Help! My Dog Doesn’t Like Me

May 30, 2017 by Fanna Easter

10 Things Humans Do That Dogs Hate

Dogs do speak; they just don’t necessarily verbalize it all of the time. For some, reading dog body language is like solving a puzzle, but it’s not as hard as it seems. Dogs will make it clear when they don’t like something, and it’s our job as responsible dog owners to determine when something is wrong.

Also, if your dog doesn’t like something, please stop doing the behavior. This is how most dog bites occur. Here’s a list of 1o things humans do that dogs hate.

1. Forcing Our Dogs to Meet Strange Dogs

Dogs enjoy greeting strange dogs, right? Wrong. As a dog trainer, I’m called in to pick up the pieces after a dog greeting another dog has gone wrong. Nine out of 10 dogs are completely uncomfortable with dog-to-dog greetings whether you’re at the farmers market, pet store or even dog park.

Unfortunately, many pet owners are too busy chatting on their phones, selecting the best tomatoes or picking out a toy for their dogs to notice. When dogs are uncomfortable meeting other dogs, they:

Shrink back
Flip their ears backwards
Tuck their tail
Growl
Snap
Lunge

Instead, you should maintain at least 6 feet away from other dogs and listen to your dog’s body language. When in doubt, just don’t do it.

2. Skipping Sniffing Opportunities

After polling pet owners about daily dog walks, more than 50% feel powerwalking for a specific distance meets the criteria for a successful dog walk. There’s one huge piece missing though, and that’s allowing their dogs sniffing opportunities.

Dogs perceive the world through their noses, so make sure your dog has plenty of time to sniff blades of grass, tree trunks and bushes. When dogs sniff, they’re reading “pee mail” where squirrels had hunted for nuts, bunny trails and so very much more. Dogs will briefly sniff usually no longer than one minute unless something alive is hiding in that spot, and then they move along to the next sniffing spot.

Bring treats along during each walk to reward your dog for the “leave it” cue, especially when your dog finds chewed up gum or discarded bones. Sniffing provides plenty of mental stimulation for your dog and it exhausts him too, so let him sniff away.

3. Putting Our Faces in Our Dogs’ Face

Dogs enjoy close contact with humans, but they feel most comfortable when they can choose the distance. Humans get close—like really close to their dogs’ face. We enjoy showing affection by putting our face right in our dog’s face to snuggle or give kisses. However, this is way too close for most dogs.

Now, I’m not saying dogs dislike face contact. Some dogs will reach in and kiss our faces, but face contact should be your dog’s choice. You can tell when your dog isn’t comfortable with your face being next to his face when he:

Turns away
Yawns
Pulls away
Flips his ears backwards
Licks his lips
Freezes
Growls
Walks off

Listen to your dog, and remember most dog bites happen to faces because humans like to stick their faces too close. Give your dog the choice to make face contact instead.

4. Staring

It’s the same with humans; staring is one of those things dogs hate and find rude. While humans stare lovingly into their dog’s eyes, dogs hate it. Refrain from staring at your dog, especially during dog training sessions. Instead, focus on your dog’s chin or chest.

Also, spend a few moments teaching your dog that eye contact is rewarding by teaching the “look at me” cue. If you find yourself gazing into your dog’s darling face, and he looks away from you, then understand your dog finds staring very uncomfortable.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]And bringing another dog into the mix, so your lonely outdoor dog has a friend, is still cruel.[/perfectpullquote]

5. Secluding Our Dogs

Permanently banishing dogs to the backyard, another room or garage is cruel. Dogs enjoy lounging next to their humans—either in the same room or right next to their feet. Dogs are domesticated, meaning they need contact from humans and other pets.

Dogs are not lawn ornaments. And bringing another dog into the mix, so your lonely outdoor dog has a friend, is still cruel. Bring your dog indoors, and teach him polite manners, so he’s able to happily co-exist with his people. 🙂

6. Moving Straight Toward Them

Dogs hate when people walk straight toward them. They find it annoying. Instead of making a beeline toward a dog with outstretched hands, bend down and turn sideways. Keep your hands at your side, and ignore the dog. Allow dogs to make choices. Understand that dogs will run toward their pet owners, but they may also choose to ignore strangers and other dogs. Support a dog’s choice.

7. Repeating Cues

“Sit, sit, sit, sit. I said sit, no…SIT.” This is annoying to read. Imagine hearing this sound happening over and over again. When pet owners repeat cues, it sounds like you’re nagging, which never works. Instead, say a cue once. If your dog doesn’t respond instantly, she may not really know the cue (or understand the cue in that situation).

8. Pushing & Pulling

Pushing or pulling a dog into a behavior or giving physical corrections is beyond annoying to dogs. Plus, it can scare dogs, causing them to bite. If we can train zoo animals using force-free methods, we can certainly teach dogs polite behaviors without pushing or pulling. Choose force-free training, please.

9. Assuming Dogs are Guilty

Nope, dogs do not feel guilt nor spite. When pet owners yell at their dogs, it’s important to understand their dogs are not leaving the situation due to guilt. Rather, their dogs are scared.

10. Being Pestered by Children

When children constantly touch, pet, poke, harass or play with a dog, it’s exhausting. All dogs deserve a quiet place to get away from all the hustle and bustle. Children should learn not to pester dogs. Plus, children should never sit, lie down or stand on a dog. The same goes for forcing kisses and hugs. Dogs don’t like it.

Solutions To Common Dog Training Mistakes

May 24, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Don’t Make These Dog Training Mistakes Again

Everyone makes dog training mistakes; it’s part of the learning process. When mistakes happen, it’s important to recognize and learn from them and leave frustration at the door. If you’re making these common mistakes in dog training, give these simple solutions a try!

Mistake #1: Ego Getting in the Way

Solution: Record Your Sessions

Human egos can quickly interfere a dog training session. When pet owners justify that their choices were right and their dogs were wrong, that’s ego creeping in. Justification rears its ugly head when pet owners blame their dogs for certain choices when actually their dogs didn’t know what else to do instead.

It’s hard to hear it, but the human ego is part of each dog training mistake made. As humans, we assume we’re right and our dogs are “just not getting it.” Instead of assuming, look at each dog training session from the perspective of a learner.

Still not convinced? Record your dog training sessions using a dog camera and review afterwards. Are your instructions clear to you? If you’re still not convinced, mute the video and ask a truthful friend what behavior you’re teaching in the video. If you nor someone else aren’t sure, then your dog certainly isn’t either.

Mistake #2: Touching Your Dog

Solution: Use a Clicker and Treats

Humans are very tactile, resulting in numerous mistakes during dog training sessions. When teaching new dog training behaviors, refrain from touching, pushing, pulling or forcing a dog into a behavior. Physically reaching out and touching dogs get in the way.

Use a hands off approach via clicker and treats instead. At first, it might be difficult using new dog training techniques because you’re learning something new, but it’s so worth it. (Remember, your dog is learning to adapt to this training technique as well!)

Hands off dog training means no physical or verbal corrections either. Remove your dog’s leash when practicing behaviors in your home. If your dog disengages, then you need better treats or your dog will become completely confused. For dog training sessions outdoors, attach your dog’s leash to a body harness instead of a collar. This prevents collar corrections.

Taking a hands off approach to training your dog will boost your dog’s success. Quickly reward any of your dog’s attempts toward the desired behavior. As a rule, you should be rewarding more than withholding treats.

If your dog makes a mistake—remember, it’s part of the learning process—just withhold a treat. Take a break and rethink your training plan, and keep your ego in check please.

Mistake #3: Using Low Value Treats

Solution: Use Treats Your Dog Loves

Dog training treats are your dog’s paycheck, so pay him or her extremely well. Using treats during training is not bribery; it’s far from it. Rewarding good behaviors with yummy treats works, and it works super fast. High value treats include chopped up hot dogs, baked chicken, cheese cubes or anything your dog absolutely adores. Using a high value treat will make training your dog so much easier because your dog wants to earn it.

Mistake #4: Using Huge Cheese Chunks

Solution: Break Treats Into Small Pieces

Break training treats into small pieces. Pea-sized treats work best for all dogs. Clicking and tossing pea-sized treats ensures excitement during training, and sessions move quickly with lots of success.

While it’s tempting to toss a huge cheese chunk every time, it’s actually slowing down the process. Dogs take forever to eat a cheese chunk (well, most do), and they’ll fill up on the treat fast. There’s nothing wrong with tossing a cheese chunk, but use it strategically.

Save large cheese chunks for breakthrough moments, such as your dog responding to a cue for the first time, ignoring another dog or coming when called.

Mistake #5: Making Assumptions

Solution: Practice the Behavior

Again, the human ego is the cause of this common dog training mistake. Pet owners assume things too quickly, and will justify why their dogs should know a cue. Do the following sound familiar?

“But he’s done this behavior before.”
“He knows how to do this.”
“She’s ignoring me.”
“She knows better.”
“He’s choosing not to listen to me.”
“This is the first time this has happened.”

This is justification. Instead of assuming and justifying, teach your dog the behavior. 🙂

Dogs ignore a cue for two reasons: 1) They’ve never practiced the behavior in a specific situation before (e.g. a squirrel runs in front of them) or 2) They’re confused. So many times, pet owners convince themselves that canine confusion doesn’t exist, and their dogs should know the behavior.

Yes, human ego rears its ugly head again. Practice a behavior in a myriad of situations, including an environment where a squirrel runs in front of your dog. Always remember, dogs are a living soul, not a robot, so understand they may not respond every time.

Happy Training!

Does Positive Reinforcement Really Work?

May 23, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Yes, Positive Reinforcement Dog Training Does Work

Every single day, I’m asked whether or not positive reinforcement dog training works. While many pet owners purposely pursue a positive dog trainer, there are still doubts written across their face. This is very evident when working with reactive dogs; many pet owners just don’t trust the dog training technique.

As with anything, there are pros and cons, but you’ll notice very few cons with positive reinforcement dog training. When doubt creeps in, tell yourself to trust the process because positive dog training really works.

What is Positive Reinforcement Dog Training?

Positive reinforcement dog training is when you reward your dog for a specific behavior, so the behavior will happen more often. When a dog sits, and he gets a treat, he learns to sit more often. Positive reinforcement works even when pet owners don’t suspect it.

Positive Reinforcement Examples

If you open a crate door, while your dog is barking inside it, your dog learns barking means you’ll open the crate door. Begging is a good positive reinforcement example too. If you feed your dog while he sits next to your plate, he learns that sitting close to your plate makes food happen. Yup, this is positive reinforcement too!

Positive reinforcement works in the human world too. We work for paychecks—that’s our reward for working hard. Pats on the back, bonuses and hugs are human rewards too. Super yummy treats are easily great dog rewards because everyone loves food. Praise, pats, fun games, tidbits from your dinner plate, escaping a boring crate or moving away from a scary dog are great positive reinforcement examples for dogs too.

Pros and Cons of Positive Reinforcement Training

Pros

Easy to do: You can’t make mistakes.; just reward behaviors you want to see more often.
Fun for dog and pet owner: Positive reinforcement is fun because earning rewards is fun! Celebrating wins are much more fun than digesting mistakes.
Extremely effective: Hands down, positive reinforcement works much faster than punishment-based dog training methods. Don’t believe me? Check out the latest research on teaching children. 🙂
Can be done anywhere: Dog training sessions can happen anywhere; just grab food treats and go!
You don’t need fancy equipment: Throw out choke chains, pinch collars and electronic collars. All you need are a handful of treats, a clicker and your dog! If you’re training your dog outside, attach a leash to your dog’s body harness.

Cons (And Solutions)

Treat dependency: Dog will only work for treats.
- This is an easy fix; just fade training treats once a dog understands a cue.
Withholding treats is frustrating: In the beginning, this can happen.
- Again, this is a quick fix. Set a dog up for success and reward every single step toward a goal.
- If needed, take a few steps back and build until the desired behavior happens.
What if you don’t have treats? Simple. Use praise, games and the happy dance to reward your dog for good behaviors.

Dog Training: When & How To Add A “Down” Cue

May 12, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Adding the “Down” Cue

Dog Training Commands — lnichetti/Adobe Stock

When training your dog, it’s important to add a cue once the behavior has been fine-tuned. So often, pet owners will spend oodles of time training their dogs how to lie down, but fail to add a “down” cue to the behavior. Those who do use a training cue assume their dogs know what it means, but half the time their dogs don’t.

Dog training cues are vital when teaching a dog new behaviors because they serve as information for a dog. Check out these steps on when and how to add a “down” cue to the behavior.

Dog Training Commands vs. Cues

Dog training cues are a signal to perform a specific behavior. Many decades ago in the dog training world, cues were known as commands. Commands meant “do this or else” while cues signal information. Thankfully, the term “command” is considered outdated terminology and no longer used in dog training.

What to Use as Dog Training Cues

Cues can be anything. In dog training, cues are usually short verbal words or hand signals (either one or the other). Dogs learn contextual cues too, such as the presence of a leash means walks and the jingling of car keys means car rides.

Dogs usually respond to hand signals quicker than verbal cues because pet owners use hand signals consistently. Verbal cues are tricky because people say them differently, repeat the cue over and over, or add additional words.

When choosing a dog training cue, select a word or hand signal and use it consistently. If you’re using a verbal cue, use a flat tone. Imagine you’re giving directions to a stranger. High-pitched or low growl cues are confusing unless the pet owner uses this tone each and every time, which is very difficult for humans. Keep it simple and use your “follow these directions” voice. 🙂

When to Add a Cue

Most pet owners add training cues way too soon. When teaching a new behavior, it’s important to say nothing. Refrain from saying a cue during the learning process because the dog hasn’t learned the behavior yet.

Think about it this way: If someone is trying to teach you to stand on your left foot and continued repeating “mais,” you would get frustrated. Once you understand standing on your left foot makes it rain $100 bills and then someone said “mais” right before you stand on your left foot, you learn the meaning of “mais.” When practiced, you’ll quickly learn to stand on your left foot every time you hear “mais” because you know you’ll earn money.

Once a dog will readily offer a “down” behavior 90% of the time, it’s time to add a “down” cue. Offering a behavior means a dog will lie down during a dog training session or can be easily lured into the behavior. Take a moment and think of a short word or hand signal cue for the next step. Ensure your entire family is precisely aware of the “down” cue and that everyone says or does the signal consistently.

How to Add a “Down” Cue

Grab a handful of pea-sized high value training treats, a clicker (or marker word, such as “yes”) and start a session with your dog. Right before your dog offers the desired behavior, give the “down” cue and click/reward the behavior. Practice this 3-4 more times, then end the training session. After a 5-10 minute break, practice adding the cue before the behavior 5 more times, then end the session.

If, for some reason, your dog offers a “sit” or “stand” when given a “down” cue, wait until your dog chooses to do the “down” behavior. The moment your dog finally lies down, click and reward. When this happens, your dog is learning exactly what the dog training cue means, and is brilliantly problem solving. Reward generously (give 2-3 treats) when your dog chooses to lie down.

RELATED: Healthy Dog Treats

Reward Cued Behavior Only

Once your dog will lie down when given a “down” cue, it’s time to reward cued behavior only. This is called stimulus control, and it’s an important step. If you miss this step, your dog will learn to walk right in front of the TV (during movie night) and “down” for a treat. 🙂

WATCH: How to Add a “Down” Cue

How To Teach A Small Dog To Lie Down

May 10, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Teaching a Small Dog the “Down” Behavior

Teach a Dog to Lie Down — cynoclub/Adobe Stock

The three most challenging dog behaviors pet owners struggle to teach their dogs are walking on a loose leash, coming when called and lying down on cue. Let’s discuss simple tips for teaching a small dog to lie down. Teaching a small dog to lie down can be challenging, and it’s much different than teaching a large dog.

First, You’ll Need a Few Things

You’ll need 20 pea-sized pieces of yummy treats, a clicker (or verbal marker, such as “yes”) and your dog. Before a dog training session, chop up treats and place them in a bowl or treat bag next to you.

OK, here’s the hard part: Remain silent when training your small dog to lie down. Don’t say “down,” “lie down,” “platz” or whatever the verbal cue will be—this will happen later. Speaking while teaching a new behavior interrupts the learning process. Can you imagine your French teacher babbling while teaching you specific French words? Talking muddles the water. There are two ways to teach a small dog the “down” behavior: using a food lure and capturing the behavior.

Using a Food Lure

In a low distraction area, such as your living room with the TV turned off and/or children napping, sit on the floor with your treats. If your dog tries to mug you, move the treats away. Now, take a treat in your hand and place the food lure right on the tip of your dog’s nose. Think of a food lure as a magnet stuck to your dog’s nose. As the treat moves, so will your dog’s nose.

Front Half Down

With your dog sitting or standing, place the food lure on the tip of your dog’s nose and slowly lower the treat straight down to the floor. A dog will follow the lure, but sometimes “fall off,” so move the lure slowly. (Of course, it’s totally acceptable for your dog to nibble on the food lure as you lower it.)

The moment your dog follows the food lure and the front half of his body is almost on the ground, click and give your dog the treat. Practice this 4-5 times, and end the session for 5 minutes or so.

Back End Goes Down

It’s time to teach your dog to lower his entire body to the ground. Place the food lure on your dog’s nose, and lower it to the ground. Once he lowers his head, wait a few seconds for him to lower his rear end too and place his elbows on the ground.

If your dog pops back up into a stand, lure him down again and wait a few seconds. Usually, a dog will lower his rear end into a crouch, so click and reward this behavior. Continue practicing until his elbows touch the ground.

Capturing the Behavior

Many pet owners swear their small dogs just won’t lie down. Hmm, dogs have to sleep, right? Dogs lie around the house right? Capturing your dog lying down is a great way to teach your dog the “down” behavior.

Grab your dog training treats and bring your dog inside the bathroom. You may need to toss a few treats inside the bathroom to reassure your dog it’s not bath time. Now, close the door and have a seat on the toilet (yes, you can multi-task during this training session 🙂 ).

Watch your dog from the corner of your eye. The moment he lies down, click and toss a treat across the bathroom. Say nothing and wait for him to lie down again, then click and treat the moment he does. Practice a couple of times, and soon your small dog will lie down and look right at you. Reward it! 🙂

London Bridge

Sit on the ground with both legs straight out in front of you. Bend your left leg upward to form a triangle. Using your right hand, lure your dog under your bent left leg. As he crawls under your leg, he’s forced in a “down” position, so click and treat the moment this happens. Practice a few more times, then end the training session.

Next, Add a Cue

Practice teaching your small dog to lie down several times a day for 1-2 minutes. End the session by placing unused treats in the refrigerator for your next dog training session and putting your clicker in a drawer. Soon, your dog will offer a “down” behavior with neither food lures nor bent knees. When this happens, it’s time to add a verbal or visual cue.

WATCH: How To Teach A Small Down To Lie Down

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