Lance! You have been the quirkiest boy ever, but I love ya to the moon and back. You have flourished to quite the devoted, loyal, vocal and comical boy ever. You still amaze me with your sweet interactions with Walter Michael, our Budgie. Thank you so much for being you.
Video is owned by me. No distribution without owner’s consent. Copyrighted 2021.
When welcoming our newest addition, Virginia into our home, I knew that I had to show her the ropes and teach her some cues. All I thought about was the fun ones like high five, weaving and sit pretty. Until, I noticed that Virginia was a confident girl and was challenging for hierarchy in the home. I already had one confident girl that ran the roost before her arrival, but, now, I had to manage any moments so they didn’t escalate. Both of my Chihuahua girls don’t have any teeth. Well, let me correct that statement; Virginia has no teeth but Meg has three left and one being a canine.
As I incorporated some fun cues, I was so very thankful that I taught the cue “leave it”. Leave it is a cue that I think all families should teach their dog. It immediately tells your dog don’t even try to eat it, touch it, growl at it or run for it.
One day, I fed both my girls peanut butter Kongs, separately. Once they were both done, I removed the Kongs to ensure that nobody got an attitude or possessive over a high value item. Little did I know that some peanut butter residue was still on a blanket. Virginia crept up while Meg was licking. I thought Meg cleaning herself but nope, it was a little bit of high value peanut butter left on that blanket. Within seconds, the ruckus erupted. See, I didn’t yell out their names or get angry when that moment happened. I yelled “Leave it”! It worked. They both jumped off the blanket as if a snake was about to bite them. Calm was instantly restored.
How did I teach the cue “Leave it”?
Here are my steps to teaching the cue, “Leave It”:
Another way of teaching “Leave It” is by having a treat in one hand, opening that treat hand to show the dog the item to engage his senses and then close your palm. If the dog stops pawing, licking or nudging and removes himself from the item, remove the hand/item away and then click and treat with other hand. Please note that the dog should never be rewarded with the item you are telling him to ignore.
“Leave It” is a cue to have in your tool bag. Imagine how many baths you won’t have to do because you yelled “Leave it” before your dog rolled in that high smelling horse, dog or rabbit poop! Wait, even better… How about saving your dog from ingesting medicine that fell off the counter or nowadays, a possible poisonous treat left behind by some sicko while your walking the neighborhood or local trail.
Victoria Stilwell ~ Teaching “Leave It” Video
Let me know how your training session is going. Feel free to comment below or email. I would love to hear from you.
Dear Ms. Deborah,
I am trying to teach my dog some commands. My husband says that I using the wrong words for what I am asking our dog to do. For example, I am using down to get off the furniture. My husband thinks that I should say “off”. In order to settle this argument, what are some of your words that you have used to train your dog?
Sincerely,
Newbie at Dog Training
Dear Newbie,
One, I would like to say thank you for taking the time to work and bond with your dog. I think that it is awesome that you are setting your dog up for success by teaching him some manners. As far as words, it is whatever you want them to be. However, I will list some of the words that I use and why I use those particular ones.
I hope this helps you and your husband. Let me know how your training sessions are going. Please feel free to comment below or private message me.
Dear Ms. Deborah,
I saw that you offer dog training advice so I am wondering if you can help me with my dog jumping on everyone. How do I get this big lug to stop jumping on me or my family? When anyone comes in the door or visits, my husband thinks it is funny and encourages it when he comes home.
Sincerely, Frustrated Wife
Dear Frustrated Wife,
I am so sorry that you are experiencing this exuberant greeting from your dog, but it is not uncommon. Dogs jump up for many reasons. One, it is a form of greeting and if rewarded, it will continue. Two, if the dog adds in licking of the face, it is offering a peacemaking behavior and hoping someone will regurgitated their food. As gross as this sounds, it’s a win for him.
Before I begin on the steps of how to train your dog to stop jumping, you will need to express the importance to all of your family of why it shouldn’t take place. If anything was to happen to a small child or to grandma, all of you would be heart broken. You can explain to your husband that your buddy can continue to jump up but only when given permission to do so.
How to train your dog to stop jumping?
If you dog has any other behaviors such as growling or biting with the jumping, I highly recommend you working with a dog trainer that specializes in behavior modification.
Spring has arrived! It’s time to be outside and do some of that yard work. Your dog has offered up his/her services and has provided the ultimate assistance, digging holes. Digging those large, deep holes is not what any homeowner wants but it is a must do for your dog.
Why does your pooch dig holes?
What can you do to stop digging?
It is important to supervise your dog at all times. With all the pets being stolen right out of their yards nowadays, it is important to keep an eye on them.
With holes that your dog has already dug, you can put chicken wire down on top of the hole and cover the hole with dirt, bark mulch or gravel. Another alternative is placing their poop in the same hole that they continue to dig and cover with dirt. Dogs don’t like playing with their own poop.
Lastly, you can compromise by creating a specific area for your dog to dig. You can fence off a suitable area and replace the topsoil with a heavy sand to make digging easier. You can teach your dog that this is his/her play area and place this behavior on a cue.
Want to make it fun? Each week, you can hide a variety of treats and toys. For example, while your dog is in the house, you can place some toys or treats under the sand in a variety of places. Let your dog out, lead him to his area and say, “Dig”.
For some really cool ideas on how to create a dog-friendly landscape with a little pop of fun, log onto Pinterest. They have really creative ways to make your backyard fun and safe for your dog.
Do you have a designated area for your dog to dig? Please share your photos and ideas. I would love to hear from ya.
When I was training my big boy, Bear, I learned a little trick from my mentors in dog training. Anytime I saw something that Bear did that I liked and wanted to keep in his repertoire, I was told immediately to click and treat for it. See, training is happening every second of the day, so why not “capture” that desired behavior.
The concept is based on operant conditioning. It’s an association between a dog’s behavior and a consequence. Of course, the consequence is the reward. My reward is based on what drives my dog. At that time, Bear was very food motivated. I used small, high value, smelly and delicious treats.
For example, I had a hard time teaching Bear the down cue. Well, eventually he would lay down on his own because he was tired. I had my clicker ready to go at a moment’s notice to click and toss that treat right between his legs in the down position.
Finally, he did lay down and boom, click and treat. His expression of “what the heck just happen” lit up the whole room. From there, I built my training sessions around that moment.
How can you capture a behavior?
What are some behaviors that you might want to capture?
When do you add the cue or command word to the capture behavior?
Once you have captured the desired behavior and your baby is consistently performing it clean and with no other behaviors attached, that is when you add the cue. Remember, you only reward for what you want and ignore what you don’t want. Your training sessions should be no longer than 5 to 10 minutes and always end on a good note.
How are your training sessions going? I would love to hear from you. Please feel free to comment below or message me privately.
Clicker training is a fun and effective way to teach obedience exercises, solve behavior problems and even teach tricks!
Clicker training has been used with marine mammals for years and is a clear, effective way to communicate with your dog. A clicker is a small plastic box with a metal tab that makes a clicking sound when pressed. That click is a clear, consistent marker to let your dog know the moment he is doing exactly what you want.
Why would a dog care that you CLICK?
Each click is followed by a treat! When a dog learns that a click equals treats, they will try to recreate what they just did to make you (the human) “click”. See, the click is the “aha! moment”. Since the click is faster and consistent than the human word, the dog will learn the behavior that you are trying to teach much more quickly.
Things to remember when using this clicker:
– The clicker is not a remote control. Please do not point the clicker at your dog! It doesn’t work that way.
– Timing is so important. If you clicked wrong, you still have to treat. You can fix that oops moment on the next click.
– Keep your training sessions very short, like 5 minutes.
– Teach only one behavior at a time.
– If you are trying to teach two or more dogs, teach each dog individually first. Once each dog has mastered the behavior, then up the level of distraction to a group session.
For more information on clicker training, you can hit the web, go to your local library or search for a dog trainer that focuses on positive reinforcement and clicker training.
Here are some other links and books for your reference below:
Clicker Basics for Dogs and Puppies by Carolyn Barney, KPA-CTP, CNWI
http://carolynbarney.com/index.php?id=50
Getting Started, Clicker Training for Dogs by Karen Pryor
http://www.clickertraining.com/whatis