How often do you play with your dog on your walks? Most owners don't play at all or rarely. If you don't, give it a try, you will find that your dog becomes more responsive with better recall too.
Playing with your dog means your dog doesn't get all of the rewards just from his environment, it means he knows that there is fun to be had with you too.
What games do you play with your dog on walks?
Here is me playing tug with my 10-year old lurcher Blake.
Here's another post about various displacement, appeasement and stress release behaviours in dogs that many people misinterpret.
👉 LIP LICKING 👈
Lip Licking is probably the stress release behaviour that is most often missed, but yes, some dogs lick their lips when they are stressed or in appeasement. Have you ever noticed it?
Of course dogs will lick their lips in anticipation of getting food or after having had food, and in that case it is perfectly normal behaviour. But like many of these displacement and stress release behaviours, when you see them out of context, you know that your dog is internally struggling with tension.
So let's have a look at what situations dogs may lick their lips.
👉 Nothing to do with stress
🔸️ In anticipation of food
🔸️ After eating food
🔸️ Learnt behaviour - you can teach your dog to lick lips on cue like Herbie does in this video
👉 Stress release behaviours
I find in my experience that dogs are often considerably stressed when they resort to lip licking. It isn't normally casual and everyday tension like we often see for shaking off. Here are some situations where I have seen it.
🔸️ When expecting something to happen like approaching a garden or gate where they know a dog will often be barking at them that they are scared of or when turning into the road leading to the vet that they are scared of.
🔸️ When in the middle of a stressful situation like being in the presence of dogs or people they are scared of, or being at the vet's or groomer's they don't like.
️👉 Appeasement behaviour
🔸️ They use appeasement behaviours towards another dog or person that they would like to interact with but aren't sure what their reaction will be or they are a little worried about. Lip licking can often be seen in these situations (along with squirming, avoiding eye contact, closing eyes for example).
🔸️ They use appeasement behaviours if they are expected to be or are being tol
Here's another post about various displacement, appeasement and stress release behaviours in dogs that many people misinterpret.
👉 SHAKING OFF 👈
Dogs shake off in lots of situations, but what many owners don't realise is that "shaking off" is often a behaviour that has nothing to do with actually needing to get "their fur back in order" as it were. It is often used as a displacement or stress release behaviour, or as I like to call it a "reset the brain" behaviour.
So let's have a look at what situations dogs may shake off.
👉 Nothing to do with stress in the following two examples.
🔸️ When they are wet - they will shake off the water from their fur. This is just straight forward practical behaviour, nothing to do with stress. See Video 1 in our little complications below where Hunter, the labrador, runs out of the water and then shakes the water out of his fur.
🔸️ When they got their coat in disarray - they may shake off after running through long grass, or a hedge simply to get their fur straightened out and comfortable. This isn't stress behaviour either of course. Video 2 of Abbie, the Rottweiler, may show this type of shaking off. And doesn't it look quite amazing how they shake from head all the way through to the tail. ❤️
👉 Stress release behaviours
🔸️ Thinking time - if dogs are a little confused or are thinking what to do next, it will cause tension and some will shake off. This has nothing to do with physical discomfort (as in the two examples above), but with mental tension. We see this sort of things during training. If your dog shakes off a lot during training, then perhaps you need to look at how to make things easier to understand for the dog. Videos 3 and 4 of Mini Mouse, the Swedish Valhund, show this type of shaking off. It might also include an element of the next reason (release of restraint).
🔸️ Being restrained/released - if you need to restrain your dog by holding them or in some cases even just
How do you reward your dog's recall? Praise? Food? Toys? Playing? Nothing...?
Recalling away from interesting things is extremely difficult for dogs and you need to make it worthwhile! And trust me, just a "good boy" isn't going to cut it for most dogs! And to be honest, I like to reward a good effort with a good reward.
Think about what your dog loves most and use those as a reward.
👉 TREATS - use them in different ways, throw them so your dog can chase them, or scatter them so your dog can sniff them out. That's much more rewarding than just give it from your hand.
👉 TOYS - use an appropriate and safe ball or tug toy to reward and make it a good game, not just a 2-second tug.
👉 YOU - use your best fun voice and exciting body movements to have fun with your dog. Play chase games for example if your dog loves that. Go silly and just have fun with your dog in whichever way he enjoys interacting with you.
👉 ENVIRONMENT - you could use whatever activities your dog enjoys in the environment you're in as a reward. Send him back to the sniffs you called him away from, send him back to playing with the dogs he wants to play with etc. Rewards can be anything your dog enjoys and wants to be involved in (provided it is safe and appropriate of course).
🐕 HAPPY TRAINING and PLAYING 🐕
If you'd like to learn more about how to teach a good recall, our Foundation courses in South Norwood and East Dulwich cover this. www.wtdt.co.uk/TrainingClasses
"His tail never stops wagging" is what I often hear from people who watch my dogs work - be it in classes, at workshops and even in competition rings. And you know what, that means more to me than anything else!
Yes, I love it when my dogs do what they are supposed to do, and yes, I am as happy as the next person when my dogs' performance is noticed and praised - it means I am doing something right and I am probably at least a half decent trainer. 😉
But if my dogs didn't enjoy what I am asking them to do, if they did it like a robot with no soul, if they just went through the motions because I said so... that's not good enough for me. For me, particularly in dog sports and activities but it really applies to all training, motivation and enjoyment is part of everything I teach my dogs.
It's one of the reasons I love reward based training! It's not just about teaching this exercise and that exercise, but it's also about getting your dog (and indeed you as the owner) to enjoy the training and whatever activity you enjoy together!
So if someone says to me "your dog's tail never stops wagging", then that's the best compliment you can give me! And yes, it's one of the reasons why WAGGING TAILS Dog Training is called just that. 😉
Here is Logan, my blind American Cocker Spaniel, enjoying his scentwork session with that forever wagging tail (at a workshop with Hide and go Sniff). 😊
We all know that playing with our dogs is great both for your dog and for you as the owner and most owners play with their dogs quite often.
However, how often do you play with your dog out and about on walks? When I ask this question most people answer "never". Walks are usually seen as exercise for the dog rather than spend quality time together and having fun (whilst of course getting exercise).
But playing with your dog on walks has so many benefits. And perhaps the most important one is building value for being with you. By having fun with you and learning to interact with you on walks, he will be more likely to respond to you when you really need him to because he has learnt to and he has a big reward history for it.
Also of course, there are so many environmental rewards out there for your dog (smells, dogs, wildlife, people, livestock, water etc.) and if he only ever gets dopamine hits from interacting with his environment and rarely from you, what reason would he have to listen to you if you need him to. 🤔
So don't forget to play with your dog on walks, it makes things much more fun for him and you.
This is Amber, the Akita puppy, learning to play on her walks.
Are you one if those owners that are jealous when you see someone walking their dog on a lovely lose lead whilst your dog is dragging you down the road? Pulling on the lead is one of the top problems owners have and one of the main reasons why owners come to classes or ask for 121 help.
From the dog's point of view however it is one of the most difficult things to do... but why?
It is pretty unnatural for a dog - especially if they are young or are a busy breed - to just walk relatively slowly in a straight line. If you watch dogs off lead, they zigzag, follow their nose, run or at least trot... Unless a dog is elderly or physically limited, they won't just plod along slowly like we ask them to when walking on the lead.
So it isn't just a matter of teaching a dog to walk on a loose lead which seems simple enough, but from a dog's point of view it is everything but... Here are the skills they need to learn!
🔷️ They need to pay attention to what you are doing, stay connected with you.
If your dog hasn't learnt to be aware of your movements, then he has no chance of walking nicely by you. Play with your dog on walks, do some training on walks regularly, have fun even when on lead. Your dog will want to stay with you and will wait for the next fun segment of the walk.
🔷️ They need to learn to walk slower.
Most dogs will naturally trot or run as their default pace. Walking at human speed is slow even for small dogs. You need to teach them to slow down. Spend a minute here and there on a walk to walk super slowly on lead, one step at the time. You can do the same in your garden walking around trees or bushes, put low poles across the ground to step over, do scentwork and other calming and slow activities with them. Teach their body, their muscles, their brain to slow down at times.
🔷️ They need to learn where you want them to walk.
So you need to teach them of course where you want them to walk, by your side, within 2 feet of you, whatever you
Taking our dogs for a walk is one of the big reasons why we have dogs. I for one would rarely go out of the house if it wasn't for my dogs.
So when we have a new puppy, we can't wait until they are fully vaccinated so we can take them for walks. It is a big event and lots of exciting anticipation... only to find that our 12-week old puppy isn't as keen as we are!
For a young puppy, the big, wide world can be a scary place with lots of noises, sights and smells to process and get used to.
So how can we make those first few walks as beneficial and pleasant as possible?
✅️ Forget about the word "walk". Just think about little adventures instead. Puppy walks in particular are not about walking, distance or speed. They are about learning and processing the environment around them.
✅️ Always take tasty treats with you (cooked chicken often works well) and your puppy's favourite toy.
✅️ Reward your puppy's behaviours that you like with a treat, e.g. sitting, walking nicely next to you, settling etc.
✅️ Use treats or a toy when you puppy is a little bit worried about something. If for example your puppy is a little unsettled by cars, give a treat each time a car goes past. Or if they worry about barking dogs, give a treat every time they hear a dog bark in the distance. This will help your puppy to gain confidence.
✅️ Go at your puppy's pace, don't rush. Give your puppy plenty of time to sniff, or just stop and take the surroundings in, it's not about walking, it's all about exploring this new world out there.
✅️ Going at the puppy's pace also means don't overwhelm him by taking him to lots of new places or busy places when he is still finding his feet. Keep to quieter areas for the first few walks, go to places where he can observe from a distance if needed. It is of course important to take your puppy out and about to socialise them, but don't rush it. Some puppies are more confident than others, take it at whatever pace your puppy i
How fabulous is it to have a great run and walk and still come home with a clean and dry dog. 🤣
Elijah and I got up early today and were at the dog park at 7 am. Secure dog fields are a great way of giving your dog off lead exercise, be it because your dog can't go off lead in public, or for training, a play date with friends or just to have some quiet and relaxing off lead time with your dog(s) without having to keep your eyes open for other dogs, people, wildlife or livestock.
There are lots of secure dog fields around now, if you're not sure where your local ones are, comment here and I'm sure we can help you find one. Those of you that use secure fields please feel free to comment too.
After the run here, Elijah and I then popped over to the local nature reserve for a bit of sniffy time and we met the horses today too.
HOW TO USE TREATS
Being reward based trainers, we use treats and lots of them. However, most people using treats just use them in one particular way... giving it to the dog from the hand to the dog's mouth. That's often great, but there are so many different ways of delivering that food reward, and it often adds a lot more value to it for the dog (movement increases value). How many ways can you give a treat?
🔸️ Give by hand
🔸️ Toss along the ground
🔸️ Roll along the ground
🔸️ Drop on the ground
🔸️ Scatter several treats on the ground
🔸️ Get the dog to chase the treat in your hand before releasing it
🔸️ Hide a treat
🔸️ Get the dog to catch a treat you throw
🔸️ Put a treat into a pouch/lotus ball for the dog to chase and either you give the treat or the dog gets it out himself
Can you think of any other way of using or delivering a treat to reward? Put it in the comments.
Here is Elijah catching treats I throw, he loves doing that and is so good at it.
We're always here to help with any training needs. www.wtdt.co.uk
REWARDS
What do you reward your dog with if they have done something you asked them to?
With reward based training, many owners and indeed many trainers, think that it's all about treats. Yes, we use treats a lot too, absolutely, as they allow a lot of repetitions in a short space of time and are a very convenient and effective way to reward our dogs. But there are so many other types of rewards and we mustn't forget about those. Think about...
🔸️ Toys and various ways of moving them
🔸️ Playing in various ways
🔸️ Voice (happy cheerful, laughing)
🔸️ Body and how we move (including clapping!)
🔸️ Touch
🔸️ Sniffing
🔸️ Saying hello to a dog/person
🔸️ Going off lead
🔸️ Going into the garden
There is so much more. The key thing is to find stuff your dog loves or loves doing and that are practical for your training purposes. What rewards does your dog love?
Here is an example of my lurcher Blake and I practising our competitive heelwork (we're a bit rusty, because we can't compete anymore we don't practice as much). He loves toys (tugging and chasing) more than anything, so I will often use toys with him. Lurchers can be hard to motivate, so having a high speed and moving reward they love is ideal!
Give us a shout if you need help with training. We run classes and offer 121 help too for any breed! Www.wtdt.co.uk
What sort of games do you play with your dog? Playing is so important for so many reasons...
➡️ Bonding: It is fun and it strengthens the bond between you and your dog building trust and a great relationship.
➡️ Physical exercise: It helps your dog stay fit and healthy, building strong muscles, maintaining bone health and improve cardiovascular health. Especially in puppies and young dogs and indeed in elderly dogs it will also help develop and maintain fine motor skills, coordination and balance.
➡️ Mental stimulation: Playing engages your dog's mind and prevents boredom. Play can also give an outlet for specific needs that your dog has based on his breed like chasing, grabbing, herding etc. Good play can help reduce the likelihood of behavioral issues.
➡️ Socialization: Playing provides opportunities for your dog to interact with other dogs and people and appropriate play teaches them important social skills.
➡️ Emotional well-being: Playing can elevate your dog's mood, reduce stress and anxiety, and promote overall happiness.
➡️ Training: Play sessions can be used as a great opportunity for training and reinforcing wanted behaviours both for domestic every day training and working/sport dog training, making learning fun for your dog.
So do put some time aside every day to play with your dog. Play the games your dog loves. And don't just play at home, play on your walks too.
One of my lurcher Elijah's (see video) favourite games is playing tug and it is such an amazing activity to play with your dog as it has so many benefits. More on tugging specifically in another post. 😎
