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Is Your Dog Stubborn?

9/9/2022

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Stub-born: /ˈstəbərn/ adjetive
having or showing dogged determination not to change one's attitude or position on something, especially in spite of good arguments or reasons to do so.


Have you ever referred to your dog as stubborn or had another trainer say this about your dog? Is the dog actually stubborn or is the human? If we keep doing something that is not working and we know it isn't working then aren't we being the stubborn ones? Especially if we know there are other methods that may work better?

First we need to find proper motivation. Just like we may be motivated by different things, so are dogs. Using my own dogs as an example I have one that is ball or toy motivated. She will do anything, absolutely anything, for a ball or squeaky toy. I have one that is very food motivated. Especially when it comes to cheese. Then I have one that will do anything to get a drink of water from a water bottle. Last, our newest arrival, changes what motivates him.  Sometimes it's food and sometimes it's attention.   Motivation can change, depending upon their mood (and if they are hungry). Learning what motivates them gives us a better relationship, mutual respect and a less frustration.

What doesn't motivate? Punishment.  Punishment suppresses, it does not build a relationship based on respect or trust.  It also causes confusion and can lead to fall out behaviors of anxiety, fearfulness, and even aggression. 
BALL BALL BALL
Treat! Treat!  Treat!
Love me
Water bottle!
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Challenging Behavior

10/8/2021

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​Does your dog have a behavior that is driving you nuts? Perhaps they are getting into the garbage, counter surfing or jumping on people. Every time Fido does this unwarned behavior he is rewarded.  Either by your attention or his prize off the counter or garbage can.   To resolve the unwanted behavior we have to first identify what we would like them to do instead. Then we put in a management plan to prevent the dog from doing the unwanted behavior while we work on the new skill.

Management is the most important step because every time the dog does the unwanted behavior that bad habit is reinforced, sometimes unintentionally and sometimes the behavior is self rewarding.
which makes it much more likely to continue. If you push a dog away while they jump they are excited and rewarded by the attention.  Counter surfing or getting in the garbage are self rewarding in that they usually find a prize.

After we make sure the behavior cannot continue we  focus on teaching the new skill and getting it generalized to lots of different environments and situations. Station training for jumping, leave its for the garbage and counter surfing.  We also want to add enrichment to keep their brains busy so they are less likely to get into trouble. 

If you need help we are here. Email ronda@29K9.net.
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Angst of Adolescence

9/1/2021

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The angst of adolescence.  That cute puppy is now an adolescent (think teenager) and has her own opinions and wants what she wants when she wants it.  That marble in the brain is rattling around without a place to land How do we deal with adolescence without resorting to aversives which may cause dangerous fallout behaviors later? I'd like to say easy but it isn't.  It takes patience, lots of micro training, enrichment and management.

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Patience: Remember, this too shall pass.  Be patient, you will see the change happening as your dog matures, usually by the age of two.  Why 2?  Because this is typically when the frontal cortex of the brain is fully developed and the frontal cortex is where self control originates. 

Micro training: What is micro training?  It's small sessions that you can scatter through out the day so that it turns into real life training.  Asking for and reinforcing those sits, waits, leave its and settles so that they become habit.  Remember, reinforcement drives behavior.  You work for cash, your dog works for treats, toys and/or attention. Teaching Fido the calm dog with good behaviors gets the rewards. 

Enrichment: This is a biggie.  Dogs need to use their brains.  Mental exercise can tire out a dog just as well as a long walk does.  We include it in our day by scatter feeding breakfast, a kong (we have several different versions to keep it mixed up), tricks, putting a few treats in a box, paper towel tube, or a paper lunch bag or even a game of find it. 

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Management: As the old saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  The better you prevent an unwanted behavior from happening the easier it is to teach your dog what you want them to do.  Prevent door darting by teaching wait at doorways. Prevent jumping on people by giving them a spot to hang out when your guests arrive. Gate off the kitchen to prevent your dog from counter surfing or getting into the trash.  Once these types of behaviors start it is so much harder to stop because they are self rewarding.  
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​We shall be grateful that adolescence in dogs is so much less than in humans.  Be patient, do lots of small training sessions, engage his brain with enrichment and prevent his opportunity to get into trouble.  Show them love and keep them safe. 
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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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Introducing RuhRoh

7/5/2021

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Puppy Insanity. This is RuhRoh, our newest baby. Today she turns 13 weeks old. What have we been working on at home? She came from a great breeder who uses Puppy Culture to raise her puppies. Thanks to that RuhRoh arrived with an excellent sit already in her repertoire. We built on that sit to get some nice waits. Wait before eating, wait before coming out of her crate and after, before going outside, basically a wait anywhere that her puppy craziness might take over.

​We've also been focusing on rewarding natural calm behaviors. I keep some treats handy and if I catch her laying down I drop a couple between her front legs (feeding for position) so she stays in the down while getting her reward. Slowly we stretch out the time between the treats . An extra treat will drop if something interesting happens and she stays put, like a cat walking by. I want her to choose to hang out calmly. The more she thinks and chooses the right behavior the better she will behave later.
#29K9 #DogTrainingRocks #reinforcementdrivesbehavior #traineddogsforthewin #cuenotcommand #teachdontpunish #fearfree

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Foreign Language

8/7/2020

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The Adolescent Dog

4/27/2020

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“Where did my puppy go” is often the first hint that your dog is an adolescent.  We aren’t just talking size but behavior, attitude, self control challenges.  That puppy who was so desperate for attention you only had to think about him and there he was.  So many times I hear “well, our puppy is so well behaved we don’t need training or socialization.  Then the dog gets to about six months of age, give or take, and they appear to go nuts.  

Why does this happen?  Well, there are a lot of reasons.  Biologically they are in puberty.  Even if desexed their brain is still developing until around the age of 2.  And just like humans, the last part of the brain to finish developing is the frontal cortex.  Guess what area of the brain controls impulse control?  Somewhere between 18 months and 36 months (typically around 24 months) the frontal cortex is complete. 

Many dog owners don’t think about this time period.  Somewhere around 6 months, when the dog’s appears is less puppy and more adult, they begin expecting adult behaviors.  To best explain this, just because a 13 year old human can reach the pedals of the car does not mean they are mentally mature enough to be able to handle the responsibility of driving.   This is also why many adolescent “out of control” dogs are turned into shelters.
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The first step in this is to remember that your adolescent dog is not an adult, nor are they a puppy.  They do, however, need training.  Much of their puppy training goes out the window as they start to express behavior typical of an animal getting ready to leave the nest.  Go back to the basics, build your relationship with your dog.  Be sure to engage in play with your dog as part of the training.  Don’t spend hours training do spend a few minutes here and there. 

The puppy who never jumped may suddenly decide to jump. Why? To get your attention. Suddenly they aren’t the cute puppy that everyone wanted to  engage.  Now they are bigger, louder and kind of obnoxious. Most of the attention they receive is for bad, in your face, behavior. It’s important not to give that type of behavior any reinforcement, which includes your attention. From that first jump turn sideways, say “sit” and ignore the dog until that behavior happens. Remind them that only good manners should get them attention.  Spending time training reinforces that good behaviors = rewards. 

Even your dog’s sleep habits may change so they need more positive mental stimulation to help them sleep consistently.  Physical exercise is good (check with your vet on what your dog needs) but if you only focus on physical exercise you will have a well conditioned athlete that constantly needs more activity to maintain.  You want a good balance of mental to physical exercise. 

Adolescent dogs have up and down behavior.  One day on point and the next day checked out.  This is perfectly normal.  On bad days try to do shorter training sessions, more random requests for a behavior in exchange for a life reward. 

Although you still want to keep socializing your dog to new experiences, animals and people understand that some days they may not want to be social, even fearful.  Do not force them into a situation.  If you are on a walk just turn around and go the other direction, talking softly and finally offering a reward when the dog’s attention is back on you.  Let your dog set the pace.  Most issues at this point are a result of not listening to your dog and pushing them into a situation they weren’t comfortable with  which means the next time may be even worse.

The encountered dog on the walk may be a perfectly lovely dog but now an imprint has happened. Now your dog may be thinking “I was scared the last time I saw that dog and I had to go right up to it and that scared me even more. Maybe if I bark louder or meaner sounding that dog will go away and leave me alone.”   We want him to remember nothing happened.  He saw the dog, became uncomfortable and his handler turned him around and walked away from that scary thing.  Guess what happens now?  Your dog goes at his own pace, gradually getting closer until he’s able to be confident in his greeting.

Training and recall are going to be hit and miss during this time.  Always EXPECT the right behavior but be PREPARED for the challenging behavior.  I expect my dog to come when I call but I am prepared to have a special yummy treat and am ready to engage the dog in a game of chase the handler or a special tug toy if I need to. Remember, in the animal kingdom adolescence is the time that prepares an animal to leave the nest by learning the skills they need to survive.  Teaching them new behaviors and fun tricks are ideal for this time.  It keeps their brain active and learning.  And it’s hard to  get mad at a dog doing a silly trick. 
 

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Proof Those Behaviors

3/27/2020

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Tis the Season

10/16/2019

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​The holiday season is almost upon us. Wait, Leave It and Place can keep your dog  from getting into trouble.  Spending time now teaching, proofing or fine tuning these behaviors can help keep your dog safe as well as a welcome part of the celebrations. 

Wait.  Wait tells the dog to wait a moment, be patient and something else is going to happen.  Wait while you hook their leash up, wait while your food is prepared, wait before going out the door, wait before getting in or out of the car.  This gives you time to do something safely and without mishap from a dog jumping, darting, even knocking things out of your hands. 
 
Leave It.  This cue prevents a dog from snatching or eating something they shouldn’t have.  With all the food , breakable decorations and even extra medications due to seasonal illnesses that are around knowing your dog has a rock solid leave it can save their life.
 
Drop It.  Teaching a dog to drop an item that they’ve already picked up, such as the random sock, wrapped gift, shoe, will end those unwanted games of chase.  With a solid Drop It cue the dog will drop the item instead.
 
Place.    A dog who knows to go to their safe spot while you answer the door, carry packages thru the room, clean up a mess, can alleviate a lot of tension.  This is a great way to prevent them from darting out the door when holiday visitors or deliveries arrive.
 
If your dog already knows these cues start practicing now.   Just a few minutes per day, adding them in here and there, will help the dog be ready to deliver the requested behavior when you ask for it.  If your dog doesn’t know these cues or they aren’t working like they should, then reach out for help. It can eliminate some of the stress of the season.

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The Adolescent Dog

10/5/2019

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​Remember that cute little puppy you brought home a few months ago?  Where did he go?

The dog between 6 and 18 months of age is not quite an adult but no longer a young puppy.   Just because they are ‘full size’ doesn’t mean their brain is fully developed.  It may even seem all the work that you have put into his training has gone up in smoke.  No worry, tho, your sweet puppy is still in there, he is just growing up and going thru that ‘awkward phase’ that many trainers refer to as the Brat Zone, the adolescent.   Here are a few tips to get thru this time.

  1. Don’t stop training.  Get out the treats, toys, games and train.  Keep the sessions short but fun.
  2. Work for food.  Incorporate food puzzles, snuffle mats, kongs, find it games.  Mental exercises (brain games) will help your dog’s brain form the right connections and learn to make positive choices.  It lowers anxiety levels and lessens the chances for destructive behaviors developing.
  3. Physical exercise is important and when incorporated with mental exercise you get more bang for your buck.  Take the dog for a walk in a new area, allow the dog to sniff and explore the area but also practice a few basics on the walk as well.   Focus less on heel and more on what your dog is getting out of the walk.
  4. Socialize.  Many dogs that went thru puppy classes no longer have opportunities to socialize.  Arrange play dates with compatible dogs, attend classes just for the social, get involved in rally or Fit Dog clubs. 
  5. Be prepared for ups and downs.  One day your dog may be spot on, the next day not so much.  This is normal.  And temporary.  Patience is the key. 
  6. If you let the dog get away with something once he will expect it again. And again.  And again.  Example, if you let the dog jump on you now you will be setting up it up for the future.  Make sure you continue enforcing the rules you’ve already set in place. 
 
I promise this is temporary.   Talk to a trainer who is experienced and uses reward based training to help if you need to get a handle on wayward behaviors before they become a real problem. 
​©29k9  

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    Ronda Warywoda

    CPDT-KA, UW-AAB

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