What Every Dog Owner Should Know

June 19, 2017 by Fanna Easter

7 Things Dogs Want You to Know

If dogs could speak, this is what they would tell their pet owners. As a professional dog trainer with more than two decades of experience, I often explain these concepts to pet owners every day during consultations. Before you continue reading, throw away your perceived notions of how dogs should think and behave and remember they are dogs. These are 7 things dogs want you to know. 🙂

1. I’m an Individual

Regardless of breed, every dog is an individual. While dog breeds can determine some characteristics, it’s not always a given. Many times, pet owners will have shared their homes with a specific breed for years that they become shocked when their new chosen breed behaves differently than their previous dogs.

During dog training consults, I hear, “He’s not like my last _____ (fill in the blank with a breed). He’s totally different.” That’s because each dog is an individual, and require different needs to be met. Never assume every German Shepherd Dog will be the same. Some may be friendly, others nervous and a few completely lazy. Similar to humans, dogs have their own personalities.

2. I Don’t Want to Meet Every Dog

Please hear this request, and honor it because it’s true. Not every dog wants to meet other dogs or people. Your dog would rather walk away and ignore the other dog than walk over and meet her. Do you greet everyone at the grocery store? I think not, and it should be the same for your dog.

Never drag your dog over and force her to meet other dogs. This is a recipe for disaster. Eventually, your dog will learn to act aggressively to stop you from forcing her to meet other dogs—and that’s a tough dog behavior to change.

3. I Like Choices

Choices are just as rewarding as food treats for dogs, and this applies to people too. Using positive reinforcement dog training to reward your dog for good choices is powerful and an extremely successful dog training technique.

Dogs hate force, yelling and physical corrections because they’re scary and confusing. I mean, do you like them? Your dog feels the same way too. How do you provide your dog more choices? Reward good behavior and redirect unwanted behavior.

4. I Can Bite

Every dog can bite—even small dogs. While small dogs may leave a smaller bite, it’s still dangerous behavior. All breeds of dogs, even mixed breeds, are capable of biting when they’re pushed too far. If someone is pushing, pulling, teasing or hitting you, then you have the right to defend yourself, right?

Dogs are not toys. They have teeth, and will defend themselves when pushed. Never allow anyone, including children, to pester dogs until they’re forced to defend themselves because it won’t end well.

RELATED: Dogs and Children

5. I’m Not Spiteful

Studies have proven that dogs don’t feel spite. They’re not trying to punish you for leaving them home alone by chewing on your favorite shoes. Dogs chew your shoes because they were available to chew, and made of super soft leather, which is fun to chew. Dogs potty on rugs because they need to potty, or haven’t been taught to potty outside. Throw spite and vengeance away.

6. I Don’t Come With a Manual

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Puppies and dogs are not pre-programmed with polite manners, and they certainly don’t come with a manual. If you want a well-behaved puppy, you should enroll her into a puppy group class and basic manners group class. Just like children, pet owners must teach puppies and dogs polite manners. There’s a saying in the dog training industry: Don’t complain, train. 🙂

7. When I’m Scared, Back Me Up

Everyone gets scared, including dogs. While dogs may look a bit different when they’re scared, always back up your dog’s choice. If your dog is fearful of a situation, leave the area immediately. When a person or dog is bullying your dog, speak up and say something. Dogs know and appreciate when their pet owners listen to their needs instead of fitting into social situations. When in doubt, leave. Your dog will love you for 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

The 3 Most Challenging Steps Of The CGC Test

May 5, 2017 by Fanna Easter

Tips for Passing the Canine Good Citizen Test

Completing and passing the AKC Canine Good Citizen (CGC) test is difficult for both dog and pet owner. To pass the CGC test, you have to do all 10 steps completely successfully.

The three most difficult steps are Sitting Politely For Petting, Reaction To Another Dog and the dreaded Supervised Separation. To best prepare your dog and yourself for the CGC, enroll in a CGC prep course, which lasts 6-7 weeks. This will give you plenty of time to practice.

The 3 Most Challenging CGC Steps

Sitting Politely For Petting

Sitting still is challenging for some dogs, and being petted by a friendly stranger makes it even more difficult to sit still. In the beginning, use high value food rewards and ask a friend for help. Move slowly and ask your dog to sit first. Then, ask your friend to take one tiny step toward your dog, and click/treat when your dog chooses to remain sitting.

Ask your friend to turn around and slowly walk away from your dog (like resetting almost). After a few seconds, have the person repeat this exercise again (one tiny step toward the dog). It may be helpful to place a strip of tape on the floor, so your friend knows where to start again.

Over a period of 4 weeks, slowly practice one step at a time with different friends until a person is able to stand next to your dog while he or she sits politely.

The next step is to introduce petting. As a friendly stranger touches the side of your dog’s neck or chest once, click as the pat happens. When the person walks away, give your dog a treat. Continue adding one pat at a time, and vary where your dog is petted. Now, practice with different people and in different environments, such as:

Your backyard
Your home
Vet’s office
Park
Sidewalk

Reaction To Another Dog

Most dogs get super excited when they see another dog and will pull toward him or her. To prevent this dog behavior from happening, enroll in a 4- to 6-week long group puppy training class and teach your puppy to focus on you instead of other puppies.

There are group adult dog training classes where you can practice the “look at me” cue. You can also practice during a 7-week CGC prep course. It takes a lot of practice, but teaching your dog to ignore other dogs is worth it!

Practice the “look at me” cue in various environments. Reward your dog with treats every time, then reward every other time once your dog gets really good at it. Continue weaning your dog from treats, and reward only really good performances, such as ignoring another barking dog. Remember, no treats can be used during a CGC test, so fading dog training treats completely before entering a CGC test is required.

Supervised Separation

Some dogs and pet owners ace every part of the CGC test except the Supervised Separation step. Expecting a dog to hang out with a stranger for 3 minutes is tough. Enrolling in a puppy and adult dog group class is invaluable, and will help prepare your dog and you for a CGC prep course.

During a CGC prep course, each dog will have ample time to practice supervised separation. You’ll also receive valuable tips from the instructor. Continue practicing at home by asking family members to hold your dog’s leash while you walk around the block. During vet visits, ask veterinary staff to hold your dog’s leash while you run to the bathroom. While your dog is hanging out, ask friends to play a game of “touch” for a few seconds. By pairing good things with scary things, your dog will soon learn to enjoy previously scary things.

Passing the CGC test is difficult. It takes time and lots of practice to learn polite manners. Spend extra practice time on these 3 challenging steps and complete a CGC prep course!