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Learn about the day to day life of a successful private dog trainer in Chicago, IL. Gain insight into the challenges of being a trainer as well as tips to help you with your dog.
July 2008 - Posts
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 Using the clicker is a fantastic way to train dogs. If you missed my last post about the background of the clicker you can read it here.
Now that you are all ready to start using the clicker, let's get started! Do you need a clicker? You can purchase them directly on my website here. CHARGE THE CLICKER
The first thing you need to is charge the clicker. Charging the clicker is simply teaching your dog that the ‘click’ noise always precedes a wonderful treat. Simply take 10 treats and occasionally click the clicker and give your dog a treat. Mix it up so he does not do one behavior or just sit in front of you waiting for the next treat. If he does this, walk away from him and take a little break. When you get to the point where your dog is looking away from you and quickly turns around upon hearing the ‘click’ then you can say the clicker is “charged”.
START USING THE CLICKER
Now that your dog associates the clicker with something wonderful, you can use it as a teaching tool. The great thing about the clicker is that it marks a behavior very clearly so a dog knows exactly what the right answer is. Here is an exercise that you can do with your dog. I want you to think of the clicker as taking a picture of a behavior that you like. This is really good with young, overexcited puppies.
As we discussed, you can use a clicker to teach a dog that his behavior dictates whether he gets rewarded. So, you can do something called shaping. Don’t ask your dog to do anything, just click and treat when you like what he is doing, and ignore when he does something inappropriate. Good examples include sitting, lying down or following you. Behaviors that you want to ignore might be jumping on you or barking. Read this post about shaping behaviors, and this post about getting rid of problem behaviors using shaping. NAMING BEHAVIORS
Once your dog does a behavior repeatedly is a good time to name the behavior. This might happen in one session or after multiple sessions. If he sits multiple times in a row in order to get a click and a treat, you can say, “Sit” and wait a moment. There is a good chance that he will sit because that has resulted in a treat in the past. You have now taught him what that word means by rewarding the behavior.
USING THE CLICKER OR "YES"
As I mentioned, if you don’t have a clicker, you can use the word “yes” or another consistent word. I don’t think this is as effective as a clicker because the sound of the clicker carries really well, especially outside when traffic noise might drown out the word, “yes”. The clicker is also very consistent, even if multiple family members train the same dog. You can experiment with using the clicker or “yes” and see what you like better. You can also interchange the two strategies. As long as you are being a really good teacher, the clicker is just a tool to help with that goal.
USING THE CLICKER AND VERBAL PRAISE
Now I want to talk about using the clicker in conjunction with verbal praise. There are tons of trainers all over the world not using the clicker and getting great results. Why am I such a fan of the clicker? Well, it works. It makes it absolutely clear to a dog what is the right answer. But, is the person that doesn’t use the clicker and just says “good boy” wrong? I don’t think so; I just think they are limiting their ability to be crystal clear in their instruction.
Let’s take come when called as an example using just “good boy” without the clicker. A dog is 20 feet away and you are teaching him to come when called. You call him, and while he is headed towards you say, “Good boy, keep going” and give him verbal praise. Then, he gets to you and you say, “Good boy” and give him a treat.
You gave him verbal praise at various times during the behavior and then gave him a treat with another “good boy” when he successfully executed the behavior . Which part of his behavior was the meaning of the cue, “Come”? Maybe you are thinking that it is obvious to him that come means move towards you until he is right next to you because that is when he got the treat. But, what about behaviors when he is not right next to you? What if you are teaching your dog to lie down, and you say, “Down” and then he lies down and then you walk over to give him a treat and he is standing when you get there. He already lied down which is correct, but now he is standing. Hmmm. Now what do you do? Should he lie down again? But then that is asking for two behaviors instead of one.
The clicker marks a very precise moment in time that an animal does something and makes learning really fast and efficient. With the come when called example, I recommend saying, “Come” then provide verbal encouragement until your dog is right next to you and then click and treat. You are creating another level of communication by giving encouragement which means “Keep going – you are doing great, but you aren’t done yet” and then the click and the treat occurs when he does it exactly right. For the Down example, as soon as your dog lies down, you would click and treat to communicate that putting his belly on the ground is what "Down" means.
If you don’t use the clicker, your dog might get confused.
If you don’t use a clicker, confusion might result in your dog thinking that one behavior got him a reward, when in fact, you were rewarding a different behavior. The sound the clicker makes is actually called a reward marker and marks the behavior that results in a reward.
Some quick things to keep in mind.
- There is always one click and a treat, or a “jackpot” with multiple treats for extra special behaviors.
- The clicker is not a remote control. If you ‘click’, there is a good chance that your dog will come running in anticipation of the treat, but you just marked whatever your dog was doing when he heard the click. It is not supposed to be used to initiate behavior, but instead mark behavior.
- If you feel frustrated, break down your expectations into smaller segments. If you want a down, for instance, you might click and treat when your dog just moves down just a bit. When he is doing that reliably, you would say “Good” for that and click and treat when he lies down a bit more. You are motivating him to do more of the behavior for each click and treat until he is doing the entire behavior.
- You will always give a treat after using the clicker. As your dog gains more reliability with each behavior, you should start getting more behaviors in between treats by using verbal praise before clicking and treating.
FADING OUT THE CLICKER
That leads me to my next point . .. . Fading out the clicker.
The way to fade the clicker is to use verbal praise and get more of one behavior or more individual behavior’s each time.
Your dog can learn to understand to work harder in order to get another click, because a click always means a treat. So, you can start picking and choosing fantastic responses, faster sits, longer stays, or more behaviors before clicking.
Think of your training strategy as broken down into individual 5- minute sessions. Start with a number of treats in a session, let’s say 30 tiny pea-sized treats. In the first session, you might give 30 treats in that period of time. In the next session, I want you to give less treats and use more of your verbal praise, petting or toys as rewards. You should start picking out the fantastic performances and click and treat for those, and the other behaviors you should give verbal praise. “
“That was pretty good, but if you sit three times in a row, that is a click and a treat!”
I want you to work up to the point where you are using LIFE REWARDS. I have a blog post on my site about this, but basically it is a strategy to use rewarding toys, meals and events like walks that you give your dog anyway. You should do a quick training session before you give your dog anything rewarding throughout the day. Your dog will love the mental stimulation and you will have a lot of great practice.
 DO YOU HAVE TO USE THE CLICKER FOREVER?
No. You might get to the point where your dog is reliable with all behaviors and you use toys, petting, walks and other life rewards as rewards. In that case you might just use verbal praise. However, I am a firm believer in teaching dogs new things whenever possible. When you have time to teach something new, get the clicker out and teach your dog something new. When that gets reliable, switch to verbal praise.
And remember, do not click unless you are going to give a treat. If your dog is doing a behavior that is reliable, say, give verbal praise until he does something new such as a longer down stay, or 5 sits in a row instead of 3 before you click and treat.
Have more questions about clicker training? You can watch my high-quality video lessons instantly on your computer and see clicker training in action. You can also join my community and ask questions about clicker training or any other dog training topic.
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Clicker training is a positive reinforcement tool that can be used to train dogs. It can also be used to train dolphins, whales, lions, and people! Like many tools in our world it can seem confusing at first, but allow me to help break it down into bite-sized chunks so you can understand how to use one of the coolest things on the planet. I always tell my private clients that they don’t have to use the clicker to train a dog by any means, but it allows people to efficiently communicate with animals. When training dogs, understanding how to communicate with them is one of the hurdles we have to overcome. The clicker is a way to overcome that hurdle. Read on for more tips and join my community or watch my instant-access video lessons to learn more about the clicker if you have more questions.
BACKGROUND
There are two science-based principles to keep in mind when using the clicker. Using one strategy, Clickers use the same science that Pavlov researched in the 1890s during his work with dogs and their digestive system. During his research, Pavlov noticed that instead of just salivating in the presence of their food, dogs salivated in the presence of the lab technician who normally fed them whether he had food or not. He then experimented with using a bell as a trigger for salivation. He called the dogs to their food by using a bell. After a few repetitions of presenting the food after the bell the dogs started salivating after hearing the bell even before food was present. So, Pavlov proved it was not the smell of the food but the anticipation of the event that the dogs reacted to. He called this a conditional reflex, now known as a conditioned response.
CLASSICAL CONDITIONING
This strategy for pairing a stimulus with an event is known as Classical Conditioning, which is one strategy for using the clicker.
How can you use classical conditioning and the when working with your dog?
You can use the clicker and the theories of classical conditioning to help your dog enjoy events. Why is this important? It is important for young puppies to socialize them to the world and it is important for older dogs that might be shy or nervous around certain things in the world. It can also help aggressive dogs when used correctly. How do you use it?
• Wait until your dog notices an event and then use a clicker to mark that event and then give an outstanding treat
B.F. SKINNER
The other principle that can be used when using the clicker is called operant conditioning started by B.F. Skinner, a psychologist that lived from 1904-1990. Operant conditioning differs from Classical conditioning in that an animal is conditioned through learning about the consequences of voluntary behavior. You are using operant conditioning if you ask your dog to sit, and then when he sits he gets a treat. The consequence of sitting is getting a treat.
KAREN PRYOR
I can’t talk about Clicker training without talking about Karen Pryor. She used operant conditioning while training dolphins in the 1960s and is considered to have been the first to use the term clicker training. She is an amazing person and trainer and has written all kinds of wonderful books and has tons of other resources about clicker training at her website clickertraining.com.
DON’T HAVE A CLICKER?
Don’t have a clicker? Well you have a couple options, you can visit watchandtrain.com and buy clickers there, or you can use the word, “yes”. This is another way to mark the behavior. WANT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT CLICKER TRAINING?
- Check back on Wednesday for a post about how to use the clicker when training your dog.
- Visit Dogwise and buy many wonderful books on clicker training.
- Purchase my instant-access dog training video lessons and see clicker training in action.
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 Preventing dog boredom is one of the constant challenges that dog guardians face. There are many simple strategies that you can use to help your pooch be happier and more content. Here are a few suggestions for you to get started, and you can find the rest by listening to my radio show about preventing dog boredom.
- Nothing for free. Make sure that you use life rewards including your dog's food, walks outside, or games of fetch. Have your dog do short training sessions before he gets something in return. This will help structure your day and remind you to do more training. Training is important for a happy, content dog.
- Classes. Advanced obedience, agility, flyball, sheep herding, Canine Good Citizen, or therapy dog. Find a fun positive reinforcement training class or something more unusual such as sheep herding with your dog. Don't be intimidated; good trainers will make everyone feel comfortable!
- Field trips. Even driving your dog a couple blocks from your house will provide him new smells, new dogs to meet and a fun outing for your pooch.
- Outdoor Restaurants. Take dogs to restaurants for a fun outing. If you dog can't handle it, spend time working on the necessary training and socialization to make it happen.
- Kong Finds. This is one of the easiest ways to tire out your pooch. Teach your dog to stay and then hide his favorite treats in a Kong or other hard rubber toy.
Want some more tips? Listen to my radio show instantly on your computer.
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 Over the years I receive many dog training questions. Here are some of the often repeated ones and how I answer them.
My dog “knows” when he has done something wrong because he slinks around with his tail down and looks “guilty”. This means he knows he shouldn’t have . . . gone potty in the house, chewed my shoes, etc. Right?
Nope. Dogs don’t know the difference between right and wrong. They only know the difference between safe and dangerous. Your dog is reacting to your body language, stress level, tone of voice, etc. He CAN’T make the association between his actions and the consequences that follow unless they happen IMMEDIATELY after one another.
Is it true that I should not feed my dog from the table?
Remember, dogs do what works. If they sit next to you at the table and you give them food, they will do that more in the future. If you don’t want a dog that begs, establish that rule in the household from the beginning and train your dog to go lie down during dinner.
When should I reward my dog?
It is important that you reward within 1-2 seconds at the most or before another behavior occurs. If your dog sits and then sniffs, wags his tail, looks at the door before you give him a treat, then you are rewarding him for looking at the door.
Should I ever punish my dog?
The only punishment that you should EVER do is time him out or remove a reward that he wants. If he is timed out he is alone with nothing interesting to do for 20-30 seconds. You can also remove something that he is expecting, such as his food bowl. A good example is asking him to sit for his dinner. If he stands before you give the OK, take his bowl off the floor until he sits.
Can my dog go on the couch or the bed?
You have to decide if you want him to. If you don’t mind him on the couch or the bed, then it is not a problem. Read this post about dogs on the couch. I don’t want my dog chewing on my shoes. If I give him chew toys to chew on, won’t that teach him that he can chew on my shoes as well?
No, that is not true. You can help him distinguish between appropriate chew toys and inappropriate chew toys by instantly taking away objects that you don't want him to have and replacing it with an appropriate chew toy. Give him a lot of encouragement and attention when he is chewing on the appropriate object and he will start to gravitate towards that and leave other objects alone. What is a chew toy?
A chew toy is anything that is safe for a dog to chew on. This includes ropes, Kongs, bully sticks, dentabones, dimple bones, booda bones, rawhides, pig ears, etc. Get a variety of chew toys and see what your dog likes. Always supervise your dog until you are comfortable with his chewing style. Some dogs will try and ingest big chunks of their chew toys and it can be harmful or fatal.
I had a dog when I was little and I was always told to leave the dog alone when he was eating. Is this correct?
A resounding no. Actually the complete opposite is true. This is probably one of the leading causes of small children getting bitten by dogs. They run up to a dog while it is eating or chewing a chew toy. This can be prevented very easily. Read this post about preventing resource guarding.
Have more dog training questions? Visit my site and purchase my online video lessons, or join my community and ask questions for FREE.
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 Many behavior problems including barking, fear aggression and separation anxiety can be prevented by socializing a puppy properly.
I always tell my new puppy clients that I will “nag” them about socialization to ensure that they are spending enough time on this time-critical task. You can teach a dog of any age how to walk nicely on a leash, come when called or any other behavior. The most important socialization period occurs until a puppy is approximately 16-18 weeks of age.
While the socialization opportunities do not stop completely after that point, it is a time period that you will never get back as a new puppy guardian. During that critical time, I think of a puppy’s brain as a big ball of clay that is moldable. After that time, if a puppy hasn’t been exposed to new things their first reaction might be to be cautious, fearful or even aggressive.
Often times with my new puppy clients they feel overwhelmed with all of the tasks in front of them including housetraining, crate training, biting and all of the other behaviors that are on the list when training a dog. To make it easier on yourself with your new puppy, it is important to prioritize your time and spend a lot of time socializing your puppy before 16-18 weeks of age and then continue throughout his life.
What Should You Know About Socialization?
You should consider all of the situations that your puppy will be in over the course of his life and introduce him to them paired with fantastic things. The easiest way to do this is to bring treats with you everywhere you go and give small bits to form positive associations. Whenever your puppy notices something new, you should give him an outstanding treat to help him enjoy that event.
My favorite example of socialization is helping a puppy enjoy the event of a fire truck approaching and going by with the siren blaring. If you mark the event with a “yes” or ‘click” (if you are using a clicker) and then give your puppy a wonderful treat, your puppy will eventually hear a fire truck in the distance and look forward to the fire truck approaching.
The key with socialization is to make sure that your puppy is not stressed out. The easiest way to determine this is by using treats. If your puppy stops taking treats it is a sure indication that he is over threshold and you need to lower the intensity of the stimulus. Move farther away from the event and hopefully you can find a distance where your puppy will take treats. Always try and end on a good note if your puppy is uncomfortable. This will ensure that you are creating good associations. If your puppy remains stressed out, move away and add it to your list of socialization tasks that you need to focus on.
One key point to remember about puppies is that they do not generalize. What this means is that they don’t love “people” they love people that they are exposed to. What this means is that they need to be exposed to all sizes, races, ages and shapes of people for them to be socialized to people. They need to be exposed to countless sizes, shapes, temperaments and ages of dogs to be socialized to dogs. This is the same with noises, locations, movements and other experiences.
Socialization does not necessarily feel like “work”. You can make great progress by sitting outside at your local café with a pocketful of treats and ask anyone that wants to pet your puppy if they would give him a treat to help socialize him. You should also bring him to friend’s houses and make sure he can be in a travel crate and be quiet.
Here is a brief list of other things that you should consider for socialization. Just mark the event with a “yes” or a ‘click” and give an outstanding reward for examples such as:
- Skateboarders
- Lawnmowers
- Leaf blowers
- Street cleaners
- Being on an elevator
- Being at the vet’s office
- Being in the car
- Getting a bath
- Vacuum cleaner
- Blender
- Doorbell rings
Handling is also an important socialization topic. Give bits of your puppy’s dinner when you do the following:
- Rub his feet
- Touch his ears
- Rub his gums
- Gently pull his tail
- Open his eyes (eye drops someday)
- Cue tip in his ear (ear cleaning)
- Brush his coat
Your list will include other events. It is important to think about anything that your puppy will be exposed to and socialize him when he is young. Put the time in now and this will help him be a confident, well-adjusted adult.
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 Do you want to prevent destruction, prevent separation anxiety, housetrain your puppy faster, train your dog faster and lessen overall frustration? Use a crate!
There are so many statements, misconceptions and questions about crate training that I hear all the time that I wanted to help clear up some of the confusion.
"I feel guilty about using the crate, it looks like doggy jail."
One of the important strategies for acclimating a puppy to your environment is teaching her to be comfortable with your schedule. If you are able to be with your puppy 24 hours per day and are never going to leave your puppy alone then don’t worry about using a crate. But, this is not realistic. The crate provides a safe, humane place to keep your puppy safe and prevent some of the big issues like separation anxiety and destruction. Learn how to prevent separation anxiety.
"Since I am at work all day, I never use the crate when I am home because I want to be with my puppy."
Puppies need to learn how to be in the crate in any situation they might be exposed to. What happens if you never teach your puppy to be in the crate when you are home and then have a few guests over for dinner? If your puppy is not comfortable in the crate your only options are to keep her out for the entire time or have a puppy barking and disrupting everyone the entire evening if she isn't comfortable in the crate or another room. This may not be a problem when puppies are young and sleep a lot, but flash forward to an older puppy that is running around, chewing and getting into mischief when you want to visit with your guests.
As long as you are actively training and exercising your puppy when she is out of the crate, there is a good chance she will be tired and sleeping in the crate when she is in there. All dogs need the appropriate physical and mental exercise and the crate should not be used in lieu of providing your puppy with her needs. Read about how much exercise to give to a dog. A rough rule of thumb for 7-12 week old puppies is to provide 60 minutes of training and exercise after going potty and then using the crate for 2-3 hours. Puppies can generally hold their bladders one hour per month of age, so you can adjust these numbers based on your puppy’s age. If you play and train your puppy for a period after going potty and then use the crate until the next potty break, this ensures that you are using the crate sufficiently. As your puppy gets older, she might be out of the crate for 2 hours and then in the crate for 2-3 hours. Eventually as her bladder gets stronger you can adjust these numbers accordingly. Want to know how to transition a puppy out of a crate? Read how old a puppy should be before he gets run of the house.
"I never use the crate as a punishment; I don’t want my puppy to have a bad association."
This is a very common statement I hear, and there is no basis to this. A timeout is used to teach a dog that the behavior that she did resulted in her getting taken away from where she wants to be. If you put her in the crate for a timeout, do so for a short period of time immediately following the inappropriate behavior, such as jumping on you, biting, or chewing on furniture. Then, take her out after 5-30 seconds as long as she is calm and then reward her for anything but the offending behavior. If she performs the inappropriate behavior again say, “Timeout” and repeat. As long as you make sure to reward good behavior and use a timeout for inappropriate behavior, she will learn not to do the inappropriate behavior because it doesn’t benefit her. She won’t hate the crate itself, she will not like the fact that she was put in there and taken away from all the fun. That is an important distinction. The only caveat to this rule is that dogs that already have separation anxiety often do not like being in crates and can have a panic attack. These dogs are not good candidates for using this timeout strategy. Learn about timeouts and teaching a dog to stop certain behaviors.
Other Crate Tips
- For housetraining, the crate should be just big enough so your puppy can walk in, stretch and lay down
- Move the crate around your house, if possible, to provide different scenery for your puppy. This will help her get accustomed to being at different houses and being kenneled when you are away.
- Do not take your puppy out of the crate if she is scratching, whining, barking, digging or jumping on the side of the crate. You don’t want your puppy to think these behaviors get rewarded or she might do these behaviors for extended periods of time when alone and possibly acquire separation anxiety.
- Use stuffed Kongs or other stuffed toys to keep your puppy occupied and happy in the crate.
- Be cautious of bones, toys or rawhides that can be choking hazards. I never recommend leaving anything besides Kongs in crates to avoid choking risks.
- See my housetraining video or other video lessons if you have questions about crate training or teaching other behaviors
Join my community if you have other questions
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 On Saturday I saw a client for the first time. My client hired me to assess her 4-year old Yorkshire Terrier named Sam. My client has had Sam for 4.5 months and she recently started giving him Reconcile, a Prozac for dogs to address his dog-to-dog aggression issues.
I sat with my client in her living room and petted Sam while my client provided me more details about what she has tried in the past and details about Sam’s reactivity level. Sam currently is only able to interact with one dog that he has known since my client adopted him. My client described Sam’s level of reactivity as high and it is affecting their quality of life so much that she doesn’t take Sam outside. Since he is a small dog, he is able to use puppy pads inside. When she takes him outside he causes such a disturbance in the neighborhood that she is concerned that her neighbors will complain.
I provided the strategies that I wanted to try with Sam when we go outside: desensitization, counter conditioning, stay at the proper distance to ensure that Sam does not rehearse the behavior causing an escalation of behavior.
We then headed downstairs and Sam became extremely agitated even before we made it outside. He barked in the elevator, as soon as the elevator opened and then once again as we approached the glass door leading outside.
We saw another dog approximately a half block away after being outside for about one minute. Sam escalated very quickly, stopped taking treats and would not take his eyes off of the other dog. Once he started barking, he did not calm down the entire time we were outside, even after the other dog moved out of sight.
I recommended that we move inside and discuss what happened and my assessment. Not only did I agree that Sam should be on medication, I recommended that my client discuss increasing the dosage with her veterinarian. My client was glad to hear that she wasn't overreacting by putting Sam on medication. She has had friends and family give her grief for doing so. I assured her that she made the correct decision and we discussed next steps . . .
When should you discuss medication options with your veterinarian to help your dog’s behavior?
I recommend discussing medication options with your veterinarian if your dog has high levels of separation anxiety or aggression. However, not all forms of these behaviors require medication. Separation Anxiety
I recommend that medication be considered for Separation Anxiety if two or more of the following conditions are present:
- A dog is hurting himself. Possibilities include breaking teeth, damaging paws by repeatedly scratching on crates or doorways, or slamming himself against the crate when alone
- A dog is not able to be alone for a short amount of time without a quick escalation of panic behavior, including barking or destruction
- A dog that is normally housetrained has accidents every time he is left alone
Medication
(often Clomicalm) can help a dog with Separation Anxiety by reducing
the overall anxiety level while proper training is practiced.
Separation Anxiety training involves conditioning a dog to be calm
during departures and finally when alone. This is by far the most
challenging topic in dog training. If you have a dog that is aggressive
around dogs, you can usually avoid dogs. But, you always have to leave
your house at some point. Dogs with Separation Anxiety can regress if
pushed past their current ability. For instance, if you work on
departure exercises and your dog can finally be left alone for twenty
minutes, he might regress if left alone for an hour. The logistics of
real life can make Separation Anxiety treatment seem impossible.
Medication can provide a starting point by lowering the overall anxiety
level. Dog-to-Dog Aggression
My criteria for recommending medication as an option involves looking at the environment of the dog and determining if the dog’s behavior allows a starting point for treatment using behavior modification alone. My philosophy for treating dog-to-dog aggression dictates that dogs are kept within their comfort zone as much as possible during training. I do not prescribe to the physical tactics used by many trainers to punish a dog for barking. I have had great success using desensitization techniques and feel that this is the only way to go. However, if a dog’s daily walks take him too close to a dog and he escalates into a frenzy every walk, it is virtually impossible to use desensitization alone in these cases.
Medication can help lower the anxiety of a dog to allow training to happen at a faster rate because the dog can remain calm and less reactive while being closer to the dog. Medication is not a magic wand, however, proper training needs to be used in combination with the treatment.
If you find yourself in either of these situations, talk with your veterinarian about options. When used correctly, the proper dosage and type of medication can do wonders. However, it can take 2-6 weeks to notice the effects, and sometimes different medications or dosages need to be tried to find the right combination for a dog. My goal is always to fade out the medication over time, but there are certain cases that require long-term medication.
Even with medication, working with an anxious dog can be a long and frustrating road. If you have more questions about your dog, join my Forums and ask me questions there.
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 If you ever feel frustrated or overwhelmed by your dog's behavior you should focus on one or two behaviors at a time. This will help focus your attention on behaviors that your dog is exhibiting at the present time. I always have a "checklist" in mind when I am working with my client's dog. When I am working with a young puppy, the list might include behaviors like jumping, biting, grabbing objects off the ground on walks, leash walking, come when called, sit, down, stand, etc. Each walk or training session I recommend focusing on one or two behaviors that are most important at that time.
Priority Training Goals
While you are thinking about your overall training goals, I always recommend keeping two or three behaviors at the top of the list that you always work on at any point during training. If your puppy exhibits any of these behaviors, you should stop working on what you are doing, and focus on curbing the inappropriate behavior. Examples of inappropriate behaviors that might occur at any time during training include biting, jumping, chewing on furniture or jumping on furniture or picking up objects outside.
Training Examples
Let's assume that you are teaching your puppy to lie down and things are going well. Then, out of nowhere the little bugger bites your leg. It doesn't matter whether it is playful or not, biting is not appropriate and makes working on other training goals frustrating or impossible. If you focus on being the most effective teacher with each interaction you share with your puppy you will always be working towards your goals of teaching all of the items that are on your list that I mentioned earlier. In this example when your puppy bites you, you should emit a very high-pitched "Ouch!" -- this might happen naturally, with razor sharp puppy teeth. Then, take a few moments to work on a puppy biting exercise that you can read about here. If you need more suggestions, you should watch my sample puppy biting video and purchase the Puppy Biting and Rules of Tug video. Yesterday I was with a client and this topic came up. Their little 7 month old Duck Tolling Retriever has a tendency to be a major sidewalk vacuum cleaner and pick up all kinds of random objects including sticks, berries, leaves, rocks and garbage. My clients were getting a little frustrated because they wanted to work on loose leash walking strategies but their puppy would not stop foraging for anything he could get into his mouth. I suggested that they stop walking and work on a very well-conditioned "Leave It" cue so they could eventually get their puppy to leave anything that he is interested in. You can also use "Watch Me" to mean the same thing. All it means is "Turn your head around and look at me when I ask". This is called an incompatible behavior in dog training. A dog can't forage for objects on the ground when he is looking up at a person. Incompatible behaviors are an important strategy to understand and are used to direct a dog's behavior into an appropriate behavior when his normal behavior is unacceptable. We worked on "Leave It" for a few minutes in one spot and then continued our walk and their puppy did great! Final Thoughts
The main takeway I want you to remember from this post is that if you try and do too much at one time, it can be very difficult to do anything well. Work on your priorities first, get those under control, and then add behaviors one at a time until you are able to comfortable move between training multiple behaviors in one session. If you ever have any questions about training, join my community for FREE and ask me questions there. Happy Training!
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