to do is snuggle on the couch and stare at a screen. But we promise you’ll achieve calm faster if the cuddle session follows a high-energy, 2-Minute-Dog-Training game session.

Training is tiring

Remember that thinking is as tiring as physical activity. Using your brain requires just as much effort as using your body. Sometimes it’s even more exhausting. Training games that call on your dog to use his brain, solve problems, and remember, are the equivalent, in less than five minutes, of a half hour of “fetch.”

By all means exercise your dog. We encourage all kinds of physical activity, as well as exercises like stretching and balancing to keep your dog fit. But exercising their minds is just as crucial – it keeps even old dogs young when they’re always challenged to learn new things.

Because as we all know – you can teach old dogs new tricks.

Pet tricks aren’t stupid

Stupid pet trick? Booker sits up for his treats!

Pet tricks aren’t stupid. Dog tricks may be just for fun and have no practical value on their own. But they’re the “recess” time of dog training – when you and your dog play together and have fun.

Some dog behaviors are crucial: Come, Stay.

Quite a few are important: Sit, Wait, Leave it, Walk Nice, Gentle.

And then there are “tricks” that are useless in everyday life. And so much fun for both you and your dog.

Anything you want

The nice thing about “trick” training is that you don’t have to have anything special in mind. You don’t need any special equipment, just whatever you have around the house and your dog. And treats. Never forget the treats!

The inspiration can come from anywhere. We saw a video on social media of someone teaching her dog to use a baby’s stacking ring set. It was adorable and fun, so we thought our dogs could do it, too!

All our dog learned to pick up the rings quickly. Stacking them on the pole? Not so much. For Tango, one of the issues was that the rings were bigger than his mouth – Brussels Griffons are big-mouth-dogs, but that’s volume, not size. So we got dive rings. All the dogs love playing the game now!

Is it useful? Not really. But it’s cute, it stretches their brains, works on their coordination. And all the dogs think it’s fun. And so do we. It was a tiny investment dollar-wise, and it’s been hours of fun, over time.

And never forget that just a few minutes of brain-training is just as tiring as a half-hour of physical activity. When you have limited time, but you want to spend quality time with your dog, try trick training!

Stuff that’s lying around

Unless you’re completely minimalist, there’s always “stuff” around the house. We have workout “stuff” – so the dogs sometimes see a foam roller and learn to push it across the floor on their hind legs.

There’s an empty wash basin that the dogs can use like a toy box to “put your toys away.”

We’re big fans of the aisles at Five Below or a local dollar store. We’ve found “stuff” like a toy bass drum with a pedal that Booker’s become a rock star drummer learning. Kitchen utensils they can carry and put away. A little skateboard they learn to put one or two paws on to “hang eight.” The limit is your imagination.

A stool or little bench that your dog fits under is a good way to teach “crawl.” Spins, roll-over, beg, “say your prayers,” and dance don’t require any equipment at all.

Play with your dog

Too many times we see people thinking that “play” is limited to just fetch or tug. Those are great games, but shouldn’t be the extent of play. There’s more to a dog’s life than walking, eating, running, and cuddling. They’re thinking, problem-solving, smart companions who deserve to have all kinds of fun with you!

Mindful training

It’s odd but true.

Teaching dogs new stuff – fun behaviors like “Put your toys away,” or “give paw” are sometimes easier than solidifying behaviors that the dog already “knows” how to do.

We think it goes back to the most powerful force in the universe. Some may say that’s gravity. We know it’s habit.

Battling habit

Simon is sitting nicely. He's always paying attention

One of our students developed the habit of bending her arms up when calling her puppy. It was her way of avoiding her hands being licked, which she doesn’t like. What she achieved, on the positive side, is replicating the obedience signal for “sit.” Her dog approaches within about three feet and her dog, watching her hands go up, sits.

On the negative side, her dog never comes close enough to touch. Which means, even if he has a fantastic recall (come), she won’t be able to get hold of him if she needs to.

Be mindful of what you teach your dog! They’re always paying attention and always learning.

Another universal force

Just as powerful as habit, instinct is difficult to “untrain.”

Dogs are predators, so they chase moving things. Some more than others, depending on the breed and drive of the dog. If your dog is fascinated by moving objects, from balls to bicycles, it may be too much to ask to consider off-leash walks. A squirrel crossing your path could mean a lost dog.

Dogs are guardians, so they bark at sounds around their territory. You may not ever be able to stop your dog from alerting at the doorbell, but you may be able to modify his/her behavior. If you give your dog a “job” or routine to perform when the doorbell rings, with lots of practice and repetition, you may get habit to take over from instinct.

Fighting the status quo

It’s certainly easier in the short term to manage dog behaviors than to modify them. The problem with management, rather than training, is that you’re always the one responsible for your dog’s good behavior. If the doorbell rings and you manage your dog by locking him in a room away from the door, you’re always stressed by the time you answer the bell.

If, however, you’ve trained your dog to go “Place!” when the doorbell rings, your dog is responsible for his behavior. Your dog knows what he’s supposed to do, knows he’s making a good decision, and knows he’ll be rewarded for his effort.

And it’s much less stressful for everyone.

Picture the result you want

If you don’t know where you’re going, how are you going to get there?

When training your dog, picture the result that you want. Define it for yourself in your mind’s eye. See your dog doing whatever it is that you’re aiming for. Then it’s time to figure out how to get there.

Polite greeting

Let’s say that one of your dog’s most annoying habits is going nuts when the doorbell rings. It hasn’t worked to repeat “sit, sit, sit, sit, sit” at him. It hasn’t worked to grab his collar and try to wrestle him away from the door. So far, we have a picture of the problem, but not the solution.

As we’ve discussed umpteen qazillion times, dogs do what they find most rewarding. It’s fun to lose your mind and bark at the doorbell. It gets everybody paying attention to you. It amps up the noise and “fun” in the house. And, if the dog pays for it later with any sort of punishment, it doesn’t take away the fun that came before.

That’s one of the biggest differences between dogs and people. People, even young children, understand cause and effect. Little kids get that “if I do this, I will pay for it later.” Dogs don’t.

Back in the day, people would say to “rub their dog’s nose” in housebreaking accidents. Because the accident happened an unknown time earlier, dogs didn’t understand they were being punished for producing the accident. They thought they were being punished for their owner finding the accident. So they learned to urinate and defecate where the owner wouldn’t find it.

Think like a dog

Going back to our doorbell example – think about the classic Pavlovian experiment. Pavlov rang a bell and dogs got food. Eventually, dogs salivated when the bell rang. Classic stimulus/response conditioning. We can put it to excellent use to re-train your dog to “go to bed” when the doorbell rings.

Create the sequence in your mind: the doorbell rings, your dog runs to his bed in view of the door, your dog stays in the bed while you open the door and greet the newcomer, dog is released to a sit to say “hello.”

There’s a lot going on in that simple sequence. Each step of it has to be taught on its own before you can put it together.

The first step is teaching the dog that the bed has value. It doesn’t matter that it’s your dog’s favorite bed. We’re asking him to do something new and different, even if the furniture is the same. Move the bed or mat to a location where he can see the door and stand there, treats in your hand. When the dog shows any interest in the bed, drop a treat into the bed. The steps for building value for sitting in the bed include:

Looks at the bed
Sniffs it
Puts a paw on it
Steps in it
Puts multiple paws in it
Sits in it

Every single one of those steps has to be rewarded at least three times before asking for the next step. And your dog has to be performing it correctly at least 80 percent of the time before you move on. We’re building a pattern of value for particular behavior, in terms your dog can understand.

Sit on it

When the dog is reliably sitting on the bed, have someone ring the doorbell. If your dog dashes off to see what’s going on, just wait. Don’t react, don’t call your dog. If you’ve built up enough value for sitting in the bed, he’ll see you standing by it and dash back to sit in the bed. When he does, reward and release!

Then do it again. Over and over. Until you’re sure that your dog understands that, when he hears the bell ring, he should go sit in the bed.

Go overboard

Be incredibly lavish in your rewards. Give treats, praise, and pets. Doing the “right” thing has to be as much fun, as rewarding, as being “naughty” was. If you ignore your dog’s good behavior, he has no reason to do it again. Naughtiness always gets your attention. Angelic behavior deserves even more.