"People Food"

Because I am a positive reinforcement trainer I get a lot of clients who will say "I don't give my dog people food" or who will ask, "Won't that make him beg?".  So, I thought I would write a blog on the use of different reinforcers and whether or not this will cause problems with your dogs.

I sometimes use packaged dog treats.  Mainly, I use them when I am training at home.  My dogs are happy to work for Zukes or some other soft, small, easy to eat treat.  This is because at home my dogs are less likely to require higher value reinforcers.  I may switch to something higher value if I am working on something new or challenging or just extra attention.  However, when I am at a training class or some novel or distracting environment I know that it is likely I will need to be using higher value treats. 

For me, their are levels of value of treats.  I determine the level based on the animals response to them.  If they eat them, but aren't crazy for them they are probably fairly low value.  If they ignore them all together, they are very low value and basically worthless for that animal.  If the animal is crazy for them and locked onto them they are high value.  Generally, I would rate them like this:

Low value - kibble, charlie bears, milk bone or other hard type biscuits

Medium value - Soft store bought treats such as Zukes, Pupperonis, Carvers.  Or people food like Cheerios or popcorn.

High value - Human grade beef, chicken, fish, cheese, hot dogs, roll dog food.

Again, this list is not set in stone, it is a generalization.  I know plenty of dogs who work happily for the low value treats on my list, but those are dogs that are very "foody" and pretty much like everything, like my Dachshunds.  It is important to keep in mind that the dog gets to decide the value of the reinforcer, not the human.

People will sometimes worry that it is not healthy to give their dogs "people food", but if you are using good, healthy food, this isn't a problem.  Unless you have a dog that has specific intolerances or allergies, most meats, cheeses, etc will be fine for them.  If you have a dog with a sensitive tummy then perhaps go with boiled chicken or something more bland like that.  I pretty much use all of our leftover meat for dog training.  This includes lunch meat, steak, chicken, ham.  I have even taken leftover carnitas (pork) rinsed off all the sauce and juice and used that.  If you fed your dog only steak it wouldn't be a healthy, well balanced diet, but to use it for training is not an issue.  I even use peanut butter and cheese whiz when stuffing kongs, or when I need a soft, gooey type of treat.  Again, if your dog has an intolerance or allergy to a specific food then of course, don't use it, but I haven't found these things to cause problems for most dogs.  In my opinion, human grade meat is probably healthier than many of the processed treats made for dogs, so I am perfectly comfortable using them.  If your dog ends up with an upset tummy, try something more bland.  Never feed your dog chocolate, grapes, raisins or onions.

Another issue that clients bring up is will feeding people food teach their dog to beg.  My answer is "only if you feed it from the table or when you are eating".  Dogs would learn to beg just as easily if you fed kibble from the table.  Dogs don't bed because we are giving them people food, they beg because of the context of when they are given it.  If you feed them while you are preparing food in the kitchen, they will learn to come into the kitchen and stare at you or jump up or mug you or whatever they do to ask for some.  If you are a particularly sloppy cook and you drop food on the floor, they will learn to hang out in the kitchen while you cook.  If you feed your dog from the table when you are eating meals, they will learn, quickly, to come and stare at you and maybe scratch your leg or put their chin on your knee to ask for some.  They aren't just "doing this", they are "taught" this by those who feed them in those situations.  If "people food" only comes from a treat bag or is given to them only during training sessions they won't learn to beg from giving them. 

So, relax and use the reinforcers necessary to train your dog, just be smart about it!

Uh oh! My dog is guilty!

The other day my cattle dog Bill ate a cupcake off of the counter.  He licked the icing off another one.  My husband found the crumbs of the first cupcake and the frosting missing off of the other and said, "Oh man, someone ate a cupcake off the counter.  Hey, they licked the frosting off of this one!"  There are only two dogs big enough to do this but I was pretty sure which dog it was.  I didn't say anything but looked for Bill and found him lying down behind the couch looking very "guilty".  He looked the exact same way he looks when my husband raises his voice because his football team is losing, when something he is working on around the house isn't going his way and when he is losing at his video game.  Do you see where this is going?  Bill didn't feel "guilty" because he ate a cupcake, in fact, he didn't realize Rick was vocalizing about cupcakes, he responds that way anytime Rick is upset about anything.  Bill is very close and attached to Rick and freakishly in tune with Rick's emotions.  He is so sensitive to Rick's tone of voice in fact, that every time Rick raises his voice he slinks away regardless of what Rick is talking about or who Rick is talking to.  In fact, Rick has taken to saying, "It's okay Bill, it's not you" nearly every time he raises his voice to stop Bill from worrying. 

People are always saying that their dogs feel "guilty".  They say this because this is how they perceive their dog's body language, usually just after they have found something that the dog has done that they don't like.  What they don't understand is that the dog is not responding this way because he feels "guilt" or "remorse" over something he has done, in fact, the dog usually has not clue that he did something "wrong".  The dog is simply responding to the owner's tone of voice and body language.  If a person comes home from work, finds poop in the house, then has an anger meltdown because they have to clean it up, the dog will begin to look worried and afraid when the owner comes home.  It isn't because of what he did, it is because of his past experiences of his owner coming home and then getting angry.  By the way, a dog can find our reactions punishing regardless of how benign they may seem.  To some very sensitive dogs, something has subtle as a heavy sigh or look of disgust can be punishing to the dog.  It is so interesting to me how people are can be completely resistant to the fact that dogs have emotions (which they do) or they believe that they have emotions and because they do, they must be exactly like human emotions (which they aren't).

Dogs repeat behaviors that are reinforcing.  They also live in the moment.  I had a very hard time resisting those cupcakes, even though I had already eaten one!  Bill saw them on the counter and wanted one, so he took one.  I believe he saw it, wanted it, took it, ate it and then it was over.  He probably forgot about the cupcake the moment he was finished eating it (even though there was still frosting on his lip when I found him behind the couch!).  When Rick started to complain that a cupcake was eaten, Bill heard his tone and got worried like he always does.  There was no cupcake-guilt about it.  By the way, we didn't care too much that he ate a cupcake and Bill didn't get in "trouble" for it, we just felt stupid for leaving the cupcake container open on the edge of the counter.  STUPID!

There has been a video circulating on the internet of a "guilty dog".  The owner comes to the dog with a ripped bag of cat treats and says to the dog "Did you do this?  Did you rip open these cat treats?".  The dogs starts to do a series of appeasement behaviors including pinning his ears back, yawning, lip licking, squinting his eyes, and finally offering a full, submissive grin with all of his teeth showing.  People watch it and laugh and say that the dog is guilty, but the dog is not feeling "guilty" the dog is simply responding to the owner's tone of voice.  It's sad to watch actually if you know what is going on.  If you tested it (which I don't recommend you do since it's stressful to your dog) you would see that your dog will respond the same way if your tone and body language worries him.

The take away message here is "please don't assume your dog is feeling guilty", he is likely just responding to you.  Oh, and remember to put the lid back on the cupcake container before leaving it on the counter!

All Hackled Up

The term “hackles up” refers to the hair along a dogs back standing up on end. The hackles can be up just around the base of the tail, just over the shoulders, or all the way down from the dog’s shoulders all the way down to his tail. The actual term for this is “piloerection”.

When people see a dog with it’s “hackles” up, they tend to get worried assuming that this is a sign of aggression. It is a reason to take notice but not always a reason to worry. The piloerection occurs when a dog is stimulated or aroused. This will sometimes happen when a dog is frightened, aggressing or excited. It can also happen when a dog is cold.

The key in finding out the emotional state of the dog is looking at the rest of the body language.

If a dog is looking at you and barking with a deep chested bark, standing with his body leaning forward, with his head up and tail straight up and has his hackles up, you clearly want to be careful. This dog is warning you.

If a dog is hiding behind his owner and peeking out barking, then running back and hiding and his hackles are up, this is a dog that is highly conflicted. The hackling in this case is a fear response. Another dog to be careful of because if pushed or threatened he may feel forced to react aggressively.

If the dog is running and playing with another dog and his hackles are up, keep a close eye on the play to ensure you can protect both dogs. This is what I have seen happen next:

A) the hackling dogs is over aroused and jumps on the playmate, sometimes still playfully but too rough, with the hackles up. Remove the hackling dog from the play and give him a time out (1 to 3 minutes) to cool down. This type of play may tip into a fight. (Note: if you pull the hackling dog off and the other dog is still trying to play with him, things were probably ok on the other dogs end, but I will still do a cool down).

B) the hackling dog is over aroused and jumps on the playmate, does a lot of deep
growling, stands stiffly over the playmate. Again, remove the hackling dog from play
and give a time out (1 to 3 minutes) to cool down. This dog may be uncomfortable
with the play, or possibly the playmate is not a good match in play style for this dog. I
see this in puppy class a lot and what we do is find a more appropriate playmate
which usually helps quite a bit. We also be sure to make sure that we are keeping all
dogs comfortable and relaxed.

C) the hackling dog is simply excited and aroused and has a piloerection when playing.
With these dogs the body language is loose and appropriate as is the play style. I see
this a lot in Labradors (I don’t know why, this is just an observation, not in any way a
proven fact or science based conclusion).

So, just keep in mind to look at the whole dog and the whole picture when determining if the hackling is a reason for concern.

Free Stack Training Tools

One of the core behaviors a show dog needs to be taught is how to free stack and hold it. When time is taken to train the behavior it is a fairly straightforward set of behaviors to teach. In this article I am going to share a few ideas and ways to go about teaching the stack stay that allow the owner and dog to enjoy the process and have success at it.

Contrary to popular belief you can train a show dog to sit you just have to make sure that you spend as much time reinforcing stands, which is where people go wrong. I teach my show dogs that my finger pointing out is a target for them to spot and that this signals standing, not sitting. If you have never worked sits with your dog, you may have less of a sit default and will have to do less clicking for standing, but it’s still a good idea to reinforce some stands. As you may have guessed I teach stacking and staying with the clicker. I begin by capturing the dog standing. Capturing means I don’t lure the animal I just wait for him to stand and I click. I may move around to prompt standing and then when he does, I click and treat. If he continues standing I will click and treat again. Maybe even a third time. Initially, I just want the dog to learn that standing is reinforcing. You actually have to do more of this (reinforcing stands) for dogs that have had a lot of sit training. During this phase, I do not use a cue or word yet, I want to build the behavior before naming it.

Once the dog is standing pretty reliably (not on cue, just offering stands), I can begin to build how I want the dog to stand. I teach the dog the cues “back” which means to step backwards and “step” which means to move a front foot forward to meet the other one. “Back” and “Step” are taught separately, do not teach them together or the dog will just learn a back and forth pattern, which isn’t what you want. To teach the back I use Kay Laurence’s method. For those of you who may not know of her Kay is a highly skilled trainer from Learning about Dogs in England. It’s a bit challenging to explain, but I will try. You sit in a chair that has an open bottom (like a folding chair). I usually position the chair so that I am sitting sideways beside a wall. You then place a piece of food just under the chair, the dog will eat the food and then back up to get out, just as the dog is leaning back to back out from under the chair, you click and drop another treat under the chair, the dog will reach for the treat, then you click moving back again and drop another treat under the chair and so on. Once they realize the game you can say “back” just as they go to back out and begin delivering the treat from your hand. I have had dogs offering steps back in the first session. It’s a really brilliant way to teach the back. Another method is the more traditional way of stepping slightly into the dog and then clicking and treating as they step back. Once they are easily doing that you can say “back” just before stepping in. This isn’t a great method for small dogs or sensitive dogs, but can work ok for some of the bigger dogs. I still prefer Kay’s method however.

To teach “step” I simply move my body slightly away and at an angle which will cause the dog to step toward me, then click and treat when they move the foot. I don’t put pressure on the lead to move the dog; I want the dog to realize what he is doing and learn to be responsible for moving the foot without much prompting from me. Once the dog understands to move the foot when I move my body, I say “step” just before the body prompt and click and treat when they do it. It is important for the “back” and the “step” that the dog understand what you are reinforcing, this is why I want to use the clicker, it tells the dog the exact moment he made the choice I am reinforcing and allows me a moment to deliver the treat. Allow the dog to experiment with what you will reinforce; this makes it fun for them. I will sometimes just wait a moment and let the dog think about it without giving all kinds of input. I want the dogs I train to know that they are free to move their bodies and see what I like and what I will reinforce.

Once the dog has been trained to get into position I’d like him to learn to hold the position. There are a couple of ways to do this. Usually I start pausing in between clicks. So, the dog stacks (I ask him to step or get back if I need to) then I click and treat, then I say “stay” and after just a moment, I click and treat again. I will do this a few times, and then start over. I then build duration in between clicks and treats.

Another method that I think is brilliant in teaching the dog to hold the stack is Marj Brooks’ 1-2-3 game (from Handling Secrets Uncovered, CDOC). Marj will stack the dog then say 1…2…3 and deliver the reinforcement right after saying 3. The 1 and 2 become like a keep going cue and the 3 cues the dog that the treat is coming. The great thing is that she can then begin to add duration in between the 1, 2 and 3 to teach the dog to hold it longer. This keeps it interesting and fun for the dog.

Another helpful tool is Happy Legs. When used correctly, Happy Legs can be a positive training game to teach a dog to stand. Unfortunately, many people have turned Happy Legs into a torture device by putting the dog on a grooming noose with no slack and forcing the dog to stand for extended periods of time (sometimes an hour at a time). This isn’t training, its torture and not how they were intended to be used. I contacted Susan Catlin, owner and creator of Happy Legs about the correct way to use Happy Legs as well as the practice of forcing a dog to stand on Happy Legs for long periods and she gave me this statement (along with permission to publish it):

“That is NOT what Happy Legs are for. They are a fun game that should last no longer than 1 minute!! A dog does not need any longer than a minute to understand the game of “hold your feet still”. Can you imagine standing in the grocery line and having to stand squarely on both feet without shifting your weight for an extended time? That’s what they are asking the dog to do. People are missing the opportunity to have fun with their dogs, to do something that’s easy and encouraging for the dog, something the dog can win at immediately and feel empowered by. Our dogs enjoy this game so much that I will open the box on the floor and my dog will go and get in the fox and actually put his front feet on the stilts at look at me for his reward.” She continues, “Humans have this natural instinct to think if an inch is good then a foot if better. So, if one minute is ok, then an hour will get me Best in Show. Add the human element and you get people that want shortcuts and quick fixes.” And, “Why would anyone think you could put a dog on stilts, leave it on the table for an extended time and have a happy dog?”

I think she said it perfectly. She also thanked me for attempting to educate people on the proper use of Happy Legs. The idea of Happy Legs is to have the dog stand on them and reinforce them while they are staying in place on them for short periods of time. The website actually gives detailed instructions on how to use them and as I said, used correctly they can be a helpful training tool.

The most important thing is to take the time to teach the dog what you expect him to do. If the dog can easily perform the behavior you have requested at home and is comfortable and sure of what you want, he will have a much easier time doing it for you in the ring when both you and your dog are either nervous or excited. Taking the time to train a good stack stay really pays off!

Custom made lead

I ordered and just received a beautiful custom made beaded lead. It was very reasonably priced and is gorgeous. Got it from an Etsy seller. Go to www.etsy.com and look up show leads the seller is Braid-a-roo!

Can the dog do it?

One of the most important things we have to do before attempting to teach a dog (or any animal) something is to determine if they are physically capable of doing what we want to teach. Physical problems or even the construction of that particular dog can have an impact on whether or not the dog is able to perform a specific behavior. This can be frustrating to some people, which doesn't make sense to me at all. The dog cannot help how he was built. Not being able to do something isn't misbehavior. Need a few examples, ok here goes. I have seen many small dogs (miniature Dachshunds come to mind) who cannot gait properly on grass. They move beautifully on other surfaces, sometimes even very short grass, but they cannot move comfortably in their natural gait on higher grass because they are simply not tall enough. When they move properly their short legs don't lift high enough off of the ground to clear it, causing their gait to change, usually to choppy, hoppy movement. Here's another example. A dog who has a bad hips may not be able to get up from a sit quickly. If a dog has weak or painful hips, he is not physically capable of popping up like a dog with a healthier rear would do. It's really important to look at what we are asking the dog to do and determine that he can physically do it before attempting to train it, failing to do that will cause both the dog and the trainer a lot of frustration.