Why don’t you play tug with your boy?

We are on our regular walk with the dogs.  One of the things that we do while hiking with them is practicing coming when called.  If we want reliability, we must practice.  If we want reliability, we must also pay the dog.

Deuce is really, really reliable at recall, and that makes me smile with pride. Once I figured out that playing tug was very reinforcing for him I began to use it as a reward for coming back.  In no time his recall went from 80% reliability to almost 100% on every hike. How cool is that people?

This morning I asked John, who walks the dogs many times without me, to play tug with Deuce at a particular spot. The reasoning behind this is twofold.  Unfortunately for me, I cannot play as much tug as I want with my dogs due to an injury to my right hand.  In addition, John plays regularly with him on walks, but kind of on the same part of the hike.  Today, I am asking him to induce Deuce to play in a spot that he normally does not.

I explain to John that unpredictability is important in training dogs. Yes, indeed I can make the same argument about being predictable of course, but today I want to focus on being unpredictable.

Unpredictability adds another dimension to training and the acquisition of behavior because it makes it fun.

In our case with Deuce, this is a dog that is so interested in tugging, that he walks and runs as he turns towards us in the event that we might just pull the tug out for him or ask him at long distance to “take it”.

Ah, magical words for this dog. I explain to John that if he only pulls the tug on the same spots over and over again the recall might just fall apart. You see, dogs are excellent at flow charts: When this happens, then this other thing takes place, etc.  Before long your dog is kinda training you instead of you being able to control the consequences which are at the crux of getting behavior.

In addition, when we use unpredictability as explained above, by default we are using a thinner schedule of reinforcement which in lay talk means that dog is only getting reinforced in some occasions.

Depending on which schedule of reinforcement used which instant of behavior is getting reinforced.

For example:  I might reinforce with a game of tug for the return from Deuce that fall under 3 seconds say. Or only when he runs at a certain speed, etc.   I can also choose to reinforce a certain % of all the times he comes when called as another example of a thinner schedule.

Unpredictability in reinforcing works wonders because apparently, there is an element of frustration and I would argue hope for future reinforcements.  Think of betting at a casino.  Those folks are working just like my pup at a thinner schedule of reinforcement and the behavior (coming or betting) goes up.

Of course, I am interested in reliability because coming when called can be a life saver for my pups but besides this reliability I love playing little games with my dogs. I enjoy engaging with them in manners that brings them joy.

Have you ever realized that we too are motivated by the expectation of something we want hard?

Say a trip.  Have you noticed that often the anticipation of the trip with all the planning and day dreaming with expectation is actually more fun than the trip?  This is what I am talking about here!

As we walk on our hikes I relish knowing that Deuce is attentive because he so much wants to have an opportunity to go for the tug and this game that we are playing makes the walk so much more enjoyable for the two of us.

So here is my advice to you.  Next time you are thinking of reinforcing your dog, think about what (or how) you want your dog to perform that given task.  See if you can observe closely and begin to reinforce for more accuracy, cuteness, etc.  Now, do keep in mind that making sure the dog can perform first the behavior is mandatory for a good outcome.  As a form of example:  If my dog has not yet learned to lie down, how then can I request he lies “sphinx” style with both hips equally tucked and in perfect symmetry?

If my dog has yet not learned to come to me when he is 10ft away under certain specific conditions (wild life, other dogs, people etc.) how then can I expect for him to come at 20ft or even at a great distance under those same circumstances?  You get the picture?

Ask with Abandonment

We constantly want our dogs to do stuff for us.  And that is not really a problem. One could argue that any relationship is to a greater extent built on what the individuals in the relationship do for one another.  While, of course, our relationship with our dog(s) is precious, I am not saying that it is or should be equated to relationship we have with other people.

Then again, our relationship with our dogs can easily gravitate between us wanting something from them because it pleases us- I am thinking here of how much we love to have Deuce join us on the sofa every evening instead of “retiring” to his crate early in the evening.  Yes, Deuce and I are the early-rises in the family so I guess it makes sense that he wants to retire early!  LOL.

Or the times where we do know better and we need our dogs to do something right then and now because their safety or the safety of others might be at stake.

So again, the problem is not in the “asking” or in the wanting- or even in having the expectation of the dog complying over and over again with our requests.

The problem lies in not understanding how to best use reinforcers (what the dog wants a given moment or would work for).

There are many qualities to any reinforcer.  I will mention a few and expand on some.

1. What kind of reinforcer are we offering? Here again we can argue that it is not only what specifically it is such as: food, play, quiet time as social interaction, access to other dogs, a good sniff, etc. But is it the “appropriate” reinforcer for the behavior?
2. The immediacy in producing the goody.
3. The relationship between “counts” of behavior and the times these are reinforced. This is called a schedule of reinforcement. Depending on the schedule what the results in “correct” answers.  
4. The how the reinforcer is being delivered and advanced technique that can really up the game in getting more of what we want from our pup, etc.

If we are asking our dogs to do something that, for the most part, is considered difficult for the dog to do mainly because there are other competing reinforcers at the moment we must show up and offer “gold”.  Otherwise we are fooling ourselves that our dog will be interested in complying.

And please remember…DOGS DO NOT WANT TO PLEASE US! What they want is what they want.
If pleasing us produces something the dog wants, guess what?  The dog would continue to do it.  It is that simple, yet that powerful.  This is your first tip to success in having your dog comply with you.

Time and time again I have clients tell me sometimes frustrated, and always disappointed that there dogs are not minding them.  Once they understand how to use reinforcers (yes there is a science to it folks!), their dogs become much more interested in them. And everybody is happy.

To give you a specific example: I am working with this client who by any standard has more knowledge and interest in working with her dog than the average pet parent.  Her dog is awesome! I want this dog.  Now, her awesome dog is also an adolescent who on top of it all has not been neutered.  Yep, two levels of complications here for my distressed client.

She tells me she needs to work on recall (come when called) ASAP.  So we get busy.  I learn on the spot that her dog really likes to tug; didn’t I tell you that her dog is awesome?

I begin to tug with him and yes, he is a beautiful tugger.  We get to work with tug and recall.

First on line then off line.  Now my happier client has something else up her sleeve to offer her dog if he is really not interested in food. Even the food mongers also reach their limit into how much food they can eat.
A few minutes into the dog working with me and I have a dog that is doing constant check in just wondering when I will ask him to run to me to take the tug for us to play.

The check-in becomes so predictable that we are laughing.

Another example in how to work with changing how a dog feels, that is the EMOTIONAL aspect of the dog, is in us being able to pair something so incredible-worth-while that it will trump the fear the dog is experiencing when faced with something “scary”.  Here our only -yet hugely important concern is to PAIR or ASSOCIATE the positive item with the non-positive or scary stimulus. So far, that appears easy right?  Show something “good” that the dog wants and viola!  You are changing the association. But not so fast… the devil is in the details.

Once again, if the scary thing is too big (as in really, really scary) it most likely will trump even the most delicious morsel. So understanding how to set this up is really important to reach success and be fair to the dog. Timing both events is also crucial because when we are talking about associations we want the scary thing to always be paired with lovely powerful stuff for the dog.

So, my suggestions in ways to use reinforcers (and establish good “pairings”) are below:

1. The easy part:  When you want your dog to do something for you, don’t just ask mindlessly and with expectation that he “should” (or else…) but really think if what you offering at that moment is really what your dog wants there and then.  Expanded on pt. 4 below.

2. Learn all the fantastic things your dog loves. Write them down!  And become very diligent in producing all these amazing gold nuggets to your advantage. Play around, experiment, take note of success and keep practicing.

3. If you are working with emotional stuff (fear, aggression, anxiety of any sort) please hire someone with experience and that commits to using the science of animal learning (get some referrals- it never hurts) to help you through the process. Once you understand this you should be able to carry on some of the work on your own.

4. You have heard of the saying - and I am paraphrasing here: “I want to be the person my dog thinks I am.” So, if you are so nice to your dog that he thinks you are awesome that is terrific!  Continue then to be really generous with your dog.  Being really generous with your pup implies for me being aware of what they need and want too, not only what we want.  Stop. Think. Evaluate. Give what is wanted at that moment.  And then, ask with abandonment.

Get The Darn Behavior!

Deuce is taking a break from herding sheep. As he drinks some water and rests panting in the shade, Rio and I get engaged in a game of tug and chase and… Rio playing "keep away" when she is suppose to release the toy so that we can continue playing…

This has been Rio’s latest MO: Keeping the tug away from me and holding on hard to it as if her life depended on it. Also, she sometimes refuses to lie down when I ask her to. I am tempted, of course, to hold on to the toy as if my life depended on it, but I decide not to. I ask her to lie down (so that we can go back to the fun game) but she does not. I ignore her cute/not so cute behavior of holding on to the toy and refusal to lay down and instead I counter-command: A counter-command - or cue as I like to call it since command sounds to me to militaristic and not very collaborative - does exactly that: It requests the dog to do another behavior that has been reinforced heavily and that the dog is happy/able to perform.

I counter-command Rio to sit. She sits on a dime. I then ask her to lie down and she does so surrendering her toy too. Nice! And we begin the fun all over again. As I think about this incident I can’t but feel really happy for myself! I used my big human brain instead of repeating myself a bunch of times and in the process frustrating the dog.

The fact is that when we stop labeling our dog as rebellious, dominant, stubborn etc. when they don’t comply with our request, we can "unglue” ourselves from their behavior and reinforce them instead for another behavior - in this case a sit first, then a down.

Yes, indeed, I can also spend oodles of time wondering what the motivation is behind Rio’s no compliance when asked to surrender the toy or lay down. But the reality is that in this particular instance it doesn’t really matter! What I want to do is to continue playing with her because I need to exercises her and I also want to have fun with her. The counter-command invites the dog to try something else so that she/he can be reinforced. And it allows us to move on with the training/playing session.

Another advantage of not getting into a battle of the wills with the dog is that the dog will not get frustrated. Frustration is to be expected when learning. However, the goal is also to teach the dog with the least wear & tear.

[Some] frustration is appropriate and at times and depending on the dog, the confidence and experience the particular dog has in learning if frustration can act as an "activator" in making a behavior more prone. Now, too much frustration and you have a dog that begins to lose confidence… and this my friend, is a slippery slope.

Of course, sometimes it is really important to try and understand what might be motivating a dog’s behavior. Knowing when this is relevant requires experience on our part and it must be judged on a per case basis.

For the most part, I think it is best to counter-condition so that we can continue to reinforce behavior(s) because remember: whatever behavior we reinforce we will see more of.