The Dog Commandments

1.  Looking at, talking to and touching a dog reinforces whatever behavior is occurring.

2. Set the dog up to succeed. Do not put him in a situation to fail or be “bad.”

3. If you teach a dog what to do, there is almost nothing left to correct.

4. Bad, correction, wrong are all human things – in the animal world, behaviors are functional or not – they work or they do not work.

5. Growling and barking mean back off. If you ignore this warning, you might get bit and you will certainly put the dog in a position to fail.

6. Do not touch, talk to, or mess with, in any way, a dog that is eating, chewing something valuable, or sleeping.

7. Dogs do what you teach or what you allow.

8. A dog cannot “behave” well if it doesn’t feel safe, and/or its basic needs are not met.

9. Humans are smarter than dogs and can access information. WE are responsible for a dog’s behavior in our care.

10. Dog’s have three main ways to cope with stress and conflict: play with it, flee from it or fight it. If you see one of these behaviors, the dog feels threatened. Make him feel safe, and his behavior will change.

11. You have access to food, treats, toys, comfy couches, the outdoors, other dogs and can provide attention and affection. Use these things to reward the behaviors you want, rather than giving them away for free and teaching nothing to the dog.

12. Alpha, dominance, and being boss are buzz words from about 30 years ago. Get with the times!

The Treat Lady is Here! Why and How to Use Food Rewards Correctly

“He is just doing it for the food.”

“Here is the treat lady!”

“Do I have to walk around with food all the time?”

“I don’t want to have to give my dog a treat every time he listens.”

“My dog is not food motivated.”

“My dog listens to you because you have chicken.”

The above statements are wrong, ignorant, and disrespectful. Imagine I hire a carpenter to build me something and make fun of him because he uses a hammer? Imagine I tell a race car driver, that it is the car that wins? Imagine if I told a photographer that the picture was great because of the camera? My work is training dogs and my tools are many - one of which is food.

I know the above statements are not made to insult me; people simply do not understand and appreciate the skill-sets involved in my field of work. I also know that these statements are made because people feel insecure and concerned that I can get their dogs to do things that they cannot. It doesn’t always feel good when your dog responds better to me than you. I know. I get it. But…it’s not the food. It’s how I use it. Anyone can pick up a paintbrush, but an artist makes art. I wish more people would acknowledge the art and skill involved in dog training and stop minimizing what I do. In an effort to educate and assist, I am going to tell you some very important things that I do that get YOUR dog to work for ME and if you take it to heart, it will work for you too.

“He is just doing it for the food.”

There are basically four ways that dogs (and people) learn. Positive Reinforcement (we add something nice), Positive Punishment (we add something not nice), Negative Reinforcement (we take away something nice), or Negative Punishment (we take away something not nice.) Something nice often depends on the dog - except for food -they all like food. Something not nice also depends on the dog - but all dogs avoid pain and fear. The rest is in the details and the other two ways to learn really need to be thoughtful and situations need to be created in order to use them consistently and correctly.

I choose Positive Reinforcement more than any other method to train a dog for many reasons. All dogs like food. Food is easy for me to use. Food is easy for you to use. You are going to feed your dog anyway. Food rewards have no negative side effects (when given in the appropriate amount for each dog.) Food is cheap and readily available. Food can be weaned as the behavior gets stronger. When used correctly, food rewards can be removed completely and the behaviors will remain. I enjoy, as well as most dog owners, giving food to my dog. It takes very little skill to use food rewards. It is safe, effective and fun for any age human to use food and train a dog. Food has been used since the beginning of time to form relationships and to control other living things.

“Here is the treat lady!”

This is just stupid. Do you want me to show up unprepared? Do you know who I am? I am not showing up with a collar, so how else do you want me to train your dog? This just tells me so much about you!

“Do I have to walk around with food all the time?”

The more you reward your dog immediately after it does a behavior you like, the faster it is trained. So, really, this is up to you. I like to reward as many behaviors as possible, as quickly as possible, so I am willing to wear food in a pouch, so I am prepared. I know this is a short-term situation, so I don’t have an issue with it. If you don’t have a reward ready, your dog won’t learn as fast. Simple stuff.

“I don’t want to have to give my dog a treat every time he does what I ask.”

OK -I get this. I don’t want to work everyday to make money. There are lots of things I don’t want, but I have to do to get results. Read above about how to train a dog. If you don’t want to feed it a food reward, there are three other ways to train, so you may want to call someone other than me or start studying and getting some dog training skills! My question to you is why not? Why don’t you want to give your dog a reward for good behavior? Usually this thought is related to a myth like, I want my dog to do it because she wants to please me. Don’t get me started….I want my husband to do things to please me too, but guess what?? He has his own life and agenda and I am lucky if I get what I want once in awhile. What most people know about dogs is from TV and movies and if you need to be told what is wrong with that, I will need to write another blog post.

“My dog is not food motivated.”

If this were true, your dog would be dead. You are not using the right food and in the right way. Often, owners leave food down all day, allowing the dog to eat when it wants. This is not healthy, normal, or good for training. Feeding your dog meals, means he will become hungry at predictable times in the day and you can optimize on this. A hungry dog will work for food. Most “treats” sold in stores are crap. Dogs like real, fresh foods. Use real meat like chicken or turkey and stay away from processed dog treats. Dogs are natural and respond best to natural things. Train your dog before a meal or use his entire meal for a training session. Vary the food reward - eggs, fish, carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, and blueberries are things that most dogs love. Don’t be a victim of advertising. Dogs like food! Your dog’s meals and “treats” should equal his daily intake of food. It’s what you feed and when you feed it that makes a difference in behavior and allows you to make great strides in training without your dog gaining unnecessary weight.

“My dog listens to you because you have chicken.”

This is true, but there are so many other reasons, in addition to the chicken, that make your dogs listen to me. I am consistent. I have great timing. I know what I am doing. I know when to feed and when not to feed. I do not load my hand with food, bait your dog, or tease your dog with food. I have a measured way of using the food rewards. I know the four stages of using food to train a dog. I feed the right amount - I don’t use more than I need, nor am I stingy when your dog needs the reinforcement. I have clear body language. I know how to train a dog!! If you have ever thought that I can only train your dog because I have chicken, then why hire me?? Go get yourself some chicken and you can do it, right? NO! I have many skills, one of which is using food rewards -even the way i deliver the treat is a skill. I hear this almost every day and i cringe at it. I know your thinking behind it, so I ignore it, most of the time, but Good God! I have three certifications, 10 years experience and thousands of happy clients. If it was just the chicken,…….

So here is the summary.

If you want to train your dog quickly, have food rewards handy. Think about your dog’s daily intake of food and what you want to accomplish with it. Most dog bowls contain anywhere from 50-200 pieces of food -that could reinforce 50-200 behaviors per day! Vary the food reward to keep your dog motivated. Stop thinking like a human with an ego. When your dog does something you like, feed it. When your dog does something you dislike, walk away.

And lastly, please be kind to me. I ignore a lot of rude comments. I hold my tongue more than you know. I go over and above to help you, even when you sabotage the process. If you didn’t need me, you wouldn’t have called, so please don’t belittle, question and insult the way I do my job. I listen to my mechanic because I drive a car, but know nothing else about it. Without him, I wouldn’t be able use my car. I appreciate his skills and trust him to care for my car. I don’t argue with him, talk down his prices or dare to think I could repair my own engine. My prices are fair. I know what I am talking about. I will do whatever is needed to get you to be happy with your dog.

It Takes Two to Tango

Training a dog is a lot like attending ballroom dancing classes. Picture me, the trainer, as your instructor. Okay, put me in something tight and make me Spanish if it keeps your attention! You are the guy and your dog is the girl and you’ve signed up for six lessons of ballroom dancing so you can look really great on your wedding day.

Class one: I tell you how to be a good leader. Strong arms, fixed posture and just a touch ahead of the dance so you can coax your lady into position. Then I instruct your lady to anticipate your hand on your back and to let the hand lead you into your next move. I teach you how to listen to the beat of the music and the importance of “feeling” it. I send you home with homework to practice some simple steps together.

Week One at home: You practice a little, but get frustrated because your lady won’t let you lead. She’s not listening and she’s either telling you what to do or ignoring you. You give up on day two, but still think you can catch up in class with the help of the instructor.

Class two: You arrive feeling ready to catch up and learn. The music starts and you press your hand into your lady’s back, trying to lead her and….she steps on your foot. You take a deep breath and say, it’s OK, let’s try again. This is your soon to be lifemate after all…..The music starts again and you step back, your lady steps forward and you’re dancing! All is right with the world. You are sent home with homework and you are inspired to go out and dance!

Week Two at home: You have a busy week at home and cannot find the time to practice dancing with your lady.  On the last day of the week, before the next class, your lovely bride to be begins to complain…a lot. In response, you raise your voice and say, “C’mon! Lady!” She sheepishly responds, glad to have your attention and off you go around the kitchen like you were made for each other.

Class Three: You arrive and are in a heated discussion with your lady about your busy day.  You miss almost everything I say to you, but still think you can catch up.  You begin to dance, but you are tugging at your lady out of frustration. She gets annoyed and acts like she can’t hear anything you say. She’s dancing however she wants! You get even more annoyed and stomp off saying under your breath, “you’ll never learn to dance!”

What’s the moral of the story? It takes two to Tango? Most certainly, but in this case the lady (dog) was always willing and able, but you just didn’t give her the attention she needed in order to learn. And for that matter, you didn’t tune in often enough to learn to dance either. Too much talk and not enough action. Training a dog is like learning to dance. First you must learn the steps. Then you lead your dog to the steps, and then you dance the Tango together.  Learning to train a dog takes time.  You may make progress in some areas and lose ground in others. But always know your dog wants to do the right thing. Make sure you know how to lead and your dog will follow. Make the instructions clear and reward him when he gets it right and you will move forward. If you get mad or give up, you are failing the task at hand.  Slow down. Learn two steps at a time and smile! When you take dance lessons, you are learning and participating with humans. Never forget your dog is a different species…give him a break!

Make the Most out of Toys

I enter a lot of houses in my work and I see a lot of wonderful toy baskets. People love their dogs and generously buy them toys to show their dogs how they love them. Unfortunately, dogs aren't very materialistic. Those full toy baskets just don't get used the way they should. Get ready to change that!

Dogs do what works. When they do something (a behavior) and get what they want (a toy...your attention) they repeat the scenario until it makes you nuts. A classic situation is this: you are sitting watching the tv show of your choice. Your dog drops a ball in your lap. You tell him to go away....several times, until you get sick of repeating yourself and you toss it. YAY!!! Win for the dog. He has nothing better to do than to bother you until he gets what he wants. You have taught him to do that. This is all possible because you have provided him with toys and left them out. Dogs do what works.

Now, consider this scenario: you watch your favorite show and ignore your dog. Your dog has been so well behaved and left you in peace, that you go get his favorite toy from a drawer and invite him to play with you. Win for you! You have rewarded good behavior and reinforced leaving you alone. You are also teaching him that YOU initiate play, not him.

It all depends on access. Don't give away your power! Don't give your dog access to the very things you can use to encourage good behavior. Toys are the second most powerful motivator and reinforcer in most dogs' lives!

Toys can mean many things -I divide them into categories for usefulness. Toys that you fill with food are the most important -Kongs, Kibble Nibbles, Treat Balls and the like. Chews are Bully Sticks, Whimzies, and other tasty, edible chews. The last category is toys that are only fun with human interaction -Tail Teaser, Jolly Ball, Tug Toys, tennis balls, etc. If you keep these toys away from your dog, you can decide when it's best to bring them out.

For really avid chewers and dogs that need to be kept busy, feed breakfast from a stuffed Kong and dinner in a Kibble Nibble. As soon as they are empty, wash them and put them away -do not leave them on the floor to become boring to your dog. Bring out a Tail Teaser and the jolly ball for 10 minutes twice a day and give him a bully stick at night when you are ready to settle down. This is a great use of toys. Your dog gets quality time with you, when you decide and he gets plenty of appropriate chew time. If you want to leave a couple of toys out, something like a rubber tire or a nylabone is a good choice.

The fact is, dogs need a lot more structure for their day than most owners supply. They get bored and make mistakes. Prevent mistakes by being ready to reinforce what you like when you see it. Keep him busy before he makes a bad choice. Keep him mentally stimulated through play and training and your dog will be happy and peaceful. Dogs are really smart, but they depend on us and shouldn't be expected to know what to do if we don't teach them.