Posts Tagged ‘dog training’

House Train a Dog – Common Methods

By Renee Premaza, Dip.,C.B.,C.C.B.T.
Dog Obedience Trainer and Behavioral Consultant
(609) 280-9338

If you’re having problems housetraining your puppies or older dogs, are you:

Leaving your dog’s food bowl full all day long? “Free feeding” prevents your dog’s digestive system from having a specific schedule of elimination. Your dog is NOT a cat! Feed your dog a good quality dog food and feed him twice/day. Keep his food bowl down for no longer than 20 minutes. Whatever he doesn’t finish within that time period, put the rest away and add it to his next meal.

You need to take your dog outside onleash for elimination everytime you think he has to go. This way, you’ll be able to monitor what he’s doing and what he’s NOT doing. If you just let him out and don’t watch him, how will you know if he’s done his business?

Take your dog out:

First thing in the morning Within 5-10 minutes AFTER EVERY MEAL Immediately AFTER EVERY NAP Take your dog out after being played with for awhile. This is very stimulating to many dogs and they will need to eliminate soon after something exciting happens. Take the puppy out on an average of every 45 minutes to an hour. You might want to keep a log on this to determine just how often he needs to go from how many times you can get him to eliminate when you take him outside. If you have an older dog, you can lengthen this to every hour to hour and a half. Before taking the dog outside, say to him, “wanna go potty?” and bring him outside ONLEASH to your designated spot. KEEP TREATS ON so you can reward the dog immediately after he does his business. Within a second after your dog begins to pee or poop in the right spot, offer a treat and praise him to the skies. You can reward good house training behaviors by then letting him run around outside with you. Throw him a puppy party ANYTIME he eliminates in his spot. If you’re out with your puppy for awhile and he’s been running around and playing, make sure you bring him back to his “toilet” area before going inside. He might have to go again. When you’ve established a fair amount of success in getting the dog to go in this spot, begin putting a command word on the behavior. For example, when you bring the dog to his spot, as he starts to eliminate, say your phrase, like “go potty.” Then reward him with a treat. If you cannot keep your eye on him ALL THE TIME, (1) put him in his crate, or (2) tether him to your waist with his leash or long-line. Watch him for certain signals that he may have to go: (1) sniffing the floor, (2) looking a bit anxious or worried, (3) coming to you and just staring at you, (4) preparing to squat or lift leg, acting excited and a bit obnoxious.

Take the dog outside to potty before bedtime.

IF YOU TAKE HIM OUT AND HE DOESN’T GO, FOLLOW THESE PROCEDURES:

Do not allow him to play outside.

Bring him inside and put him in his crate for 15 minutes to 1/2 hour.

Take him out again, and repeat all procedures

you’ve been instituting. (generally, the dog will go after having been crated for an additional 1/2 hour.)

Please be aware that it is more difficult to train a toy or miniature dog. These tiny dogs have VERY small bladders and need to be taken out much more freqently.

DO NOT PUNISH HOUSE TRAINING ACCIDENTS!

The success of teaching a dog to go potty outside depends on YOUR MANAGEMENT OF THE SITUATION.

By punishing the dog, he will NOT LEARN that going outside is what you want him to do. Punishment will only teach him that you are DANGEROUS. This can result in a dog that will (1) refuse to potty outside in the presence of his owner; (2) come inside and eliminate where nobody can see what he’s doing. Dogs that are not completely housetrained and still have accidents in the house are NOT spiteful dogs! They are merely looking for an absorbent surface to eliminate on without suffering the consequences of being threatened. Management is key in house training any dog. If you don’t have the time to watch your dog or take him out very often, you’re going to have a much harder time of housetraining him!

REWARD ALL GOOD BEHAVIOR – IGNORE ALL BAD BEHAVIOR

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Puppy Training Basics

1. Teach the puppy his name.

Use it a lot, and say "Yes" whenever he responds by looking at you. Give the puppy a big hug and lots of smiles as his "treat" following the "Yes." We want to establish several primary reinforcers as early as possible, so that he doesn’t become dependent on food. We’ll save food treats for more formal training. Make sure that your "Yes" sounds different from your everyday, conversational "Yes." Make it a bright-sounding utterance.

2. Build really strong eye contact.

Make eye contact his permission-seeking behavior for anything he wants: getting out of the crate, going out the door (you can wait for the puppy to sit and give you eye contact at the door), eating a meal, etc. No verbal cues. Just put yourself in a position where he can easily make eye contact (like kneeling in front of the puppy), and then reinforce the eye contact with a "Yes") – and then give the puppy the primary reinforcer which is whatever he wants at that moment (e.g., getting out of the crate, going out the door, eating, etc.)

3. Condition the meaning of the clicker by doing a few very short sessions of freebies every day: click, treat, click, treat, and so on. All you’re teaching the puppy at this point is that the click predicts the treat (the primary reinforcer). Later, he’ll learn that his own behavior can make you click, and that’s when the operant conditioning begins. After a few days of conditioning the clicker, you can start to alternate the click with the "Yes" to work on name and eye contact.

4. Work on housetraining.

If you are absolutely religious about this, you can get the bulk (so to speak!) of it done within just a couple of weeks. After that, expect occasional "accidents" until his bladder and sphincter control improve (i.e., till he’s about 6 months old). Figure out the most likely times when he’ll need to eliminate – basically, after anything he does (eat, wake up, play, etc.). The rule of thumb is that an 8 week old puppy can hold for 1 hour (while he’s awake). After that, add 1 hour for each month of age. So, at 12 weeks/3 months, he can hold for 2 hours while awake.

I don’t use clicker training for housetraining. I do try to teach a cue, and here’s how to do that. Just as he’s starting to squat, say your cue quietly (so as not to startle the puppy). You are classically conditioning the cue. Before he’s finished eliminating, give the puppy a few quiet praise words.

He should be able to get through a 6-7 hour night within a week or so, especially if you’re careful to make clear to the puppy when we go to sleep at night. And, of course, make sure he’s empty at that time (withhold water after about 7 p.m. to help the puppy).

When you’re not watching the puppy, he should be confined to a crate or x-pen, so that he can’t make a mistake. You might also feed the puppy in his crate – partly to establish the crate as a wonderful place, and partly to protect your other dogs (and their food, which the puppy might think he can eat!) and to give them a little peace and quiet occasionally. I would also have the puppy ride crated in the car – mostly for safety and also to prevent carsickness.

5. Teach the puppy to play.

My preference is that all play is interactive with humans. I do not leave a million toys lying around but just one chew toy (like a Nylabone). The chew toy is not an interactive toy but just something to teach the puppy to chew on something approved (rather than the furniture). It will also be helpful when he starts teething, at about 4 months. Play can be with interactive toys (tug, fetch games – as long as you get the toy back – and so on) and also gentle body games ("Gotcha!", push-pull games, etc.)

6. Teach the puppy to relinquish a toy by doing exchanges, like this:
Give the puppy a toy (holding on to it if necessary to prevent his running off with it). Then show the puppy a wonderful treat in your other hand (close to his face, so that he can’t miss it!). The instant he opens his mouth to give up the toy, say "Yes" and give the puppy the treat (hiding the toy behind your back). Do a few of these exchanges each time. After a few days, you’ll be able to add a cue like "Give" (which will also be his Retrieve cue to relinquish the dumbbell). Say "Give" as he’s opening his mouth, then say "Yes," and then give the treat. Pretty soon, you won’t need to present the treat, once he knows the verbal cue. At that point, continue the "Yes" and treat (from behind your back), and then start building distance. This whole process will take about a week or so, though it won’t be absolute – especially when the thing in his mouth is just toooooo reinforcing in itself!

7. Socialize the puppy like crazy!
He’ll need exposure to all kinds of things, people, and places. You can carry the puppy in places that are not yet safe for the puppy to touch the ground in (where other dogs have been). He also needs time with you alone, without your other dogs present, so that he bonds more strongly with you than with them.

8. What To Do About Unwanted Behavior
Remember that your puppy is just doing what comes naturally – even if it’s not what you want! There are three important principles to follow with these unwanted behaviors: prevention, distraction, and interruption.

Prevention: Do everything possible to make unwanted behavior impossible!
For example, make sure there are no tempting electric cords in full view.

Distraction : When the puppy is doing something you don’t want,
divert his attention away from it to something more interesting.
For example, when the puppy starts to move towards your shoes, wiggle
a toy in front of his nose and playfully draw the puppy away.

Interruption: When your puppy is doing something you don’t like
and you can’t distract the puppy easily or quickly enough, interrupt the
behavior with a loud sound (hand clap, or slap on hard surface).
When he responds to the sound by startling, immediately ask the puppy
to do something you like that he knows how to do, and, when he does
it, c/t.

Dani Weinberg
Albuquerque, New Mexico
daniw@earthlink.net

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Teach your dog to come when called

The Recall “Come” Bugaboo!
May 13, 1999
Bea Pludow, CPDT

Canine Behavior Specialist, Santa Barbara California

Ok folks here we go. The # 1 complaint of all owners that call me is: My dog won’t “Come” when I call. After a little investigative questioning, if I were their dog I wouldn’t either!

The following is a list of reasons that I have come to understand as the leading culprits to this problem.

1.Dog does not know what the owner is “talking” about.

2.The dog does not know its name (to get its attention int he first place!)

3. The dog finds the environment much more interesting.

4. The dog does not know what the owner is talking about.

5. The dog gets in trouble when it finally comes to the owner

6. The dog thinks come is a game of chase.

7. The dog believes that COME is big TROUBLE!

Let’s set up a typical scenario: Owner gets new puppy, gives puppy a name and believes that just by calling the little cutie over and over again that it knows its name. Most times in the house, the pup is close by and when it hears this word, “Ginger” for example, it is in a voice that is, to her, attractive. She gets some pets and sometimes food is made available. If the owner is lucky the pup will learn that the word, “Ginger” means she gets something she likes. The owner is on the right track!

Unfortunately, most owners don’t continue to reward the dog with anything, it starts to become a word related to something the dog doesn’t particularly want, like confinement, or getting in trouble, “GINGER” you dirty rat!” You ate the corner of the couch” or removed all the tissue from the bathroom basket, or reduced the Gucci shoes to mush! Pretty soon her “Name” is no longer attractive.

Ok, got that picture?

“Ginger” now means TROUBLE!

Then the owner, getting frustrated because the dog doesn’t respond, adds another word! COME so now the dog hears “GINGER, COME” and someone is running after her! OH! Thinks the pup, a new game, “If I hear these words together I get to play keep-away”, and if the owner is really frustrated it also means TROUBLE! If the owner is not really into punishment, it turns into a game for the dog. If the owner believes that when the dog goes away this is the time to administer some physical discomfort and lots of yelling, the dog will decide that it should run very fast and elude the DANGER of the words “GINGER, COME”. Sometimes, when the dog does come back, it gets in trouble ANYWAY!

Now tell me, if you were this dog what on earth would make you decide to respond by going TO that person? For some reason our human culture believes that canines just know they are supposed to return to us no matter what kind of things might happen when they do so. I am here to tell you, IT ISN’T SO! Now, if you are still with me, I have some answers for you!

Perhaps my Scenario was a little different than yours, perhaps you never berated your puppy for coming to you but you still have problems retrieving her from some other activity. What I will tell you can help you teach your pooch, “How Wonderful YOU Are.” It is very important that you understand that “DOGS DO WHAT WORKS.” and “DOGS DO NOT COMMUNICATE IN WORDS.’ they can learn what a word means AFTER it learns the behavior, Got that? Read it again and believe it and then we can continue!

The easiest way for me to help here is by giving you some exercises to do with your dog. I will explain each one and then give you the reason for it.

The age of the dog is unimportant; of course if you start a puppy aged 10 weeks to 4 months you might get quicker results. But, I am here to tell you that I retrained my 8 year old Rhodesian Ridgeback Hound to come when I called, after he Believed, it was not a good thing to come to anyone. I won’t tell you the whole story, it would make you cry, but now he joyfully returns even when there are great dogs to play with and wonderful things to smell in the park. The trust I had with him as a puppy and young dog returned when I took a giant step forward in my training technique.

When I realized what it was that would make it WORK FOR HIM!I am now a happy Ridgeback owner again! I also have a Jack Russell Terrier-Border Collie-Heeler (I think!) mix that has a 98% immediate recall, 100% total recall. (By the way, if your dog has not permanently left home, you have a 100% recall!) I have helped many others get great to excellent results when they practice the exercises and remember what works.

Every dog breed has a certain specific genetic backgrounds, some are very connected to humans (i.e. Dobermans, Golden Retrievers, Poodles ) and some are a little more independent (i.e. Jack Russell Terriers, Hounds, Tibetan Mastiffs). Know what your dog has been bred for, understand what his propensity is for learning and behaving is before you begin making training choices. Y ou can train against his genetic make-up, but WHY? Hopefully you made an informed decision about what kind of dog would suit you and your family situation, so that you are ready to train for those attributes.

When you make the choice for a mixed breed, perhaps an older dog adoption, try to decide what his genetic background might be, ask questions about the dogs activity level, if he likes people more then dogs or visa versa, observe him in an environment that he is comfortable in. I suppose my drive here is; make an informed decision, not just an emotional one, or one based on looks.

Ok, I will climb down off my soap-box and give you some information on the dog you have now. This is why you are here right?

Exercise #1.  Teach your pet her name. 

Yes, thats the first step folks! First: test to see if she knows her name. Stand quitely in the same room with your dog, when she is not looking at you, say her name in a clear and friendly tone ONCE. Notice the response you get. You may get an ear twitch or a half hearted head turn. (This is where you have to start!) Does she come over right away and look you in the eye? Great! You have half the battle won. Now turn away and try again. Same response? What is your response to her when this happens? How does she know she did something correct? What is it that WORKS for her when you say her name? Get our of yourself and look at what you are doing. Is your dog happy to look you in the eye? If so, then you are doing something that works and it is rewarding to the dog. Now, if your dog ignores you or acts less interested or ducks her head and slinks away, OOPS you goofed, or in the case of a rescue dog, you have not developed the trust and good will that is necessary to begin a training program. Let alone a reliable recall.When you have determined how your dog responds to her name, you can then begin to understand and adjust your training method.

Exercise #2.  Joyful Eye Contact.

You want your dog to search you out and look you in the eye when you say her name. This is the beginning. You will reward her for doing so. REWARD, (food, play, affection, excitement, be HAPPY!) not just praise “good dog”, unless you have a Golden Retriever! We will get into this difference soon. By looking at you she will be feeling confident, safe as it were, of responding to you, waiting for something GREAT to happen. Remember the “Dogs Do What Works” rule from earlier? Good, you gave your dog a name that produces a result that is beneficial or rewarding to her by seeking out the eye contact we discussed. You can now begin to understand how to get these results more often, faster, more reliably. We will discuss just how to let your dog know she has done the right thing, soon, and with fewer Cookies!

You must remember that the environment plays a large part in these exercises. You will be starting in one room and working from that place to another in the same house FIRST. Each place you decide to call your dog from is a new environment, the kitchen to the living room, to the back bedroom, to the porch, to the den, to the kitchen etc. etc. etc. You should test each place in your house inside and out, outside and in with positive results on many tries before you go out the front door and down the street. These too are parts of the tests and exercises. You will be teaching each place and environment as you change locations. You will be doing these with the mind set that you will be seeing your dog responding to you even if it only starts as a LOOK! You will also have to look at what your rewards are and if they and you can compete with the new environment! Please have patience, use a long line if going into the street and you’re not feeling secure about your relationship yet. You don’t want to be in a position where you must go after your dog and possibly put it in danger of the street.

What does “COME” actually LOOK like to the dog? For my dogs it is “running very fast from where they hear the first and only “COME” and then sitting in front of me, as close to my feet as is possible and then looking up into my face.” That is the finished behavior. Some people like to be able to touch the dogs’ collar as part of the behavior and that is a very good criterion also. You must have a picture of the finished product, Behavior, in order to shape or build that really wonderful recall.

Once you get your dogs name established as a Reward-able Behavior, (dog gives itself a whiplash responding)! You can begin the Recall or “COME” exercise. Having some family members helps with this, but, as a single “Mom” of dogs I had to do it on my own. Using “Clicker” training is faster then any other way I know of teaching a Recall (“Come!”) I also want my dog to know that saying his name may mean other things are going to be asked of him. SOOOOO, When you start this, keep in mind, that the CLICK means: behavior done correctly, come get your reward!

It might look like this: “Ginger”! – Dog looks at you from across the room – CLICK- (or”Goooood!!!) – dog returns to you for reward.

Try to make this a fun game that only gets played with high stakes (or is that steaks?)! Play this when you know the dog will respond and no forcing, make the dog want more! Which means quit after 2-4 happy and fast repititions.

Now, when you get this whiplash look from your dog, you can anticipate it and know that the dog will – begin to move forward to you. Now, can you add Come?

No, Not yet!

The only criterion for this part of the behavior is: for the dog to do it very quickly. that is to come running to you; you will “click” the dog while it is moving fast towards you.

When you can simply open your arms to the dog and it comes running, you can go to the next part of the behavior. The next part of the behavior is dog to: Sit in front of you after it has run to you. You should be mixing up where the treats are coming from and NOT have them in your hands. This is important; we are not bribing the dogs to get there, but paying them after they get there. It should be a big suprise

I like to help the dog with my body language, it might look like this: Dog is over there – I say the Name bend at the knees slightly holding my arms out and down, near my knees, with a big grin on my face, as the dog gets very close I step back one full step and straighten up drawing the dog into a sit by pulling my hands up and into my mid chest. The dog follows my hands and automatically sits looking up; ‘Click’ then ‘Big Reward’ and excitement. The reward might be to tug or romp with you or run with you or get roast beef! What ever flips that dog’s switch in a large way!When the dog is offering you this behavior often, you can add the word cue you will use “Just before the dog gets to you” and only for this behavior. What the dog will understand is that moving toward you fast, then sliding into a sit in that special place in front of you is called “COME!” or ? f you have been using “Come” for some other behavior, such as the dog running away from you! Try using “Front” or “Here” if you haven’t got them attached to another behavior.You can start to fade out the bold body language to make it easier and less dramatic. You can practice it less, with bigger rewards when there are distractions around. It is something I always reinforce, if only with a nice scratch and an “Atta’ Boy”. Sometimes, a surprise happens and that is what keeps my dogs coming back at record speed!

For more info on this very successful method, you can ask Bea at Bea@K9sbehave.com

A background of Clicker Training is helpful, but not necessary, being a positive place for your dog to return to IS necessary for the safety and reliability of your dog.

Bea Pludow, CPDT
Canine Behavior Specialist
Santa Barbara, CA
www.K9sbehave.com

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Puppy Training

Puppy training can be a trying time. The key to this time is to really remember that all puppy behavior is normal. They like to mouth, jump, bark, dig and piddle wherever they are. They aren’t doing it to annoy you, they are just doing what they have learned so far. It is our job to train them not to do these things.

Think of it as teaching your child to read. You wouldn’t punish your child for not knowing the alphabet if they have never seen it before right? So we don’t need to punish our puppies for things we haven’t taught them. Here, we will talk about normal puppy behavior and ways to encourage them to try something new. Remember – Behavior that is followed by something the dog likes will increase! Puppy training should be a lot of fun!

Puppy behavior

Jumping: There are two ways to solve this – first, stand on their leash. Second, teach them to sit. By teaching sit we are removing the desire to jump.

Mouthing: See this full article on puppy mouthing.

Pulling: This one is easy. Just stop walking! If you never go anywhere when the dog pulls, he will quickly learn. Offer a small treat when he is by your side and talk in a happy voice to encourage him.

The key to training any behavior is to be 100% consistent in your efforts. Often times it will get worse before it gets better but it will go away if you are consistent.

Puppy dog training

Try enrolling in a puppy kindergarten near you. This will really help with socialization and early puppy dog training. Find a dog trainer near you.

Housebreaking puppies

Puppies need to go to the bathroom after they play, chew, drink, eat or sleep. Start by putting them on a leash and tethering them to you. That way you can be aware of them when they start sniffing the ground (usually a cue the puppy needs to go potty). Pick them up and carry them outside. When they go potty, tell them “good potty” and give a cookie as a reward. Do not let your puppy off leash until they have finished going so they get into the habit of going potty, then playing. Many puppies will want to go outside just to play if you let them off leash first.

What if my puppy has an accident?

He will. Do not punish your puppy though. If you catch your puppy in the act then clap your hands or pick them up – this will make your puppy stop going. Get him outside FAST and let him finish up out there. Reward him for going outside. Clean up the mess with natures miracle (or read our article on dog urine removal) which will remove the odor completely.

Do NOT rub their nose in it, swat them with a newspaper, or isolate your puppy. It will only teach them to not go in front of you.

If your puppy is going frequently in the house you are probably not supervising them enough. Watch and learn their cues. If you feel you are watching and your puppy isn’t getting it you can always have them checked for a Urinary tract infection.

If your puppy piddles when you greet them, this could be submissive urination. This would be a problem that is usually cured by ignoring the behavior and letting your puppy calm down before touching them when you first see them.

This article not only applies to puppies, but it is how you should train a dog of any age. If you can’t supervise your dog, please put them in a crate to help curb accidents. Remember, dogs go where they go most!

This can be a trying time, so have patience and you will get through it.

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Easy Walk Harness

The Easy Walk Harness will help your puppy pulling or dog pulling problems. If your dog drags you when you go for walks, this is the article for you. From the first day of life on a leash, most dogs learn that by pulling on it, they get to where they want faster. Its the behavior that so many dog owners struggle with. Its a simple solution – just stop walking. Although, somehow your dog doesn’t learn its just that simple. Or maybe we aren’t teaching it effectively enough. Or say, you have taught your dog that, except when they want to sniff the fire hydrant, or meet your neighbors dog, or chase a squirrel.

I have decided as a dog owner, that the only way to walk my dogs is by using either a gentle leader or an easy walk harness. I still enforce the rules – the dog pulls, I stop. The dog pays attention and walks with me, I move forward and often give treats and praise for doing so.

The reason I use and recommend the no pull harness is simple, prevention and safety. If the dog does pull, the easy walk harness causes them counter-pressure which makes them turn around and face me.

The first tool I recommend and use is the Easy Walk Harness. Its an easy fit, the dog doesn’t mind it, and it works really well. There is no issue of the dog escaping, and no damage since you are controlling the body. You will want to get the appropriate size for this. See the sizing chart below. The face collar typically causes dogs to get upset at something being on their face, so this is a good alternative.

The Gentle Leader Head Collar is also great tool. The fit is a bit tricky and most dogs fight it when they get it on – EW something is on my FACE! Ignore it. If you just keep going, stay happy and reinforce them not pawing at it, it will go away. Some have argued that the Gentle Leader can cause damage to their head / back. I think this is only true if the dog is running and you snap the leash. Do not use the tool this way. I prefer a shorter leash and never yank or pull the leash. Instead, just stop, so their head is guided, not forced back around. I find that the gentle leader head collar is quite effective for dogs who are more rambunctious. If the owner is willing to work through the initial getting used to it, then its a great tool.

 

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