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Does Your Dog Come When Called

8/29/2021

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Does your dog have a reliable recall?  Many don't and most dogs only respond when they want to. When a puppy or rescue comes home they often will follow us around and recall doesn't seem necessary until they begin to get a little more interested in the environment.  They will appear to develop selective hearing, at least part of the time anyway. There are some easy steps to developing a reliable recall.  It also is a matter of safety that your dog will respond. 

How do you build a solid and reliable recall in your dog?  Easier and a lot more fun than you think.  Here are some tips:
  • ​Don't say their name as a cue, i.e., stop, no, wait, come.  
  • Do say their name when you want their attention then follow it with something good.  Treat, game of tug, dinner, throwing the ball.  Play a few rounds of name game each day.  Randomly say their name and reward them for simply looking your direction.  If they don't respond wait 15 seconds before repeating, Even if it takes two or three times still reward.  This is incentive for a faster response.
  • Use high-pitched, happy voice is more likely to engage your dog than a stern or loud voice.
  • Don't punish, yell, squirt water or citronella, zap with an e-collar.  Aversives are not as likely to entice your dog to coming (they may even hide) plus they are more likely to cause fallout behaviors such as aggression.
  • Use a specific cue.  I like "Touch" because it means "come touch my hand".  Once they understand to touch my hand we add a sit to it.  So when I say Touch my dog comes and touches my hand and then sits and waits for whatever is next.  Sometimes it's leashing up for an outing or it may be going back out to play.  Might even be a game of tug, fetch, a treat, maybe even dinner.  Something good will happen.
  • Do not chase your dog but let your dog chase you.  Say his name and then start running.  Most dogs cannot resist a game of chase and it will become game on. (Be careful with this one if your dog becomes over stimulated too easily.)
  • Play.  When your dog comes to you toss out a ball or toy.  
  • Play some more.  Grab a handful of small treats and hand one to your dog and then throw one.  Drop the next one in front of you and then farther out.  Repeat this until your out of treats.  Your dog will be come back and forth, learning that the good stuff is with you. 
The main thing to remember is that the more fun you have with your dog the better your relationship and the more your dog will want to seek you out.

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Fear Period

8/21/2021

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RuhRoh is 4 months old and hit a normal fear period the week before last. When she and I went to get in the car she spotted the garbage can on the curb and started backing up and giving a low 'woof'. The same garbage can that has been there every week that she paid no attention to previously. So we walked over to it, at her pace, rewarding every step of the way until she was no longer concerned. You can see at first her tail is swishing rather than wagging. She moves forward then backs up. I've attached the ring video but it's not the best quality.
​Saturday we tried to go to the home improvement store but she let us know she did not want to do that. Instead we hung out in the parking lot, watching people and carts go by. She got lots of treats when she engaged. Then we left. We didn't push it any further, just went home with lots of rewards. This way she was left with the positive rather than a scary impression if we'd tried to push her.
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Thursday we made another trip to the home improvement store and she rocked it.​ I had no goal in mind, just following her lead. She was excited, showing none of the fearful behaviors from Saturday. She wasn't hiding behind us, she was wiggling with excitement (her back end wiggles so hard she smacks herself in the face with her tail), she gave little barks (well, for a Great Dane they are little barks) to get people to pay attention to her and as soon as they looked she'd wiggle even harder.

This is why I tell puppy people not to make too big of a deal when something that was normal is suddenly causing fear. Don't make a big deal of it, reward the little interactions (if they look, if they get closer, if they don't hide) so that a positive impression is what your puppy is left with. If it's a normal fear period your dog will grow out of it fairly quickly. If it's more than that talk to a trainer who specializes in treating fearful dogs using reward based methods sooner rather than later.

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Reward Works Best

8/13/2021

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The American Veterinary Society of Animal Behavior has released their position statement that supports the use of reward based methods for all training.  Click on the link below to read the entire statement.  

Evidence supports the use of reward based methods for all canine training. AVSAB promotes interactions with animals based on compassion, respect, and scientific evidence. Based on these factors, reward-based learning offers the most advantages and least harm to the learner’s welfare. Research supports the efficacy of reward-based training to address unwanted and challenging behaviors. There is no evidence that aversive training is necessary for dog training or behavior modification​

Humane Dog Training Position Statement 


Punishment can cause fallout behaviors.  Increased aggression against other humans and/or dogs, anxiety, fear... it goes on and on.  This is the reason I set out to educate myself,  having seen the difference in our own dogs.   Due to a combination of a back yard breeder and major health issues that resulted in isolation during her first year we had a Great Dane with just about every behavior challenge there is. Punishment was used to try and correct the behavior issues, from reactivity to resource guarding.  We weren't beating her but we were using a prong collar, yelling... It did not work.  The behaviors would stop temporarily and then come back worse. What appeared to be 'behaving' was actually her shutting down.  It wasn't changing her emotional response which is what is needed for long term success.

Through education I learned how to have a positive approach while using science as the guide.  It does not matter the dog breed.  We have worked with everything from the smallest Chihuahuas and Yorkies to the largest Pitbulls and Great Danes, high drive dogs like GSDs and Huskies as well as everything in between.  What I learned with Jinkies gave me the passion to do what I do.  To help other dogs without pain, without punishment.    

#reinforcementdrivesbehavior #sciencematters #dogtrainingrocks #compassion #respect #kindness #rewardbasedtrainingisbest #lovemyjob 




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    Ronda Warywoda

    CPDT-KA, UW-AAB

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