Training my own new dog, Laurel/LaLa, comes with it's own doubts. This is especially true when you have not had a new dog for 11 years. Luckily though, I am a dog trainer and do this with client dog's that I am getting to know all the time. I do have a basic format for my training, although it can change with individual dogs. On our first week, I did have some time (as I was on vacation for some of it) to do two hour days. So that is never training two hours in a row (except maybe in the future on walks, as the dog does not really know they are training and are jazzed up to be out). The longest times are behavioral or calming exercises which generally last for 15-30 minutes plus. Then obedience exercises may be sprinkled through the day from 5-15 minute sessions, depending on what we are working on. I include play training as obedience sessions as that is what I am working towards, even if we are not at the obedience part at first. Although, while LaLa likes to play, she is not really interested in balls, frisbees, or flirt poles towards that purpose at the moment. Maybe she will grow into that.
Environment plays a big role when your training your dog. Dog training usually begins in a non distracting environment. Later on distractions are used in order to further train your dog to planned upon goals. In the beginning non distracting environments are largely controllable by simply training inside in a quiet room without anyone around. The unexpected distraction (spouse, kids, knock on the door, car driving up) may happen, but they are not expected or planned for. For those who also reside in your home, you can let them know not to disturb you when you are training. In those instance, you just have to shoo whoever came in away (or settle the dog after the truck leaves) and find your training footing again to end on a good note. As you move forward to distractions, environments can be somewhat controlled or predicted for dog training with good planning. Non distracting environments can have creative distractions added to them on purpose. The Reliable Stay Command Is a Tool for Safety and Impulse Control (Part 2 of The Command Series)9/20/2023 In the last blog, we discussed the place command. The stay command, specifically, is a command that you can is part of a sit, down, or stand command. This is where you want your dog to stay in a certain position anywhere that you are. The Place Command is Excellent Obedience and Behavioral Exercise (Part 1 of The Command Series)9/13/2023 The place command is one of the first things I start to teach with many dogs. This command combines a send away, a stay, a stay within a barrier, impulse control and calming exercise all in one. Additionally, this can be the very start on walking on leash with a puppy or dog. Some dog owners and trainers may only utilize the stay portion, but I feel the send away portion is very valuable as time goes on. Let me explain a little bit about this very useful exercise. As I write this, the new training dogs coming in have been frequent now, and our business is heating back up for the summer. This is a really stressful time for Shana at home as always. Being a dog trainer's dog is not fun for all dogs. At the same time, we have been working regularly on Shana's impulse control and reactivity around other dogs. She has been doing really well, but today she has clearly had enough of this. We are currently in the Middle of Week 6 on a Thursday. I haven't taken many videos, so I am going to go over what we have been doing to date. Why should someone consider adding play training to their dog training routine? I say add, because I am never just play training. For instance, if I am on a busy city street and we have some training to do, I probably am not going to use my flirt pole, frisbee, or ball to start a training session. I may use food as play or just as a standard reward. I may also use to do a subtle form of traditional training or management. So for those reasons, I don't believe you can get away with just play training your dog, although I would not have a problem with it if I could figure out how! So then the question is, why add play training in? Play training focuses on the reward of play for engagement, enthusiasm, and motivation of the tasks, obedience, behavioral change, and relationship being formed. It sounds easy, right? The dog does this, and then we go and do that. The knowledge of the impending reward of continuing the game increases the likely hood of the behavior and/or performance that you want. In theory, it is easy. In practice, you can make mistakes that I would rather others avoid if possible.
On Sundays, I am going to try to blog and post (on our Facebook page) Shana's training progress. Normally I am training Shana because:
This fall though, we are taking a trip to Boston, and staying in a very fun dog friendly hotel across from Fenway Park. Shana has only been to a city a few times in her life. City distractions are very different than the distractions she sees in a small town (and some of those still can scare her or put her on defense drive). So now I have a specific goal that I am training for. Do you find your dog to be timid or fearful around things that don't scare most other dogs? If you have also wondered about the reasons this can happen, there are a few as follows: 1) Puppies not socialized or handled by breeders. Usually these guys recover very well, but they may present as very fearful at the beginning. 2) Adult dogs that have grown up without proper socialization and exposure to the outside world. 3) Puppies that have experienced a traumatic or very scary experience during the fear stage. 4) Adult dogs that experienced Number 3 during the puppy fear stage, but their owners did not realize it or did not work with their dog in the meantime. Often owners might think something like this will pass, but for many dogs it just gets worse unless they are helped along the way. 5) Traumatic experience as an adult dog. (As an example my first dog got to experience a microburst at night with us one evening. All our screens on the windows blew in, and the power was instantly out. After that, Jazzabelle was very afraid of any thunder and wind storms, which we helped her with later.) 6) Incident that may have happened that you did not see happen. 7) It could be that a medical reason, like loss of hearing, is causing them some distress. In case of sudden behavioral change, you should make an appointment with your vet. 8) So many more possibilities may exist that caused this. 9) You may never know the cause. Bottom line is that you have to move your dog forward. They may not fully recover, but you can greatly improve their lives and their thoughts on the trigger (thing that scares them). |
Author, Robin RubinOwner and Head Dog Trainer in Maine, Robin Katherine Rubin, started her Maine dog training business in September 2004. Our dog training facility is located in Southern Maine in York Beach and we help families enjoy their dogs more, making sure they listen reliably and resolving unwanted behaviors. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|