Training Tips

Can Your Dog Sit Sit SIT!?

Did you know all dogs know how to sit before they've even heard the word? It's true. They are fully capable of sitting on their bottoms before anyone has ever trained them. So then what is the purpose of training a dog to sit? The purpose of training a dog to respond to the word "sit" is so the dog understands that it MUST be done on command--your command.

So what makes a good command? Several Things!

1) A good command is always the same word or phrase that means the same thing every time.. My dog Rosco has been trained to sit on command when I say "Rosco, Sit!" He is quite reliable and will do so under most normal circumstances...even when he would rather have me chase him because he's holding something in his mouth that I want. However, there are a lot of people who don't know he's this good at sitting on command because they say all sorts of things that are not the same thing he was trained to respond to. They may ask him in a squeeky, high pitched voice "can you sit? can you sit? can you sit?" To such an inquiry Rosco may look at them and say "Are you silly? Of course I can sit!" But he may not actually plop his bottom down because he's being asked a QUESTION and...well...he doesn't really speak English well enough to respond with a "duh!".

So when deciding on what word or phrase you want to use to issue a command make sure the whole family understands and cooperates. If one person says "Sit" and another says "Sit Down" and yet another says "Sit Sit Sit Sit Sit" you can only imagine how confused your poor non-English speaking canine is going to be! Consistency is key.

2) A good command is NOT repeated. If you say "sit" 6 times before Fluffy actually sits, you will successfully trained her to sit after you've said it 6 times. So do you want your dog to sit when you say "Fluffy Sit!" or only after you've said "Sit Fluffy, Sit Sit Sit...SIT SIT SIT!" You decide, but you must be consistent. For optimum training purposes a good command should be ONE word or ONE phrase said ONCE. Your dog should sit because you've trained it properly...not because it's tired of hearing you nag.

What if you tell Fluffy to "Sit" and she does not comply? It depends on how far you are in training. Have you taught her the meaning of the word enough times and practiced it enough times so that she knows what the word means? You'd be surprised how many people give their dogs commands without ever having taught what the word means! They'll tell their dog to "stay" without every teaching what stay means and then they are surprised when their dog does not stay...so they say it over and over and over until, again, after so much nagging, the dog is too frustrated to move. Be sure you've practiced the meaning of the word with the dog many times before you decide they "understand" the word. That's the teaching part. Teaching means showing the dog or helping him figure out what a word means.

The training part is teaching your dog that a command is always something they must:: That when you give a command, Fluffy must follow through and do it. If after you are 100% sure Fluffy understands "sit" you tell her "sit" she decides she would rather not, then you have to look at the 3 D's of training. Did you just tell her to sit in a totally new environment where there are more distractions than she's used to dealing with? If so, she may not be ready to comply at such a high level of distraction. If she's only had practice sitting on command in your living room it's not fair of you to expect her to do it when 10 dogs are running around her as she enters the dog park. It's like starting a diet and then spending the day at a donut factory and swearing you'll not touch a donut...not an easy thing to do!

If Fluffy is not doing as you are telling her to do it could be that you don't have Fluffy's attention. Before you tell her to do something you need to make sure she's listening. Perhaps you need to take her farther from the distraction. Perhaps you need to go home because she's far too riled up with excitement and she needs some more training before you ask her to do such difficult things for you.

3) A good command has follow-through. If you say "Fluffy Sit" and Fluffy doesn't sit...do NOT just ignore her. If Fluffy doesn't sit when you say so maybe Fluffy just needs a reminder that she must always sit when you ask. So without repeating the command, you help her sit and then praise her for doing it right...even though you had to help her. Get in front of her and body block her from what's distracting her if you need to but get her to do as you told her to and then reward her for doing it.

So next time Fluffy doesn't sit upon first command and you're tempted nag her with a "Sit Sit Sit SIIIIIT!" think about whether Sit-Sit-Sit-SIIIITING is what you're trying to train =)

-- Adina Pearson --

The Three D's of Dog Training

The first thing to remember is that dogs don't generalize well on their own. In other words, Rover may do great at sitting on command when bored in the house, but may not understand that sitting on your command is also required when in the presence of a new person at the door or when he arrives at the dog park and you need a few seconds to take his leash off without him straining to say hello to his doggy friends. If Rover has never been trained in the presence of distractions...it is not fair of you to expect Rover to comply with your orders when suddenly he IS faced with a huge distraction. He doesn't really understand the rules yet.

In order to help Rover do just as well in other environments as he does when it's just the two of you...you must consider the "3 D's of Dog Training: Duration, Distance, Distraction. Each of these variables plays a part in how well your dog will listen when you give it a command. And each of these three factors must be planned and used carefully during training.

Duration: Duration pertains to both how long to train per day and how long to expect your dog to do something or hold a position. As far as how long to train each day, it depends on your dog's age and training method. For young puppies it is recommended no more than 10 minutes at a time because a puppy's attention span is quite small. For older puppies (6 months or older), longer sessions are probably okay, but always pay attention to your dog -- better to quit a little early than drag a training session on for too long. Some methods also take 30-60 minutes, but usually those methods require the help of a professional trainer.

The other aspect of duration can be illustrated with the "stay" command. "Stay" means your dog must remain in position until you tell it otherwise. For example, you may ask your dog to Sit and then Stay in the sitting position while you open the door for a guest and you expect your dog to hold still until you tell your dog it's okay to move about or say hello.

Such a command needs to be started in very small steps. A dog can't stay for 60 seconds until it can stay for 45 seconds. It can't stay for 45 seconds until it can stay for 30...and so on. All this means is that when you start to teach your dog to "stay" you must expect nothing more than a few seconds. When your dog reliably can stay for 5 seconds...then increase to 10...then 15...etc. Your dog will let you know if you're going to far too fast if it is failing to do well over and over. If your dog starts to fail the stay several times in a row, that is an indication you have increased the duration too soon. Reduce the duration you expect him to stay back to where he was successful, give him some more experience at success, and then end the training session. You can always add a longer duration tomorow.

Distance: When first teaching your dog to do something new (i.e. sit, come, down, stay), you should be standing very close to your dog and be in a low distraction environment to make the task very easy and help doggy succeed. You should also, depending on the command and circumstances, have a leash on your dog to prevent your dog from leaving and ignoring the education. As you begin to sense your dog understands the new command you are teaching, you can introduce a little bit of distance. This is most practical when you teach your dog to come to you when you call it. If your dog will come to you reliably from a 6-foot leash length away, begin to lengthen the distance between you and your dog one foot at a time. For this you may need to purchase a leash of at least 15 feet in length.

Distraction: Distraction is where most training tends to fall apart. The same dog that can sit still beautifully at home and behave nicely when nothing much is going on can be wild and unruly as soon as the door bell rings or another dog or a squirrel comes into view. That is why it is critical to start small when you add distractions during training. Once your dog is good at holding a stay for, let's say 1 minute, then you might want to take your dog to the backyard or front yard where there are more smells and sounds to catch your dogs attention and practice the stay there. But keep in mind the second you add a distraction, you MUST scale back the duration you expect your dog to hold a stay. Go back to the start and only expect 5 seconds or so...do this over and over until you are sure 5 seconds is a breeze. Then work up to more time. When the backyard is a breeze, try a street corner (again always on leash). When the street corner is easy, try a park. When the park is easy try training next to the duck pond at the park. When that is easy train 30 feet away from some dogs playing. The next training session try 20 feet away from those dogs playing. When he can do that train 15 feet away from those dogs playing...you get the idea. You'll have to use your best judgement at what is an easy vs. a hard distraction and work your way up to harder and harder distractions, each time making it easy on the duration or distance front and adding duration and distance only after the dog has done well with the current duration and distance.

And always, always...remember do NOT issue a command unless you are prepared to enforce it and help the dog do it right. If your dog is running around the backyard and doesn't want to come in...do NOT use your normal command ... find another way to entice it to come to you or be prepared to catch your dog and help it come to the very spot from where you called it. Otherwise all it will learn is "when the leash is not on...I don't really have to obey!"

Utilizing The 3 D's of Dog Training takes time and patience but, if you stick to your training plan and practice regularly, in time you will have a dog that will listen and be polite everywhere you go.

-- Adina Pearson --

Coming When Called

Do you have a dog that comes when you call it at home, but pretends it can't hear you at the dog park? It may seem like your dog is blowing you off, but more than likely your dog simply needs more training. As you've probably already figured out, dogs don't enter this word with an ingrained understanding of the English language. You may have been calling your dog by saying “Fido, Come” in various ways since he was a pup, and perhaps, at home, most of the time he leaves what he’s doing and joins you where you are. That does not necessarily mean he understands what the word “come” means. You may not have even defined it for yourself, but so far it seems to get your dog to come near you and you’ve not thought about it much until now. But now you find yourself at the dog park with a Fido who acts like he doesn’t even know you. What happened?

Well chances are Fido never really knew the definition of “come” to begin with (at least not if you didn’t take time out to really teach him). You see, at home, you may be the most interesting thing around…so if you try to get him to come near you…chances are he will. But now he’s at the dog park surrounded by his peers! This is a whole new exciting level of distraction he hasn’t experienced. A completely new territory.

So what do you do?

1. Please know that the recall (coming when called) is one of the most difficult things to train to a high level of reliability and thus will require considerable time, patience, and consistency on your part.
2. You must begin to regard your recall word (“come” being the most common) as sacred.
3. You ALWAYS praise your dog when it does come to you
4. Define what “come” means to you and your dog.
5. Remember the 3 D’s of Dog Training.

Since the first point is self-explanatory, let’s focus on the last four points starting with: The Sacred Recall Word. You might be wondering why any training word would be considered sacred at this point. Before I answer, let me ask you this. On a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being “critically important), how important is it for your dog to respond appropriately when you call it to come to you? If you are on a hike and you take its leash off and it spots a rabbit to chase how import is it for you to be able to call it off the chase? If you’re at the dog park and the other dogs find something nasty to roll in and your dog is also heading toward that same pile of aromatic stuff…how important is it for you to get your dog to return to your side? If your dog runs into the middle of a busy street, how important is it that it returns to you when you call it to come? If the recall is anything less than a 10 for you on the scale of importance then this article won’t help you at all. But if it is critically important then so must be your recall word. Now whether you use the word Come, Yoo-Hoo, or Here Here doesn’t matter. Remember your dog doesn’t speak English…it’s what you make the words mean that matters in training. I prefer the word Come because it is universal, but whatever you choose is fine as long as you make it a sacred word and you are consistent.

Now what exactly do I mean by sacred? It means that for Mission Critical tasks such as recall, the command word must not used carelessly when you have no way to ensure that your dog obeys. In this instance sacred means that until you are 100% sure that your dog is as reliable as a dog can be to come to you under any circumstance do not use the sacred recall word except during training. This means you only use your sacred recall word when the dog is on a leash or you are absolutely certain he won’t ignore the command because you’ve set him up to succeed.

Is it really that big of a deal to use your recall word casually, outside of training? The answer, once again, depends on how critical it is for you to have a dog respond to the recall reliably. If you use the recall word when your dog doesn’t yet understand it fully, has the opportunity to fail, has a chance to ignore you or to disobey it will at best be confused. At worst, your dog will learn that “Fido, Come” is optional and it will be harder and take longer to train him to be reliable at the recall. What does this mean for you at the dog park? If you use your sacred recall word at the dog park when chances are your dog will not listen to you, you have no leash on your dog, and have no way to enforce the command...you will poison the command rendering it worthless for quite a while.

So what do you do in the meantime? How do you get your dog to return to you during those times you shouldn’t say “Fido, Come” because you don’t think he will respond correctly?

Well, in those times you simply go get your dog. If you have a leash on your dog it is much easier. And remember leashes come anywhere from a 1-foot traffic lead to 30 feet or longer training lines—so this doesn’t mean you are stuck with practicing the recall from 4-6 feet away (the length of the average leash). However, a leash is not always practical to have on your dog 24/7 around the house or yard (though your dog should ALWAYS be leashed in public).

You can also lure/bribe your dog to return to you with his favorite toy or treat. Just remember that unless you use treats in training and know how to wean off of the need for treats…do not use them along with your recall word because you don’t want to teach your dog it only has to come when it sees a treat.

I must admit this is not easy to do. Especially if your recall word is “come”. “Come” rolls off the tongue so naturally and easily that it’s hard not to let it slip in random situations. I’ve done it myself. And you probably will too…but make a concerted effort to save this special word ONLY for those times you can enforce it. Or if you don't trust yourself at all...change your recall word to something else.

Now regarding the times you can enforce it, the recall should never have unpleasant consequences for your dog. What I mean by “enforce” is not punishment or reprimand. It simply means to make sure the dog is wearing a leash so you can at least reel it in to help it do as you asked. Whether you use treats in training or more traditional methods, when your dog finally arrives by your side or in front of you…he is ALWAYS a VERY GOOD DOG. Even if you had to help him get to you, he deserves praise. Or else why would your dog ever want to come to you if it got punished or lectured when it did?

But…before you start training the recall, you must define the meaning of the recall for you and your dog? When he comes to you what do you want him to do? Is he supposed to stand beside you? Is he supposed to sit in front of you and await the next command? Or does he just need to arrive somewhere within reach? Be very specific about what you expect and always ask for the same thing or else the dog will be confused and unreliable. If sometimes you want him to sit in front of you and other times you want him to just leave what he’s doing and kind of, sort of, come your direction, he won’t know what you really want. And in times of emergency when it really counts…chances are things may not be perfect so the more defined and exact you are in practice…the closer to perfection you’ll get when you need it.

Finally, remember the 3 D’s of Dog Training. I’m not sure “duration” applies in this instance, but start with a close distance, and no distractions. Then little by little increase distance and distraction allowing your dog to be successful. And remember, if your dog fails several times in a row it means he wasn’t yet ready for that level of difficulty. Go back to where he was doing well and increase the difficulty more slowly until he can be successful where he had failed before.

With patience, consistency, and remembering to only give commands that you can enforce, your dog will become so reliable that when you say "Fido, Come!" while he is in the middle of romping with other dogs he will whip around at lightening speed and come to you just as you requested.

Happy Training!

-- Adina Pearson --