TheTreat

The Treat

Since we use positive reward based training, the treat is an important tool in our training. It is firstly a lure to move the dog into a position or through an action, hence it must be highly aromatic, and next it is offered as a reward for performing the task, so it must be tasty, easily ingested, and small and quick to eat. The treat is the "chocolate cake and ice cream" that acts as the motivator which makes the student anxious to repeat the task. Imagine it as a finger tip sized piece of delicious chocolate as opposed to eating a whole chocolate bar. We don't want our student to be standing there for a minute or so while he consumes the treat and he forgets what he did to earn it in the first place. We don't want to lose our training momentum.The treat must also be easy for the trainer to carry and offer. Delicious cheese is a great reward but obviously would get a little gooey in our pocket.

I think of treats as being high, medium, and low value. High value is a lure and reward for a new or perhaps more challenging task, while low value would be an everyday acknowledgment of recognition and focus. Or a reminder to "pay attention".

When we first start teaching lure and reward we want a high value treat while the student figures out just what we are doing. As he catches on we can back off to treats of lesser value because we want to save the high value for special occasions and achievements. Our day to day medium value treat is the reward and recognition for performing a familiar task. As we proceed through the learning and mastery of a task we will start with high value as a "jack pot" reward and phase down to medium or lower value.

We sometimes hear people say their dog is not food motivated and for the most part this simply means they haven't tried enough options. I've never met a dog that didn't like to eat. Occasionally you need to avoid feeding just before training so you set yourself and the dog up to win.

If you have difficulty determining which is the most desirable treat, do a simple taste test. Take four different treats and put them in little piles about two feet apart and introduce the dog to the area. Take note of which he consumes first, second etc. Now remove the dog and put the treats down in different locations and repeat the test. Do this several times and he will show you which is his preferred treat. Unless it happens to be filet mignon, this is your "numero uno" motivator.

So what makes a good training treat? There are many commercial treats available and they vary from basic to pheasant and blueberry flavored. If you are training full time there are lots of other options and I list some below. If you use your imagination I'm sure there are lots more.

Cooked chicken pieces , Dried roasted liver, meat pieces, carnitas, bacon pcs., cheese.................these would be "high value treats"

Pieces of cookies, biscuits, wheat thins, croutons, chopped carrots, green beans, peanuts or other mixed nuts.........."medium value treats"

Kibble, cat treats, bread crusts etc..................."low value treats"

In a future article I will show you how I make 330 pieces of great treats for a buck. Stay tuned.

The important thing is don't be lazy and chintzy. This is a training process and builds your dog's habits. Make the effort and your dog will provide you with a lifetime of companionship and enjoyment.

Socializing

Socialization

Proper socialization and early training are two irreplaceable ingredients in the recipe for a happy, confident, and socially appropriate adult dog. A dog's behavior is influenced by his genetic makeup and both the intentional and unintentional socialization experiences and training he receives. Puppy brains grow just like all the other parts of their bodies. Without proper environmental stimulation during the brain's growth period, the brain will not develop to its full potential. The stimulation and experiences you give your young dog should either the instincts you want increase in your dog or weaken those you want to decrease. Proper socialization and puppy training will maximize your chances of having an adult dog you will enjoy living with for many years.      

  Socialization is far more than just puppy play

In The Dog Vinci code, well known British behaviorist John Rogerson defines socialization as learning how to interact appropriately with people, other dogs, and the environment. Socialization involves exposing a puppy to as many things as possible during the first sixteen weeks of his life, before he develops a normal healthy fear of new things. Your puppy needs to learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs, how to tolerate physical confinement and brief periods of isolation, how to ride in the car, how to abide being handled by you and other people, how to cope with unique environmental conditions where you live (such as neighborhood noises, sights, and smells), and how to deal with unique family situations (including babies, the elderly, medical  equipment, and pets of other species). Every socialization experience should be short, pleasant, and puppy appropriate, but the experiences should reflect the environment in which you expect the puppy to live in and any work you expect of him in later life. Investing the time and effort to socialize your puppy properly will result in huge benefits that will last your dog's entire lifetime.                                                       Dogs don't always identify or respond to environmental stimuli the same way humans do. Canine instincts help a do to  survive in the natural world, but sometimes cause problems in the human-made world. For example, dogs are naturally fearful of loud noises. In nature, such noises usually accompany dangerous things, such as lightning or falling trees or a boulder. However, in the man- made world, there are loud things that are not dangerous, such as fireworks and large trucks and busses. Dogs aren't born knowing the difference between dangerous loud things and not so dangerous loud things. They need to learn the difference through socialization and experience. As behaviorist Carol Price explains, "Dogs are essentially creatures of instinct...This.... in turn means that when a dog is suddenly faced with something strange - be it sight, sound, object, person, animal, or experience - he has one of two choices. He can inherently trust that something is safe or fear that it is not - and then react accordingly." Providing as many appropriate safe socializing experiences for your puppy as you possibly can will help tip the scales toward an assumption that these new and/or different stimuli are safe. Your puppy also needs exposure to things that move quickly or erratically, such as bicycles, vacuum cleaners, or skateboards, so he can learn that they are safe objects that don't need to be attacked or controlled.

The same concept applies to developing proper canine social skills. Dogs have the instinctive ability to express themselves in ways that other dogs understand. However if a dog is not given the ability to practice and refine these skills during the first sixteen weeks of his life, while his brain is still developing those areas associated with canine communications, his fluency will be greatly diminished. He may have problems throughout his life being socially appropriate with other dogs. He needs to be exposed to dogs of both sexes, different physical appearances (for example color, size, shape, coat length, head shape), different ages, and different inclinations toward interacting with puppies. It is vital your puppy interacts with dogs who will tell him to bug off (in a socially appropriate way) so he learns that not every dog wants to play and how to stop potential conflicts from escalating. If the puppy grows up only interacting with other puppies or adult dogs who tolerate his behavior he may not act appropriately the first time he encounters a dog who wants to be left alone. Although it is very important that the dog learns  how to interact with other dogs he lives with, he still needs the opportunity to interact with dogs outside his family. If he is limited to interacting only with the dogs he lives with, his communication skills will be limited by the degree of fluency of h is house mates. He might also struggle with communicating with dogs you bring into your home in the future, if doesn't learn how to interact and communicate properly.                                                                                                   Play is another key part of socialization.  Puppy play is Mother Nature's way of teaching puppies how to be predators (eye, stalk, chase, and grab skills are all part of typical puppy play) and how to communicate with one another (bite inhibition, social deference, and other skills also develop through play). Once puppies are four to six months old, these lessons are pretty much learned (or not learned if the puppy was not adequately socialized) and the desire to play starts to naturally decline. Older puppies and adult dogs may still "play" with other dogs but the nature and frequency of that play changes. As puppies mature, their extended chase, tumble, and chew games evolve into more casual shared environmental exploration. A word of caution. Unfortunately adult herding dogs sometimes want to interact with other dogs and some people by herding them. The innate need to control other animals can cause problems and trigger fights if the dog never learns that "no" means "no" when he is interacting with other dogs. That is why it is so important that puppies learn that not every dog they encounter wants to play a game of run and chase or shepherd-and-sheep, and to respect that decision.                                                                                         Unfortunately, an intense period of fear development partially overlaps the optimal sixteen week learning period for many critical adult behaviors. Negative experiences during a fear period can last a lifetime. It is important to protect the puppy from traumatic experiences, while still providing him with positive ones. Throwing him into a mob scene with a pack of strange dogs at the dog park to socialize him is not a very good idea. Chances are high that your puppy will be scared by such an experience and this can greatly impair his social skill development. It is entirely possible that this type of experience can result in the dog developing a fear aggression or excessive shyness. It is far safer to have the young puppy interact with a few other socially appropriate dogs under the supervision of a trainer in a controlled environment than to toss him out to fend for himself in the dog park. Although this requires more effort on your part, remember that you are creating a behavioral foundation that will last your dog's entire life and you only have a few precious months to develop these important life building skills.

Five Steps to a Great Dog

This is from a column I write for Mexico's largest English language magazine and some one wanted me a repeat. Hope you enjoy.

 

 

FIVE STEPS TO A GREAT DOG

My wife often tells me “not everyone wants to be a dog trainer”, and for the most part I have to agree but I still feel that if people would commit just a little more regular effort they would avoid a lot of problems and enjoy their dog a whole lot more. One step for the handler and four for your dog is all it takes.

Step 1,  BE A LEADER. Don’t worry about ‘pack leader’ or ‘alpha dog’ or whatever the flavor of the week happens to be. Simply learn to be a leader. Whenever and wherever we get two or more dogs, people, or whatever, together one has to be a leader. That’s a simple law of nature. If the herd is “playing lemming” and heading over the cliff, either figuratively or literally, someone has to come to the fore and take control and lead. It’s the same with our relationship with our dogs. We either lead or they do. Just as when you are a parent, it’s your responsibility to establish rules, regulations, and limitations, and  to lead and offer guidance. Additionally, this job must be performed consistently and with persistence. You can’t be a dog leader and guide one day and ignore the job, or worse yet become a baby talking kissy face the next day.

Step 2, TEACH THE DOG HIS NAME. This sounds so obvious but most people think that using the dog’s name a lot will teach him his name. This results in a dog that knows and acknowledges his name when he wants to but not always. If you say “There’s  my Buddy, come over here and stay down and be a good dog.” Yes, you have used the dog’s name but you used thirteen other words. Which word did you expect him to learn? And you also used three other words which are specific commands leading to a task, i.e. come, stay, and down. Use imprint and reward motivation to teach your dog his name. If your dog will always respond to his name and look at you for the next direction you will be better able to avoid unwanted situations.

Step 3, TEACH THE DOG TO SIT.  Sit and come are the two most important tasks for your dog to master. If your dog has his butt on the floor he can’t jump up on people, he can’t lunge at cars, bikes, skateboards, kids, bouncing balls, other dogs, or whatever. If he has a proper Sit, you don’t even have to teach him to Stay because if he is in a sit he stays in that position until he is released or directed to do something else. Use “lure and reward” to teach a proper sit and practice regularly in varying environments with different distractions.

Step 4, TEACH THE DOG TO COME. Come is a “never compromise” task. Failure to come when called can lead to lots of problems. I don’t have to tell any of you about the adverse effects of the dog that ignores the come command because if you’re reading this you have already had first hand experience with a dog that runs off and doesn’t respond when called. Use the lure and reward method and start small and always be generous with the reward until the dog responds ten out of ten times at ever increasing distances. Don’t attempt longer distances or environments where you are setting the dog up for failure until you have mastered the basics.  Remember, the job you do now just might save your dog’s life in the future.

Step 5, TEACH THE DOG TO WALK ON A LOOSE LEASH. If a dog is in front of the handler and pulling on the leash he is announcing to the world that at this time and in this situation he doesn’t respect the other end of the leash because the handler is not being a leader and the dog is assuming that role. Recognize that a dog that is in front and pulling is not in your control. He is a risk to others and a danger to you. Learn how to teach your dog to walk beside you on a loose leash in the proper heel position whenever he is on a walk.

So there you have it. Five easy steps to a great dog and a companion that is a pleasure to have around.

 

 

Introducing a New Dog

INTRODUCING A NEW DOG

When introducing and/or meeting new dogs there two basic requirements. Space and loose leashes. Both of which most people fail to include. First let’s consider space. Dogs aren’t a lot unlike people. They get along with most others of their breed but with some others they need a little more time.
If we put two people in an elevator they may hit it off but most likely they would feel uncomfortable and prefer to be some other place. If we put these two strangers in a football field where only the food and water were in a common space the chances are these same two people would gradually get to know one another and become comfortable sharing their environment with one another. Dogs aren’t a whole lot different. If we jam them together in a small space like a carport or small yard for example and then shove them nose to nose and say “Here’s your new buddy”, there’s every reason for them to be less than excited about this forced meeting. To make matters worse most people will be nervous themselves and will wind the leash around their wrist until the poor dog has no wiggle room. Dogs want the option to leave the area when things become strange and different and the problem is when we tighten that leash up like a fiddle string we completely remove the flight option and poor peace loving Buddy’s auto pilot kicks in and his mind goes from flight to defense and when he can’t get any slack or maneuver space out of the leash he goes from defense to offense. This is when he appears to become aggressive and the handler proceeds to yell and jerk on the strangulating leash and all hell breaks loose and the mutual gathering ceremony goes head first into the proverbial crapper. So here’s the deal. Lot’s of space, completely loose leashes so the dogs can get to know one another on their terms and take your time.
 Okay now the dogs decide they’ll give it a shot and you say okay this is going to work so new dog can stay and everything will work itself out.
It’s not uncommon when we introduce a new dog to a multi pet environment we will experience some difficulties with minor spats or anxiety situations like unusual urinating and marking in the house or the existing dog going off  his food and sulking and a myriad of other problems. The first and most important thing is to focus ALL of your affection and attention on the EXISTING animal for 6 to 10 days if you can hold out that long. It’s the existing dog who is having his environment and his entire world invaded. He needs the assurance that everything is going to be okay and he isn’t losing anything. Remember the new dog doesn’t know you or the new environment so he has no preconceived notions about what to expect or what is expected of him. Don’t worry about hurting his feelings because he’ll get lots of loving and attention after the settling period passes.

Every dog needs direction

PACK LEADER / ALPHA DOG

By now most everyone accepts the idea that the dog needs a PACK LEADER or ALPHA DOG or whatever other buzz word we have decided to use this week. The simple fact is children, puppies, students etc. all need guidance and direction. We need to have a person in charge who keeps everyone on track and shows how and what is expected.

Of course our student can grow up without guidance and direction. He just learns on his own. The problem is we don’t necessarily accept what he becomes to believe is normal practice. If he stands in the middle of the table and devours the chicken it’s only wrong in your eyes. He is simply enjoying a meal that was within reach and he’d never been taught that what he did was wrong. There are obviously lots of examples but the point is WHAT IS WRONG IN YOUR OPINION IS NOT WRONG TO THE DOG IF HE HAS NEVER BEEN TAUGHT DIFFERENTLY.

Your student needs regular guidance. All parties involved need to agree on the rules regulations, and limitations expected in your environment and

have to agree to teach them and to enforce them on a regular basis. The student can’t get one message from one party one time and get no message or a completely different one from the other person at a different time or place. The same holds true for performance. A SIT or a COME can’t have a different standard of performance to different parties. All we get is a confused student. Keep it simple. Use as few words as possible. Remember your dog is learning a new language. Go slowly be CONSISTENT and PERSISTENT and with a little time and lots of PATIENCE you’ll both enjoy amazing results.

Clip and save the Trainer's Four Basic Rules. If you can accept and practice them, your training efforts and results will be easier.

THE TRAINER’S FOUR BASIC RULES

       MOTIVATION      The student always needs a reason

                                       to perform the task. This is the motivation

                                       to act. With positive motivation the student

                                       is happy to repeat the tasktask.negative                                                                                                                                                                

                                       motivation the student is reluctant to repeat the

                                       task. If the task is EASY  enough                                                                      

                                       MOTIVATION is LARGE enough the student        

                                       will learn the task.

        CONSISTENT      All parties involved in the training process

                                       must be consistent in their commands, signals,

                                       and expectations of performance.

        PERSISTENT      Remember PERSISTENCE and

                                       DETERMINATION always win in

                                       the long run. If we give up and don't complete

                                       the task we compromise and the student

                                       becomes proficient at performing the task

                                       improperly.

         PATIENCE          More dogs have been ruined through lack

                                       of patience than any other trainer's error.

                 “If the student didn’t learn – the teacher

                                   didn’t teach”

        

Socializing Your Dog

Socialization

Proper socialization and early training are two irreplaceable ingredients in the recipe for a happy, confident, and socially appropriate adult dog. A dog's behavior is influenced by his genetic makeup and both the intentional and unintentional socialization experiences and training he receives. Puppy brains grow just like all the other parts of their bodies. Without proper environmental stimulation during the brain's growth period, the brain will not develop to its full potential. The stimulation and experiences you give your young dog should either the instincts you want increase in your dog or weaken those you want to decrease. Proper socialization and puppy training will maximize your chances of having an adult dog you will enjoy living with for many years.                                             Socialization is far more than just puppy play

In The Dog Vinci code, well known British behaviorist John Rogerson defines socialization as learning how to interact appropriately with people, other dogs, and the environment. Socialization involves exposing a puppy to as many things as possible during the first sixteen weeks of his life, before he develops a normal healthy fear of new things. Your puppy needs to learn how to interact appropriately with other dogs, how to tolerate physical confinement and brief periods of isolation, how to ride in the car, how to abide being handled by you and other people, how to cope with unique environmental conditions where you live (such as neighborhood noises, sights, and smells), and how to deal with unique family situations (including babies, the elderly, medical  equipment, and pets of other species). Every socialization experience should be short, pleasant, and puppy appropriate, but the experiences should reflect the environment in which you expect the puppy to live in and any work you expect of him in later life. Investing the time and effort to socialize your puppy properly will result in huge benefits that will last your dog's entire lifetime.                                                       Dogs don't always identify or respond to environmental stimuli the same way humans do. Canine instincts help a do to  survive in the natural world, but sometimes cause problems in the human-made world. For example, dogs are naturally fearful of loud noises. In nature, such noises usually accompany dangerous things, such as lightning or falling trees or a boulder. However, in the man- made world, there are loud things that are not dangerous, such as fireworks and large trucks and busses. Dogs aren't born knowing the difference between dangerous loud things and not so dangerous loud things. They need to learn the difference through socialization and experience. As behaviorist Carol Price explains, "Dogs are essentially creatures of instinct...This.... in turn means that when a dog is suddenly faced with something strange - be it sight, sound, object, person, animal, or experience - he has one of two choices. He can inherently trust that something is safe or fear that it is not - and then react accordingly." Providing as many appropriate safe socializing experiences for your puppy as you possibly can will help tip the scales toward an assumption that these new and/or different stimuli are safe. Your puppy also needs exposure to things that move quickly or erratically, such as bicycles, vacuum cleaners, or skateboards, so he can learn that they are safe objects that don't need to be attacked or controlled.

The same concept applies to developing proper canine social skills. Dogs have the instinctive ability to express themselves in ways that other dogs understand. However if a dog is not given the ability to practice and refine these skills during the first sixteen weeks of his life, while his brain is still developing those areas associated with canine communications, his fluency will be greatly diminished. He may have problems throughout his life being socially appropriate with other dogs. He needs to be exposed to dogs of both sexes, different physical appearances (for example color, size, shape, coat length, head shape), different ages, and different inclinations toward interacting with puppies. It is vital your puppy interacts with dogs who will tell him to bug off (in a socially appropriate way) so he learns that not every dog wants to play and how to stop potential conflicts from escalating. If the puppy grows up only interacting with other puppies or adult dogs who tolerate his behavior he may not act appropriately the first time he encounters a dog who wants to be left alone. Although it is very important that the dog learns  how to interact with other dogs he lives with, he still needs the opportunity to interact with dogs outside his family. If he is limited to interacting only with the dogs he lives with, his communication skills will be limited by the degree of fluency of h is house mates. He might also struggle with communicating with dogs you bring into your home in the future, if doesn't learn how to interact and communicate properly.                                                                                                   Play is another key part of socialization.  Puppy play is Mother Nature's way of teaching puppies how to be predators (eye, stalk, chase, and grab skills are all part of typical puppy play) and how to communicate with one another (bite inhibition, social deference, and other skills also develop through play). Once puppies are four to six months old, these lessons are pretty much learned (or not learned if the puppy was not adequately socialized) and the desire to play starts to naturally decline. Older puppies and adult dogs may still "play" with other dogs but the nature and frequency of that play changes. As puppies mature, their extended chase, tumble, and chew games evolve into more casual shared environmental exploration. A word of caution. Unfortunately adult herding dogs sometimes want to interact with other dogs and some people by herding them. The innate need to control other animals can cause problems and trigger fights if the dog never learns that "no" means "no" when he is interacting with other dogs. That is why it is so important that puppies learn that not every dog they encounter wants to play a game of run and chase or shepherd-and-sheep, and to respect that decision.                                                                                         Unfortunately, an intense period of fear development partially overlaps the optimal sixteen week learning period for many critical adult behaviors. Negative experiences during a fear period can last a lifetime. It is important to protect the puppy from traumatic experiences, while still providing him with positive ones. Throwing him into a mob scene with a pack of strange dogs at the dog park to socialize him is not a very good idea. Chances are high that your puppy will be scared by such an experience and this can greatly impair his social skill development. It is entirely possible that this type of experience can result in the dog developing a fear aggression or excessive shyness. It is far safer to have the young puppy interact with a few other socially appropriate dogs under the supervision of a trainer in a controlled environment than to toss him out to fend for himself in the dog park. Although this requires more effort on your part, remember that you are creating a behavioral foundation that will last your dog's entire life and you only have a few precious months to develop these important life building skills.