Excessive Anything

As I have previously written, we are smack in the middle of Rio’s recovery.  She needs to wear a cast for 4 for more weeks. She cannot lick, or worse, chew on it at all. The recommendations are for her to wear a really cumbersome Elizabethan collar all the time to prevent her from doing the above. Frankly this part is the most taxing for both of us.

When I am watching her, she gets to take a break and we both breath happily. This morning I gave her a Kong with a hard-boiled egg for breakfast.  I watched her as she diligently licks and licks the toy to extract every bit of the egg.  Once she is done with the Kong, I notice that she is less active and most definitively not wanting to lick her cast-bound leg.  Now she is snoozing. Aww she looks so content and relaxed that I don’t even want to take her just yet for her daily car ride, which she loves.

I have seen this before, but now I am reminded of it close at home.  When dogs are stressed or anxious for whatever reason Kongs or any other food dispensing toy- especially the ones where dogs need to use their mouths rigorously to extract the food, satisfy a pretty basic need in them.

So many of my clients have dogs that are dedicated barkers, lick themselves, chase skateboards or cars with gusto only as an obsessed dog can muster. As part of our training and modification plan, I strongly suggest they feed their dogs out of these toys.

When they are motivated enough to do it, they readily notice the benefit the chewing and licking - in short, the positive effect it has on their dog’s overall demeanor and behavior. I have never heard anything different.

They might be, of course, important physiological reasons behind the high return in behavior from such a simple activity. For now, I will stick to observation and experience on how we can help ourselves by helping our dogs when we provide outlets like this which pay big dividends.

I get that most people feel really taxed with a myriad of daily chores. However, this “chore” is like anything else we choose to subscribe to in our day to day lives, be it meditation, fitness, eating well or else.  All of these activities require our commitment, and we commit to them because we find them valuable. What we can do for our dogs should not be any different.

Of course, I am not saying that your dog eating out of these toys will resolve all behavior problems. But I am saying that doing so will be a very solid foundation to help with whatever emotional or behavioral problem you need to work through with your dog.

If I can keep that collar on Rio for less time, it makes total sense to bite the bullet and spend a few more minutes every morning serving her meal this way. Below you’ll find a training plan to help your novice dog learn how to eat this way. If your dog has had more experience you can look at my suggestions as well so that your pup gets as well a nice dose of mental challenge.

Teaching Level

• Fill a size - appropriate KONG® for your dog with kibble or your dog’s food.
• Give the toy to your dog for her to experiment getting the food out of it by rotating it, pawing it, etc.
• Feed your dog her whole meal out of KONGS once she is adept at getting all the food out and appears to enjoy the activity.
• At this level, it’s okay to encourage your dog or even help her a bit by rotating the KONG® yourself so food comes out.

Beginner’s Level

• Make the extracting of the food a bit harder by stuffing the KONG and then placing a harder item such as a piece of jerky, dry liver, frozen banana chip, etc. in between the kibble.

Advanced Level 1

• Increase the level of difficult by wetting the kibble ahead of time so that it swells and becomes a “mush.” You can wet with water or something special such as chicken broth, etc.
• Serve to your dog. 

Advance Level 2 / During Warmer Months:

• Prepare KONG® as you did for previous levels but freeze overnight or for a few hours.
• Allow KONG® to thaw for about 1 hour before serving.
• Best to serve in a crate or outside to avoid a possible mess.

Recipe Examples Courtesy of Jean Donaldson, From The Academy For Dog Trainers

Tight Version (more advanced) Stuffing

• Layer 1 (deepest): roasted unsalted cashews, mild cheese chunks, freeze dried liver bits
• Layer 2: dog kibble, cookies or Liver Biscotti, Cheerios, sugar-free/salt-free peanut butter, dried banana chips
• Layer 3: baby carrot stick(s), turkey and/or leftover ravioli or tortellini, dried apples, dried apricots

Pack as tightly as possible. The last item in should be a dried apricot or piece of ravioli, presenting a smooth “finish” under the main hole.

“Lite” Version:

• For cashews, substitute crumbled rice cake; for freeze-dried liver, substitute Caesar croutons; for peanut butter substitute fat-free cream cheese.

The goal is to feed your dog at least one of his daily meals via a food dispensing toy.

Throw the Food Bowl Away!

It is one our dogs' most salient instinct: to hunt/search for their food. They are indeed scavengers. The fact that some of the world’s dogs live their lives in a people’s world means lots of good stuff for these pups, such as them actually leading pretty “comfy” and safe lives that can  also translate into quite a boring existence.

We have literally taken away so many of their natural outlets that their quality of life is often compromised. Searching and “working” for their food is one of these outstanding canine behaviors that we need to bring back.

My strong recommendations is for you to throw away your dog’s food bowl and instead spend a little time in figuring out easy ways to serve your dog’s chow in a manner that is fun and allows him to work for it too. In return, you will be giving your dog some excellent mental stimulation as you also reap the benefits of having a pup that is able to entertain itself.

The bonus for the human when their dog is mentally as well as physically tired is that we do not need to spend too much extra time and energy either re-directing the dog out of mischief or entertaining their dog because the dog has not learned to self-sooth or entertain itself.

One of my favorite ways of giving dogs the ability to hunt for their food is the regular use of some sort of food dispensing toy. The selection of these is enormous!

The truth is that no matter what kind of food you are currently feeding your dog (kibble, raw, etc.) you can find a few ways of delivering fun while eating.

My all time favorite is the use of Kong™ toys. Kong is a company that produces some very cool products, but this particular toy was to my knowledge, how the company got started.

It is important when making the transition from feeding via a food bowl to the use of food dispensing toys to spend a few minutes making sure that your dog enjoys the particular toy as some dogs initially might be afraid of the new toy or be at a loss as to how to make it work.

I often hear from clients that they tried the Kong or another toy, but that their dog was not too interested in feeding this way; only to show them when I whipped out a Kong and filled it with some tasty stuff how interested their pup became.
Do not give up easily! Instead, go beyond just smearing some peanut butter in the inside of the Kong and really begin to feed your dog all of its meals via food dispensing toys. In my professional experience, they are only a smallish number of pups that truly would not enjoy eating out of these toys. The trick is to try different types of toys and to make things easy for the dog initially, if there is any resistance or concern, until the dog gets hooked on eating this way.

This kind of feeding is especially appropriate for dogs that suffer from anxiety since the chewing and licking needed to extract the food often calms dogs, dogs that have way too much energy, for crate training and teaching alone time, and for those dogs who spend so many hours alone with nothing to do.

Below you will find some instructions as to how to teach your pup to enjoy eating out of Kongs. Watch your dog carefully to monitor his involvement while working with the toy (or not) and either make things easier for your pup, or harder. Again, do not give up if you or your pup does not reach success ASAP… the best things in life require time!

• Begin with as many Kongs as you need so that you can loosely fill them with your dog’s meal. If you are feeding kibble (dry food) begin by filling the Kongs with the kibble and present to your dog to extract.
• Allow her to investigate the toy and play with it so that the kibble readily comes out of the toy.
• Praise your pup and do not be in too much of a hurry to bail her out if she is not interested in the toy.
• Once your pup is extracting the loose kibble from the Kong, you will proceed to making it a bit harder (and yes more fun) by placing some of the kibble in the toy and adding here and there something harder such as a piece of jerky so that some of the kibble requires a different strategy (your dog is now problem solving- nice!) to bring out. Let her work on it.
• Once she has learned this, you can begin to wet the kibble so it will becomes a mush and much harder for your dog to extract once packed in the toy. Different levels of difficulty can be achieved by how the mush is packed inside the toy. Again, some experimentation on your part will be of value here.
• Alternatively, you can use a mix of kibble and wet food, which many folks use for their dog’s meal and create some sort of a stickier matrix and thus a bit harder to extract.
• If you noticed that after truly trying to engage your dog to eat this way that your dog is still reluctant, not to worry, continue to use the food bowl for main meals but give some really good stuff in a Kong as a treat.

Make this memorable for your dog: Try putting in some string cheese, sardines so that your dog will find it worth its while to try and work for the food this way. Your encouragement in this part of the process could also help in building the confidence your pup might need in extracting its daily food in this manner.

Just like us, dogs do have preferences as to what toy they find super fun, or not. So experiment a bit. Ideally you find quite a few of these toys that you can rotate on a regular basis. Finally, I suggest picking up the Kongs after each serving to avoid having them get lost of chewed on. I wash mine by hand with a bottle brush, by soaking them in soapy water or even in the dishwasher.

If you have more than one dog in the household, use good judgment as these toys might become a high value item. It is best to feed dogs separately if there is a chance of a dog fight taking place.
Since our dogs truly depend on us for their quality of life, I encourage you to really put some effort in making sure your dog’s natural instincts and desires are taking into consideration on a daily basis. Your dog and I will thank you for this!

 

Flowcharts

It is early evening and the pups are happily chewing on their bully sticks; dessert in my household. Sometimes Rio walks around carrying her bully stick cigar style, while Deuce without fail, lays down in exactly the same spot in the living room and chews away.

Rio always finishes hers first and I take note that she always gets the bigger one since she is such an active chewer.

While they are busy, I am stretching  in the living room. I notice that Rio is wandering around waiting, just waiting for Deuce to “abandon” his bully stick so that she can pounce on it and consume it. As I am watching her, she begins to “alert” bark: Deuce, there is someone, come see there is someone out there….

Deuce (who had just finished his bully stick) but was still laying down in the same spot, runs to the window facing the front of the house when I notice Rio running to where Deuce was lying previously chewing. I laugh to myself: Rio always masterminding something and Deuce falling for her tricks. This same scenario has happened before: Rio barking as IF there was someone and Deuce joining her at the window only to have Rio abandon the window in pursuit of Deuce’s half-eaten marrow bone or Kong.

Dogs are masters at flowcharts! They have an amazing ability to string antecedents to consequences. Being this, one of the main ways by which they learn.

Here is another example of Rioja figuring out the flowchart: When I have clients coming to train at C.H.A.C.O.'s HUB – also my home, both dogs are in their crates with stuffed Kongs and a chew bone. I wanted them out of the way and quiet.

Once my client is gone, I come to let them out so they can resume going in and out of the doggy door and if I am around an exploratory trip to the front area where they get to sniff to their heart’s content the scent left by my client’s dog.

When I come into my office to let them out, Rio can’t wait to get out of the crate! I ask her to exercise some self-control and lay down before I open the crate’s door. She then darts off barking her head off towards the front door wanting to be let out “i-meediia-te-ly”. More waiting at the door, before I release both of them to go investigate.

Minutes later they come back home once again disappointed that once again they just missed the dog…

On one occasion, when no clients where coming, I put them in their crates while I was hanging around the house. When it came time to let them out, Rio dashed again to the front door as if a client had been here. Wow! I thought she is getting the flowchart… a case of dog being smarter than owner … I let her out wanting her to find out that on this occasion there was no scents to trace, no missed visit to regret.

Since the whole point of having them in their crates is for them to be quiet when I am working with someone else’s dog, I began to put them in their crates when no one was coming – as if to prove to Rio that not because I ask them to go in their crates with super “goodies” does it mean a client is here.

The fact that our dog’s brains are wired to follow flowcharts with such finesse is very handy for us when teaching the dog something we want them to learn. It is all about the presentation of a consequence after the dog’s behavior.

If timed properly, literally seconds after the behavior has occurred and depending on the consequence, our dogs will learn to either continue to engage more often in that behavior or to refrain from engaging in it. An interesting fact is that just like our dogs, other vertebrates and invertebrates are capable of learning by consequences. Including ancient planaria, a type of flatworm.

Once my clients “discover” that their dog will work for consequences a new door of possibilities opens for them… as they become aware that their dog too is subjected to the laws of learning.

Wait and Trust

Both Deuce and Rioja have crates available in my office. As a matter of fact, Deuce sleeps in his crate while Rioja sleeps in our bedroom on the biggest, fluffiest dog bed around.

Deuce LOVES his crate. He goes in there every day just to chill after we come back from sheepherding or anytime he wants some "alone" time.

Crate training is, in my book, a really good thing to teach dogs. Not only can the crate serve as a containment area once the dog is comfortable in it, but it also allows the dog a place where they can go lay down, and feel safe and comfortable.

As part of my crate-training plan, I frequently give dogs Kongs and marrow bones so that they learn to enjoy being in the crate.

It also comes in handy for me to be able to have both dogs in their crates when I have either a private training or a group class. Same procedure here, dogs are exercised and then they go in their crates to chew on a big marrow bone. Now this is the way it should be, but the reality is that Rioja is still struggling with staying in her crate without barking when she hears another dog in the proximity… and what I need most at this time is to have "invisible" dogs…

So, I have thought about different ways to help both dogs, but especially Rioja, relax in their crates when they hear my client’s dog bark. Beside ample time in the crate with something fun for them to do, I play at different volumes and place in different locations a CD with a myriad of dogs barking, howling, and whining. I stick around for this mini-training sessions and I lavished them with chicken when they remained quiet inside their crates as the CD dogs take turns barking.

You might wonder if the dogs are “fooled” by the barking of the CD dogs and the answer is that, yes, it is possible to use recordings to teach the dogs to just kick-back and relax when they hear dogs barking. Of course, ideally they would be submitted to many, many, many… sessions of real dogs barking so that at some point, dogs barking at home are not a novelty anymore. We are clearly not there yet, but hey we are making progress!

This afternoon, as I worked in my office, with Deuce tucked in all the way to the back of the crate as he likes to lay, Rioja pawed her crate door in an attempt to open it. I gently open the door and pretended not to watch her closely as I smiled when I saw her laying comfortably on her own accord in her crate. She remained inside the crate for about 2 hrs. just sleeping contently as I worked at the computer and stepped out of the office for this and that.

The lesson here for me is multi-fold: We must recognize when there is something that we can teach our dogs that will make their lives and ours better, or that will improve our relationship in some way.

We also need to have patience and trust that our dogs - especially the young ones - need time to reach the goal that we had set for them. In one short sentence: It’s (almost) all about maturation!

As I was thinking about this entry, I came to the conclusion that when a behavioral problem arises we must not ignore it. Now, addressing it can mean different things: To actively teach the dog a new behavior that is more appropriate than the current one OR we can just continue to observe for signs of the issue resolving itself. In the case of Rioja, she still acts as an adolescent… (I come most of the time, I jump and try to take the ball from your hand, I refuse to surrender the Frisbee and instead I run away from you with it clenched in my mouth …) you get the picture.

However, besides her beginning to enjoy the crate, she surprised me again the other day when instead of dashing out the front door full-speed and howling like only a Hound dog can at the sight of the contractor who was speaking with John, she ran towards both men and was able to calmly say “hello”. I was watching by the front door and it felt so good to see that Rioja is beginning to feel more confident around new people. You see, sometimes we just need to wait… and trust that things will resolve themselves on their own and sometimes we need to do the hard work.

Whodunnit?

For the past few weeks I have been on watch patrol. Neither one of my dogs used to chew illegal items such as our shoes, but now Rioja has begun to delight in rubber. So far two of my shoes have fallen victim to her mighty strong jaws. As John likes to remind me every time our dogs act like dogs and engage in behaviors that we humans don’t find so fascinating… um, see it from the bright side… this will give you more appreciation for what your clients are going through… Yes, you bet! I have caught myself smiling sheepishly as my own managing plan fails once again leaving my shoes around for Rioja to find and chew.

Not that our house is messy with “stuff” all over the place, but since a few weeks back my house is even tidier. So besides having more understanding for my clients who report another chewed item, I have been busy implementing a plan of action in hopes that Rioja once again finds her own toys attractive and leaves

my shoes alone!

I think that in the last few days, I am making some progress and her taste for rubber appears to have been satisfied. She is eating out of frozen Kongs daily. This provides her with ample opportunity to chew and lick (rubber) and work for her food – there! You mischievous devil!

I also bought her (and Deuce) some hard rubber toys. Her toys are now rotated on a more frequent basis making sure that she always has access to hard toys that she can chew on or yes even destroy! I have made peace with that. And last I am more aware of her whereabouts. As I am busy writing this I realized she is not laying at her afternoon spot- the cozy pillow by the window, which provides her not only with some comfort but a spanking view… so I get up and go to look for her. I find her not too far from her “perch” half –asleep half aware of my camera (which I snatched as I went looking for her) on the sofa… ah, if only I was a dog….

All this new activity from Rioja has gotten me thinking about several things:

1. Our dog’s behavior is never static. It is always adapting to their surroundings and immediate reality.
2. They are not perfect thus we shall accept them with their “weaknesses” and we must take responsibility. (Pick after yourself) when they fail (mistaken MY possessions for theirs – as an example).
3. They need daily mental, social and physical stimulation or they will find it themselves.
4. We love them even though sometimes… we would much rather they get a job of their own to pay for broken items.
5. They make us laugh and keep us on our toes… implementing yet another fun game, getting us up from the chair to entertain.
6. Dogs remind us also that they are not humans thus their needs are different from ours. I can attest to this: I have never wanted to chew on flip-flops!
7. They will learn from their peers…

This last point is worth entertaining a little further. I always dreamed of being a private eye and thanks to my dogs (and my clients) I have the opportunity to investigate for possible cause, circumstantial evidence and

the like when something deviates with what we humans label as “normal” (read desirable) behavior from our dogs.

In regards to Rioja’s chewing of our shoes, I have to take into account that she began to chew on our possessions just after a cutie that we were boarding left our home. She had never before done so.

As a matter of fact all the destruction started when I left a pair of spanky-new sandals in my bathroom when we went out for dinner and while Rioja’s buddy was still with us only to come back to a chewed up strap on one of the sandals.

Is it possible then that dogs can pick up bad-habits (it is alwaaays bad habits) from their playmates? In other words, a case of: I see….now I must try it?

I am interested in the reasons behind her new acquired habit not so much to point fingers as to the culprit but because this incident sheds some light to the hidden life of our dogs - their social interactions with other dogs and to what their motivations might be in engaging in a new behavior. This case is not yet closed as I am still left wondering who whodunnit and a probable cause.

Keeping It Real

This morning I was struggling with the choice of either taking Rioja with Deuce and me sheepherding or leaving her at home with her breakfast in Kongs™. It gets so hot so early that leaving her in the car is not an option.

In the past, I have put her in a large pen with Mary’s Border Collies where they have shade and water, but Rioja decided that she did not want to hang out there and barked most of the session so I was thinking of other options for her. I decided to take her along with the Kongs, knowing that I could leash her to a
tree close by where she could lay down in the shade, watch the show as she worked on the Kongs.

Well at least that was my plan but Rio had other ideas about how to spend her time! She sort of worked on her Kongs and decided to whine and bark as I struggle to concentrate on what I was doing. Sheepherding is hard enough when you are focused, mission impossible if you are distracted. Thanks Rio! Part of my distractive thoughts included wondering if Rio was whining and barking because she felt left out of the fun or if she was anxious being left under the tree even though she could see me… she is not telling so I will never know. However, once Deuce and I took our break and joined her in the shade she decided to eat - only to stop once again when Deuce and I went back to the sheep.

At the end of the session and as we were leaving, Mary’s next student showed up. Rioja spots the car in the distance and began to bark and howl. Remember she is part Beagle and her howl is quite somethin’. The barking did not stop as the student with her perfectly well mannered and friendly dog approached us.

Instead, she began to pull hard on her leash and to exhibit piloerection, the hair on her back fully raised. Piloerection is an autonomic response of the nervous system, not something the dog can control or turn “on” and “off” at will. It is NOT aggression, just arousal. Similar to us getting goose bumps or as we say
in Mexico… chicken skin – the differences in these names deserves its own blog post don’t you think?

I know that if I had let Rioja go meet the other dog she would have been “fine” and they most likely would have ended playing, but not all circumstances allow for this. Also I think it is important to take the “hint” when someone else does not want his or her dog to meet yours. Besides, if I had “given in” allowing Rio to
go say “hi” I would be reinforcing her aroused state, a bad idea. Instead I began to gather my things quickly as I held firmly to her leash and Deuce’s slippery rope that he drags while herding. All this because the message I perceived from the other student was more on the vein of: I would appreciate if you could keep
your dog under control and keep her from barking and… when are you leaving? I don’t know if it is because I am a professional trainer that I put additional pressure on myself and fall prey to the idea that dogs must comport themselves at all times and not show any of their emotions especially if they make us uncomfortable. I have thought about this phenomena a lot and I think it has something to do with pets being thought of as substituted children or a direct reflection of one's parenting skills…

Funny you might say, this coming from someone that makes a living by teaching other people’s dog among other things to be polite. Sure, nothing wrong with wanting our dogs to be well-adjusted (as well-adjusted as any living being can be) and able to deal with an ever changing environment – “there is no dog in sight and the next minute dog in sight…and why can’t I play with him?”

The problem is, in my view, when we set unrealistic and unfair expectations of our dogs. Not even trainer’s dogs should be expected to be devoid of emotional lives: barking when happy or afraid, quiet when tired, or aloof and  wanting isolation after a hard-day of running after sheep. Dogs are sort of permanent visitors in our world. A world that they must constantly ascertain. Similarly to one traveling in a country where we do not speak the language and we can’t relate to their customs. Poof! Now we can sympathize!

Perhaps a better approach is to pay attention to the areas of our dog’s behavior that we feel must improve either because they “bug” us or because our pal will have a better quality of life and work on them. Just like us, our dogs are a work in progress and they deserve our patience (oh so difficult sometimes!!) and our
understanding when their response is not the one we would like. In addition, I want to make sure that I am crystal clear as to the motivation behind my requesting my dogs do something or stop doing something. Not fair that I ask them to modify their behavior because I am feeling embarrassed (bad trainer!!) or because someone has expectations about how dogs should behave etc, etc. Our dogs are more than awesome companionship and a source of fun and laughter they also force us to look at our own “issues” and in my book, this is just what a good relationship/friendship should do. So… thanks Rio, for keeping it real…

Is it okay to multi-task while training dogs?

I have been pondering this question since I have two dogs and I train with them on specific things on a weekly basis.

The second portion of this question is: Is it okay to train two dogs at the same time? Again, something I have been playing around and exploring lately.

I have come to some conclusions and for the most part the answers to both questions is no!

Training requires such carefully laid out lessons and much concentration from both parties such that having two learners and one “teacher” is really asking for trouble and frustration.

As I write this, both Deuce and Rioja are being “trained” to learn to be totally chill in their crates without chewies… so in essence I am breaking my own rule, no? Training, just as everyday life, is fluid and with variations. Circumstances must be addressed individually.

It is important to me that my dogs really learn to enjoy quiet time in their crates because when I have a class or a client at my home (aka: C.H.A.C.O.’s training hub) they must remain calm and quiet for up to two hours.

Whenever they go to their crates, they get something interesting to eat or chew. However, the chewy might not last for that long of a time so here is where making them comfortable in their crates without a chewie is essential.

Now back to the training. I have developed a really nice format of working with bothdogs separately while the other one is also busy and not in the way of the training of the other. There are several strategies that I use such as Kongs in the crate for one dog for breakfast, while I work for a brief period with the other and then I switch dogs. Or, I use a manners-minder, which in essence is a kibble-dispensing machine (or toy if you like) that keeps one dog busy and expectant of the next kibble being dropped while I work with the other. I did have to teach them to ignore the noise the dispenser makes and now they can work with me without being bothered by the noise or wondering if the
other dog is getting some tastier- which they are not! Yes indeed, in training you sure need to cross your “t's” or it will come to bite you in the… you known … (butt).

However, some of my goals require that I work with both dogs at the same time and that I multi-task. Yep, this format also requires prior planning: being clear about my goal for the training, acknowledging the possible hiccups that I might encounter working with two different dognalities and the intricacies of moving forward at a pace nd understanding what both dogs can handle.

Here is a really bonus about this training plan. A training plan is all the specifics about the lesson such as: goals and a step-by-step on how to achieve those goals. A training plan takes place before the actual training with recordkeeping for future trainings after the
session.

Below is a training plan that has allowed me to have fun exercising and training my dogs in just under 30 minutes.

I end up with two content and tired pups – ready to take a snooze and giving me time to get some “real” work done. Deuce and Rioja are both ball crazy and tug crazy, they also love to run and just be kind of goofy.

One of the challenges I was having when Deuce and I play soccer is that Rioja loves to take the ball away from Deuce.

Yes, it is kind of cute but also very annoying to Deuce and to me. In essence it was Rio calling the shots. There is something really important about playing games with dogs: you control the dog (arousal levels & good play “etiquette”) by controlling the game always! I suddenly realized that Rioja was not playing nice.

I sat down to work out a training plan so that we could continue hanging out together while Rioja sharpened her play etiquette. Here it is; the finalized version of it… I have a tug in my hand while I position the soccer ball for Deuce in front of him. As he lays waiting with eyes glued on the ball, I kick the ball for Deuce while Rioja is close to me in a sit/stay.

She has learned after just a handful of trials that Deuce chasing after his ball means that she gets to tug with me.

Because of this, she approaches me and waits for me to give her the let’s tug verbal cue “take it”. In this example, we have a compound cue: Deuce running after the ball and me saying “take it”. If I do not say take it she should not engage with the toy. See how it is possible and also beneficial to multi-task sometimes?

As Rio and I are playing a fun game of tug, Deuce has returned with his ball to the kickoff
location - this took literally months of careful training as he was not retrieving the ball
but just wanted to chase and more importantly block the ball, Border Collie style, so that
it would stop moving.

Here and there I throw a monkey-wrench to the steps above to continue to push the envelope on what I want my dogs to learn and to keep things really fresh. Sometimes Rioja gets to run wild with the tug toy. She would just take off giving Deuce and me another opportunity at kick-off.

Rioja is now returning faster and at her own volition with the tug toy to play more- a sign of a well “installed” game of tug (installed = taught or learned).

This morning I realized that my plan is working! Rioja is not chasing after Deuce’s ball anymore – while Deuce defers to her every single time… wow Deuce, you are a gentleman! And, she is also getting to do an activity that she finds reinforcing.

Training plans don't always work so smoothly and for the most part, there is always some issue to resolve. I love the troubleshooting aspect of training! It’s fun and a good challenge, yet not as much fun as seeing that your dogs can learn specific skills as I learn to multi-task efficiently.
 

Duke Says: “I Want More” more walks, longer walks..

As we return from our walk and I am removing his collar and leash to start my work day, Duke looks up at me as if saying “I want more” more walks, longer walks, opportunities to smell and chase, just to hang out outside. I am thinking: dogs, just like us, want more, too! Then, I shift into trainer’s mode: How much exercises should we give our dogs? How long and strenuous should the walks be? And, what about activities that engage their brains? I guess the answer is: it depends. It depends on the dog and its energy level, the age and physical condition. When it comes to mental stimulation, I use my dogs (and my client's dogs and fosters when they stay with me) demeanor to gauge when I have given them enough mental stimulation and physical activity.

You see, dogs don’t lie - they constantly are learning about us and our funny ways, their environment and how they can have their needs met.  Depending on my schedule for that day determines what  activities I plan for the dogs. Most days we take a walk in the morning  – as it gets hotter and hotter, we go out really early. The dogs come home and they take a snooze  - I go to work :(. Midday they get a Kong with something yummy in there. Lately the "yummy" has been a small block tripe, yeah I know, remember yummy from the point of view of the dogs… it is terrific to help with any stomach upset and assists in digestion.

However, since tripe comes raw, make sure you sanitize the Kongs (use your dishwasher) and wash your hands after handling.