All dogs can be trained through positive, gentle dog-friendly methods.
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Prior to the first session you should already have read: Positive Reinforcement Training
Training exercises and homework are here on the website and may be accessed by clicking on their titles in the Table of Contents box (below).
For Your Homework - Click here: Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4
LESSON TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR PUPPY & BASIC 1
Please Read Lesson 1 Exercises
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Please Read Lesson 2 Exercises
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Please Read Lesson 3 Exercises
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Please Read Lesson 4 Exercises
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Introduction
My own teaching/training goal for Puppy & Basic 1 is to help you deepen the bond you share with dog while training your dog to be a better companion. When people bond to their dogs and train them, their dogs are not likely to become one of the millions of pets turned into animal shelters every year--which for most dogs is a one-way trip. In the Houston area alone, shelters annually take in approximately 91,000 animals and euthanize about 76,000. Studies have indicated that about 96% of shelter dogs have had no obedience training.
Rather than feeling that training is just one more chore in your busy day, I hope that you will think of spending time with your dog as a way to have fun and relax. Dogs can be a bridge to the natural world and interacting with them can help you get in touch with your own inner spirit. Think of your training time as your playtime, because dog training is like learning to play a sport or a wonderful game. This is a place, though, where you don’t have to worry about the competition, or how you and your dog will do. All dogs have the ability to learn enough to be wonderful companions. The only challenge here is to build a great relationship while having a good time together.
Some trainers use the slogan “teaching people, training dogs.” I like this slogan because it conveys the idea that you and your dog are a team. What you will be learning as we go along is every bit as important as what your dog will be learning! In our sessions together I will show you how to train your dog--but most of the real training occurs in the interactions between you and your dog in your every day life together.
Lesson 1 Exercises & Reading
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Homework Instructions and How to Practice
How Often: Aim for 2 to 3 daily training sessions that last 5-10 min. each. You can give your dog a good foundation in basic obedience if you spend 15-25 min. a day training together. Even if you have more time to devote to training, always try to stop on a high note and leave your dog wanting more!
Daily Life Training: Remember, whenever you spend time in the company of your dog, training is going on. During dinner place your dog on a down-stay to prevent mugging for scraps. Teach your dog to “say please” by sitting and giving eye contact before you put down his supper bowl, or open the back door. Don’t give free treats—make your dog do something to earn them! Use the leash to prevent jumping up on visitors until you have trained your dog to Sit politely for petting. Call your dog to Come for good things—his supper, a game, a treat, or a walk.
Practice (Everywhere) Makes Perfect
You will probably soon notice that your dog seems able to perform his new obedience skills much better at home than in more distracting outside environments, or you may be dismayed that your usually well behaved dog becomes unruly in public places. Not to worry--your dog is completely normal! Although humans can also be affected by performing in new environments, dogs have particular difficulty in generalizing learned behaviors from one context to another. That is why if you want your dog to behave or perform well in different situations, it is important to practice in different places and in the face of different distractions. Always make sure your dog can handle one level of distraction before moving to a higher one and try to practice every new skill as follows:
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In every room of the house |
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Outside the house, in the backyard, the driveway, the front yard. |
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Around the neighborhood in school yards, ball fields, tennis courts, and area parks. |
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At shopping malls and pet stores. |
Also remember to:
Change your body position and postures relative to your dog.
If clicker training, begin each sessions with 4 or 5 free clicks and treats.
After your dog has learned a new skill/behavior, keep it sharpened by practicing a few repetitions every day.
The
Nature of Dogs—The Dog Pack
– To get & keep your relationship with your dog on the right track, it’s necessary to
understand and meet your dog’s real needs.
In conjunction with gentle "Follow the Leader" training, meeting a dog’s real
needs will prevent or solve most behavior problems. Real needs include not only food, shelter & vet care,
but, also a quiet place to withdraw and rest, adequate exercise, mental
stimulation, socialization and companionship.
In addition, some dogs need a place to dig, and most need things to
safely chew--puppies especially need to chew between 3 and 6 months of age when
they are teething.
Inside or Outside—where should your dog live? Dogs develop their personalities more fully and bond more deeply with their owners when they are allowed to be part of your family and your every day life. It is very important to understand that dogs are social pack animals, and although most dogs enjoy some time outdoors, or may stay outside while you work, they become lonely and unhappy if they live a 24/7 life of isolation in the backyard.
If there is one thing that professional dog trainers currently agree about, it is that dogs should live indoors: Living exclusively as an outside dog almost guarantees behavior problems such as excessive barking, digging and chewing that are directly related to loneliness and boredom. In contrast, dogs that live inside the house stay relatively clean and don't ruin the backyard. They won't ruin your home either with proper management, training and exercise. It’s not size, but training and manners that make the difference in whether a dog can live unobtrusively in the house.
Since you got your dog for
his companionship, do your best to structure your life together so that he can
be the companion he was meant to be!
Note: For those of you who will not allow your dog to live in the house under any circumstances, at least consider allowing your dog to sleep in the house, in a crate or bed near your bed. Spending these 8 hours in your bedroom can help alleviate some of your dog's loneliness. Make a plan to meet your dog’s real needs for exercise, companionship and mental stimulation. Enrich the back yard environment with a kiddy pool and a digging pit. Provide your dog with interactive toys such as Buster cubes and stuffed kongs. Hide biscuits and chewy bones around the yard so that he can forage for them. Schedule regular walks and outings to places like PetsMart to change his routine. Schedule regular training sessions to give his brain a work out.
Where should dogs sleep? Inside the house, preferably in your bedroom, but generally not in bed with you, especially if there are any type of aggression problems. Sleeping in your bed is another one of those things that can send your dog the wrong message about his place in your pack. However, if you aren't having any status related problems and you and your dog are as happy together as two bugs in rug, giving him/her this privilege becomes a matter of personal preference. Before you get started however, consider that both your dog(s) and your sheets will need more frequent washings, your dog may interfere with your sleep or have accidents in your bed when he is having health related/sleep problems, and/or grows old, and your dog may have a harder time adjusting to other sleeping arrangements when necessary or when you need to be apart.
Socialization--In addition to companionship with their own family-pack, dogs also need socialization. Socialization is the process of positive exposure to new experiences, situations, physical environments, people of all ages and other animals; the purpose is to enable your dog to develop the coping skills he needs to have a stable temperament and happy life. Although research has indicated there is a vital window of time during puppyhood between 4 and 12 weeks of age, when socialization is most critical to the dog's development, to keep your dog mellow, socialization should be a life-long process.
Exercise--Giving
your dog some tongue-hanging out exercise will help him to calm down and
relax. Always remember the dog trainer’s maxim that “tired dogs are good
dogs.”
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Get a child's wading pool and fill
it with water and a couple of toys. Get a second pool and make your dog a sand digging pit. |
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Stuff a Kong with kibble doused with peanut butter, cream cheese, yogurt, etc. and mix in some pieces of hot dog, chicken or liver treats. Frozen Kongs are great summer time treats and are good for teething pups. |
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Feed your dog his kibble from a
Buster Cube, Kong, Roll-A-Treat ball or other enrichment device. |
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Satisfy your dog's need to hunt
and forage by letting him play "Find It" games--hide treats around
the house or yard or hide small plastic containers with treats for him to
find. |
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CHASE 'N PULL TOY, by Vee Enterprises; Interactive toy comprised of a soft squeaky toy at the end of a rope attached to a plastic 30 inch plastic rod--sort of fishing pole/whip toy concept from Dogwise, Item: K9X109: http://www.dogwise.com This toy is great for giving pups and small dogs indoor exercise-- you can flip it through the air, pull it on the ground and make it hop like a rabbit as your dog chases and grabs it! |
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Play retrieve on the stairs:
*Only do this with
small breed dogs over 12 mo. old and large breed dogs over 18 months
old. Sit at the top of
the stairs and toss a treat or toy down. Then call your dog back up for
another treat and so on. Use tiny treats or feed him part of his
breakfast or supper kibble this way. |
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Two toy retrieve game: Stand in the middle of your yard and toss a toy to your right--as your dog returns toss the a second toy of the same type to your left. Rubber hoses or retrieving dummies are ideal for this. |
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Recalls (Call your dog to Come) back and forth between two people or to come to you over a series of low cavaletti jumps: You can make these jumps yourself or purchase them by calling 800-446-2920 from www.max200.com on this link: http://www.max200.com/maxpub/309jumps-3-9.htm |
Providing for Physical Needs--Health and Safety Issues Check List
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Heartworm preventative-without this, it is only a matter of time before your dog develops heart worm disease. HW disease is always fatal if not treated and treatment is both expensive for you and often stressful for the dog--prevention is far better. |
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ID tags are essential--Dogs get lost in all kinds of unforeseen ways; those with ID tags are usually quickly found and returned to the owner. Those without ID present a big problem to potential Good Samaritan finders who may not know where to start to locate the owner. Dogs that end up in pounds are often put down before the owner even finds out which of the numerous animal pounds in any given area have the dog. Also consider microchips and tattoos as extra ID protection. |
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Flea &
tick treatment |
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Doggy odor--be alert to changes--if your dog smells bad he probably has a skin or ear infection or both. Since dogs with thyroid conditions are more apt to develop skin problems, so his thyroid level checked out as well. |
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Regular coat
brushing |
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Bathing--Discuss how often with your vet. Most dogs should be bathed about once a month, plus any time they get dirty or smelly. |
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Ear Cleaning-- |
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Nail trims |
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Tooth
brushing |
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Premium
foods are more digestible and produce smaller, firmer stools. No cooked bones. |
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No loose dogs in pick up trucks (this should be a no-brainer). |
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Maintain
a clean yard--use a scooper and covered pail lined with plastic bag. |
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Outdoors—Make
sure dog has adequate protection from cold, hot and rainy weather.
Texas summers can be brutally hot so provide your dog with a kiddy
pool to cool off in when he has to be outdoors.
Thunderstorms can be dangerous, especially to dogs with storm
phobias; many dogs panic during storms and endanger their lives by escaping
from their yards. Make sure
your dog has a safe retreat during stormy weather; consider installing a
doggy door. |
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Do not allow your dog to be off leash except in your fenced yard. Even if you are there to supervise, off leash dogs can get into danger by chasing cats or squirrels into the street or they may approach or be approached by a passing dog and get into a fight. If you want your dog's company while you garden or work in the front yard, use a ground stake with a swivel tether so that when necessary you can quickly contain your dog or get your dog back inside the house. |
Spaying and neutering
your
pets is one of the best things you can do for their health.
The benefits include a much lower risk of many types of cancer for both
males and females. Spaying females eliminates the problem of messy heat periods.
Neutered males have less tendency to escape and roam, or to get into
sexual/hormone related fighting with other males. Neutering also seems to help alleviate some types of male dominance
behavior problems.
Pet
overpopulation aspects--Each
year nation-wide, 2 1/2 million dogs are destroyed in animal control shelters or
sold to labs for research. Add cats
and the number of pets destroyed every year doubles to more than 4 million.
(The latest statistic I read is even higher--16,000 per day). Those numbers don’t include the strays who die on
our roads or from
starvation and disease. As mentioned earlier, in the Houston area alone, on an average annual
basis, shelters take in approximately 91,000 animals and of those about 76,000
are euthanized. The numbers can be mind-boggling but they hit home for anyone who has
walked through a shelter and looked into the eyes of the animals there.
Chill Out--Do Nothing Exercise--
Teaching your dog to remain calm and relaxed by your side as you talk to another person, etc. is an important life skill for your dog to have. Some trainers call this "Do Nothing" training. APDT Trainer Becky Schultz calls it the "Lie Down And Don't Bug Me" exercise which is her "gold standard" for pet dog behavior. This is a deceptively simply training routine that can yield big results, helping hyper and overexcited dogs learn to calm themselves, even in new places and in the presence of visitors and other dogs!
Here is a quote from trainer Kay Laurence: “When the dog can’t manage you, he looks to you for management. “ If a behavior gets a reaction, it is getting reinforced. Start training your dog to be calm at your side by not reacting to his restlessness, whining, barking or attention demands. The goal is for YOU to stop reinforcing the dog for reacting to the environment in undesirable ways.
The cue for this behavior is you stepping on the leash.
HOW--
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Begin by standing or sitting on a chair with your dog on leash. Step on the leash with both feet and hold one end, giving your dog just enough slack iso that he can sit or lie down-- but not enough to allow him to jump up. |
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Stand or Sit quietly and completely ignore the dog as long as he is doing any nudging, pawing, whining, barking or pulling. |
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Once he is still, if he enjoys petting, you can also try stroking him with long slow movements. |
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If your dog resumes whining or barking or tries to jump up, ignore him until he settles down again—then reinforce the quiet behavior with low key praise. |
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Repeat half a dozen times until your dog calms down as soon as you step on the leash; now begin adding your cue word "Chill" right before you step on the leash to teach your dog the name for this behavior. |
This is a training exercise that’s
easy to take on the road—you can practice it anywhere you go. By not
allowing your dog to practice undesirable behaviors such as pacing, jumping up,
etc. you are preventing these behaviors from becoming stronger and more
entrenched, and by enforcing and rewarding a Sit or a Down you are teaching him
what he should be doing instead. Eventually, your dog will learn that there are
situations and times when he’s supposed to sit or lie quietly at your side.
Training tip:
The more excited your dog is, the more quiet and calm you
need to be. Don’t “catch”
your dog’s stressed or hyped up mood—instead help him to catch your calm one!
Charging the Clicker /Turning on the Clicker-- is the first step to begin clicker training.
HOW
Be sure your dog is hungry and assemble about 30 soft treats no bigger than raisins. Be sure to use treats the dog really loves.
With the clicker in one hand and some treats in the other, start clicking & treating with a fast and regular rhythm. One click = one treat.
Repeat 10-20 times; w
Training Tips:
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If your dog is at all sound-sensitive, you can muffle the sound until he gets used to it by putting the clicker behind your back or in your pocket with a scarf around it, or you can soften the sound by applying strips of adhesive tape to the solid side of the clicker. |
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From now on until your dog is very accustomed to clicker training, begin each training session with a few (4 or 5) clicks and treats to "recharge" the clicker. |
Attention Exercises, The Name Game, "Watch Me/Look" and Voluntary Attention
The purpose of these three exercises is to begin teaching your dog to pay attention to you: The Name Game trains your dog to respond and quickly orient toward you when you say his name; the "Watch Me/Look" exercise trains your dog to look at you and make eye contact on cue/command; Voluntary Attention encourages your dog to offer his attention even when you haven't formally asked for it via a verbal command. These kind of responses are important because you need to have your dog’s attention before he will respond to other obedience cues--attention is the foundation of obedience, and attention is all about eye contact! The point is to train this so well that it becomes an automatic response. 1) Every time you say your dog's name, you want his head to whip around toward you. 2) Every time you tell him to watch you, you want him to look at you and make eye contact, no matter what else he may have been doing.
Playing
the Name Game will teach your dog to look at you and pay attention when you say
his name. Tip: Use really
good treats and start playing the game in a low distraction (quiet) environment.
A good time to play is right before dinner, or let your dog earn his
dinner one or two bites at a time by playing this game!
HOW
With the
clicker ready, say your dog’s name and if he even looks your way, click &
treat. (If you are not using a clicker say *YES* and pop a treat to him).
Do not say his name again if he happens not to look. You don’t want to teach him to ignore his name while you repeat it! Instead make some kind of clicky, kissy or smacky sound to get his attention, and if he looks at you, quickly click & treat.
If your dog now has his attention glued on you and won't look away, toss a treat a few feet away and tell him to "Get it." Then say his name and click & treat the second he turns or starts toward you.
After
your dog understands the game, begin to add distractions. Wait until he is looking away or preoccupied with something
else, then say his name and if he responds, click & treat.
Gradually build up the level of distractions and if at any time he
doesn’t respond, drop back to an easier level and keep
rewarding him for responding.
Play the Name/Attention Game with a helper--The
goal is to show him that the best rewards come from you—you are the best game in
town!
HOW
You and a helper sit a few apart. Your helper should begin by making a movement or noise to distract your dog or may even use some boring food like kibble as a distraction.
When your dog is distracted and looking away from you, say his name. If your dog looks at you, give lots of praise and offer a bit of your more yummy hidden food,
If your dog doesn’t look at you, make a kissy noise and click or praise the second that he turns toward you, then give the treat.
“Watch Me/Look”
"Watch Me" (or some other word/phrase of your choosing such as "Look" or "Ready" is the verbal cue you give your dog to look at you and to hold that eye contact until you release him. Because your goal is to instill this as strong habitual behavior in your dog, this is not a behavior that you should teach once or twice and forget about--it only takes a few minutes to play this game, so think in terms of making it part of your daily routine with your dog for the rest of his life!
Why--Because being able to get and hold your dog's attention enables you to control your dog, while training your dog to use self-control. This is also an important foundation behavior for working with fearful, reactive or aggressive dogs. Teaching the dog to maintain eye contact with the handler on cue provides a way for the dog to stay involved with the owner rather than focusing on whatever would otherwise trigger his/her arousal, be it a stranger or another dog.
HOW
With a food lure show your dog that you have a yummy treat. Briefly touch the treat to his nose, then move it up to your own nose and as your dog’s eyes focus on your face, click & treat or say OK and treat.
Repeat the sequence, but this time say “Watch me” or "Look" as you move the treat from his nose to yours.
Do not move the treat away from your face before you Click or say OK to release your dog. This will help teach your dog that your movements are not a release, and that he should maintain eye contact until he hears the click or your release word.
If your dog looks away before you click or say OK--Don't repeat Watch/Look, but put the food treat under his nose again and use it to lure his focus back to your face. Praise warmly as he looks back at you. On your next try, set him up for success by reducing the time you require him hold his Watch before you click or say OK and deliver the food.
Fade the food lure--Repeat half a dozen times and then when your dog will readily focus on you and maintain eye contact for several seconds, fade out the food lure.
How--With an empty hand, point to your face and say "Watch me." If your dog complies, click and treat, or say OK and treat from your other hand.
Use only a verbal command--After about 25 repetitions using your hand signal, test to see if your dog has made the word association by saying your cue word/phrase, “Watch Me/Look” without giving a hand signal. If your dog responds to it by looking at you, immediately reward him with a click and a Jackpot of treats!
Put food treats on random schedule--Gradually move from treating every good response to giving treats on a variable schedule.
Training Tips—
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To increase the length of time he will maintain eye contact, gradually delay the click and build up the seconds he will hold your glance. Eventually you can teach him to maintain prolonged eye contact. |
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Gradually add distractions. Practice Watch in a variety of locations—with your dog on leash, in front of the grocery store or movie theater, at Petsmart or Petco, the neighborhood park or Little League game, etc. |
As your goal for the first week, try to work up to ten seconds of eye contact before clicking and treating. Do not allow your dog to wonder away during the game—but do stop while your dog’s interest is still high and use your release word (OK--free dog or OK--all Done) to end the game.
Long term goals--Your long term goal is to train your dog to hold respond on cue and maintain sustained eye contact for a minute or more, even in the presence of major distractions such as other dogs. If your dog tends to be reactive toward other dogs, you can even train your dog (instead of lunging and barking) to automatically watch you on walks as soon as he/she spots another dog! You can reach that goal only by building toward it one step at a time, i.e. very gradually adding higher levels of distractions.