A frequent complaint from clients about their dog is:
"But he KNOWS better..."
While I am always diplomatic in these situations and even sympathetic, the truth is that this type of thinking sets dogs up for failure. We not only expect our dogs to be better than dogs; we expect them to be better than humans!
Here is a short list of things that I have done even though, "I know better..."
Roll a stop sign
Bite my nails
Scream at my dog
Pee in a parking lot or public park
Eat cookie dough with raw egg in it
Go to the beach without sunscreen
Drink beer, wine & champagne in the same evening
Use my cell phone while driving
What I would love to say to my clients (if I didn't think it would seem rude, or hurt their feelings) is: "So, what!"
Lets say your dog does KNOW BETTER. Knowing is still just a small part of the equation. There are other/more important factors. Even without morals behavior is mitigated by:
Motivators: Motivation is HUGE. Even a very moral person might steal or lie if they were starving or under threat. Motivation is at the core of debates on torture because if sufficiently motivated you can drastically alter a beings "normal" behavior.
Consequences: The severity of a consequence, or the absence of any consequences CAN matter...but you can't control what is learned.. I got a $300 ticket for not wearing my seatbelt on a 1/4 mile drive to the corner store. Now I always wear my seat belt in small towns. I say CAN matter because despite fairly serious hangovers from partying too hard at weddings I continue to drink too much with old friends and I pay the price the next day.
Experience: There are technically consequences for driving and talking on a cell phone, but my experiences with this have been good. I have not had an accident, nor have I been ticketed... yet!
Setting: Could you explain to an alien from mars why peeing by a tree when camping is OK, but to do so in a public park could result in arrest for public indecency?
So the next time you find yourself thinking: "She knows better..."
Remind yourself, KNOWING just means that you CAN do something;
it has very little to do with the action you take.
This is true for humans; this is true for dogs.
AND, this is why creating good habits with your dog is far, far more important that teaching them to understand your rules, logic and/or potential consequences for not following them.
Related Blog: WHAT IS A CLICKER?
Modified Version: CLICKER TRAINING YOUR CAT.
A Clicker must be "Charged Up" before you can use it.
Teaching your dog what a clicker means is EASY!
Do it from the couch, your favorite chair, while cooking dinner, or working on your laptop.
The big trick is to remember that in the beginning there is only equation.
CLICK --------------> Dog Is Give A Treat.
HERE IS WHAT YOU DO.
1. Prepare 30-50 small pieces of TASTY Treats. Tasty is very, very important. I use tiny pieces of chicken or cheese.
2. Set the treats in a bowl or tupperware container. Be sure your dog can't reach them. Fiddle with them for a moment, but don't give any to your dog. In a way you are teasing your dog with the scent, sound and presence of the treats.
3. Get your clicker out. Show it to your dog & then pick up the treat container, but don't give your dog a treat... yet.
4. Make a plan for keeping your dog within earshot of the clicker: Close doors, or leash your dog. In my house sitting on the couch or standing in the kitchen seems to keep all the dogs nearby.
5. Look at the clock and plan on training for 20-30 minutes (This is a perfect TV show activity).
6. With your clicker in hand, start doing something. Watch TV, type, dishes -whatever!
7. Without warning press down on the clicker "CLICK!"
8. Now reach for the container and give your dog 2-3 treats. Do NOT call your dog to get the treats. This is room-service. You deliver the treat!!!! Toss it, hand it, whatever!
9. Continue doing what you were doing & ignore your dog. Ignore begging too! When your dog spontaneously stops begging, you will know they are almost "Clicker-Charged." A clicker charged dog doesn't need to beg, they just wait for the click.
10. Randomly reach for the treats or the container. Fake-toss your dog a treat. Pick up the container, etc... Each time you do this you will NOT give your dog a treat. This is an important step. You must un-teach your dog that treats = treats. You are "ruling this out" (nerdy trainer talk :).
11. In between DOING NOTHING & DOING RULE-OUTS, "CLICK" (just once) and THEN give your dog a treat (room-service, remember).
12. While Charging-the-Clicker" 40-50% of what you will be doing is: Nothing. 30-40% of the time you will be doing Rule-outs (taunting your dog with the container, fake-tosses, picking up treats and putting them back in the container. During this time, your dog is free to do what s/he wants to do, including sleep, ignore you, lick, stare, beg -whatever!
13. Only 10-15% of your time will be spent on CLICKING. Each click must happen randomly and be followed by a treat.
14. When your dog completely ignores everything (including fake-tosses & reaching into the treat container, AND ONLY looks excited when they hear CLICK, your dog is clicker charged.
15. Over the next 2-3 days, randomly CLICK and then immediately get your dog a tasty treat.
You are now ready to CLICKER TRAIN YOUR DOG!
>>>>>>STAY TUNED for TEACHING NEW BEHAVIORS WITH THE CLICKER!
Clickers are not just for dog training!
You can use clickers to train cats, rats and birds too. There is even something called Chicken Camp where trainers learn to improve their timing and clicker training skills. Zoos use clickers to train animals to lift lips and limbs, open mouths, bend down and perform other behaviors that make routine health checks less stressful for the animals and the keepers. Over the years, I have come to love training with clickers.
Perhaps you've wondered, "Could my dog be clicker trained?"
Any dog can be trained with a clicker. If you decide to try clicker training you won't need to use the clicker forever, or even all the time. Clickers and verbal praise can be used simultaneously to mark desired behaviors and/or variations in performance. They are most often used by trainers to teach dogs new things. Eventually the clicker is faded out, or shifted as new behaviors are taught.
WHAT IS A CLICKER?
Clickers (shown above) are small, hand-held tools that make a CLICK-noise when pressed with the thumb. Clickers are used when new behaviors are being learned or when known behaviors are being applied in new situations. Clickers MARK behaviors that are currently being rewarded. Verbal Markers can also be used to teach behaviors, but the crisp, clean sound of a clicker is preferable when trying to mark precise moments of a dog's actions. A clicker is like a high quality, professional camera that can take a photo showing drops of water falling from a glass. Whereas my phone-camera might only show a fuzzy blur of water. When used correctly, clickers make for crystal clear communication.
A. Standard, Box Clicker (Cheap & clear, easy to hear sound)
B. Karen Pryor's iClick (Raised button is easy to push with a gloved hand)
C. Triple Crown Clicker (Contours to hand and is comfortable to hold)
DO I NEED SPECIAL TRAINING TO USE A CLICKER?
A clicker is a tool; it can be used correctly, used incorrectly and abused. As with most tools, the product depends on the user. For example, if I was given watercolors, a brush and instructions to paint a portrait of your dog, you would get a picture of a dog, but you might not be impressed. Ask my mother, an artist, and you'd get a technically correct product with added style and artistic flair -a painting you could frame. Hands-on instruction and coaching from someone who has trained with clickers will give you an advantage, but what you really need is practice. The best thing to do is start using the clicker for simple behaviors.
Stay tuned... >>HOW WILL MY DOG KNOW WHAT THE CLICK MEANS?
Would your dog behave better if there was less STUFF?
A lot of dogs behave better when they have STUFF taken away. It sounds silly when you put it this way, but sometimes the hardcore, science-heavy behavior lingo makes me feel nerdy.
The Facts: Removing sensory stimuli can create better behavior in dogs. In training a desensitized version of a situation is a critical step in conditioning and/or reconditioning perceptions and responses. Exposing a dog to gradual increments of the full picture allows the trainer to counter-condition the stimulus and change behavior.
The Question: How do you make certain stimuli (situations, pictures, events) less of what they are? Distance is a wonderful variable to manipulate, as it is movement and duration of exposure. These are the typical categories that are manipulated to create tolerable situations for the dog being trained.
The Complications: Some experiences and some individuals just can't cope with "stuff" no matter how far away it is or how slowly it moves. In fact whole new problems can be created for dogs who behave badly when things are far away or move oddly (too slow, too fast, to wobbly) etc..
The Solution: For these dogs, a hood placed over the head is often remarkably helpful. I liken the use of a Calming Cap on dogs to blinders on horses. It doesn't entirely blind the animal, but it takes some of the overwhelming stimulous out of the picture.
Personal Testimony & Practical Uses: I have used these caps on dogs who ride badly in cars. Not dogs who get sick, or are fearful of car rides, but dogs that just can't seem to hold it together during the ride. Border Collies, Kelpies and other herding dogs are at the top of the list for this.
I also have used it for dogs who have never been on leash before, or were severely under-socialized and seem utterly overwhelmed when trying to soak in everything on walks. Dogs really do use their nose like we use our eyes, so even with reduced eye-sight, they are getting tons of information about where they are and what is going on around them.
Final Thought... It does look a little funny. I recommend decorating the fabric :)
There are several LEASH TRICKS that I teach all dogs. Mostly this is to ease my own frustration; I am lazy about leashes. I want the dog to think about and work at keeping the leash out of trouble.
These are my TOP LEASH-SKILL ANNOYANCES.
- Stepping over the leash...
- Winding around the wrong side of a pole...
- Cutting from side to side & stalling to sniff...
I'm not unreasonable, I realize that it is normal dog behavior. In fact, I expected that most green dogs will do these things. This doesn't mean that you can't change their behavior. Before you expect your dog to change their behavior, you must put some time into teaching them new behaviors. These new behaviors will eventually replace the old behaviors.
MY FIRST & FAVORITE Leash Trick, "FIX-IT!"
I use FIX-IT in situations where dogs step over the leash. Puppies do this a lot and get the leash stuck in their paw-pit. Once its stuck under their leg, they tend to either stall or have a temper tantrum and chew at the leash. This is understandable, but it can lead to a chain of attention-seeking behaviors that later become a problem.
I prefer teaching FIX-IT on my terms. By this I mean that a start off each walk deliberately placing the leash under one paw and then practice the FIX-IT with lots of help and rewards. Then if the leash gets stuck on the walk, we practice again.
How To Teach "FIX-IT"
WHAT YOU NEED:
-
A 5-6' leather or nylon leash.
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15-20 pieces of a yummy treat such as cheese, chicken, or soft dog treats.
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A flat surface.
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A clicker (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Clip a 5-6' leash on your pups FLAT BUCKLE/CLIP COLLAR.
- Allow the leash to drag on the ground so that your pup steps over it (avoid handling your pups paws!)
- Gently lift the leash. Your pups paw should be relaxed and you should be able to raise and lower the paw several times.
- If the leash gets stuck in the armpit, you are using too much tension; give your leash more slack.
- If your puppy chews the leash, you are using too much tension; give your leash more slack.
- If your pup does any lifting of the paw on her own, Praise (or, click) & Feed (regardless of where the leash is).
- Continue to gentle lift and lower the leash which will raise your dogs paw. Do this slowly.
- Praise (click) & Feed all attempts by the pup to lift their own leg.
- As soon as the leash is unstuck, JACKPOT* (toss 5-10 treats) to your dog.
- Continue this for 5-10 minutes at the beginning of all walks for about 1-week.
- You will soon notice that your pup quickly and easily raises her paw when the leash gets stuck.
- When you are certain that your pup "knows" what he is doing, then you can say, "FIX-IT"
- When you add the command, only Praise & Treat the dog if you use the command. Occasionally omit the command, wait for your dog to fix the leash and then move on without Praising & Treating --this will motivate your dog to do it faster when you say "FIX-IT."
*Jackpot your dog, even if you think it was an accident that the leash become untuck. In the beginning your dog does not need to have intentionally done the job.
