How to Train Your Dog to Back Up

November 27, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Training Your Dog to Back Up

Teach Your Dog to Back Up — marinv/Deposit Photos

Training your dog to back up is not only useful in practical situations, but it can also be added to the list of tricks your dog can do. When I first taught my dogs this behavior, I used it for dog training purposes, such as boundary training, space crowding and safety situations. However, I quickly found out that people thought it was pretty neat, so now I add it to my routine of tricks!

Get Your Dog’s Attention

When teaching a new dog behavior, it’s always a good idea to begin in a low distraction area with a high value reward, as this will help keep your dog focused on the task at hand. Let’s say you’re in your living room: engage your dog by calling his name. Have your food reward in your hand, get your dog’s attention and reward.

Reward for Each Step Backwards

Now that your dog is interested, take another treat and hold it a little above your dog’s nose. Begin walking toward your dog. Once your dog takes one step backwards, give your marker word “good” followed by a treat. After your dog quickly learns taking one step backwards earns him the reward, start requiring two to three steps backwards before rewarding him again. Continue to add more steps until your dog is taking two steps backwards with each paw.

Add the Cue

You don’t want to use food every time you need your dog to back up, so let’s add a cue (word) to the behavior. The cue can be something as simple as “back up,” or you can become creative with it and use “reverse.” Whatever verbal cue you choose, be sure you stay consistent with your choice to prevent confusing your dog.

Once your dog is following your lure backwards 90 percent of the time, begin adding your cue while you’re luring him into the behavior. After you’ve practiced this about 20 times, begin asking for the behavior by cue without using a lure.

Fade the Reward

I like to have my hands smelling like the treat and using a hand signal–I call it an air cookie. This is kind of like you’re using a lure without a lure. Once your dog completes the behavior, give your conditioned reinforcer “good” and follow it with a high value treat. When your dog can back up on cue, you want to begin fading the food treat by only rewarding perfect performances with food and rewarding other performances with physical praise.

Generalizing the Behavior

We know your dog can back up in your living room, but this doesn’t mean he can perform the behavior as easily in a more distracted area. When you move to another area of your house, ask your dog to back up at an easier level. You can train your dog to back up using the food lure and hand cue to jog your dog’s memory of the behavior you’re asking for. Once the light bulb turns on, begin using this cue in your everyday life and when you want to impress your dog-loving friends!

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My Dogs Refuse to Go Outside When It Rains

November 23, 2015 by Fanna Easter

6 Tips to Get Your Dog to Potty When It Rains

Believe it or not, dogs refusing to go outside when it rains is a pretty common issue with all types of dogs–big or small, male or female. Boy, it can be frustrating, especially when it rains for days straight. If your dog stops in her tracks the moment she steps outside on a rainy day, give these tried and true dog training tips a try. They really work. Pssst I live with a dog that hates going outside on drizzly days. He even hates stepping on wet grass. Yes, he’s a big old male Rottweiler. 🙂

Everyone Hates Getting Rained On

If you’ve ever been caught in a rainstorm, you understand sitting in wet clothes is torture. The same applies to your dog. They don’t enjoy getting wet and having to sit around with wet fur. With that said, many dogs need to potty outside, so what should you do?

Grab Your Leash and Umbrella

By far, this is the easiest way to potty your dog during the rain. When it’s potty time, attach a leash to your dog and grab your umbrella as you both head outside in the yard. For small dogs, you can most certainly pick them up and place them on the grass to potty. For larger dogs, grab several yummy treats and lure them outside.

Once you’re outside on the grass, wait patiently while keeping yourself and your dog covered with an umbrella. Ninety-percent of dogs will usually potty using this technique. They just want to get it over with, so they can go back inside. As your dog potties, slowly praise her for doing such a good job and reward with a treat once inside. Now, you can certainly give her a treat once she’s done, but most dogs would rather head inside than chew on a treat on wet grass.

After a few rainy day practice sessions, your dog will learn to run out and potty quickly, then run like mad for the door.

For the other 10 percent of dogs that just stand there, looking up at you with pleading eyes while holding up a foot, stand still and wait outside for 10 minutes. By standing still, you’re keeping rain off you and your dog with the umbrella. Plus, it prevents your dog from pulling you toward the backdoor. If, after 10 minutes, your dog still hasn’t gone to the bathroom, maybe you need another plan.

Set Up a Covered Potty Area

It’s all about choices, and some of us are unable or unwilling to stand outside with our dogs in pouring cold rain. That’s totally fine. Instead, try pottying your dog in a covered area indoors or outdoors.

When my older dogs needed to potty while it was pouring rain outside, I placed several potty pads under our covered backyard deck. If you don’t have a covered deck, try placing some type of tarp on the corner of your house. This prevents your senior citizen from getting soaked. For smaller dogs, place potty pads in the bathroom or laundry room on rainy days.

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Dry Your Dog Afterwards

Completely dry off your dog after he potties outside. Keep large towels next to your backdoor. Don’t only dry your dog’s body, but also wipe her wet feet and tail. On cold, rainy days, I like to quickly blow-dry my dogs, which dries their coat and immediately warms them up.

Try Rain Boots

Personally, I don’t think raincoats really help, especially if your dog has never worn sweaters or clothes before. However, booties do help. I’ve seen it happen many times. Velcro waterproof booties will keep your dog’s feet from getting in direct contact with wet and muddy grass. For Sobek, my Rottweiler, putting rain booties on his feet made all the difference. He’ll actually walk out and potty after it rains. It’s definitely worth a try.

Plan Ahead

Watch your weather forecast and bring your dog outside to potty right before it starts to rain. If it’s pouring rain, wait a few minutes for it to die down before you take your dog outside to potty. It’s not fun being outside during torrential downpours. Also, if you’re heading out for a daily walk, either postpone or reschedule. Remember, you may love walking in the rain, but your dog hates it.

Keep potty sessions extremely short. If it starts to thunder and lightning strikes, bring your dog inside and dry her off.

Use Potty Pads

If your dog is terrified of thunderstorms, I highly recommend either placing potty pads inside your home for small dogs or walking your leashed larger dog out to a covered potty area. For thunder-phobic dogs, it’s not exactly the rain that’s frightening them; it’s the thunder, lightning and changes in barometric pressure that terrifies them.

If your dog hates going outside when it’s raining, she isn’t a wimp. She just doesn’t like getting wet like some people. 🙂

Training a Boxer to Calm Down

November 19, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Boxer Behavior: Training Them to Calm Down

Is living with a Boxer any different than living with a German Shepherd or Pug? Yes and no. All dogs have their own breed characteristics and traits that speak so loudly of that breed, but on the other hand there are certain behaviors all dogs have. The next question is: can dog behaviors that are sometimes not considered polite to humans be trained or are they just what you have to deal with owning a Boxer? All behaviors are trainable. We just need to find what works for your Boxer.

Not So Polite Boxer Behaviors

Boxers are a fun, loving, outgoing and high-spirited breed that have a lot of energy and affection to expel. That being said, some inappropriate dog behaviors can come from all this energy and desire for attention. The most common impolite behaviors I see with Boxers are excessive jumping, pawing and muzzle punching. I’m sure anyone who has a Boxer and is reading this is thinking: “Yes ma’am. I deal with this on a constant basis!” Well, let’s talk about how we can refine your Boxer a little bit.

Jumping

Jumping is common for many dogs, especially energetic and excited dogs. Boxers kind of do this wiggle jump because they can barely contain their excitement. On the positive side of this, they’re quite happy dogs and they radiate excitement. The negative end of this excitement level is they’ll jump all over you or at least right in front of you when you’re trying to get through the door.

A great way to deal with this behavior is to teach an alternate behavior like “sit.” You will want to work on the new desired behavior in a low distraction area when you’re not coming home from being away. What do you do when you come home and your Boxer is wiggling and jumping all over the place? Every Boxer I’ve ever met is food motivated, so let’s use this to our advantage.

Keep tasty treats outside the door in a jar, grab a handful of them before you walk in and toss them on the floor when you enter the house. This distracts your dog for long enough for you to get in the house without being trampled as well as breaks the jumping routine and rewards your dog for keeping all four feet on the floor. Now that you’re inside the house and things are a little calmer, you can ask your Boxer for the “sit” behavior before giving him attention.

Pawing and Muzzle Punching

These two Boxer behaviors go hand-in-hand because your Boxer is usually doing them for the same reason: attention! As we all know, Boxers are usually very affectionate and can be attention hogs, which I love, but sometimes they become a little pushy about it. I have a great exercise that can help your Boxer build some self-control and teach him that patiently waiting for attention will get him the attention he desires.

Begin in a quiet low distraction area. Place medium grade treats in your hand and make a closed fist to present to your dog. Ignore any pawing or muzzle punching from your dog. Say “Eh-Eh” if the bad behaviors become excessive. Once your dog stops pawing or muzzle punching, open your hand full of treats and use your other hand to take a treat to give to your dog. If your dog goes toward the baited hand (hand with treats) when you open it, simply close it and begin the dog training session again.

Continue working on this exercise until you can open your baited hand and reward your dog with each piece of food one at a time, waiting three seconds in between each treat. Soon, you’ll be able to carry the “Eh-Eh” cue over to when your dog is nudging you or pawing you for attention, which should make your Boxer default into the correct patiently waiting behavior.

Dog behaviors are only considered bad if you, the owner, doesn’t like them or finds them a nuisance. Sometimes, you like the behaviors in moderation, which is why working on these exercises will help you gain a little more control in these situations.

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Teach Your Dog to Wear a Sweater

November 11, 2015 by Fanna Easter

How to Train Your Dog to Wear a Sweater

You’ve scoured the Internet looking for the perfect sweater for your dog and it finally arrives. Now is the real test. How does it look and will your dog wear it? After stuffing your dog into his new sweater, he refuses to walk forward. Yup, this happens a lot.

Most dogs will either stand still, pancake to the ground, or, worse, run and hide. Some dogs will growl while you’re trying to stuff them in the sweater. They’re not happy. Understand wearing clothes is totally new to your dog. If you ran around naked most of your life and then someone stuffed you into a tight turtleneck sweater, you would cringe and stiffen up too. Thankfully, we can teach dogs wearing sweaters is a good thing!

Fit is everything when it comes to dog sweaters. You can’t expect a dog to enjoy wearing a sweater if it impacts his movement.

Dog Sweater Means Treats

Take your time introducing the sweater to your dog, especially if you plan to purchase an extensive wardrobe for your pooch! Teaching your dog to enjoy putting on and wearing a sweater (or clothes) ensure proud prancing while wearing fabulous garments.

Putting It On

Before training your dog to wear a sweater, you’ll need several super yummy treats and your dog’s new sweater. Better yet, practice with an older sweater or a child’s shirt. This prevents stretching and stains.

Head First

Bunch up the fabric, so only the neck portion is visible. Hold the neck hole in front of your dog’s face and hold a treat on the opposite side. Basically, your dog will follow the treat through the neck hole. Once the sweater is around your dog’s neck, give him the treat. Now, stop there and take the sweater off your dog. Practice teaching your dog to push his head through the neck hole and reward every time.

Now the Body

After a couple of sessions, lure your dog’s head through the neck hole. Give your dog a treat as you pull the sweater over one leg at a time. Sometimes, it’s easier having a person hold a spoonful of peanut butter in front of your dog, so he can lick away while you’re maneuvering the sweater in place.

If your dog backs away when putting on the sweater, allow him to collect himself for a few minutes and decide if he’ll engage again. If he’s confused, go back to luring his head through the sweater neck hole and move slowly.

Wearing It Proudly

Once the sweater is on, have a party! Good things happen when wearing a sweater, so clap, speak in happy high-pitched tones and, of course, reward with lots of super yummy treats. Then, take the sweater off and end the party. Seriously, who wouldn’t want to put the sweater back on, right?

If your dog refuses to walk forward, sprinkle a few treats about a foot in front of your dog like a trail. This will surely get him moving. Keep sprinkling treats until he’s walked a few feet. Don’t forget to have a party while he’s wearing it. Once the sweater is off, the party stops. Keep practicing, and soon your dog will run toward his new sweater, happily stick his neck through the hole and walk around proudly!

If you take your time, your dog will love his sweater! Have a sweater party!

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Training Your Dog to Give Kisses

November 5, 2015 by Fanna Easter

Get Your Dog to Give Kisses on Cue

Training Your Dog to Give Kisses — Multiart/iStock

Who doesn’t love a big wet kiss from their dog? Okay, maybe there are a lot of you out there who would rather not receive a wet one, but maybe you know someone who loves receiving kisses from her dog. Well good news! You can train your dog to give kisses on cue, allowing you to clearly communicate to your dog when he is welcome to give kisses.

What You’ll Need

• Treats – I suggest using something that can easily slather onto your hand, such as peanut butter, cream cheese or a roll on treat.
• Training Location – Begin your dog training in a quiet, distraction-free area. This will help your dog learn quickly.
• Marker – Choosing a marker is very important, as this is what informs your dog he has made the right choice and performed the desired behavior. A marker or conditioned reinforcer is a word or sound that you’ve associated with a reward, such as “good” or” yes” or clicker.

How to Teach Your Dog to Give Kisses

Once you’re all set up in your training area, start with a hungry and calm dog. The reason I say to work with your dog while he’s hungry is because you want him to be motivated to work for the food reward. You also don’t want him to be full of energy, so he can focus better.

Step One

Put a small amount of your lure (peanut butter) in the palm of your hand or on the back of your hand, and then present your hand to your dog. Once your dog shows interest in the food, give your marker word “good” and provide your dog with a secondary treat from your pocket. Most dogs will give your hand a lick when they smell the yummy lure in your hand. If this is the case, you don’t need to provide a secondary reward; just give your marker word “good” and allow the lure to be his reward.

Practice this step in small sessions multiple times a day for the next couple of days. Once your dog becomes fluent with the lure, you can move onto the next step.

Step Two

Begin to fade the lure by only using a very small amount of peanut butter on your hand. Add the cue while your dog licks your hand (kisses) and mark the behavior with “good.” The key to fading the lure and adding the cue is to only use the food lure intermittently, meaning you don’t need to reapply the peanut butter right away if your dog licks the reward off the first time. You can reward with a less valuable reward like a Charlie Bear or soft dog treat. Once your dog does the behavior without or with little food, you can move to the next step.

Step Three

Now, you’re ready to begin training your dog to give kisses on cue. Continue to practice in the same place without distractions to facilitate success, present your un-baited hand and give your cue “kisses.” When your dog performs the behavior, give your marker word “good” followed by a high value reward! Once your dog is 90 percent compliant with performing the cue on command, begin fading the reward like we discussed above.

Enjoying Your Dog’s Kisses

Once your dog becomes fluent with this new behavior, you can really use it in any capacity you’d like: as a fun trick to show your guests, a normal greeting routine for you and your pup, a way to tell your dog you’ve had enough kisses or even a way to wake your family members up when they won’t get out of bed!

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How to Train Your Dog to Back Up

Training Your Dog to Back Up

Get Your Dog’s Attention

Reward for Each Step Backwards

Add the Cue