Dog Talk BlogTraining and Behavior Insights by Barb Gordon

SCENT DISCRIMINATION

Over the past twenty-five years I’ve seen some pretty complicated lesson plans, developed by some pretty big time dog trainers, for teaching the scent articles in AKC, UKC, and CKC Obedience. When it came down to my turn to teach them for the first time, I was very intimidated. Guess you could say down right scared. I felt like it was way over my head. Something only pros would attempt or be successful at. I put it off until I couldn’t put it off anymore. Out of my own confusion and uncertainty, I taught it to my first unfortunate Bouvier in a very haphazard way. My second Bouvier and all my dogs to follow, faired a lot better, because I decided to simplify it all for myself. If it was simple for me to understand, it would be simple to teach to my dogs. Through trial and error, I came up with a simple training method that is easy to understand and easy to teach to dogs.

To date I have taught this to a good number of people, who in turn taught it to their dogs. I have taught it to my four Bouviers, two Golden Retrievers, my Border Collie, and two Miniature Pinchers. All became confident and consistent at the task of scent discrimination.

I believe as humans we often forget that we are training canines, otherwise we wouldn’t make things so downright difficult for ourselves and our dogs. And what is the first sense a canine depends on? That’s right; his nose. From the day a pup is born his nose is his main source of information. In fact his only source. It’s certainly silly of us to think we have to make scent discrimination a lesson he has to learn. He comes naturally to it. He could teach us a thing or two about it. He already knows how to use his nose. I just have to teach him to find the smell I want him to find.

My goal is to teach a dog to become so confident in the lesson, he can hardly wait for me to send him to the pile. He races out, finds the right article, and races back with it. If I make it “Dog simple,“ that is what I will get. The more “Human complicated” I make it the worse the outcome. I’ve been there and don’t want to revisit it.

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The sport of agility has really caught on around here. It’s been around for a long time, but when we started having AKC and NADAC Trials within driving distance it became big business.

Folks equate agility with fun and obedience with work, so they have skipped over what I call “Dog Basics” and jumped right into a sport they felt did not have such tight restraints. The idea is, that if we think something is fun the dog will want to do it with us. We can just be best friends and buddies and don’t need to insist on anything. This kind of thinking goes against the nature of dogs. They do not respect and follow the happy go lucky fun guy. The follow the one that is in charge.

At most dog clubs and schools, nothing is required in a beginning agility class as far as knowing basic commands like come, sit, down, and stay, so it is easy to join a class without having any of these important requirements. It’s common to see dogs dragging their human followers to class, because a large percentage of them have never taken a leadership role in their dog’s life. The dog has never learned how to walk nicely on a leash. In fact many of these people are new to dog sports and don’t know they have or will have a problem. They really needed a basic dog class first.

Obedience is the glue that not only makes for a dog that is a joy to be around, but that holds all dog sports together. Agility is going to stop being fun if the dog keeps running off, either because he is distracted or doesn’t want to play the game. Obedience does not leave any confusion in a dog’s mind. He is not a volunteer in our games, he has been drafted.

It was inevitable that folks would start having two big issues with their dogs; bolting and running away and coming when called. Ninety percent of my business comes from people with dog problems. Bolting and running away tops the list.

It’s pretty simple to see that if a dog is on a tight leash and pulling away with all it’s might, it’s not going to stick around if there isn’t anything keeping it from leaving. A dog that does not know how to walk on a loose leash next to his owner, will always have obedience problems.

The first thing I address in my family dog classes is the proper way to walk with dogs. The second thing is bolting and running away and coming when called.

WALKING WITH DOGS

Teaching this to dogs is very easy but it requires commitment. I like a good training collar for walking dogs. That means a slip collar. I do not care what it is made of but it needs to fit well and be impossible for the dog to back out of. By fitting well, it should fit as high up on the dog’s neck as possible. The leash should be about three or four feet long. Even for a toy breed this is plenty. He can only get that far away from you, which is a much safer distance than six feet or longer.

Hold the leash in a relax and slack manner. The tighter the tension on the leash the more the dog will fight to get away from it. Start off by going away from where the dog is heading. For instance if he is heading to the right, go to the left. Say something like, “Let’s go.” Say it once and leave. You are your dog’s teacher. How well you teach him is how well he will learn what is required. If you are in the bad habit of requesting cooperation from your dog, you can break it now. Never ask him if he wants to do something. Always insist. In a dog’s world this makes the most sense. Making dog sense to dogs is what loving dogs is all about.

Once you turn and leave the dog will be pulled in your direction. If he does not know anything about walking on a leash, or is in a bad habit of dragging you, he may put on the breaks. This is rebellion plain and simple. Some dogs will throw a fit. When this happens, I always keep my back to the dog and allow him to figure out how to release the tension on the leash. Never forget he is the reason the leash is tight. Let him learn how to solve the problem. Patience is key. You can’t make a dog learn in a certain amount of time, so putting a time limit on any lesson is unreasonable.

Another reaction is to race past you into the lead position. If this happens, simply turn away from the direction he has chosen and walk away. This will put him behind you. It will take him no time at all to figure out that following you is what you want. I cannot emphasize how important this is to a healthy respectful relationship, let along a pleasant one between dog and owner. Teaching your dog where he belongs on walks often solves many other issues.

Bolting and running away always starts with distractions. Dogs love to chase things that move, so a cat or squirrel or bike going by can easily trigger the chase response. Most dogs will give you very clear information when they want to chase something, so learning their language is key in responding quickly to the situation. As soon as his eyes target on something and the ears come forward be ready. He is going to leap forward. Dogs never lie about their intentions, so the person that waits to see if he is telling them the truth will always get the same results. As soon as he does takes off, say “No!” then turn and run in the opposite direction. When you do this say, “Come.” Use good strong tones and a commanding voice. This is very important. If your voice and tone do not communicate at or above the level of intensity the dog is at, it will be useless information. The combination of disagreeing with his decision to leave, and the surprise of being pulled off balance will make him think twice about taking off again.

Dogs are doers not thinkers, so learning to respond quickly is important. Never wait to see if the dog will stop on command or come on command. Never repeat a command. If the dog does not respond instantly it is because he has no intention of doing so.

COMING WHEN CALLED

This is the simplest command to teach. It saddens me that so few dogs ever learn it. I use a long line of thirty feet for this. The dog of course has a good fitting training collar on. I let the pup/dog go about his business. When he is distracted, I call him to me. “Max come.” Short and simple. If he doesn’t look at me when he hears his name I give him a quick little “listen up” jerk on the line. If he doesn’t come towards me, I pull him in. When he gets to me, I praise him, even though I’m the only reason he is there.

You can also include this lesson when you take your walks. Occasionally back up and call your dog to you. Always praise, even if you enforcing the command is the only reason the dog comes. Food reward goes a long way in getting dog to learn things quicker. Whenever a dog obeys my commands or makes a good effort to do so, I reward him with food. Be careful food should be a reward for effort or obedience. It should never be a bribe. If you ever get in the bad habit of making the cookie more important than you and the command, there will come a time where your dog will be long gone and you will be left holding the cookie.

Remember patience is key and repetition and consistency is what works when it comes to training dogs.

GOOD MORNING DOG WORLD!                                         

We have had quite a few weeks of winter here, starting December 17^th with two feet of snow in less than 24 hours. For three weeks afterwards Mother Nature pointed her snowy finger directly towards us dumping over 80 inches of the white stuff over roof and road. My husband Jack got weary of shoveling and plowing and the dogs got tired of a maze of narrow paths around their once open meadows. No one could understand why the weather man was smiling as he reported yet another 8” of drifting snow falling overnight.

I got a forced vacation from lessons and classes at the dog school. Even though our road was clear, folks were having a difficult time digging out of the five foot high berms the city plows dumped into their driveways and over their cars. After I read and reread some training articles, e-mailed friends with dog problems, put the dogs on the treadmill and did a bit of training out in the school, I decided to focus my energy onto our Min Pins, Unique and Prada. They have a little barking problem I’ve put on the back burner. All my friends of course are shocked that Min Pins bark.J

I’m overjoyed that they let me know someone is at the door, but then I want them to stop on command. I absolutely know how to address this issue, but with my usual busy schedule I’ve let it slide. You know that the shoe makers children never have shoes, so there you have it. I no longer had the excuse of not enough time, so I got down to business.

I’m sure that everyone I’ve taught this to now has a dog that will let them know that someone is at the door, then stop barking on command. Their dogs now know that a leaf going by the window is to be ignored. O one cares if the cat has a mouse or what the children next door are doing.

We know that our little dogs are triggered by knocking at the door, so I started out with knocking on the door myself. This instantly brought them racing at full speed around the corner and raising the high pitched bark howl combined alarm. It’s at a level no one can ignore and sometimes get annoyed with. I let them bark a couple times then told them, “Quiet.” As soon as they stopped they received a treat. At first they have to get the last bark in, but in no time they got the little game. Patience is the only true virtue when it comes to training or retaining dogs, so you will need plenty of it if you too have this problem.

The next step was to have my husband Jack go outside and knock on the door. Sure enough this produced another round of alarm barking. Certainly a serial killer was on the other side of the door. Once again they quickly got how to earn the treat. Have I cured the problem? Not by a long shot. Like everyone I would love it if I could address a problem behavior and have it vanish after one session. The reality is that you have to be very consistent. As a dog owner, this is our responsibility. I always tell dog owners that repetition and consistency trains dogs. Nothing else works. Once you start any plan, you have to stick with it, so next time I have someone come to my door I’m committed to following through with the plan, or get used to putting up with the problem.