Sometimes, when a dog has an object, and we try to take it away, they will run away and start playing the "Chase Me" game. Regardless of whether it's because the dog finds it fun, or because they simply want to stop us from taking it, the fact is that we have made the object our focus and have increased its value, so the dog wants to keep it.
An exercise like this is designed to remove value from the object and make the focus me and the dog. It builds his trust that I'm not going to try to take the item, so he doesn't feel protective. When that happens, he's more likely to stay in one spot with the object. This means that, for potentially dangerous items, like something out of the garbage, he's less likely to run away with it, so we can approach him and take it.
If we throw in treats when we approach the non harmful item, then he's learning that WE'RE more valuable than the object, and, as you can see with Copper, he'll start dropping it when we approach.
**A Note About Copper: He is not eating the stick. He's just breaking it apart. If you have a dog that is EATING the object, then this is not an item that we want to practice this with. Use your best judgement based on the knowledge of your own dog. 🐶❤️
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If the only interactions we ever have with our dogs are those of excitement and play, then they won't learn any other way to interact with us.
That means that (A) They're not learning to control their intensity. When dogs play with us, they tend to match our intensity. Unfortunately, puppies don't have much impulse control, so many of them have a habit of just continuing to escalate in intensity. That's why they end up nipping our fingers. Teaching them to calm down in an instant teaches them to be aware of their intensity, which means it'll be easier to curb those puppy behaviors.
(B) It raises our own value. Now we control the game, so the puppy wants to focus on us more so they can continue playing.
And (C) It builds up their impulse control. It teaches them that they don't have to act on the first thought that comes to their mind, they can stop and think. This is how we build an adult dog that knows how to make good decisions, and how to control themselves. 🐶❤️
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Dogs communicate primarily through body language. So, in order to properly communicate with them, we need to learn to speak their language. This is especially true with reactive dogs.
When a dog reacts, there are usually signs that they give us before it happens. There are body language cues that tell us that the dog is feeling uncomfortable and is about to do something about it.
We refer to the reactivity process as "The 4 L's," which are "Look," "Lock," "Load," and "Launch." So, if you watch the video, Gauge is relaxed, able to look away from Gambit, with a nice relaxed posture and a deep pant. Then we see him "look" at Gambit, he starts to stiffen as he "locks" onto the other dog, and right before he "loads" we remove him from the situation. Through his body language, we already knew he was about to react.
It really depends on the dog as to whether or not we let them get to the "locking" part. For severely reactive dogs who are unable to control themselves, we won't even let them get past the "look" phase before removing them. But Gauge's mom has been doing so much work with him that he's able to be trusted a little more.
The key is that we're allowing him to make a decision. Once we notice that he's about to make the wrong decision, we remove him, let him calm down a bit, and then restart the exercise. So we're never actually letting him reach that point of reacting, we're catching him right before it. So he's learning that he can look all he wants, but the moment that look turns into fixation, he's removed. We're setting clear boundaries on how he's allowed to behave, and then, when he's calm, and understands the rules of the game, we're using that to help change his perception of other dogs being near him.
This sounds like a simple task, but you'd be surprised how many dogs have a hard time with this.
It's a simple training exercise that can have a big impact on a dog's behavior. Because many people only let the dogs outside when they have to go potty or when they're going somewhere or doing something, the outside world becomes a very exciting place for them. Lots of smells and sights that they don't ever get to see. So, when they go outside, they find themselves having a hard time just standing in one spot. And the more they watch and smell, the more excited they get.
An exercise like this will help desensitize them to the world so it's no longer as exciting, as well as build their impulse control and confidence. It'll also show them that, just because something exciting is happening, it doesn't mean that WE have to get excited.
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The flirt pole is a great way to build impulse control in a dog.
One thing I always tell people is that impulse control is built up over time. We don't expect a 5 year old to be able to sit in one spot for 6 hours, but by the time they're 18, we KNOW they can. We know that because we built it up over time. Each year we asked them to sit still for longer and longer periods of time. We want to do the same thing with our dogs.
Flirt poles, and other high-drive toys like tug ropes, are a great way to build that up. We ask them to go to a level 10 excitement down to a level 0 in a moment. As we move forward, we'll find that they get faster and faster, so we'll ask them to wait longer and longer, or we'll ask them to do other tasks, like "down." We may play for longer periods of time before asking them to stop, or we may start playing around distractions.
We're building our own value, by ensuring that this is a game between the human and dog, not simply between dog and toy. 🐶❤️
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As a dog trainer , I don't teach dogs "shake" or "paw" for a very important reason. It can easily become a demanding behavior, so they'll paw at you whenever they want attention. It's also one paw away from actually jumping on you. So, by teaching "paw" or "shake," we're actually teaching them to jump on us for attention.
The most important part of training or rehabilitating a dog with behavioral issues is consistency. In this video, we discuss what can happen if we drop that once we start.
When it comes to behavioral cases, I always say that the little things ARE the big things. Threshold manners, loose leash walking skills, rules and boundaries in the home are of the utmost importance when working with these dogs. It builds trust, reliability, and the bond between dog and owner.
Realistically, it's all about the relationship. Oftentimes, with behavioral cases, a big problem is the relationship the dog has with the handler. That structure helps to build a relationship where the dog doesn't feel THE NEED to handle everything my themselves, and that they can trust the human.
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Dogs and kids have an interesting dynamic. Since children are around the same height as many dogs, and because they move so differently than adults, they're kind of like puppies. And dogs are just like giant teddy bears to kids. So it's not really fair for us to simply expect them to know how to behave around each other. We want to "take them by the hand" and show them.
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You'll notice that we have Koda on a long leash, and we demonstrate exactly why that is. If we call the dog, and the dog doesn't come to us, then he's learned that not coming is an option. Which means that, if he doesn't feel like it, he doesn't have to do it. Having the long leash on allows us to reinforce what we're saying. "If we call you and you don't come, we'll just go get you and you'll end up in the same place anyway, so you might as well come the first time." If we're consistent with that, he learns that coming when called is not an option. This is very important because the recall can save lives. 🐶❤️
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A big issue that many people face when playing fetch with their dog is that the dog will turn it into a game of chase.
This can happen for a number of different reasons, but most often it's simply because the act of bringing the ball back and the person throwing it is not rewarding enough for the dog, and chase is a far more fun game. For some dogs, the act of chasing the ball is the rewarding part, so they don't want you to take the ball that they worked so hard to get, they just want to continue running. So if we increase the reward, the dog will have more of an incentive to keep bringing it back.
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When first introducing #looseleashwalking, we want to spend time teaching them where we want them to walk. So we start with short distances, and build our way up.
Dogs aren't robots that we can stick a chip in and download the information. We need to practice. And we want to start in a place with low or no distractions. 🐶❤️
*This is part of a longer video with tips to avoid #leashpulling. To see the full video, click the link in the comments.
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Allen and Shalene Minor are dog trainers in Florida that do in-home training and board-and-trains.
