Teaching Your Dog to Wait for His Food Bowl

February 13, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Teaching Your Dog Table Manners

Teaching a Dog to Wait for Food — Good boy! He’s waiting as the food bowl lowers.

Does your dog gobble his food down before you’re able to put his food bowl on the ground? Check out our tips and video focused on teaching dogs to wait for meals. Polite behavior is a good thing!

Why Does This Happen?

When you’re hungry, you’ll inhale your meal the moment the plate hits the table. Dogs are the same way plus they never read the pet parent guide for polite dog manners so let’s teach them. If your dog is a resource guarder, meaning he guards his food bowl, then teaching him to wait for meals is a huge plus. Not only is teaching dogs to wait for meals polite behavior, it also teaches hyper dogs how to calm themselves.

How to Teach Your Dog Table Manners

It’s pretty simple to teach. All you need is a food bowl with a few treats in it and your dog. Remember: When your dog tries to mug the food bowl, it goes away. When he waits, he’s rewarded with the bowl on the floor with treats.

Lower the food bowl slowly toward the ground. If your dog tries to get the treats, pick the bowl up so he can’t get the treats.
Try again and lower the bowl again. Same boundaries apply. If your dog mugs the food bowl, it goes away.
You’ll notice your dog sitting or lying down. This is not required, but he may choose to perform these behaviors instead. He’s trying to figure out what will make the food bowl lower. Plus, “sit” and “down” keep your dog’s nose out of the bowl so it’s a win-win.
Now, you can ask your dog to “sit” or “down” before lowering the food bowl. It’s up to you. Personally, I prefer the appearance of the food bowl as the cue for polite meal behavior.
Practice each meal and make sure the entire family is on board. Consistency is important.

Check out this video, which demonstrates how to teach Sobek, my Rottweiler, polite meal behavior. You’ll notice him hopping when I pick up the food bowl. He’s getting a tad frustrated and hence the hopping. This is the first time I taught him this behavior.

VIDEO: Teaching Dogs to Wait for Meals

READ ALSO: Keep Your Dog From Pulling

How to Stop Bullying Behavior

February 10, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Interrupting Puppy Play

Bully Dog — The top puppy is bullying. Notice her straight lines and stiff body.

As pet parents, it’s our duty to protect our puppies and dogs. Be your dog’s voice is my motto. Dogs can’t speak, but we can. Yes, bad things happen in life, but that doesn’t mean we should allow bullying to happen. Honestly, watching your dog, or someone else’s dog, being bullied is cruel. By saying or doing nothing, you’re saying it’s okay so let’s chat about how to interrupt puppy play.

Are Puppies Having Fun?

If you’re not sure, pick the “top” puppy (puppy on top of the other puppy) up and hold her waist high. If the bottom puppy jumps up and wants to continue playing with the top puppy, then puppy play was fun. If the bottom puppy runs away, then the top puppy was being a bully. Remove the bully from the playgroup. If not, she will chase down this puppy again, or pick another one, and bully her too.

RELATED: Appropriate Puppy Play

How to Stop Inappropriate Play

When you recognize bullying behavior, step in immediately. Time is of the essence here.

Puppy Being Picked On

If your puppy is being picked on, pick her up and hold waist level. Don’t forget to tuck her tail under her because a bully will jump up and try to pull her tail too.

Bully Puppy

For bully puppy pet parents, it’s best to pick up their puppies and remove them from the play session. Bring her outside the play area, attach her leash and go for a long walk. Trust me, allowing your bully puppy to continue playing will not cure her naughty behavior. It will make it worse. Plus, it’s not fair to the other puppies. Before you think I’m judging, I’ve been that pet parent before — Stella Mae is a bully. We tried puppy playtime, but she insisted on pinning and chasing. I removed her within seconds. Instead of relying on puppy play to exhaust her, I brought her on walks.

You can teach bully puppies to play nicely. However, it’s best to partner with a professional dog trainer. It’s not easy as you think. 🙂

Be your puppy’s voice!

More:
How to Train a Puppy
Top 10 Puppy Training Tips
Surviving the First Night with Your Puppy
Complete New Puppy Checklist

Stop Your Dog From Biting on His Leash

February 9, 2015 by Fanna Easter

How to Stop Leash Biting

How to Stop Dog From Biting on Leash — “We don’t want to go home yet!”

Watching a dog, or puppy, using his leash as a tug toy makes me giggle. I know it’s frustrating so I’ve compiled causes and dog training tips to prevent leash biting.

Causes and Tips

When dogs pull on their leashes using their mouths, they are usually overly excited. Now, a few dogs will bite and tug on their leash when frustrated. I’ve witnessed this during group class. The pet parent is chatting away with her neighbor and her pooch is saying, “Um, I want to keep playing” or “I just sat and laid down. You missed it. Where’s my treat?” Sometimes, dogs will stand still and chew their leashes. This usually happens with puppies and adolescent dogs. They’re totally bored. 🙂

Frustration

When teaching your dog skills, stay with him through the process. If you become sidetracked by a chatting neighbor or an adorable puppy, still click and treat your dog for good manners using the below tips.

RELATED: Parking Your Dog

At home, when dog training sessions are done, say “all done” and put away your clicker and give your dog the rest of the treats. Basically, you’re asking your dog to punch out so he can go play or relax.

Excitement

Click and treat your dog when he lets go of the leash. By rewarding this behavior, your excited dog will learn two things: it pays to stop biting the leash and self-control.

RELATED: Teaching Dogs Self-Control

When your dog starts leash biting, stand still and refrain from pulling against the leash. When you become quiet, dogs will usually become quiet too. Bingo! Reward good behavior. If you pull the leash, fuss at your dog. Your dog will continue to become more excited, which means stronger leash biting.

Start a game of touch. This gives your dog something else to do with his mouth instead of leash biting. Plus, jumping into a fun game redirects excited dogs and puppies from the leash.

Sometimes, dogs will bite and tug on their leash when it’s time to turn around and go home from a fun walk. Wait until your dog stops biting the leash and click. Then, toss several treats ahead of you. Once your dog eats his treats, say “let’s go” and click/treat for loose leash walking.

VIDEO: Leash Biting

Happy training!

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How to Train a Puppy to Give Items Back

February 4, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Teach a Puppy to Give

Puppy Trade Game

Train a Puppy to Give Items Back — Teach your puppy to trade the sock for a yummy treat. willeecole/Deposit Photos

Puppies were not born with nor read, the pet owner’s guide to polite manners so it’s important to teach them the trade game. Would you give up the $100 bill you found at the park? Probably not. 🙂

Trade Game

When puppies or dogs find something, they intend to keep it. Guarding resources is a natural instinct. The more you have, the more likely you’ll survive. Plus, puppies and dogs will pick up items, such as socks, to instigate play like chase. Oh, it’s tempting to chase a puppy with your sock. We panic and think, “Oh my god, they will swallow it!” and we continue chasing. Not fun huh?!

Instead, teach your puppy or dog how to trade instead. And say goodbye to crazy chases around the dining room table. 🙂

RELATED: Resource Guarding

How to Teach Your Dog to Give Items Back

Whenever your puppy or dog picks up a sock, shoe or a child’s toy, instead of chasing him, try:

Stop moving. Your puppy will probably stop moving too. He’s not sure what’s going on.
Walk to the refrigerator and select a yummy treat. These treats must be yummy. They should behoove your puppy to trade the smelly sock for something better.
Approach your puppy. If she runs away, stand still.
Say “trade” and show her the yummy treat. She probably smells it already, but thinks the treat is for you and not her.
Remain still and wait for your puppy to drop the sock. If she continues running with the sock, your treat needs to be yummier. She’s saying, “Nah, I would rather keep my stinky sock instead.”
As she drops the sock, say yes and toss the yummy treat in the opposite direction of the sock.
When she runs for the treat, pick up the sock.

Now, you’re not rewarding your dog for stealing socks. You’re rewarding her for giving it up.

VIDEO: Teach Your Dog the Trade Game

Taking Items From a Puppy’s Mouth?

On rare occasions, such as a puppy snatching up a cooked chicken bone or medication, I would remove it from her mouth. Now, as I explain to my puppy people, don’t make this a habit. If you do, your puppy will learn to swallow an item quickly, usually as you approach. She knows you’re going to take it away!

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Help! My Dog Refuses to Walk

February 4, 2015 by Fanna Easter

What to Do When Your Dog Refuses to Walk

Most likely, you’ve had this happen during walks. When you’re heading home after a fun walk in the park, your healthy dog flattens himself to the ground, refusing to walk any farther. I call this “pancake dog,” meaning a dog will splat himself against the ground and refuse to walk.

Now, if your dog is limping, ill or injured, this doesn’t apply. Bring your dog to the vet ASAP.

Why Dogs Refuse to Walk

Below are a few reasons why a dog refuses to walk and flatten himself onto the ground.

Fearful

About 50% of the time, I notice puppies and dogs refuse to move forward due to fear. Usually, their bodies are lying backwards away from whatever is frightening them. This happens because a puppy or dog is scared of whatever he is approaching at the time. This could be another dog, person, narrow space, barrier or she has not learned how to walk on a leash. Honestly, it could be anything.

Never force or drag a dog past a scary object. Instead, stop to give your dog some time to process the situation. If she’s still scared, use the Hansel and Gretel technique described below. For smaller dogs, it may be easier to pick them up and walk past the scary thing. At home, practice confidence building games, such as Touch the Goblin.

RELATED: How to Train Fearful Dogs

Don’t Let the Fun End

Dog Training Tips — Learn tips to get your dog happily moving forward!

And this is the other 50%. 🙂 Puppies and dogs are smart. They’ve learned that splatting against the ground and holding firm keeps them in their favorite environment longer. Dogs will refuse to move usually once you turn to head home. I’ve had puppies splat after class. They don’t want to leave. 🙂

The Hansel and Gretel technique will get them moving. Also, practice randomly walking away from the park and then rewarding good behavior (non-splatting) by walking back to the park for another game of fetch. No one wants the fun to end, but by making the act of going home fun, you don’t have to worry about pancaking along the way.

Un-Pancaking Your Dog

The goal of this dog training exercise is to get your dog up and willingly move forward, which builds confidence. Studies have shown giving dogs choices and allowing them to choose is just as reinforcing as treats—something to ponder!

Hansel and Gretel

Unlike the children’s fable, you’re moving your dog away from the monster not toward it. Sprinkle yummy treats in a trail past the scary thing. Using super yummy treats will really help. Your dog (or puppy) will eat the treats while keeping an eye on the monster. But he’s moved himself, which is a big step forward!

Plus, pairing yummy treats with something scary, well, makes things less scary. If you were stuck in an elevator, you would probably freak out. But what if you were stuck in an elevator with a dozen delicious cupcakes or a six-pack of your favorite beer? Not so bad, huh? You’ll indulge while waiting for someone to rescue you. 🙂

Touch the Goblin

During this game, you’ll need a clicker and lots of yummy treats. Introduce something odd in your home, such as the vacuum or folding step stool (both usually freak dogs out). Practice each step 10 times and then move onto the next one. If your dog becomes frightened, take 1 to 2 steps back.

Never move, wiggle or touch the scary thing during training sessions. This just makes the scary thing even more terrifying to your dog.

Click and treat when your dog looks at the scary object.
Now, click and treat when your dog walks over to the scary thing.
Usually, after a few sessions, dogs will try to touch the scary thing with craned necks, wide eyes and splayed out back legs. Click and treat this behavior. They are being pretty darn brave right now.
Say “touch the goblin” as they lean forward, trying to touch it with their muzzle.
After a few touches, your dog will exude confidence. He successfully slayed the dragon so be proud! We call this building confidence. 🙂

After a few “touch the goblin” sessions with different scary things, you’ll notice your dog will likely march right up and touch the next scary thing. He’s learning that scary things will not harm him.

WATCH: How to Get a Dog Moving When He Refuses to Walk

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