The plan was for Friday to Sunday. Three days, two nights. I can handle that. Right? RIGHT?

So, here’s what I learned:

• Everything I’ve told dog owners about prevention and management is true. It sets everyone up for success.
• Everything dog owners have told me about prevention and management being a pain in the ass is true. You really just need to acclimate to a new way of living with gates, crates, and leashes, and sometimes, you just don’t want to.
• You do get used to the prevention and management tools mentioned above, and it does make things easier.
• 10-year-old dogs, don’t always welcome a “friend” into their homes.
• We won’t be getting a puppy anytime soon.
• Socialization – meaning exposure to everything in your human life, not just dogs – is key and, every so often, all you need.
• A well-socialized dog whose attention you can get makes up for a lot of things.
• Smaller dogs are just easier. When they pull, when they poop, when they do just about everything.

And that’s the truth.

Behavior

Anything a dog does. Literally. Examples: sleeping, eating, running, barking, biting, licking, tail wagging, staring, walking, yawning, shaking off, rolling over, growling, whining, and drooling.

Classical Conditioning

Classical conditioning is the process by which something gains significance because it is linked with and predicts the arrival of something else. Example: Let’s look at Pavlov’s experiment. Dogs salivate in presence of food. Pavlov rang bell, presented food. Over and over. Eventually simply ringing the bell caused the dog to drool. The dog’s brain made the association that the bell indicated the arrival of food.

Cue

Words or hand signals that request the dog to perform a behavior. Cues must undergo operant conditioning (See operant conditioning below) to be effective. Examples: sit, down, stand, come, and stay.

Luring

Using food as a means of getting behavior. Example: Put a treat to a dogs nose and bring it up and over their head until their rear end hits the ground.

Marker

Any word or sound that signals reinforcement (see primary and secondary reinforcement below) is coming because the dog engaged in the correct behavior. Example: The click sound of the clicker or saying “yes” or “good” is followed by food.

Operant Conditioning

The father of operant conditioning is BF Skinner. Also called associative learning, it encourages or discourages behavior passed on reinforcement or punishment.

Operant conditioning works in four ways:

1. Positive Reinforcement: Adding something the dog wants, with the intention of increasing the animal’s behavior.
2. Positive Punishment: Adding something the dog does not want, with the intention of stopping or decreasing behavior.
3. Negative Reinforcement: The continuous application of an something the dog doesn’t want, and only removing it once the dog has complied with what the trainer wants with the intention of increasing a behavior.
4. Negative Punishment: Removing something the dog wants, in order to decrease a specific behavior.

Primary Reinforcer

Something good to the dog that does not require any learning to be reinforcing. Examples: food, water, or air.

Secondary Reinforcer

Something good to the dog that was previously neutral but after pairing with a primary reinforcer became awesome. Example: say “yes” (secondary reinforcer) and then delivering a treat (primary reinforcer). Repeat this enough times and the “yes” becomes awesome in and of itself.

What terms have you heard in training class that I can help define for you?

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This post was originally published on November 15, 2013.

I think the answer can be found by examining the three ways you can get your dog into a Down position:

* Force - using your hands to push or pull the dog into position
* Lure - using a treat to lure or lead the dog into position
* Shape - reinforcing the dog for making small movements towards the position

Of these three choices, it may seem like the easiest thing would be to “show” your dog what you want by physically pushing him down. But that comes with risks. Ultimately, it’s also a less effective learning method for your dog.

There are two primary risks.

First, if you push too hard there is a risk of discomfort or even pain. Second, forcing your dog into what is a vulnerable position could produce some fear or anxiety. Both of these risks may work against you in teaching your dog Down (not to mention the fact that they are not great ways to build a bond with your dog).

Luring or shaping don’t have those risks. In addition, they can be more effective in helping your dog learn because they force (pun intended) your dog to use his brain to figure out what you want. Once he gets it, you can almost see the light bulb go on.

Do luring and shaping have any drawbacks? Well the only one I can think of is that they may take more time to get that first Down. But if you’re working on teaching your dog Down (or Sit or Stay or just about anything else), in the end its better not to push - in any sense of the word - your dog.

That could explain a few things:

• Your dog barks at the vacuum cleaner? It may not just be making the loud noise we hear, it could be making a high-pitch noise that is causing your dog to react.
• Sometimes your dog listens and pays attention to you… and other times he doesn’t? That quiet room you’re in may not be as quiet as you think. Your dog may hear the high-pitch hum of a florescent light, the whir of a furnace motor or even the “silent” resonator inside your alarm clock.

Beyond understanding that your dog may be hearing things you don’t, it’s also important (and helpful) to think about the sounds we use to communicate with our dogs.

• Short staccato sounds – like snapping your fingers, clicking your tongue or making a kissy noise with your lips will sometimes get your dog’s attention better than, “Fido, come.”
• The tone of your voice can also be important. Does your dog get excited when you say “Do you want to go for a walk?” In her book Inside of a Dog, Alexandra Horowitz suggests this experiment. Instead of saying “Do you want to go for a walk,” try saying “Do you want to snow forty locks” using the very same tone you always use. Horowitz suggests that many, if not most, dogs would still get excited.
• Initial sounds also seem to be important. There is some belief that when we are talking to our dogs they only hear the first word or first sound before reacting. So thinking about the example above, it could be that all your dog has to hear is “Do…” and he reacts with excitement.
• You need to choose your words carefully. There has also been some research that indicates dogs may not be real good at distinguishing similarly sounding words from each other. So before you name your puppy Bo, like the first family did, you might want to think about whether your puppy would understand when you said “No, Bo.”

Maybe the most important thing to remember about how your dog hears is that it is only one sense your dog uses to understand his world – and to understand you. In previous blogs I’ve written about the other senses – sight and smell – both of which your dog uses in combination with his hearing.

How well does your dog hear and understand you? Are there certain words or tones that are more effective than others?

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This post was originally published on October 21, 2013.

Although I do go to the store and buy my dogs toys all the time, I find the best toys are the ones I create with my zoo keeper state of mind.

My dogs have never eaten out of a bowl. Utilizing meal time as enrichment time is a great way to mentally stimulate your pups. Think of it this way – no animal can just have their food handed to them the way our domestic animals do. Even humans have to work in order to make money so we can buy the food we eat. So why do we make it so simple for our pets?

Another great thing about enrichment for our pets is that it makes them think, which in turn helps you with their training and gives you a smarter dog. It’s also fun to watch them learn and figure things out! This allows you to challenge them with more difficult enrichment items as they progress.

Here is a list of a few favorite enrichment toys that I use for my dogs:

When starting anything new with your dog, it’s important to remember that they need to learn it first. If you start out with something too hard, your dog will get frustrated and give up. Help them learn, and when they start to understand, challenge them with harder things. Most importantly – have fun!

What are some of your favorite creative enrichment tools?

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This post was originally published on December 27, 2013.

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I can’t tell you how many calls I get like this: “My dog gets out of our yard/front door/gate and once they are out, there’s no getting then back – not even for a treat!” For all of you who know Doc McStuffins (for those of you who don’t, she’s a 6-year-old doctor of toys on Disney), she and Hallie would put this in the Big Book of Boo-Boo’s as “Catchmeifyoucan-itis”. Check out this video. This will help you understand a little more about what this means… and sadly, where my frame of reference is these days!

There are several things that we can assume are likely happening:

• Since puppy-hood, they have played the chase game, not where the dog chases the person, but where the person chases the dog. This was cute until the human couldn’t catch them anymore.
• There is not enough management of the environment happening at home so they are able to succeed at getting into this situation over and over again and being successful at it.
• People have only done training sessions inside the home and then assume the dog’s knowledge transfers to the outside.
• The dog has been punished in one form or another for coming when called.

Come when called (Recall) is one of the most essential things a dog should do well because of the safety issues involved.

It takes consistency, repetition, and motivation to build these behaviors strongly and reliably. Let’s address each issue above:

Management

If your dog gets out once, shame on them, twice, shame on you, and three times, you’ve got a habit forming. Use gates, crates, and leashes to ensure your dog can’t get out without your approval. You can also teach them to stay when the door opens.

Training

Just because your dog comes when you call them inside, doesn’t mean they know what it means outside amidst all the distractions. Do the following to bridge the gap between what they know and where they know it:

• Bring them outside, on a long leash, with the best treats ever and create the game to end all games.
• At a short distance, get their attention calling their name.
• As they are coming to you, encourage them until they are all the way inside your radius.
• Every time they come to you, reward, reward, reward.
• Let them go out and explore again as an additional reward. This way they also learn that coming to you doesn’t always end all the fun.

Dogs are pretty much all about doing what gets them pleasurable experiences. Aren’t we all? So, if you associate coming to you with good things, they will likely be excited to do it again.

Emergencies

There are two things I recommend people do in a pinch. This is not what I hope or expect people to do in order to get their dogs to come in any situation. This is for emergencies.

1. Get your dogs attention and then run away from them using an excited voice. Most (unfortunately, not all) dogs’ chase instinct can’t help but kick in. Plus, they do like you when you’re fun.
2. My favorite technique is to get your dog’s attention. The second that they look your way, crouch down and pretend to start eating something off the ground excitedly. Honestly, they say, “curiosity killed the cat”, but I’ve not seen many dogs able to resist an up-close inspection.

A Game of Hide and Seek

Finally, I like to make lots of learning into games. It keeps the dog interested and enthusiastic about training. Here it is:

• Get a treat, let them smell it, call them once, and then run away.
• When they “catch” you, reward them silly! Treat and have a party!
• Let them get distracted and repeat.
• Once they love this part of the game, when they are distracted, try hiding behind a tree and then call them. Only once. You can use kissy sounds and other sounds to help them find you, and when they do, have another party!
• If your dog gets confused, you have made it too hard, too fast. Go back, make it easy, and your dog will continue to enjoy it.

Word of advice – avoid playing the game in reverse where you have to catch them. They are fast and on four legs so it’s an unfair advantage. Plus, the more they win that game, the more rewarded it becomes and the better they like it. …and you wouldn’t want to catch the human strain – “icantcatchyou-itis”.

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This blog was originally posted on November 4, 2013.

Morrissey

Breed: Boston Terrier
Age: 6 months
Client Name: Brian and Tina Trost
Class: Pooch Academy
Trainers: Katie Moody, with Jennifer Kec

How did your dog come to be a part of your family?

We started looking for another dog soon after our last dog passed after a long battle with cancer. We both grew up with various rescues and strays, so it was a little odd to seek a breeder. We felt knowing the lineage and health history of our next dog would be to our advantage. We found a wonderful person in Shoals, Indiana, who shows AKC Boston Terriers, so we got on the waiting list. Seven months later, we were able to get Morrissey.

What did you hope to achieve by training?

We hoped to learn how to keep Morrissey a well-behaved dog. He is a crazy puppy right now, but he’s very smart. We want to work our way up to agility classes.

What is the most valuable thing you’ve learned in class?

How to watch his body language to try and figure out if he is stressed, or ok with meeting other dogs. He seems to have more interest in humans.

What was your dog’s favorite part of class?

Katie! I think he would leave us for her.

Give us one (or more) fun facts about your dog.

He’s a total clown! He is named after our favorite singer/songwriter/author from the Smiths. We almost didn’t get him. The breeder told us she was keeping him, but when he was born with one white ear, she realized he would be disqualified from shows, so she let us take him. We LOVE that white ear!

When we first arrived, we put Hobo on leash every time he went outside; however, as we started to feel more confident in him, we began to allow him to go on short potty trips without the leash. As the week went on, he seemed to be pretty reliable about coming when called and was given more freedom to hang around outside with us while off leash. However after a few days, I started to see a few concerning signs. He was starting to ignore my calls occasionally, and he wasn’t stopping to check in on my whereabouts like Tucker does when he gets out ahead of me. Finally one evening, Hobo decided that he would rather stay out and explore than go inside when I was ready and off he went.

As I used my happy voice, whistled, clapped, clicked and asked if he wanted supper, he trotted up the long driveway.

He got to the road (completely deserted, luckily) and headed off to see what smells there were to smell. He may be little, but his short legs can move pretty fast, and he got probably a quarter mile up the road before I could catch up to him. By the time I closed in on him, my happy voice was replaced by lots of grumbling and cursing (did I mention I have tendonitis in my ankle and so I was actually limping along behind him?), and as I reached down to scoop him up, he dodged out of reach.

He stopped and looked at me. I knew what I had to do. I took a deep breath, plastered a smile on my face, told him what a good boy he was and asked for a “touch.” He trotted over, touched my hand and I picked him up. As we walked back down the road, I continued to tell him he was a good dog and give him love. Believe me, this was an act. I was completely furious at him, and also at myself for seeing the signs that he wasn’t reliable off leash and ignoring them. At that moment though, if I had made it scary or punishing for him to finally come back to me, I would just be setting myself up for a longer chase and more difficult capture next time.

My takeaways from Hobo’s big adventure:

1. if you see signs that your dog is more interested in the environment than in you, keep the leash on!
2. if your dog gets away from you, no matter how frustrated you are with them, make them happy that they came back to you.

• Dog-proof your house – make it a safe place for your new family member.
• Investigate some of the services you’ll need – vet, boarding/walking, grooming.
• Get equipped – food bowls, food, crate, toys, treats.

But beyond those basics, however, here are some other important things to do before your dog comes home:

• Have a plan for introductions. The initial meeting between your new dog and your kids, the kids’ friends, the household cat, your other dog, extended family and neighbors – can help set the stage for long-term success. When not handled properly, you can end up with ongoing issues.
• Agree on house rules. This means everyone in the house agrees about whether the dog will be allowed on the furniture, the dog’s schedule (for sleeping, playing and walks), and who’s responsible for care and feeding.
• Decide where you want your dog to “do his business.” Outside, of course, is the obvious choice. But you can also train your dog to go in a certain area of the yard – which can make it easier on whoever is responsible for clean up!
• Choose a trainer. I’m not just including this one because I happen to be a dog trainer. I’m including this because I firmly believe that one of the biggest benefits of training is that it helps to build the bond between you and your dog – and what better time to start than on day one?

Finally, even with all the pre-planning, you should still expect the unexpected. The puppy that seemed perfect when you picked him out…or the rescue that was so adorable at the shelter…may soon show behavioral traits that you weren’t quite prepared for. That’s all the more reason to do as much planning as possible to lay a good foundation from the start. Then you’ll be better prepared to deal with the unexpected.

Sometimes there’s nothing better than a senior dog. Most of the time, at that point, they are really at human speed and settled into a nice routine within their families.

I hate it when I see an email or Facebook post that comes across my computer about a senior dog needing a good home to live out their best, and most certainly last, days. These dogs are being re-homed because of reasons like:

• A new landlord who won’t accept dogs
• Unexpected unemployment and/or lack of affordability
• A human’s death or divorce
• A new baby hits the scene
• Or some other life changing event

There are other reasons, of course, but these are fairly common.

All of these may or may not be justifiable reasons for giving up a furry guy or gal who’s spent many years acclimating and trusting their humans, and I’m not here to argue this point. However, the re-homing process can be absolutely heart wrenching for dog and human alike.

This is just one of those situations where training time and money spent early on pays off. It is much easier for a friend or relative to take in a dog with manners and a basic understanding of what it is to live in a human household. A well-behaved dog can mean having the choice of someone you know taking your pooch rather than a shelter/rescue, which can be a rough road for a senior dog. Yes, you can teach old dog new tricks, but it’s a slower process that might hinder a potentially easy transfer. People expect to put in training for a puppy, but the hope is that the benefit of taking on a senior is that they already know much of what it means to be in a human home.

A dog who is still crazy with every guest that walks in, obsessive counter-surfing any goody left on the counter for the taking, pulling anyone down the street on a leash, etc. has a much harder time selling themselves. When a family member or friend (or friend of a friend) knows that they aren’t only taking on medical issues, but also behavioral issues, it becomes a lot to ask.

The work that goes into those first 2-4 years of a dog’s life is worth it if they spend their lives with you, but it’s also like a life insurance policy for your dog if life throws you a curve ball the worst becomes a reality.