Why mental stimulation is so critical to your dog’s well-being.

If you are at all in the dog “circle” you have unmistakably heard about mental stimulation. What I think sometimes trainers, like myself, forget to do is to explain to people a couple of important factors about mental stimulation.

 

First off, I would like to define mental stimulation.

It is any activity that your dog enjoys, can engage in, and that in some way or another satiates an innate (natural) canine need. Now, we must dive into what constitutes innate behaviors in dogs. The most scientific way I know how to do this is to consider who dogs are:

We know that dogs are predators. They acquire their preferred food (or at least they did when they were hunting since most present day dogs do not hunt for their food) by chasing down their prey, and they eat it by dissecting it.  As hunters, they do not get a guaranteed meal either so we know that they are opportunistic feeders, as well as scavengers. There in itself, we have quite a few clues as to what sort of activities we might come up with that emulates  behaviors all dogs engage in when they are hunting after a prey or feeding.

In delving into it more closely, we discover that dogs, like any other predator, are highly interested in movement because movement might mean an opportunity to eat. We also now know that they have powerful canine molars to grind and teeth to shred meat apart. Another important clue!

So here are some activities that can supply your dog the opportunity of species-specific behaviors: if we add less predictability to how we feed our dogs, we might just hit the jackpot!

Simply put, instead of serving your dog its meal from a ceramic bowl, make that food come alive.
Toss your dog’s high-quality kibble or dry treats up in the air, without much restrain, so that it spreads everywhere. Encourage your dog the first few times to find each and every one of the individual pieces of kibble as it uses it’s very powerful sense of smell. If you are feeding raw, you will not be able to do this, so please do not try this at home.

Alternatively, you can flick away each piece of kibble down a hallway while creating some really interesting motion for your dog. Now your dog has to run after every single one of them. Does this activity resembles a natural way of feeding for your dog?  Think about it; it’s the same meal but different behaviors to acquire it: chasing to eat.

When it comes to dogs dissecting their protein for consumption, we can find a myriad of manners to feed our dogs so that they have to “work” with those powerful mouths for their food.

Replace then, the food bowl for a Kong filled with your dog’s daily chow, and not just a thin coat of peanut butter.  Now you got your dog’s attention!  It might take your dog 2 minutes or even longer to extract its daily food and that definitively beats spending only 30 seconds in one of the most salient activities of the day for most modern dogs:  consuming food.  If you choose to feed your dog in this manner, you will most likely need to serve more than one Kong.  Wow! The fun just doubled. I strongly suggest feeding your dog like this at least once a day.

You can also add some spin to how your dog gets its meal.  Some really clever food-dispensing toys require that the dog makes the toy spin in order for the kibble to come out. Remember how attractive movement is for our dogs? Again, if you feed raw, then find some acceptable non-raw item that could add some much needed entertainment to your dog’s day. It could be a boiled egg, sardines or perhaps your dog is into apples. I know of a very lucky dog that gets served daily an apple in a Kong.

While all dogs are predators and engage in one way or another in typical canine behaviors, each dog is also an individual. So spending a bit of time discovering which activities your dog enjoys will pay off. Some dogs might get scared if we attempt to throw up in the air a bunch of kibble, so perhaps for this type of dog, a much more low key toy or even tossing each piece of kibble gently (this does not take as long as you might think BTW) is more appropriate. Now, it goes without saying, not because our dogs are scavengers does it mean that we do not have to provide some guidance as to how to pull the food out of a food dispensing toy. So make sure to make things easy for your dog so that he is successful in getting the food out of the toy.  Keep him in the game!  Once he can do this with some effort but still gets to extract the food, make things a bit more challenging for your dog.

Of course, there are also games that provide both mental stimulation as well as physical opportunities for your dog, which don't always involve eating. I will be exploring some of these activities in future posts. Stay tuned!

Success with House Training Your Adult Dog

Shouldn’t an adult dog know where to go?
Ideally, yes. And dogs are naturally clean animals. Given a choice, they will go to the bathroom well away from where they sleep and eat. But it is not at all obvious to dogs that carpets and floors are inappropriate toilets—or that the bathroom rules in one place apply everywhere else.

Teach your new family member to distinguish between indoors and outdoors by getting her to go in a designated area and then rewarding her with treats and praise. With a little patience and supervision, your dog will soon be fully versed in toilet etiquette.

The 3 rules for house-training success.

Prevent Accidents.

Supervise your dog in the house.

Use a crate when you are not sure if your dog is empty.

Reward your dog for going outside.
Praise at the right moment, i.e. the second she starts ‘going’.
Reward with a treat after she is finished eliminating in the desired spot!

How to house-train.

Step 1. Take your dog outside on leash. Take her to the same place every time.

Step 2. When she goes, praise. Offer her a treat when she is finished.

Step 3. If you are in a dog-safe place, let her off the leash for a little playtime.

If she doesn’t go within 5 minutes, skip playtime and put her in her crate for 10-20 minutes, then try again. (This is to avoid an accident, not to punish.)

A house-training checklist.

• Take your dog to her potty place first thing in the morning, last thing before bed, shortly after meals, naps, or play sessions, when she comes out of her crate and, in the case of a puppy, every hour or so.
• Until your dog is perfectly house-trained, always go outside with her so you can cheer and reward at the right moment. (Over please)
• Supervise whenever your dog is not crated, especially if she is full. If you must take your eyes off her, even for a minute, crate her or put her in her confinement area.
• If you see your dog sniffing and turning in circles in the house, take her out immediately.

How to handle house-training mistakes.
Interrupt mistakes as they are happening. Don’t be too harsh or your dog will be afraid to go in front of you. After interrupting your dog, hustle her outside to the potty area. Praise if she finishes here. Clean up the indoor mess with an enzymatic cleaner to remove protein residue that might attract her to the same place again.

Never punish. If your dog made the mistake one hour or five seconds ago, you are too late. Don’t rub her nose in her own mess or smack her, this will simply make her afraid of you, and she won’t understand why you do it. You must catch her in the act for the interruption to work, and again, you can’t do it too harshly or your dog will be afraid to go in front of you.

When do I give my dog free run of the house?
At first, confine her to one room at a time. Choose a tiled room, like the kitchen or the bathroom, so accidents can be easily cleaned. Add a room each week as your dog is successful (accident-free), and supervise each time you introduce her to a new room (accident-free), and supervise each time you introduce to a new room (accident-free) until eventually your dog can have access to all the rooms in your home.

Training Tip: Don’t think that confinement and crating is too strict on your dog. You are doing her a big favor. Investing a few short weeks of effort nets you a lifetime of freedom for your dog—and you don’t have to replace your carpet.

Troubleshooting: If a house-trained dog suddenly has accidents, call your veterinarian. Your dog could have a bladder infection or another medical problem.

Would you say your dog is “confident”? If so, what does this really mean?

Even in the world of training, it is easy to throw around concepts with the implication that everyone else knows and agrees with the definition of said concept. But do we? When it comes to training and setting behavior goals, it is so much easier to be as specific as one can be.

It really helps when we can define concrete goals and behaviors instead. In one of my professional development outlets, the question was raised as to what is a confident dog. They proposed certain typical usages and interpretations of “confidence” in dogs. Most of the definitions proposed would fall within the lines of what most people would consider confident, but there were also as well, obtuse and frankly not very helpful examples of the usage of “confident”.

One can think, for example, of a dog that is so confident that would without hesitation approach someone and aggress. Is this a trait that we want in our confident dog? Or how about the dog that is so freakin’ confident that takes it upon itself to harass younger dogs or those that appear “soft”?
But what is a “soft” dog? I regress.

The best approach when using a concept is to carefully enlist the behaviors a confident dog normally a engages in. And furthermore, to decide as stated above if all these behaviors fall as desirable behaviors for us or for society at large.

Here is the thing: If we keep to observational traits, it will be so much easier to describe the behavior (s) of confidence. One could then follow up with specific goals and training plans for our confident dog or one that could use more of it.

I would like to propose then that we think of confidence in dogs as a continuum versus a trait a dog possess because of its rearing and perhaps even its breeding. Let me explain: Deuce, my Border collie, is one of the “chilliest” dogs you could meet. So far he has never moved away from a new person or if I recall a dog that he just met. Now, my very confident Deuce struggled for a long while for no apparent reason- as he is physically capable of jumping, with jumping into my car. Perhaps this is why I have a blown disc! Months of picking him up at a weight of 50lbs of moving flesh every time he needed to get in the car!

I would argue that this is the perfect picture of a dog that lacks confidence in his ability to jump high enough and effortlessly enough, to land safely inside my car. So is he confident or not? Well, it depends. Yes, I would argue that overall he is very confident, but not so much when he needs to jump and propel himself. Another example: we were walking in town with Rio and Deuce as we approached a bridge-like-structure that had some spacing in between. Deuce buckled. After some encouragement in the form of happy talk and some treats, he was able to walk back and froth with less hesitation. Rio on the other hand, walked back and forth and would have been able to do so with her eyes closed and on her tippy-toes. Then again, I would say that Rio is in general much less confident than Deuce when it comes to meeting people and even dogs.

I teach a class that I purposely named Developing the Confident Dog. With the idea in mind that confidence is more of a continuum than a fix trait.

What I like about this approach in defining “confidence/confident” is that it not only rings more factual to me but it presents us with the notion that our dogs can learn to be more capable and willing to investigate and engage with what is novel and even scary, with more conviction and less hesitation.
Thinking of confidence as a developing characteristic also allows for keen observation of areas where our dogs could behave more confidently. Once we have identified these, we can help them out by a carefully planned behavior modification program. One that will build resilience and conviction.

Now back to my initial question: Is your dog confident? I am really hoping that you’ll take a moment before responding because you can now consider that being confident is not a “thing” or a “trait” but a way of behaving in very specific circumstances and perhaps a qualifying set of behaviors that we consider desirable.

Why Training or Behavior Modification Fail- Part 2

If you read my previous post, you know then that I chose to focus on three main areas as to why training or behavior modification fails.  On that post; for those of you that played “hookey,” I delved into motivations behind behavior (s) as well as different strategies- some better and others not conducive to learning, in order to address some typical problems folks have with their dogs.

On this post, I want to expand on looking into client compliance, my second area of investigation.

I am not a people psychologist. My comments then are based on my own experience as a dog behavior “pro” that gives advice to my clients as to how better understand their dogs (from an ethological perspective), as well as teaching and training their dogs.

My other lens of investigation is my hands-on experience as a human being living in this world. In other words, someone else can be writing about me not being compliant when the roles switch, and I am now the one taking advice in learning something new or putting something in practice.  Going back to the main reason why my clients are not compliant when they have training plans and management protocols in place for them to follow, is very simple.

Okay, I will spare you the suspense and just tell you that they fail: be-cause  the-y  aaaa-r-e huuu-m-an!

I recently listened to an audio book which title picked my curiosity: Unfu*k Yourself by Gary John Bishop.  Yeah, I know, you are now curious too! His editor is thrilled they came up with this title- I am sure. In any event, the reason I was actually curious as to what Bishop had to say was not so much because of the title, but indeed because of the subtitle: “Get out of your head and into your life.” Good one, huh?

Among the many salient nuggets of advice there where some that hit home with me. Not only because I have been “there” but because my clients are “there” a lot of the times too. I wanted to see if by listening to this book, I could find a better understanding as to why they fail to do the exercises in between sessions, or follow the specific directions or…

Could I learn to motivate them so they could reach their goals?  Could I also become more understanding while still motivate them to reach their goals;  which frankly, have become “my” goals with a sense of urgency and meaning?

So here is one of the nuggets that spoke to me loud and clear:  YOU ARE NOT YOUR THOUGHTS, YOU ARE YOUR ACTIONS!   Boom! Right where it hurts!

I have heard of the “you are not your thoughts” maxim in the context of meditation and Buddhist thought but this motivational coach- with a very heavy Scottish accent, took it to another level.  As I understand it, we can spend as much time pondering upon a problem, wishing our luck was different- better. Mustering a plan of action, blaming ourselves or our spouse (and of course the dog!) for the state of affairs, but until we do not begin to take meaningful actions to change the situation, we are not truly showing up to live our lives.

Bishop also makes the point that people who get things done and all those aaam-aa-ziiin-g individuals whom appear to have everything easy in their lives do just that:  They take action.

Their actions might be devoid of  “fuzzy” emotion, because at times, they frankly would rather do something else!  Or perhaps they do not feel confident in their efforts, or the results their efforts might yield.  But, in spite of their feelings, they move forward with the plan of action.

Teaching our dogs new behaviors as well as us learning how not to put the dog in “x” and “y” situation, for example, because we know the dog cannot “handle it” requires that we show up.   Show up even when we continue to feel a bit hopeless, tired or need someone to give us support and direction along the way.

Clearly, there are a many more reasons as to why clients are not compliant. One can argue that we are just too busy, too spent, too… However, if we pay close attention we can see that all these “reasons” (frankly excuses most of the time) are all related to not taking the appropriate action.  Why do we choose the multitude of activities that appear to fill every moment of the day? Why did we choose the dog that we knew we had no time for because we travel so often? Why do we make the choice of crashing in front of the TV for endless hours when we can make a choice and use that time differently- regardless of how we are feeling about it?

When we choose to identify (or define ourselves) by our actions- as the author prescribes,  we are cognizant that in order to reach certain goals we MUST make choices.  We must be men and women of action! Of appropriate action that supports our most precious dreams and goals. In essence, we must choose to define ourselves by our actions and much less so by our thoughts.

Good News in My Inbox

Recently I received an email with the following information from the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). As you will read below, the time has come for organizations such as CCPDT to recognize the urgent need to pass legislation in order to regulate the now unregulated profession of pet dog training.

It is mind-blowing that the pet parents who choose to get help for their dog’s behavior have no way of knowing if the person they have chosen to work with their dog is indeed qualified to do so. The ramifications of working with someone - that while interested in dogs, loves dogs or simply plans to make a living in this field, without truly having the knowledge to do so, are scary and vast.  I don’t know about you, but if I have a problem with my car, I do not attempt to diagnose or fix it.  Instead, I call upon someone with the knowledge and experience. I don’t attempt either to fix my own electrical issues; instead I call upon someone that has the knowledge and credentials to do so.

Why is it then that we do not take the care and training of our pets with the same caution and concern?  Dogs are predators, and while we love to think of them as furry “babies” and lovely companions, they can be very dangerous.  If professionals choose to train with aversives, such as shock collars and other painful practices, they MUST at the very least understand how to use them correctly.  No, I am not advocating at all the use of aversives in training dogs.  Yet, it must be emphasized that aversives have fallouts and one of them is the increase in aggression.

Our responsibility as professionals working in the training industry, to our clients in particular, to their dogs, and to society at large, must be to help with the situation instead of making the situation worse and potentially more dangerous.  

I urge all pet lovers and pet parents to support the need for legislation.  I also urge anyone looking into getting some “professional” help for their dog to do their homework.  Ask for certification, ask for referrals, and call them.  Take to heart that it is your responsibility to keep your pet out of harms way. Think critically and look elsewhere if you are presented with inhumane options in order to resolve a problem.

CCPDT POSITION STATEMENT:

Mandating Certification for Training and Behavior Professionals

The Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT) recognizes that the dog training and behavior profession is a largely unregulated industry in the United States and much of the rest of the world. As a result, consumers are at risk of engaging service providers who have little to no legitimate education, training or experience in the field of dog training and behavior modification. We join the international dog training community in calling for regulation of the dog training industry.

CCPDT is concerned that individuals who do not hold an accredited certification and operate in an unregulated industry with claims of being professional dog trainers/behavior consultants put dogs at risk of being incompetently trained by any methods used and/or abused through the utilization of inappropriate methods. This is particularly concerning to CCPDT as dogs trained with inappropriate methods may present a safety risk not only to their owners but to other people and animals they come in contact with within their community.

Additionally, research has shown that dogs who are poorly trained and/or abused can be a burden to their communities. They are more likely to be surrendered to shelters and rescues, or abandoned by their human caretakers.

Therefore, to protect the public and their dogs from the dangers of an unregulated dog training profession, CCPDT supports and will facilitate efforts to introduce and pass legislation intended to implement appropriate regulation that would require legitimate certification in order for a dog trainer to be able to represent him/herself to the public as a Professional Dog Trainer or Dog Behavior Consultant.



Sincerely,

Board of Directors, CCPDT

One of the indispensable behaviors your dog should learn

Teaching your dog to wait without dashing out the door or jumping off the car seat is really a must-train behavior for any dog. Not only can learning this save your dog’s life, but in the process your pup is also learning some self-control. I have seen time and time again, how dogs thrive when they are taught some simple manners. And wait is really one of my top ten things I want dogs to learn well.

The way I define wait means that the dog should not cross a threshold by moving forward without prior verbal release. I also like to implement another version of wait as part of my recall (come when called) training plan, but that is for another post.

I suggest you begin with a hungry dog and semi-high value treat. Perhaps some moist treats, but do not pull the meat or chicken for this.

I also suggest to practice with interior doors - not the front door or side door where your dog can just take off or run into traffic.

Follow these steps:

• Stand in front of your dog, your dog can be seated or standing, that is not important as far as I am concerned. 
• Make sure you are truly in front of your dog AND that you can use your body to block the door should your dog break the wait. 
• Unlock the door and have it just a tiny bit open, perhaps enough for a mouse to go thru but not your dog.
• Tell your dog:  Fido, wait!
• Show your dog seconds AFTER you have said wait, your hand with fingers straight up and palm facing your dog.
• Open the door a bit more, say 1/4 of the way to a full open door.
• Now release your dog to go through the door.
• Give your dog a treat by mouth once outside or for more “impact and fun” throw it in front of your dog so he has to find it.
• At this point your dog should only stay put between 1 to 2 seconds before you release him or her.  More than this and your dog will fail. 

The most difficult thing to teach in most behaviors is duration. Which means for how long the dog has to do the behavior, so adding time that your dog has to stay without moving forward will be added SLOWLY and only as your dog is successful for 5 trials (tries) out of 5 at the current time criteria of 1-2 seconds.  You will add seconds one at a time until your dog can stick it for 5 seconds before you open the door any wider.

Practice with your pup with lots of internal doors- not the front door just yet.
As you see that your dog has understood the game, begin to open the door more and more- which you guessed it, makes it more of a challenge for your dog.

• Go back to asking your dog to wait followed by your hand cue.
• Also, be ready to body block and reset again. 
• If you are positioned correctly, you should be able to not only body block your dog but also close the door.
• Do lower the amount of time (seconds) your dog must stay put once you begin to open the door more. We only want to increase the difficulty of the exercise by changing one criteria at the time.
• When you are both ready for the front door:  lots of successful reps where your dog can stay put for 5 seconds, you will repeat the steps above BUT with your dog on leash.

Wait from the car:
When practicing in the car, the steps will be the same. Please begin to practice with your dog on leash and in a traffic-free area.  Depending on the type of car you have how you will handle the opening of the car door.  Either way make sure you can block your dog with your body or by safely closing the door to avoid escape.

The video below illustrates the training plan.  Have fun.

Ah, Too Bad And Other Lesson From The World Of Training

One of the fun things about living with more than one dog is that you get to experience their different personalities (or should I say dognalities) and in some way experience life from their unique perspective.

In my case, my dogs could not be more different.  Rio, now fully recovered from 3 months of very little mobility, is back in the full swing of things.  With that, her bigger-than-life attitude has come full force and I love it!  Yes, I love almost everything about this girl.  I owe to her many times of laughter and her reminder of the finer things in life.

One of her signature behaviors that frankly we are not so crazy about is her now set in routine of dashing out the front door (we are lucky as our place is fenced in so no worries about traffic) while exuding a sharp series of barks that I am sure my not so close neighbor would rather do without.  On top of this obnoxious yet benign behavior, is the one that follows which is the one we want to exclude from her repertoire.  Once she is out the front door and has let everyone know so, she proceeds to approach Deuce and pecks him on his face or pulls on one of his ears as in: let’s go NOW!  Let’s go and look for bunnies, harass Jack (the neighbor’s dog), or whatever goes inside her doggy brain.  Poor Deuce just takes it. Often he hesitates to come out the front door - not good.  At times, he stands still - like a brother just putting up with the antics of a younger sister. On occasion he too takes off full speed in search of an adventure.

I am a firm believer in interceding for dogs. Especially if I think one of the dogs is getting the short end of the stick as with Deuce in this instance.   I will intercede in stopping Rio from lunging and pecking Deuce when she wants him to come along. But how to go about it?  Of course, they are a myriad of ways one can tackle benign, yet unwanted behaviors such as this one. I am now armed with a plan that we began to implement while Rio was still under close watch and had to go outside on a leash.

The training went like this:  We open the front door knowing that Rio will bark and then turn around looking for Deuce. Just after she emitted the strong bark, I said “ah, too bad” which is a now a familiar term to them; a non-reward marker (NRM). A non-reward marker teaches the dog that they just lost the opportunity for a reinforcer.  In this case, of course, the reinforcer is going outside.

We proceed immediately after the NRM with bringing Rio back inside and we wait there for a couple of seconds before inviting her to try again. If she chooses to go out quietly and without orienting by looking for Deuce, she gets to proceed. If she fails and either barks or worse orients towards Deuce, I repeat the procedure.

I don’t refer to Rio as my “one-trial” dog for nothing. This girl learns fast!  It does not take but a few repetitions for her to understand the consequences of her behavior and she is now on the game.

After a few days, Rio is now clear to romp off-leash.  With absolute glee, I open the front door and to her surprise she is no longer wearing the harness that has been on her every day for the past 12 weeks, but she is not on leash either.  She takes off in high spirits only to have me go back to our simple training plan for unruly behavior.

She complies coming inside and it only takes her 4 trials before I see her running out full speed this time without looking to harass Deuce or waking up the neighborhood.

You see folks, often you think that it is the cue (or a “command” as it is also known”) that drives behavior but this could not be farther from the truth.  It is consequences for behavior that molds future behavior.

Consequences must then be given for desired as well as undesired behaviors. They need to be timely. This is why scolding a dog hours after eliminating on the carpet is not only really unfair but it does not get the job done either.  The dog cannot link “this” behavior to the consequence given even seconds later.

Consequences then must be immediate.  In addition, consequences must be consistent.  If I had been willy-nilly in returning Rio back inside after her “infraction” this would, believe it or not, make the behaviors stronger -more resistant to change because now they are in a very thin schedule of reinforcement.  In plain English:  since only on occasion they are being curtailed they become stronger responses.  And, this folks, is one of those laws of learning that can truly serve us well if we understand it and more importantly if we implement it.

This is exactly why people bet money in casinos.  Perhaps the possibility of a future “win” is what keeps people (and dogs, and cats and frankly all sentient beings) engaging in the behavior again.  It is also possible that the response goes up in frequency due to some level of frustration that keeps us coming back to repeating the behavior.

What I love about using timely and consistent consequences are that it also helps the dog in understanding what other alternatives are acceptable or desired.  When we are consistent in applying consequences, the dog learns alternatives that will be reinforced and then… we can all move on to chasing rabbits, barking at our friend Jack and some of us can return to the cup of now-not-so-warm coffee left behind at the kitchen table.

Dog centric training

I am working with a soft-spoken gentleman and his spunky over-the-top Border collie mix.  I am called because his dog is chasing the chickens when they are let out of their fancy coop to meander and peck here and there.  When I ask him, he in informs me that he wants the dog to stop stalking and chasing the chickens. Period.

In his defense, this is his first dog. So clearly he is not yet versed in “dogness”. I begin working with the dog away from the chickens and I am impressed by the ability this dog has to follow instructions while enjoying himself tremendously as I toss treats at him that he gets to catch mid-air. My kind of dog: alert, responsive, over the top.  I see potential.  I see also a fantastic learning partner.

I almost want to tell the owner that his problems will be resolved as I am taking this dog with me- I like him that much!  But no, I know I shall not covet my client’s dogs so I get back to dog-centric training and the task at hand.

Instead I tell Jim, the owner, who also reports to me - that his dog pulls so hard on lead that it makes it impossible to walk him without fearing his shoulder will be pulled out of its socket, that if we work on the loose leash not only will he be able to take leisure walks with his new best friend, but this will also help with the chickens.

Huh!  He sort of retorts back to me.  How can the two things be related?
You see, I tell him, we are working with the individual: the dog and not the “symptoms” or the behaviors that we don’t like. I believe so strongly on this premise that I have the adjective of “holistic” in my dog training business (C.H.A.C.O.) A Compassionate, Holistic, Approach to Canine Obedience and Training”.

I continue by explaining that his dog, Spark, is chasing chickens because the chickens are moving and moving is something that triggers predatory behaviors in dogs.  With the orientation to the prey as one of the first behaviors the dog engages as part of the chain of behaviors (7 in total) to secure food.

In addition, Spark is truly unable to listen to him because he is just too close to this incredible stimulation.

Seeing all this from the perspective of the dog is so important.  As we continue discussing the options for training Spark, I remind Jim that his goals might be obtainable but definitively not a weekend project.

Jim is now more in tune with how dogs learn and is willing to do whatever it takes to keep his pal and the chickens safe.  Good, I tell him. My second task now is to explain to Jim that his goals are not the process, but just where the process might lead us.

Again, a truly important aspect of teaching any living creature.  We must know where we want to go - as if following a road map that will take us to the correct location and once we know our specific goal (s) we must sharply have focused on the how we will get there.  Process and goals are both important aspects of co-existing peacefully with our dogs.  They are as well, essential components of any training.

The following week Jim and I are meet again and I begin working with both of them with loose leash walking. Teaching Jim what to do when Spark’s pull but mostly teaching Spark that the fastest way to get to where he wants to go is by not pulling at all! We continue working with other fun games that will promise to turn Spark into a dog that can wait for directions versus acting as a ‘bull in a China shop”. Jim is picking up things very quickly.

Thru the weeks, as the team progresses with the exercises that I leave behind for them to practice we begin working with the chickens.  Now we can incorporate all the hard work we have done away from the chickens because Spark has great reliability on behaviors that at first were unthinkable for Jim to see his dog execute.  Our efforts begin to pay off.

Jim has also learned that there is no reason why we should expect Spark not to act like what he is - a predator, so he has learned that managing Spark with the chickens is essential to the success of our program.

Sure, it is possible that with continuous and deliberate practice (and adding a dose of age for good measure) Spark will learn to relax in close proximity of the moving, pecking birds.  For now, Jim appears more accepting and also more willing to see his beloved dog as a dog; meeting him half way in the journey they are both embarking on.

For my part, I feel so very happy that Jim is willing to work with his pup from a dog-centric perspective. As a result, he has come to the understanding that his dog must not be put in a situation that he cannot possibly be successful at. Since, just like us, his pup will be more successful at the task at hand on some days and struggle on others.

Dog-centric training requires a deep understanding of the species we are working with and a true willingness to work within their nature and capabilities as well as adjusting our own expectations.

 Isn’t this what we all want from others? Our dogs are not that different from us in this respect.

Jolly Routine

I have been working with Mocha and her “mom” in helping Mocha feel more comfortable around large dogs in her home. We have done quite a few sessions with four dogs that vary in size, color, and personality. However, all these dogs are dog savvy and dog friendly which is important in order to keep the interactions safe and to convince Mocha that dogs rock!

The training has had many components.  As Mocha is more confident around dogs, I push to a new level of difficulty so that she can experience dogs in a more real-life scenario.  Basically, what this girl needs are more positive experiences around friendly dogs.

Each training session Mocha seems indeed not only more confident around her new pals, but also more willing to engage with them in appropriate ways.  We reinforce with a tasty morsel every time she willingly approaches one of the dogs to say “hi”  - doggie style.  Not too long ago, Mocha’s MO was to rush to the dog emitting a growl- regardless how big the other dog was. As you can imagine, this might be tolerated by some dogs but many others will escalate in a full-blown response.

For some of the trials, our helper dogs are also being reinforced so that they are not too focused on Mocha thus making the exercise a bit less difficult for her. Other times, we invite dogs to just be dogs and give Mocha a sniff in the butt.

If Mocha ever hesitates to say hi to one of the dogs or interact with them in any way, she is not forced to do so.  Instead, she can choose to remove herself from the interaction all together. This is not only really fair to the dog that is struggling but also very smart. Confidence is very much linked with the possibility of making choices.  Confidence begins to grow when a dog attempts an interaction that makes them nervous, for example, and that interaction remains safe.  Nothing bad happened.  On top of the interaction being safe for the dog, the dog also gets paid big time for taking a chance in interacting.

As we worked on different situations that might arise when other dogs come to visit Mocha and her family, I also made sure to keep things “light” and happy.  Lots of praising in a cheerful tone. In addition, I coached
Mocha’s “mom” to act really cheerful and carefree as Mocha attempts to make new friends.

One other important component of the interaction is to continue with this cheerful and relaxed attitude even when things get a little tense between the dogs. At one point, Mocha was taking a bit too long sniffing one of the dogs.  The dog who was being distracted and talked to, began to look in Mocha’s direction. This was the perfect moment to try on Mocha and our helper dog the “jolly routine”.  The Jolly routine was coined by
behaviorist William Campbell. It is a simple technique to understand but not always so simple to execute.

Here is why:  The essence of the routine is that no matter what happens the dog handler acts as if everything is fine in the world.  Not only that, but they begin to act even a bit silly or shall we say “jolly”. Sweet talking the dog, moving with ease and breathing regardless that the situation has turned tense.

Dogs are social learners and as such they take cues from us. Especially so if the trust the person. So, if the person that they trust acts as if everything is A-Okay, then by golly, everything IS okay! Sometimes it is really hard for pet guardians to engage in the Jolly routine because they themselves are stressed.  It does takes practice to act as if everything is going according to plan when it is not.

In the case of Mocha, we gave her ample opportunities to approach dogs to greet and having the other dogs also greet her.  We taught her that it was fun having dogs in her home, walking around, sniffing here and there and even going in and out to the backyard for some exploration.  This is in part how pups can become friends.  

At one point, Diego one of our helper dogs and the largest of the lot, was play bowing and just proving Mocha that life is a blast as she hung around him.  As a matter of fact, at this point we were not faking it, we were actually laughing at watching Diego being such a ham and happy as well to see Mocha approached him all on her own.

So, next time your pup needs your support, do not even consider getting stiff on him or even worse- scold him. Instead become jolly, light and fun and you will see with amazement that your dog follows your lead and begins to relax.

You are on fire!

On this particular day, I am accompanying John on his regular hikes with our dogs.  Rio is dashing from tree to tree. From scent to scent oblivious of the world around her.  I call her. Nada!  I know better than to keep calling her, but I also take notice that this girl needs a refreshing course on recall. 

We continue our walk as I am planning in my head the next steps to follow up with her. I have several options.  As the walk progresses her recall does too.  Good, but still not exactly what I want.

Next day I have a couple of my client’s dogs - first timers for board and train.  We all go for an off-leash romp.  I begin to call my client’s dogs just as we leave our property to ensure they are coming to me. 

Sedona, the younger one comes back to me with the speed of lighting and with a bouncy, joyful trot.  Good girl, Sedona!  Sienna her much older “sister” also makes her way back to me for a tasty bit.  And indeed Ms. Rio has decided that she too can come when called!  I can’t help but chuckle as to what I think is going in her Beagle brain: “I’m not going to let these guys get the good treats, I am rushing in for mine.”  Whatever works for you Rio, but just come when called.

We continue going up on the steep hill and once again I call all dogs, inviting mine to take a “U-turn” and the others by name.  Indeed, all dogs are now next to me taking their turn to eat their treats.

Go play!  I tell them, as I now can confirm my suspicion that all it took was some healthy competition for resources to get this girl on fire!  

Dogs are constantly competing for resources; it is the way of nature - evolution. The take-home message as I see it, is not to pit one dog against the other crudely, but instead to be mindful of what the dog or dogs might want at a given moment and use that as a consequence for behavior.

Yes, it is true like in the case with Rio, sometimes circumstances or the environment itself will launch competition full force as it did with Rio and my client’s dogs. And there is nothing wrong in using this to work on some need recall, etc.  

Consider this:  One of the most salient traits that separates excellent dog trainers from “so-so” trainers and average dog owner is the ability that excellent trainers have in capitalizing in the use of consequences for behavior. After all folks, it is not the cue (or command) that drives behavior it is consequences for behavior that drives this.

Our ability to recognized the gazillion reinforcers at our disposals and our correct and timely use of them will up our training game. And as the laws of learning point out… whatever behavior gets reinforced will become the norm.  Nice!

Rio continued to enjoy her walk just like the previous days, but today, she was a girl on fire, claiming tasty pieces of duck and proceeding to run like the wind away from me and in search of new smells.  Sprinting finally at the end of our walk down the ridge to the familiar path that bringing us home. 

Why Questions Are Silly Questions - Mostly

At some point or another we all want to know why our dog is doing this or that behavior. Perhaps we are just curious and want to know. However, most of the time we want to know because we would rather our dog stop doing the behavior in question. Under these circumstances the “why” question is plain irrelevant! There is much we know about dogs' ethnology, physiology and behavior in general, but there is perhaps much more that we really don’t know or understand about these incredible creatures. Besides, much of what we know is at best an educated guess, because so far there has been no (real) dog that has spilled the beans as to why they do certain things.

The most important questions however, to ask ourselves are:
1. What would I rather my dog do instead of “x”? And...
2. How can I motivate my dog to this instead of that?

When we have identified an alternative behavior that we can live with we then should ask if this is a fair alternative for the dog. Yep. We need to make sure the need that is behind the “why” behavior satisfies the need. Not only because as the keepers of our dogs its frankly our duty to satisfy their needs simply because many of them can’t be satisfied by themselves, but also because by doing so we can be best assured that the “why” behavior will go into extinction or at least become easier to manage.

There is, however, instances that having some knowledge as to why the dog is doing something can prove to be quite helpful in making some lasting changes. Say, for example, that a dog was attacked while being a young dog by a black large dog.

Now, months later this youngster sneers and lunges at any dog he sees while on walks or when a dog comes into his proximity.  We being aware that the dog we are working with was attacked by a large black dog when young can shed some light onto the situation.

Now, having said that, the remedial work to be done in order to boost the dog’s confidence that most dogs are friendly and are not out to hurt him will be the same if we are unable to determine the immediate cause behind the aggression, for example. But if working with a dog like this, I would probably not begin to work with him with a large black dog!  Instead I would begin building his confidence with a smallish "fluffy” dog and gradually approach the real trigger for his fear.

The take-home message then should be: not 'why is my dog doing this,' but 'what would I rather have him do' and then find practical ways of achieving this. Sometimes the alternative is right in front of us and easy to implement while other times the alternative will require some behavior modification and, of course, management but in most cases this is worth a shot especially if it means a better quality of life for us or our dog.

I Need a Guarantee

Today I got a voicemail message from a potential client that told me I needed to respond ASAP. When I get on the phone I realize that indeed this is kind of an emergency.

Apparently this dog has been living with little to no supervision since she was a young dog. The dog is now 4 years old. Her dog roams the neighborhood or takes off after wildlife on a regular basis. Today, though things got even more complicated.

She ran after a small dog after spotting it at a distance, bit the little guy so hard they are not sure whether the dog will survive. As I am gathering information about what other kinds of trouble the dog has gotten into, I learned that the dog chases big game and has even killed a cat.

After this last incident the owner is deeply concerned that she might have to let go of her dog. She has called me to get some information. One of those… what will it take to fix the problem? And of course, the owner looking for a guarantee.

She asks me point blank if I can guarantee that her dog will stop chasing wildlife and killing cats as a result of training. I tell her clearly that no, I cannot make any guarantees about behavior. In addition I say, if someone tells you that they guarantee your dog’s behavior they are either lying or clearly do not understand how behavior and behavior modification works! Period.

Same situation with people interested in having me teach their dogs to avoid snakes. I realize we all want guarantees: Guarantee that a product will deliver, the pants will fit well, the diet pill will make us lose weight and on and on. The thing is that while some services can be guaranteed, I think we should expect some sort of guarantee as to the professional we work with knowing what he/she is doing, that she or he will comport in a professional manner and as such, is not over selling or misrepresenting a product or a service. All these stipulations should also be expected from animal trainers, but that is different than expecting a guarantee on the
actual results of the training.

Think about this, doctors are also asked if such and such procedure, medication, etc. can guarantee the person will get better or even live, but seldom (if at all) are these guarantees given. Behavior is very similar to medical interventions: Too many variables and most of them out of our ability to change or influence. As a matter of fact, as part of my national certification as a Professional Dog Trainer, I cannot give any guarantees for services provided.

Now, what I can say is that when we consistently and with understanding on how to proceed work on teaching our dogs something, the probabilities of us witnessing the desired behavior really increases. I don’t know of a percentage for a success rate, again too many variables.

However, if you think about it, even if the chances are 50% or (more) of reaching success I think it is worth putting in the effort and resources in reaching our goals.

Have We Reached Success in Training?

How can one measure whether the training done with a dog has been successful? What parameters should one have in order to evaluate if success has been reached?

While the questions above are valid, we also must keep in mind that behavior and changes in behavior are quite complex which requires that we take a different approach to measuring the end results.

Behavior and measure of success are complex for many reasons; here are some of the main ones.

1. If the motivation for performing a given behavior, which was present when the dog was learning it, fails to be present when the dog must perform the behavior, it will go into extinction. What I mean is that it will not happen. There must ALWAYS be some reinforcer for the animal (and this includes all animals - not just dogs BTW). Good news is that the reinforcer should not appear on a one-to-one ratio (also known as continuous schedule of reinforcement) but it should be on a thin (or at least a variable schedule) of reinforcement. In other words, the dog will get reinforced on occasion, which in essence makes the behavior stronger, i.e.: less likely to go into extinction which is, of course, what we want. Now, in the real world there might be more than one motivator for behavior, so again, we are moving away from the notion of … dog sits, dog gets a click and a treat… as we might do when teaching dogs new stuff.

2. The environment is now substantially different to where the (initial) behavior was taught. Part of reaching success in training is to have the dog perform the behavior where we want the behavior to take place. This is called proofing. If I only work with the dog in the garage, I cannot expect the dog to perform at all or at least with consistency when I am out and about with my dog. This is a big problem when working with clients. They fail to understand that in order for their dog to perform, they must continue to practice where it matters. As I am here thinking of this example (funny because I don’t play tennis), but think about a tennis player that always trains on a rubberized, artificial court. Now when she goes to a tournament and the court happens to be clay she will quickly realize that the ball has a different bounce or that she is always late to reach the ball because the ball falls short due to the different terrain. In order for this tennis player to have a chance at success, she must practice under those conditions and adapt to the new environment. Same for our dogs :) with the difference that even a slight variation between the learned environment and the new environment can throw our dog for a loop. These are just but a few examples that might derail good learning.

 

Now, back to my client’s and their expectations for success. It is also part of my job to exactly learn where the dog is engaging in behaviors that are problematic for the owner – dogs never have a problem when they act as dogs - it is always us! Or in the case of aggression, etc. behaviors that can prove dangerous so that I can resolve them in that context. When it comes to teaching new stuff, I also need to know where would the owner want the dog to exercise the behavior at hand… In their backyard? The kitchen? Out and about? Or all three?

I think it is fair for clients to want to know if their dog’s behavior will improve since they are spending considerable amount of resources in the form of payment and time invested in the training of their pooch. So for this reason, the conversation of… is their dog not engaging in “x” or “y” behavior as a result of training or performing with more consistency the target behavior as a result of training, needs to take place.

As such, another conversation that I also have with my clients is to make them absolutely aware that behavior is not a “straight” line but more of a fluctuating experience. Once again, the same can be said about us: consistency eludes us and we have the bigger brain. :)

By doing my job correctly, their dog performs. But only as long as they continue to practice where it matters. They also must keep in mind that their dog is not a robot but also subjected to influences in its environment and as such, not always consistent in responding. And this my friends, is part of adaptation, which we all need in order to thrive.