Cooperative care means your dog gets to choose to be a part of the process of grooming or veterinary care instead of things just happening to them!
In this video I’m working with Chief on cooperative ear cleaning. Ear cleaning has historically been stressful and unpleasant for him so I’m working to change that.
This is also a great example of breaking down a complex behavior into smaller, incremental steps. We’ve already done lots of training with chin rest on its own, lifting his ears without the ear cleaning solution present, and teaching him that everything stops if he lifts his head up. This allows Chief to communicate in a very clear way: head down, he’s opting in and choosing to participate; head up, he’s opting out and asking for a break. My goal is to make the steps easy enough that he doesn’t need to opt out.
Excited to keep making progress 🐾
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Bailey day 10!
Bailey met with adopters today who seem like a great fit! They are from CA and one family members attends University of Portland. Bailey will make the trip down in a little over a week and will continue to stay with me until then. Once the contract is signed I’ll really celebrate, but I’m so excited for this little guy and his new family 💚
I’ve been introducing some enrichment items along the way and today Bailey tried a snuffle mat. Snuffle mats provide an outlet for dogs’ natural foraging behavior. They can help slow down eating, and make it more interesting for the dog. Check out the concept of contrafreeloading for more on this - it shows that dogs prefer to work for their food rather than just have it handed to them in a bowl. I spread his kibble in the mat and he took to it right away!
And there’s the Retriever 😂🎾
Bailey day 7!
Caught a little play with these two today! I always supervise when Bailey is around my dogs and separate him with an x-pen otherwise. That’s best practice for bringing any new dog into a home, and it’s also recommended to give dogs breaks from each other even when they’re more established friends.
Bailey was a little more hesitant to go outside today - he’s gone out twice so far, compared to going out 5 times yesterday. There were a lot of loud car noises throughout the day which seemingly made him more wary.
Other than that, he’s been pretty content to nap and play with toys. We did some more short sessions working on hand target and calmness (just standing still) around Cricket. 💚
Bailey day 6!
Crazy that it’s been almost a week. Bailey has gotten more confident in and out of the house. He still spooks at many noises, generally still hesitates a bit before going outside but the hesitation is shorter and he stays out longer, and he is getting more rowdy inside.
He likes toys a lot so I’ve been using them to help reinforce hanging out on his puppy bed by the couch, as well as coming away from my dogs. He really wants to play with my dogs but his attempts to initiate play are a bit “rude” in dog speak. This video is a small example but since he didn’t come away from Cricket, who was letting him know she wasn’t interested right now, on his own right away, I called him away and rewarded his response with play. Once he settled he received a food reinforcer.
He continues to not have accidents in the house and went outside 3 times again today; 4 if you count the 3 am run 😁
Not long after this video he was continuing to try to initiate play in a way that my dogs were put off by so I had him take a couple of breaks in his puppy pen in the kitchen. After the second break & attempt at sustaining calm behavior out with the dogs, he went back to the puppy pen and fell asleep. It’s really important that he has his own space so that the other dogs & him can have breaks, (and for the human’s sake too.)
This could be managed better if I weren’t trying to multitask and work on my computer at the same time. I could also have another person help me. Ideally we’d catch him sooner and spend more time reinforcing being on the bed. Another important aspect is to reinforce (capture) calm behavior around the dogs; standing still, laying or sitting, looking at the dogs without moving toward them, or coming away from the dogs on his own are all desired behaviors that can be reinforced with food so that they occur more frequently in the future.
Bailey day 5!
Bailey had THREE outdoor potties today! He also stayed out longer afterwards and did some sniffing as well as running around. He’s so bouncy!
We started to work on him laying in a cozy spot next to the couch vs jumping up, in case the future adopter doesn’t want him on the furniture.
More puppy behaviors are coming out as he gets more comfortable; just working on gently redirecting, and rewarding desired behaviors. 🐾
Does your dog pull on leash? Start with this! Loose leash walking is actually best taught inside your house where there are low distractions. It may seem counterintuitive but this is an example of training for the moment, not in the moment.
In this video I start by taking one step away from Chief. I click and treat when he catches up with me and his shoulder is lined up with my leg. After placing the treat down on the ground by my foot, I take another step while Chief is chewing and wait for him to catch up again. Once he catches on I start to add in additional steps one at a time before clicking and treating. As I’m building this duration I add in a few easy wins for him too, by clicking after just one step. Chief has done this exercise a lot. It’s good for your dog to wear their leash and harness (as long as they are comfortable with it) during this activity so they associate wearing the gear with loose leash walking. This is a good one to do with kibble from your dog’s daily meals, and make sure to get lots of practice inside in different areas of the house before taking it outside.
This won’t be very effective if you’re taking your dog for walks where they pull on leash at the same time. It’s best if you can take a break from walks and find other ways to exercise your dog during the time you work on this.
*Audio did not transfer from Instagram. I am using a clicker. I click right when Chief’s shoulder lines up with my leg. This tells him that the specific action he is doing when he hears the click is what earns him the treat that follows, and leads to him repeating that action!
Pattern games by Leslie McDevitt are almost magical tools all about repetition and predictability. Once the dog learns the pattern, he knows what to expect, making these games a great way to create calmness in a variety of situations. The game I’m practicing with Chief is called Up and Down (I shorten it to Up Down). A few notes:
🔅 Practice the game inside the house where there are fewer distractions until your dog catches on. Try it in a few different areas in the house before trying it outside. Increase distractions/ difficulty of situations slowly.
🔅The game starts when you place a treat down on the ground. When the dog eats the treat and then looks up at you, place another treat down. That’s the pattern. We want to place the treat instead of drop it so the dog can easily get to it & not have to search for it. Our job as the handler is to stand quietly without prompting the dog in any way, and watch for them looking our direction. It doesn’t have to be direct eye contact. This game was meant to be played while stationary.
🔅A leash and harness could be a good tool for management.
Where else could this game come in handy? Comment below!
Weekend DIY enrichment with Cricket! Supplies needed: a box, kibble, and ball pit balls (or these can easily be replaced with pieces of crumpled up paper or toilet paper rolls.)
Enrichment is important for our dogs health by providing them with mental stimulation and an outlet for species-specific behaviors. What natural canine behavior is Cricket displaying with this enrichment item? Leave your answer in the comments!
Accessibility: A dog trainer sets up an enrichment activity for her dog with a cardboard box, plastic ball pit balls, and kibble. The dog uses her nose and paws to dig through the balls to get to the kibble.
Teaching cooperative care behaviors like a chin rest can make grooming and husbandry situations - as well as veterinary procedures - much more pleasant for everyone involved! This is also known as a duration stationing behavior and allows your dog to clearly communicate with you if they are uncomfortable by moving out of the position.
I love teaching dogs to make eye contact on cue! This is a super useful behavior for getting your dogs attention in many scenarios. As with all behaviors, practice with no distractions at first and then move incrementally to more challenging environments.
