Training Archives - Page 2 of 20

Limits

01•30•18

“It’s so beautiful outside! Let’s take Cooper to the park to enjoy this gorgeous day!”

Said no one ever…

“It’s gray and lightly drizzling. I’m taking Cooper to the park for a jog.”

I said on Sunday.

Cooper doesn’t go to the park on a beautiful, sunny day. Why? People go to the park on beautiful, sunny days. Dogs go to the park on beautiful, sunny days. Youths on wheels go to the park on beautiful, sunny days. So, Cooper does not.

Here’s the thing: Cooper is a good dog.

Cooper is not a perfect dog.

He’s well-trained and smart as a whip. But he has limits.

Someone recently asked me, in response to me saying that Cooper will never be a dog who chills on a restaurant patio with us for Sunday brunch, “Is that something you’re going to work on?”

For a beat, I paused. Is it?

We’re a goal-oriented society, right? We set goals, work to achieve them, and then push the goalpost further out. It’s certainly how I work, and it certainly formed the basis of a lot of the training I’ve historically done with the dogs. What do I want them to do (or not do)? How do we get there? And once we get there, what’s next?

It makes sense to say, OK, we’ve identified this problem–Cooper can’t relax in a crowded place–so, now how do we work toward a solution? What is my project plan? What are the next steps? How do we progress?

But, the other important piece of the dog-training puzzle: limits.

Knowing them, and respecting them.

It’s just like in people. Everyone, every dog included, has limits. Somehow with dogs, sometimes people who love their dogs very much, still fall into the trap of thinking, “Oh, we just need to work more/harder. Let’s try a new protocol,” etc. etc.

Sure, there’s some stuff you have to push your dog on, whether it’s for safety’s sake or basic manners.

But when it comes to limits… I use myself as an example. I am, by nature, a shy introvert. I needed to learn how to speak in public, so I took steps to train myself. I read books. I watched TED talks. I joined Toastmasters. That sort of thing. Yes, I improved. No, I’m not confident or comfortable. Yet, if someone were to ask me to do something like act a part in a play, you better believe I’d be hiding under the closest rock I could find because no way, never, not gonna happen, are you flipping kidding me with that?! I know my limits.

I just have the luxury of making all my own decisions so can turn down things that I know are far beyond my reasonable capabilities.

Dogs don’t have that luxury. We make all their own decisions.

So, identifying their limits–carefully, too, and with kid gloves because some limits need to be pushed–and then respecting them are so crucial to forming a strong bond and a lasting friendship with your dog.

So, will I train Cooper to sit with me at a restaurant or walk through a packed park on a beautiful day?

Nope.

Will he miss out on some adventures together?

Yep.

We could work on some stuff. We could work on having him lay on a mat in a busy place. We could work on restaurant sounds. But we can’t really work to make him feel happy in those scenarios. He’d just be a tense ball of anxious energy trying to work through commands, never relaxing, never feeling comfortable. Is that worth it?

Truthfully, I feel like if I could ask him and he could answer me, it would probably go something like this:

“Cooper, do you want to go sit on the patio at the cafe down the road while we eat breakfast?”

“Is it crowded, noisy, full of people and loud, unexpected sounds? Hell nope. Thanks, but I’ll stay home with the cats.”

Does your dog have limits? How do you differentiate between the ones that are firm and need to be honored versus the ones you need to push? How do you decide when you’ve hit your goal versus pushing the goalpost further out?

From the archives, a few oldies about Cooper’s behavior, um, quirks:

How to Keep Your Dog Busy on a Rainy Day: 5 Indoor Activities

12•04•17

Let’s talk about crazy dogs, shall we?

You guys know me, so you know I say “crazy” with tremendous love in my heart.

I’m talking about dogs like Cooper: high-energy dogs, smart dogs, creative dogs who come up with their owns methods of entertainment when they’re under-exercised or under-stimulated…

Cooper runs. A lot. He does slow neighborhood wogs (walk + jog) with me, and he does long marathon-training runs with John. Yet… he wallops the cats, skitters around the furniture, barks his face off out the window, goes bonkers with his toys, and so on IF we skip a day.

And, honestly, sometimes we have to skip a day because, well, life.

Keeping a high-energy dog busy can be a real challenge, and it becomes even more difficult in cold, rainy, or snowy days when you just can’t get outside. With that season around the corner (OK, actually, it should be here… it’s December… why is it 60? #thanksclimatechange), I’ve revisited some past posts about indoor activities and thought it was time for a refresh.

When the weather doesn’t cooperate with outdoor fun, here are five DIY enrichment ideas you and your dog can do… indoors… to help keep that energy at bay!

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Muffin tin game

Fill the slots of a muffin tin with treats or your dog’s kibble. Place a tennis ball on top of the treats in each slot. Hint: Some active pups quickly learn to tip over the whole tray. If that happens–and you don’t want to clean up the mess each time–try the next game instead.

Paper towel tube puzzle

Stuff a treat in an empty paper towel tube. Crimp down the ends to trap the treat. Let your dog tear, shred, and pounce on the tube to get the treat. Hint: This one is great for cats, too.

Will work for food

Change the way you feed your dog breakfast. Engage his mind first thing in the morning! Rather than plunk it down in a bowl, make him work. If you have time, offer him one bite at a time in exchange for behaviors like sit or high five. If you don’t have time, divide the food among five or six bowls, and hide them around the house before you leave for work in the morning.

Nose work

Dogs love to use their noses. Hide treats around the house, first in obvious places, then with increasing difficulty. Make mealtime a job by combining it with nose work; hide your dog’s dinner around the house, and let him hunt his meal (kind of like above but without the caches in bowls… spread the pieces wayyyyy further). Or, use a snuffle mat like the Wooly pictured above!

Obedience rally

Get your dog thinking by running obedience cues around the house. Have him wait in one room, then call him from another. Practice sits and downs on the bed or work on long stays with distractions. Reward along the way! For dogs who need to blow off extra steam, run the drills up and down the stairs. One family member sits at the top and calls your pup. Ask for a basic cue, like sit, then another family member at the bottom calls and asks for another cue. The physical activity of running stairs, combined with the mental activity of obedience tires out even the rowdiest hound.

Remember, if you’re new at these types of games, your dog will need a little guidance and support at first. Help your pup as needed, and give lots of praise (and treats!) to encourage his efforts.

I had this awesome idea for tonight while Violet gets her bath–we’re going to combine two for an epic wear-out session: While I’m bathing her upstairs and John’s cooking dinner downstairs, we’re going to feed him his dinner by having him do obedience rally back and forth between us in exchange for bits of kibble. My guess? He’ll be asleep before Violet tonight!

If you have a high-energy dog, how do you wear him out? What tips and tricks can you share? I’d love to hear your ideas in the comments!

For another 20 ideas, check out these two posts:

What to do when your dog won’t listen

10•05•17

We have a… joke? saying?… for this mode Cooper gets in. He totally blacks out. He won’t listen. He won’t calm down. He won’t stop. He won’t come or sit or stay.

He. just. won’t.

We say (in his voice, of course), “Cooper isn’t here right now. Please leave a message, and he’ll get back to you when his brain returns.”

We joke, we have to joke, because it is so incredibly frustrating.

Like, when another dog has the audacity to stop to go to the bathroom in our yard. Or when our friend’s kid comes over who he loves more than anyone and they start playing chase and all of a sudden nothing in the world exists except this kiddo. Or when the neighbors tie up their giant hound dog in the front yard and he barks and barks and barks and barks and barks…

Wait. I agree with that last one, actually.

Anyway, when Coop is blacked-out-not-listening, there’s literally nothing to do except clip his leash and remove him from the situation.

Truly, I think that’s a good rule for any dog who’s just gonzo. Clip on the leash and walk away.

But what about those other times? The times when you’re working on something or out and about and your dog looks at you and then… decides to ignore you? You know he knows the cue. You know he’s physically capable of hearing you. And yet.

So, what do you do when your dog won’t listen?

Here’s what I do in a few short steps:

Assess whether he really, honestly, wholly knows how to do what you’re asking him to do. This is super-duper important. Sometimes we make assumptions about skills or knowledge. “Why won’t he jump up on this bench? We practice it all the time at the bus stop, and he KNOWS it!” Are you in a new park? A different street? Is one bench concrete and another wood? Since dogs don’t generalize well and people do, we sometimes assume they’re more knowledgeable than they are. So, step 1: Does your dog really know what you’re asking him?
If the answer to 1 is YES, then the next step is to, first, take a big, deep, calming breath because it’s really annoying when your pup won’t listen, I know! Then, redirect. Your dog is refusing to sit? Ask for a down, and reward when he does it. Ask for a shake, and reward. Refocus your pup into work + reward mode and away from the refusal. Then, after a few distracting behaviors, ask again for what you initially wanted.
If he STILL won’t sit/up/whatever, time to acknowledge that everyone has their limits, and your dog might’ve reached his. End the session. Toss a ball. Do something fun. Or clip on his leash and walk away. Just like among elementary school students, the reasons for ceasing to listen can vary but are usually specific: don’t understand, bored, frustrated, distracted, tired, hungry… etc. As the human end of the leash, it’s up to us to acknowledge that and to stop pushing. Move on. Tomorrow’s another day.

All that said, there’s one big caveat to this: if your dog’s safety is in danger.

If your dog is barreling toward a busy street and refusing to come when called, or if he’s heading toward a pup you can tell is itching for a fight, or picking up a chicken bone or used condom (true stories, Emmett did all those and more at our park in DC!), you might have to shout. Flail your arms. Fall to the ground. Whatever it takes to distract and disengage your pup from the danger. The advice above is more for general around-the-house or training-session assholery.

By the way, I have a TON to share about Ripley and how all that’s going, and this post ties into that directly because for a while Cooper was so fixated on Rip that he would. not. listen. Not to a single word. So, I took my own advice, starting with clipping his leash to his collar. More on that another day…

I’d LOVE to hear what you do when your dog stops listening? I mean, other than quietly seethe about what a jerk he’s being… or is that just me? What are your tips and tricks to regaining focus?

Where do you find the time to train your dog?

03•11•17

Right now:

It’s 7:52 on a Saturday night.

I’m in my cozies snuggled under the covers with Cooper.

Laptop balanced on my knees. Beer on the side table.

And I am wiped.

But, this is the first chance I’ve had all week to write about time management for dog training–the theme of this past week’s blog hop, which closes tomorrow, so I’m scooting in at the very last second. Ironic, I know.

Anyway, we’ve been busy. Who isn’t, though, right? There’s always more to do and no more time in which to do it.

OK, now it’s 8:05 on Saturday night because I totally got sidetracked watching that video circulating on FB with the little girl getting the kitten?! OMG… So, so, so sweet!

But that right there is exactly my issue. Like most of you, by the time evening rolls around, it’s already been a long day of work, errands, cooking dinner, cleaning up the house, feeding and exercising the herd… where’s the time to train?? It could totally be tonight, but I’m super tired, so instead of taking Cooper outside or upstairs to work, we snuggle under the covers.

I know I’m not alone in this. Between the have-to-dos and the want-to-dos, there’s just never enough time.

So, I have two tips to share with you today if you’re in that same boat.

Here’s the trick in our house that works the very best at getting dog training into an already-way-too-full schedule:

Make training part of your everyday routine.

Seriously, it’s that simple. We train with Cooper all. the. time. (BTW, you’ll note I refer to Cooper in this post and not Emmett. Well, there’s no more Emmett training. It’s now just letting Emmett have/do/eat/sleep/whatever he wants, when he wants it. The end. Newt, on the other hand, stay tuned for a Caturday post sometime this month on that…)

First up, I will say, Cooper has his basics down. I’m not talking about teaching general “obedience” here, which I do think takes a concerted effort in focused blocks of time. What I’m talking about is the ongoing stuff, the stuff to challenge him beyond a basic sit/down/stay.

For example, Cooper has to shut the kitchen cabinet every single time we feed the dogs. (Check it out on Instagram…)

That’s great, but it becomes routine super fast. So, when I’m emptying the dishwasher or putting groceries away, Cooper tends to hang by my side, so I have him shut the cabinets and even push the drawers shut. He’s a PRO at it, and he gets excited to do it. He wags his tail to close cabinets! We keep treats in jars on the counter, so as he does his work, I say, “YES!” then give him a treat.

Same thing with his mat. He’s solid with “on your mat,” so I use it for all sorts of things that push him beyond just placing on his mat. If FedEx drops a package at the door, I’ll send him to his mat and ask for a stay. Walking to the door, opening it, grabbing the package… all while he’s holding the stay on his mat… is hugely challenging. I need to retrieve the package anyway, so adding in that bit of training takes hardly any extra time.

When we throw his ball while we watch TV or something, we’ll do different challenges. I’ll ask him to sit and wait, throw the ball, then release him to chase it down after a few seconds. Sometimes I’ll even ask for a “watch me” while he’s holding his wait.

Right now, I’m working on handing him something, like the mail, and having him, “Take it to John!” (We’re not great at this yet, so there are many a teeth mark in our bills right now!)

All of this is training–largely, for Cooper, training on impulse control–keeps his brain active, but it doesn’t take any extra time out of the day because it’s all part of the day.

OK, I mentioned two tips at the beginning, and here’s the second:

Make training part of your everyday routine.

Huh? That’s the same, right? Well, sure, but I want to emphasize that it’s not just running through the typical stuff that your dog has down pat. It’s the other stuff, too, the new and exciting things or the just-for-fun training.

Here’s an example: You put a pot of water on your stove to boil spaghetti for dinner. While you’re waiting for the bubbles, grab your clicker and a couple treats, and start working on something new. That’s dead time anyways, time most of us spend scrolling mindlessly through Facebook (though, seriously, that kitten video?! OMG…)

Or you have to call your internet provider about an outage. Well, that’s several minutes of your life on hold that you’ll never get back, but make the absolute best of it by teaching your dog a quick-and-easy trick, like luring him to twirl in a circle or something like that.

These little blocks of “found time” can be super fun and rewarding for you and your dog!

I think a lot of folks fall into the trap of feeling like training needs to be a formalized block of focused time. More like Training than, you know, training. You can accomplish a ton in tiny increments, and it keeps it fun and frustration-free.

All that said, there is tremendous value in signing up for a class, or joining a group sport like agility, or having a science-based trainer out to your house to work on specific problem areas. But don’t let the lack of time to do those things now keep you from training at all!

All you need is a few minutes, a clicker (or “yes!”), and some yummy treats, and you’ll find that you have plenty of time for dog training when it becomes part of your everyday routine!

As for the rest of my time, like the writing blog posts time, well… that’s still a work in progress.

Your turn: How do YOU find time to work with your dog? I’d love to know what tricks and tips you have up your sleeve!

My Dog-Training Mentor and Inspiration

01•12•17

When I saw the theme for this month’s positive reinforcement pet training hop–my training mentor or inspiration–my first thought went to trainers whose work I devour: Patricia McConnell, of course. Victoria Stilwell. Debbie Jacobs. Et cetera.

But I wouldn’t know about any of those amazing women without their critical predecessor.

When I started to really think it through, it hit me that my one-and-only dog-training mentor and inspiration, the one who pushed me into the world of positive reinforcement and canine cognition and group training classes and desensitization and counter-conditioning… all of it… could only be Lucas.

It had to be him.

See, when we adopted Emmett in 2006, we thought we knew what we were doing. My bestie taught dog training classes, and we enrolled in her group class the day after we brought Emmett home from the shelter. He did great in class. He did great at home. He did great at the park and at parties and out shopping.

This is so easy, we thought. Let’s adopt another.

Enter Lucas.

All of a sudden–before we even left the parking lot of the animal shelter, actually, when we discovered that he was so afraid of cars that he would. not. get. in. to go home… and what the heck do you do in a busy parking lot with dogs everywhere and you have the dog who you’ve known for 30 minutes who has turned himself into a Tasmanian devil to keep from getting into the backseat of the car? what. do. you. do.–we understood that we knew nothing about dog behavior.

Sure, we could teach tricks and manners and such.

But nothing that resembled teaching behavior.

The agony of those first few months… he didn’t want to be patted. He didn’t wag his tail. He didn’t play with Emmett. He didn’t snuggle. What he did want? He did want to throttle every single dog he saw, and we saw a lot because we lived in a dog-friendly condo building next to a dog-filled park in DC. He did want to chew our chairs to toothpicks. He did want to have total melt-down panic-attacks daily.

Once we tried to list all the things he was scared of, but it was an impossible feat. Let’s just say he was scared of the TV being on and of plastic bags, along with everything else you can think of.

Oh, and we had this crazy accident in which giant Lucas got so scared on a walk he took off like a shot, but I had the leash gripped so tightly that he flung me into a No Parking sign and into the road. My face and arms were crazy bruised, and I had my 30-day review at my new job that week.

What scared him?

Our neighbor drove past and said, “Hi, guys!” out his car window.

There were tears. Lots of tears.

But there was also this gleam in his eye. Like, we could see him in there. And he and Emmett were slowly becoming the very best buds. Once they started to play, they never, ever stopped. They began to cuddle together on a dog bed. Then he began to cuddle with us and wag and play with us and with toys. He was in there.

Then we’d open our front door, and he’d retreat.

We met with several trainers who gave him a label: aggressive. Thank goodness we kept seeking other answers because we knew he was just flipping terrified.

That was our foundation.

We knew him. We knew he was in there. We knew just how fun-loving and playful he was. It was just hard for him to access that part of himself because the defenses he built were so thick and so high and so dense that it took monumental effort to dismantle them.

Those efforts kicked off the positive reinforcement journey.

And oh, how it changed all our lives. By the time we lost Lucas in 2015, he was himself. He was that fun-loving guy that was in there hidden by fear because the fear (well, most of it) was gone.

He LOVED doggy daycare! I mean, who knew?! That first year, that second year, if you had told either John or I that Lucas would be enrolling in cage-free daycare and boarding there, we would have split our sides laughing so hard.

But he did, and he loved it to pieces.

At a reactive dog group class Lucas and I took, one of the our classmates turned to me at one point and said, “Are you really sure he’s reactive?”

Highest praise I’ve ever received.

But the thing is, I was taking that class with him seven years after we had adopted him. He was never “fixed” or whatever. We learned his triggers and how to manage them, but we worked at it. Constantly. And had backslides.

He was so fun. Such a big, fluffy ball of love, filled with light and laughter. He loved hanging out with people and wrestling with dogs.

He still had his fears, and they’d crop up sometimes unexpectedly. But, at the end of the day, I learned so much from him, my training mentor and inspiration, about patience and about perseverance. I learned how resilient a dog can be and how the best things in life take the hardest work.

He was my teacher and carried a little piece of my soul with him. I’m grateful for all the lessons he taught me, and I sure wish he were still around to guide me.

I could sure use some help with Cooper. 🙂