The Dog Girl Blog
Homework Exercises
Remember: Use a clicker during these sessions, if no clicker mark with a yes!. Dogs learn through successful repetition and patterns. It’s better to get 10-15 good reps of something than to spend a long training session filled with mistakes and frustration (for you and your dog!). Be sure to practice small 10-15 minute training sessions multiple times a day instead of one long session once a day. If your dog starts losing interest in the training session: 1) Switch up your food to a different/higher/better reward source to regain attention 2)If doing a more complex command/task, take a step back to something simpler. 3) Attempt to get one more good successful repetition and then end the training session.
Intro to Clicker – 10-15 pieces of food each meal for a week (Creates Clicker Association)
• Take a handful of your dog’s food before you feed them.
• For each piece, click and then give them the food.
• They don’t necessarily need to do anything to get the food for this exercise. They
cannot: Jump, Paw at you, Vocalize (whine or bark).
• Whatever you click for – you will get more of the behavior! You can “Click for Calmness”
(see Settling with Me).
Puppy In The Middle (Practices Recall, Engagement)
• 2+ people spread out in the room, each with the same type of food reward with them.
• Each person practices calling the dog to them.
• Say their name, and when they turn towards you, mark with either a YES! or the clicker,
and then say Come! You’re marking for the dog turning towards you.
• Reward your dog out of your left hand.
• Each family member takes turns calling the dog back and forth.
It may take a while for your dog to turn from the person in front of them – that’s okay keep calling them! You want to see their speed of turning towards you increase. You can call/encourage them when they start running towards you. Your dog will also “learn the game” – where they will start hopping back and forth before you call them. Don’t reward them if you don’t call them. The person they turned from last should recall them back.
Treat Chains & Release (Practices commands, engagement, impulse control, and is a building block for stay and other commands)
A treat chain is where you have 5-10 treats ready to periodically give to your dog.
• After you give the initial command you are working on Click and reward.
• At a certain interval usually starting 15-30 seconds click and reward the dog for remaining in the same position. Do this several times.
• Over time increase your duration when you are doing the treat chain. Start with 30 seconds between rewards, then as your dog gets better increase to 60sec, then a couple minutes, etc. before you know it your dog is doing the position for longer periods.
• You can also Chain with distance – instead of counting seconds, consider steps your dog takes with you (see Structured walking) or steps your dog allows you to leave them (see Place).
o Start out with a couple steps away, click, return and reward. Repeat.
• This actively teaches your dog to remain in the position until told to do another command or to be released. If they get up – just put them back and repeat.
• This is an implied stay and if you stick with it, this is how you get your dog to stay continuously.
Your dog will be given a release word in training – “Break” meaning that they are allowed to stop whatever command they were doing. It teaches impulse control and for your dog to wait. The Release word is used for several things:
• Use “Break” when you are letting your dog out of their crate or out of a gate.
• You can make your dog sit and wait at doors and release when you want them to go
thru the door.
• Use “Break” to release them from stationary commands – Sit, Down, Place, Settling
• In training we may use “Break” to release them to reset for another repetition or to
build distance (see Heel Drills for example).
• “Break” is paired extensively with Place Command
• “Break” can also be used when you’re playing outside or recalling your dog – you can
release them to go sniff/play/leave you.
Sit/Down Treat Chains & Release – 10+ reps per session. (Practices Sit, Down, Stay)
• Most basic exercise. Have your dog sit or down. Click and reward for the position.
• Initiate Treat Chain with 5+ treats at whatever interval your dog is capable of.
• Save the last treat for the release.
• When you get to the last treat say “Break” and toss the treat. Click as the dog gets
up to chase their reward.
• Practice often to increase your dogs duration. Before you know it your dog will
remain sitting with you for 5+ minutes!
• Once your dog is to the point that it is doing long durations of treat chains you can
start saying the word “Stay”, swiping your hand in front of their nose and stepping away and continuing the treat chain (similar to place – see place distance) This is how stay is taught!
Engagement Exercises 15 – 30 minutes per session. (Practices Engagement, Focus)
Engagement is the cornerstone of training. If a dog won’t look, interact or show interest in being rewarded by you, they are very hard to train. This is where we establish a pattern of payment for the dog.
Engagement Exercise #1
• In the house, sitting or standing, attach dog with a leash, drop leash to floor and sit/stand on it so the dog is tethered near your person. Some dogs may not need this step. In this instance, the leash is just being used to keep the dog close, nothing else.
• Sit quietly. Every time your dog glances to look at you, click and reward them.
• If the dog is not looking at you after a few minutes, use their name to call them to you.
You want to see the speed of looking at you increase.
Engagement Exercise #2
• Environment change from #1 to a porch, garage, or their own yards. You can expect them to look at the environment, but you want to establish a pattern that attention pays.
Engagement Exercise #3
• Environment change from #2 to a park bench or parking lot.
• Let your dog look around.
• Click and reward whenever they look at you.
• Use a treat chain to keep their attention on you.
Engagement Exercise #4
• Start doing engagement exercises around major stimuli your dog typically struggles with such as other dogs, people, livestock, etc.
• Higher value rewards will work better for this.
• Your dog may take a long time to calm down. Wait this out, watch for an increase in
speed, the dog doesn’t show interest at all.
• Treat Chains are super helpful for keeping engagement for longer.
• There is a distance involved – sometimes dogs need to be further away from a stimulus
to work at their best, so start far away and ease closer.
Settle with me – 10-minute session. (Practices stationary positions Sit/down, settling, impulse control, leaving food)
• Have an open container of dog food rewards (or a favorite toy)
• Sit in the floor, legs criss-crossed with the reward in the center the puppy should come
over to investigate. They may perform pushy/unwanted behaviors like jumping, licking,
trying to steal the reward.
• For this exercise DO NOT correct them. Cover the reward and wait for the puppy to give
up and back off. Click when they get off of you/build distance/show any calming down.
• Click and Reward any of the following behaviors while you are sitting with your dog:
o Dog backs away from rewards after attempting to get it.
o Dog goes into stationary positions Sit or Down
o If dog has been jumping, it puts all 4 paws back on the ground.
• Encourage the dog to continue “settling” when they are in stationary positions by using a “treat chain” method where you click and feed at a 30-60 second interval. When you’re ready, release the dog with their release word.
Settle with Me Part #2 – 15+ minute sessions (Practices settling, impulse control, reinforces calm behaviors)
This should be done after the dog has been settling well for a few different sessions, this is the “second stage” (and the more useful one). It’s similar to the previous training session but is in other areas.
• Choose somewhere to sit that you’d like to practice for the dog to settle at. Next to your desk, couch, an under an outdoor table (simulating an outdoor restaurant patio)
• You may choose to leash your dog for this session so they don’t wander off, but if they usually stick close during training with food that’s not necessary.
• Similar to other settling sessions your dog may get excited over you having food/sitting down, etc. Wait for them to stop jumping on you or offering settling behaviors listed above to click and reward.
• Your dog may naturally offer you a settling/down position, if they do. Click and reward. If they don’t ask for a Down! Command, click and reward.
• Use a treat chain to encourage your dog staying in the position.
• In this session – you can be actively doing something – maybe typing on a computer,
eating lunch, watching TV – but keep your dog in your peripheral and periodically feed
that treat chain.
• If your dog gets up, simply call them back, Click when they return, ask for a down and
reward again and continue. If they keep popping up use a leash to keep them close. Just lay the leash down and keep your foot on it (or sit on it). If they still pop up with the leash, consider how long you’ve been training and end the session if its been a while. Try to end on a positive note!
Puppy Push-Ups – 5 to 10 reps per session
• Practice your puppy's commands by asking them to go from Sit to Down back to Sit.
• Click and reward for each successful command:
Sit – Click – Reward – Down – Click – Reward – Sit – Click – Reward
• Release the dog to reset.
Touch! Drills – 15 to 20 reps per session (practices touch command, confidence building, engagement, luring, focus)
Touch is a command that helps with all the other commands. It helps us keep our dogs focus with something simple and easy. Touch is the building block to very important behaviors such as Recall (come when called), Heel, Loose leash walking, and can help us phase out treats by luring with a hand that is empty.
• Offer your left hand (empty, palm out) and say Touch!
• When your dogs nose makes contact with your LEFT palm, click and reward with your
RIGHT hand.
• You might start this with your hands close together, but the goal is for your dog to
ignore the food in your right hand in favor of interacting with your left to get the food. That’s a pretty hard concept for a puppy when the food is right there but once they figure it out it becomes a very easy, confident building task for them.
• Go back and forth encouraging movement from your dog (they don’t have to be doing anything but touching so they don’t need to sit, down, etc).
• We use the LEFT hand so this can be a building block to Come! And Heel! But you can use the other hand for fun. Encouraging to the Left side will increase the want for the dog to stay there close to you.
• Eventually start keeping the food rewards in your pocket and not directly in the other hand. This further helps us phase out treats because its not in the dogs visual. Always Click, or say yes. Reward often & always with the right hand.
Heel Drills – 10 to 15 reps per session. (Practices Heel, Recall, and Release Word)
Heel is a position at your dog on your left side. When first practicing, you will Click in 2 different places – Click when your dog makes a turn into your body, ask for a sit, click and reward for the sit. Only reward for the sit. Touch! Is a helpful command and a precursor to heel. If your dog struggles following your hand work on getting them to touch to your left side.
• Get your dog in the Heel position (sitting on your left side)
• Using your release word (Free, Break, Okay, etc) release your dog by tossing a treat out
in front of you 6+ feet. Click when they get up.
• Call your dog back to you. Click when they turn or run towards you. Reward with left
hand when they get to you.
• Once the dog is to you, give the heel command. Click for the turn, click and reward for
the sit. Repeat.
Place Command
Anything can be a place but for the first month of working on the command make sure it’s the same thing – use a dog bed, cot, towel or blanket. Say place and reward the dog for getting on it and laying down. With place we enforce Duration, then Distance and Then Distractions over the course of 3-4 weeks.
Duration Practice – 15 minutes or less per session starting out.
• Feed dog for going to place. Dog should lay down on place.
• Use “treat chain” method, marking & rewarding on a 30-60 second interval.
o The goal should be to increase the time interval as the dogs training progresses.
• After 5 reps, release the dog and repeat.
• Usually work on this in the first week – 10 days of being taught place.
You can also practice duration with place by using bones, chews and stuffed toppls/kongs to encourage the dog to stay on place.
Place Distance Practice – 15 minutes or less per session starting out.
The dog should have at least 5 minutes straight completed in Place Duration before working on distance.
• Put dog on Place, click and reward when the dog is down.
• Use treat chain to build some duration.
• After a few successes, start taking steps away from the dog on place.
• Click and return to reward the dog periodically.
• This is still a treat chain – just with steps instead of time.
• After sufficient time has passed, release the dog. Repeat.
• DO NOT Release or Call the dog from a distance, always walk back and release them.
Place & Distractions 10 – 15 min
• Similar sessions as the others – put the dog on place
• Practice a few successful repetitions of place.
• Periodically create “distractions” Click if the dog didn’t get up during the distraction, go
back and reward.
• Examples of distractions:
o Opening/closing Door or Cabinet o Going to Fridge
o Sitting Down
o Picking up leash or keys
o Taking a couple steps into the other room or out of sight o Dropping something
o Picking up a dogs favorite toy
o Throwing the toy (for experienced dogs)
Sending to Place Drills – 10 reps per session
We want our dog to be able to be sent to place, so we will practice that too.
• Practice walking your dog from about 10 feet away towards their place.
• Point and say place as you walk.
• Click when your dog gets on place.
• Ask or wait for a down. Click and Reward for the Down.
• You can do a couple of treat chains and then release and repeat.
o This exercise is not about Distance, Duration or Distractions, just about sending
the dog to place.
• After the dog is released go back 10 or so feet and then send them again, you will walk them up to the place for a few reps
• After a few reps start out walking with your dog as you say “Go Place” and then you will stop your momentum just short of the place, click and reward if you dog goes on without you. Reward when the dog is in down position only.
• Release dog and repeat. The goal is for your dog to continue on to place without you walking them every time. We would love for our dogs to be able to be sent from across the room.
Structured Walks – 10 to 15 minutes every day, increase over time. USE FOOD REWARDS!
Remember: your dog is always on your LEFT side, and at first, it is useful to hold food and reward out of your left hand as well or use Touch! Command. The goal over time is to switch the reward to not being visible and instead be in a pocked or fanny pack/treat pouch.
(Leash Pressure – should ACTIVELY be used on all walks)
• When the dog starts pulling, stop all motion and do not go forward.
• When the dog feels tension on the leash/the collar is tight on the throat, the dog should
turn towards you.
• Click for the dog turning toward you (choosing you basically) and reward at your left
side.
(Loose leash Heeling – very nice for in town/around crowds)
• You may ask them to get into the heel position if you’d like a more structured walk. Click & Reward for Heel.
• Using a treat chain, say “Let’s walk!” and go forward. Every 5 or so steps, click and reward your dog. Just like with time duration treat chains - you can increase your steps over time until your dog is being rewarded every 5 steps, every 10, every 15, etc. (THIS TAKES TIME! Stick with 5-10 steps for several days and then slowly increase over time)
• Practice turns, sits, speeding up, or slowing down.
(Auto Sits – just good manners)
• While working on all the other leash work, randomly stop and ask your dog to sit. Click and Reward for the sit.
• Either continue forward and stop at a later point -OR- initiate a treat chain to get them to sit for longer periods (similar to how they may do if you are resting or talking to someone)
It's important to note that as you take your dog to new places or around new stimuli, your dog may naturally attempt to pull again. Don’t step forward if they do – you might as well be giving them a big steak because they see going forward/freedom as a reward as well. Take a few minutes and wait them out/call them and they will fall back into the groove of things. If you get lazy with leash walking methods your dog will too! Dogs can revert back if you don’t stick with it.
Dogs Need a Job…
It’s a statement that I have made to so many people over the years as a trainer. And sometimes it can be honestly a copout. There are plenty of dogs in the world who don’t have jobs who have a wonderful lives.
When trainers like myself say this is a working dog or this dog needs a job - what we mean is this dog that has been presented to us needs some type of fulfillment that they are not receiving. There is something innate in this dog, either in their personality or in their genetics most likely in the breed(s) that makes them up that is causing them to lack fulfillment and that is leading to bad behaviors.
there are a few basic needs that all dogs require to have fulfillment. Your dog has needs that must be met including food, water, shelter - that shelter includes a safe environment where they can be free from stress either caused by other dogs or other people or children. This is why trainers pushing towards crate training. Your dogs need to have physical and mental needs fulfilled. Physical is stuff like going for walks and playing. Mental fulfillment includes in enrichment - being able to use their five senses and just be a dog. Being able to sniff, chew, lick, watch, & listen. This is where the idea of enrichment toys and sniffing walks comes into play. This is were training or dog sports comes into play. As a hole most owners remember to take care of physical needs they usually forget about mental needs when they are actually the more important part.
We say your dog needs a job because a job/the job that your dog historically did provided both physical and mental stimulation, structure & fulfillment.
I 100% believe the majority of dogs can have a fulfilled life without a “real” job. But owning a dog and specifically certain breeds is a lifestyle choice that you have to be willing to commit to.
if you’d like to learn how to fulfill your dogs needs my door is always open.
Happy Training -KB
Food Rewards Scale & Dog Training
All work must be paid for. If you wouldn’t do a job for free, you shouldn’t expect your dog to preform for free either. This paper is going to discuss what I refer to as the ‘scale of rewards’ that will help you figure out your dog’s pay grade. For the duration of this paper we will be discussing FOOD based reward system.
Pennies, Dollars, Twenties, Hundreds.
In training we refer to food rewards as low, mid or high value rewards. As a general rule we want our dogs to work for the lowest value treat and save the higher value when we really need that extra motivation (Think of it like paid overtime) You should be trying with lower value and moving up the scale as needed.
LOW VALUE
Dry dog food that you feed your dog is the lowest value food because it is readily available for your dog multiple times a day. Dog Food = Pennies
If you can get your dog to work for it’s dog food, that is amazing! I highly encourage you to use their food as part of training. Puppies/younger dogs will usually be more willing to work for a low value treat (because they’re in that all food is great phase of life). Basic biscuit dog treats – think milk bones – can usually be lumped in with dog food just because its basically the same texture, just bigger.
MID-VALUE
Moist treats found at the local pet store are mid-value treats mainly because they’re different than the typical food your dog has. Anything new is always going to increase in value for your dog. This are great starting treats especially if you are teaching your dog a new command.
These may be the starting point of the reward system for older or picker dogs or dogs who have less food motivation. Think of it this way – you’re more likely to care about spare dollar bills you find in your vehicle than pennies. So, I think of these as your dog being paid in dollars.
HIGH VALUE Part 1
High Value rewards are going to be treats your dog doesn’t see every day. I’ve found the best high value treats are meat based such as freeze dried raw dog food, jerky treats, dehydrated animal organs – beef lung, liver, chicken hearts, etc. I’ve also noticed that these treats are less “known” by most pet people, its more of a trade secret for dog handlers and trainers. I sell several kinds of these at the kennel if anyone is interested in them. Freeze-dried treats = $20s
HIGH-VALUE Part 2
I divided high value into two parts because everything has a spectrum. Generally, a rule of thumb is that the highest value treat to a dog is something their human has. Human food in my experience is the highest value you can get. Some people are wary about feeding their dogs human food, but it is safe in small quantities (depending on your dog!) The entire point of it being high value is that they shouldn’t be getting these treats all the time. Human food = $100s
Human foods to feed your dog in training:
· String Cheese
· Boiled Chicken (light to no seasonings)
· Beef jerky
· Hot dogs (minimal sodium, turkey dogs are best)
· Leftover meats (light on pork for smaller breeds)
High value rewards should be used sparingly. Some dogs are super picky and need them to be the starting block for training. If your dog is like this – keep your training sessions short and precise in order to keep them interested.
When to implement the Rewards Scale for your dog?
Again, the goal is for your dog to work for lower rewards more than higher rewards. As dogs become more stimulated (think more stress inducing situations) they will need more motivation to want to work.
If your dog will only perform a command with the highest value reward in the living room, what on earth will you use to pay them for working in higher stress conditions like a park or pet store?
Your home should be the least stressful, lowest stimulating location for your dog. They live there, this is normal for them. So they should work for a low level rewards in this environment. The exception to this – and there’s always exceptions – are older dogs, low food driven dogs or less biddable/work driven dog breeds. A shih tzu will need more motivation than a lab to perform work.
Training should be completed inside or in a somewhat sterile environment where they are comfortable. In this area, your dog should perform the command successfully 90-100% of the time before you move to a new area to train. As you travel outside to practice a command, because for a dog outside is FULL of stimuli – you may need to increase to a higher reward on the scale. Save the highest value rewards for high stress training – going to the vet, in a crowd of people, teaching more complex training commands.
It’s also smart to utilize high value rewards to commands you want to emphasize. Recall/Come is a super important command that can save your dog’s life – it never hurts to emphasize come with a high value reward every time to build more of a payment/motivation system with your dog. Something super easy like sit should be the lowest value or even praise reward system. (Praise reward systems are not covered in this paper)
Life is like a mixed bag of dog treats….or whatever Forrest Gump said
Once your dog knows their initial command, one of my favorite ways to keep them enticed in a training session is to mix up a treat bag of all the different reward levels. I’ll have a bowl (if we’re inside) or a treat pouch with dry dog food, small buffalo training treats, and freeze dried treats or beef jerky all together. I don’t know what I’m grabbing, my dog doesn’t know what I’m grabbing – but it keeps the dog interested. This is also a good way to lower the “price” of the command. For example if a dog is learning the heel command and needed cheese to really want to do it, a mixed bag may have them working for cheese one rep, a milk bone the next, and back to a hot dog on the last one.
A mixed bag can also help if your dog is getting bored at the end of your training session. I always recommend keeping sessions short with more successes than failures. You should also train based on the dog in front of you. An English mastiff is not going to be interested in training as long as a Malinois or Border Collie. No matter what make training interesting & fun for your dog!
If you have any questions feel free to contact me!
Happy Training - KB
Let’s talk about the AKC Canine Good Citizen Test!
I’m very proud to be a certified Canine Good Citizen Evaluator for AKC. The program is a great start to any dog’s foundations of basic obedience. The Canine Good Citizen Program teaches good manners to dogs and responsible dog ownership to their owners. The 10-step CGC test is a non-competitive test for all dogs, including purebreds and mixed breeds. It is a prerequisite for many therapy dog groups and some homeowner’s insurance companies encourage CGC testing. There are also an increasing number of apartments and condos that require resident dogs to pass the CGC test. Over the years the CGC Program has grown to include two other levels - the CGCU tests your dogs ability for basic obedience in an urban environment and the CGCA is a more advanced level test. I also think all 3 of these tests are a great way to see if a service dog prospect is on track for public access!
Here’s The Rules:
Only flat collars, leads are to be worn. No prong, choke or other training equipment. Harnesses are permitted but must be checked by evaluator.
NO food, treats or toy rewards are allowed.
Disqualification: Failure to complete any task listed.
If a dog eliminated during test they are disqualified.
1. Test 1: Accepting a friendly stranger
This test demonstrates that the dog will allow a friendly stranger to approach it and speak to the handler in a natural, everyday situation. The evaluator walks up to the dog and handler and greets the handler in a friendly manner, ignoring the dog. The evaluator and handler shake hands and exchange pleasantries. The dog must show no sign of resentment or shyness.
2. Test 2: Sitting politely for petting
This test demonstrates that the dog will allow a friendly stranger to touch it while it is out with its handler. With the dog sitting at the handler’s side, to begin the exercise, the evaluator pets the dog on the head and body. The handler may talk to his or her dog throughout the exercise. The dog may stand in place as it is petted. The dog must not show shyness or resentment.
3. Test 3: Appearance and grooming
This practical test demonstrates that the dog will welcome being groomed and examined and will permit someone, such as a veterinarian, groomer or friend of the owner, to do so. It also demonstrates the owner’s care, concern and sense of responsibility. The evaluator inspects the dog to determine if it is clean and groomed. The dog must appear to be in healthy condition (i.e., proper weight, clean, healthy and alert). The handler should supply the comb or brush commonly used on the dog. The evaluator then softly combs or brushes the dog, and in a natural manner, lightly examines the ears and gently picks up each front foot. It is not necessary for the dog to hold a specific position during the examination, and the handler may talk to the dog, praise it and give encouragement throughout.
4. Test 4: Out for a walk (walking on a loose lead)
This test demonstrates that the handler is in control of the dog. The dog may be on either side of the handler. The dog’s position should leave no doubt that the dog is attentive to the handler and is responding to the handler’s movements and changes of direction. The dog need not be perfectly aligned with the handler and need not sit when the handler stops. The evaluator may use a pre-plotted course or may direct the handler/dog team by issuing instructions or commands. In either case, there should be a right turn, left turn, and an about turn with at least one stop in between and another at the end. The handler may talk to the dog along the way, praise the dog, or give commands in a normal tone of voice. The handler may sit the dog at the halts if desired.
5. Test 5: Walking through a crowd
This test demonstrates that the dog can move about politely in pedestrian traffic and is under control in public places. The dog and handler walk around and pass close to several people (at least three). The dog may show some interest in the strangers but should continue to walk with the handler, without evidence of over-exuberance, shyness or resentment. The handler may talk to the dog and encourage or praise the dog throughout the test. The dog should not jump on people in the crowd or strain on the leash.
6. Test 6: Sit and down on command and Staying in place
This test demonstrates that the dog has training, will respond to the handler’s command to sit and down and will remain in the place commanded by the handler (sit or down position, whichever the handler prefers). The dog must do sit AND down on command, then the owner chooses the position for leaving the dog in the stay. Prior to this test, the dog’s leash is replaced with a line 20 feet long. The handler may take a reasonable amount of time and use more than one command to get the dog to sit and then down. The evaluator must determine if the dog has responded to the handler’s commands. The handler may not force the dog into position but may touch the dog to offer gentle guidance. When instructed by the evaluator, the handler tells the dog to stay and walks forward the length of the line, turns and returns to the dog at a natural pace. The dog must remain in the place in which it was left (it may change position) until the evaluator instructs the handler to release the dog. The dog may be released from the front or the side.
This test demonstrates that the dog will come when called by the handler. The handler will walk 10 feet from the dog, turn to face the dog, and call the dog. The handler may use encouragement to get the dog to come. Handlers may choose to tell dogs to “stay” or “wait” or they may simply walk away, giving no instructions to the dog.
8. Test 8: Reaction to another dog
This test demonstrates that the dog can behave politely around other dogs. Two handlers and their dogs approach each other from a distance of about 20 feet, stop, shake hands and exchange pleasantries, and continue on for about 10 feet. The dogs should show no more than casual interest in each other. Neither dog should go to the other dog or its handler.
9. Test 9: Reaction to distraction
This test demonstrates that the dog is confident at all times when faced with common distracting situations. The evaluator will select and present two distractions. Examples of distractions include dropping a chair, rolling a crate dolly past the dog, having a jogger run in front of the dog, or dropping a crutch or cane. The dog may express natural interest and curiosity and/or may appear slightly startled but should not panic, try to run away, show aggressiveness, or bark. The handler may talk to the dog and encourage or praise it throughout the exercise.
10. Test 10: Supervised separation
This test demonstrates that a dog can be left with a trusted person, if necessary, and will maintain training and good manners. Evaluators are encouraged to say something like, “Would you like me to watch your dog?” and then take hold of the dog’s leash. The owner will go out of sight for three minutes. The dog does not have to stay in position but should not continually bark, whine, or pace unnecessarily, or show anything stronger than mild agitation or nervousness. Evaluators may talk to the dog but should not engage in excessive talking, petting, or management attempts (e.g. “there, there, it’s alright”).
If you are interested in having your dog evaluated for Canine Good Citizen Test, please contact me to set up a testing date!
Dogs, Children & Training
I’ve decided to publish some of my dog training packets that I give to clients on here. {All information is the intellectual property of Katie Beth Dean}
Children and dogs can make life long friends – but its important that all child and dog interactions occur under supervision, especially with smaller children. For the sake of this information by child I am referring to kids under the age of 10-12.
While we all know its important to train your dog its important to train your kids, too. Make it a happy & healthy relationship with boundaries. Gentle petting & appropriate playtime - no crawling, “riding”, pulling on body parts, tight hugging or any other type of wallowing on the dogs is the key to a safe home for all parties.
If your kid does these things they are most likely causing stress in your puppy – and stress if left unchecked can lead to dog bites! And then no one is happy.
Signs of stress in dogs:
o Lip licking
o Excessive yawning
o Tight/tense muzzle muscles
o Avoidance
o Pulling away
o Whale Eye (Wide eyes where you can see the whites outlining their iris)
o Ears back
o Muscle tension
o Frozen posture
o Heavy eye contact (frozen stare)
^^at some point the stress will rise so high it leads to a bite. The bottom of the list are more “incoming fear/stress bite” signals.
Some may say:
“My kid does this all the time” & “My dog would Never!”
- your dog just hasn’t YET. You may be lucky & your dog will never bite, but that doesn’t make your dog any less stressed by your children/grandchildren & that’s unfair.
That being said, letting your child be apart of training can help them actively bond with their dog! I would recommend all kids at least be able to tell their dogs to come, sit and to not jump on them. Leash walking is optional – but my goal with leash walking is for a small child to be able to walk the dogs I’ve trained.
Some rules to go by if your child is helping with training:
1. Make sure the dog actually knows the command before you let your child attempt – if not you may confuse your dog. Each week we learn a new command. You should practice the command on your own with the dog the first few days, then let your child attempt.
2. Your child needs to use the same commands as the adults to the best of their ability. As a dog gets older they will start to learn each individual in the family’s way of doing things, but that can take time. Don’t confuse the dog if they don’t have to.
3. All training should be under supervision.
4. Start inside with minor distractions first.
5. Start with the Name Game – found in the first packet given.
6. Kids always give better treats – if you, the adult, are using dry dog food, then your child should be training the dog with dog treats. If you’re using dog treats your child should be using things like chicken or cheese. By uping the dogs reward they have more incentive to listen to the child. It really pays to pay attention to the little human.
7. If your dog is reactive or over excited about meeting new people or other dogs, do not let your child be the one “in charge” of the leash on walks. That’s a safety hazard waiting to happen.
8. Keep Child-dog training sessions short – 10-15 minutes (you can do longer for older children)
9. Training should be FUN – for both you, your dog and your child. If your child or dog are getting frustrated, end the session (by that I mean you should take over.) Again, never let your dog end the session – you always want to complete training on a good note.
Good Luck and Happy Training! -KB
Clicker Training 101
I’ve decided to publish some of my write ups I give my training clients on to my blog! {All information below is intellectual property of Katie Beth Dean.}
Basic Obedience Basics: Clicker Training
Clicker Training is a form of positive reinforcement dog training that uses a clicker (a sound device that makes a distinct Click!) to bridge a positive behavior with a reward. Typically this is done with food rewards but can also be used with praise and toy rewards, although its not often. The sound is a physical marker, just like a verbal marker word such as “Good!” or “Yes!” While you can use a marker word instead of a clicker, I use a clicker for my training program because it’s faster and it takes the guess-work out for your dog. While our voice tone my change, a click is constant no matter what.
The Click! Is a big ol’ YES!! KEEP DOING THAT! YOU’RE A GREAT DOG!
Use click to mark a good behavior and to communicate how you want your dog to behave! It’s kind of like a pat on the back. Dogs will naturally recreate whatever behavior they were preforming when it was marked because they think it will result in them getting a treat.
A Dog’s Brain:
Clicker Training literally re-wires your dog’s brain. Based on famous Russian Scientist Ivan Pavlov’s theory of classical conditioning – marking a dog’s behavior with a sound in his case a bell, in my case a Click!Before presenting food will cause them to automatically assume the sound means food. And food is always a positive thing to a dog. If you repeat this enough times, they will start to experience a chemical change in their brain that says “foods coming!” and gives off a reward sense. The science behind it is that every time your dog makes the association of Click! followed by food, they begin to develop a neural pathway based on the association - included in that neural pathway is hormones triggering emotions/feelings with in the dog. The more times you repeat the action, the more ingrained the association becomes within your dog’s brain. Eventually they won’t even need treats to be present, just the clicker. You can usually tell a well clicker trained dog when they start to wag their tail or get excited whenever they hear the click.
So to recap, the clicker makes your dog feel all kinds of good things even when we don’t have food in our hands! BUT it takes a little while to get there. Treats should always be used heavily during the training process and we will phase them out at the end of training.
Firing up the Clicker:
Click, Treat. Click, Treat. Repeat.
To get your dog to start making the connection of Click = Good Dog = Food. Simply just click and follow it with a reward. Do this several times and then start asking for your dog to perform commands or tasks that you want.
Call your dog to you – when they come close, click and then give them a treat. You will always follow this set up.
Ask for behavior – if dog completes the task asked (ex: Sit) then Click! – then give food reward.
*If dog doesn’t give the behavior, ignore and try again. Do not reward unless behavior is given.
Clickers are not meant to get the dogs attention, to call the dog, or to give a command as a signal. They are only a marker that is like saying GOOD DOG or YES. You can still talk to your dog when you click! Just make sure that you are always clicking to mark the desired behavior.
My dog isn’t interested in treats/food rewards…can I still use the clicker??
Yes! If your dog is not super interested in food rewards, a clicker can help your training. You are guaranteed food motivation before every meal you feed your dog – so take the first handful (15 – 20 or so pieces) of food and hand feed it to your dog as discussed above in firing up the clicker. This is also the best time to work on new behaviors or commands you have just taught your dog. You will need to do this for every meal because your non-food motivated dog only has a small window of opportunity for creating the association of the clicker = reward. But over time the association will become strong enough that you can still click during your training sessions to mark that you liked a behavior. You can follow the click with praise.
Remember: the clicker is a communication device between you and your dog. If you have built up a good association then your dog will be receiving dopamine and other hormones that are activating a ‘reward sense’ within their brain when they hear the click – no food is technically needed in a dog that is well clicker trained. It takes more effort for the average owner to train a dog that is non-food motivated, so if you can use food or toy rewards please do so often!
Phasing Out Treats
During training sessions, each week your dog will learn a new command. Treats should always be used during training sessions the first week after the dog has learned the command. (Unless you’re dealing with the situation above) Click! and follow with a treat after every completed command. While your dog will learn a new command the following week, you should still be training and practicing the other commands as well. In the 2nd week you can start using less treats but ALWAYS click! for the correct behavior. Mix it up – dog’s are quick to figure out patterns, so you can’t just give a treat and skip a treat, it has to be random.
· In week 2 you should be giving treats at least 70% of the time for the behavior.
· In week 3, you can drop it to 50% of the time.
· In week 4 onward you can use less treats, whatever you feel is necessary
Just because you can stop using treats doesn’t mean you have to. I think using NO treats is unrealistic, and over time your dog will stop wanting to perform because there’s no point (in the dog’s eyes). Would you want to work for free all the time? Of course not! Periodically, throw in a training session where you use treats for every command the whole time! It will really make your dog pay attention. I recommend always using a treat when practicing “Come!” because you need to have that incentive for them to return to you over the stimulus they are interested in.
Phasing Out the Clicker
You should use the clicker for at least the first 2-3 months during and after your dog has completed my training program. Then the clicker can be phased out. Clicker training will be ingrained in your dog’s mind, so you can pick it up literally years later and they will respond to it. Clicker training is great for teaching new commands and reinforcing old commands, but I totally understand that it’s not realistic to carry a clicker around – no different than how its hard to carry treats around 24/7 (unless you’re me and your job requires it).
To phase out the clicker, we will start using a marker word. Clicker training is faster and takes out the guess work, but your dog can still have their behavior marked with a “Good” or “Yes”. Simply choose one marker word, “Yes” and say it as you click. Over time, Yes and Click! will be equal to treats, and you can start just using yes! instead of a clicker.
Ask for Command – dog preforms behavior – YES! Click! – Give the reward.
Becomes
Ask for command – dog preforms behavior – YES! – Give Reward
Practicing Clicker Training At Home
After leaving your first training session, for the next couple of days practice clicker training in short 5-10 minute sessions. Do this at least twice a day. The best time is at breakfast and dinner – take part of their dog food as a reward. Click & Reward. At first you’re just giving them food to teach them that the sound equals food. Make sure you are not clicking if your dog is doing something you do not like such as jumping, nipping or pawing at you for attention. Remember anything they are doing as they hear the click they will want to repeat.
You can start asking them to do little behaviors – like coming to you, following your hand as you move it (luring them with the food) and sitting. Make sure you click after the behavior is completed and then reward.
The Name Game:
Does your dog know its name? The answer may surprise you!
Not all dogs know their names, even the older ones. As I’ve said before, dogs don’t really speak our language. If you use a lot of nicknames, your dog might not know all of them. At best, they may just look up if you talk in a certain tone (Baby voice or something similar) and you assume they know their name.
Some may even associate their names with bad things. Think about walking in to your laundry room to find your puppy, Spot, has ripped into a pair of socks, your first reaction is probably to yell “SPOT! NO! Spot, what did you do?! Spot, you know better! Bad Spot!!” or something similar. When you call them away from something interesting, like some trash on your walk or maybe a dropped piece of people food on the floor you might yell Spot NO! or Spot, Come over here. Spot Leave it! And pull them away. Basically, dogs can quickly associate their name with negative things, or not-as-fun things. *To a dog you will never be as fun as a dropped hamburger on the floor, sorry. * This may lead them to try to ignore their name.
The name game is a great way to teach your dog to pay attention when you are talking to them!
To begin, have a bag of medium to high value treats (you want them to love playing the game and staying interested.) You can do this alone or get the whole household into it. You have to pick one name for everyone to use and specifically to use during training. My dog EmmyLou is just Emmy when training. Something with an ee sound (i, ie, or y ending) or something with a strong consonant like SpoT, ZeKe, VadER, etc. works well. Avoid long names with multiple syllables like Maxwell, Maybelline, etc.
1) Have some treats in your hand and sit somewhere in the room. (If its multiple people have everyone spread out.)
2) Say your dog’s name in a normal voice. To start you may have to call them a few times. When they look up at you, turn their head and/or make eye contact. Mark with either “Good”, “Yes!” or a clicker and give them the treat.
3) Each person should take turns calling your dog and giving them a treat!
4) Mix it up! Your pup is smart and they will start to gather a pattern, so if they rush on to the next person before you actually say their name, someone else should call them instead.
5) You should be able to pick up body language cues from your dog – dogs with pointed ears may swivel their ears the first time you call them (even if they don’t come) that is good! It means they’re learning the word.
· If your dog doesn’t seem interested in the game, put a leash on them so they can’t wonder around the room ignoring you.
· This game can be modified for teaching Recall “Come!” – Just add Come! to the command, (Dog’s name) Come! and working from longer distances help.
· This also helps build confidence in nervous or timid dogs – it’s a quick easy way to say “Good Job Puppy!” “Look how smart you are!”.
Say your dog’s name, if they look up at you, click and reward them. Repeat this 10-15 times. Your dog may get bored with this exercise so keep it short & sweet! We will teach this in training sessions!
Focus
If you want a true focus command you can use a word such as “Focus”, “Look” or “Watch me” to mean eye contact on demand. Just like before, say the dog’s name, when they look up at you, hold the treat at your forehead and say the word “Focus” as the dog looks at the treat, they are making eye contact with you, so click and give the dog the treat. Repeat this often. After a few tries, ask for Focuswithout putting the treat up at your forehead. If they look, click and reward. Timing is very important to this exercise. While its not always something included in basic obedience, if you have any questions or really want this command please ask me & I will work on it during training!!
No Longer Barefoot.
Trying to Run from Appalachian Stereotypes
This is a paper I wrote my freshman year of College in an English Composition course. Although I attended a local University, I had the odd position of being the only local Appalachian student in this class. Appalachian Literature became the focal point of the course, but strangely, no mountain heritage was found in the authors of any of our readings. The professor, newly transported to East Tennessee, had deemed herself a connoisseur and expert of the Southern Appalachian culture, despite the fact that I had promptly informed her that it was indeed pronounced “Appa - LATCH - ah”, not Appa-LAY-sha. To say that we did not meet eye to eye would be an accurate statement. This paper was a crowning moment of the class for myself even though I would later go on to have to repeat the course because my essays were not ‘to par’ with that particular professor. Funny how it received an A when resubmitted to a local professor the following semester.
When addressing Appalachian speech stereotypes, author Michael B. Montgomery of Columbia, South Carolina had this to say to National Geographic: “I can’t think of any other region where five words out of somebody’s mouth will completely affect another person’s evaluation of their intelligence, reliability, truthfulness and their ability to handle complex tasks.” (Drye, 2005) Truer words have never been said; while our nation has turned from saying much about minorities such as African Americans, Jews, Polish, Asians, and any other “insert nationality here” for fear of bigotry and racism, the Appalachian “Hillbilly” Stereotype remains alive and well throughout America. Within the pages of Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods, the outdated, offensive, Hillbilly stereotype is not only alive and well, but jumping off the pages, enthralling readers to believe the natives of the infamous Appalachian Trail are as backwards and idiotic as the characters of The Beverly Hillbillies even within the late 20th century.
Bill Bryson’s first dig at Appalachians is found quite early - on the third page of his first chapter. “The woods were full of peril — rattlesnakes and water moccasins and nests of copperheads; bobcats, bears, coyotes, wolves…Loony hillbillies destabilized by gross quantities of impure corn liquor and generations of profoundly unbiblical sex;” (Bryson, 5) With this first comment, Bryson sets the stage for his book and his view on the Appalachian people. The author makes so many other equally appalling statements that one may wonder if his book is a memoir on walking the Appalachian Trail or a fantasy narrative telling the world of the extremely rare barefoot hillbilly in its natural habitat. By the time the reader is half way through Bryson’s book they discover that Bryson has perfected mocking Appalachians and their heritage. There are at least twelve passages centered on inappropriate mountain stereotypes within the first 150 pages. He even adds insult to injury by spelling out the pronunciations of the “Hillbillies” he and his hiking partner, Katz encounter. The stereotypical speech of Appalachians, rooted in the old dialects of Ireland and Scotland are caused by generations of isolation from colonial times until the mid 20th century. This dialect is usually the first thing that sets mountain people apart from the rest of the country, but the manner in which Bryson displays this trait is quite unrefined. Within the dialogue he spells ‘tomorrow’ as ‘tomorrah’, ‘here’ as ‘yere’ and constantly writes ‘you’ as ‘yew’. It seems that a common trend of Americans reading this book is not to be dismayed by the taunts and barbs Bryson writes, but to openly laugh and enjoy the comic relief contributed by his tells of drunken, gun toting hillbillies who all seem to be named “Bubba” for some reason.
The only people who seem to find the daunting amount of Appalachian Stereotypes in A Walk in the Woods irritating is none other than the people he is openly mocking — Southern Appalachians such as myself. When one takes the time to dissect Bryson’s book its apparent he writes some nasty things. It’s true some of Bryson’s remarks are funny, but there is definitely a line between humor and ridicule. Bryson crossed it on page 131, “You haven't been screwing hogs again have you, Bryson?’ Asked Katz. ‘And don’t forget we’re not in Tennessee anymore. It’s probably not even legal here — at least not without a note from the vet.’.” (Bryson, 131) In what world of equality should statements such as that be allowed without anyone batting an eye? Had Bryson been openly making fun of any other minority, such as African or Latin Americans there would have been ‘Breaking News’ CNN reports, lawsuits drawn, and public statements made. However, comments, no matter how rude and insulting, about a population of God-fearing, hardworking, poor, white southerners somewhere in the hills of Tennessee or Georgia or wherever, is turned into a New York Times Best Seller without complication.
Many might believe that it is truly for the sake of humor, that Bryson’s impression of Southern Appalachians is so exaggerated that no one could possibly believe such foolishness. Well, if this were true, then stereotypes as a whole, would not exist. Take for example some of America’s most famous embodiments of Hillbillies. Li’l Abner was a comic strip first written in 1934 that ran nationwide until 1977. It was the first comic strip to ever depict Southerners. The strip was about a clan of Hillbillies from Dogpatch, Kentucky, a town full of log cabin-shacks and pine trees, where men were lazy and girls were helplessly in love with the lazy men; A place where everyone was a poor, uneducated thief. Ironic, that the author of Li’l Abner, Al Capps, born and raised in Connecticut, never sat foot on Southern soil, but may have single-handedly started the Appalachian stereotype in pop culture. The Beverly Hillbillies, a TV show that ran on CBS from 1962 - 1971, was what many consider the “discovering of Appalachia” by outsiders. In the iconic show, a backwoods family is uprooted and dropped in Beverly Hills, California after striking oil. The entire series put Appalachian Stereotypes in the lime-light. The Clampets ate road kill mystery stews, made ‘white lightning’ moonshine, went to Granny instead of a Doctor and carried 12-gauge shotguns. To a world who knew nothing about Appalachian life, watching the Beverly Hillbillies and the shows that followed in its wake - including Green Acres and HeeHaw - the antics the characters displayed were as good as visiting Appalachia itself. Then there is Deliverance a book and a movie mentioned by Bryson himself that’s setting is the Appalachian foothills of Northern Georgia. This movie adds a particular spin on Appalachian stereotypes by implementing in-breds and murderers to the Hillbilly namesake. Each of these famous works add to the modern Hillbilly stereotype, one in which Bryson openly employs. One day perhaps A Walk in the Woods will be another work on the list that is destroying the integrity of the Appalachian people and openly fueling the Hillbilly Stereotype.
Appalachians have been fighting an uphill battle against stereotypes and it seems that Bill Bryson has become a general for the opposing army in an unconventional way. Take into consideration that Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods is indeed a memoir, sold in the nonfiction section. Being a nationally acclaimed book, Bryson has received much praise for his work. The LA Times had this to say: “Bryson’s truth telling happens to be hilarious.” (Bryson, Praise for A Walk in the Woods) It’s obvious that whether it is for humor or pure prejudice, Bryson uses exaggerated stereotypes, but by selling his book in the nonfiction genre he is feeding the Hillbilly stereotype as cold, hard, unaltered fact. Based on the overall trend of the opinions and thoughts in the past century, the citizens of the United States as a majority are inclined to believe him. Therefore, unfortunately the fictional Hillbillies live on.
Citations:
Bryson, Bill. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. New York: Broadway, 1998. Print.
Bryson, Bill. “Praise for A Walk in the Woods.” LA Times. A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. New York: Broadway. 1998. Print.
Davis, Cindy. “20 Facts about Deliverance.” Pajiba. 2 July 2012. Web. 4 Oct. 2014
Drye, Willie. “Appalachians Are Finding Pride in Mountain Twang. National Geographic News. National Geographic, 2 May 2005. Web. 1 Oct. 2014. <http://news.nationalgeorgraphic.com/news/2005/05/0502_050502_twang.html>
“Li’l Abner.” The Library of American comics|Li’l Abner. Idea and Design Works, LLC. Web. 5 Oct. 2014.
“The Beverly Hillbillies.” TV Land. Viacom Entertainment Group. Web. 4 Oct. 2014. <http://www.tvland.com/shows/beverlyhillbillies>.
Teaching Impulse Control in Dogs
“My dog knocks me down when I try to feed them. ”
“This dog! It tries to drag me down the porch steps every time we go outside.”
“If the doors open, my dog just bolts out!”
“He’s crazy when I’m giving him water, he knocks it out of my hand and spills it jumping on me every time.”
Impulse Control makes dogs stop and think about what they’re doing and give them the chance to correct it. A dog’s first impulse may be to jump on you when they first see you, impulse control means they know better. This teaches your dog to choose between jumping on someone (which gets them negative attention for 1 minute) or sitting and getting petted (positive attention for 2-3 minutes) - think of it as your dog “choosing to be a good dog”. Impulse control is something that comes with age and training so I suggest starting early. But this is something you can teach your dog at any age!
Impulse control needs 3 things:
1. Teach your dog a strong sit - Sit is easy to teach, so many owners just check it off their list. But sit is not a trick, it is a command, and therefore it needs to be implemented into your dog’s daily life.
2. Teach your dog “Wait” which means that they stay sitting for a moment before you allow them to do something.
3. A Release word – Say “OK!”, “Free Dog” or whatever word you want to use to tell your dog that they may be released from the sit & wait.
Where to implement:
Sit & Wait before putting on their leash
Sit & Wait at the door before going outside.
Sit & Wait at the tops or bottoms of stairs (call your dogs after)
Sit & Wait before being petted/meeting new people
Sit & Wait before meals
Sit & Wait during play time! Throw them for a curve ball by making them sit before you throw their toy again!
Persistence is KEY! You have to do these things every time. Lift the bowl up if they bounce up, make them wait it out. I make the dogs I keep at the kennel dog this and within 2-3 meals they already know how to do it. I’m sure your dog will figure it out in no time! Happy Training - KB
Check Out What it looks like in the Video Below:
The jumping has got to Stop…Here’s how to do it.
Excited jumping is a major problem, but it starts out innocently enough. Dogs like attention and eye contact - it’s actually ingrained into their DNA. Fun fact, there’s actually been studies that show dogs actually know the difference between humans who are blindfolded versus not blindfolded(1). Eye contact is the most basic social cue, so early on, puppies know you can’t resist their puppy dog eyes and they will reach up towards us to get attention and eye contact. Yeah, they’re totally manipulating you, btw. That then develops into jumping – as young puppies its not a big deal and we may even find it cute, but as they get bigger, it becomes a problem. Suddenly Fluffy is 85lbs and that’s a lot of floof to be hurdling towards you. By giving puppies attention when they reach for us, we have actually rewarded what is probably the most common ‘bad’ behavior I see come to my facility.
At the end of the day, jumping is all about attention! And even negative attention counts – such as yelling, correcting them and even pushing them off (some dogs may interpret pushing as getting petted). So the best way to remedy this is to redirect their behavior into something positive.
For your dog Jumping = attention. So we will make a better behavior = attention.
My go-to is Sit! Most dogs know sit, and it’s the first thing I train in my basic obedience, so we can start using it immediately as a redirected behavior.
Jumping is our unwanted behavior.
Ah! Ah! Is our correction word.
Yes!/Click! (with a clicker) is our Marker word = Good Dog!
Sit! is our redirected behavior.
If your dog jumps on you, say Ah! Ah! And step back, (don’t push them, just make it to where they’re not having contact with you), and then when all their feet are all on the floor Click!/Yes to mark that you want them on the ground. Then ask for Sit! to redirect them from jumping. Mark and reward for the sit. Then (this is important) pet and love on your dog, give them the attention they want – ask long as they’re sitting or all paws on the ground!
If you want this to work, you have to be consistent and everyone in the household must do this. It’s also important that you teach your dog – and visitors – that your dog must be sitting before they get attention. This is also when you are walking your dog outside and meeting new people.
You’ll know its working when your dog does a “kangaroo” jump, where they get excited, go to jump and then stop themselves and sit down instead. Always reward the auto sit with pets & love.
If you need help with these behaviors - please feel free to book an appointment for an in person training session at Gotta Love Dog Training. Until then Happy Training! - KB
References:
(1)Persson, M. E., Roth, L. S., Johnsson, M., Wright, D., & Jensen, P. (2015). Human-directed social behaviour in dogs shows significant heritability. Genes, Brain, and Behavior, 14(4), 337–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/gbb.12194