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Something awesome happened today on our walk! We were practicing loose leash walking again and a big man was approaching us on the same side of the sidewalk. I was letting him have a short potty break as this guy passed us. Before, Loker would have probably barked at him and what not, but this time Loker came to me and sat right in front of me as the guy passed! I gave him treats as he sat there and as the guy passed to reward that behavior. I was so proud! I did not even have to give him a cue to come to me and sit – it was AUTOMATIC! This has been the goal behavior and he is already displaying it for low level stimuli.
Image of Loker taken by Emily of DreamEyce Studio
The gentleman walked by and turned around once he passed and said, “You are doing a great job with that dog, I see you out here working all the time.” I said “thank you”!! I guess hard work does pay off! At least I know people see me working with my dog and maybe it will someday motivate them to work with theirs. Arlington, TX is not very dog friendly and uneducated to say the least, so I hope I am educating people that it is possible to train dogs. Hopefully, at least the children who see me will be intrigued…
Pulling on the leash
Loose leash walking is a bit of a challenge for every dog. After all, what dog can resist the smells and sights of the world without the proper motivation?! I was having a bit of an issue because at points in the walk Loker would ignore the clicker and ignore anything I said. It was what most people call “blowing me off” (I don’t believe any dog does this on purpose so I needed to figure out what was happening). This was odd for me because he was doing great during other parts of the walk. So I spoke and conversed with some fellow trainers and after some video, we all came to the conclusion that Loker was getting too stressed during those parts of the walk and could not pay attention. I failed to pay attention to his stress signals and adjust how I was working with him in order to help him succeed.
In fact, after watching the video of him ignoring me, I was able to see his signals and identify them on our last walk and adjusted my behavior accordingly. When I saw those signals I turned around and went back to our usual walking area and pet and encouraged him which seemed to do the trick! I need to be a little more engaging verbally to keep his attention and to help him relax as much as possible.
I must admit that I am still transitioning. Habits that I’ve had over the last few years are hard to get rid of. I no longer do corrections, but I still have the impulses. I also need to learn how to RELAX! I get too focused on what I need to do that I become strict on myself and what I expect from Loker. I forget how to have fun in the process! On our most recent walk, I kept myself relaxed, let him have more potty/sniffing opportunities, and pet and talked to him. It made a world of a difference. He gave me more eye contact and it felt like we were more connected through out the whole walk. So that is something I need to keep in mind for future walks and training sessions!
Never stop learning! 🙂
Positive training techniques work with all breeds!
There are many dog training methods available to the public, but just like any professional service, you should do your research when it comes to hiring someone to work with your family and dog. Shock collar trainers have incredible marketing schemes and an ability to make shock collars seem comfortable and normal for any dog. However, unsuspecting dog owners have permanently traumatized their dogs with these e-collars – even with “proper” use.
Some shock collar trainers use these kinds of marketing techniques* (among others):
- Free evaluation and demo
- Off leash control in 3 lessons or less
Keep in mind that true dog training solutions are not “quick fixes”. In order to have long-lasting, permanent success, time and effort need to be put in at the beginning. People see the quick fix offered by shock collars and are sold before they get a chance to think about the psychological trauma this collar may do to a dog.
Please take a moment to read these true personal stories:
“I have had my rescue dog for over a year. He has weirdness but is totally perfect 100% fine with me. Last month I pulled out some scotch tape and he hit the bricks and looked at me with total fear in his eyes. As we worked through the tape, I realized it makes the sound of a shock collar. Ripped my guts out.” – Nancy Freedman-Smith
“A wonderful 7 month old Bull mastiff puppy I am working with right now had a local, well-known trainer use a shock collar on him. The trainer used it to teach the dog how to lay down on a mat in the 2-year-old child’s playroom so the child could play without the dog getting in the way. The day after the first training session with this shock collar trainer, the dog lunged at the child as the child picked up a sippy cup with his mouth because it was traumatized and was a complete wreck. The child was not seriously injured and only got a small scratch on his face. I received the dog in my positive board and train program after that and the dog has been a total doll. This large breed puppy is doing fabulous now!” – Karen Deeds
“My oldest dog, once I switched to clicker training, was able to compete in obedience, agility, and rally obedience. She got certified as a therapy dog, she has a Novice Trick Dog title, a Pre-CD obedience title, got a few Q’s in agility before she retired, has excelled in CARO rally and is very close to her first level CARO title. Before this I couldn’t get her to do a thing! She is a 10-year-old Siberian Husky. Her first rally trial was last year and she qualified all three rounds with a high score of 191/200 which I was not expecting. She just needs one more Q under a different judge to title!” – Sarah Fulcher
“If my smoke detector chirps or if there is any other high pitch noise Brody rolls over and urinates on himself because it sounds like the ‘page’ feature of the shock collars. I find it appalling that something so terror inducing to cause submissive urination in two otherwise non-fearful dogs can be touted as ‘humane’. Brody never yelped, barked, or showed extreme signs of discomfort in the shock collar, yet it still traumatized him so badly.” – Lauren Elizabeth
“My last hound, when I first got him, cowered and urinated on himself when I tried a new collar on him. He had learned that the “second collar” being placed on his neck meant he was going to be shocked. He never did that at any other time, no matter who leaned over him, or what else was being done to him – including nail trimming, shots, ear cleaning (even once when he had an ear infection). However, if you went for that second collar, you would need paper towels for the floor. Needless to say, once I figured out what the trigger was, I never tried a new collar on him without first removing the old one! This formerly ‘dumb’ hound ended up as a therapy dog with a nice little repertoire of people-pleasing tricks – all trained positively.” – Anne Springer
As anyone can see, many dogs are traumatized by this collar even if they don’t display any discomfort. Training with true positive reinforcement and force-free methods allows the owner and dog to form a bond far beyond what an e-collar could ever do. Please do your beloved companion a favor and avoid using aversives in training.
Loker has never experienced a shock collar – thankfully!
Please note: I know this is a controversial subject so for this reason, I will not allow any comments. I love debating in person, but it is very hard to debate effectively over the internet. I am not here to argue, simply to give information for my readers to learn from.
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[* While many shock collar trainers use these methods to attract customers, positive trainers may use them, too. Please do your research when picking a trainer to work with your dog.]
This article was made in collaboration with the Ines Gaschot of All Positive Dog Training and Stacy Greer of Adventures in Canine Training, and the people who shared their personal stories in hopes that this will help convince some people in the future to not use a shock collars on their dogs. Special thanks to those who contributed their stories. (Photos courtesy of DreamEyce Studio – Emily Rose Godlevsky (http://www.dreameyce.com))
Ever wonder how a dog trainer figures out how the dog is feeling? Calming signals are behaviors a dog may display to another animal or human when stressed or made uncomfortable for any reason. Usual calming signals are:
- Lip Licking
- Yawning
- Head turns
- Sniffing
- Play bows
- Sitting
- Freezing in Place
- Closed mouth
- Tight, concerned brows
- Panting
- Wrinkles at the corner of the mouth
- Ears straight back
- Whale eyes (whites of the eyes are visible)
Any of these signals can be combined. Each dog uses different signals and different intensities of each signal and some dogs may have some signals of their own. Knowing your dog well is important for you to understand when he or she is uncomfortable or stressed. Below I have placed some pictures that are controversial for most knowledgeable dog trainers, but which may seem adorable to the average person on the street. I believe all people who choose to own a dog should be educated about calming signals. It would certainly help people prevent many dog bites and prevent innocent dogs in bad situations from being put down.
Look at the images below with this new knowledge and think about how the dog might be uncomfortable. A common exercise for educated dog trainers is to look at images and videos and write down what behavior is observed. It is a skill that can and should be practiced as it is key to understanding your dog. Be sure to leave a comment below saying which picture you are looking at and what you see in that picture! Don’t be afraid to list some behaviors that have not been listed! 🙂
In this image I was using high frequency rewards to keep him in the down position. He looks a little stressed in this picture so there may have been cheering at this time or it was very warm that day and he is readjusting to the Texas heat!
I don’t think you can really practice too much as long as you give your dog breaks. This past weekend I went to my little (high school senior) brother’s soccer game. My family was in town and I wanted to join them on the field. I knew this would be a great opportunity to work with Loker on loud noises (cheering and clapping hands) as well as loose leash walking around lots of people (not necessarily dogs). He got lots of rewards every time the small crowd cheered and I worked on keeping him in the down position in this highly distracting setting. I was impressed that I was able to keep his attention on me most of the time – that means I brought the right reward for the situation – boiled chicken! Bringing the right reinforcement means the reward for listening to you is worth more than anything else in the environment.
One mistake many people make is not bringing the right reward for the situation. You can’t be afraid to bring super high value rewards to a highly distracting situation. What you use at home will usually be anything but motivating in a highly distracting area. Highly distracting situations can be group training classes, neighborhood park with other dogs, pet stores that allow pets, pet events, or any situation that your dog may be nervous or aroused in. If you bring the same old treats from home, your dog will not pay attention. It isn’t that he is “blowing you off”, it is because there are more highly rewarding things going on in the environment and those are more motivating than what you brought. And let me clarify, you are NOT bribing him, you are simply offering a delicious reward for doing what you ask. Bribing would be dangling the treat right in front of his nose and saying “if your sit Ill give you this chicken!” This is why it is critical to train in such a way that food motivation can be phased out once the dog knows what to do. If you are using the techniques correctly it is absolutely possible to remove food as the motivation and replace it with play or praise. After all, you should be teaching the dog to work for you, not the treat.
Another mistake is using the same treats for all training. For some dogs this may not be a problem, however, if you are having issues with keep your dog’s attention try to reserve certain treats for certain situations. For example, I only use chicken/hot-dogs for super distracting situations, like here on the soccer fields or in our group class. This will help the treat keep it’s value because you dog will know this is the only time it get’s such delicious rewards!
Keep on training! Practice makes almost perfect! 😉
The Crossover Trainer 