October 2007 - Posts

• Teach a dog to Come When Called - The Importance of Consistency in Dog Training

  "Come on guys let's go for a walk." Blank stares . . . "Ranger, Trooper, Linus, Come." Three furry friends come running. I realized that I never taught my dogs what "Come on guys let's go for a walk" meant. That was many years ago, and since then I have taught them that, but it reminded me of the importance of consistent teaching and that . . . dogs don't understand synonyms! We talk this way all the time and humans are able to fill in the gaps based on the context of the situation or the sentence. Dogs might be able to understand based on inflection, situation or body movement, but they need consistent patterns to understand what we mean. Try this: work for 30 seconds on your dog's easiest behavior -usually sit - rewarding each behavior and then at some point say, "blah blah blah" and just look at your dog. Most likely your dog will sit, but you did not ask her, did you? What you did was create a pattern of: You say something Your dog does something Your dog gets a reward Your dog tried to fill in the blanks about what you were asking her. She tried a behavior because it had been working for her in the past because she was motivated by the reward. Motivation is the single most fascinating subject on this planet because it drives all species every moment of the day. So now let's get back to the original topic of teaching Come and apply the demonstration outlined above. You can use this information to be a great teacher by following the simple pattern of: Say the cue (or make a visual cue with your hands) for Come Help your dog get it right by gently helping her come to you either by gently pulling on her leash, tapping your leg, running the other way, crouching down, etc. Reward Say the cue Delay the help just a bit to allow your dog to try and connect the dots Help, if necessary Reward Repeat You are creating a consistent pattern that will motivate your dog to do the behavior when she hears the cue. That is dog training! You can get even more step-by-step instructions including high-quality video and downloadable notes at my online dog training website. Happy Training!  Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:51 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: Dog training, online dog training videos, front, puppy training tips, Come when called

• Housetraining Tips - What Not to Do

  It still amazes me the frequency I hear people talk about pushing their puppy's face in an accident to teach her housetraining. This is a sure way to greatly increase your puppy's anxiety and potentially teach your dog not to go potty in front of you at all for fear of punishment. Just don't do it. What you do want to is to manage your dog to prevent accidents and motivate your dog to hold her bladder and reward her for going potty in the correct location. My favorite management option is a crate. You can learn step-by-step crate training and housetraining techniques at my online dog training website. You can also visit the Puppy Tips section of the Forums and search for information or post your own questions.  Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:50 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: puppy training, puppy pads, crate training, housetraining, long term confinement, exercise pens, housetraining accidents

• Dog Scared of Fireworks?

  I was interviewed recently by the Chicago Tribune as well as a couple radio stations to help dogs overcome fear of fireworks. Here are the links if you want to read the information, or listen to the radio interviews. Pets Unleashed - Chicago Tribune Blog 107.5 Frank FM Radio Interview, July 2, 2007 710 AM, Seattle, WA Radio Interview, Friday, June 29, 2007 Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:49 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dog training help, dogs and fireworks, desensitization, 4th of july

• Eat first and other ridiculous dog training myths - part 1

  There are so many dog training myths perpetuated by old school techniques, bad trainers, or trainers that do not give their clients the benefit of the doubt and "dumb down" everything into simple sound bites. There are some very popular dog trainers spouting these "sound bites" that get re-hashed into common dog training lexicon. The ones that suffer are the poor dogs. Here are some of the myths that get "whispered", shouted and repeated all over. Eat before your dog so "he knows who is boss." This probably got started because trainers wanted their clients to just think about training on a daily basis. One reason that I also hear frequently is to mimic the wolf behavior of the alpha wolf eating first. This will supposedly teach your dog that he needs to behave because you are eating first. Don't worry about being the alpha, just train your dog! An easy way to think about training every day is to tie it to something people do every day - eat. While a person is eating, they might ask their dog to lie down and wait, which just helps with daily training, but is not a requirement for a dog to be well behaved. Walk through doors before your dog -- same reason, so he "knows who is boss." Once again, just a way to remind a person to work on teaching their dog to be patient and to work on control. If a dog walks into a room before you, he just wants to go into the room faster than you, it does not make him "dominant." Make sure your dog walks by your side, if he walks ahead of you he is being "dominant." Ridiculous. If you want your dog to walk next to you, train him and motivate him to do so. Both things take a little time and ability. If your dog is not trained, don't blame your dog, work harder on teaching him or find a good positive reinforcement trainer that can show you the proper techniques. So much of successful dog training is based on working through challenges and figuring out how to motivate a dog to do something. It is really easy to blame the dog instead of becoming a better trainer. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:48 PM by Jeff Millman with 2 comment(s) Filed under: Dog training, dog training myths, dog whisperer, positive reinforcement

• Dog Training 101 - Don't repeat cues and other dog training basics

  Just some quick thoughts to make your life as a dog trainer much easier. After training thousands of dogs, it still amazes me how the little suggestions can make the biggest difference. Don't repeat cues. Each time you say, "Sit, sit, sit . . . SIT" you are creating more work for yourself. Why? Generally one of four reasons. Your dog did not hear the cue. Your dog doesn't know the cue. Your dog is distracted and you need to move farther away from the distraction. Your dog isn't motivated to do the cue. After you say a cue, you need to "help" your dog get the cue correct. For instance, if you say, "Come" and your dog doesn't come to you, gently put a leash on your dog, gently bring your dog to you, and . . . reward. Yes, you reward even if you are helping. You want to establish a pattern of your dog doing a certain behavior after hearing a cue and getting a reward. That is where the motivation comes in to play. Eventually if you follow the pattern of: Say the cue once Help your dog get the behavior correct Reward your dog (even if you help) Eventually your dog will do the behavior without help. You can see more examples of dog training techniques at http://www.watchandtrain.com Train in short sessions. The best strategy is to do really short sessions (as little as one or two minutes) before EVERYTHING that your dog wants. For instance, before you take your pup for a walk ask for a "Sit", "Down" and "Stay" for 20 seconds. Then say, "Ok" (release) and put the leash on and go. This will force you to do training throughout the day, and will teach your dog that your cues have relevancy in her life. Motivation! Pay attention to what your dog wants and use this as a reward. This goes along with the previous suggestion. For instance, if your dog wants to play with a squeaky toy, take it away, do a short session and then give it back as a reward. If your dog wants to say, "hello" to his friend Spike on a walk, ask for a "Watch me" and then allow him to say "hello". Then . . . do a quick "let's go" walk away 5 steps and then come back only if he is not pulling on the leash. Stay close to home, if necessary. It is much smarter to stay 10 feet on either side of your front door for 20 minutes than to allow your dog to pull you around the block which teaches her to pull. Stay in a setting that is less distracting until the behavior improves before heading to a new location. Use a Sensible Harness for pullers. There is a fantastic, humane harness called the Sense-ible harness. Find it here. Use it instead of chokes or prong collars. Happy training! http://www.watchandtrain.com Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:46 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: dog training classes, dog training help, puppy training, online dog training videos

• To Sit or Not to Sit - Helping a dog with dog-dog aggression

  I work with dog-dog aggression a lot. I get lots of practice in the congested city of Chicago, and I use techniques that work. As with any training topic, there are many competing strategies out there, but I urge you to think about the psychology of anxiety and aggression. If an animal is not hunting for food (one form of aggression) if they show aggression towards another animal it is almost exclusively as a result of discomfort. "You are too close, get away from me!" To help a dog feel more comfortable, you have to help them BEFORE they start the "rehearsal" of the behavior. If the pattern is currently "I see a dog and eventually I will bark and lunge at that dog." You need to change the pattern to "I see dog I am calm." This is how it works: If your dog currently is routinely in a situation where she ends up barking, she can start to predict the discomfort that will eventually happen and get more anxious earlier in the process. I think about it as getting anxious about getting anxious. I like to use an analogy to a human experience to help my clients understand. If you are terrified of roller coasters, you might get anxious as soon as one of your friends even suggests going to the amusement park. You can already predict how you will feel at the park and start to go over that feeling in your head. Now think about how you might feel driving to the amusement park, walking through the gate, etc. The ANTICIPATION of the event can actually be stressful. The same process happens with dogs. I usually get calls from new clients when their dog's behavior has gotten worse. "They used to be ok with dogs about 10 feet away, and now they bark when the dog is 50 feet away!" So now, how do you fix the problem? I will post a more detailed answer at some point . . . want more info . . . comment on this post and I will do it faster . . . . The main point I want to talk about today is the very common practice of having a dog sit when she growls or barks. Not inhumane, not always a bad idea, but . . . often it can send a dog into an anxiety-ridden tailspin. If your dog is anxious 20 feet from a dog and you have her sit, she is MORE vulnerable when she is sitting. If you have done lots of training and sitting is a conditioned response, now you've done it. Part of her brain is telling her to sit, and part of her brain is telling her to fight or flee (the two instinctual reactions when any animal is in panic mode). So now what can happen is your dog is anxious. She wants to run away or fight but is told to do something else that will make her more vulnerable. What should you do if your dog is anxious or aggressive? Move her away and desensitize her to the event so she doesn't even start to feel anxious. Questions? Visit the Aggression section of the Forums and post your questions. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:45 PM by Jeff Millman with 2 comment(s) Filed under: barking dogs, dog aggression, aggressive dogs, onleash aggression

• Teach Emergency STOP!

  On Friday I met a client for the first session and met his wonderful 1.5 year old Labrador Retriever named Riley. Our session ended after some fantastic leash work, placement cues and some work on Stay. As I was leaving, my client opened the door for me just as a delivery man was opening the door on the ground level. My client immediately saw the worst. The door was open, the gate was open and Riley ran through both. We immediately raced after him and, thankfully, Riley did not make it to the very busy street one block away. But, that reminded me of the importance of all dogs learning Emergency Stop. My client and I will be working on that during the next session, but it takes a while to "stick". So better management around open doors is first on the list for my client to practice. I have a fantastic Stop Video that you can purchase on my site, which shows all of the following steps and more. You can watch a sample chapter here. Here are the steps. As with any positive reinforcement dog training, there are a number of ways to teach the same behavior. Here are a couple. Strategy One Start out with a 6 foot leash Place a toy or treat that your dog likes 10 feet away As she walks away from you say, "Stop" and gently stop her movement AS SOON as she is stopped Click (if you are using a clicker) or say, "Yes" She should turn around after hearing the Clicker or the word "Yes", but if not, give her a treat no matter which direction she is looking Do 5 repetitions of this and continue below My definition of Stop is for a dog to do a "U-turn" and turn around and look at me. So if she if she is not already doing that, you will now add that requirement to the behavior. So now your expectation is "Stop moving AND turn around and look at me" Move a bit farther away from the toy or treat on the ground and add a little noise with your mouth after she has stopped moving. Then, when she turns around, 'Click' or say, "Yes" The goal is that she starts to anticipate the word "Stop" with something behind her after she stops moving. It is almost as if we want her to turn around and say, "What?" Troubleshooting Move farther away from the object that she is moving towards before starting the exercise Stop her more quickly after saying "Stop" (always gently) Provide "help" more quickly after she stops so she turns around more quickly. Helpers include a kissing noise with your mouth, tapping your leg, etc. Think of this as a reflex exercise that is only successful after the necessary repetitions. Do not get frustrated. Practice daily in different situations. Practice on a walk every time you walk up to a curb and eventually she will associate the curb with "Stop" and will start to do it on her own Move to fixed length - not retractable - long leashes (12 feet or more) and continue practicing. Make sure you do not "clothesline" your dog. If she is moving quickly do not stop her too quickly. You should move to a short leash until you have more reliability if this is happening frequently. Strategy Two You can do this one if your dog loves toys. Use her favorite toy that you know she will chase. As long as you are in a safe, enclosed area, she doesn't even need to be on leash for this one. Take her favorite toy that you know she loves to chase Pretend to throw it When she takes steps towards the direction you "threw it", say, "Stop" As soon as she turns around (help her with a noise with your mouth if you need to) 'Click' or say, "Yes" and throw it the opposite direction you originally "threw it" What you are doing is associating the word "Stop" with her action of turning around and running the opposite direction That is what Stop looks like!!! Yippeee! Visit WatchandTrain.com for streaming dog training videos for more tips and techniques like these. Each video comes with a free, orientation video as well as downloadable notes with more helpful tips and tidbits. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:43 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: Dog training, off leash work, emergency stop, dog training safety cues, leash handling

• Corrections in Dog Training

  While working with a private client on Wednesday, we ran into another local Chicago trainer. It was interesting, because we were both teaching our clients the exact same lesson, using different philosophies. The goal was to have our dogs meet each other calmly. My client and I were walking a 2 year old wheaton terrier, and the other trainer and his client each had a dog that they were working with. I used one of many strategies to get Misty to greet nicely. In this case, I asked her to watch me. Each time she watched me, she got to move a bit closer to the other dog. At a certain point I "lost her" and I moved her gently away and started again. So much of this strategy revolves around two things. Teaching a dog to pay attention and not be single-minded on the other dog and also through repetition teach her to "ask for permission" by checking in before greetings. As we got closer to the other trainer and the two dogs, I noticed that each dog was wearing a choke chain. Anyone that knows me knows that I do not ever recommend using one of these "tools" for training. By definition, it adds pain to stop a behavior. This is called positive punishment. Often trainers will incorrectly label it negative reinforcement which is something different. I heard the trainer tell his client that her dog should greet another dog on her terms and that she should "correct" him if he gets up from his sit too quickly. While I did not see her actually do this, this often means giving a pop with the leash to stop the dog's forward movement using the discomfort of the choke chain to help this happen. On my way home I thought how unfortunate it was that while we were all teaching our dogs the same lesson, the word "correction" in the other trainer's case refers to adding discomfort or pain in the lesson. In my lessons, I "correct" a dog's actions by gently moving her away from her current location until she is able to focus on the task at hand and then continue the lesson. The most troubling aspect of the word "correction" used in the physical sense is that it implies that there is a clear "right" and "wrong" and it is ok to punish dogs if they make the wrong decision. My strategy focuses on making sure that dogs understand what is expected of them and I encourage, motivate and reward the right decisions. If they make a "mistake" I don't hold it against them or decide that they are wrong. I look at the whole picture including the current location, the age of the dog, the amount of training the dog has had and adjust my expectations from there. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:41 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: Dog training, corrections for dogs, positive reinforcement, abusive dog trainers, choke chains, traditional dog training, chicago dog training

• Stubborn

  This little word gets so many dogs in trouble. I hear this word used very frequently to describe a dog's behavior. It often is used to describe a dog that will not come when called or perform another behavior such as 'sit'. Whether you want to call a dog stubborn or not, I think we can all agree on one thing. Dogs have a brain and they make choices. That is one of the wonderful, magical elements to enjoying a dog in our world. They are dogs, yet they become members of our human families! Think about that. Should it be easy to teach them our language and have them do things when we ask them? How difficult is it for humans to learn another language, yet when a dog doesn't learn a language quickly enough or chooses to do something else -- he is labeled stubborn. Often when I see a dog that has been labeled "stubborn" I can very quickly identify that the trainer is not being clear with his instructions, is repeating cues or is using a lot of extraneous movements that are confusing the dog. What is the opposite of stubborn? What about a dog that instantly does everything that a trainer asks. They sit beautifully, they come when called from a dead sprint going the other direction, they leave off-limits food without a second thought. Do you know what I call that dog? A well trained dog that is motivated to do those behaviors. That takes time and good teaching. Think about a small child learning to ride a bicycle. She might start with training wheels to gain confidence and to make the learning process go smoothly. If you take off the training wheels and she falls down, are you going to call her stubborn or are you going to put the wheels back on and give her encouragement to try again? Just because any creature doesn't do everything that is asked of him doesn't make him bad. Maybe he needs more practice, maybe his or her teacher needs a different strategy to make the teachings stick. Maybe he needs more confidence before he can master the new skill. Think about how many years a professional teacher goes to school to learn how to teach young minds. You might be a professional teacher, but chances are there are others reading this post. Should you be able to instantly understand how to motivate a dog to do everything perfectly? Should your dog be able to do everything that is asked among the distractions of the world? Focusing is a learned skill. That is a big message I teach my private clients to think about. When your dog walks outside, she is inundated with smells, sounds and movement that trigger many other reactions besides sitting or lying down or running to us. When you ask her to do one of those things, you are competing with innate desires to do something else. Will your dog do it? Hopefully, if not, you will chalk it up to one more training exercise that you can work on and not call your dog stubborn. Now I want to hear what you have to say. It is so much more fun if you take part in the conversation. If you are not a member, all you need to do is Join. Posted Oct 09 2007, 10:39 PM by Jeff Millman with no comments Filed under: repeating cues in dog training, calling a dog stubborn, being a good dog trainer, dog training strategies, Free dog training tips