Training focused attention in heeling

As promised, this embarrassing video shows what happens when you don't have good focus in heeling. This was an official AKC Obedience trial, held outdoors at Purina Farms in Missouri. Obedience trials are different from Rally trials because you are not allowed to talk to your dog or use multiple hand signals. One command, and your dog is expected to follow. A second command is allowed but will knock points off your score. At the Novice level, the heeling pattern is first done on leash, then repeated off-leash. You lose points if your dog doesn't stay with you, and you lose additional points if at any time you have a tight leash.

One thousand reasons, aka excuses, why Atlas and I did poorly in this trial.  It was our first outdoor trial, and earlier in the day there had been sheep and pigs in that same ring.  You can imagine the heavenly smells for a dog to sniff.  We hadn't practiced as much as we needed, obviously.  I had never trained a dog for obedience trials before Atlas, and all our training was done indoors. Can you train focused attention in an outdoor environment? Absolutely! Had I done it? The video speaks for itself. Atlas was supposed to stay nicely by my side through the whole off-leash heeling, and you can hear sympathetic giggles from the audience as he chose to sniff and left me to continue the heeling routine sans dog. I was hoping when I started the "fast" jog, that my movement would catch his attention and bring him back to me.  When that didn't happen, I resorted to calling him again, but it wasn't enough to save our performance.

The moral of the story here?  Training is a continuum, and this Obedience trial was simply one pit stop on a long journey towards having a well-behaved dog. Atlas and I continued to practice, we worked on focus, and we were able to improve significantly.  One training trick that made a huge difference was when I incorporated "jackpots" into my training.  A jackpot is a series of treats, given one after the other, continuously, like a slot machine paying out a prize.  Sometimes it can be 3 treats, sometimes 5, and sometimes even more.  But it is never a rote reward to be given after every exercise.  The jackpot makes the dog want to work more, and work harder, because he never knows if this will be the moment that will earn him the jackpot.  Like a gambler becoming addicted to the slots, the dog starts thinking that training is fun and cannot wait for the next chance to win the big prize.  I saved the jackpot for exceptionally good performance on a single exercise, and it caused him to focus intently on me for a much longer period than if I just gave a single treat after every exercise. Repetition=boring. Variety is the spice of life!

The next video shows what happens after I started incorporating jackpots into my training routine, and stopped giving treats routinely.  Unlike in Novice Obedience, Rally Advanced is done completely off leash but allows the handler to talk and encourage the dog. I have to say, this was one of the proudest moments of my life.  Enjoy!

Think Twice Before Leaving Your Dog on a Tie-Out

Your dog loves to sunbathe and watch people and animals in the neighborhood.  A little fresh air is wonderful for Doggie, and he loves being outside and getting some exercise.  If you don’t have a fenced backyard, a tie-out seems like a reasonable alternative, right?  You only leave him for a couple hours at most, and you provide fresh water and shelter.  So what’s the big deal about leaving Doggie on a tie-out?

Protective and Guarding Traits

Let’s look at it from the dog’s perspective.  Every dog, no matter the size or breed, has instinctive characteristic that make him a dog.  An ingrained canine trait is a need to protect his belongings and space from trespassers.  When your dog is loose in the house, the house becomes his territory and he wants to protect it.  When your dog is contained in a fenced-in backyard, the backyard becomes his territory.  When your dog is on a tie-out, the neighborhood becomes his territory.   His need to defend doesn’t stop at the end of his chain, and this can cause some serious barrier frustration.  The other major issue becomes who your dog sees as “part of his group” and who is considered a trespasser.

Barrier Frustration

For some dogs, especially puppies and young dogs, everyone and everything is their friend.  They want to meet, play and explore with humans and other dogs.   However, the tie-out doesn’t let friendly dogs meet other people and dogs.  Instead, it builds frustration that they can never quite reach the thing they want.  The result of pent-up frustration is an increase in stress hormones such as adrenaline, which can take days—that’s right, days-- to work its way out of Doggie’s system!  This stressful situation is magnified in dogs who don’t want to meet others, but feel the need to protect their territory and themselves.

Trespassers Beware

Some dogs are suspicious of anyone or anything different.  They may not like other dogs, men in hats, squirrels, people in uniforms, or kids on bikes. . . the list goes on.  For these dogs, the tie-out chain protects passersby, but makes the dog feel vulnerable and in need of protecting itself and its territory.   Doggie protects himself by barking ferociously, charging to the end of his tie-out, and acting threatening.   His bluff almost always works, as the person (or dog) walking past will keep on walking.  Over time, this behavior becomes habitual so that anytime Doggie sees a trespassing person or animal, he will act ferocious to scare them off.  In essence, the tie-out creates an aggressive-acting dog, who may or may not know how to truly defend himself in a fight.   For these dogs, the tie-out is absolutely one of the worst things you can do for their long-term health and well-being.

Better Alternatives

It takes more work, but the best alternative is to go outside and spend time playing with Doggie.   You can play “fetch” using a long leash, tossing the ball first in one direction and then the other, or you can take your dog for a nice long walk.  If you are physically unable to exercise Doggie, consider hiring a professional dog walker to walk him for you. If Doggie has issues with other people or dogs, find a good trainer or behaviorist who can help you work through those issues in a positive way.   Please be aware that painful or harsh training methods will cause Doggie to react even more negatively and/or fearfully to the world around him.  

If exercising your dog outside is not an option, then by all means, he can get some exercise in the house.  You can let him play “nose games” by hiding a few biscuits or kibble around a room and letting him find them using his nose.   You can also stand at the top of the stairs and toss a small treat downstairs; after he retrieves the treat he has to return to you for another small treat.  Finally, mental games can be a workout of their own for Doggie—check out a book on Clicker training and try to teach him some tricks!

Getting Started with Crate Training

It is a common misconception that dogs are “den animals".   Domesticated dogs are not wolves, and even wolves only use dens for birthing and raising pups.   Dogs need to be taught to enjoy their crate, and the easiest way is to start by tossing in tiny treats for the dog to sniff out and eat without closing the crate door.

Dogs often need encouragement to get into a box or crate.

This is important--- you do not want to force your dog into his crate in the beginning!  If the dog is terribly nervous, maybe offer a few treats just outside the open crate door.  After a few sessions, or when the dog is comfortable with that, you can toss the treats just inside the crate door for a few more sessions.  Gradually toss the treats in further, praise your dog for going inside, but still you should not close the door!  You can also feed your dog’s food in the crate, keeping the door open until he is comfortable with that environment.  Place the bowl all the way in the back of the crate so the dog needs to turn his back on the door.

When your dog is confidently walking into the crate to chase treats or eat, you can close the door, but only for a few seconds, and then immediately open the door again.  Practice this several times in a 3-5 minute session, and practice several sessions each day.   Your goal is to open the door before the dog starts to whine, bark, or paw at the door. 

Soft crates are only for well-trained dogs!

Ideally, you do not want to open the crate door any time the dog is whining, barking or clawing.  If you do, you will be encouraging him to repeat behavior you don’t want.  If he is acting up when you want to get him out, wait patiently with your hand on the door latch until the split second he is quiet.  If you cannot possibly wait, toss in a treat or a bunch of treats, and the instant he quiets down, open the door.  You don’t want to teach the dog to bark in his crate to get treats, so only use the treat-tossing if you cannot wait for the dog to settle down on his own.

Sometimes you don’t have the luxury of all this training--- you need the dog in the crate, immediately.  In that case you can help the dog adjust by stuffing a Kong or hollow bone with peanut butter and putting it in the crate, or anything else that might distract him for a length of time.

Important note:  some dogs have gotten their collars caught on the wires of the crate and hurt themselves or even suffocated.  For his safety, please remove your dog’s collar before putting him in any crate. 

Agility Equipment in Public Dog Parks

Ribbon cutting on the beautiful new agility equipment!

Today the Lake in the Hills dog park had an "open house" which included a ribbon-cutting on some beautiful new agility equipment.  The equipment includes a half-height teeter-totter, half-height dog walk and A-frame, several jumps, two tables and a set of weave poles.  I applaud the efforts of the Boy Scout, who worked tirelessly on this Eagle Scout project to make his dream a reality-- in the hopes that he could teach his own dog some agility.

Many owners think it would be fun to try agility with their dogs, but maybe they don't have the money or time to take agility classes.  If you want to try the agility equipment in a dog park, here are some tips for getting started.

1.)  Do not force your dog to do anything he's not comfortable doing.   Bring lots of small, tasty treats so you can reward your dog when he does something that makes him nervous-- like taking a step onto the dog walk.  Be generous with the treats!  Imagine that you are afraid of heights, and your friend wants you to climb a 150-ft. ladder for a one-dollar bill.  Would you do it?  Not too likely, but how about if your friend gave you $100 for every 5 rungs you climbed? I'll bet you'd climb at least 5 rungs, maybe more.  The same goes for your best friend:  give him a treat when he puts his front paws on an obstacle if he is nervous.  Give another treat if he gets another paw up.  He doesn't have to conquer the dog walk on a single outing. Patience and consistency are worth more than gold when it comes to dog training!

2.)  Please be very cautious when other dogs are around. Your dog may not be able to focus on the equipment when he'd rather play with other friends.  Especially use caution if someone else is trying to use the agility equipment.  The last thing you want is two dogs meeting at the top of an A-frame or halfway across the dogwalk.   The best time to work on agility equipment is when nobody else is around and your dog can focus on you and the obstacles ahead of him.

3.)  No leashes, please!  Leashes can get tangled in the jumps or accidentally pull your dog off an obstacle.  If you think you need the leash to guide your dog up to the obstacle, then you need to spend more time working with your dog's focus before attempting any obstacles.  The weave poles may look safe enough, but it is very difficult to teach your dog the correct way to go through the weave poles, and if his leash wraps around a pole and pulls him out, it will be much more difficult to get him in next time.  You can use a treat in front of his nose to guide him through, instead.

4.)  The teeter-totter is a very scary obstacle for most dogs at first.  Many dogs in agility classes are scared of the sound of the teeter banging on the ground--- and this is before they even approach it!  Work with treats to get your dog to climb up the teeter, then gently push the end to the ground  to encourage your dog to walk off it carefully.  Agility competitions require that dogs touch both the first and last parts of the teeter, A-frame, and dog walk so that they don't hurt themselves by flying off an obstacle in midair.   A good way to encourage your dog to the bottom of an obstacle, without jumping off, is to place a treat at the bottom for him each and every time he goes over it.  He will learn to expect that treat at the bottom and will look for it every time.  Once your dog is not afraid of going on the teeter, A-frame, or dogwalk, ALWAYS move with him in the direction he is moving.  You never want your dog to turn around on any of these, which could happen if you stop or move away from the equipment.  Your job is "moral support," to be next to the dog on this equipment!

5.)  Jumps are the easiest things for the dogs to start learning.  To teach your dog how to jump, set the jump height very low and run with your dog next to you, jumping over the jump with him.   Praise and reward him when he achieves this baby step!  The next step might be to set the jump a little bit higher, again running and jumping with your dog, using a cue such as "Jump!" to tell him what to expect.  The next step is to run alongside your dog, cueing him to "Jump!" while passing next to the jump.  If the dog tries to run around the jump, don't make a fuss over him, but don't reward or praise him, either.  Another method is to throw a toy or treat over the jump and encourage the dog to "Jump!" to get it.

6.)  In agility competitions, the table requires a lot of self-control for a dog.  The dog has to jump on the table and stay on it until you tell him he can come off.  Most dogs like running and jumping, and waiting at the table is just a pain!  To teach this in classes, we give small treats between the dog's paws almost continuously until we release the dog with a release word such as "Go!' or "Free!" and maybe a treat tossed in the direction we want them to go.

7.)  Have fun!  If you find yourself getting frustrated, let the dog do something he is good at ("Sit!...  Good sit!") and end on a good note.  Dogs can easily read our emotions, so try not to train when you are frustrated or mad at your dog.    Dogs have good days and bad days, and don't get discouraged if your dog suddenly seems to not "get it."   That is a normal part of the learning curve.