All aboard!

It takes time and consistency to train a dog.  Even if that dog is the family pet, it is very unlikely that your dog was the perfect, well behaved, angel you expected when you brought him home.  Puppy . . . adolescent . . . adult . . . shelter . . . rescue . . . breeder . . . even if they were fully trained, they needed to learn the new house "rules".

Regardless of how much your dog needs to learn when you bring them home, the key to success is getting everyone who will interact with your pup on the same page.  This requires PLANNING!  You have to figure out:
1) How do you expect your dog to behave?
2) What rules are they to follow (and exactly what does that look like)?

It is not enough to determine that your dog must be "friendly".  After all, behavior your 20 year old cousin sees as friendly might scare grandma half to death (or cause her to fall and break her hip)!  You need to decide what "friendly" LOOKS like so everyone knows when the dog is behaving in a way that deserves praise.  Then, you have to make sure everyone who interacts with your dog rewards acceptable behavior and not unacceptable behavior.

This is a picture of a note one of the Paws and Stripes staff left me after she had taken Treun out for a potty break when I was out of the office for a bit.  Before I go into detail about what a wonderful co-trainer Mandy is when she handles dogs in the office, I need to let you in on a few details.  "Good manners" translates to calm behavior such as sitting to greet, waiting to be leashed, walking calmly by handler's side, and not pulling (Treun is a little bit of a freight train when he is excited).  The big rule is that if dogs are in vest, they are working and must be treated as such (minimal interaction as is necessary to complete the task), out of vest they are fair game!

This is such a good example of a person working within the rules.  Mandy clearly reinforces desired behavior by ensuring that Treun behaves properly and she rewards him without causing him to get over excited.  She also adjusted her behavior by interacting with him more than she would normally because he was out of vest.  She also took the time to write a short "progress report" for me so I was aware of how he did while I was gone.  It is wonderful that everyone in the office loves dogs so much but still remembers that even if they are not the primary "trainer", they still have an important role to play in shaping the dogs that they encounter.  

If you are doing anything that helps to shape a dog's behavior, you are participating in the training process -- remember that when an owner corrects their dog for doing something to you that you don't mind . . . just because you don't mind a pup jumping up on you to say "hi" doesn't mean you should let him -- after all, remember grandma's hip!

Tension creates tension!

An important lesson to be learned when teaching a dog to walk nicely on a leash is to maintain a loose leash because if one puts tension on the leash, the dog will respond by pulling, or pulling harder.  A great way to teach your dog not to pull is to reinforce the idea that if they pull, progress in that direction ceases.  Some common methods used in leash training are standing still or turning in another direction.  Usually "non-aversive" methods use some variation of stopping movement in the desired direction and rewarding the dog for staying in the desired position.

But it is not just having a taunt leash that may cause your dog to pull!  There are at least two other forms of tension to which your dog may respond by pulling.  One of them, I realized long ago (with the help of other trainers) and the other I experienced more recently.

First, there is the tension in the handler.  Even if there is no tension in the leash and that wonderful "J" shape exists between the handler and the dog, the person's tension can move through the leash and transfer from the handler to the dog.  There are many types of tension that travel through the leash.  Something as simple as having a death grip on the leash or as complicated as being preoccupied by everything left undone for the day, can cause your dog to pick up the pace and practically drag you through that daily walk (or in the case of a service animal, the whole day).

But recently, I discovered another kind of tension that affected how well my dogs maintained a loose leash . . . a collar that was adjusted too tightly.  Treun recently went through another growth spurt and I had not noticed that this one had affected his neck size.  While his collars were not overly tight, they were more snug than before.  Once I adjusted them to give him a looser fit, I noticed that he tended not to pull as often.  Now, he is still challenged by high distractions when walking on leash, but the change was noticeable!

So remember, tension - no matter what the source - will contribute to your dog's desire to pull.  Keep the leash loose, stay relaxed, and keep those collars comfy!

Exercise!

Treun is full of energy and if he doesn't get his exercise he can be a pill!  Fortunately, I have managed to find many creative ways to help him burn his physical and mental energy because some days, traditional methods of dog exercise are just not an option.

One of my favorites is hiding things for him to find.  This is a variation on Canine Nose Work -- a newish dog sport that is becoming very popular.  What we do is not nearly as elaborate or as skilled, but it is something that Treun loves to do.  It helps him learn to problem solve, burns energy, and can be done with little to no exertion on my part.  There are lots of variations that I have been shown and I am able to develop the game to provide a constant challenge for Treun but taking my own limitations into account.

Another thing that he loves is having some serious doggie play time!  Fortunately, because I work with dogs for a living, he has plenty of opportunities to enjoy the company of other pups.  He has a great time playing chase or exploring a new smell.  I am seeing that he is getting a bit more selective about his playmates.  He has his favorites while with others he limits his interactions.  He still gets along well with most dogs, but not everyone is his best friend anymore.  Maybe he is growing up a bit!