Reflexive behaviors

Can we teach our dogs a behavior or behaviors that are so ingrained that the dog will perform with 100 % accuracy?  This is what everyone apparently wants, but where do we fall short? 

I am talking to one of my clients about this proposition. We are discussing recall and the ability of a dog to come back to us no matter what the level of distraction.  I describe to her what I mean when I refer to a behavior being so ingrained in the dog’s repertoire that it happens when requested without a “second thought.”

The analogy I use is of a professional athlete at the top of their game.  If you ask her (okay, him too) what are the steps they took for their massive tennis return or climbing a wall without falling, in perfect harmony and economy of movements, they might tell you they really do not know all the tiny decisions and steps it takes to perform at that level of finesse. Their movements have become reflexive. Here is the thing: this athlete has had thousands upon thousands of opportunities for practice. Most likely, they have also submitted to intense mind training in the form of previsualization, mindfulness and the like. Modalities that as far as we know, our dogs cannot do.

I propose that, just like the athlete that performs with such proficiency, our dogs can too. The caveat, of course, is that we must give them thousands upon thousands of opportunities for learning and practicing the behavior until it becomes a reflexive response to a given stimulus.

Take for example Ian Dunbar’s PhD, DVM “emergency sit.”  The idea behind the “emergency sit” is to teach the position of a sit- defined as the dog placing its butt on the ground, in as many environmental circumstances we can muster. 

We need to train so that our dog generalizes that when “x” happens and we ask for a sit- either verbally or by using a visual aid/cue, the dog sits. No matter what!  Dr. Dunbar’s idea is that we can stop a dog from chasing cars, wildlife, or our dog running towards an unknown dog, if the dog has learned a very solid sit under all these set of circumstances. Not bad, huh?

My intention, in this blog post, is not to fully describe how one can achieve this, but to make us aware of what is possible first. Then decided under what circumstances we need the behavior to take place before we decide how to go about teaching it.

I have written in the past about Deuce’s compulsion for tugging and how that simple behavior has turned into my most solid avenue for a recall no matter what. 

 A friend of mine and I are walking our dogs off-leash when we hear dogs that belong to a home in the near distance. We had not seen the dogs approach us because of thick vegetation, but heard them loud and clear when they were just a few feet away from us.  At this moment, Deuce began to trot towards the dogs. I noticed that these two are really not very welcoming!  So I called Deuce back with my verbal tug cue “take it.” As he heard it, he turned around immediately and we got the hell out of there, hoping the dogs would stay behind and not come after us. The difference between Deuce’s reflexive game of tug and a dog that loves to tug and does it well, is that Deuce will tug anywhere. Most dogs will only tug when certain conditions are met: only inside the home, backyard, with this toy but not that one, only with this person, etc.

Thus the question remains:  are we willing to give our dog tons of practice so that behaviors that are important to us become so well practiced and refined that they become reflexive?

Teaching Lie Down To Come Inside or Go Outside

How does your dog tell you that he wants to go out or come in when let outside?   Perhaps your dog is like Rico who would scratch at the door in order to signal he wanted to come inside.

Rico had learned all sorts of new stuff.  The previous week I taught him how to lie down.  This next session we were finally putting the behavior on a verbal cue- which I like to introduce only when the dog is lying down without me having to offer him a food lure. As I arrived to the session and to my surprise, Rico greeted me in his typical effusive manner, but shortly thereafter he did lie down! Some dogs really know how to turn the charm on!

Rico’s “mom” mentioned that she did not like Rico scratching at the screen door to let her know he wanted in.  So, I suggested we try having Rico lie down outside as his signal of wanting to come in. We set it up so that Rico was outside and I remained inside ready to pay him when he would lie down.  I was confident he would lie down in order to be let in.

The reason I thought this was because he had just been reinforced for lying down.  We have ample proof that whatever behavior gets reinforced, will be repeated.  You see, dogs are really smart.  They do what works and they abandon any behavior that is not reinforced in some way. Pretty brilliant, right?

It did not take long before Rico was lying down outside and next to the door. We practiced for a few trials and it took him less and less time with every trial to realize that lying down was the “correct” response to be let in.  I love it when I can find an acceptable behavior for both parties!

Here is how you can teach your dog to stop scratching at the door or even barking, and instead politely lie down to have the door open.

First, you need to make sure your dog has truly learned what lie down (or down) means. You can find out if your dog’s lie down is up to fluency if you ask your dog to lie down and he can comply with at least 85% or more correct answers.  Anything under this requires more practice in order to make the behavior fluent.  If your dog needs a refresher, read below for some tips in teaching him this very handy behavior.

Lure your dog into a down (from a sit) by:

1. Placing a treat in front of your dog’s front paws.
2. Treat for lowering the head/neck.
3. Bending the elbows.
4. Bending of the knees or at the hip.
5. Going all the way down.

Use of An Empty Hand Signal:

1. Remove the treat from your hand and with an EMPTY hand. 
2. Give your dog the EXACT same hand signal you did while holding food in your hand.  Your dog might hesitate at this point.  Be patient and give your dog time to process.  At this point you can pay your dog for a behavior that he has learned well (like a sit) to keep him interested in continuing working with you.
3. Reward your dog for lowering the elbows, knees or even the neck at this point. Pay for any of these approximations.
4. Once your dog is lowering his belly all the way to the ground and has done this consistently for 5 trials, it’s time to introduce the verbal cue lie down or down.

Introducing the Verbal Cue:
When using a verbal cue AND a hand signal it is CRUCIAL that you first give the dog the hand signal and then the verbal cue and not both at the same time.  Dogs will default to minding our body language over verbal cues so if you give both of them at the same time (hand signal and verbal cue) your dog will not learn the verbal cue.

• Once your dog is fluent in lying down when you ask him to do so, you can ask with abandonment.
• Practice in different locations inside your home, a café if this is a typical outing for your dog, etc.
• Occasionally pay your dog for lying down, otherwise the behavior will go into extinction.

Training for Success:
We ALWAYS want our dog to succeed so that we can reward them. Remember that whatever behavior gets rewarded you will see more of.  Please train/practice with the following guidelines below:

Practice each new behavior five times (five trials) in a row.  Depending on the success of your dog for that particular exercise you will…

• PUSH: If your dog is successful five out of five trials… push to the next step.
• STICK: If your dog is successful three out of five trials… keep practicing at this level until he/she improves.
• DROP: If your dog is successful two or one out of five trials…keep practicing at this level until he/she improves.

Now you are ready to generalize the behavior, which means teaching your dog that “lie down” (or down- pick your cue and stick to it) means putting the belly on the ground when you ask in the living room, outside, inside the car.  This is a skill that dogs find challenging so do not skip this step.

Teaching your dog to lie down to be let in:

Make sure you take your dog outside where you want him to eventually lie down and ask for the behavior. Pay handsomely. Repeat a few times.

You can stop here and practice a bit more another day or after a few trials outside, try leaving your dog outside while you go inside and wait for him to lie down on his own.  When he does, open the door immediately and let him in to cash in on the prize.  Repeat a few times making sure your dog gets paid for every correct response besides letting him come inside.  In your next session you can practice with having your dog inside next to you at the door.  It would be easier if you warm him up with a few trials of lying down before requesting the behavior at the door.

In time you can stop paying your dog for lying down when wanting “door services” and use the opening of the door as the reinforcement for him lying down first.

What our dogs can offer us

I love to take time in the morning to hang out with my dogs. In fact, anytime when I get to just watch them is precious for me. Many times I try to watch inconspicuously wishing that I could fly or hover unnoticed by them as I take away every secret of their “doginess”. This interests me not only because I love my dogs – meaning that I think they are the cutest, funniest, smartest, and on and on, but all those loaded descriptions that in a way say more about us than them. But I am also fascinated with doginess: the pure notion of dogs (all dogs) being dogs.

As I exercise my habit of just observing them, I am caught in a moment of Rio’s and Deuce’s relationship; another aspect of doginess. This little ritual takes place every single morning, yet I still enjoy watching for nuances and laugh to myself because Rio performs this every single morning with absolute seriousness and motive.

Both dogs eat their meals while being fed out of a bowl in the laundry room. Their places are set as well as the routine. Deuce takes a much more dedicated approach to eating his meal and by the time he is licking his bowl with satisfaction, Rio has long ago left her post and is now watching Deuce intently from a distance. This is one of the parts I love most about her little “ritual”; even though she is ready to pounce on Deuce’s bowl for any residual of a meal, she does it respectfully - almost unnoticed by Deuce. There is also so much about their individualism that is displayed in this precious after-breakfast moment. Rio’s bigger than life approach: making her interactions with what interest her as if the world is her oyster, even though often enough she truly lacks the confidence that Deuce exhibits so matter of fact, on a daily basis and so elegantly.

Unless I am really running late, I give myself the gift of slowing my own morning routine to watch them. As I slow myself to pay attention to the intricacies AND delicacies of behavior- especially dog behavior, I am transported to an intimate world where only those willing to slow down enough to notice and relish are invited.

Dogs can, if we let them, offer us an existence that is less unencumbered with banality. In the process of witnessing and enjoying their interactions, and secret codes of engagement we are by default practicing empathy, which in my opinion is very much lacking in our world. Empathy: seeing it from the perspective of others… and what can be more empathetic than making the decision to forfeit our own momentary rush to partake in what matters to others, and what matters to our dogs.

Are we bribing our dogs with food?

I am working with a client and her dog with recall (come when called). My client calls her dog and seconds later produces a treat for the dog. The dog meanwhile remains motionless down the hallway of the home.

I tell my client that it's best not to bribe the dog. She looks at me puzzled. 'What do you mean by bribing her?' She asks me. I explain to her that there is a big difference with the use of food as a reinforcer and the use of food as a bribe.

A reinforcer is a consequence and something desirable by the dog. It appears after the dog has performed the behavior we are after – not before. That is a bribe! This is an important distinction because consequences are what drives behavior.

If there is an area of contention in positive training, commonly known as reward-based training, is the use of food. People agonize over to use food for training the world over. I am sure every single trainer has heard the same from their clients: Why use food? For how long must I use food? Etc.
There are scientific reasons why we work with food. First off, food is what we called a Primary reinforcer. That simply means that dogs (or any animal for that matter) not only needs food to survive but wants food, likes food, and will work for food.

If you think of it, why would we not use one of the most powerful reinforcers on the planet to teach and maintain behavior? Not doing so is what is crazy!

The second conflict people have about the use of food for training is the how long must they use the food part. The answer is that it depends. It depends on several things: For example, is the behavior we are interested in teaching new “material” for the dog? Is he just learning this?

Is the context, person working with the dog, the setting where the dog is supposed to perform the behavior also a novelty? Any change in the context in which the dog is expected to perform is perceived, as a “novelty” scenario for the dog and in such cases food should remain part of the picture until the dog has learned the behavior in this specific context.

Another important factor to consider is that if we want any behavior (from any species) to remain strong that behavior must be reinforced. Period! If it is not reinforced in some way the behavior will become less frequent until it becomes extinct.

Third conflict some people bring to the table when using food as a reinforcer is based on the expectation that the dog should do what he is told either out of love for us, respect or because he simply should. We humans are so comical at times; this being one of those times. LOL.

Here is my best analogy to explain how our way of thinking is not in line with the theory of learning. Imagine that your boss expects you to show up to work because you should either:

A. Like your boss, or worse - do it out of love for your boss. In essence, you should show up to work without the expectation of any other reinforcer just for the love for your boss… right! Let’s see how long this lasts…

B. Your job should be intrinsically reinforcing enough to you so that you do not need to get paid for it with money that is, which is highly reinforcing (and a need in most circumstances) for people.

C. Because you SHOULD… there is clearly a moral tone to the “should” and even though people are moral beings, dogs are not! So should really never enters in the decision making process of any dog.

What I hope is for people to truly understand the scientific principles behind the use of food as a powerful way to teach and maintain behavior. When they don’t, and as a result they fall short on using it wisely, everyone loses. And life is way too short to make things more difficult for everyone. Stay tune for more in depth “discussion” on food as well as other salient reinforcers.

When to Intervene?

For some unknown reason Deuce’s guarding of certain objects, such as his precious ball, has gone up in frequency. I noticed just the other night that he began to vocalize in his typical high-pitched tone when he was lying on the couch next to me as Rio was cruising by. For the most part when this happens Rio gets the message as she slinks away or removes herself from the object diffusing the interaction. In other words, showing good doggie manners.

So the question is: When should one intervene in doggy-affairs and when should we allow them to “figure it out”? From my perspective, there are a few things to consider in order to make the correct decision. We must pay attention to what happened just before one of the dogs begins to communicate with the other that such and such thing is theirs to keep? Or, to notice what kind of resource is the coveted one and under what specific circumstances.

The second observation that I like to make is to ascertain the reaction of the dog at the receiving end of the threat. Specifically again, how is this dog responding?

Is he or she “getting the message”? Will choose to stand its ground? A potential dog fight as a result of this? Is the dog feeling emotionally “flatten”? If so, is their confidence diminishing? Since behavior never occurs in a vacuum, but instead it is always context specific looking at these details makes perfect sense.

Yes, it is also true that behavior is always in flux. I can see this so clearly when it comes to people forming habits. For example: someone watching a favorite show at dinnertime and now a new habit of eating while watching TV is born. Or hanging out with a particular person and suddenly we move on with our lives wondering why we spent so much time with this person or doing a particular activity.

I was pondering the above as Deuce growled at Rio when they were both eating their meal, which they done previously hundreds of times without incident. Now, Rio after hearing Deuce growling,  stopped eating and quietly exited the laundry room. I did not hear Deuce growl but it just took one look at Rio’s demeanor for me to realize Deuce had growled at her as she was chowing down her food.

What has changed in Deuce’s mind? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary nor have I seen any other changes in their relationship to warrant concern.

The truth is that at times the antecedents of a behavior are very obvious and sometimes they require close observation. At times too, we are not going to know what the motivation behind the behavior is- and this is the case with Deuce’s escalating his sometimes threatening display towards Rio while there are both minding their peas and eating their meals.

I decided to monitor their meals more closely to see if I could decipher what, if anything, is different for Deuce and to make sure that I had Rio’s back. So I stuck around once I lowered their food bowls and watched from the sidelines. If Deuce began to eat and they both appeared relaxed I moved on. But if this was not the case I would admonish Deuce and stick around until at least Rio was done with her meal.

A few days ago, I did hear Deuce emit a sound while they were both eating so I walked in the room and just stood behind Rio and in between both dogs. Rio was looking away from Deuce. I guess she felt my “support” because she continued to eat without missing a beat.

Deuce’s funny quirks might pass without a major incident, but it is also possible that it might escalate in which case I must re-think their eating habits.

The take-home message for me and I hope for everyone who has more than one dog (or more than one pet at home) is to constantly evaluate the status of the relationship between the pets and to be ready to make any changes so that all pets live as stress free as possible in their home. It is also much easier to keep things sailing smoothly than righting a relationship that has gone wrong.

I would argue that just like we can get into bad habits- such as eating our meals mindlessly in front of the TV, our dogs could get into behavioral patterns (are they also habits?). Of course, not all behavioral patterns are “bad” or undesirable. However, as the case might be, our jobs - as I see it, is to keep an eye  out for any change away from the “norm” and to make whatever adjustments are necessary (as easy as relocating a food-bowl or as complicated as engaging in behavior modification of some sort) so that the quality of life of the animals in our care is not compromised.

Absence of Behavior

I am at a social gathering and I'm talking to someone who just learned that I'm a professional dog trainer. He asks me if I can shed some light onto an incident with his Mastiff. He continues to relate how his Mastiff whom he has made sure received ample training (I don’t know where or what kind of training) growled at a friend his dog is familiar with as the friend was reaching over the dog in order to reach the cooler while they were camping.

He is baffled when he notices his dog is now also growling at a woman who approached him just minutes after the first incident. As I tell him that I can only speculate as to why his dog growled since I do not have much information on his dog, never met him and did not witness the incidents. He goes on to relate to me that his dog normally is friendly to people. He “will sit and wait” he tells me, as a person his dog is not familiar with approaches him.

I tell him again that there might be a myriad of reasons why his dog is just sitting as a person approaches him, but that I am not even sure his dog is that friendly! There is a difference, I assured him, between staying putt and wanting an interaction.

A dog that is truly friendly or interested in interacting with another dog or a person will approach the individual, not remain passive or worse, move away.

A dog approaching someone and, of course, depending on the dog’s body language and potential vocalization is a clear indication that the dog is interested in the interaction.

What we want to see is a dog that eagerly wants to interact. And the best telling sign for assessing this is the dog’s overall attitude (reflected in his body language & other forms of communication).

One wants to see a very loose body- not rigid musculature. The mouth is also relaxed and open instead of tight and closed.

The eyes are - you guess it, soft in their expression and blinking, instead of hard either darting from one spot to spot or staring at you.

Indeed, be careful of making a typical mistake of only “reading” the dog’s tail for signs of friendliness. The tail is one of the most misunderstood body parts in the repertoire of dog communication. Moreover, learn to get a quick read on the overall demeanor of the dog as a whole and then concentrate, if needed, on the message that specific body parts such as the mouth, eyes, facial expression, etc. are telegraphing.

On these same lines, I had an owner interested in bringing his puppy to my puppy class. On the class form he told me that his puppy is “so easy”: he does not bark, chew on household items and the like. Aah, I immediately saw this as a red flag. This is not normal dog behavior!

The moral of the story here is that a lack of behavior/behaving does not mean that the dog is, comfortable, not stressed or welcoming of affection and interaction.

As a matter of fact, there are circumstances in which a dog that is ready to aggress will really slow down its movements. Communication between our dogs and us is not a simple affair. It is actually complex and nuanced.

All beings behave and their behavior, of course, is a reflection on their interaction with
their environment at large, and is constantly changing and adapting. This is one example
where looking beyond the obvious will serve our animals in our care and us very well.

Quiz of the week

What do you think leads behavior?

1. The use of a verbal cue/command?
2. A marker such a “click” or a “yes” when our dog (or any other animal with a spinal cord) does something we like?
3. Consequences: good and bad (from the perspective of the learner)?  

Drum roll… the correct answer is: # 3!!!

Indeed it is the consequence immediately after the behavior that will increase or decrease the behavior from happening again or being suppressed. Consequences though MUST be delivered immediately after the behavior otherwise they are useless in directing which behaviors we want to see more of (or less of). Understanding this important principle of animal learning really put us in the driver seat. If instead of getting frustrated at the dog because they are not “listening to us” we focus in giving timely consequences for behaviors we would not only communicate more effectively with our dogs our “desires” but we would begin to reap the benefits of our sound application of learning theory, which by the way, is not a “theory” in the strict use of the term. It is a science – the science of learning.

One of my biggest pleasures in life is relaxing in a hot tub. Lucky for us, our current home has a one. It is part of our daily routine to get in for a quick soak in the am. Deuce and Rio often come with us and either lay down wondering how long before we do something “fun” or engage them in play. Some mornings, they bring a toy – expecting us to play with them.

Have you ever tried training your dog from a hot tub? I have and it is not easy! Especially if you can’t reach for the toy. I have been encouraging Deuce to bring the ball close enough to me so that I can throw it for him but instead Deuce lies next to his ball exchanging quick glances between my eyes and the ball and wondering what the heck is wrong with me!

I realize that I need to teach this boy that in order for me to throw the ball for him, I need to be able to reach it. Okay, okay somethin’ else on the training list.

This morning, however, Deuce tried something different - really different: He gently nudges his ball towards me. Now I was able to reach the ball while hoping I would not crack a rib as I leaned forward from the hot tub. Immediately I threw the ball back at him and I continued to do so as long as he continued to nudge the ball back in my direction - ignoring any other response from him.

Ahh, the beauty of consequences leading behavior! Two points for me for:

1. Noticing that Deuce was engaging in some novel behavior within this context.
2. Seizing the opportunity to reinforce what I have been trying to “explain” to him: If I cannot reach the ball, I can’t toss it.

Now that you know the answer, try this at home. Stop getting frustrated or plain angry at your dog when he refuses to “listen” or respond to your cues. Instead, focus your attention on implementing consequences for behaviors that you want to see more of or applying consequences for behaviors you wish your dog would stop doing.

 

Why?

We just finished playing with the Frisbee and I am now calling the dogs to come inside so that I can feed them and get on with my day. Yet Rio refuses to come in. Instead, she remains laying down in the cool front porch - her expression appears to be one of asking: Why would I want to come in?

I stop asking and I shut the front door behind me. A few minutes later she has changed her mind and wants in.

Do you remember being a kid and your parents asking you to do something and when you asked them why you had to do it their response was: Because I am your… (fill in the blank) and you have to do what I say, bla, bla, bla…

Guess what? It is not any different for dogs! Before they march themselves to “obey” our orders or requests the dog is always thinking: Why? What's in it for me??? Yes, I know we really love to think that dogs do things out of love for us and while I have no interest in denying the love they might be feeling, I also know that they are completely self-interested beings.

We need to understand this basic principle: All living species engage in behaviors based on self-interest. So the bottom line is that behaviors get executed when there is the motivation to do so. In essence…it is all about MOTIVATION people!

It is our job (since we are setting the “agenda for our dogs” and we have the big primate brain) to find, time and time again, motivators so that our dogs perform behaviors that we want and need from them.

I am aware that for some folks this scientific fact is too much to bear. Perhaps not “romantic” enough. Frankly, I do not doubt for one second that my dogs “love” me or that they want me around, (most of the time, say) but I have made peace with the fact that they too need to follow their own self-interest and that these two realities can coexist!

The fun begins when we find ways of bartering (motivating) our dogs to do what we need them to do because it is good for them even if they don’t “know it” or because it is what we want them to do. Besides, aren’t the best relationships filled with negotiations?

Using our dogs self-interest and need for motivators to our advantage is in my opinion one of the biggest differences between professional trainers who have an understanding of animal learning and the “average” pet owner. I see so many of my clients struggling with this aspect of their relationship because they hold dear to the belief that their dogs “should” do “x” “y” or “z”…kind of like our parents did…

I wonder if this big “misunderstanding” comes from the fact that our society thinks and treats dogs - and other pets - as possessions. Possessions, of course, have no agency!

Possessions have no needs and no self-interest. But because our dogs are not possessions, they will behave in ways that they consider advantageous.

I recently heard someone saying that her dog was "opportunistic" in the given situation that we were discussing. My immediate thought was that indeed her dog and all other dogs on the planet are opportunistic since they come pre-wired with the self-preservation. One can even argue that domestication lies at the center of self-preservation. However, this does not exclude them from forming strong bonds with us.

This topic of discussion is potentially controversial because it appears as if we have to take sides: Dogs are selfish OR dogs are capable of empathy/love. The debate continues and I truthfully don’t know why. Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., a former Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and cofounder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, among others, have demonstrated that many animals including dogs are capable of empathy, humor and care of others. Since dogs are beings with intricate, emotional lives isn’t it possible that they can demonstrate empathy and care, AND also act out of self-interest? Perhaps the “problem” is that we are beginning to appreciate how similar dogs are to us and for some folks this notion is (still) very controversial…

Lassie, Go Home

It has been a month since I began to work with Deuce’s recall in a more structured manner. Most people might have been happy with their dog responding at the speed that Deuce was responding, but me… I want faster and often recalls from my dogs.

Now its the end of the month and time to “test-drive” the new recall. John has taken Deuce and Rioja out for hikes with Deuce of leash. His report of Deuce’s recall is that it is just “okay”. This might be due to the problem of [lack] of generalization. You see dogs are not good at taking one learning experience (taught by this person in this place, etc.) and engage in that behavior in a complete new context. No, the dog is not being stubborn! He just has not learned to generalize that the behavior being requested must be performed in a myriad of scenarios and contexts. In short, the dog is under-trained. No surprises here, it is me who constantly is working with the dogs when taking them on walks not John; so the chances of Deuce returning to John are proportional to the times that John requests and reinforce Deuce returning to him.

I took both dogs last week for a short romp with Deuce off leash and guess what? He remained glued to me (by choice and with no reinforcement in sight). It was as if I had a different dog all together!!

Almost at the end of our walk I spotted a rabbit - I find it funny that most of the time I see the rabbits before they do… sometimes I point them out to them and sometimes I don’t. Well, this time I saw the rabbit and seconds later both dogs spotted it.

Deuce left my proximity in hot chase after the rabbit, with Rioja in tow. Ah, a perfect example on when NOT to call your dog back. They are running full charge with a prey in sight; chances of them actually hearing you are close to nil. And even if they do hear you the chances of a turnaround towards you is very slim for most dogs. Hence the importance of being very careful when letting dogs off-leash.

As I saw them take off I relaxed - no danger in sight and I also knew that they would not catch the rabbit - did they even get close to the rabbit? I don’t know because they took off running up hill and out of my sight. I continued to walk in their direction and once I was on top of the hill I called them. Rioja was close by and she came to me. I could not see Deuce but he turned up in a matter of seconds and I took a breath as I converse with them about their fun adventure.

So how long is too long for a dog to be out of sight when off leash? Well, the answer might surprise you. I have had clients in the past tell me that their dogs are gone for 10 min., 30 min. even so long that they (client) decide to get in the car and go home!!!

When I hear these kinds of stories my heart drops. In fairness, I hear these accounts as we engage in teaching their dogs a more reliable recall. My time limit for my dogs being away from me is…. 2 minutes! I actually time them and so far Deuce - who is the one that has struggled more with this behavior has come back under the 2 minutes.

So what should a person do when their dog is gone for longer? Should they stay put hoping their dog will return? Should they go looking for him/her? Should they go home?

I guess there is not one good, one-size-fits all answer. Some people claim that dogs are very good navigators and find “their way home”. I am not so sure this is true for most dogs. Sure, some dogs tend to roam and as such they might be very familiar with a certain territory… but why is that dog roaming?????? Dogs, just like people, can get disoriented very easily and not being able to find their way back to the car if hiking on a trail of a parking lot, or even their home.

For my part, I much rather put my eggs in the “training” basket instead of hoping that if one of my dogs decides to take off far away he or she might know how to come back to safety.

So, in addition to constantly working on their recall (every outing that is) I take very calculated risks before I let them off leash. Sure, there are no guaranties but the reality still is, that the more we use proper opportunities for teaching our dogs that coming when called pays off the better chance we all stand in returning home all together after a fun time outside. No magic potions! Just ongoing
and consistent training…

Do you really love me? Does it matter?

Laika our eight-year-old Kelpie-mix was born, I am guessing because we adopted her at the age of one, with weak hind legs. Her front legs and chest area are super strong. Because of the weakness in her hind area and because I am a trainer that loves a good challenge, I along with the help of a couple of great physical therapists designed a series of exercises to strengthen her rear legs.

We work on these exercises three times a week – similarly to a person going to a gym religiously. Her sessions of course are much shorter and she does not have to wear the ultimate in sports attire.

For the most part we work in the garage where I have a series of props and we move from one exercise to the next swiftly: me paying attention to the placement of her paws, her gait and balance, the wagging of her tail with open grin and making sure she gets treated for almost every well performed rep. A few weeks back, I started working with her on the same exercises outside. We make use of the natural terrain that is soft on the joints yet it represents a challenge because it is on an incline.

The sessions go like this: I work with Deuce - our young and energetic border collie on impulse control in a high-intensity game of whippet. If you have no idea what a whippet game is… stay tuned…. as I will write on this fantastic training tool/game in a future post. While Deuce relaxes and catches his breath, Laika and I work on her routine. A few days ago, as I launched her treat for her to “find” she remained with nose glued to the ground in a hopeful search for another treat. I called her after a few seconds to no avail. As I stood on our exercise “hill” the question: “do you love me”? popped into my head.

Well, then if you love me you would mind me and come rushing to our exciting game/practice…. If you love me more than a piece of kibble you would…Really? Does it matter if my dog loves me? Yes! It matters to my ego and to whatever motherly instincts I have (all of course directed towards four legged species- that is just my speed).

From the perspective of behavior and behavior modification however, my question is a moot point! It really matters little if my dogs love me because what really governs behavior (any behavior: our dogs, yours or mine) is MOTIVATION.

I have had more than one client feel somewhat embarrassed when after expressing (just like me) their desire to be loved by their pets followed by me telling them (as gently as I can) that it really does not matter if their dog loves them. In other words: to give up on the need to be loved by their dog!
Motivation should not be an undesirable “dirty” concept in our minds. It is actually natural – that is it is evolutionarily advantageous for any animal (yes, us too) to act out of sheer self-interest.

What is even more fascinating is that the motivation my dog can have at a given moment; including her lack of interest in our joint practice has so little to do with the wonderful, warm and fulfilling relationship we have.

Now take note: while I have let go of wanting my dogs to love me with adoration, I do want my dogs to trust me! I want them to feel safe and “know” that I will do anything in my power to protect them, meet their true needs and give them a break when their motivation is not 100 % in line with mine.
Does it matter that you love me? No, but it is sure nice to think of the possibility…