This question came as a comment from the following post.

DECEMBER 27, 2008, 8:57 AM

My rescue dog is a large German Shepherd surrendered to a shelter by her owner in California. She is a good dog and smart but has never been trained. She had a computer name only so does not know her new name. I want her to come when I call her. She has never had treats. She takes them then drops them. I take her and my other rescue dog on walks on a leash but can not trust either to come back if they were loose. Any ideas. Thanks.

For your rescue GS I would recommend the following:

Before your puppy reaches 4-months of age they should be comfortable having food, toys, and food items (bones, kongs, bowls) taken away.  This training is most successful when started early.  Ideally the puppy’s owner’s/guardian’s will encourage a wide variety of people to participate in these exercises daily until the puppy is 6-months to 1-year of age.

Sleep-Startle:  Letting your dog sleep on the couch, bed, or chairs does not make your dog a location-guarder.  Dog's who are genetically or behaviorally prone to guarding can and will learn to guard whatever they have access to, such as their dog bed.  Preventing guarding is not possible using management only (i.e. never letting your dog on the couch).  

I am especially prone to do these exercises with dog breeds that sleep deeply and get dug-into locations.  Hounds are notorious for liking warm, snugly locations and for disliking being disturbed while sleeping.  To prevent your dog from guarding locations you will need to complete several exercises including teaching your dog to LOVE being startled awake.

• Wait until your dog is sleeping soundly.
• Toss a pillow, sock, or other soft object at your dog's body.
• As soon as it hits your dog, cheer wildly.
• While cheering begin making your way to the cookie jar.
• Give your dog (or toss a treat if they did not move).  Make sure the treat is something really, really special.  I suggest dried meat, cheese, or a very, very large tasty dog treat that is soft and stinky.
• Repeat this often until your dog practically wags his tail and charges to the cookie jar once startled awake.
• Try loud noises next.
• Try petting your dog while it sleeps.
• Never punish growling.  If your dog ever growls, stiffens, snarls, or stares at you, contact a trainer immediately.

Bowl-Approach:  Teach your dog that people, hands, and faces (especially if you have kids) that approach their bowl are a good thing!  Dogs GUARD valuable things.  All dogs are natural guarders unless they have been deliberately bred to have less guarding.  Even with careful breeding genetic variations are a natural occurrence and it would not be impossible for two non-guarding dogs to produce some puppies that have a higher propensity to guard.  Punishment a dog for guarding will VERY LIKELY make the guarding worse.  Instead, plan ahead and begin some prevention exercises when your puppy is still young.

• When your puppy is eating, approach the food bowl and drop a tasty treat into the bowl.
• Then walk away.
• Repeat 2-3 times during the same meal.
• Repeat this until your dog wags her tail as she sees you approach.  This may take 10-20 feedings.
• Make sure your puppy is giving you a loose, wiggly, wag!
• When you are confident that your puppy likes this game, change the rules.
• Approach the bowl and add nothing.
• Approach again, touch your puppy, Feed!
• Approach again, and DO NOT TOUCH your puppy, non food.
• Repeat this every time you feed your puppy, until your pup only gets excited when you pet her.
• Change the rules again.  Push your puppy's head away from the bowl, FEED!
• Approach again, but only pet your puppy's back.  No Food!
• Approach again, push and feed.

Object-exchange:  When your dog has a toy, they should be willing to let you take their toy.  Growling is OK in play, but should not be accompanied by a stiff body, hard stare or any snarling (teeth show).  One great way to teach your dog to drop an item on request is by playing tug!  In addition to playing tug, teach your dog to LOVE having objects taken away.

• When your dog has a toy or bone approach your dog with a treat or another favorite toy.
• Temp your dog with the food or the "live" ball that you have.
• As soon as your dog drops their bone or toy, praise them.
• Reward your dog with a short game of tug or with the food treat immediately.
• Repeat often.
• When your dog catches on to this game, add a command.  Drop, Leave, Out are all common names for this command.  Say the command then tempt your dog.  If they get it right, praise and reward.
• If they do not drop the toy, walk away.  Try again.

Bone/Kong Swap: Feeding a dog with a Kong is a great way to make food-time into a energy burner.  I like to stuff all of my dogs daily calories into Kongs and to feed several Kongs each day.  Kongs are a great way to keep my puppies, busy, quiet and out of trouble.  Because the Kong is a valuable toy & a food-delivery device, dogs can become possessive over theirs Kongs.  Teach your dog that when you take the Kong, it is worth it!

• While your puppy is eating her kong, take the Kong away.
• Go to your kitchen and add something extra tasty to the top of the Kong -cream cheese, chicken baby food, peanut butter...
• Return the improved Kong to your pup.

Couch-Removal:  I like to teach dogs to LOVE being grabbed by the collar.  This is especially important for a dogs safety and for good relations in the home.  I do allow my dogs on my bed, couch, and other furniture.  The only rule is that they must get off if asked and they must tolerate my pushing and pulling them around and out of my way.

• Grab your puppy's collar and lead them 1-2 steps in any direction.
• Praise your pup the entire time.
• Then give your puppy a yummy treat.
• Repeat over and over again.
• Gently nudge your puppy with your feet, praise & treat!
• Say, "Off!" then grab your pup's collar.
• Guide them gently off the couch and praise them.
• Give your dog a treat.
• Never punish your dog if they growl!
• Contact a certified trainer immediately if your puppy growls or snaps at you.

A FIST-BUMP... of course!

At the very least a Presidential Pup needs a Presidential Paw Shake.  SHAKE is one of the first tricks I teach in class.  Its a great way to get the stress of "obedience" out of the way so that everyone can learn.  The dogs easily pick up this fun trick and it can quickly be used to prevent jumping and can also be used later as a reward for complying with obedience commands such as sit, down and stay.

TEACHING YOUR PUP TO RAISE THEIR PAW

Make sure you have a marker word that means:  "You did it!"

Choose a tasty treat -something that will fit in your fist.

Leash your pup.

Prevent your pup from wandering off, step on the leash.

Grip the treat in your fist.

Hold your fist in front of your dog's nose.

Allow your pup to sniff and nuzzle at your fist.

If your pup nibbles at your hand, pull your hand away and hide it behind your back for 3-5 seconds.

Present your fist again and continue to allow your pup to nuzzle and sniff at the treat in your fist.

WATCH YOUR PUP'S PAWS!

The moment your pup lifts a paw, MARK IT!  Use a clicker or your marker-word and then Treat your dog.

Don't wait to long, or set your expectations too high!  Take the first little, itty-bitty attempt your pup puts forth.  Even if all your pup does is lift a paw ever so slightly.  Mark it and pay your dog with a HUGE, TASTY TREAT!

Repeat this until your dog lifts her paw the moment you present your fist.

When your dog is consistently lifting her paw then you change the game...

Don't mark the paw-lift!  WAIT.

Raise your standard.  Use your marker-word only if your pup lift her paw up higher than she had been doing in the past.  

AND, if your pup slaps your fist with her paw, MARK-IT and TREAT!  Use a fantastic treat or lots of yummy treats given al at once.

Expect to teach this trick over several sessions.

Separation anxiety seems to have made the BUZZ WORD Top Ten List.  I've had numerous clients call and report that they need help treating their dog's separation anxiety. Recently, several of these clients have had puppies that are between the ages of 10-14 weeks of age.  When questioned it becomes apparent that what the owners/guardians are concerned about is that their dogs have separation anxiety disorder.  

I do NOT believe in diagnosing puppies with separation anxiety.  Sep-Anx./separation anxiety is a diagnosis of a abnormal behavior or disorder.  Many behaviors that appear in dogs with separation anxiety can also occur in dogs with no anxiety.  In other words, just because your dog or puppy barks when you leave does NOT mean they have separation anxiety.

Puppies that bark and whine when left alone are displaying NORMAL, AGE-APPROPRIATE behaviors.  Treating a puppy's normal separation distress with the protocol for separation anxiety disorder may not be wrong, nor will it likely make the problem worse, but it does waste valuable time, energy, and resources.

In canine literature, descriptions and treatments for separation anxiety are often given by trainers, behaviorists, and veterinarians.  What is often laking in these articles is basic information regarding the difference between NORMAL, AGE APPROPRIATE separation anxiety and the ABNORMAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITION known as separation anxiety disorder.  Interestingly, this is a developmental stage with similarities to human development.

Barking and whining are normal behaviors for young puppies separated from others in their litter or family.  Furthermore, it is very easy to teach a puppy or dog that barking is the fastest and easiest way to get something--namely people to come back into the room, or to free them from a confinement area or crate.  This does not mean that barking is not annoying, or that it must be tolerated.

ALL puppies must learn how to be alone.  This is often an uncomfortable lesson to learn and teach as the puppies have to go through the unfamiliar task of being alone.  Puppies that do NOT EXPERIENCE BEING ALONE are the dogs that will later develop separation anxiety disorder.  In general I use the crate to teach puppies how to be alone.  

It is important to allow the puppy to fully EXPERIENCE being alone safely and successfully and to LEARN that whining/howling/barking DOES NOT bring people back.  To do this some careful planning helps.

First, make sure you have a cozy, puppy-appropriate crate prepared.

Second, make sure your puppy is hungry (skip a meal, it won't kill them).

Third, make sure your puppy is well-exercised.

If your puppy is hungry and has played vigorously they are also likely to have recently pooped and peed.

Now, prepare a tasty kong and coax or place* your puppy in the crate with the kong.

Shut the door and place a blanket over at least three sides of the crate.

Then LEAVE.

Yup, that's it.  Your pup might bark, howl, or complain for up to 20 or 30 minutes, but they will eventually fall asleep.  After 10-15 minutes of silence, wake your pup up and let them out.  Repeat this 3-4 times a day.  Keep a daily log of how long your dog tries making noise to get out.  It will continue to drop until your dog no longer complains.  

Alone-Time Training is VERY, VERY important for ALL puppies.  Alone-Time Training is separation anxiety disorder Prevention!

* With young puppies (less then 3 months of age) you can gently nudge your pup into the crate.  If you want, you can also plan ahead and teach your pup to go into the crate for a cookie.  With adult dogs, or dogs older than 3 months of age (dogs no longer in the socialization period), DO NOT FORCE crate entry, go slow.

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