reward-based training Archives

Maybe it’s time to switch anvil makers

Wile E. Coyote has been trying to catch Road Runner for decades. He’s spent innumerable hours and buckets of money and nothing he tries works. And yet he persists in ordering his traps from Acme. When is it time to concede he’s put his faith and effort into the wrong thing? Agree that maybe it’s time to switch anvil makers. And how long will you stubbornly stick to something that’s not working for you and your dog?

Although its source is uncertain, we still adhere to the quote “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten.” The hardest part for many people seems to be recognizing when something’s unrecoverably broken and moving on. It doesn’t mean you give up on the behavior you’re trying to teach. It means you may have to approach it sideways instead of head-on.

Poisoning the well

Experience being the excellent teacher it is, of course we’ve “been there, done that.” Tango, Fran’s Brussels Griffon, has posed many challenges over the years. Since he’ll celebrate his 16th birthday this month, we can’t even count the vast number of lessons we’ve learned from him.

After Fran got him over being a snarling, hostile devil-dog (read Tango: Transforming my Hellhound, available on Amazon) , she was able to concentrate on more fun things like Rally, Agility, and Obedience. For unknown reasons, and Tango’s not telling, he stopped responding to his release word, which was “Go!” When he heard it, he visibly shrank and shut down.

For a short while, like most people, Fran tried to get him over the bugaboo. She loaded the word with treats, praised any slight movement, did all the right things to make “Go!” valuable and fun. Tango wasn’t having any of it.

Instead of persisting in hitting a brick wall, Fran regrouped, thought, “Maybe it’s time to switch release words,” and started from square one. She chose a new release word, “Action!” and taught it to Tango. Whatever negative association he had with “Go!” didn’t apply to the new word. They were in business once again.

Choose the easy way

Un-teaching something to a dog is difficult. If it’s attached to some negative emotion, it’s practically impossible. Dogs don’t just “get over it.” If some word, action, or place has become toxic to the dog, it’s often better to just let it go and approach from another angle.

A similar thing happened with one of our Rally students. Her two-year-old, rather skittish dog, became slinky and shut down if told to “Stand!” Nobody knows why. She was never abused, nobody hurt her after telling her to “Stand.” She’s a dog. She’ll never give us the answer.

We advised the dog’s owner to start over. Pick a different word and another hand motion to indicate “Stand!” And the dog perfected the “new” behavior in days. Does it look just like a “Stand!”? Yes, of course. Is it actually the exact same exercise? Yes, it is. But it’s different for the dog. And her opinion matters.

Greetings Game: Statue and Fuss

We call the Greetings Game “Statue and Fuss.” That describes the people’s assignment, not the dog’s. It’s up to the humans to demonstrate what happens when the dog jumps (Statue) vs. sits (Fuss).

The vast majority of dogs are happy to see you. They love meeting people. Dogs will offer an enthusiastic welcome even if you’ve only been gone two minutes. Exuberant dogs reach a level of excitement that has them, literally, bouncing off the walls, the floor, the furniture, and you.

Most people don’t really like dogs jumping on them. They’ll tell you it’s okay, but you know it’s really not. The problem is getting your dog to clue in on that, too.

Imposing polite

One of the reasons this behavior is hard to extinguish is that you may not get a lot of cooperation from other people. When they’re puppies, dogs are incredibly cute, small, and fairly harmless. People like having little puppies say hello to them. Most people will even override your wishes, insisting “It’s okay. I want to say hi!”

Enforcing your training protocols when other people are around takes a lot of fortitude and a willingness to seem rude. If people ask “May I pet your puppy?” (most won’t bother to ask) and you say “Not if he’s jumping on you,” most people will stampede right over what you say and reach for your bouncing, wiggling, adorable dog. Don’t let them.

That’s easier said than done. But every violation of the protocol you set means a step back in training. That’s one of the reasons teaching polite greetings takes time.

Statue and Fuss

The Greetings Game requires that you set it up with a trusted person. Don’t play the game in public before your dog has a pretty thorough understanding. It’ll just be frustrating for both of you.

Depending on how nutsy crazy your dog is to meet people, you have a couple of options for the setup.

If your dog is a wildly excited jumping fool, don’t start with a doorbell and someone coming into the house. Have your dog on collar and leash and have your helper come into the room and walk up to you and your dog. Instruct the person not to look at the dog, pet the dog, or interact with the dog in any way.

When the person comes over to you, do not tell your dog to sit. The dog has to learn to make a good decision. Don’t make it for them. They have to find out on their own what will get them what they want.

If the dog is jumping and being generally manic, your helper person should stand there, arms folded, staring at the wall behind you or the ceiling. When the dog sits, or at least has four paws on the ground, the helper should immediately fuss over the dog, pet the dog, and talk to the dog. And be ready to instantly stop if the dog jumps. In mid-word, if necessary, revert to “statue” mode. Stop, fold arms, stare at ceiling.

The alternating statue/fuss will demonstrate to the dog what they need to do to get what they want. Dogs get what they want (attention) when we get what we want (manners).

Not quite so nutsy

If your dog is exuberant but not over-the-top, you can play the same game of Statue and Fuss, but start with someone entering the house, not just the room. When your dog starts remembering to sit when someone comes in, you can add the next level of thrill – the doorbell.

There will, inevitably, be incidents where the person slips up and fusses over the dog when they should be a statue. It’s hard to resist giving attention to a being that so clearly adores you. That’s why it takes a while to build the habit of polite greetings.

When you embark on teaching your dog polite greetings, be sure that everyone in the house is in on it. If you’re trying to teach your dog to make good decisions and your partner is dragging the dog off people, it’s not going to work. Everyone has to be willing to play Statue and Fuss. Do everyone a favor and make sure your dog’s nails are short and smooth before you start. Statues take a bit of a mauling when you start playing the game.

Let your dog look

Ever heard the quote from Robert Heinlein’s Lazarus Long “Never attempt to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and annoys the pig.” ? There’s a lot of wisdom in choosing to fight only the battles you have a chance of winning. You can’t start playing training games, or do any kind of training, unless you have your dog’s attention. And you’ll never get their focus on you if you expect them to laser-focus on you and ignore other dogs, people, treats, etc. Do yourself a favor. Stop fighting a losing battle. Let your dog look.

Face the distraction

One of the most futile things everyone does in training class is try to turn their dogs away from whatever’s attracting their attention. It’s not going to work. It’s just going to divide your dog’s attention – they know they should be listening to you. But there’s a dog over there! Or a person walking! Or a Squirrel!

Dogs are hard-wired to notice motion. That’s a common trait among all predators. It’s not something you can change, nor should you. Instead of trying to fight your dog’s instinct, work with it. Don’t try to get your dog to ignore the distraction. Let them face it. You move between the dog and the distractor. Let them watch. Don’t let them get closer. You don’t let them check it out. Just let them look.

At some point they’ll look back at you. That’s when you pounce! Give them a treat, a toy, a big, fat, juicy reward for focusing on you. That’s when it’s your job to be more interesting than anything else around.

Isn’t that letting the dog win?

It’s not a contest. You and your dog are a team. Neither of you is trying to beat the other. In this case, you may have to concede, for a minute or two, that your dog finds watching whatever it is more rewarding than paying attention to you. So you let that distraction become familiar.

An old saw says “Familiarity breeds contempt.” That’s what we’re going for. When your dog comes to the realization that playing with you is more fun, interesting, and rewarding than staring at the dog across the room, that’s when you both win. You want your dog to become familiar with the world around them. Then they can successfully ignore it and focus on you.

A pivotal decision

The first meeting of a new dog training class is always loud and a bit chaotic. That’s because everything is new and different to every one of the dogs. By the next class, and certainly by the third, the dogs are accustomed to the routine and calm prevails.

When your dog is obsessing over something over there, it can be frustrating. You know there’s nothing interesting. But there’s no way to explain that to your dog. This is one of those times when you muster your strength for the hardest part of dog training – waiting. You don’t repeat things your dog isn’t listening to. You don’t wave a cookie in their face. Initially, you don’t do anything but wait.

Your stillness may prove more interesting to your dog than all the gyrations you’ve tried before. Because you’ve never done nothing to attract your dog’s attention. You’ve tried everything else, now it’s time to do something that might actually work.

Let your dog look, and then look back at you

Your dog may think you’re broken, because the pattern they’re used to isn’t there. When they finally do check in with you, praise and reward lavishly. Your dog will think it’s a pretty good deal if all they have to do is look at you to get a jackpot. Next time you wait for your dog’s attention will be shorter. In time, the distractions will get a glance and you’ll get the dog’s attention.

When to stop rewarding the dog

Dog training students always want to know when they can stop rewarding dogs. The answer’s easy. When you don’t care if the dog keeps doing whatever it is.

If you don’t care if your dog sits automatically when you stop moving, stop rewarding it.

If you don’t mind if your dog jumps on guests, stop rewarding polite greetings.

If it doesn’t matter that your dog eliminates outside, stop rewarding the dog.

Stuck forever

On the other hand, if you like what your dog is doing and want them to keep doing it, the rewards have to keep going. You won’t always need treats available in all rooms at all times. But you do have to acknowledge your dog’s good behavior somehow.

The form that takes depends on your dog. If your dog likes jaw scratches, do that. If a hearty “Good Girl!” makes their butt wiggle, use that. But if your dog has a “show me the money” personality, you’d better fork over the goods.

Keep in mind that dogs always do what’s most rewarding for them. You can believe as hard as you want that your dog should “know better” by now. But if every instance is a decision-making process, you want the dog’s choice to land on the side of the angels. There’s nothing wrong with stacking the deck to make sure that happens.

Dashing down the stairs

Our dogs all love playing training games. Our morning routine includes a trip down the stairs to the basement training space. Consequently, our dogs all love going downstairs. For a very long time, Simon would dash down the stairs whenever the door opened. Even if we were just reaching for a coat on the stairway coat hooks.

It took some time and effort to convince Simon that he wasn’t supposed to bolt down the stairs as soon as the door opened. We took the time and effort to set the situation up, teaching him to sit, wait, and move only when he heard his release word. In the beginning, the “Sit!” got a food reward. So did the “Wait.” For Simon, the release word means he gets to do what he wants – go downstairs. That’s the reward for good behavior. The food reward isn’t necessary.

He doesn’t always get to go downstairs. Sometimes we’re just reaching for that jacket. Our hand on the doorknob is his cue to “Sit!” and “Wait!” We can now open that door whenever we need to. Simon sees a hand on the doorknob and sits. He waits until we close the door again and give him a treat. We acknowledge his good decision with a reward. If we didn’t, there’d be no reason for him to keep doing it. Going downstairs is extremely rewarding for him. The alternative has to be as attractive.

Encouraging good decisions

A reward, whether it’s a yummy tidbit, tummy rubs, a game of tug, lets your dog know you’ve seen their good decision and like it. Over time, lots of good dog choices become just another part of the routine. Lately we’ve had a few dogs in classes who, for whatever reason, are frightened of going through doorways. For some, it’s particular doorways. For others, it’s all doorways. We don’t know why. We’ll never know why. Dogs never tell us their “why’s.”

All of these dogs are getting over their doorway phobia. In time, both the dogs and their people will be able to sail through any jamb without a second thought. Rewards won’t be required long term, but they are needed now. These people are asking their dogs to be brave and make a scary (to them) choice. The rewards given now build the equation: “When I go through the doorway, good things happen on the other side.” At some point it will become a non-issue. Then you can stop rewarding the dog.

Second nature

Many of the behaviors we teach our dogs become natural parts of life. You won’t always have to reward your dog for walking politely at your side, it will become a habit. In time, sitting when being introduced to guests will be the norm. Your dog’s default behavior will become going to their kitchen “Place!” when you’re cooking. Until those desirable things happen, the rewards have to keep coming.

Regrets, there’ve been a few

It’s fun having dogs who understand and know how to do stuff. If there’s something we want them to know, we figure out a game way to teach them. But over the years, there’s been some training, or lack thereof, that we regret. (Like eliminate on command.)

If you’re lucky enough to have an old dog, you know it’s not always easy. On those really bad-arthritis days, you feel like a tyrant making them get up and walk. But joints, like lots of things in life, are a “use it or lose it” proposition.

Tango is now 15 ½ years old. He’s little, so we have the option of carrying him around. But we don’t, except for stairs. He needs to move. We make him play “Put Your Toys Away” almost every day – at least he’s moving from the toy pile to the bin.

What we wish he knew: “eliminate on command”

The biggest regret is what we wish we’d taught him when he was young and spry. That’s to eliminate on command.

When Tango was young, he could “hold” for a dozen or more hours. He never messed in the house or had accidents. He also never had a predictable elimination schedule. It wasn’t a big deal then. If he had to go when he was outside, he did. If not, he didn’t.

Now, he can’t hold for a dozen hours. But he doesn’t like being out in the cold. And he doesn’t eliminate on command, because we never taught him. So he stands there, shivering (we are, too), and looking miserable. When we relent and bring him inside, he either paces around the house, or has an accident.

Think ahead

We’ve had dogs for so long that every floor is a dog-friendly surface. It’s not a big deal to clean up after Tango. But we wish we didn’t have to.

We’ve made sure to teach all the other dogs to eliminate on command. It’s easy to do – name it, praise it, reward it. Every time.

The other dogs aren’t young – 12. 10, and 6. And all of them know the commands “go poop” or “go pee.” A friend of ours used “hit it” as her dogs’ cue.

Think carefully about the name you give to your dog’s bathroom functions. And where you’re most likely to say it. If you’re in your own backyard, nobody’s around and it matters less. But if you’re in a more public place, will you be embarrassed to say “go poop?” If so, think of a lovely euphemism. Only you and your dog need to understand what you mean.

Language matters

A huge part of dog training is establishing communication between you. Dogs are capable of understanding dozens, if not hundreds, of words. Your job is teaching them the vocabulary they need.

You get to decide what every word means between you and your dog. Make your “potty” word something you’ll remember and use. And be sure it’s not a word your dog will hear all the time. That could get messy.

Try it without treats

One of our videos got a little traction this week on Tik Tok and we were fortunate to have quite a few people comment. Most were lovely, just hearts and admiration for Torque, Hope’s French Bulldog. It’s always nice when somebody else thinks your dog is as wonderful as you do. But there were also more than a few that implied his only motivation was the treats. And challenging us to “prove” he can do it without rewards. “Try it without treats” they said.

A different perspective

We know that Torque would play training games just for the fun of it. Would he be as eager? Probably not. And how would we communicate to him when he’s right? And when he’s not?

One of the first things we tell all our trainees is “Dogs learn by the timing and placement of rewards.” We say it early and often. Those rewards give your dog the immediate feedback: “Yes! That was good!” Withholding the rewards tells your dog “That’s not quite it. Try again.”

Many people seem to think that praise should be sufficient reward or motivation. Let’s put that in perspective.

For example: you have a great job in a great place with terrific colleagues. Everything about your job is great. Is a pat on the back from your boss sufficient reward? It’s really nice, but don’t you still want a paycheck?

Proving it to who?

Our response when challenged to create a video without using rewards was: Why should we?

The person came back with “To prove you can do it.”

To whom? And why? We’re not claiming that Torque is unique among dogs. Our goal is to encourage everyone to play training games with their own dogs. Because every single dog loves doing it. And everybody, dogs and people alike, has fun.

The challenge is seeing what your dog can do. Dogs have favorite games, just like people. Some dogs learn Puppy Push-ups in a week. Their 3-Step Pattern Walking takes no time at all. But they just can’t get the hang of “Place!” Or “Stay!”

The only opinion that matters

When you play training games and teach your dog only with reward-based training, there will be loads of people who “know a better, faster way.”

It’s absolutely true that punishment-based training is faster. Dogs learn quickly how to avoid pain. If you’re okay with hurting your dog to achieve quick compliance, there are lots of trainers who teach “yank and crank” methods. But not in this space. And not in our classes.

No treats allowed

There are no treats or rewards allowed during dog sport competitions. You can’t bring anything into the competition ring but your dog. For those few minutes of judging, the dog gets no “reward” other than your smile.

If you’ve built sufficient value in the process, your dog will do what you ask. Just partnering with you, doing familiar, fun things will be enough. And, when your time in the competition ring is over, you can run over to your trial set-up and give your wonderful dog the jackpot they deserve.

Training a Stubborn Dog

It’s astonishingly easy to train a stubborn dog. You just have to keep one fact in mind: Dogs always do what’s most rewarding to them.

That’s true no matter what the circumstances. Dogs may not consciously or visibly weigh the options and “choose” to misbehave. But if what they get for being “good” isn’t as good as what being “bad” gets them, guess what happens?

Figuring it out

Your dog will show you what’s most valuable to them. Our dogs will figuratively walk through fire to get Chicken Heart Treats. It’s at the top of their reward list.

Second on the list for Simon is celery. Booker, on the other hand, thinks celery is disgusting and won’t go near it. If we ask Booker to do something and he knows celery is waiting, he’s not going to do it. Knowing this, we don’t ask.

Not always treats

Dogs are unique individuals with their own preferences. Each one’s motivation will be different. Simon and Booker are both Boston Terriers and are related. But their tastes are as different as can be.

Your dog may not be food motivated at all. But there’s got to be something that they love. Tossing a ball can be a reward. Playing tug can be your dog’s reward. Belly rubs can be a reward. Use what your dog wants to get what you want.

It’s deal-making

Training is a kind of bargain you make with your dog – even a to train a stubborn dog. They get what they want when you get what you want. It’s a great deal for everyone.

You have to stick to the agreement. If you start taking your dog for granted, they’ll stop holding up their end. Once your dog knows how to do something, you may not have to reward every time. Once your dog knows “Puppy Push-ups” you don’t have to reward every change of position. But there has to be something in it for them at some point.

From the dog’s perspective

You may wonder, “if dogs always do what’s most rewarding, why do they obey force trainers?” The answer is simple. The dog’s “reward” is not being punished. Dogs learn quickly how to avoid pain. That’s why force training is faster than positive reinforcement. Dogs aren’t stupid.

Dogs also deserve better. Once you appreciate how easy and fun it is to play training games, it’s addictive for both of you. So many of our students have told us how their dogs “nag” them to go play.

This or that?

Sometimes the behavior you’re asking for isn’t as rewarding as what the dog wants to do. We saw a good example recently making the “bowling” video with Torque. We used a big plastic bottle to demonstrate the first steps of the game. When it came time to show the actual game, Torque thought the big plastic bottle was more fun. He made a beeline for it, rather than knock down the pins.

He was showing Hope that the crunchy-sounding bottle was more fun, more rewarding than playing with her. She didn’t get mad, or accuse him of being stubborn. He was doing what was most rewarding at the time. She just reminded him that playing with her was also fun and rewarding.

Stubborn or clueless?

Motivation isn’t always the answer. Sometimes dogs truly don’t understand what their person wants. It could be a different place, or person, or situation that’s throwing off their game. Or it could be they really don’t know.

If that’s the case, you may see your dog disengage, walk away, turn their head, go sniff, scratch, yawn, or even just sit or lie down. These are indicators that your dog doesn’t want to make the “wrong” choice, but doesn’t know what you want. If you see this, back up a step or two, assess what’s different, and help them work through it. It’s not being stubborn. It’s confusion.

Rely on motivators

When you know what motivates your dog, your training gets a whole lot easier. If your dog doesn’t think dog biscuits are worth sitting for, don’t use dog biscuits. Go to the trouble of figuring out what’s most rewarding for your dog. Use it. And be amazed when your formerly stubborn dog is no longer stubborn.

Trick training builds confidence

One of our students resisted teaching her dog “tricks.” She thought it was silly, or beneath her dignity as a serious Obedience person. She still drags her heels when we come up with new behaviors. But we’ve convinced her that trick training builds confidence.

It’s kind of a “Freaky Friday” situation. One of our Rally Obedience class students was one of our first dog training instructors. She’s been, over lots of years, one of the top Obedience competitors in our region.

Back in the day, she was an old-school trainer and, like everybody at the time, we used “corrections” to teach our dogs. That was the accepted word for giving dogs a collar pop to let them know they’d done something wrong.

Fortunately, when you know better you do better, and we’ve all changed over to positive reinforcement training. We converted because we changed the way we think. Our student, let’s call her Celeste, has a dog that required the change.

Suddenly scared of the world

When her dog, a beautiful, well-bred sporting dog, was about 15 months old, something changed. A happy, confident puppy, she was suddenly scared of the world. Nobody but Celeste could touch her, she was hiding behind her mom’s legs.

Nothing bad happened to her. The veterinarians couldn’t find anything wrong. But this dog that was almost ready for Obedience competition now couldn’t even stop drooling in public.

Celeste, of course, was both puzzled and disappointed. The hopes and dreams she had for her dog flew out the window. Worse than starting from scratch, she now had to undo whatever demons now controlled her dog.

Getting past scared

The worst, of course, for the dog was the Novice exercise “Stand For Exam.” The dog has to stand stock still while the judge touches the dog’s head, shoulders, and hips. That’s all there is to it, but it was now impossible. She was so terrified that her “Stand” disappeared. Because she associated it with the dreaded touching.

Celeste started Rally class with this dog because, quite frankly, she doesn’t really care about Rally. In her mind, it’s a precursor for “real” Obedience. We knew this, and warmly welcomed her to class. Rally is more relaxed than Obedience, and a good place to practice all of the moves Obedience requires.

What Celeste wasn’t counting on was our insistence that she and her dog learn lots of little behaviors and “tricks.” She told us quite firmly that “I just don’t teach my dogs tricks.”

Nevertheless, she got on board. Her dog, already beautifully trained to do almost anything Celeste asked, started having fun putting some of those things together. Puppy Push-ups are a thing of beauty with this team. She resisted teaching “Roll Over,” but her dog loves it. The dog also loves “Sit Pretty,” walking backwards, sideways, and tons of others.

Opening doors

Teaching this dog “tricks” is restoring her confidence. She knows how to do things and gets rewarded for doing them. It’s given her a foundation of security. She knows what’s expected of her, knows she can do it, and even enjoys it.

Does the dog still get the heebie-jeebies? On occasion. Celeste is still prepared when it happens. But she’s also become convinced of the value of the little things, the “tricks” her dog does.

Teach your dog some tricks

Even if you don’t care about any kind of dog sports competition or training, teaching your dog little “tricks” builds their confidence. You may not care if your dog is a social media star, or has a whole string of performance titles. But you do care that your dog is happy and knows how to behave.

Dogs aren’t little minions we need to do our bidding. They are intelligent, social beings who love partnering with you, and doing stuff together.

Your house, your dog, your rules

When your parents (or in-laws) come over for the holidays, it may be the first chance you get to practice your grown-up parenting skills. And get a tiny bit of your own back for all those times you heard it as a teenager. “My house, my dog, my rules.” If you’re lucky, you get to practice when you have a dog and not a baby – those discussions are even more fraught.

It came up this week for a training class student of ours. Her mother was coming to visit from overseas. Her mother, who happens to be a fan of a famous dominance-based trainer. And who’s from a culture deeply ingrained with rules, discipline, and pretty much the opposite of reward-based training.

Before Mom arrived, our trainee wanted us to see what was happening with her dog. The pup (seven months old) had been boarded for a few days during Thanksgiving, and had come home with some atypical behaviors.

Not uncommon

Especially for puppies, boarding can be disruptive. The puppy’s schedule is discarded. Depending on the boarding situation, it may be anything from “run with a pack all day,” to stay-in-a-kennel except for yard time. None of the options is inherently bad. There are times when even the most devoted owner just can’t travel with their dog. Boarding is usually a safe option. Ideally, it’s also a comfortable choice and the dog will have some fun with either the staff or other dogs at the facility.

The best way to let your dog absorb the alternative is to practice. Like all things, dogs are adaptable beings if introduced to new things gradually. If your dog goes to a doggy day care that also does boarding, that’s a good place to start. The dog already has a good time during the day. Try to book a single night before a longer stay is necessary. Let the dog see the new routine. And pick them up early the next morning so the dog knows you’re always going to come back.

This dog didn’t get a practice boarding session. After a few days she came home rather insecure and unsettled. She was barking uncharacteristically at people coming into the house. Even at her own family and the family’s familiar baby-sitters.

Back to her comfort zone

So we became the dog’s “cookie people.” That’s a technique straight out of the “Reactive Dog Recipe.” Most reactive dogs are afraid. The objective is to teach them that new people are sources of delicious treats and completely non-threatening. Basically, we walked into the house and threw treats on the floor in front of the dog while we talked to the people. We didn’t look at the pup, we certainly didn’t talk to her. Just calmly had a conversation with her people. In this case, because the dog was just a bit unsettled, not really reactive, and we’re familiar to her, it took less than five minutes for her to calm down.

With Mom arriving two days later, the puppy’s owner now had a plan of action. Leave the pup in her crate until Mom came in, got comfy, and was ready to greet the dog. Remember – your house, your dog, your rules.

Until, of course, Mom came and refused to reward a dog that was barking at her. It looks that way to someone who doesn’t take into account the dog’s emotional state, fear. Barking is actually a low-grade response to fear – our own Tango’s fear-aggression came out in lunging, snarling, and trying to bite. Since Mom wouldn’t get on board, the owners did the treat-tossing. Not ideal, but Mom doesn’t get to decide – not her house, her dog, or her rules.

Familiarity breeds comfort

With this approach, the puppy getting treats every time she saw Mom, the dog was able to relax and accept the new person in just a couple of days. There was no interaction between them until the dog was ready to initiate it. Taken at the puppy’s pace, everything is working out great. They sent us a picture of the puppy relaxing on the couch with Mom today. Everything’s going to be fine. Until Dad arrives tomorrow and we start all over again.

Dog Training Game: Teach Your Pup to Pull

There are some dogs who are naturals at opening doors, drawers, or figuring out any obstacle that stands between them and their goal. If you have a dog that opens doors, drawers, hampers, garbage cans, you probably don’t need this game. The Teach Your Pup to Pull game is for the rest of us, whose dogs sit there and look at you with adorable puppy-dog eyes. And plead with you to open the goodie cabinet.

How it started

Hope had the notion that she’d like to create a little skit with Torque, using his various behaviors to tell a story. The idea came from watching the amazing winners of the AKC’s Virtual Trick Dog Championship. There’s nothing in those videos that’s beyond any of our dogs, it’s just a matter of putting the pieces together.

One of the behaviors needed for the scenario Hope imagined was for Torque to open a drawer to find a clue to the mystery. It seems a simple enough trick – after all, most dogs, including Torque, love to play tug.

It turned out not to be so simple after all. An essential component of “Tug!” Is someone on the other end providing resistance. Pulling a drawer open isn’t the same, from the dog’s point of view. We’d have to teach our pup to pull

How it’s going

The first step was choosing something to attach to the drawer that Torque could pull on. When you see videos of dogs opening stuff, generally speaking there’s a towel, rope, or piece of cloth for them to grab.

That was a no-go for Torque. He would pick up a rope, but not have any idea what to do with it once he was holding it. Part of the issue was the drawer set we were using (pictured). There really isn’t a handle that a dog can grab. The knob is too small to have a large rope around it.

To move on to the meatier parts of the behavior, Hope tied a familiar “put it away” object to the rope, a plastic spatula. Torque knew it from the other game.

The next obstacle was getting him to take the tied-on spatula away from the drawers. He was absolutely convinced that putting it on top of the drawer set was the answer we were looking for. It wasn’t, but we had to find a way to let him know that.

Using familiar game parts

To give him a goal away from the drawers, we used the bin we always use for “Put Your Stuff Away” games. We placed it well away from the drawers, placed the spatula well away from the drawers, and made sure we were facing the bin, rather than the drawers. Dogs pay attention to where you’re headed, so your direction matters.

Torque recognized the setup right away. He grabbed that spatula and headed for the bin. As soon as the drawer was clear of its housing, Hope clicked and rewarded, well short of the bin. That was letting Torque know he’d already done what she wanted.

As Torque becomes more sure of the behavior that’s wanted, we’ll be able to place the bin even farther away and eventually stop using it. The latest modification was to put treats in the drawer as soon as it was opened up. This lets Torque know he’d achieved the objective.

How it’s going

We’re making progress, even though we only play “Pull!” a couple times a month. Torque is starting to understand the word “Pull!”, although he still needs the bin for a target.

This game, like all training games beyond the essentials (come, stay, sit, etc.), is just for fun and a chance to build on the dog’s repertoire. It’s always fun to have something new to play with – whether it’s a new toy or a new training game. Keeping many different skills in the rotation ensures that neither you nor your dog will get tired of playing training games together.