Heel is good day-to-day when:

• In a crowded environment
• Crossing the street
• Around unfamiliar children
• Passing other dogs

How to Teach a Dog to Heel

When teaching your dog to heel, start indoors with little to no distractions. Grab some very small but very yummy snacks.

1. Ask your dog to sit on your chosen side. Try luring him into position from behind you so he’s facing forward. Use a high rate of reinforcement here: treat handsomely when he reaches the desired position.
2. Put the treats behind your back. When your dog isn’t looking at the treat or you, but still sitting beside you, mark and reward.
3. Encourage him to follow at your chosen side as you walk around the room (make kissy noises, tap your thigh, etc.). When your dog is at your chosen side, mark and reward.
4. When you stop, ask your dog for a sit. Hand signals are helpful here. Mark and reward.
5. Once your dog is able to follow along at your side, introduce the verbal cue “heel” or “close” and repeat steps 1 through 4.
6. When your dog is responding to the verbal cue, begin to fade the lure, meaning reward intermittently, then randomly.
7. Now that your dog is following alongside you, change it up: vary your speed and change direction, all while encouraging your dog to be at your side.
8. Finally, practice on-leash inside, then take it to the streets. Start with low-level distractions then work up to busier, noisier environments.

Tips for Teaching a Dog to Heel

• Because heading out into the world presents a challenge, go back to using treats here at first. Fade shortly after.
• If your dog isn’t doing well on one of the steps, don’t keep moving on: hang out there until you’re both ready to proceed.
• Learning takes time: be patient.
• This is a very unnatural ]behavior for dogs (much like leash walking), so cut him some slack and shape the behavior if necessary.

The post 8 Steps to Teach a Dog to Heel appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Can dogs learn everything they need to know in one eight-week puppy kindergarten or basic obedience class? No. That’s just a small part of your dog’s education.

Given the typical canine lifespan of 10-plus years, it’s all too easy to forget that the previous dog didn’t come fully loaded but required careful weeks, months and maybe even years of patient, consistent training and reinforcement to become the perfect dog of your memory. If you’re asking yourself “How long does it take to train a dog basic cues?” we’re here to help with information on factors that influence canine learning and how long it can take to teach particular skills.

How Learning Starts

It might seem as if neonatal puppies do nothing but eat and sleep, but from birth they are taking in scents and experiencing touch, both of which contribute to their knowledge of their surroundings, even if they can’t see or hear yet.

The critical period for learning is when pups are between 3 and 14 weeks old. By three weeks, their eyes and ears have opened and they’re mobile, if a little wobbly. They start using their paws and mouths to explore their environment.

With no preconceived notions about vacuums, cats, people in uniforms, or veterinary clinics, it’s the perfect time for them to have positive exposure to many different people, places, objects, sounds, surfaces, smells, and other environmental stimuli, known as socialization. With puppies being weaned and going to new homes when they are usually 8 weeks to 12 or more weeks old (later is often better if they’re in a situation where they receive a variety of socialization experiences), this type of activity can occur at the breeder’s home, in a foster home, or after the pup has come home with you.

Puppies should meet new people and animals and have new experiences multiple times a week rather than meeting the same neighbors and friends and going to the same places all the time. Those encounters and experiences should be so great that your puppy looks forward to anything new.

As puppies grow in experience, their brains grow too. The brain becomes larger and changes shape as its dendrites—specialized brain nerve cell structures that receive and process information—reach out to make connections with other nerve cells. By the time puppies are four months old, their brains are almost fully wired. Almost. Canine brains continue to develop until the dog is about two years old, so even if a pup looks grown-up, they still have a lot to learn, especially about impulse control.

Factors That Influence Learning

Socialization is an important element of learning, but it’s not the only one. How quickly your dog learns depends on several key factors:

• Maternal care and stress level during pregnancy
• Good puppy nutrition
• Genetic predisposition
• Learning style
• Training techniques

A mother dog’s stress level can affect the future behavior of her unborn puppies. If they experience high-stress situations before giving birth, their pups may be more anxious or fearful in stressful or unexpected situations. These young dogs can benefit from additional or intensive socialization.

Feeding a high-quality puppy food containing DHA from fish oil has been shown in studies to improve learning ability—cognition, memory, and psychomotor skills—in puppies up to a year old. Puppies eating high-DHA diets appeared to have stronger responses to training.

Breed or mix is important because different breeds have different types of skills and intelligence. That doesn’t make certain breeds “smarter” (Border Collies, Poodles, we’re looking at you), but it can affect not only how they learn but also how quickly they learn. Here’s what to know about certain types of dogs:

• Herding, working, and sporting dogs (including Poodles, which originated as water-retrieving dogs) tend to have a reputation for being fast learners.
• Some dogs may seem as if they haven’t caught on to something, but often they are sitting, watching, and thinking, later demonstrating that they’ve absorbed the lesson. This type of learning is often seen in hounds and guardian dogs, says veterinarian, breeder and trainer Deb Eldredge, but any dog may learn this way.
• Independent dogs tend to have good problem-solving skills. Sometimes that makes it difficult to stay a step ahead of them.
• Toy dogs and non-sporting dogs—the latter group being a miscellaneous assortment of unrelated breeds—are just as smart and capable of learning as bigger dogs. Don’t neglect training them just because they’re small, cute, or lack a discernible skill!

Puppies in general are “sponges,” learning things quickly—often the things we don’t want them to learn—but they also have short attention spans. Short, sweet training sessions that end on a high note are more effective than long, intensive ones. Rewards help dogs to understand what you want and to be more excited about repeating a particular behavior.

The presence of another dog as a teacher’s aide can also be helpful. It’s not unusual for dogs to mimic what they see other dogs doing, especially if they see those dogs being rewarded for a behavior. This has frequently worked well in my dog-training life.

The power of instinctive behaviors is a factor, too. Beagles, for instance, have great nose intelligence, but they’re probably not going to be very good at herding sheep, says Minnesota dog trainer and Beagle owner Denise Nord.

Training Time

Theory is all well and good, but how long does it take to train a dog on basic cues? The answer—“It depends”—is unsatisfying, but bear in mind that dogs learn most quickly with practice and patience. Start with easy behaviors and build on your—and your dog’s—successes.

Sit may well be the behavior that dogs learn most easily and quickly. It’s a natural action, making it easy to “capture” by clicking and treating when the dog is already in position or luring the dog into position with a treat. Using those techniques, dogs can learn “Sit” within the space of a few minutes.

The trick is then putting a name to the act and practicing and reinforcing it over time so that muscle memory kicks in immediately when dogs hear the cue. That takes longer, from a few weeks to a few months. Practice in different situations, different places, around different people, and around other animals: this is how you “proof” your dog so that response to “Sit” is immediate, no matter what. It pays off throughout life with your dog sitting at the door, to greet people, before meals, or as part of an agility or rally competition, to name just a few of its uses.

Similar techniques work well with “Down” and “Stand.” I find it easiest to capture a down rather than luring a dog into place, but a good mantra is “Every dog is different.” Do what works for you and your dog. Like “Sit,” it takes time and practice to get a reliable response every time.

A more complex behavior to teach is walking on leash without pulling. Unless you’re training for obedience competition, there’s no need to require a dog to walk exactly at your side all the time, but they should be well-mannered enough that you don’t have to worry about being pulled over or tripped by them.

Achieving that is a lot more involved than attaching a leash to a collar and expecting the dog to go where you want, when you want. Expect reliable loose-leash walking to take up to a year. A five- or six-month-old puppy in the throes of adolescence is going to start doing some backsliding as they test their position in the family and your patience.

Loose-leash walking must be proofed in many different places and situations, simply because puppies change so much during their first year. “What they find distracting today may not be distracting tomorrow,” Nord says. “What you get in your backyard is going to be very different than what you get walking down the street or in a class or at a large event.”

What about housetraining? A schedule is important, but it also takes time for a puppy’s body to mature so they can “hold it” for longer periods. Plan on six months to a year to achieve full reliability. For more information, see “How to House Train a Puppy.”

Class and Homework

As long as they’ve had their first set of vaccinations, puppies can often participate in a kindergarten class as early as 8 weeks old. But don’t wait until then to start teaching your new dog the basics. That can begin on day one at home. Your puppy or new dog should look to you as the provider of all good things and fun times, and that’s what training should be.

While training can take months, it doesn’t require a lot of time in the moment. As mentioned above, puppies have a short attention span. Spending a few minutes—or even as little as 30 seconds—training several times a day helps to build a strong foundation for success as a puppy and throughout life. It also ensures that training becomes a routine part of the day.

As you work with your new dog, pay attention to how they react to the environment. Every dog approaches things differently. If a newly acquired puppy or adult dog seems anxious, give them some time to settle in. Start with easy, fun activities that allow them to be successful and build confidence. Then their brains can work at full capacity.

How long does it take to fully train a dog? Plan on six months to a year to teach the basics and feel confident in your dog’s behavior. To build a rock-solid response in any situation? That can take longer, but it’s worth the effort. Proofing helps dogs learn to adjust to variables in the environment and respond appropriately.

What experts call “behavioral leveling” typically occurs when dogs become familiar with their environment and understand what’s expected of them. For most dogs, that seems to magically take place when they’re 18 to 24 months old. Or not. Plenty of dogs act puppylike well into adulthood, not achieving a grown-up brain until they’re five or six years old, if ever.

But no matter when your dog achieves maturity, learning is a life-long endeavor. Continuing to practice a dog’s skills and teach new ones throughout life, even into old age, helps to keep their brains supple and may well help to stave off dementia.

The post How Quickly Do Dogs Learn? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Dog training for beginners: If your dog is not food-motivated, your first job is to figure out what motivates and excites him. Maybe it’s a favorite toy he likes to have tossed or tugged with. It might be as simple as excited accolades from you. You must figure this out before trying to teach anything. There must be something in it for them.

Once you’ve got that figured out, dog training at home starts with teaching the trick a little bit at a time, which is called “shaping.”

Shape the Trick

When teaching dogs tricks, shape the behavior, rather than demand, bribe, force, manipulate, or coax. Shaping behaviors requires patience and plenty of time allotted for your first few sessions. When behaviors are shaped and not forced the behavior becomes your dog’s choice. It makes your dog your partner or teammate in a game, not a servant. Shaping creates an interested, engaged, thinking, interactive, and motivated dog.

So how do you shape a behavior? Basically, you wait until the dog offers on his own something (anything!) resembling what you’re after, and you pay that.

Teaching your dog to shake is a good example of how to shape a behavior. Start by sitting with your dog sitting facing you. Have a treat hidden in your hand. Hold your closed hand toward your dog, palm up. Don’t say anything. Many dogs will naturally paw at the hand to try to get the cookie. If/when he touches your hand with his paw say, “Yes!” and give him the cookie.

Note: Take it off your palm with your other hand and give it to him with your other hand. Don’t just open your “shaking” hand and let him eat it.

Repeat this step until you’re confident he understands what he needs to do to get paid. Then wait a few seconds before rewarding while he keeps his paw on your hand. Gradually increase length of time with paw on your hand before rewarding. Once he fully understands he must keep his paw on your hand (as opposed to pawing or scratching at you) to get paid, you can add the word. To do this, start your regular routine and as he starts bringing his paw toward your hand simply say, “Shake.” This will attach a verbal cue to the desired behavior. Don’t forget to say “yes” and reward as usual for each advancement.

Eventually, you can turn your hand sideways if you prefer, like you would to shake a human’s hand. Once you’ve shaped that added behavior, you can add the up and down motion of a handshake.

You can teach other easy and fun tricks using this shaping method. Remember, teach one trick at a time, keep your sessions short, keep your patience long, and no matter what, you should both have fun!

The post How to Start Training Your Dog appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

When used in this way, the clicker is an example of a reward marker – which can be any consistent signal that allows you to precisely mark the moment your dog does a desired behavior and promises that a reward is coming soon. The advantage of a clicker over a verbal reward marker (such as saying a word like “Yes!”) is that the clicker makes the exact same sound each time you press it. Humans naturally sound more enthusiastic at some times than others, which can inadvertently introduce some concern or confusion for the dog, but the clicker always sounds the same!

Types of Clickers

There are many different kinds of clickers, but most are made with a small piece of metal inside of a plastic box; you press one end of the metal to make it flex, which makes the clicking sound. Some have a button that presses the metal strip instead. Some are just held in the palm of your hand; others have a retractable cord in a holder that you can clip to your waistband or treat pouch; still others have a coiled bracelet that you can wear on your wrist, so you can drop the clicker and still have it handy.

How to Use a Clicker

1. Start by “charging” the clicker. This means teaching your dog that the “click” means a treat is forthcoming. To avoid scaring your dog, start with the clicker in your pocket. “Click,” pause a second or two, and feed your dog a tasty treat. (Be sure to pause briefly; if you move the treat too soon the click becomes irrelevant.) Repeat several times: Click, pause, treat. If the sound doesn’t bother him, put the clicker behind your back for a few more repetitions of click, pause, treat. By now he’s probably perking up when he hears the click because he knows a treat is coming!

Hold the clicker at your waist and click, pause, and treat a few more times. (Note: Keep the clicker still, do not move it toward the dog when you click – it’s not a TV remote!)

2. Begin marking behaviors that you want to reinforce. Ask your dog to perform a behavior that he knows, such as sit. When he sits, click, pause, and give him a treat. You’re telling him he got the treat for sitting.

If he doesn’t know how to do any behaviors on cue yet, lure him into a desired behavior position, such as sit. Lure him into the sit, click the moment his bottom touches the ground, and give him a treat. Lure him into the sit another couple of times, giving him a click and then a treat each time his bottom touches the ground; then wait a few seconds to see if he will offer a sit without the lure. If he does, click and give him a treat! You should soon see that your dog will do new behaviors that you mark with the clicker more quickly, more easily, and more often. Now you can use the clicker for anything you want to teach your dog!

Is Your Dog Afraid of the Click?

Some dogs are highly sound-sensitive and look concerned or plainly scared at the sound of a clicker. If this is the case, instead using a clicker, you can either use a verbal marker (I tell my clients to just say “click”) or make a clicking sound with your mouth. Some people can make a consistent sort of popping sound by snapping their tongue off the roof of their mouth; others use a sort of clucking sound in their cheek like you’d use to ask a horse to move forward.

The post How To Use A Clicker In Dog Training appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

But your convenience isn’t the only compelling reason to teach these behaviors to your dog. When dogs learn that the act of remaining calm and still earns them treats and praise – when they learn that you will generously reinforce these behaviors – they will offer them more often.

In addition, when our dogs act calm, they will actually become calmer. Gradually, the physiological state of relaxation will develop as a conditioned response to reinforcement for the outward behavior.

Two Very Useful Calming Behaviors

I teach “Settle” and “Relax” as two separate behaviors:

I use the cue “Settle” to mean the behavior of relaxing while lying down on one hip for an extended period of time – several minutes or longer – on a mat or rug.

“Relax” takes the lying-down behavior one calm step further; I teach Relax to mean “lie flat on your side for an extended period of time.” I know a dog has dependably learned this behavior when she falls asleep shortly after being cued and rewarded for relaxing flat on her side!

How to Teach “Settle”

This exercise teaches your dog to lie quietly at your side while you are otherwise engaged. It’s a great behavior to practice while watching television; you’re just hanging out anyway!

1. Sit in a chair with your dog next to you and invite her to lie down with a cue for this behavior. (Although it’s preferable if she already understands a cue for Down, if she doesn’t, you can lure her into the Down. (See “How to Teach Your Dog to Lie Down on Cue.”)
2. Mark the moment she lies down (click or say “Yes!”) and give her a treat; then, before she has time to get up, quickly mark again and give her another treat. Note: If your marker tends to excite her, you can just feed the treat without marking. Make sure you feed treats directly to her mouth and low to the floor so she doesn’t stand up to reach the treat.
3. If she’s not already lying with her weight shifted onto one hip, encourage her to rock onto one hip by moving the treat to the side in a semi-circle toward her ribs.

Do this in small steps (lure-shaping) until she voluntarily rocks onto her hip; if you try to do too much, you risk making her uncomfortable and having her get up. Even worse, you can give her a negative association with the settle process, and then she won’t want to do it at all. For the same reason, do not ever try to physically push her onto her hip.

Many dogs will settle more easily on one side than the other, so if you’re having trouble getting her to do this, try luring her toward the other side. Repeat numerous times.

4. When your dog will settle onto one hip easily, say “Settle” just before you lure her onto her hip. Fade the lure (gradually stop using the lure) as soon as she’s easily settling onto one hip. Eventually she will settle when you give the cue, without needing the lure.
5. Gradually increase the duration of the relaxed-on-one-hip position by increasing the time between treats so she stays down by her own choice, waiting for the next mark and treat. As you decrease the number of marks, substitute calm praise (with no treats) in between the marks/treats. If your click or verbal marker tends to excite her, switch to praise sooner.
6. When your dog will stay down in the Settle position for 20 seconds or more, start using Settle cue without asking her to Down first.
7. Continue to decrease your rate of reinforcement (marks and treats) until she can lie quietly at your feet for an extended period with very little reinforcement.

How to Teach “Relax”

You can add Relax to your dog’s repertoire when she does Settle easily and with moderate duration, as this is an even more relaxed position than the rocked-on-one-hip pose.

First, ask your dog to Settle. Then with a treat in your hand, encourage her to roll flat onto one side by moving the lure in a “C” shape toward her ribcage, then up toward her spine. Be sure to roll her in the same direction you already started with the Settle. Again, you will likely need to lure-shape. Many dogs get a little stuck at the point when they actually have to tip over. Be sure to stay within her comfort zone to avoid making her uncomfortable, and again, do not ever try to physically push her onto her side. Add your Relax cue when you can easily lure her onto her side, then work on duration as described in Steps 5, 6, and 7 above.

Use a “Place Mat” for Portable Calm

Make sure to generalize your Settle and Relax cues by practicing these behaviors in a wide variety of different locations.

There is also great value in teaching your dog to settle and/or relax on her own personal “place mat” by practicing the behaviors on an easily portable towel, blanket, or mat that you can transport easily. That way, your dog will develop a strong association with being calm and relaxed on her mat for long periods. Then you can take the mat with you anywhere you go, significantly increasing your likelihood of success with your calm cues when bringing your canine pal with you to dine at an outdoor cafe, watch your child’s baseball game, visit friends, or wait in your vet’s lobby.

The post Teach Your Dog to Settle and Relax on Cue appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Initial ground rules: Respecting the dog

I’m a huge fan of enlisting kids to help with the dog’s training at the earliest possible age, using positive reinforcement-based methods that teach children the importance of cooperation and respect. This interaction also strengthens the positive association between your dog and your child. Before you engage your child to assist with your dog’s training, however, they need to learn how to respect and interact appropriately with dogs (and other sentient creatures). It’s vitally important to teach children four important safety rules:

1. 1. Dogs are not toys to be treated roughly or with anger.
   2. Dogs have the right to keep their own possessions. Do not take bones, toys, or blankets away.
   3. Dogs are not to be bothered when they are eating.
   4. If the dog “asks” them to stop doing something (with body language such as stiffening, moving away, or growling), they must stop immediately.

If followed, these rules should keep your children and dog safe (because a dog who hurts a child in self-defense is likely to be surrendered or euthanized). If a child is too young to grasp these rules, the supervising adult must physically prevent the child from being inappropriate. For more about kid/dog safety, see “Kids and Dogs,” WDJ August 2019.

First Training Step: Practice Known Behaviors

If your dog has already learned some behaviors, start with those. Teach your child the verbal cue for an easy behavior like “sit” (and the hand signal if the dog knows one) and then show her how to get the dog to respond. Although your dog may perform the behavior reliably for you, he may be a bit confused when the cue comes from a child. If that’s the case you can prompt or lure the behavior after your child gives the cue, and then teach her how to prompt or lure if appropriate (if she is old enough and capable).

Introducing your child to your dog’s known “sit” behavior might look something like this:

1. 1. Tell your child what cue she will be using – in this case, “Sit!”
   2. Explain that when the dog sits, the behavior gets marked and he gets a treat (depending on the child’s age and capabilities you may use a clicker or a verbal marker, such as the word, “Yes!”). Be sure to explain that you have to give a treat when you mark, so the marker must only be used when the dog has done what you’ve asked. If you’re using a clicker, and your youngster delights in running around the house clicking, you may need to put the clicker away when you’re not actively training!
   3. Have your child practice marking and then giving a treat to an imaginary dog (or a stuffed one!) before asking her to try it with your live dog. (If your dog is grabby for treats, have your child drop the treat on the floor.)
   4. Demonstrate (a few times) the sequence with your dog: Cue the sit, mark when he sits, and feed the treat – preferably moving the treat quickly to his lips so he is still sitting when he eats it. Demonstrate also how to prompt or lure if he doesn’t sit when you ask him to.
   5. If your child is old enough to be physically capable, have her practice the sequence. If she’s not old enough, keep giving the cues and marking and have your child feed or toss the treats, letting her participate more and more as she is able. The next step might be having her click the clicker or say “Yes!” after you’ve cued the dog and he sat.
   6. Eventually show your child how to practice all the behaviors your dog already knows. I recommend creating a vocabulary list of all your dog’s known cues and posting them on the refrigerator for all family members who are participating in the training program to refer to so cue usage is consistent.

Teach New Behaviors

Older kids can certainly play a leading role in teaching new behaviors to the family dog, but even the younger ones can participate in the process. How much depends, of course, on both the child and the dog, but all ages of children can take pride in knowing they have taught the dog something new.

The process for teaching new behaviors is similar. Here’s how you might show your child how to teach a new “down” behavior:

1. 1. Explain what cue you will be using (“Down!” – or…?), what you want the behavior to look like (dog is lying all the way down on the ground), and how you plan to help the dog understand what you want him to do (whether luring, capturing, or shaping…). Discuss “lure-shaping” – where you use a treat to get the dog to do small pieces of the behavior, encouraging him to lower his front end, marking and treating as you go, gradually getting closer and closer to the final behavior. For more about lure-shaping see “Fun Dog Training Techniques Using Shaping,” WDJ Feb 2006.)
   2. Demonstrate the process, starting with the dog sitting. Put the treat in front of his nose lower it a little bit, mark and treat as he follows it.
   3. Repeat, gradually lowering the treat closer to the ground with multiple repetitions. (For a step-by-step tutorial, see “How to Teach Your Dog to Lie Down on Cue.”) Depending on your dog’s level of cooperation and your child’s abilities, you may be able to have her take over after a few repetitions of the demonstration with you continuing to coach, or you may need to continue participating more fully in the process. That’s your judgment call.
   4. Now, expand your dog’s repertoire. Let your child help decide what new behaviors they want to help teach – and be sure to include tricks! Tricks are fun for all and are guaranteed to help strengthen the dog-child bond.

Also, be sure to show your young ones how to incorporate training into every day activities, using real-life rewards when appropriate. “Sit and I’ll throw the ball for you.” “Sit and we can play tug.” “Lie down and I’ll open the door for you to go out in the back yard.” “Sit and I’ll put your food bowl down.”

Supervise!

Young children should, of course, always be supervised when they are in the presence of the family dog. “Supervision” means not just being in the same room, it means also having eyes and mind on the dog-kid combination at all times. You constantly make sure the child is appropriate with the dog, and constantly watch and interpret the dog’s body language to make sure he is comfortable with the child. This iron rule is especially unbendable when the dog and child are actively engaged with each other – for example, if the child is playing with or training the dog. Not only do you want to be sure that the child is safe, you also want to be sure the dog is enjoying the interaction and the training is being successful.

While older children don’t need the constant close scrutiny that young children do, you still want to be sure the training is going well and being done correctly. Check in with the dog-kid combination on a regular basis to reassure yourself that your learners are enjoying themselves and that training progress is happening.

So – how old is “younger” and how old is “older”? It is suggested that children aged 6 and under require constant close supervision, ages 7 to 12 are more capable of being dog-appropriate with less supervision, and 13 and up are generally mature enough to be trusted with the dog. Of course, each child is an individual and you’ll need to make your own judgment calls for your own offspring, but I would urge you to err on the side of caution. It’s far better to over-supervise than under-supervise.

Protected Contact

You might consider using “protected contact” in your training program with your dog and young child. The concept of protected contact is widely used in zoos, where animal care attendants keep a safety barrier between themselves and dangerous animals who might injure them – or worse. You can do the same with a child who might be overwhelmed or inadvertently injured by an over-exuberant canine subject. You could have your child work with the dog on a tether, inside an exercise pen or the other side of a baby gate. It can also be helpful to make sure your dog is well exercised before engaging in a training session with a young child. Too much enthusiasm on the part of the canine learner can damage the dog-child relationship – which is the exact opposite of the goal we are trying to achieve.

You Might Be Surprised

Obviously, older children will tend to catch on more quickly and be able to participate more fully in your dog’s training than very young children. But don’t sell your little ones short – some young children can be surprisingly adept at learning and applying training skills. Our trainers are frequently impressed by how well some of their junior students do in their dog training classes – often better than the adults! Do remember to keep it fun – the goal is to strengthen the bond – and that’s most likely to happen if all species involved are enjoying themselves.

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Teach Cues in This Order

Generally, the easiest way to begin teaching behaviors is by using a food lure. Here’s what that looks like. (Note that this stuff seems awfully complicated when it’s written out, but it’s really not.)

1. START WITH NO CUE. Folks always want to start by saying the cue word, but if you keep repeating a word that’s currently meaningless to your dog, she might end up associating it with the wrong thing. (“Oh, I guess ‘sit’ must mean that kitty cat who just walked by.”)
2. USE A LURE. Lure your dog’s body into position with a nugget of food that you keep just in front of his nose. Move s-l-o-w-l-y so the dog’s body can easily follow. (The most common mistakes are keeping food too far from the nose and/or moving it too quickly.) The moment the dog’s body is in the right spot, create a marker sound (more on that next) and pop the treat into your dog’s mouth.

   

3. ADD THE VERBAL CUE. Once you can reliably lure the behavior, you can start saying the cue word as you do that. Now, the dog links that correct body position with the appropriate cue word.
4. CHANGE THE LURE TO A HAND SIGNAL. Once this is all going swimmingly – your pup is offering that behavior about four out of five times – give the verbal cue as you mimic the luring motion with an empty directing hand. Ideally pup performs exactly as he has been, and you deliver that reward just as quickly, except from the other hand. The dog learns that following an empty hand works just as well. Now you’re using a hand signal.

   

5. MAKE THE HAND SIGNAL SMALLER. As the dog catches on, the hand signal that began as a replica of the luring motion becomes smaller and smaller. For example, where you previously used a dramatic finger moving all the way to the ground to signify a down, you can now just do a quick point.

   

6. DROP THE HAND SIGNAL. Sometimes people tell me in a very impressed tone that their brother-in-law’s dog follows hand signals without him saying anything! I don’t want to break the spell, so I keep it to myself that yeah, that’s easier. Dogs naturally pay attention to body language; it’s much harder to teach them to respond to our verbal language.

To do that, once we have a very minimized hand signal, we use timing to remove it entirely. We say the cue, and rather than immediately giving the hand signal, we wait a second to see if pup processes what we’ve just asked. No? Then give that signal.

Try again, with that little delay between the verbal cue and the hand signal. One of these times, your pup is going to do the thing you asked with no extra help from your body language. (Now go brag to your brother-in-law!)

The Marker: Click Or “Yesss!”

If you’ve ever tried to learn something that feels very foreign to you – and you really had no idea if you were getting it or not – you’ll appreciate the beauty of what’s become known as “clicker training.” This is where you use a clear, concise sound to mark the exact moment your dog got it right.

The concept came from marine mammal training, where behaviorists used whistles to tell mid-air dolphins, “YES! That higher jump is exactly what we were looking for, and as soon as you swim to the side you’ll get a fish.” That whistle turned into a clicker for the dog world, and decades later, the Clicker Expo is the largest dog-training gathering in the world. Why? Because using a marker speeds learning.

Mind you, most of my beginning clients don’t love using the clicker, and I get it. We need a hand for the leash, a hand for the hand signal, a hand for dispensing treats, and now a hand for the clicker? It’s a challenge, and I don’t want that physical awkwardness to get in the way of a love of training, so I start with a different but almost as effective marker: the word “Yesss!” delivered in such a way that it is very distinct, clipped, and unmistakable.

Your mission is to learn to deliver that marker with perfect timing. Do it the very second your dog’s bum hits the floor in a “sit,” or nose bumps your hand in a “touch.” A treat always follows the marker. Soon enough, your pup is loving the sound of that marker, because it’s become a predictor of the reinforcer (the treat). At that point, the “Yesss!” has become what’s called a “conditioned reinforcer” and now carries power of its own. Now you can make your dog feel amazing the second he gets something right and hears that sound.

In contrast, if you didn’t mark that moment, you might be fumbling in your treat bag for a reward and by the time you deliver it (the moment the dog will remember) he’s no longer in that great sit.

It’s worth working on the timing of this; you’ll need to practice. I have a trainer friend who has his clients practice clicking (or saying “Yesss!”) the moment he bounces a tennis ball. You know what that teaches them? This is indeed something that needs practice! So practice your marker, and once you are great at giving instantaneous feedback, watch your dog suddenly seem like a genius.

For me, the marker technique is critical when I’m teaching something new, and I will drop the click or the “Yesss!” once the behavior is fluent. The point of the marker is to clarify exactly what’s being asked, and that kind of precision is no longer needed once the dog knows.

Moving to Intermittent Reinforcement

One of the big misconceptions about rewards-based positive reinforcement training is that you can’t ask your dog to do anything unless you have a cookie in your hand. That would be a legitimate gripe, if it were true!

But it’s not.

Once a pup is reliably succeeding at a certain cue, it’s important to move to something called “intermittent reinforcement,” which essentially means there’s no longer a treat every time . . . but there’s one often enough to keep your dog playing the lottery.

This is a critical step in training that first-timers sometimes miss. Folks get stuck in the mindset of Class #1 in Puppy 101, where in fact we give treats out with abandon, for every little look, touch, sit, and spin! In that earliest of phases we are seeking to build the strong “aha” moment where the pup deeply internalizes the idea that listening for a cue and responding with a behavior is the surest way to get stuff that makes them happy.

Once that light bulb has gone on, however, it’s time to move to the next big idea, which is essentially the lottery concept: You gotta play to win! We want to build into our pups the understanding that just because they didn’t get rewarded for one particular “down” it doesn’t mean the whole system is no longer in operation. It just means you have to keep trying and one of these times there’ll be a reward. Slowing the faucet builds resilience and turns your pup into one who will keep trying. He experiences an initial no-cookie moment, and comes out the other side to find . . . an eventual cookie!

I find the easiest way into this transition is to start asking for two-fers and three-fers. A puppy in her first training class gets a click and a treat for a sit, and right after that, a click and a treat for a touch. A week later, when the pup is now reliably performing both of those cues in class, we move into a two-fer: We ask for a sit and immediately after that ask for a touch. Pup gets a click and a treat after the second behavior. Or after the third behavior in a touch-spin-sit three-fer.

“Ack!” you’re thinking! “No click after that first behavior? But will my pup think she’s suddenly doing it wrong?” I promise if you group those cues together closely enough your pup won’t have time to be disturbed about that. However, this is where a new sound, an informative marker, could come in handy. You can use a quick “good,” or “mm-hmm” to confirm your pup did something right. It doesn’t promise a treat, but it gives affirmation.

Moving to intermittent reinforcement has the counterintuitive effect of making dogs more focused rather than less. When the faucet turns off a bit the learner will try a little harder to make it turn back on: more intense eye contact, a straighter sit, a quicker down. Essentially: “Huh. No treat? Let me try that again.”

At various points in your life with your dog, you’ll be at different reward schedules for different cues. Very quickly, you’ll be able to move to an intermittent schedule for a handful of the cues that are easiest for your pup. But it’s typical that you might be struggling with, say, “down” – so pup gets a click and a treat every single time those elbows hit the ground. Why? Because clear, consistent reinforcement of a behavior builds that behavior. Once it’s easy for your pup, there’s no longer a need to provide that bright neon sign.

When Can You Stop Giving Treats?

To Adjust Difficulty, Use The Three D’s: Distance, Duration, and Distraction

There are three factors that can either increase or decrease the difficulty of the behavior you are teaching your dog. Trainers often call them the three D’s: Distance, Duration, and Distraction.

If your dog seems to be having trouble learning something, ponder whether you can make one of the three D’s easier. Did you throw the treat too far away when you tried “Find It”? (Reduce the distance!) When you asked for a stay, did you wait so long to reward that your dog gave up? (Reduce the duration!) Were you surprised that your dog didn’t offer her usually easy sit when the neighbors were over? (Reduce the distractions!)

If you scale back your D’s, you’ll likely get to a place where your pup can more easily succeed. Start there, and build the skill.

On the other hand, if you are getting a little bored and think you have nothing left to teach, think about increasing one or more of the three D’s. There’s always a way to make a cue/behavior more challenging:

• Try giving your dog a cue to sit when he’s on the far side of the room, or 50 feet ahead of you on a trail (increasing the distance).
• Ask your dog to hold his down/stay for the length of your weekly call with a relative or while you answer an email or two (increasing duration).
• Try giving your dog a cue while you’re lying down or doing jumping jacks (increasing distractions).

It’s nice to have a dog who always sits when you give her the cue while standing in front of her in the kitchen where you always train. But it’s far more helpful for your life (not to mention more interesting and fun) if you “proof” that behavior by gradually varying the 3 D’s. Imagine how cool it would be if your pup would easily listen in the middle of a crowded barbeque as you yelled “Stay!” from across the yard when a guest mistakenly left a gate wide open.

Using rewards-based, relationship-building methods isn’t brain surgery, but it’s also not as easy as you might think. Investing a little time in refining your technique will save you (and your dog) lots of frustration.

Don’t be surprised if your dog stares blankly at you when you first cue her from a greater distance (even just a step or two!).

Don’t be surprised if your dog stares blankly at you when you first cue her from a greater distance (even just a step or two!).

Distractions, too, will make it more difficult for her to succeed initially. Be patient! Generalizing the cues takes time.

Inevitably, this question arises: “So when can we stop with the treats altogether?” It is, in a certain sense, a logical question. After all, if we’re scaling back to intermittent reinforcement, it seems we’re heading in the direction of zero.

Ah, but we are not.

We often ask dogs to do things – for our own convenience – that:

• They would not do on their own.
• Are not intrinsically rewarding to them.
• Are often, in fact, against their natural instincts and desires.

The science of learning theory says that none of us does anything for very long unless it is somehow reinforcing/rewarding/in our own best interest. Despite Lassie and the mountains of dog myths in the back of our collective mind, that is true for dogs as well.

A promise of a little morsel of food every now and then is not too much to ask to get our dogs – the puppies we’ve kidnapped from their own culture – to want to do the weird stuff that’s prized in our culture. Right?

So, nope. There’s never a day when we stop rewarding. As time goes on, you’ll find that it becomes second nature to incorporate powerful real-life rewards into your daily routine with your dog; for example, when the nice “sit” earns an open car door and a promise of adventure, rather than a cookie. Those, along with warm praise, may become your primary way of rewarding your dog once he’s learned the basics. But do the food rewards ever come to an end? No.

And honestly, as my dear old dogs have aged and moved onto the heavenly branch of our pack, I’m happy for every sweet moment where I gave them a dried liver cube just for that cute little spin they had learned long ago.

The post Dog Training Basics: How to Teach a Cue appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

Why Do Female Dogs Hump?

Hof advised that dog guardians shouldn’t panic. “Although it may be a bit embarrassing, humping is a normal dog behavior. You do not need to demonize it nor glorify it.” People get uncomfortable with dogs humping usually because they are under the impression that it is either a sexual behavior or connected to dominance. However, Hof explained that humping is usually a result of a heightened arousal state, but that doesn’t mean it is necessarily sexual. He explained that when female dogs hump it may also be a stress response.

Hof not only has professional experience with female dogs humping, but also personal experience at home: “I had two female dogs that would hump each other any time I had a guest over due to the heightened arousal level; a good outlet for them was humping one another.”

Does Spaying Stop Female Dog Mounting?

It is generally assumed that neutering a male dog will stop him from humping. That isn’t always the case – many male dogs will continue to hump post-neutering if that was a behavior they engaged in before the procedure.

When it comes to female dogs, spaying doesn’t generally have much impact on their humping behavior either. Girls who hump before spaying are likely to continue humping after spaying because it isn’t related to hormones. “I often see female dog humping as more related to arousal state or environmental stressors, neither of which would be changed by a spaying,” explains Hof.

Hump Toys for Female Dogs

Object-mounting is a common behavior with female dogs. “When we are trying to determine if a behavior will be reinforced, we try to look at what is encouraging or maintaining that behavior. Often humping may begin based on environmental conditions or stimuli [such as guests in the house], but if that results in, for example, laughter at the dog humping, some dogs find that reinforcing and that may be encouraged.”

So, if your female dog is humping objects like pillows, toys or furniture, the more you direct attention toward her, the more she may continue the behavior. Pat Miller offers advice on how to train your dog away from mounting behavior in this Whole Dog Journal article.

If your dog’s humping doesn’t bother you, letting her use one (or any) of her dog toys as a personal mounting object is acceptable. Toys are a safe outlet for humping behavior, and if it does not offend any nearby witnesses, allowing your dog to do this without reinforcing her is unlikely to create additional behavioral problems.

What Should You Do to Stop Female Mounting Behavior?

Dog humping isn’t inherently concerning behavior. It is very natural for dogs. The only times humping is a problem are when it makes you uncomfortable and when it makes the object of the humping (a guest or another dog) uncomfortable. In those cases, Hof suggests that, “it would be best to try and redirect the dog’s attention. This could be done by just attempting to interrupt the behavior or trying to redirect the dog’s focus by asking for a sit or other behavior.”

Nick Hof also advises that if you know your dog is prone to humping in certain conditions like when guests come over, it’s best to take steps to prevent it by redirecting your dog before she starts the humping. It’s all about creating situations where your dog is going to be successful.

“A great option is always to focus on what you would like your dogs to do [instead of the unwanted behavior]. For example, they can’t hump while also practicing a down-stay on their bed. Help show your dog what you want from them as opposed to telling them to stop,” suggests Hof.

Isn’t It Best to Prevent Dogs from Humping Altogether?

Again, there isn’t anything wrong with humping unless it makes you or the object of affection uncomfortable. If you want your dog to stop humping, then Hof suggests the best thing to do is deny her the opportunity to start.

“It is always a good idea to, at a minimum, prevent and manage behavior you don’t want your dog to rehearse because otherwise they become more well-practiced.” Hof continues, “In my experience, since female dog humping tends to be more linked to arousal and stress, it is best to look at the context of the situations that the behavior presents itself in.” Knowing the situations where your dog is prone to humping means you can give her something else to do at the times when the behavior is usually triggered.

What if My Female Dog Humps Other Dogs?

Some female dogs hump other dogs, and this isn’t always bad. However, some dogs will react very negatively. Hof believes this comes down to a consent issue between the dogs: “If the dog or person your dog humps does not appear to be okay with the act, it’s a good idea to discourage and redirect your dog’s humping. If they don’t seem to care and neither do you, it comes down to personal preference.”

With that in mind, many dogs do really take offense to being humped, so if you take your dog to dog parks or other meetups with dogs, it’s a good idea to watch her and ensure she doesn’t start humping other dogs – which can lead to a fight.

How to Stop A Female Dog from Humping People

Hof advises that the best thing you can do is, “Management. Management. Management.” He suggests that if your dog likes to hump and you cannot allow it, it’s a great idea to keep your dog leashed at times she’s likely to engage in humping, even in the house. “If your dog is on-leash, you have much more control over their actions,” Hof reminds us. Focus your attention on teaching and encouraging your dog to do what you want her to do instead of having to redirect or correct the humping once it has started.

If you are struggling with your female dog’s humping behavior, schedule a consultation with a positive reinforcement-based dog trainer who can support you with gaining a greater understanding of what is triggering or reinforcing the humping behavior with your dog.

Sassafras Lowrey is an award-winning author and Certified Trick Dog Instructor. Sassafras’ forthcoming books include, Tricks IN THE CITY: For Daring Dogs and the Humans That Love Them, Healing/Heeling, and Bedtime Stories for Rescue Dogs: William To the Rescue.

The post Does Your Female Dog Hump? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

But just like a good skunking doesn’t stop most dogs from going after those black-and-white critters again the next time (darn it!), there are many dogs who seem goaded into more intense bee-chasing behavior after an unfortunate encounter of the stinging kind. Conversely, there are also dogs who become literally phobic about all small, flying creatures after a stinging incident. Then there are those who develop an obsessive-compulsive behavior known as fly-snapping when there are no flying insects present at all. (See “Fly-Snapping: Not Really About Flies,” below.)

For a class of insects vital to our survival through their pollination efforts, bees (and their nastier cousins, wasps) can sure wreak havoc with our dogs’ behavior.

It’s understandable how hovering insects can be annoying – or intriguing – to a dog. We humans don’t like small flying creatures in our faces either, but we learn fairly early in life that some are more wisely respected than harassed. I may swat a fly, but I earned the nickname “bee whisperer” at a recent trainer academy when I gently escorted several wasps out of the training center with a plastic cup and a piece of cardboard.

In contrast, dogs are more likely to snap at the buzzing annoyances and end up with a painful (and possibly deadly) sting to the face. So, what do you do about a dog who has risky or inappropriate bee- or wasp-related behavior? Why, beehavior modification, of course!

Bee chasers are at greatest risk for injury as they run after and snap at the little buzzers. But bee-phobic dogs also may have significant quality-of life issues, as bees can cause them to shut down, tremble uncontrollably, and even run away in panic – and their fear behavior is sometimes generalized to other flying insects as well.

Situational Management for Dogs with Bee Issues

To change those behaviors, as with most behavior modification programs, we start with management. There are a variety of ways to deter and discourage bees from congregating in and around your home.

A Google search will give you a number of options for non-toxic bee and wasp repellents. I particularly like this recipe:

Fill an empty spray bottle with water, nearly to the top. Add a few teaspoons of liquid dish soap; this will help the next ingredients will dissolve and evenly distribute in the mixture. Add a few drops of peppermint essential oil – enough so that you can readily smell it when you spray the mixture. Then add ⅛ teaspoon each of cinnamon and cayenne pepper and shake well.

Once you’ve mixed the repellent, spray away, in any place where you want to repel flying insects. Indoors, mist lightly on windowsills and door frames to discourage winged intruders. Outdoors, you can spray on the underside of patio tables, chairs, and shade umbrellas (to prevent patio users from touching the slightly sticky spray).

Additionally, there are a number of plants you can grow that help to repel bees and wasps, including cucumber, basil, geraniums, marigolds, citronella, and mint.

Conversely, there are plants that attract bees. Make sure not to plant these, or else plant them far enough away from your home that they are inviting the bees away from the areas where your dog spends time. Some of the plants that are particularly attractive to bees include bee balm, blackeyed susan, goldenrod, butterly bush, purple coneflower, lavender, roses, sunflowers, and salvia.

I discovered the value of using an attractant to lure wasps away from my dog-training area after I was stung on my ring finger by a yellowjacket when I was teaching outdoor classes in Santa Cruz, California. (Quick, get the ring off before the finger swells!) We used a lot of meaty treats in the class, and yellowjackets are carnivorous – they love meat. I learned to open a can of smelly cat food before each class and place it on a picnic table some distance from the training yard. Problem solved.

You might also consult a professional about other ways to remove bees and wasps (and their nests) from the area around your home. Just remember, for your own dog’s safety and the health of our planet, make sure your professionals use non-toxic methods for bee and wasp removal and deterrence.

Fly-Snapping: Not Really About Flies

Fly-snapping is one of several obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCDs) that occasionally occur in dogs. This behavior is not about snapping at real flies (or bees, or wasps). Rather, the dog appears to be snapping at imaginary flies, or hallucinations. There are several possible explanations for the behavior:

• There is a strong genetic component. Certain breeds of dogs, including the Bull Terrier, the Bernese Mountain Dog, and the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, are afflicted with fly-snapping at a much higher rate than many other breeds.
• It may be a digestive issue. There does appear to be a correlation between fly-snapping and significant digestive disorder, especially when the snapping is directed downward to toward the dog’s sides rather than up in the air. A 2012 study (“Prospective Medical Evaluation of Seven Dogs Presented with Fly Biting“) found gastrointestinal issues in all of the seven dogs examined for the study.
• It may be neurological or seizure-related. One theory holds that fly-snapping results from focal seizures – where only a specific part of the brain is affected, hence the absence of what we normally identify as “seizure” activity.

Some cases of fly-snapping can be successfully resolved with early behavioral intervention. Since OCDs are often triggered by stress, stress reduction and removal can be effective.

The first fly-snapping case I saw was a young Bernese Mountain Dog who had just begun the behavior. Stress reduction, increase in enrichment, and removal of any attention for the snapping behavior successfully eliminated the snapping. The three-year-old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel I met who had been snapping since the age of six months was not so fortunate – she ended up having to be medicated for the rest of her life.

If you think your dog is fly-snapping – get some professional help!

Behavior Modification for Bee-Obsessed Dogs

So, what is it that’s reinforcing the bee-chaser’s behavior? If you have a dog who is captivated by movement (think herding dogs, hunting dogs, and terriers), it may simply be that the behavior is driven by the genetic propensity to be reinforced by the opportunity to run after (and perhaps capture) things that move – sheep, cows, squirrels, rabbits, and yes, bees. These are the dogs who seem to think bee-chasing is a fun game. Alternatively, it could a strong emotional response because bees cause pain. These are the dogs who have probably been stung in the past, and seem angry or unhappy when they snap at and chase after the annoying, stinging creatures. In both cases, your goal is to change your dog’s behavior in the presence of the flying bugs.

Of course, the bee-fearful dog’s behavior also needs to be modified. Fear is a more normal and far safer behavior in the presence of bees – but what I’m talking about here are the dogs who are so fearful they cannot function.

While I normally begin with counter-conditioning (changing the association with the stimulus – in this case, the bee) for fear-related behaviors, for severe fear of bees, I suggest an “operant” approach, due to the difficulty in controlling the intensity of stimulus (the number, proximity, and predictability of the bees).

Note: If your dog has very strong fear-reactions to bees and wasps and/or behavior modification doesn’t help, we urge you to consult a veterinarian who is knowledgeable about behavior or a veterinary behaviorist. You can also ask your veterinarian to do a phone consult with a veterinary behaviorist to determine if medication is appropriate, and if so, what kind. Your dog needs help!

Start by teaching your dog an incompatible behavior – something the dog can’t do at the same time as chasing bees. It also should be something that your dog comes to love so much that when a bee appears you can cue your dog to perform (and get reinforced for!) and she will be consistently thrilled to do the behavior. This could be chasing a ball, finding treats dropped at your feet, targeting to your hand, lying down on a mat, or doing a trick. You can select one specific behavior and teach her to automatically offer that behavior when a bee appears, or you can choose to cue any one of several behaviors that she dearly loves.

This is likely to be easier with dogs who are happy chasers than with the ones who are angry chasers or fearful bee-avoiders, as anger and fear are stronger emotions to overcome. But with good training it can be accomplished with all of them.

How to Distract Your Dog from Bees

1. Select one behavior to start with (you can add more later if you want). If your dog already has a behavior she loves, use that. Just be sure it’s one that elicits a happy dance when you cue her to do it. Or pick a new behavior that you think will succeed in making her eyes light up.

2. Begin training the behavior in the total absence of all bees. Make it a fun game, with lots of play reinforcement as well as treats.

3. When she is delighted about having you ask her to do the behavior, generalize it to a variety of environments with a wide variety of distractions (but no bees yet!), until she is just as focused and engaged anywhere.

4. Now comes the hard part. Because we can’t control the bees, and realistic-looking remote-controlled bees are not readily available, we can’t control the intensity of stimulus as well as we would like. Ideally, you would find a location where a very occasional bee will buzz past at a distance close enough to be noticed, but not in your dog’s face.

Be careful! If the bee comes too close while you’re asking her to do her incompatible behavior, you could give her a negative association with the behavior and undo all your hard work!

As soon as she notices the bee, ask your dog for her “bee happy” behavior. Repeat until the bee is gone. Or, if it looks as though the bee is going to buzz around for a while, or if your dog looks at all worried or aroused, move away from the area as you ask for the incompatible, happy behavior.

5. Continue to practice this in a low bee-intensity area, until your dog automatically looks to you or offers her happy bee-behavior when she sees a bee. While you have operantly taught her a happy bee-behavior, you also have changed her classical association with the presence of a bee: “Bees make the opportunity for my fun behavior happen!”

6. Now move closer to where more bees congregate. If your dog can perform and still have fun in this area, you’re good. If not, you need a location with fewer bees, and/or need to be farther away. Be careful!

7. Next try it in a higher-density bee environment. Again, if your dog can still perform and be happy, you’re good. If not, you need fewer bees and/or need to be farther away.

8. When your dog’s happy response is well established in the presence of bees in reasonably close proximity, very gradually reduce your cueing of the behavior. First, wait a few seconds before you cue it, then wait longer, and occasionally don’t ask for it at all. You will still (and forever) continue to cue the behavior sometimes when the two of you are in the presence of bees. But your goal is to have your dog so well programmed that she won’t revert to bee chasing even if you’re not there to ask for her happy bee behavior.

“Bee” Smart

Remember that your dog’s undesirable behavior around bees can easily resurface if you forget to keep practicing her be-happy behavior(s) in the presence of flying, stinging buzzers. Continue to use good bee-management practices so our honey-producing, plant-pollinating friends (and their not-so-helpful cousins, the wasps) keep their distance from your canine pal.

The post Teach Your Dog to Relax Around Bees appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

If you’re not using treat-dispensing toys with your dog, you’re missing out on one of the greatest training inventions of the last 100 years – seriously!

These wonderful tools and toys can help you with a long list of dog-training and -management challenges, including boredom-busting, excessively fast eating, high-energy consumption, building mental skills, counter-conditioning, redirecting inappropriate behavior, and much more.

Jump to: Snuffle Mats | Kong-Style | Kibble-Dribbling | Slow Feeders | Lick Mats | Puzzles | Electronic Dispensers

In the mid-1980s, when I acquired my first Australian Kelpie, food-stuffed toys were an unknown. A tennis ball was “the thing” – and Keli, my Kelpie, was quite addicted to hers. Then we discovered the Kong. Still perceived primarily as a fetch toy in those days, the hollow, snowman-shaped, hard, rubber toy delighted my dog with its high-flying unpredictable bounces. Almost as good as herding sheep! She switched her allegiance from ball to Kong.

Then one day Jean Donaldson – dog trainer, founder of the Academy for Dog Trainers, and book author extraordinaire, suggested stuffing treats in the Kong’s hollow interior in order to entertain otherwise bored dogs. The food-dispensing dog-toy revolution was on.

The market has expanded since those early days when the Kong Company pretty much had a food-toy monopoly. Or should I say exploded? Today your options include an almost endless variety of products that contain food that will entice and challenge your dog. These products encourage him to chew, lick, nudge, paw, and toss in order to find and reach the food.

We still love the basic Kong toy, as well as the variety of other toys made by Kong. But we have to admit, we also love many of Kong’s competitors in the food-stuffable toy category. In fact, there are so many it’s hard to even have favorites anymore! But at a minimum, we think you should be aware of how many options are available to you and your dog today, so you can select the ones that are best suited to your own dog’s needs and wants.

Snuffle Mats

It’s a simple concept: short pieces of fleece tied onto a flat plastic or rubber frame, creating a tufted surface, ideal for scattering or hiding kibble or treats. Originally, the snuffle mat was a takeoff on the idea of scattering a dog’s food in some grass, so it would take him a while to find and eat his meal.

When I first heard of snuffle mats, they were a do-it-yourself project. Not long after, I started seeing mats made by individuals and sold in a small cottage industry, and not long after that, the concept became quite commercialized. While you can still easily make a snuffle mat for your dog, you can also purchase several creative variations, with rubbery fingers instead of fleece tufts, fleece tufts of varying lengths and patterns, and activity mats that include pockets and other treat-finding challenges in addition to the tufts and fingers.

These mats can serve several different purposes. They are perfect for dogs who eat too quickly and are at constant risk of choking on a bowlful of unchewed food or inhaling bits of their food. Sniffing out and retrieving bits of food from the many mat crevices is guaranteed to slow down the most ravenous speed-eater.

Snuffle mats are also useful for keeping your dog occupied during events when she might otherwise get fussy. My dog Kai’s snuffle mat was a godsend while he impatiently waited his turn at agility class. The mat kept him calmly and happily searching for treats instead of barking from frustration and arousal at the sight of other dogs running the course.

The mats also may be used to keep your dog from getting bored when left alone (not recommended for a persistent or aggressive chewer!). Just load the mat, set it down for her in her “home-alone” space, and you’re good to go.

Some dogs, especially the gentler, less assertive ones, need a little help learning how to use the mat. You may need to start by dropping treats on top, rather than burying them deep in the mat. As your dog gets the idea, you can start pushing treats deeper and deeper into the tufts, until your dog really has to work to get them.

Benefits

• Toss in the washing machine when they start getting sticky, stinky, or moldy; many can also be put in the dryer.
• The dog gets to use her sense of smell, touch, and taste to find food.

Caution

• Dogs can chew these up (and ingest them!). Do not leave your dog alone with a snuffle mat if she’s an aggressive chewer and/or prone to ingesting non-food items.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Snuffle Mats

Darkyazi Snuffle Mat/Nosework Blanket, $31

Paw5’s Wooly Snuffle Mat, $40, (215) 383-1654

Petvins Dog Feeding Snuffle Mat, $25

SNiFFiz Smelly Matty, $40

Good instructions for a make-it-yourself snuffle mat

Fill-with-Food Toys to Lick and Chew

The snowman-shaped Kong toy is still around, of course, and is still a great choice for stuffing food into, as well as a fetch toy. While not indestructible, the black Kongs are very tough and a wise choice for the aggressive chewer. In fact, I still have the original black Kong that Keli happily chased some 30-plus years ago. It’s a little worse for wear, but it’s still here!

In addition to the classic red and black Kongs, the Kong Company also offers “puppy” Kongs in pink and blue that are a little softer and easier to chew.

Between Kong Company and their competitors (including Busy Buddy, Idepet, Trixie, and others), there is an almost endless list of food-stuffable toys of various shapes, colors, sizes, and materials. Some are grooved, inviting your dog to lick squeeze cheese or peanut butter from the grooves. Some are hollow, encouraging chewing more than licking. You can stuff your dog’s entire meal into a few hollow toys, and even freeze them, to slow down the fast eater and keep the bored dog occupied for a longer time. Our freezers almost always contain a few!

Benefits

• Most are dishwasher safe.
• Wide variety of products; novel products will keep your dog engaged.

Cautions

• Some dogs have little interest in actively chewing to access treats and food. You may have to encourage yours, or choose a different type of food toy.
• Dogs can chew these up (and ingest them!). Either select super-tough toys specifically designed for aggressive chewers or do not leave your dog alone with her food-stuffed toy if she’s an aggressive chewer.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Fill-with-Food Toys

Busy Buddy’s Twist’n Treat, $7-$15, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online, or from its maker. (866) 738-4379

Idepet Dog Toy Ball, $9

Kong, $7-$14, depending on size. See the entire line of classic Kong toys at the company website. Available for purchase in pet supply stores everywhere and online.

Kong Genius Leo Food Dispensing Dog Toy, $5-$8, depending on size. Connect several to add to the difficulty. Available in pet supply stores and online.

West Paw Rumbl, $19-$23, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online.

West Paw Toppl, $20-$29, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Planet Dog Orbee-Tuff Snoop, $18. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Kibble-Dribbling Toys

I call these products “push toys,” because dogs need to push and roll them around in order to get kibble to fall out of them. What they all have in common is a compartment that you can fill with kibble or other small, hard treats, and a hole for the treats to spill out off, provided the dog rolls it over and over.

The first product like this that I ever saw was the Buster Cube – a hard plastic cube with rounded corners and a hole on one side for the treats to spill out of. Omega Paw’s Tricky Treat Ball was similar, but made of a softer vinyl material that didn’t make such an ungodly racket as a dog rolled and bashed it around, making the food fall out a piece or two at a time.

Today, there are many variations of these kibble-dribbling toys, including those original products. Look for products that won’t spill all the goods too quickly, but aren’t so difficult to get food out of that your dog gives up in frustration. Another nice feature is the ability to open the toy in order to empty it completely every so often; you don’t want pieces of kibble to get stuck inside, grow moldy, and only then fall out and be eaten by your dog.

Kong came out with a product that we like a lot: the Kong Wobbler, which is shaped like the original Kong, but made of two hard plastic halves that screw together, making it incredibly easy to load with kibble or treats and open afterward for cleaning. The bottom half is weighted so that the toy rights itself after each push, which increases the interactive nature of the toy and makes it a bit more engaging than some of the other push toys. Our pot-bellied pig, Dexter, happily eats part of his meal from a Kong Wobbler!

Note that, depending on the level of difficulty, your dog may need to be taught how to use these toys. Roll or push it over several times so she can see the treat fall out (and eat it) each time. Encourage her to use her nose and/or paws to engage the toy until she realizes that she can make the treats appear.

Benefits

• More interactive than most of these other products; playful dogs will particularly enjoy these.

Cautions

• Because these toys are meant to be pushed or pawed around in order to dispense the treats, they are not necessarily able to withstand chewing (unlike the products mentioned in the previous category, which are designed to give up their food stuffing by being licked and chewed). These products would not be appropriate for dogs whose go-to tactic is to try to chew the food out of the toy. Dedicated chewers can damage, chew, and ingest pieces of these toys if they are so inclined.
• Be aware! These toys can be very noisy, especially on hard floors.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Kibble-Dribblers

Busy Buddy’s Kibble Nibble, $10-$18, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online, or from its maker. (866) 738-4379

Omega Paw’s Tricky Treat Ball, $7-$14, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Our Pets Buster Cube, $8-$19, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Slow-Feeder Bowls

In contrast to the push-around toys, these products are designed to be stationary – though they, too, are meant to slow down speed eaters. Slow feeding is believed to decrease the potential for life-threatening choking or bloat, a not-uncommon problem in dogs who inhale their meals.

These products are usually grooved or have pegs in the bowl, requiring the dog to use her tongue to reach the food. They are often weighted and/or equipped with non-skid feet and a wide base to minimize spillage. They may not be quite as challenging as some of the other food-toy products, though this makes them a good choice for dogs who get easily discouraged and stop trying to get treats from the more difficult designs.

Benefits

• These products work equally well for feeding dry food, wet food, raw frozen, or home-prepared.
• Most are dishwasher-safe.

Cautions

• The grooves in some designs can make these bowls difficult to wash without a dishwasher.
• Most of these products are made for larger dogs; fewer models are available for small dogs.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Slow Feeders

Neater Pets’ Slow Feeder, $15. (877) 917-7387

Outward Hound’s Slo Bowls, $10-$22. Available in pet supply stores and online, as well as from their maker. (800) 477-5735

QT Dog’s Brake-Fast Stainless Steel Dog Bowl, $22-$50, depending on size. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Licky-Sticky Things

Compared to some of the other food-dispensing toys, “licky-sticky” is a relatively new concept. This category describes products that are meant to be filled with a type of food that the dog can remove only by determined and prolonged licking, such as peanut butter, cream cheese, yogurt, baby food, or a pt-type canned food – and that are designed to be affixed to a stationary position (usually with suction cups).

Prior to the invention of these products, I’ve suggested to clients that they just smear cheese or peanut butter on the refrigerator door or shower wall. I can see how some might prefer this alternative!

The thing I like best about these is that they can keep your dog relatively immobile, happily occupied, and licking/eating, while you attend to a husbandry task that requires two hands, such as buckling a muzzle, bathing, grooming, taking a temperature, etc. That’s so useful that I actually squealed with delight the first time I saw one!

Benefits

• Because the dog can’t carry them off to enjoy in private, these are great for keeping him in one spot, without force or restraint.
• The dog’s enjoyment of delicious treats may classically condition him to associate grooming (or whatever you are doing to him while he licks the food) with good things, making him more happier to cooperate and participate.

Cautions

• These products may not be a good choice for a dog who has food-guarding behavior, unless and until behavior modification has been done.
• If your dog is prone to chewing up toys, don’t leave him unattended with any of these products. Most are flexible and not durable, as they are meant for licking, not chewing.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Licky-Sticky Things

Aquapaw Slow Treater Treat Dispensing Mat, $15-$17.

Chase ‘N Chomp’s Sticky Bone, $17.

Helpcook Dog Lick Pad, $11.

Lickimat Tuff Buddy Dog Mat, $16.

Lickimat Tuff Soother Dog Mat, $16 for creamier treats.

Interactive Toys and Dog “Puzzles”

Interactive toys have become very popular since they first appeared a decade or so ago – and with good reason. They make a dog work for her treats, with her brain as well as her body! Brain games are incredibly useful for keeping dogs mentally as well as physically healthy.

Swedish dog-toy designer Nina Ottosson started developing her line of interactive toys in 1990. Today, there are dozens of her products on the market, as well as many from other designers. Some are clear-cut imitators, others are quite innovative and original. All are guaranteed to provide dogs with fun and stimulation.

Benefits

• These are fun for all dogs, but especially useful for helping to entertain and occupy senior, handicapped, or rehabilitating dogs who need to be kept calm.
• Because most of these were designed to have the human interacting with the dog as the dog interacts with the toy, they are also good for relationship-building.

Cautions

• Some of these interactive toy puzzles are quite complex and challenging. Your dog may need some assistance, at least at first, to help her succeed and learn, and avoid frustration. Start with simpler toys and work up to the more challenging ones once she understands how the games are played.
• The early Nina Ottosson toys were made of wood – easily chewed and hard to clean. More recent models are made of plastic; still some have small pieces that your dog can chew up if you are inattentive.
• These toys are designed to be used under human supervision. Many of them are easily destroyed if left with your dog unattended.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Interactive Toys

Nina Ottosson‘s dog puzzles, $10-$40. See complete line of products available on the company website. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Trixie Pet Products’ Dog Activity Strategy Games, $10-$30. See complete line of products available on the company website. Available in pet supply stores and online.

Electronic Treat Dispensers

Last, but by no means least, is a new generation of computerized electronic food-dispensing toys, giving a whole new look and feel to the treat-dispensing toy market.

The earliest products in this category allowed you use a remote control to release a treat to your dog at a distance from you. Next, they came with timers, so you could release meals or treats at pre-set or random intervals (helpful for preoccupying dogs with separation anxiety or isolation distress). Today, some allow your to dispense treats to (and sometimes, communicate with) your dog from remote locations, via an app on your phone or computer!

Many dog owners and trainers are fascinated with the technology. Some products can be set to beep randomly to signal to your dog that a treat is coming, and some will actually take pictures of your dog as she arrives to eat the treat.

I will confess I’m a technology troglodyte and am pretty intimidated by these products! But I do love the remote treat-dispenser function that allows you to signal to your dog the opportunity for a treat from 50 to 500 feet away, depending on the brand. This type of toy has many helpful applications, such as when visitors arrive, you can use its function to move your dog away from the door (as he runs to get his treats from the machine that you have set up elsewhere). Other training and management applications include situations where you want the dog to go to her bed, move away from begging at the table, stop obsessing over squirrels or UPS trucks outside, and more.

Benefits

• Brilliant for engaging dogs who are easily bored when left home alone. Anticipation of random treats can keep the canine brain engaged and out of trouble.
• Surveillance features (still camera, one-or two-way audio, video, and/or live-stream monitoring), ease owner anxieties about home-alone dogs, too.

Cautions

• The remote treat-dispensing function can potentially cause problems in a multi-dog household, especially if there is competition for resources. Be careful!
• Some of the fancier high-tech products require a fair amount of Internet bandwidth to function. If you are on satellite/limited bandwidth, they may not work or be optimal for you.
• You do need to be somewhat tech-savvy – or have access to someone who is – to figure some of this stuff out!
• These can be quite pricey.

Whole Dog Journal-Approved Electronic Treat Dispensers

Furbo Dog Camera, $210. Dispenses treats via phone app; also takes video and allows two-way audio.

PetCube Bites, $249. HD pet camera that allows you to monitor and talk to your dog and fling treats via app.(888) 447-2522

PetSafe Treat & Train Remote Reward Dog Trainer, $190. Dispenses treats via remote control.

Ready Treat Remote Treat Dispenser, $50. Dispenses only one serving of treats via remote control before needing to be reloaded.

Lots to Choose From

As you can see, there are many options for teaching your dog to play with her food. A list of examples of products in each category appears on page 22. Find the ones that are likely to appeal to her – and to you – and get started!

The post The Best Food Dispensing Dog Toys appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

I like to use these moments as chances to open up conversation about neurodiversity in dogs: some experience trauma and anxiety and need behavioral management, and not all dogs process trauma the same way. My dog Charlotte has come a long way. She has psychiatric medications that help her with some of her largest triggers, daily training, and behavioral management that all work to give her an enriching, high-quality life.

Though Charlotte’s behavioral challenges are probably due to her growing up on the streets, these conversations always get me thinking, “can dogs be autistic?” The expert opinion is…maybe.

Does Autism Exist in Dogs?

Dr. Valli Parthasarathy, PhD, DVM, ACVB Resident and co-founder of Synergy Behavior Solutions in Portland, Oregon,explains that at this time autism is not a behavioral condition recognized in dogs. This is in part because there has not yet been enough research into the typical and atypical behavior in dogs for that kind of diagnosis to be given.

Dr. Parthasarathy went on to explain that in the future this may change, and there is a possibility we could see diagnoses of autism in dogs. “As we are learning more about the complexities of canine neurology, behavior and neurodiversity, the more information there is to help dogs. As we learn more, we may be able to start more finely characterizing different behavioral disorders. We may find that autism is a condition in dogs as it is in people.”

Research on Autism in Dogs

Although autism is not at this time something dogs can receive a diagnosis for, there is research being done into autism-like behaviors in dogs.

Dr. Parthasarathy explains, “According to the Mayo Clinic website, children with autism have two key characteristics: difficulty with social interactions and communication, and repetitive behaviors.”

Studies have observed comparable behavior in dogs. “For example, recently Tufts Veterinary Behaviorist Nick Dodman presented a study in which he assessed the behavior of 132 English Bull Terriers and found patterns of repetitive behavior (tail chasing), trancelike behavior, and episodic aggression similar to what can be seen in autistic children,” continues Dr. Parthasarathy.

Is Your Dog Autistic?

If you have wondered if your dog might be autistic, you aren’t alone. A variety of behavioral challenges exhibited by dogs may be interpreted by their guardians as a form of autism. Dr. Parthasarathy explains, “When my clients ask me about whether their dogs are autistic, they are often referring to dogs that are not responsive to doing what they ask, and dogs that appear to become overstimulated in new environments, are performing repetitive behaviors or may be aggressive.”

A medical condition is always a possible underlier when dogs experience severe behavioral issues like aggression or obsessive licking. Canine compulsive disorder is another possible explanation for your dog’s challenges. At one time, dogs who exhibited repetitive, compulsive habits were thought to have obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but experts in the animal behavior community have since identified the condition in dogs to be distinctly separate from that found in people.

Again, autism is not yet a diagnosis that can be given to dogs. Autism-like symptoms such as repetitive behavior or episodic aggression can be very challenging for dog guardians to understand and safely manage in the home, and it may be tempting to put the autism label on a dog if it fits. But Dr. Parthasarathy explains that a detailed history of the dog is essential for professionals to come up with a diagnosis. “Many of my patients who present to me with these signs have underlying generalized anxiety that needs to be addressed,” she says.

Dogs who have anxiety disorders may exhibit symptoms that their owners interpret as autism and diagnose themselves. But in reality, “anxiety in general can affect a dog’s ability to learn, problem-solve, retain and recall information,” describes Dr. Parthasarathy.

What to Do if Your Dog Shows Signs of Autism

If you think that your dog might be autistic, or if your dog is displaying behaviors that seem to be the result of an autism-like condition, it’s a good idea to make an appointment with your primary care veterinarian. Dr. Parthasarathy explains that many conditions related to orthopedic, neurologic, gastrointestinal and dermatological issues can result in dogs being unresponsive to cues, or exhibiting trance-like, excessive sensitivity or repetitive behaviors.

If your veterinarian rules out any physical conditions, they may refer you to a veterinary behavior diplomate or resident for diagnosis and treatment. “Treatment for these behavioral conditions can be complex and may involve the use of behavioral medications as well as a comprehensive management and behavior modification plan,” explains Dr. Parthasarathy.

There are fewer than 100 behavioral diplomats or residents in the United States, so this isn’t an option available to all dog owners depending on where you live. Many canine behavior experts are able and willing to consult with primary proactive veterinarians to support individual patients, however.

Dr. Parthasarathy also advised it’s a good idea to begin working with a positive reinforcement, reward-based trainer. Find a trainer who has experience working with dogs who have behavioral concerns; a good trainer should be part of the treatment team for any dog who may be exhibiting autism-like behaviors. Correcting or punishing unwanted behaviors in dogs with severe behavioral problems can actually make the problem worse or cause other new problem behaviors to arise.

There aren’t any fast answers for working with dogs who have what might be considered autism-like behaviors. Dr. Parthasarathy cautions that, “dogs with behavioral disorders are not trying to be ‘stubborn’, ‘dominant’, or trying to ‘get away’ with things. People who live with these dogs are generally doing the best that they can. Having compassion for dogs with problem behavior, as well as their people, is an important step towards helping them.”

If you think your dog might be autistic, the most important thing is to love your dog, and commit to finding professional support to meet your dog where they are at this stage in their development. Be gentle with your dog and yourself. Just like we are getting better at accepting neurodiversity in people, I hope that as a society we will grow to understand that not all dogs experience and react to the world in the same ways.

The post Autistic Dogs: Can Dogs Have Autism? appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.

The good news: You don’t have to be a professional trainer to reap the advantages of trainers’ effective tactics!

A couple of factors are pivotal to the success of this approach. The first is to recognize that there are no “good” nor “bad” behaviors. Behavior is just information and communication. Once you understand this key element you can shift your goals from stopping “bad” behavior to looking for ways to encourage the behavior that you want to see again and again.

Second: Recognize that when your dog is doing something that you don’t like he may often not be giving you a hard time, but instead he might be having a hard time. If you support and guide your dog in learning the behaviors that will result in reinforcements, you won’t have to spend so much time contemplating punishment scenarios.

Dogs who already display unwanted behaviors (such as jumping up, barking when people come over, pulling on leash, etc.) may have you trying ways to stop or decrease the behavior – punishment-based reactions. But punishment can result in potentially dangerous side effects (including canine apathy, aggression, escape/avoidance, and generalized fear).

Worse – the punishment is frequently ineffective, because the dog has no clue what he should be doing instead!

Planning Ahead for Dog Training Success

The proactive approach is to know in advance about what you would like for your dog to be doing, and actively teach him to do these things – or to simply “catch him in the act” of doing these things and reinforce those behaviors!

For example, instead of focusing on your dog’s jumping and fretting about how to make him stop it, “mark” (with the click of a clicker or a verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and reinforce him when he’s got four paws on the floor. Teach him to sit on cue, or train a “default sit” (where he is reinforced for sitting any time you are paying attention to him and haven’t given him any cue). Continue marking and reinforcing sitting and “four on the floor” and you’ll see more of it. And do it before he has an opportunity to jump!

In addition to reinforcing easy alternatives to the undesired behavior, think about your environment. Arranging antecedents – the things that occur right before the behavior you want or don’t want – allows you to set up your situation so that your dog will have the best chance at successfully doing the stuff you like, and not doing the stuff you don’t like.

To use our jumping example again: Position a baby gate or exercise pen that separates your dog from visitors. Demonstrate how they can greet or pet your dog over the gate when all four of the dog’s feet are on the floor, but should take their hands away if the dog is jumping. Or, plan to greet visitors with your dog on-leash while working on your training. This way you are setting your dog up to be successful by preventing him from practicing jumping.

The post A Proactive Approach appeared first on Whole Dog Journal.