August 2008 - Posts

• The importance of handling and grooming puppies

  Last week I saw a client that I have not seen since her puppy was 5 months old. I met with her for just one session to help her get on the right track and talk about basic puppy strategies including socialization, jumping, puppy biting and preventative strategies including separation anxiety and aggresssion. Her dog is now a 2-year-old, 55 lb. German Shepherd mix and my client hired me because he has been biting. He bites when his collar is touched, he bites when he is startled when he is sleeping, and he bites when he is possession of bones or his food bowl. My first question to my client was if she practiced the handling and preventative resource guarding exercises I recommended when her dog was a puppy. She admitted that she never did the exercises and as the problems grew, she ignored them until they became unbearable. I started some basic temperament testing including collar touches, muzzle grab, and body blocking. I barely touched his muzzle and 'snap', he air snapped quickly and aggressively. He could have taken a chunk out of my hand which was good news that he chose not to. The bad news was that I had barely started the test and had to stop because his heightened reactivity. I knew the following conversation would not be easy for my client to take. The harsh reality in her case is she has a long road ahead of her and the final prognosis is unknown. I told her that if she does not manage her dog correctly and put a lot of time into correcting this problem, her dog might bite someone and she could get sued and he could be put down. That may sound harsh, but it is true. Her dog has a very rough mouth and has already had multiple damaging bites resulting in emergency room visits for my client's friends and family. There are many important strategies for raising a confident, well-adjusted dog. Socialization, exercise, and training are often mentioned in my posts as well as other puppy resources. But, I think many people fail to stress the importance of handling and grooming in puppy raising. As with many preventative measures, handling and grooming exercises can seem kind of boring or uneventful. But, if done correctly, they should be uneventful because you are teaching your puppy to be comfortable with being touched without fear or aggression. In my private practice, I see a lot of aggression that could have been prevented if the dog was socialized properly including handling exercises. The reason that handling exercises are so important is to prevent putting your dog in a situation as he gets older that might result in fear or discomfort. If a dog isn't comfortable with being handled, there is a higher chance that he will be fearful when visiting the groomer, vet, or being petted by strangers. When a dog is handled frequently in the correct manner, he will enjoy being handled and enjoy the presence of people. That is the opposite of being fearful. Fear can lead to aggression. Here are some suggestions for handling that you should practice daily with your puppy for the first year of his life and then do weekly sessions after that. It is important that a variety of people of all ages practice these exercises. If children do the exercises, coach them with very specific instructions and give lots of treats to your puppy. Grooming Brushing, introduction to baths and hair dryers, tooth brushing, clipping nails, and cutting the hair on the bottom of feet are examples of simple exercises that can help a puppy enjoy normal grooming activities. To get your puppy to love nail clipping, for intance, clip one nail a day for 20 days in a row and follow with yummy treats. If you only clip one nail at a time it will not be a big deal. The whole goal of these exercises are to do low-stress activities and follow them with treats so your dog is not stressed out and starts looking forward to the activities because they predict yummy things for him! Collar Touches and Basic Handling During one meal per day, do the following handling exercises and follow with bits of food. Grab collar Pull tail (gently) Rub ears Touch paw Hold foot Hold nail Massage all over and give treats Rub gums with fingers Open eyes (to practice putting eye drops in) Rub ear with Q-tip and then Q-tip with rubbing alcohol or ear cleaner Grab muzzle Gently pick up puppy (if he squirms, wait until he calms down before you release him) These are just some guidelines for handling suggestions. The main point to keep in mind is that your puppy needs to be introduced to everything that he might be exposed to when he gets older. Start early and be consistent. This is an investment in having a wonderful dog. It is well worth it! Read more about puppy socialization here. Is your dog afraid of petting? Read this post about hand shyness exercises. Have more questions about aggression? Join my community and ask questions in the forums. Posted Aug 26 2008, 11:48 PM by Jeff Millman with 1 comment(s) Filed under: socialization, grooming

• I don't care if my dogs think they are better than me

  How can this be possible? A professional dog trainer that makes his living training dogs admitting that dogs can actually think they are better? What? Is this some new-age dog training philosophy? Am I nuts? No. This is just common sense that flies in the face of the teachings of scores of dog trainers out there that are stuck in the 1960s methods of dog training that would feel right at home in the popular series Mad Men. Let me explain. You probably have heard the terms "alpha" or maybe have heard someone tell you that you "need to be the boss" or maybe even had someone tell you that you need to roll your dog on his back to make sure that he knows you are in charge. These are all indicators that someone is talking about "dominance", "pack theory" or "alpha" strategies in dog training. In that dog training "camp" trainers urge their students to make sure that their dogs never get out of line. The recommendations can be even more severe for aggression cases including terrible physical abuse each and every time a dog growls, snaps or barks at something that causes fear. Besides physically abusing a dog that is already scared or “misbehaving” being bad advice in individual cases, it creates a bigger problem for dogs all over. This type of thinking puts the blame on dogs for being scared, barking, pulling on the leash, jumping, or other naturally occurring responses to environmental stimuli. The resulting strategies used to “correct these problems” are often extreme, overreactions to make sure the dog doesn’t get out of line. One strategy commonly used is the alpha roll. If you are not familiar with the ill-advised alpha roll, the strategy is as follows. If a dog growls at a dog or a person, (let’s say a child) quickly flip him over on his back “to show him who is boss” until he calms down. This is supposed to change his behavior by teaching him that this behavior is not acceptable. Since the person “is the boss” and the dog is the lowly dog, the dog is supposed to quickly change his behavior because he was told to. What is so maddening to me about this technique is that it does nothing to address the initial fear that caused the response. If a dog growls at a child, he is afraid of that child. People yell at each other and possibly sue them if they are angry, dogs growl and bite. This is a universally understood signal announcing discomfort and to “move away or I might bite you”. Signals are good because they are warnings and provide information for skilled trainers to assess the situation and humanely desensitize the dog to the event that caused the fear. If you alpha roll a dog you might reduce or stop the growling, but you have done nothing to address the initial fear that caused the growling. You quite possibly will end up with a dog that seems calm, but then attacks without warning at a later date because he reached his stress threshold. He might be afraid of being alpha rolled, choked with a metal collar or shocked, but at that moment the child walking by is more frightening and he has to take action. There are many other techniques frequently used that I am fundamentally opposed to including choke chains, prong collars and shock collars all in the sake of "dog training".  For the purposes of this post, I want you to think about making sure you understand that one "bad" behavior in a dog does not mean that they will go down to path of no return and turn into a "bad" dog. But doesn’t it matter that dogs know their place in the pack? My question to you is what the heck does this mean? What does it look like when a dog knows his place in the pack? Does it mean that he knows to stay off the couch? Does it mean that he doesn’t pull on the leash? Does it mean he isn’t aggressive? To me, all of those personality and behavior traits of a dog are the result of proper socialization, training, troubleshooting and creative thinking along the way. There isn’t a manual to create the perfect Lassie in ten easy steps. Dogs are complex animals that require a lot of time, attention and smarts to raise a well-behaved member of the family. The problem with the thinking that dogs need to be second-tier or be submissive, or lower in the pack insinuates that they are trying to take charge. That besides a fragile “order” keeping things in check dogs might change one day and become aggressive or “take over”. If they walk two feet in front of you on a walk, this means that they think they are better than you and that all hells going to break loose if you don’t quickly bring them in check. You know what? If a dog walks in front of you all it means is that they want to walk faster than you and that they need more training. Don’t get sucked into worrying about individual details of your dog’s behavior resulting in a catastrophic turn of events where you are in the crate and your dog is in charge. If you want your dog on the couch, fine. If not, fine. If you don’t care if your dog pulls on the leash, don’t worry about it. If you do, train him. And back to my original point, my dogs might be better than me, who am I to say? All I know is that our relationships are fantastic, they don’t pull on the leash, they come when I call them, they are not aggressive, and they make me laugh more than I ever thought possible. Those points are important to me. Figure out what is important to you and focus on those details of your relationship with your dog. Don’t let anyone scare you into making dog-human relationships more complicated than they already are. Posted Aug 26 2008, 09:59 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: alpha rolls, pack theory, submissive, dominance

• Study shows dogs are getting smarter

  There is a new study published in New Scientist that may change the way people view the cognitive abilities of dogs. Dog guardians around the world might now have scientific proof to back up their comments that their dog is extremely smart and knows what their guardians are thinking. The experiments have taken the argument a step closer to proving that dogs have a limited "theory of mind", or the capacity to understand the desires, motivations and intentions of others. In the past most scientists said that dog guardians that said their dogs had a deeper understanding of the emotions and intentions of their human counterparts were foolishly applying human emotions to animals. Now that dismissive view has been challenged by studies presented a few weeks ago at the first Canine Science Forum in Budapest, Hungary, which back the idea that the 10,000 years that the descendants of grey wolves have spent evolving alongside humans have had a remarkable effect on dog cognition. In one experiment dogs mimicked the scientist's behavior in order to obtain a reward. The fact that the dogs chose this path for obtaining the reward showed the cognitive ability to understand what benefits them and to perform this behavior. Barking is also mentioned as an adaptive technique to communicate with humans. Wild dogs do not exhibit the same barking behaviors. Meanwhile, Dr Juliane Kaminski at the University of Cambridge has examined how dogs can use human gestures such as pointing and gazing to find hidden food or toys and concludes that dogs do understand that we are trying to tell them something. "Domestication seems to have shaped dogs in a way which enables them to use these gestures from as early as six weeks," she tells New Scientist. Read the entire article. Posted Aug 21 2008, 01:12 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dogs are getting smarter

• Dog training tip - don't bribe your dog

  To effectively use positive reinforcement to train your dog, you need to understand the difference between bribing and rewarding. Bribing a dog occurs when the treat or reward is shown up front before the behavior is requested or while the dog starts his behavior in response. Bribing often occurs when people call their dog. Someone might say, “Come” and not get the result they are looking for, so they show a treat to their dog or shake a treat jar. Then, their dog comes to them. Bribing is counter-productive and will degrade or ruin responses. If a dog is doing behaviors solely because the payoff is visible, then there will be sluggish, inconsistent responses at best. Savvy trainers teach their dog to do behaviors and that the frequency and quality of the reward will be based on their performance. Strategies to Prevent Bribing Shape Behaviors Watch for behaviors that look like the behavior that you want your dog to do and periodically reward the partial behavior. This will motivate your dog to do the behavior on his own. An example of this strategy is to shape “Come”. Work with your dog in a safe, enclosed area and walk away from your dog. If he follows you, say, “Yes” and give him a treat. Walk away again and wait for him to walk a little closer the next time before marking his behavior with a “Yes” and a treat. When he is doing the behavior reliably, you can then say, “Come” before he starts moving towards you and he should make the connection that that cue is the predictor of a reward if he moves towards you. The motivation occurs because of the anticipation of the treat based on the cue, not seeing the reward upfront. Use Helpers With every behavior that I teach, I have a backup “helper” in mind in case the dog doesn’t do the behavior on his own. They are all gentle ways to help the dog make the connection between the cue and the behavior and avoid bribing. Many repetitions of behaviors result in strong, conditioned responses. There are many helpers that you can use for teaching, “Come”. Say, “Come” one time and then use any of the following helpers: Gently pull the leash (no jerking) Tap your leg Run the other way Crouch down (this works great, especially with puppies) Then, reward your dog after he comes to you even if you helped him. Then, move a few feet away from him and call him again. You may have to use helpers a few times, but eventually your dog should start coming to on his own, without bribing! Use Really Great Treats or Toys as Rewards If you reward with fantastic treats or toys, then your dog will be more motivated to do behaviors on cue. This is basic animal learning theory: motivation is increased based on the quality of the payoff for the animal. An animal in the wild will stalk and hunt all day for the possibility of a meal. If you prove to your dog that he might get a tasty morsel if he does a behavior, then he will be more motivated to do that behavior. These are just the basics of motivation and rewards. This is a big, fascinating topic. If you have more questions, join my Community and ask questions there.  Posted Aug 17 2008, 11:55 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dog training tips, bribing vs. rewarding, don't bribe your dog

• How to train your dog not to jump on guests

  Jumping on guests is a normal behavior that dogs exhibit, but through proper management and training, you can change your dog’s behavior. With inappropriate behaviors, it is important to identify what changes in the environment start the pattern of inappropriate behaviors. If you do not intervene at all when guests arrive, the normal chain of events might look like this. •    Dog hears the doorbell and/or knocking on the door •    Dog gets excited and starts barking •    Guest appears, dog sees guest, dog rushes guest •    Dog jumps on guest The first course of action with inappropriate behaviors is to stop a dog from escalating their behavior during the first sign of anxiety. If you can stop your dog from rehearsing all of the steps of the behavior, then you can change the behavior pattern. The goal of behavior modification is to stop the inappropriate behavior and redirect it into appropriate behavior. When guests arrive, the first event that usually causes dogs to react is either knocking on the door or hearing the doorbell. If your dog reacts to this event, you should read this post about desensitizing your dog to the doorbell and work on the exercises there. The next event that can cause dogs to get excited is when the guest appears at the door. There are a number of strategies that can decrease anxiety and change the behavior pattern. Reward before your dog jumps •    Put your dog on leash to prevent her from rushing the door •    AS SOON as she sees the guest appear, click and treat (if you are using a clicker) or say, “yes” and treat •    I recommend tossing treats on the ground •    Eventually your dog will see your guest and start sniffing the ground because she is anticipating a treat •    Continue this as your guest approaches your dog by clicking and treating each time your dog looks at your guest but before she jumps •    Move her gently away using the leash if she jumps and continue the exercise •    As she calms down, you can drop the leash and have her trail it so you can pick it up, if needed Tether Your Dog If you want to greet your guests first you can tether your dog to prevent her from rushing the door. Put her on leash and put the end of the leash under a table leg or over a doorknob or other stationary object. Your dog should be able to comfortable sit or lie down. She should not be uncomfortable in any way. •    Have your guests slowly approach your dog and click and treat before she jumps •    Instruct your guests to back away if she jumps at all •    You can also give treats to your guests and instruct them to give her a treat if she is on the ground and remove the treat if she jumps •    As your dog calms down, you can remove her from the object and keep the leash on her so you can gently grab it if necessary Use Toys If your dog likes toys, you can throw a toy for your dog to chase as soon as she sees your guest. This accomplishes the goal of stopping inappropriate behavior and redirecting it into an appropriate behavior. My Jumping Video shows other exercises to teach a dog not to jump. Each video also comes with downloadable notes with even more exercises. Do you have more training questions? Join my community and ask questions FREE. Posted Aug 17 2008, 01:31 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dogs jumping, jumping on guests

• How should puppies greet other dogs?

  Very frequently I will see a new puppy guardian on a walk telling their puppy not to jump on other dogs. They will say, “No Jumping” and pull their puppy away from other dogs, or hold the leash so they can’t jump. Usually as long as the other dog is not aggressive, puppies can jump on and play a bit rough with the the other dog. That is how dogs play and is normal puppy behavior. Puppies can also learn that it is appropriate to jump on other dogs and not to exhibit this behavior with people. To avoid problems with your puppy meeting other dogs, here is a checklist to keep in mind to ensure a safe greeting. Ask if the other dog LOVES puppies. If there is any hesitation at all, consider taking a pass on the greeting. Puppies need to be kept safe and have as many safe greetings as possible to build up positive associations. Puppies are very resilient, but one bad experience can also have a long-lasting negative impact on your puppy’s socialization and comfort level with dogs.  Ask how old the other dog is. You should prevent your puppy from jumping on elderly dogs that might have health problems or arthritis. If they get jumped on and it causes pain, they might attack your puppy. Do not allow your puppy to grab and twist the other dog with their teeth. This is never appropriate and can result in a fight. Even if the other dog seems fine with it, stop this from happening. If your puppy gets in the habit of doing this, he will eventually find a dog that doesn’t like it and get into a fight. Do not allow your dog to mount other dogs. This is natural for dogs to do, but many dogs do not like this and it can cause dogs to get into a fight.  Growling by itself is not a problem. Some dogs are just more vocal than other dogs. As long as both dogs are playing appropriately and the growling does not escalate into more aggressive behavior, just monitor the interaction closely. Sometimes dogs can resource guard, or act aggressively around toys. If there are toys around, be careful about escalating behavior when the dogs meet. Want more dog training tips? Visit WatchandTrain.com for high quality video lessons, to read my blog or join my community and ask questions for free. Posted Aug 14 2008, 10:28 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dog greeting strategies, puppies greeting other dogs

• How to prepare your dog for a new baby

  Having a baby and getting ready for the big day? Don't forget about the importance of planning ahead and making sure your dog is ready for the arrival of your new baby. Pre-baby strategies Here are some training tips you can practice before the baby arrives. I have many clients that hire me months ahead of time to work on these strategies. You can avoid surprises by practing well in advance. Use a baby doll as a prop to get used to holding a baby while you are walking the dog, managing his behavior and moving around the house. Practice changing the baby diaper, giving the a bath, etc. using the doll. This will help determine what behaviors such as STAY or NO JUMPING that you need to work on for “hot moments”. Get a CD with baby noises and start playing it so your dog hears the noises and it becomes part of the normal environment. Create positive associations by giving your dog treats whenever he sees children. Be especially aware of when children are running and shouting and give extra treats when these events happen. Teach a rock-solid LEAVE IT, STAY, DROP IT, DOWN, OFF, and GO TO MAT, COME.  Introduce your dog to all the baby items before the baby is home. Work on a strong LEAVE IT with any items not to be touched by your dog. Create positive associations with items such as the stroller. Every time your dog goes near the stroller (without jumping up on it) give him a yummy treat. Practice orientation of the helper person when the baby arrives for hot moments such as changing a diaper. You don’t want to put yourself in a bad training situation where you are changing a diaper by yourself and having to control your dog’s activities. There should be a designated trainer to help practice initially. Work on managing your dog’s movement using baby gates, dog-proofing a room, or getting a crate for him to be in. You can’t expect him to always obey commands. Sometimes he needs to be distanced from the situation and you don’t want him to be agitated and bark continuously during these times. If there is anyway to bring something home with the baby’s scent on it before you come home, this is a good way to start positive associations and help your dog get used to the new smells. Introduction Strategies Have someone else hold the baby and have the new mom go in first. You want to avoid a negative association the first time your dog meets the baby to be greeted with a stressful, understandable shout because he is jumping on the new baby and mother. Start the greeting from a safe distance away and have your dog do behaviors to keep his mind occupied. Make sure that there is no jumping, fast movements and shouting in reaction. Use a leash if you are not absolutely sure of safety.  Do repeated short greetings, make it pleasant, and then manage your dog if there is any risk of jumping or anxiety. Day-to-day strategies You need to create consistent, identifiable behaviors for your dog to follow. If there are rooms that are off-limits, for instance, you should use a combination of management using baby gates or closing doors and training. ALWAYS supervise contact between your dog and the baby. Set aside appropriate time periods to give your dog the exercise and attention he needs. Sometimes inappropriate behavior is identified as “jealousy” when in reality it is just under-exercise and stimulation. Find other ways to exercise and stimulate your dog through games, hide and seek, training sessions, etc. Always let him know when he is acting appropriately whether that means not jumping, being gentle around the baby, being calm, etc. Keep him supplied with new, exciting chew toys to give him chewing stimulation. Make sure he likes them, and remove them for safety and to keep them novel when he is not using them. Have questions about how to implement some of these strategies? See my high-quality video lessons for training tips or join my community and ask questions for free. Posted Aug 13 2008, 12:54 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: pre-baby dog training strategies, planning for a baby

• Five ways of using positive reinforcement to train a dog

  There are five ways of using positive reinforcement to train a dog to do behaviors. 1.    Reward Acceptable Behavior Dogs do what works to benefit them. We can use this to our advantage by paying attention to what they are doing and give them what they want BEFORE they make a mistake.  A good example is if you are working on teaching your dog not to jump, make sure you talk to her and let her know “Good girl!” and give her a reward when you walk into a room and she does not jump on you. 2.    Ignore Inappropriate Behavior An example of this is begging at the table. If a dog gets rewarded for begging, she will do it again and again. If you stop rewarding this behavior, she will try something else. The first time she tries something appropriate such as lying down, give her a treat. Hopefully she will think, “How did I get that treat? Maybe it was that lying down thing. I will try that again!” Then, you make sure to catch her doing it right the next time and reward her again. Eventually, she should come over to the table and lie down because that is what has worked for her in the past. 3.    No Reward Mark This is a signal to your dog that she is doing something wrong. Dogs do not come from the litter with an understanding of our language. We have to teach them through the consistent use of associations and consequences. (Eh! Eh!) or another No Reward Mark (NRM) should be used to tell your dog “wrong answer!.” You can then wait for the appropriate response and reward that to clearly communicate which behavior results in a reward and which behavior gets nothing.  4.    Timeouts This is probably the most powerful positive reinforcement teaching method for most dogs. You give a dog three chances to get it right and then you remove her from the action for a short amount of time. An example of this is jumping on people. The first time she jumps you take the attention away from her because that is what she wants and we don’t want her to be rewarded for inappropriate behavior. You do this by turning your back and saying (Eh! Eh!) Then, when she is on the ground, you say “Good girl!” and pet her. If she sits, that is even better and you give her a treat. The second time she jumps on you do the same thing. The third time, say “Timeout” without anger or yelling and take her to a different area of the house or a crate. Put her in there for 10 seconds up to a minute at the most and leave the area so she can’t see you. Then, come back and say, “Ok, let’s try again.” She comes out of the area and as she is doing anything that is appropriate praise her “Thanks for not jumping, it is such a good decision to stay on the ground!” If she jumps, however, she does not get three chances, she immediately gets another timeout. What you are doing is communicating to her using timing and consistency is that her behavior has consequences. She can be with you if she does not jump, but jumping is not appropriate. Incidentally, if she is timed out for jumping and comes out of the cage and nips, barks or other inappropriate behavior that you are currently working on, you can instantly time out again. Another method of timing out is by looping a 6-foot leash over a doorknob and attaching her collar to the leash and waking away. For jumping, you might walk a few feet away and then turn around “Good! You are not jumping!” If you walk closer and she jumps again, you would say “Eh! Eh!” and walk away again. The message is very clear. She jumps on you and it ends all her chances for interactions. She stays on the ground and she has a chance for rewards, pets and fun. 5.    Withold or Remove Reward You can practice this strategy during mealtimes. Have your dog sit and put the food bowl down slowly in front of her. Talk to her the whole time: “Good girl!” as soon as she stands up and breaks the sit, you say (Eh! Eh!) and remove the food bowl. You are teaching her that her behavior has consequences. Then put the food bowl down again. If she isn’t able to hold her sit or makes a mistake 3 times in a row for any behavior, we need to make it easier. In this case, put the food bowl down faster when she is sitting and then say “OK” which means she can eat. Make it harder each day by putting it down slower and having her wait longer and longer before she can eat. All of these strategies can be used together. For instance, to teach a dog not to jump on guests, you can ignore jumping and reward anything but jumping. But, you can also time a dog out for jumping if ignoring the bad behavior did not work. Sometimes it takes different strategies to get the point across clearly to a dog what behaviors work and what behaviors do not. Just be patient and do not let anyone tell you that you need to hurt your dog to teach her. This is just not true. Questions about any dog training topic? Join my community and ask questions for FREE or see my high-quality dog training lessons.  Posted Aug 11 2008, 01:30 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: positive reinforcement dog training, 5 ways to teach a dog

• Study shows dogs yawn, show human empathy

  A study reported in the Los Angeles Times found that human yawns are contagious to dogs, a sign that man's best friend might be capable of a rudimentary form of empathy.  While dogs are extremely good at visual learning (read Patricia McConnell's The Other End of the Leash for a study on this topic), they have consistently puzzled scientists for their lack of obvious self-awareness. Unlike chimpanzees and possibly elephants, tt has not been shown that dogs are able to recognize themselves in mirrors, for instance, one sign of a self-aware animal.   Quoted in the article, the latest study demonstrates that dogs possess "some low-level attending to what others feel," said Duke University anthropologist Brian Hare, who was not involved in the research. "What's fascinating about this study is that you would not expect to find contagious yawning where you did not have self-awareness," he said. Watch a movie of a dog watching a researcher yawn and yawning in response.  Read the entire article. Posted Aug 10 2008, 07:19 AM by Jeff Millman with 2 comment(s) Filed under: dog science, dogs yawning, dogs and empathy

• How to teach a dog to stay

  A solid “Stay” is an important behavior for dogs to know. Once your dog has a foundation of staying when you ask, you will have much more control and your dog will be calmer and more pleasant around guests and social activities. Wouldn’t it be fantastic to go to an outdoor café and ask your dog to lie nicely next to you while you enjoy a cup of coffee? If that seems impossible right now, keep reading for the steps to eventually have your dog "Stay". The Three Challenges of Stay It is easy to get frustrated teaching Stay if you do not break down the behavior into the main components. Duration. Time is the main element of a Stay. Often new trainers do not spend enough time on this before moving to distance or distractions. Distance. This is the second component. It is important to work on a strong foundation of duration before adding distance. Once you add distance, your expectations for duration should decrease. For instance, if your dog can Stay for 60 seconds when you are kneeling next to him, as soon as you walk 5 feet away, he might only stay for 10 seconds. Distractions. This is the next challenge of teaching Stay. Asking your dog to stay while you bounce a tennis ball, for instance, is much more difficult than expecting this without any distractions. Training Exercises Here are some exercises that you can work on with your dog. Your success rate for moving to the next level is based on many factors including your dog's age, how much time you spend training, and your skill as a trainer. I recommend that you focus on quality time and make sure that your dog is interested in each training session. If you keep your dog focused and increase his ability to stay a little bit each session, then you are doing great! Pre-Beginner Start by getting your dog in a sit or a down and slowly feeding treats or one of his meals. Do not ask for a "Stay" at this point. Try and add more time in between treats until your dog is waiting patiently for the next one. This is called "rewarding without releasing". If your dog breaks the position, gently say “Eh! Eh!” and get him back into position, or just ignore the other behavior and wait until he sits or lies down on his own and resume the periodic treats. Beginner This stage should happen once you are confident that your dog understands that it benefits him to maintain the sit or down behavior. Say, “Stay” and put your hand in front of your dog’s face and then remove it. Feed the treats slowly to your dog while your dog is sitting or lying down in one position. Gradually increase the time period between bits of food coming out of your closed hand. Intermediate As your dog improves, raise the criteria by adding a treat as a distraction. First say, “Stay” and then put a flat hand in front of your dog's face. Remove your hand and produce a treat and give it to your dog. Gradually add time between the hand signal and the treat. It is VERY important that there is a slight pause between the verbal and the hand signal or your dog might only learn the hand signal. Now you can make it more interesting. Ask for a stay and start moving a treat in front of your dog’s nose. If he goes for it, snatch the treat away and say “Eh! Eh!” This is not in an angry tone, but instead it is saying, “Sorry, buddy, you blew it, no treat for you!” Then, ask for a stay again, put the treat in front of his nose and after the appropriate time period for your dog’s level, release your dog and give him the treat “good boy!” Note: It is very important to tell him “Good boy, keep it up, you are doing great. . .” while you are holding the treat in front of him and he is not moving from his position. This sets up the all-important contrast between him performing the task that you ask and him making the wrong choice based on what you want him to do. As soon as he makes a mistake (in this case moving instead of performing a “Stay”) he will hear “Eh! Eh!” and the reward will vanish. It is one way to motivate him to make a certain decision in order to receive a reward. Advanced After your dog is reliably sitting for 30 seconds to a minute with you right near him, start adding distance to the exercise. Ask for a stay and then take a step back. If your dog breaks the stay, reply with a no reward mark (Eh! Eh!), move forward and ask for the stay again. Then try the distance again. If your dog breaks three times in a row (in any training exercise) you need to lower your expectations to keep him winning. Instead of taking a full step back, you might want to shift your weight back just a bit, or just move your shoulder, or take a smaller step, etc. Any time you add a new level of expectation such as distance, there is a good chance the behavior will fall apart. Don’t get frustrated. Start easy and progress slowly. Keep in mind, the more your dog “wins” the faster his learning will be. After your dog is comfortable with distance, add distraction. Hop up and down, bounce a ball, walk around him, etc. When your dog is reliably staying inside your house or yard, you can then try it out in the real world in an enclosed park, at the dog beach, etc. Remember, even if your dog is reliably doing a stay indoors with balls flying through the air, as soon as you “change the picture” and move outside (or even to another room) the behavior could fall apart. The more places you work on every behavior, the stronger it will be.   Daily Strategies  Once you start to get more duration of this behavior, make sure you release your dog when he is really comfortable in the stay position as opposed to right before he is about to move. Release him with an "OK" or an other release word, before he actually wants to move. If he is periodically getting treats for lying down and then you release him and "end the fun", he will probably want to continue lying down because it has worked to get yummy treats. The next time you ask him to stay, there is a good chance he will be more motivated to do this behavior because it results in something beneficial for him. Practice periodically on walks. Every once in while ask for a 10-30 second stay. This will help your do generalize the behavior to different situations. Nothing for free. Ask for short stays before meal times, before walks, before exiting doors, before greeting another dog or person, etc. The more variety of rewards you use and the more variety of locations you practice in the stronger the behavior will become. Read this post about teaching "Go to Bed" and stay Ask for a stay, and hide Kongs stuffed with your dog's meal or treats around the house and allow him to search for it as a fun activity. This is great mental stimulation and can prevent boredom. Have fun teaching stay. If you feel frustrated, back up a step, reward a bit more frequently to get your dog back on track and continue. Training should be fun for you and your dog. Have more questions about training? See my video lessons or join my community and ask questions there. Posted Aug 08 2008, 07:34 AM by Jeff Millman with 1 comment(s) Filed under: distractions, teach stay, duration, distance

• Dangerous side effects of dog vaccinations

  Vaccinations are a necessary part of caring for a dog of any age, but there are precautions you should take to avoid complications. There is an ever-increasing amount of information available to suggest that dogs are receiving too many vaccinations. There currently isn't one agreed upon solution to the frequency of vaccinations, or even if they are all necessary. The core vaccines that many veterinarians agree are necessary include rabies, parvo, distemper, hepatitis and rabies. There are others, such as leptovirus, lyme disease and bordatella that are often just given if dogs enter high-risk areas for these diseases. I, for one, get titers for my dogs to measure the amount of protection my dogs currently have and to avoid over-vaccinating. It can be more expensive because if the antibody levels are low after the titer test comes back, the vaccine is still necessary, adding to the cost. I absolutely think this extra step and any extra money spent is worth it. This is especially true since some of the vaccines contain a dose that lasts for three years. So, if I pay for titers, it is less frequent and not a given that I will have to pay for the vaccine as well. Risks of Vaccinations There are many risks including itching and swelling at the injection site to shock, lameness, vomiting, head swelling, diarrhea, trouble breathing and lethargy. Two of my clients recently had to rush their puppies back to the vet's office after an adverse reaction to the rabies vaccine that caused their puppy's heads to swell. Luckily, they were both fine. But the rabies vaccine is one of the more dangerous vaccines for dogs. See this article on the dangers of rabies vaccines. What you can do Split vaccines into multiple visits and avoid "cocktail" vaccines. This will allow you and your veterinarian to identify vaccines that cause your pet to have adverse reactions Use titers when necessary to measure current levels of antibodies in your pet and avoid over-vaccinating Stay near your veterinarian's office for a short time after your vaccination appointment so your dog can get immediate care if there is a reaction Watch your dog closely for a few days after vaccinating to address side effects quickly if they occur Ask about 3 year vaccines Don't just assume that your dog needs all of the recommended vaccines - do the research and ask questions Posted Aug 06 2008, 01:37 AM by Jeff Millman with 2 comment(s) Filed under: lyme disease, side effects of vaccinations, distemper, rabies, vaccinations

• Puppy training tip - use the leash inside

  One of the most effective ways to prevent bad puppy behaviors from happening and help with overall training strategies is to have your puppy wear a leash inside and trail it behind him wherever he goes. You should always either watch your puppy or manage his behavior by putting him safely in a crate or other puppy-proofed area. If you are feeling guilty about using the crate, read this post about getting over the guilt of crate training. Reasons for Trailing a Leash Prevent destruction. The more often your puppy learns that "the couch tastes yummy" or it is fun to chew on shoes, the behavior will become stronger over time. It is so much easier to prevent your puppy from learning bad habits rather than changing strong behavior patterns. Prevent counter surfing. This is another name for stealing food or objects off of tables or counter tops. If your puppy is already doing this, see my Counter Surfing video for step-by-step instructions for correcting this problem. Housetraining. For puppies that tend to go frequently, you can attach the leash to your belt to keep your puppy with you until you learn his patterns and signals. Prevent rushing guests and jumping. Whenever you have guests or family members enter the home, gently pick up the leash and prevent your puppy from charging the door. Then, ask for a simple behavior such as “Watch me” or “Sit” and then allow him to say hello. If he jumps, gently move away until he stops jumping and then allow him to say “Hello” again. Prevent barking out of the window. Barrier frustration is a problem that starts slowly and can build over time. Gently move your dog away from the window or call him to you if he barks. Learn more about Barrier Frustration.  Periodic training. Whenever your puppy is away from you, you will have an opportunity to work on “Come”, when he is looking away you can say, “Leave it” or “Watch me”. You can also work on “Stop” or occasionally pick up the leash and work on leash walking. The more training you do, the more your puppy will learn! The leash can be used as a “helper” to gently guide your puppy into position for any of these behaviors. Have more questions? See my high-quality video lessons or join my community for FREE and ask training questions there. Posted Aug 05 2008, 12:05 AM by Jeff Millman with 1 comment(s) Filed under: counter surfing prevention, barrier frustration, dog training videos, preven destruction

• Great Pyrenees packs attacking tourists in the alps

  As reported in the London Times, Pyrenean mountain dogs (known as Great Pyrenees in the United States) have been attacking tourists in the French Alps. The Pyrenean dogs, also known as Patous, were brought in to protect sheep in 1992 with the reapparance of the wolf in France. Pyreneans are known as sheep guarding dogs and are very good at their jobs. With the arrival of 1,000 Patous, the number of sheep deaths fell from 3,700 in 2005 to 2,500 in 2006. The problems have been directed towards the tourists, however.  There have been numerous attacks and mountain guides have been avoiding certain areas to avoid potential attacks. There also have been numerous Patou deaths from poisoning by mixing pork with antifreeze or slug repellant. It is unclear whom is causing the deaths.  This story is really unfortunate. I have met many Great Pyrenees. As with most dogs, they are gentle and friendly when socialized properly. I am not by any means an expert in working sheep guarding dogs, but I do not see why these dogs can't be socialized properly to avoid this problem. It would definitely take more work, and would require consistent socialization throughout the dog's life. The more desolate the area, the more difficult it would be to continue the socialization process. I would imagine that high in the alps it would be challenging to keep up with the necessary socialization requirements. Read the entire article here. Posted Aug 04 2008, 01:30 AM by Jeff Millman with 2 comment(s) Filed under: sheep guarding dogs, dogs attacking tourists, great pyrenees

• Dog training leash walking tips - be more interesting

  Training a dog to walk nicely when on leash can be very frustrating and can seem daunting. My job as a dog trainer is to break down goals into small chunks for my clients to focus on. One of the important strategies that I recommend is to be more interesting than the environment. When a dog pulls she is often interested in investigating something that is in the distance. If you make yourself really interesting and fun activities start when she appears by your side, then she will be more motivated to walk next to you.  Understanding motivation is critical to being a great dog trainer.  What entices or motivates a dog to do something? That understanding is key to success.  There are many ways that you can motivate a dog to walk nicely next to you. Here are some strategies that you can try with your dog to be more interesting so she is motivated to walk near you to see what other fun activity is going to happen! Bring an outside-only toy with you. If your dog is not thrilled with toys, read this post about teaching a dog to like toys more. Keep a toy near your front door that your dog LOVES. Only use it on walks, and only give it to your dog when she is walking nicely. Gently take it away when she pulls. Talk more. Enthusiasm is a way to keep your dog focused on you as well as provide information to her that she should continue doing what she is doing because she might get a treat or a toy. Quick, gentle changes in direction. Occasionally turn quickly and go the other direction when your dog pulls. Never jerk or be rough with your dog. The changes in direction combined with enthusiasm when she is in the right position is a way to keep her focused on you.  Change speeds. If your dog wants to run, run with her for short spurts when she appears by your side. The goal is to make it worthwhile for her to walk in the "reward zone" because sometimes it results in toys, treats or quick sprints might occur. Change your tone and volume of voice. Did you know talking really softly is one way to sometimes get dog's attention? Try something like, "Hey. What's over there? Let's go check it out" and then start running towards something as soon as your dog looks at you. What are you doing? You are motivating your dog to pay attention to you. The more a dog pays attention to the person holding the leash, the less she is scanning the environment for something to pull towards. Toy exhanges. Teach your dog to drop toys on cue and then practice toy exchanges on walks asking for "Drop", throwing another toy within the length of the leash. You can continue this periodically on walks to give your dog exercise and mental stimulation. If you need to learn how to teach your dog to Drop, see my Puppy Biting and Rules of Tug video and see more leash walking strategies in my Intermediate Leash Walking video.  Reward eye contact. Read this post about teaching eye contact on walks. The more your dog is motivated to look at you, the less she will pull towards other distractions.  These are just a few of the many ways you can be more interesting than the environment to keep your dog focused on you. With practice, you will discover what works best to keep your dog interested in you.  Posted Aug 03 2008, 12:27 AM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: leash walking, dog training tips, dealing with distractions, eye contact

• Dogs suffer because of ridiculous rules in Saudi Arabia

  As reported in the Chicago Tribune, A prohibition went into effect on Wednesday that bans selling cats and dogs and walking dogs in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This was decided because men and women often use their dogs as an excuse to strike up a conversation. In this strict Islamic country, they want to keep the human sexes apart. Violators will get their dogs confiscated by agents of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice, the official name of the religious police, tasked with enforcing Saudi Arabia's strict Islamic code. "If a man is caught with a pet, the pet will be immediately confiscated and the man will be forced to sign a document pledging not to repeat the act," al-Othman told the Al-Hayat newspaper. "If he does, he will be referred to authorities." The ban does not address women. According to the article, part of the reason for the new rule is to curb the corrupting Western influence of pet ownership and fast food. So what will now happen to all the dogs in Saudia Arabia that need regular exercise and socialization? We should feel lucky to be able to enjoy our dogs without ridiculous religious rules and regulations that prevent us from taking well behaved dogs with us and enjoying their company. I suggest that everyone reading this take their dog out today for a special outing and celebrate our freedom and ability to make our own decisions.  Read the entire article here.  Posted Aug 01 2008, 05:33 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dog walking ban, saudia arabia