How to Get Your Dog to Listen Better (HINT: WALK him!)

The axiom that a walked dog is a well-behaved dog has some serious validity.

Loose Leash Walking (LLW), or "slack-leash walking" as it has been called in the past, is one of the most important ways that you can create a rapport with your dog. It is the mold within which the best training occurs.

Whenever I meet new dogs that need training, I walk them. I set a tone immediately. That tone is calm, loving and supportive, but also firm and assertive. I make absolutely clear right away that I am walking them, not they other way around.

Whenever people ask me to help them with extra stubborn dogs, or ones that are aggressive to other dogs--and sometimes even people--I walk them. I establish that I own the joint, that I’m calling the shots, and that one way or the other they’re doing things my way. Within a twenty minutes the owners invariably remark that there’s a visible difference in behavior. I do this without aversive corrections, without pinch or choke collars, and even without treats.

How? IT’S ALL IN THE WALK. It’s all contained in the way that I walk them, the ways that I communicate my expectations, and the way that I provide feedback.

After that, my job is to teach the humans how to do the same thing.

Look, training is not a buffet where you can just browse the selections and pick what you want.

“Let’s see...I’ll take a sit, a stay, and a come. Awww heck gimme a roll-over too.”

Everything is connected like a colossal web. Working on things in one section of the web creates change in a different part of the web. In my opinion, LLW is the hub of this whole web. It is the linchpin to solid training and binds the whole thing together.

There are the obvious health benefits, of course: LLW provides exercise, mental stimuli and alleviates boredom. It’s a low-impact, cardiovascular exercise for both you and the dog. A new study has shown significant health benefits connected with dog walking, including a lower blood pressure, a trimmer waistline and fewer chronic conditions.

These are great! These reasons alone should be good enough, but that’s not what I’m getting at here. Loose Leash Walking establishes a dog/handler relationship faster and more earnestly than almost anything else. It sets a vibe, a state of mind--a precedent for everything. 

Once LLW gets dialed in, you will notice things all across the board start to fall into place, like tumblers in a big lock. This brings us back to the notion of "master keys," an important concept in any kind of discipline that I’ve mentioned before. 

If there is a Master Key above all others, this is it.

LLW doesn't have to be an epic odyssey all over the map every time. Around the block, or down a long driveway and back is a beginning. Even walking around the back yard, or walking a puppy to his or her potty spot is an opportunity to practice and establish that vibe.

Here are the most important components to the formula:

• Head up, shoulders back, and look where you want to go. 
• YOU initiate motion; don't wait for the dog to start. Use the cue, “Let’s go!” and make it upbeat, peppy and cheerful. It should always be a good thing to go on a walk.
• Move with confidence! Know where you’re going, and go there. It’s not a discussion.
• If your dog stops to snoop around or dawdle, YOU DON'T. If your dog stops and then you do, your dog is walking you! (obviously, stopping to go to the bathroom is an altogether different thing--don’t drag your dog like a sack of potatoes. But also don’t buy into his or her distracted whims)
• Your leash is a telegraph wire--whatever you feel your dog is going to pick up. So that means RELAX! If you’re tense, anxious, or unsure then the walk will be too.
• Your leash is a telegraph wire--so YES it works both ways. Start tuning in to the signals your dog is broadcasting. If you pay attention, you’ll feel a growl before you hear it. You’ll feel misbehaviors before you see them. It’s like when you learn a new word and then hear it all the time after that. This is the same: once you tune into what the leash is telling you you’ll notice a whole host of signals. Correcting or reinforcing these immediately means faster, more thorough training is happening. 
• If your dog is resistant, redirect. Walk in a circle, change direction suddenly, ask for something else that the dog already does well. The point is you have to send a signal that says, “Sweetheart, one way or the other, we’re doing things MY WAY, under MY TERMS.”
• TALK TO YOUR DOG. Correct what you don’t want, mark and reinforce what you do want. You’re not walking through a funeral, so COMMUNICATE!

Now, I realize this is an over-simplified outline and there are always going to be a million and one situations that fall outside the list and require you to dig deeper into the bag of tricks.

Nonetheless, these principles remain the same overall. I’ve trained the handicapped how to walk a dog with motorized scooters, electric wheelchairs, walkers, canes, the whole nine yards. I’ve helped young couples, teenagers, elderly spinsters, runners, paraplegics, black, white, latino, asian...people who wanted their dogs trained in German, in French, in Spanish...you name it. All of the strategies listed above still apply, just in new variations.
 

Get out there and walk! Even a little bit every day, even a short distance--even from one end of the house to the other regularly!--makes a big difference that you’ll start to see right away. There are additional strategies and tricks that I unfortunately can’t show you in this medium that make all the difference. Lots of folks "walk their dog" but few of them do it in such a way that it's a productive learning experience. Find yourself a trainer in your area that practices positive reinforcement and ask for Loose Leash Walking. Also, feel free to ask me questions in the comments below.

WALK ON! You’ll be on your way to a happier, healthier relationship all around.

Why Drugging Your Hyper Puppy is Misguided

The other day a woman came to me and asked my advice. She said that she had asked her vet about her puppy being so hyperactive and what some strategies she could work on were.

The Vet suggested medicating the puppy with a kind of doggy Ritalin.

The puppy was 10 weeks old.

That was the part, actually, where my jaw hit the floor. I was BLOWN AWAY. Are you KIDDING me?!

This totally speaks to the “over-medicating” of America, and now it’s spilling over into our pets. Having been a teacher to humans before dogs, I really understand this whole, messy controversy.

Let’s keep this about the dogs, though. There are some immutable facts: puppies are going to be hyper. And they’re going to be silly. And they’re going to be easily distracted.

They’re going to test your patience. They’re going to poop on the floor. They’re going to chew things up. They’re going to get into stuff.

THEY’RE PUPPIES!

So, go into owning a dog knowing this. Don’t have unrealistic expectations, and for crying out loud don't medicate natural puppy behaviors! If you're not willing to put the time in to allow that dog to grow out of and train those behaviors out then don't get a dog. That's like getting frustrated with your baby because it poops its pants for the first year of its life. And makes a mess when it eats. And cries a lot.

Hey, if you’re not ready for all that jazz, don't get a dog.

Puppies aren’t kitchen appliances that work how you want right out of the box. You have to spend time not only teaching them how to be, but learning how they work. Even if you’ve had dogs before--or even trained dogs--every dog is going to be a little (or a lot) different.

I advised this woman on a sensible puppy diet. And then I showed her some training strategies. I talked to her at length about her puppy. And then, she signed up for a Puppy Class.

As you might expect, six weeks later her puppy was a very different little dog. He wasn’t perfect, of course, but he was manageable, and enjoyable. More importantly, he was getting BETTER. Some of this was naturally due to simply getting a little older (although six weeks is pretty negligible in that respect). But the majority of the change is attributable to those boundaries, limitations and expectations that training establishes. Time, consistency, patience, and repetition will keep the trend going in that woman’s house. The puppy will mature into the training too, and continue to “get it” on deeper levels as he gets older.

Don’t just fall back on “magic bullets.” Drugs, shock and pinch collars, crazy harnesses, extreme training methods...they all have their place, but even they require time and training to work right. Heck, there are even times when medicines and drugs are appropriate. Nothing, however, takes the place of being a parent to your dog and taking the time to be a leader and a teacher. You’re going to be happier with the results in the long run, and your dog will be too.

The 4 to 1 Dog Training Praise to Correction Balance

One thing I notice when I work with people is how little they communicate with their dogs WHILE they're doing something. Positive reinforcement is all about encouraging dogs to do the right thing and then keep doing it. You’d think this concept is a no brainer but humans, it seems, tend to discourage incorrect behaviors more than we like to dole out praise and recognition.

Tipping the praise to criticism ratio isn’t a new concept! This exact same approach is recommended for solid parenting, for strong marriages, for effective business leadership...heck, there are entire books written about this subject. Entire educational programs designed to teach this! It’s the lynchpin concept for Dale Carnegie’s ultra-famous book, How To Win Friends and Influence People.

It is the same for a dog. 

It’s simpler, in fact, to implement with a dog than with people for crying out loud.

I have talked about MARKERS before. This is how you communicate, “YES! That’s what I wanted!” Markers are a critical tool in giving your dog the feedback he or she needs to do what you want. 

When I teach LLW (Loose Leash Walking) people are pretty good right off the bat about correcting their dogs when they’re not walking like they should. However, I have to constantly coach them to be just as vocal--if not more--when their dogs are doing it right. This trickles down to all the other behaviors as well. The owners that talk a lot to their dogs tend to get better results than the ones who are largely silent.

Talking, however, by itself isn’t the key; It’s the marking and the subsequent praise that is the secret. General rule of thumb I use: for every correction, you should be giving out four "'atta boy!" markers. This is supported by most parenting and management literature our there. Use whatever marker works for you. I like to use, “Thank you!” “Good girl!” “That’s right!” “What a good pooch!” If you’re clicker training, CLICK! Vocal praise should accompany a clicker program as well.

Along with your markers and your praise, employ attention getters rather than corrections: crisp noises like finger snaps, smooches, tongue clicks. These sharper noises are easier for the dog to hear and travel over longer distances. This is why clickers, whistle pips, and "non-praise" markers like "Eh-Eh!" or "Tsch!" are effective as well. Corrections aren’t always necessary anyways since many times it’s not that your dog is being obstinate, he or she just isn’t paying attention. Usually getting their attention is all it takes to get even moderately trained dogs to comply.

Notice that I haven’t even mentioned treats or rewards here. TEACHING trumps TREATING every time. Remember that positive reinforcement only works if you’re consistently reinforcing good behavior. I know that’s a “No duh” statement, but like I said, I have to keep reminding my (human) students to be vigilant in their praise.

Use the 4:1 ratio. “Yes” teaches a lot more than “No” ever will, so talk to your dog!

Dog Training Master Keys: Don't Repeat Yourself!

In my last two posts I discussed a couple of master keys: replacing “no” with something more effective and using your dog’s name appropriately. Here comes the last one in the trio of verbal strategies with your dog. 

Master Key #3: Don't repeat yourself. 

This one is very important. Repeating yourself does two things;

1. it teaches the dog not to take what you say seriously,
2. it runs the risk of accidentally teaching the dog that the repetition is the cue. 

I’ve had people tell me “Oh, I don’t need to take a training class; my dog already knows how to sit.” Then they proceed to yank up on the collar, and say “Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. Sit. SIT. SIT. SIT!” I’ve seen people couple this with pushing down on the back end, more leash yanking, lecturing (really? Please, people) and more repetitions of “sit.”

I’ve even seen dogs counting like horses do because they honestly believe in their little doggie brains that the cue is "Sit-sit-sit-sit-sit." They sit pretty consistently, but only after the fifth, sixth, or even seventh time because their owners have unwittingly trained them to do that!

In many cases, the problem is that the dog either doesn’t fully understand the cue, or hasn’t been trained to deal with distractions yet. Additionally, research has shown that humans tend to repeat actions and words regardless of whether it's actually working or not. We seem to just keep hammering away at commands and consequences with little regard to whether that's really communicating what we want. Sometimes we’re a little dumb, and then we blame the animals.

If you get what you want the first time, awesome! Mark and reward that right away. If not, don't repeat what you say. There are tools to get what you want involving body language, motion, hand signals, and corrections--ALL based in positive reinforcement.

The most important thing is to BE PATIENT! Oftentimes we are just too impatient and expect immediate responses. In the beginning stages of training (or retraining) a behavior you have to let it work through the dog’s brain. Remember that game, “Mousetrap,” from when you were a kid? 

You turn the crank at one end and then a bunch of little jury-rigged contraptions rattle through their mechanically quirky lineup. A lot of times the learning has to work it’s way through the dog’s brain just like that, ESPECIALLY when you’re teaching something. Give it time, be consistent in what you want and how you communicate it. Couple that with a few of these strategies:

1. Lures (treats or toys--some primary reinforcer).
2. Generous praise when you get what you want.
3. Hand signals (you can repeat hand signals, just not what you say).
4. Corrections--no replacers--not based in anger. 
5. Step towards your dog in conjunction with any of the above.
6. Mark immediately when you get what you want and then reward. You will see response times get shorter and shorter with every success.

This is not an exhaustive list, but it’s a start. And if all else fails, lower your expectations to something your dog can do and then stop for a while. Once he or she gets frustrated, and then you get frustrated, it’s going to just devolve from there into an unpleasant experience all around. Training should always be enjoyable and fun, not like a trip to the dentist.

BOTTOM LINE: Whatever your cue is, NEVER SAY IT TWICE!

Dog Training Master Keys: Using your Dog's Name Correctly

In the last simPAWtico post, I shared the first Master Key about how to replace “No” with something else more effective.

In conjunction with that, the second Master Key is one that’s truly a challenge for us HUMANS to make a habit of (or rather, describes a hard habit to break).

Master Key #2: Don’t use your dog's name as part of a correction. 

You always want your dog to have a positive association with his or her name. Every time you say it, it should be accompanied by good feelings in the dog’s mind. Hissing it or shouting it with exasperation and frustration all the time will only pair those feelings with it.

This is also an important consideration when training a reliable come. If you call your dog and there is some hesitation inside, like “Am I going to get in trouble when I get over there?” then you will get distraction and ultimately unreliability. 

As I said, this is a difficult thing to master because humans are very name oriented and we don’t (generally) carry bad feelings if someone says our name in frustration or anger. I’ve been training a long time, but when I come downstairs and find that my bulldog has plowed through the trash can, I STILL pull out my hair and shout, “DEXXXXXTTTTTEEEERRRRR!!!!!” And I know better!

The flip side of this is that whenever you say your dog’s name, say it with an upbeat lilt in conjunction with praise and fun activities. This goes for cues and markers too. Get used to making every cue upbeat, peppy and cheerful along with his or her name. Make  corrections indifferent, robotic and almost businesslike.

Dogs respond to classical conditioning extremely well, whether you mean them to or not, so be careful and watch yourself. If you mess up once in a while, don’t sweat it. Take a deep breath and move on. Being cognizant of how the little things make a big difference is a tremendous tool in training your dog to be happy, healthy and well-behaved.

Dog Training Master Keys: Corrective Strategies Part One

Something I use often in my dog training is the notion of “master keys.” 

A physical master key is one that can open many locks, such as the one that the superintendent in an apartment building carries. A master key technique is one that serves a similar function in that if carried and implemented right, can do a lot more with a lot less effort.

So here we go: the first key! This lesson will be directed towards corrective strategies. These are the methods used to communicate to your dog that he or she needs to either a) try again, or b) stop the current behavior.

CORRECTIVE KEY ONE: REPLACE “NO.”

According to Oxford Online, “no” is the 56th most common word in the English language. Out of over a billion words, that’s pretty significant. What that means, though, is that your dog hears the word “no” several hundred times a day, and not even only when you’re talking to him or her. You say “no” to the people you live with, when you talk on the phone, when people come over, and so on.

In short, your dog has become desensitized to the word “no.” He or she is most likely responding to mainly your tone of voice, emphasis and body language; you might as well be saying “purple” or “doorknob.”

So how does one employ the master key here?

Replace “NO” with something else. In my classes I teach “Eh-eh!” It is a sharper, more distinct noise than “no” and therefore stands out more. It also stands out more because you only use it with your dog, or dogs. It carries over longer distances, and you can also vary the emphasis of “Eh-eh” to fit the situation. For example, if I’m training a stay and the dog breaks the stay I’ll mark it with a moderate “Eh-eh.” If I’m playing with a puppy and it nips at me I will give it an assertive, and louder, “EH-EH!” to break up the train of thought (dogs are awfully single minded and “in the moment").

One of my students aptly observed that my particular “Eh-eh” has what vocal teachers call a “fry-tone” making it almost seem like a growl. That kind of makes me smile. Who knew? I do sing in a rock band....

Anyways, if you happen to watch "The Dog Whisperer," you've no doubt seen Cesar Millan's signature "TSCH!" that he does. He calls this a “non-mark,” which is just the same as what I’m calling a correction. This is a no-replacer! This is his version of "Eh-eh!" It doesn’t matter what you call it, or even which no-replacer you use. The key is COMMUNICATE with your dog. Using marks and corrections (non-marks) is the most immediate way to give him or her feedback on whether an activity is what you want or what you don’t want.

Other no-replacers that I use include: 

"Off!" (to address jumping)

"Enough!" (to address barking or activities that should end)

"Leave it!" (to address items the dog wants that you don’t want him or her to have)

REMEMBER: it is very important to follow up! Just using “Eh-eh!” or “Tsch!” or any no-replacers by themselves will eventually be useless if you don’t fill the vacuum with something else. If the behavior stops, MARK that positively (praise, treat, toy, activity, etc) and train/reinforce an alternate behavior. If it does not stop, employ the next phase (body block, remove the dog, redirect, or time-out).

As with anything in dog training, BE PATIENT and BE CONSISTENT. Communicate with your dogs! Otherwise, how can we expect them to ever know or improve?

Basic Dog Training Tools

There are four basic tools to communicate with your dog. They are, in order: cues, markers, releases, and corrections. 

Cues are ways that we communicate what we want our dogs to do. "Sit," "Down," and "Stay," are examples of basic cues. 

Effective cues, however, incorporate hand signals along with verbal cues. This is because dogs are more visual than they are auditory, a fact backed up by research and practice.  

Hand signals also work when the dog cannot hear you, e.g. in a crowded space, near heavy traffic, etc. Furthermore, older dogs tend to lose their hearing to some degree and hand signals provide a means to give cues effectively in such a case. 

Markers are ways that we communicate that the dog has done what we want. These follow and help to shape the cues. For example, I might say to my bulldog, "Dexter, sit." Immediately upon sitting, I would then mark the behavior with "good boy," or "thank you!"

Release words and/or phrases tell the dog that he or she can go on to the next step. A dog in a stay means he or she can't move from the spot until a release is given. For example, even giving treats should be accompanied by a release (this will also help curb the “great white” jump and snap usually associated with getting a treat).

I use "OK" as my universal release word, but I've had students use "Break," "Green light," or even the utilitarian "Release." You can use whatever you like, but be consistent. Different release words may be used in different situations, but again, decide NOW and BE CONSISTENT.

Finally, corrections are ways we tell our dogs to either try again, or stop what they're doing. "No" is the most commonly verbal correction used by folks, although it’s among the least effective (more on that later!). There is a whole clutch of corrections that can be applied to various situations with variable emphasis to fit your needs. It’s worthwhile to keep in mind that there are visual corrections just like there are cues, and you will get your point across better with a combination of the two.

The proper order is the same as I've presented these basics. Any controlled situation is therefore:

NAME => CUE => MARKER or CORRECTION => then RELEASE if necessary

Example: “Darwin, come!” *the dog comes* “Good boy!” *I clip his leash on* “OK. Let’s go!”

With practice, this series of steps will become second nature. AND I’M TALKING TO YOU! Humans need to practice dog training too!