Dog Training
One Simple Command Stops So Many Behavior Problems
By: Andrea Arden on 09/24/2009Sam, a 3 -month-old German Shepherd Dog mix, won the most recent "Sit-Happiest Puppy" title in my New York City puppy training class. I’m not sure who was more surprised by this - his owner, Sean Flynn, or me. When Sean came to his first class, he seemed more exhausted and frustrated than typical new puppy owners. "I can’t move without him pouncing on me" he said. "I can’t have friends over without them getting pounced on, and I can’t walk him down the street because he bounces all over the place and tries to pounce on anybody that passes us. All the trainers agreed Sam was among the most active pups we had seen and felt a bit sorry for Sean, who had his hands full. Choosing a trainer to assist you in teaching your dog how to become a great canine companion is an important, yet sometimes confusing prospect for many pet parents. The training industry is largely unregulated and methods and approaches vary greatly. Since many people begin their search when they are already experiencing a behavior issue with their dog and are therefore quite eager to find someone promptly, it is best to thoroughly research your options to avoid frustrating and potentially costly mistakes. Start by asking your veterinarian, groomer, local pet store and neighborhood dog people for recommendations. Once you have a short list of potential candidates, be prepared with a list of questions. The first two most people ask are how far and how much? While the cost and distance of a particular trainer are certainly important, you might fair far better to go a little further distance and spend a little more for a few fun and effective private lessons or group classes than to spend money on someone who is close by and less expensive, but who may not be as experienced. Training your dog to settle down is easy when using on-leash exercises. With a puppy, the leash acts as an umbilical cord, keeping your dog close to you at all times. The puppy will follow your movements and soon will be walking when you walk and sitting when you sit. With active adult dogs, you can tie the leash to the leg of your chair and give him/her a chew toy. This develops the dog’s desire to want to stay close to you. This is a great bonding technique and is a way to get your dog to focus on you. Be sure that your dog also continues to spend some quiet moments by himself in his/her ling- or short-term confinement area. Teaching your dog to settle down is very rewarding: 1. The dog will learn not to pull on-leash while taking walks 2. Visitors won’t have to worry about being jumped on by an excited dog 3. Your dog will remain calm and well-behaved while home alone 4. He/she will learn to respect your quiet time by settling down when you want to settle down
There are few things that compare with the companionship of a well-behaved dog. While we each have our own image of the perfect dog, most people would agree that a well-mannered pet dog will:
Train little but often. Lengthy training sessions will probably bore you as much as they bore your dog. Keep your training sessions extremely short – a matter of a few seconds, but work with your dog many, many times each day. Try to integrate training into your regular lifestyle and this way you will not be spending any extra time training your dog. For example, train your dog every time you go into the kitchen, everytime a commercial comes on TV, every time you open a door for the dog. It is surprisingly easy to train your dog as much as fifty times a day without deviating from your normal lifestyle. With most dogs, there are really only three things to teach them – settle down, settle down, and settle down. The best way to do this is to have the puppy on a leash that is tied to a chair that you are stepping on while you sit and read a book or watch the television. After every few pages or during commercial breaks, get up, move around a bit, and then come back to the chair and sit down. Your pup will learn to remain settled even though there is some activity. Periodically, move to another armchair and have the puppy settle down beside you. Your puppy will learn to settle down in a variety of spots and to settle down quickly. This also is great to do when you begin to take your puppy for walks. Bring a good book or magazine with you when you take your puppy out. After he/she has eliminated and you are ready to take him for a little walk around the block (as a reward for eliminating), stop every few feet or so and ask your pup to settle down. This teaches your dog two things: to settle down (even when highly excited by the prospect of a walk around the block) and to relax a but when you walk him/her. He/she will be less likely to pull on-leash because he/she knows he/she has to keep an eye on you to see when you will ask him/her to settle down again. Whenever you have a moment or two to spare, you can run through any of these quick tips that will help you train your dog in no time! 1. Hand feed your dog. This teaches your dog to like human hands, even near the food bowl. It also gets your dog to like getting kibble as a treat. 2. Make a habit of weighing out your dog’s kibble in the morning. Put it in a container and use it as training treats throughout the day. A dog who responds promptly to your requests for him to sit, stand, lie down and come when called is well on the way to earning his P.D. (Perfect Dog) title! One of the easiest ways to teach basic obedience is using the age-old lure/reward training method. Lure/reward techniques remove the need for physical coercion and corrections, enabling family and friends to train your dog, children included. It’s almost magic as the dog follows the lure (a treat or toy) and learns to sit, lie down and stand within minutes. Dogs enjoy this type of training so much it is good to train them at least fifty times a day. That doesn’t mean you have to spend all day training. Simply lure your dog into one of these three positions anytime you have a few seconds free. To practice, it is a good idea to alternate the three positions, Sit, Down and Stand. Basically, these three body positions are the building blocks of training. Once you’ve got a dog that will quickly sit, lie down and stand you can pretty much do anything with him. It means you can get your dog to be calm, to focus, and to pay attention to you. Practicing any of these three positions teaches your dog to be still. Try little training sequences, like a sequence of puppy push-ups – Sit, Down, Sit Down. See how many puppy push-ups you can get your puppy to do for just one reward, or see how many push-ups your dog can do in thirty seconds. Alternatively, practice sequences like Sit, Down, Sit, Stand, Down and Stand. Most people teach Sit, Down and Stand as three separate exercises. In actual fact, we are trying to teach the dog six different position changes: Sit from a Stand, Down from a Sit, Sit from a Down, Stand from the Sit, Down from the Stand and Stand from the Down. Dog training should be: EASY The up-to-date, modern, psychological dog-training method’s salient feature is its ease. Everyone should be able to do it – not only you but your family, friends, and even children. Modern methods make it easier for you to teach other people to train your dog for you. That’s really the trick behind laborless dog training – having other people do all the work! For the first few days (if not weeks) that your new dog or puppy is at home, it’s a good idea to use just one bowl. Your dog should have access to water but, instead of putting her food in a bowl and just placing it on the ground, there are some things you can do to get a lot more use out of the food. Weigh your dog’s dry kibble in the morning and store one-third of it in a canine cookie container along with her daily allotment of treats. (The daily calorie intake of food should be controlled so she does not become fat.) Anytime during the day, anyone can take kibble or treats from the cookie jar to use as lures and/or rewards to train the pup.
But, we were optimistic about helping Sean gain control. Sean is a busy and sociable person, so we devised a training plan that would get quick results. We focused on teaching Sam one trick: to sit promptly on request. No other command is as easy to teach and prevents as many behavior problems. There is no command or trick that is as easy to teach and prevents and solves as many behavior problems. A dog that sits willingly and promptly won't jump on people at the front door, pull on leash, rush out of the car, be hyperactive and so on. Learning to sit solves all these problems.Keep Reading...
How To Find A Great Dog Trainer
By: Andrea Arden
on 09/26/2009
Teach Your Dog To Settle Down
By: Andrea Arden
on 11/26/2009
Introduction To Dog Training
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/06/2009
Keep Reading...
Train Your Dog Little But Often
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/08/2009
Armchair Dog Training: Teaching Your Dog To Settle Down
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/12/2009
Quick Tips: The Fast Track To A Superbly Trained Dog
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/12/2009
Training Your Dog - Reward Based Training
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/13/2009
Practicing Commands with Your Dog
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/13/2009
Dog Training Should Be...
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/14/2009
Using Your Dog's Food For Training
By: Andrea Arden
on 12/17/2009
The other two-thirds can be used at feeding times to have a fun training session. Ask your dog to go through some sit-down-stand sequences for a few pieces of his meal. You can also put some food in a hollow toy. We may not be allowed to play with our food, but who says our dogs shouldn’t?
Teaching Your Dog to Take It Easy
By: Andrea Arden on 12/18/2009The first two things to teach your dog when he comes into your home is to enjoy calmly settling down and to enjoy his own company when you are away from home. Obviously, apart from autoshaping him with chew toys when you are away, the only other way to train a dog to settle down while you are away is to start doing it when you are home.
One of the biggest mistakes people make when they first bring a new dog home is they let him run wild. They give him constant attention and let him follow them around the house.
Then, of course the dog misses these people when he is away from them. Practice having lots of little, quiet moments when you are home. This really does your dog a favor. He will be much less likely to fall apart when you leave. (It also does you a favor; it gives you a chance to rest up!) Remember, there is a lifetime ahead for activity, rambunctious behavior, and fun and games, if the dog works at it. This basically depends on whether he likes people, is free of behavior problems, and settles down on request – all qualities that can be trained!
Keep Reading...Physical Punishment Does Not Work With Dogs
By: Andrea Arden on 01/03/2010Jerking a dog, pushing him, and any kind of physical prompting is a waste of time and effort. All you will be teaching your dog is to respond to prompts. (In lieu of verbal commands, touching the dog on the butt prompts him to sit down.) This works brilliantly if he is sitting next to you, but when he is 5 feet away, you have no control over him.
At home, your dog usually is off-leash and wandering around the house most of the time. When you’re sitting in an armchair and your dog is about to jump on the kids in the kitchen, you want to be able to say “Sit!” and have him do it. You want your dog to listen to the words you say. Therefore, you should lure/reward train your dog from the outset.
One feature of this method is that it can be done off-leash (in a safe, enclosed area). You give no physical prompting cues to the dog. Instead, the dog has to use his brain to learn what the verbal instructions mean. Keep your hands off the dog during training! Once the dog is trained, of course, you should use your hands to pet him and reward him for getting it right.
Keep Reading...Training Your Dog And Hand Signals
By: Andrea Arden on 01/04/2010Humans communicate using the spoken or written word. To teach a dog the meaning of a single word can take a long time. Dogs, however, can learn facial expressions and body movements just like that!
It is extremely easy for a dog to learn hand signals – so let’s try training with them! (A lure should be used with the hand signals, so be sure to have it in hand!)
The hand signal for sit is a sweeping movement of the hands in front with palms up. For down, use a sweeping downward movement with your palms down. “Stand” is a movement of your hand straight out to the side. This is great because you can have already taught these signals using lure/reward training. Now just do it without a piece of food in your hand. Just remember to randomly produce a bit of kibble and some praise as a reward. When you go to the dog park and silently give hand signals to your dog, these signals are easy for your dog to understand, but onlookers will really be impressed.
Keep Reading...Today Show Pet Segment
By: Andrea Arden on 01/09/2010What better way to start the day than with an appearance on the Today Show to answer viewer questions and to bring on three beautiful pups available for adoption from www.AnimalHavenShelter.org?
The first viewer question was:
"My new Collie puppy loves to play in our backyard. But, now that the temperatures have dropped, how can I make sure she is warm and safe when playing outside?"
Keep Reading...The Honeymoon Period with a New Dog
By: Andrea Arden on 02/05/2010We have all heard the term 'The Honeymoon Period' used to describe the first, deliriously happy months of a relationship. Everyone is on their best behavior and feeling giddy and optimistic about the future. Unfortunately, this time of what seems to be limitless joy usually comes to an end.
A similar, albeit usually much shorter, honeymoon period is often experienced by new pet parents. Although, unlike people in a new relationship, I don't think the dog or puppy is on it's best behavior with the understanding that they are about to start a new, hopefully long term relationship. Instead, many dogs are in a state of severe adjustment to what is a whole new world. A new environment, sights, sounds, people and possibly other animals can result in a dog sort of shutting down a bit (or a lot!) as they absorb all of this new information and try to figure out their place in the world. This is analagous to a person being plopped down in a new country. It would seem understandable that they might take a few days or weeks to quietly observe and figure things out.
Many people end up calling a dog trainer for help only after weeks or months have passed with their new dog in their home. At first they put off calling because there doesn't seem to be a need. Their new dog is fairly calm, passive, and quiet. But, as the dog becomes adjusted and more comfortable their true personality shines through. With it often comes a list of what, to their new family anyway, seem to be new behaviors (this could be excessive barking, inappropriate chewing, growling when food or toys are taken away). The behaviors aren't really new to the dog, they are just new to the dog in it's new home. When these behaviors start to show themselves, people are often caught off guard. As a result, they may at first assume that these things are just one or two time mistakes and the dog will go back to his or her 'normal' behavior soon without intervention on their part. But, as the dog begins to engage in what their new family considers to be inappropriate behaviors on a more frequent basis, frustration rears it's ugly head. The dog is surely frustrated, since he or she clearly doesn't understand what is expected and is probably getting reprimanded, and the dog's new family is frustrated as they may not be equipped to manage the situation and help their dog learn what is expected.
Keep Reading...Canine Good Citizen Award
By: Andrea Arden on 02/07/2010Whether or not you are interested in teaming up with your dog to potentially win awards, titles and ribbons, looking to formally structured and organized events such as obedience, agility, herding and field trials can be a terrific way to set goals for you and your dog to achieve together in order to improve your dog's manners, mental and physical well-being, and their relationship with you.
One of the first challenges of this sort that many pet parents aspire to is earning a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) award. Established in 1989, the CGC program was launched by the AKC to help encourage people to help their dogs learn the manners required to be appreciated and respected members of society. The CGC evaluation is a ten part test which includes the following:
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.
Keep Reading...What's in a Dog's Name?
By: Andrea Arden on 02/08/2010If you are reading this, odds are you are one of the many people who consider dogs to be members of our families. One of the ways we demonstrate this is the careful consideration we give to naming our dogs. There was a time when dog names where typically descriptive of the dog's physical traits, such as Spot, Shadow, Fluffy, or Tiny or a dog specific name such as Fido, Rex, Brownie, Apollo, Patches, Buddy, or Banjo.
But, today's dogs tend to strut around the dog park showing off collars which identify them with a name that could easily be mistaken for that of any other human member of their family. Some of the most popular names we see are Gracie, Norman, Lilly, Oscar, Lucy, George, Ruby, Dylan, Sadie, Jack, Sophie, Stella, Talullah, Zoe and Max.
Some dog names honor a pet parent's special interest, hobby or place. There is Jackson (Hole, WY), Fenway (Park), Harley (Davidson), Meatball, Meteor, Yankee, Jeter, Brooklyn, or Bronx.
Keep Reading...Silence is Golden: Learning to Be Quiet When Teaching Your Dog
By: Andrea Arden on 02/23/2010Group dog training classes are a superb environment to learn about human behavior. Most run for 6-8 weeks, during which time the ebb and flow of the class dynamic changes dramatically. In the first week or two the enthusiasm and anticipation of both dogs and owners is palpable. Of course, there is often also a good bit of frustraion in the air. Many pet parents arrive suffering from varying degrees of dissatisfaction regarding their dog's behavior. The same can be said for the canine at the other end of the leash in regards to their human companion.
One of the most obvious ways to gauge the human frustraion level is to simply listen. In the first week or two, there is a lot of chatter going on between most dog/handler teams, which includes: Stop it!, No!, Sit!, Off!, Down!, Leave It!, Shush! Most of the dogs, even the young pups who have only been in their new home for a few weeks, have loads of experience with this one way banter, and the typical canine response is to ignore it. It should come as no surprise that this seems to escalate the human frustration level and result in further verbal pleadings and reprimands.
Of all of the many parts of training methodology that are covered in a class, one of the most important is to help people see their dogs as something other than furry, little people. Don't get me wrong, my dogs are truly members of my family. But, since I love them so much, I try my best to remind myself regularly that they see the world very differently than I do. It is not necessarily better or worse, just a vastly different perspective and ability to absorb certain information. While a dog's sense of smell may be far more acute than ours, one of the many ways dogs are different than us is that they don't have our verbal language skills. Dogs are masters at canine gestural language (as one might expect). But, language is our forte. When teaching our dogs, we need to be a bit less eager to verbally tell them what to do and focus more energy on showing them using reinforcements, management, and gestures. Dogs may often discount what we say (as it may be difficult for them to understand), but they are watching every movement, glance, and behavior.
Keep Reading...Does Your Dog Think It's Name is No?
By: Andrea Arden on 03/03/2010I usually begin classes and private lessons with an introduction to the many benefits of taking a positive, dog friendly approach to teaching. I am always pleased to see nods of approval from students as I explain how punishments more often than not result in a dog engaging in owner absent behavior problems (i.e. I'll wait until my family of big, bad punishers is gone to engage in chewing everything I can find and eliminating behind the couch, where it hopefully won't be found). While explaining how a punitive approach can also seriously damage the canine/human bond, I see plenty of people look lovingly at their dogs and imagine they are thinking that is the last thing they would want to have happen. At moments like this I am confident that people understand their role as their dog's guide. That they will move forward with a plan for management and teaching that will set their dog's up for a lifetime of success, safety, fun and happiness with their family.
However, even some of those students who begin the first lesson or class nodding in vigorous dog friendly agreement fall prey to the big, bad "No Syndrome." Saying "no" seems to be people's default verbal response to just about anything their dog does, other than sleeping. And from my experience it is about as hard to fully extinguish this behavior from people's behavioral repertoire as it is to get people to stop petting an adorable puppy who is jumping all over them. In the case of the puppy, I try to explain that each time the pup is rewarded for jumping (with giggles, petting, and eye contact) that behavior is becoming stronger. When the pup is an adult, jumping is not likely to be tolerated. So, why encourage it in a puppy and then confuse them later by changing the rules of polite greeting?
In the case of saying "no," the first few times your dog hears this, they are likely to respond by stopping whatever they are engaged in doing because they are probably startlet. This may be why people keep using the word, because they are reinforced by the dog stopping, which was the whole point of saying "no" in the first place. However, it doesn't take most dogs long to tune out what has surely become a constant stream of no's. After all, there are so very many things a dog can do in a home that most people consider inappropriate. Essentially, the dog learns to ignore being nagged.
Keep Reading...Give Yes a Full Time Job
By: Andrea Arden on 03/24/2010An article in the March 21, 2010 New York Times magazine titled "No, A negative word that is doing battle with its positive counterpart" about politics, health care reform and other initiatives is a valuable read. While it was probably not the author's intent, it is especially so for anyone endeavoring to teach dogs.
It can be difficult to rid ourselves of using the word no on a regular basis during our interactions with our dogs. Maybe due in part to the fact that no is often one of the first and most commonly used words for children and is therefore a habit that is hard to break and since we, unfortunately, tend to be a culture very much focused on the negative.
The writer of the article, Ben Zimmer, discusses the Democrats labeling of the Republican Congressional minority as "the party of no." I think there is a "party of no" in the dog world as well and it is a party that is, regrettably, very well attended.
Keep Reading...Private Lessons or Group Classes for Dog Training...Which is Best?
By: Andrea Arden on 05/31/2010One of our apprentice trainers, Mike Lustig, asked me last week if I have a preference for teaching private lessons or group classes. This was one of the many good questions on his list that day and an example of how working with apprentice trainers is a wonderful way for an established trainer to continue to reflect on their profession in an effort to improve. Of course, most importantly, it is also a great way to help spread the word about dog-friendly training by teaching others how to teach dog/handler teams as well.
My first response to Mike was something along the lines of "Well, I really like both." But, I could see by the look on his face he wanted a bit more detail. As with everything in life, there are potential pros and cons to group classes and private lessons. And of course, we each have personal preferences. I know plenty of trainers who don't offer group classes because they have such a strong preference for private lessons, and vice versa. I continued by explaining that the dynamic of a group class can be exhilarating. I love the variety of students all in one place and the challenge of helping each dog/handler team. I also find that students can greatly benefit from each other's presence (as a source of encouragement, enthusiasm, support, and just a pinch of good natured competition). There are many times when the mix of a group class is so wonderful that at the end of the six week course we all (myself, the students and the apprentice) are truly sad to say goodbye. Luckily, we see many students in ongoing education classes (such as level two obedience, tricks and agility). I am most pleased when students cheer each other on at graduation as each team heads up to show off a new skill before receiving their diploma. Talk about positive reinforcement training! Who wouldn't continue to play the training game with their dog after being applauded for success?Keep Reading...
Do Dogs Feel Guilty?
By: Andrea Arden on 06/04/2010Most people have walked into their home at least once and found their dog waiting for them with a look they interpret as guilty for some not yet discovered doggie misdeed. Did she eliminate on the carpet, chew up a favorite shoe, bark all day and disturb the neighbors? It could be. Or maybe, just like an innocent person sitting in front of a jury in a courtroom, the dog is worried about the situation and exhibiting body language that is meant to say something along the lines of "I'm happy you're home, but nervous you're going to punish me for something because you have in the past," rather than "I am feeling so guilty for what I did." If dogs had lawyers, they would surely advise them that a jury might be more likely to convict you if they think you look guilty, so hold your head up high, wag that tail and gosh darn it...look happy!
Bernie, a rescued 5 year-old English Cocker Spaniel, has been wrongly convicted on a number of occasions, so I decided to step in as her advocate during a recent lesson with her family. They insisted that when they walk in the door, if Bernie averts her eyes and her head, ears and tail are held lower than usual, she is feeling guilty. I explained that while there are certainly some similarities between human and animal behavior, there is also a tendency to take a superficial similarity and apply it in broad and inaccurate ways. With that said, while they may express a look that reminds us of what a person might look like when feeling guilty, guilt is not part of their emotional repertoire. A dog might certainly exhibit this sort of body language if she is in a situation where she believes punishment (or something else unpleasant) is imminent. But, rather than being a display of guilty feelings it is the dog's way of showing they are no threat and more importantly hope to decrease the possibility that you might be one to them. Keep Reading...
