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Dog Trainers Spill the Kibble on Their Favorite Food-Bowl Alternatives

By
Nancy Kerns
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Marnie Montgomery

Marnie Montgomery,
CPDT-KA, PMCT

I will occasionally use a bowl, but increasingly my dogs’ meals are experiences! One option is a kibble-dispensing ball for each dog, with a closed baby-gate between them to prevent my Cocker Spaniel from stealing the Shepherd-mix’s ball when she’s done with hers.

Joyful Dog, LLC, Leesburg, VA
(703) 554-2384

Tiffany Lovell,
CPDT-KA

I use the Kyjen Slow Bowls. I love that these bowls make mealtime more interesting for my dogs. They have to work at it and problem solve which engages their brain. Also, I have a multidog household with dogs of various ages. Because my much older dogs take longer to finish their meals, the younger ones would begin to approach and hover while they ate. I found that these bowls slow down my younger dogs enough to allow everyone to finish their meal at about the same time. It’s great!

Cold Nose College Space Coast
(321) 757-2059

Christine Michaud

I use a combination of things, but my dogs’ all-time favorite is hiding the food in little piles around our yard and sending them off to “go find it.” I love this too, as it builds a strong sit/stay while I hide the food, and it keeps them busy for 30 minutes. The piles are in different places every day so they really have to look or, should I say, sniff!

Family Dog Training, LLC, Fairfax Station, VA
(703) 595-8028

 

Shannon Bayless In Tune Dogs

Shannon Bayless, KPA CTP

Several dogs have spent their entire fostering time with me without ever receiving a meal from a bowl! Instead, I used Doggie Zen practice—feeding them by hand for impulse control and building a good working relationship—or gave them kibble from a Wobbler or puzzle for building their confidence. Careful, incremental introduction of the Wobbler is fabulous for dogs whose history has promoted learned helplessness. Watching those dogs learn that they can use their bodies to get their own food is a joy. When they master it and have fun knocking it all around the room under their own power, that practice informs the rest of their activities. I whisper, “You can do it!” as they’re learning. Pretty soon, they know “I can do it!”

One of my current foster dogs is semi-feral; she can live in a house but wants nothing to do with humans (yet!). Every bite of her ground raw meat meal is offered from my hand as I sit at her level on the floor. Sometimes it is quite messy for me, but it’s worth it to gain, over the course of months, her looser body language, her more relaxed eye contact, her bunny-hopping anticipation, her closer proximity with more duration, and, most of all, her trust and happiness.

Meal motivation can’t be passed up for training opportunities, so I also use hand-feeding to teach her name, a wait (not a precise wait, but one she can handle), and a cue for going into the room where she is fed.

In Tune Dogs, Bogart, GA
(706) 296-6893

Barbara Dobbins

Tricky Treat Balls by Omega Paws are the best thing since sliced bread. Or should I say “oranges” because that is what they are called in my house. These food-dispensing balls look just like giant oranges, with dimples, even. They come in three sizes: small (2.5-inch diameter), medium (3.5-inch), and large (5-inch). Pour appropriately sized food or treats and let your dog figure out how to get the food to dispense. Filling the ball more completely tends to make it easier for the treats to begin being disbursed.

Every dog will have his or her own unique way of approaching the task; my Border Collie Duncan used to pick his up and throw it down onto the ground, while his littermate Daisy would quickly push her around with her nose until it was empty and then politely borrow Duncan’s. Cody, my sister’s Beagle, would simply bring the ball to her and ask her to shake the treats out! These also provide low-impact exercise, which is great for all dogs, but especially for senior or physically compromised dogs. You will get exercise, too, from searching for lost or stuck “oranges.”

Two Dog Girl, San Francisco Bay Area
(925) 890-7986; barb@twodoggirl.com

Inventive Alternatives to a Dog Bowl

By
Lisa Lyle Waggoner
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Like us, our dogs need both physical exercise and mental stimulation. As a trainer, I see many clients who focus on physical exercise, but don’t always consider the benefits of mental stimulation – what I call brain-work. One easy way to add in a bit of brain-work is to get rid of your dog’s food bowl and replace it with other fun feeding options. I’m always so excited to share with my clients how fun and effective it can be to ditch the dish! Yes, that’s right: Throw that traditional food bowl into the trash and get going with creative feeding.

There are a number of benefits of ditching the dish:

— Enrichment. The big-picture benefit is enrichment, a process for improving the environment and behavioral care of confined animals. If you don’t think of your dog as “confined,” think again. Compared to the life of a feral dog, our pet dogs live in incarceration. They go only where we allow them to go, oftentimes only on leash, and they rarely get a choice in their activities. By focusing on enrichment, in addition to nutrition and healthcare, you can reduce stress and improve your dog’s well being by providing not only physical, but also mental stimulation.

— Taking advantage of your dog’s natural foraging or scavenging instincts. As Alexandra Horowitz shares in her book, Inside of a Dog: What Dogs See, Smell, and Know (an awesome book by the way), dogs naturally scavenge or hunt singularly (not in packs). Think about how your dog, off leash, naturally takes off to explore the ground with his nose. Providing an outlet for this instinctive behavior is fantastic for your dog.

Kong Wobbler dog food "bowl"

— Outlet for chewing, a typical behavior for canines. Ahhh, chewing! While deemed an unwanted behavior by many owners, it’s a natural behavior for all types of canines. By providing opportunities for your dog to chew through the use of a creative feeding option, you’ll have less chewing of objects that you really did not want chewed!

— Brain work. In the wild, dogs spend a great deal of their waking time trying to obtain food. Think of the mental (and certainly physical) exercise this quest demands. Plopping down an entire bowl of food and having your dog gobble it up in less than a minute certainly nixes nature’s design. Drawing out the length of time it takes your dog to eat, and having him work to get the food out of something other than a traditional food bowl, adds fantastic mental stimulation.

If the dish is gone, what will you use? There is a plethora of options today. You can purchase food toys, interactive food toys, or food puzzles—or you may consider feeding your dog’s meals by hand or other creative means.

Dog Food Toys and Dog Food Puzzles

The terms food toys, interactive food toys, and food puzzles are used interchangeably. These are objects that can hold food and require the dog to work to find or get the food out of the object. They require both mental and physical dexterity to access the food. A quick Google search will pull up more options than you likely have time to look at, so I’ll mention a few of the most popular food toys that I and other trainers use for our own dogs and recommend to clients.

■ Kong Classic. We’ve been using the Kong Classic for nearly 20 years, long before it was called classic (I guess I just dated myself). These are a staple in our home. It’s a super-bouncy, natural rubber toy that has a large opening in the bottom and a small opening on the top. It is easily stuffed with all manner of tasty hard and soft foods. The Kong Classic comes in a variety of rubber strengths, so choose the toughest for those hard-chewing dogs.

■ Kong Wobbler. The Wobbler is a food-dispensing toy that is weighted on the bottom and sits upright until pushed by a dog’s nose or paw and then periodically dispenses as it wobbles and rolls around. The unpredictable movement keeps dogs challenged. It unscrews for easy filling and cleaning.

■ Nina Ottosson Puzzle Toys. There are so many interesting and creative options offered by Nina Ottosson and her products are very well made. Each is designed to stimulate a dog’s brain and reinforce his relationship with his guardian. The puzzles can be set to different levels of complexity. Start with the easier puzzles and as your dog gains skills, you can move to more challenging puzzles.

■ Zanies Wood Interactive Puzzle Pizza. This interactive toy is a wooden design that allows you to put treats under the standing or sliding pegs. The dog has to figure out how to solve the puzzle to get to the treats.

Slow-Feeders

Slow-feeding bowls do exactly what you think they’ll do: slow down the pace at which your dog eats his meal. Meal time may be extended from 30 seconds to 5 to 10 minutes or more. Again, there are lots of options. Here are two favorites:

■ Kyjen Slo Bowl. The Slo Bowl is a round plastic bowl that comes in different shapes and sizes and resembles a maze. It’s deeper in the middle and shallower on the edges. The bowl has small rubber pads on the bottom to keep it from slipping on hard surfaces. Dogs quickly learn to work their way through the maze of ridges; it makes meal time feel more like a hunt for food!

■ Green Interactive Slow Dog Feeder. The Green by Northmate is made of a durable hard plastic and the company says it’s shaped like tufts of grass. I think of it as a small green mountain range. You can scatter dry food or smear wet food throughout the peaks and valleys of the feeder to prolong your dog’s meal and make it a challenging game.

Homemade Dog Food Toys

If you’re on a limited budget, you can craft your own interactive food toys. With a few simple household items and creativity, you can easily make meal times challenging and fun for your dog. Note that while these homemade toys are inexpensive and easy to craft, they are also easy for your dog to chew up and destroy, so give them to your dog under active observation, and take them away when he’s finished removing all the food.

■ Muffin Pan Puzzle. Take a muffin pan, place a treat or a bit of your dog’s meal in each cup, cover each treat with a tennis ball and watch as your dog has fun lifting up the tennis ball to get to the food. Another option is to turn the muffin pan upside down and sprinkle your dog’s food in the valleys around the now protruding cups. Ta-da! It’s a slow feeder.

■ Plastic Container Food Toy. Take a used yogurt container or milk jug, cut several holes in and around the container, file or sand down any sharp or rough edges, fill with food and replace the lid. Your dog will have fun nosing and pawing the toy to extract the food.

■ Box Food Toy. Just like children have fun with boxes, so do most dogs. With a box appropriately sized for your dog, sprinkle your dog’s food in the bottom of the box, close the lid by interlacing the flaps (not taping) and let the fun begin. If that’s too challenging for your dog, you can also cut a few small holes in the sides of the box so that the food pops out when the dog moves the box about.

■ Peanut Butter Jar Puzzle Toy. Take a used, clean, plastic jar, medium- to large-sized. Cut a dime-sized hole in the lid of the jar; it helps if the hole is not in the center. To make this toy dispense food at a higher rate, you can cut additional holes in the sides and bottom of the jar. Place three cardboard tubes (from a roll of paper towels or plastic wrap) inside the jar, fill the tubes with your dog’s kibble, and screw on the lid. As the dog pushes the jar around with nose or paws, the food randomly dispenses from the holes in the jar.

(For a short video that shows how to do this, see this video.)

As with all new and unusual things, slowly introduce your dog to the new food puzzle toy. You know your dog best, so if she’s anxious about approaching new things, take it slow and help her develop a positive association with this new, exciting contraption. Depending on the type of food toy you select, you may also need to help your dog learn how to access the food. Set her up for success. Make it easy for her to succeed the first time, so she’ll be eager to try it again and before you know it, she’ll be acing those complex puzzles!

Hand Feeding Your Dog

I often recommend hand feeding to my clients, most often when there’s a new dog in the home who is just beginning to learn house manners.

I suggest delivering the dog’s food one tiny treat or piece of kibble at a time during several short daily training sessions, as well as using the dog’s food to reinforce all the other wonderful choices the dog makes each day. Behaviors that get reinforced get repeated! What better way to help our fabulous furry friends learn to navigate in our crazy alien (human) world.

Other times, I recommend this practice because the dog may be hand-shy and I want her to understand that a hand coming toward her means “good things happen” – yummy food appears!

Another form of hand-feeding is what I call “scattering and scavenging,” which is scattering your dog’s food around your house and letting her scavenge to find it. It’s an easy way to take advantage of your dog’s natural seeking instincts. Place some kibble behind a chair, under the edge of the bed, behind the recliner, then let her “go find” it.

Outside, you can place food behind trees and under or beside rocks. Get creative, but don’t put food anywhere you don’t want your dog to explore!

This game can be a great way to reinforce a “stay” cue. Ask your dog to stay while your scatter the food in a variety of places, then release her and enjoy watching her having a blast tracking down her meal.

Final Notes

Not all puzzle toys are created equal. Do your research to select high-quality products that are less likely to fall or break apart. Keep in mind that no toy is indestructible, so inspect your puzzle toys frequently for cracks and other pieces that could come loose. If you have a multi-dog household and your dogs don’t share well, it’s best to use interactive food toys with your dogs in separate rooms or tethered apart from one another. As with all things your dog eats from, don’t forget to keep the toy clean by washing it frequently.

Remember, ditching the dish gives your dog a creative feeding option that will help her expend energy, work her brain, and enrich her life. She will thank you for it!

Lisa Lyle Waggoner is the founder of Cold Nose College in Murphy, North Carolina, with additional locations in Atlanta, Georgia, and the Space Coast of Florida.

How to Prevent Your Dog From Developing Periodontal Disease and Cracked Teeth

By
Denise Flaim
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[Updated December 18, 2018]

small dog prone to periodontal disease

Over the millennia that humans and dogs have kept company, we’ve evolved plenty of myths about our four-footed friends—most of them flat wrong. Consider, for instance, the belief that feeding a dog raw meat will make him vicious. (Vicious, no. Longer lived, maybe.) Or, that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. (Sure you can, especially with a clicker.) And, of course, there’s this chestnut, always a dubious comfort after you’ve been munched on by a strange canine: A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s.

Fact is, dogs are probably worse off than we are when it comes to the bacteria lurking around their pearly whites. The canine mouth is considerably more alkaline than our own, and that chemistry is far more conducive to plaque formation. As a result, according to the American Veterinary Dental College, most dogs have evidence of periodontal disease by age three, in particular small breeds. And periodontal disease is the number-one condition veterinarians see in their canine patients – and feline ones, too.

As in humans, periodontal disease – an infection of the structures around the teeth, including the gum and bone – is caused by residue left in the mouth after a dog eats. The bits of food create a sticky film over the teeth called plaque. Minerals in the saliva cause the plaque to harden, forming calculus, or tartar. As the plaque and calculus spread below the gum line, where they are not visible, bacteria begins to damage the gum tissue. Ever on guard against invaders, the body sets off an immune response: White blood cells are dispatched to the area, and they in turn release enzymes that do still more damage to the gum tissue and bone around the teeth. Eventually, without a solid bed of bone to anchor them, the teeth will need to be removed.

There are even more frightening long-term repercussions of allowing periodontal disease to take root, especially in older dogs: The bacteria in the mouth can get into the bloodstream, travelling to other parts of the body, where it can create life-threatening infections. For this reason, many veterinarians are reluctant or downright unwilling to perform surgery on a dog with significant periodontal disease until the condition is brought under control.

Brush Your Dog’s Teeth

Board-certified veterinary dentist Dan Carmichael, who works in the metropolitan New York area, says the best thing you can do to maintain or improve your dog’s oral health is to follow the same advice your own dentist gives you: Brush every day.

Dr. Carmichael recommends using a soft-bristle toothbrush made for either humans or canines – he doesn’t have a preference. He’s also not particularly concerned about what kind of toothpaste you use, as long as it is formulated specifically for dogs. Human toothpaste is entirely inappropriate for dogs, as it is not intended to be ingested, and dogs have yet to master the intricacies of the bathroom Dixie cup. Also, its minty flavor is entirely unappealing to canine palates, which is why the non-foaming canine version comes in flavors such as poultry.

While conscientious human brushers make an effort to reach every nook and cranny in our own mouths, you don’t have to be that exacting with your dog. “Just focus on the outside surfaces of the teeth,” Dr. Carmichael advises. “Just do the surfaces you see when you lift up the lip.” The most common areas where plaque tends to accumulate are on the outside of the canines, or “fang” teeth, as well as the big molars at the back of the mouth, which are used for chewing.

While you are brushing, take note of any abnormal growths, especially along the gumline, as well as unexplained bleeding in the mouth. Share any concerns with your vet, who will want to rule out oral cancers.

Busy schedules can mean that you might occasionally skip a day of tooth-brushing with your dog. But being more lax than that is counterproductive. “Recent research suggests every other day is still beneficial,” Dr. Carmichael says. “But anything less than that is worthless; it’s no different than not brushing at all.”

Desensitize Your Dog to the Toothbrush

Of course, before you even attempt to brush your dog’s teeth, be sure to introduce the idea, slowly and positively. Having a foreign object stuck in his mouth and then wiggled around it isn’t a natural sensation for any dog.

The sooner he is introduced to the idea, the better. “Like any training procedure, starting as a puppy develops good habits,” Dr. Carmichael says. “You definitely want to incorporate positive reinforcement.”

Set aside a few seconds each day to slowly desensitize your dog. Start with touching the outside of her mouth. Then segue to putting your toothpaste-dotted finger briefly next to her gums. Move on to swirling and rubbing the gumline with your finger. When she’s comfortable with that, switch to the toothbrush, only for a few seconds at first, and then building up to longer periods. Be sure to copiously praise and reward your dog for her cooperation in each session. Making brushing part of her daily routine will also help your dog acclimate to the process.

Of course, if your dog shows any signs of intense discomfort or aggression – including stiff body posture; a similar tightness at the commissure, or corners of the mouth, and widened eyes – do not force the issue. Instead, consider seeking help from a professional positive trainer. You might have a bigger problem than just a reluctant brusher.

Chew on This

While brushing your dog’s teeth is the gold standard for keeping them free of plaque, Dr. Carmichael acknowledges that there are situations where it’s just not possible, whether due to your dog’s reluctance, your own schedule, or any number of other factors. In those cases, he notes, certain treats have been shown to be effective in reducing plaque.

The Veterinary Oral Health Council maintains a list of products that have earned its seal of approval. The list includes certain types of rawhides and chews, as well as specially formulated dental gels, sealants, and water additives. See the VOHC website here.

Dr. Carmichael is not necessarily an advocate of raw food diets, but he acknowledges that there might be some benefit to dogs chomping through non-load-bearing bones such as chicken necks and wings; raw feeders who do feed whole raw bones swear to the teeth-cleaning results they provide. Others, however, opt to grind the bones or purchase a commercially prepared raw diet to avoid impaction or perforation, which is a risk with “gulpers” who do not adequately chew the bones before swallowing. Regardless of how or what you feed, Dr. Carmichael believes brushing is an important part of daily oral care for your dog.

So is being tuned into to the slightest changes in your dog’s body language and habits. The most common symptom of periodontal disease in dogs is to have none at all, because of how stoic most dogs can be in the face of pain. Subtle signs can include a noticeable increase in the amount of time it takes for the dog to eat his meal, his avoidance of chewing on one side of his mouth, avoiding hard portions of his meals in favor of softer food, and bad breath.

Anesthesia for Teeth Cleaning

Dr. Carmichael says that starting at age three, most dogs could benefit from a yearly professional cleaning performed under anesthesia by a veterinarian, though he notes that the timeline is based on the individual dog, and can be affected by things like genetics and the owner’s poor brushing habits.

A typical cleaning, which removes plaque and calculus from the exposed portions of the teeth and below the gumline, lasts about 45 minutes. Many owners are understandably concerned about the risks of anesthesia for their dogs, particularly older ones. Dr. Carmichael notes that “with modern anesthesia, even dogs with mild versions of heart or kidney disease can undergo anesthesia safely.”

In recent years, there has been a growing movement toward anesthesia-free cleanings, in which plaque is removed without sedation, sometimes by trained veterinary technicians. We don’t recommend these procedures, and neither does the American Veterinary Dental College, referring to them as “non-professional dental scaling.” The College notes that the sharp tools used could injure both patient and operator if the dog moves suddenly, and that there is a risk of being bitten. Additionally, “access to the subgingival area of every tooth is impossible in an unanesthetized canine or feline patient,” the College notes on its website, referring to the area below the gumline. “Removal of dental tartar on the visible surfaces of the teeth has little effect on a pet’s health, and provides a false sense of accomplishment. The effect is purely cosmetic.”

If you do opt to have your dog undergo veterinary dental cleanings, you might decide to consolidate requests and have the veterinarian also clip his nails or remove a few warts or skin tags. But beyond those few minor procedures, Dr. Carmichael does not recommend “double-dipping” with a major surgery. “Combining an orthopedic or other major surgery with teeth cleaning is often not wise,” he says. “It makes it too long under anesthesia, and the potential bacteria that can be released would not be good if there was an intra-abdominal procedure,” such as a spay, for instance.

Antlers Crack Dogs’ Teeth 

If you want to get a veterinary dentist going, talk to him about marrow bones.

“Everybody’s grandfather gave their dog a bone,” Dr. Carmichael says. “But I think the majority of teeth that I’ve seen broken have been on those big beef bones, or knuckle bones.”

In addition to real “butcher” bones, products made out of nylon are also potential tooth crackers. And the recent popularity of shed moose and deer antlers repurposed as chews sets Dr. Carmichael’s own teeth on edge.

“I walked into a pet store last month and saw this whole aisle of different-shaped antler treats,” he says. “Every single one of those is a broken tooth waiting to happen.”

The problem, he says, is the sheer hardness of the bone or nylon. “It’s just the natural bite force of the dog, which is strong. If they have something that’s as hard or harder than the tooth, something’s got to give. It’s going to be the antler, or the tooth, or both.”

Some dogs, he says, seem to know to be careful with the bones, avoiding “chomping” down on them with too much pressure. “But I cannot predict which dogs won’t” be that self-aware, he cautions.

As a substitute, Dr. Carmichael recommends hard rubber toys, such as Kong toys, as well as various rawhide chews.

The Bottom Line

For most dog owners, paying attention to what’s going on in your dog’s mouth is a crucial first step. Dr. Carmichael frequently reminds owners that the most common sign of a problem is no symptoms at all.

“In nature, dogs survive by not showing weakness, so it’s in their nature to mask their problems,” he says. “If a male wolf is complaining about his tooth, he’s not going to be in that pack for long.”

That’s why the humans in a dog’s life have to be proactive in finding oral problems, before they get too big – and too painful.

Denise Flaim of Revodana Ridgebacks in Long Island, New York, shares her home with three Ridgebacks, 11-year-old triplets, and a very patient husband.

What is Proper Socialization and How Do You Make Sure Your Puppy Gets It?

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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puppy lying in the grass

In 2008, the American Veterinary Society for Animal Behavior (AVSAB) released a statement affirming that puppy socialization is a critically important tool in the development of a behaviorally normal dog. The organization also confirmed that the risk of a puppy contracting a serious or fatal disease during proper socialization efforts is far less than the risk of a dog later being given up or euthanized due to behavior problems that developed as a result of a lack of socialization. This is an absolutely critical accomplishment for your dog.

One might think that when AVSAB makes a position statement on a canine behavior topic, the case would be closed. Apparently not.

It recently came to my attention that an internationally known speaker and dog trainer is asserting that puppies don’t have a prime socialization period, that they should remain with their litters until they are 10-12 weeks old, and that puppy training classes are bad for puppies and should be avoided. When I read this, I was floored.

In my behavior practice, I still come across the occasional client whose veterinarian exhorted them not to take their pup anywhere out in public until she is fully immunized against contagious diseases, somewhere between the ages of four to six months. It happens often enough that I’m not floored by this, just disappointed. Not surprisingly, I often see those clients’ dogs later, in consultations for fear-related behaviors (often aggression) stemming from a lack of adequate socialization during puppyhood.

What is Dog Socialization?

Socialization involves introducing a puppy to a variety of stimuli (sights, sounds, smells, experiences) and making sure the pup is having a good time while doing so.

Well-socialized puppies become optimists, believing that the world is a happy place and that new things they encounter are probably safe and good unless proven otherwise. They tend to be resilient, able to bounce back quickly in adulthood even if/when a traumatic event occurs.

An unsocialized or undersocialized puppy becomes a pessimist. Everything new is scary and suspect unless you can convince her otherwise—and it’s not easy to do that—hence the generally fearful nature of an undersocialized dog. Traumatic events only confirm her strongly held belief that the world is scary and dangerous.

Canine behavior scientists have determined that the “socialization window”—the critically important time for a pup to receive a good education about the world around her—is even smaller than once thought. Previously, experts thought the period extended to the puppies’ age of 16 or even 20 weeks; today, most agree that the prime socialization window extends only from three weeks to about 13 weeks.

Note that this very important socialization period is more than half over by the time most pups go to their forever homes around the age of eight weeks. Let me repeat that: More than half over!

To help ensure that the products of their breeding become the type of emotionally healthy dogs that they intended to produce, breeders must do their share. If a puppy is already fearful at the age of eight weeks, super-socialization for the month that remains will help, but may not ever completely make up for the missing time. Puppy buyers can easily lose their hearts to the shy puppy who hides under the chair, telling themselves that the little one just needs love to help overcome her fears. This is not usually the case. If the puppy has a genetic predisposition for a confident personality, some of the damage can possibly be repaired, but it takes hard work in addition to love. Still, she will never be the dog she could have been with better socialization during the first five weeks of her prime socializing window.

If she is genetically predisposed to be timid, early socialization is even more critically important. Absent that, dog and human are probably in for 10-15 years of behavior challenges. Since much of the time we really have no knowledge of a pup’s genetic predisposition for a confident or timid personality, behavior experts recommend super-socializing every pup!

Wherever your puppy hails from (breeder, shelter, rescue, friend), ask detailed questions about the socialization she’s had so far. How many different places has she been? How many different kinds of people has she met? What kinds of activities has she done? How did she react to all those things? Your pup should have already at least happily met the “ding!” of the microwave oven, sounds of the washer and dryer, ringing telephone, radio, television, grooming brush and nail clippers, and dozens of different/varied humans.

If you’re meeting her in a whelping box or puppy pen, ask if you can take her outside, away from her littermates. Sometimes a pup will act normal in her familiar environment surrounded by family members whose presence gives her confidence, but become very fearful in a new place. (Note that a good breeder will have already worked with her away from her mom and littermates so her rehoming separation is less of a shock to her.) If you elect to purchase or adopt that timid puppy anyway, know that you are setting yourself up for lots of behavior work.

How to Socialize Your Dog

Remember that socialization is giving your pup good experiences with new things, not just exposing her to new things. To the extent possible, control the environment. Introduce her to children you know, ones who can be counted on to behave appropriately around dogs; don’t just let her be mobbed by the entire Little League team.

Socialize her with other dogs by enrolling in a well-run puppy class that allows puppy playtime as part of the curriculum. Don’t take her to the dog park; if you want her to meet an adult dog, select a dog you know well, one who will be appropriate with her, and introduce them using an appropriate procedure. (See “Great Introductions,” WDJ January 2008). Walk her on suburban sidewalks before exposing her to big city streets.

Pair your pup’s exposure to new things with generous delivery of small (pea-sized) bits of very high-value treats, so she thinks new stuff means good stuff. If she’s comfortable meeting new humans, give them several treats to give her, so “new humans” become reliable predictors of “yummy treats!” (Be sure to strongly caution your humans not to grab for or otherwise frighten her.) If she’s a bit worried about new humans, you feed the high-value treats in the presence of strangers until she is quite happy about their presence, then they can feed her the treats.

You can also use favored activities – play with a toy, scratches behind the ear, searching on the ground for “Find it” treats – to give her a positive association with new people, places, and new things. Your socialization goal is to always make sure she is always having a good time as you introduce her to the world during this important period of her life.

If she won’t eat super-scrumptious treats or won’t play with her favorite toy, she is telling you she is very uncomfortable with her surroundings. You need to act immediately by moving her away to a safe distance – far enough away that she’s happy to take treats and play again.

Next, make a mental note (and write it down later) of what it was that may have been of concern to her, and plan to do more work around those stimuli – a certain type of human (male, child, large, small, pushing a cart, wearing a uniform, etc.), a thing (garbage truck, elevator, manhole cover, another dog, recycle bin, etc.), a sound (thunder, beeping of a truck backing up, applause, crowd cheering) or a surface (gravel, concrete, sand, hardwood floor).

In each case, you will use counter-conditioning and desensitization to work on increasing her comfort level, by presenting the stimulus or stimuli at an intensity she is comfortable with, and feeding treats or playing with toys there until she is happy. Increasing the distance between the dog and the stimuli will usually decrease their intensity; when you are far enough away you can use treats and/or toys to get her happy, then gradually move closer – by inches at a time – and get her happy at each new location before moving closer again.

Experiences most pups should have at an early age include:

Places: Car, vet, groomer, beach, park, woods, trails, school, shops, friends’ houses, crate, public transport, cafe, training facility, stairs, hardwood floors, carpet, gravel, grass, cement, other unusual surfaces (walking on a tarp, a teeter-totter, stone wall, fallen log).

People: Friends; neighbors; family; children; elderly people; men with deep voices; men with beards; people of all different skin colors; people in hats and sunglasses; people carrying boxes and bags; people wearing various outfits (saris, turbans, tool belts, uniforms, backpacks, babies in a carrier, etc.); people with wheelchairs, strollers, or walkers; people on bicycles, skates, and skateboards; people running, crawling, skipping, and playing sports; people who ignore dogs, and people who are affectionate toward dogs.

Animals: Other puppies, other dogs, individual dogs, groups of dogs, working dogs, playing dogs, cats, fish in a tank, Guinea pigs, rabbits, parrots, poultry, horses, livestock.

Things: Brooms, mops, vacuums, dishwashers, fans, weed-whackers, power tools, ladders, children’s toys, manhole covers, trucks, buses, snow blowers.

You get the idea . . . the possibilities are endless!

Fear Periods in Puppies

Behavior professionals also talk about “fear periods” in young dogs; this is different from the prime socialization window, though they may overlap. These are times when puppies or adolescent dogs are more likely to react fearfully to new stimuli, or even to stimuli they’ve been exposed to in the past and were seemingly comfortable with.

Although specific time periods have been identified by various experts as when fear periods are more likely to occur, current thinking is that those periods are not as rigidly fixed as once thought. It has been suggested that one fear period is around 8-12 weeks – the time when most puppies are going to their new homes, and the time when super-socialization should be occurring. It’s probably a good idea to not ship pups by air or truck transport during this period (if ever). If your pup is coming to you from across the country, I strongly advise driving her home rather than shipping her, or arranging for another trusted person to drive her. Far too many scary things can happen during shipping.

Later on, a dog may seem more susceptible to a strong fear response during periods that occur any time between the age of 6 to 14 months, which makes it less a true “fear period” and more about just life as a dog. Real or not, it’s less important to worry about whether the pup is in a fear period than it is to respond appropriately any time your dog or puppy shows fear.

Here’s how to deal with fear behaviors, both during your socialization efforts and beyond:

■ Remain Calm. Dogs excel at reading our emotions and body language. If you react badly when your pup is fearful, you can compound her fear response. Stay calm and relaxed, and remember to breathe. Act as if it’s no big deal, and help her out of the situation.

■ Counter-Condition. The moment your dog sees the threatening stimulus, feed high-value treats. Pause, let her look again, then feed again. Do not ask her to “sit” or watch you, just feed.

You aren’t giving treats for a particular behavior; you are trying to create a positive association between the scary thing and the treats. In fact, asking for a specific behavior can be counterproductive.

You can also use counter-conditioning for scary sounds. Associate the sound with your pup’s high value treat, and she will come to love the sound. Important: If your pup won’t eat the treats she is probably “over threshold” – the scary thing is too close, or the noise is too loud. Increase distance or find a way to turn down the volume.

■ Move Away. It is perfectly okay, in fact often advisable, to increase distance between your pup and the scary thing, until enough counter-conditioning is done to change the association from “Ooooh, scary!” to “Yay, treats!” If you find yourself having to move away frequently, it’s time to up your management game so your pup doesn’t keep finding herself too close to scary things.

■ Socialize. As discussed above, socialization is your best immunization against fear. While even a well-socialized optimistic pup may go through fear periods, she will be far more resilient and recover more quickly if she has a solid foundation of socialization. While her primary socialization window may close at 13-14 weeks, you will want to continue to give her positive social experiences throughout her life.

■ Don’t Punish. It should go without saying, but we’ll say it anyway. Don’t ever punish your pup for fear-related behaviors (or other behaviors, for that matter). She’s already convinced bad things happen when that scary thing is near, and if you punish her you will confirm her suspicions and exacerbate her fear. Instead, let her know she can rely on you for support when she is scared.

Well-socialized dogs are made, not born. Even given the genetic component, your pup’s future behavioral well-being is in your hands. Take the time to super-socialize now, and your optimistic dog will confidently romp through life with you. Cut corners with your socialization program, and you and your canine pessimist are likely to pay the price in fear-related behaviors, even aggression, a life full of stress, and major restrictions on what activities she can share and enjoy with you. Seems like a pretty easy choice, yes?

Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA, is WDJ’s Training Editor. She lives in Fairplay, Maryland, site of her Peaceable Paws training center, where she offers dog-training classes and courses for trainers. Pat is also the author of many books on positive training. Her two most recent books are Do Over Dogs: Give Your Dog a Second Chance at a First-Class Life, and How to Foster Dogs; From Homeless to Homeward Bound.

Download the Full October 2015 Issue PDF

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Do you recall?

By
Nancy Kerns
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There is an article on the WDJ website right now about recalls that is available to subscribers and nonsubscribers alike. I’m glad it’s available to anyone who is interested, because it contains information that I wish every dog owner would read and embrace. It’s by trainer Lisa Lyle Waggoner, and it’s about how to build a consistent “rocket recall” response in from your dog. I’ve used the exercises described in the article over the years with my dogs, and I can honestly say that their response to the recall cue is pretty darn sharp.

The exercises are great – but you have to practice them daily. On some days, I might give my dogs a cue for a recall ony once, but if I ask just the one time, I make sure I’ve got a pretty terrific reward for their instantaneous and enthusiastic response. Sometimes the reward is a special treat, but more often it’s dinner, or a chance to join me on a quick walk to a nearby park, or the opportunity to hop into the car (which often results in an off-leash run at a local open space).

I admit that it really helps to have more than one dog with a great recall – because if one dog responds to your cue and starts running toward you, the fast movement toward you tends to draw less-enthused dogs into the first dog’s wake. Fast action often proves irresistible to action-oriented dogs – or is it the concern that they might miss out on their share of something yummy that brings dogs running who, when cued at a moment with no other dogs around, tend to be poky and disinterested in the training exercise? Either way, when I have a foster dog or guest dog around, there is nothing like a number of “pack recalls” led by my reliable recall stalwarts Otto and Tito to deliver the less-experienced or formerly unenthused or uneducated dogs to my feet, where I can make sure they are treated to something really divine for their efforts.

Lisa mentions this in the article, but I’m going to repeat it because it’s so important: When you are training the recall, don’t always end the session with your captured dog on leash or taken indoors. Cueing your dog to “go play!” and turning him loose to resume doing whatever fun thing he was doing before you called him is a powerful reward for coming to you when called, especially for dogs who weren’t all that wild about coming to you in the first place. I’ve known many dogs whose best opportunities to run free came only when they refused to come to their owners, and, in fact, actively evaded their owners. Clearly, they wanted more time to run and play. If they never get enough exercise, and you use a recall to end the fun every time, who can blame them for running away when called?

I appreciated my dogs’ recall just the other day when I spotted a large rattlesnake as I was walking with my two dogs and my little foster dog. It doesn’t happen all that often, but I was in front, with all three dogs sniffing things and lagging behind me out in a local open space. I turned around to see where the dogs were, and saw motion in the grass just a few feet behind me. My body responded to the sight of the fat snake before my brain even really registered what I was seeing. I leaped in the air, then started running backward and in an angle that would lead the trailing dogs away from the snake, and said urgently, “Dogs, HERE!” (“Come” is the word I use for casual “conversation” with my dogs; “Here” is the cue I use for the “I really need you here right now!” recall.) Actually, I think I really said, “DOGS HERE HERE HERE!” – not because the cue should be repeated (it shouldn’t), but because my heart was pounding, the size of that snake finally sinking in to ALL the cells in my body and brain. All three dogs immediately left what they were doing and dashed toward me right past the snake, who obligingly rattled a loud and unmistakable warning. Whew! I felt like I had stuck a fork into a light socket, so the “party” I threw for the dogs when they ran to my feet was full of excitement and heavy on the treats.

Check out the article, and the links to some demonstration videos in the article! And feel free to share your favorite games for keeping your dog’s recall fast and happy.

 

 

 

 

The Virtue of (Your Dog’s) Self-Control

By
Nancy Kerns
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The more time I spend with dogs (my own and particularly other people’s), the more I think that promoting a dog’s self-control is the most valuable thing we can do to make him more enjoyable to be around, while preserving both his dignity and individuality. That sounds like a lot of new-age mish-mash, so let me explain.

I don’t like it when dogs jump up in greeting, or crash into me when playing with each other. It makes being with them unpleasant – to me, anyway, and maybe some of you. Making a lot of rough physical contact with us doesn’t seem to bother many dogs, probably because it’s something that many dogs do among themselves.

Also, I don’t want to have to struggle with my dogs physically, ever. I shouldn’t have to drag a dog somewhere he doesn’t want to go or physically restrain one from doing something he really wants to run toward or check out.

Bigger dogs are strong enough to hurt us (particularly if we are fragile due to age or previous injuries) by jumping up on us, knocking into us, or pulling us down. But even smaller dogs can injure us without meaning to by jumping up at the wrong time (a shelter dog gave me a nice shiner this way once, as I was trying to clip a leash onto his collar) or bolting after a cat when we look the other way while stepping off a curb.

It’s amazing to me, however, how many of my friends and family are in constant physical struggles with their dogs! Holding them back from rushing the door when someone comes in, blocking them with arms and legs from jumping out of car doors, pulling them away from forbidden items, and so on. In many cases, the owners will say, “I know I need to train him,” but I think they have to start with themselves! If it’s a good friend or family member, I try make them aware of how much wrestling they are doing with their dogs – many of them don’t seem to notice that they are even doing it! – and try to let them know there is a better way.

My training goal for my dogs and my foster dogs is to teach them to control themselves. There is a lot that goes into it, but it starts with teaching them basic behaviors (such as come, sit, and off), and rewarding them for doing these behaviors in the face of greater and greater distractions. It also helps immensely to use a bevy of dog-management tools – around the house, baby gates and tethers are my favorites – to help them from being rewarded for the wrong behaviors while teaching them the new ones.

So, for example, for the dogs who rush the door and try to run out or jump on someone who is entering the house, I have a baby gate set up in the hall doorway, about 12 feet from the front door. I can rely on the gate to keep a dog from either practicing the rude behavior or forcing me to grab him and pull him back. The gate also sets him up for success; he clearly can’t reach the door, so he has, in essence, “stayed back” and I can reward him for this as a tiny first step toward a self-controlled greeting. I can ask him for a sit on the far side of the gate, and if he complies, several rewards. If he can hold the sit while a person enters and is greeting with some enthusiasm, jackpot! Eventually, he should have the idea and the gate can be taken down intermittently and ultimately for good.

We have lots of good resources in the library of back articles that are available to current subscribers that can help people learn about teaching their dogs to have self-control. Here are just a few.

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/help-your-dog-learn-self-control/
?page=2

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/behavior/training-a-hyperactive-dog-to-calm-down/

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/training/training-your-dog-to-be-polite/

https://www.whole-dog-journal.com/puppies/puppy-training-classes-teach-self-control/

Mid-life Surveillance

By
Nancy Kerns
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I’m the owner of two middle-aged dogs. I’m also a friend to many people with senior dogs with serious medical conditions. I’ve started worrying about my middle-aged dogs, especially Otto, my 70-pound wonder mutt / “heart dog.” (Small dogs live longer, so I’m less worried about 10-pound Tito, who lives with us but who keeps his own counsel and has never achieved “heart” status with either my husband or I.)

I know that every disease is best treated early, so I’m scheduling a major middle-aged wellness exam for Otto next week, in preparation for his first dental cleaning. I’ve had his blood tested annually, for blood cell counts and blood chemistry – and for vaccine titers. (He was vaccinated a LOT at the shelter I adopted him from when he was about 7 months old, and not since, except for rabies as required by law and once, a bordetella vaccine that was required in order to admit him to an agility class. His vaccine titers have always come back super strong.)

In addition to blood tests, I’m going to discuss with the vet whether it might be a good idea for a full body x-ray or any other scans that might detect any abnormalities, such as signs of cancer or enlarged organs.

I’m also waiting for the recommendations offered by one of WDJ’s regular writers, Cynthia Foley, who is researching and writing an article for an upcoming issue of WDJ on this very topic. Yes, my paranoia is so great, that I asked one of our writers to prepare an article on middle-aged to senior-dog wellness exams, so that I could follow her/our experts’ recommendations for detecting problems early. Of course, I’ll be sharing that information with WDJ readers as soon as possible.

In the meantime, I’ll ask all of you, too! What early detection / senior wellness tips does your veterinarian recommend? What tests have been vital to catching your dogs’ illnesses early? (Or, conversely, which tests do you wish you had scheduled earlier than you did?)

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Raw Dog Food #2) Don’t They Need Kibble to Keep Their Teeth Clean?

By
Carina Beth MacDonald
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Of course not! Dogs don’t get cleaner teeth by eating kibble, any more than you will by eating cookies. Those crunchy little nuggets provide almost zero teeth cleaning benefits for big sharp teeth. Ever looked at your dog’s mouth about an hour after eating her doggie bits? All that goop is still smooshed between her teeth, fermenting away. One of the most immediate benefits most people see with a raw diet is sweet breath and whiter teeth. Often this difference will be seen within days. One of the most common reasons people bring their pets to a vets’ office is for dental concerns.

Spend to Save

By
Nancy Kerns
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0

Whole Dog Journal editor Nancy Kerns

Nancy and Otto

I spent more than $7,000 on vet bills last year. Only a fraction of that was spent on my own two dogs and two cats; the bulk of it was spent on foster puppies and a relative’s dog. The crazy thing is, I think would have come out better if I had bought pet health insurance for all of them, the six foster puppies and my relative’s dog included.

This is something I just figured out, after getting quotes from a number of companies based on information I learned from working with WDJ contributor Cynthia Foley, who wrote the article on pet insurance that appears in “Pet Insurance 101” this month. I’ve gotten quotes before, but I have always (in the past) been daunted by the prospect of adding more to the things that go under “pet expenses” in my budget. I have not, as yet, pulled the trigger on buying insurance for any of them. But that’s about to change.

As Foley mentions in the article, pet insurance is a bit of a gamble. You may spend a bunch of money on something that you end up not needing or benefitting from in any way. If your dog has an uneventful year with no health problems, the company whose insurance you bought will make a little profit. When there are things you’d rather spend money on, this can be a bit galling.

But look at it from another angle: What if your dog had a major health problem? What if your heart dog experienced a major heart problem all of a sudden? Would you spend whatever it cost to save and extend his life?

When it happened to me more than a decade ago, I just pulled out my credit card and resigned myself to paying a certain amount of interest, because I didn’t have the thousands of dollars I ended up spending just laying around. My Border Collie Rupert was fine one day, and the next, he developed an idiopathic ventricular tachycardia – that is, his heart started going pit-a-pat, too fast and without any sensible rhythm at all. The condition was severe enough that several veterinary cardiologists told me that Rupie could literally “go at any time” if we didn’t get and keep the condition under control with medication.

As it turned out, the bulk of the money went toward trying to discover any underlying condition that might have been responsible for the tachycardia. I authorized test after x-ray after scan, only to end up with the dreaded designation of “idiopathic” – no explainable cause found.

But back to my question: Would I do it again, spend a small fortune if my dog Otto suddenly developed a similar condition? You bet your booties I would.

And what about those foster pups, two of whom ran up bills of more than $1,000 apiece (one that I injured accidentally by tripping over him; one who suddenly “tanked” – and then within a day, after a bunch of tests and the administration of fluids and antibiotics, completely recovered); would I spend that money on them again? Well, of course.

So why on earth does it seem like an extravagance and a gamble to spend far less than that on a plan that would pay a good-sized chunk of that money back to me if those dogs had been insured at the time of their misfortune? Human nature, I guess.

Another thing I’ve learned: I’m not alone. According to experts in the industry, no more than two percent of the pets in this country have health insurance.

Having learned more about it, and how to best go about buying it, though, I’m going to add my pets to the ranks of the insured.

 

 

 

 

 

Rocket Recall

By
Lisa Lyle Waggoner
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At a recent outdoor social for our clients and their off-leash dogs, my own dog, Willow, joined in the fun. In addition to helping her continue to enjoy the company of a variety of other dogs, I also use times like this to practice recall. Over the course of 45 minutes, I called her to me six or eight times and each recall was met with this success: Willow leaving the action and returning to me immediately, enthusiastically and with rocket-like speed. One client asked, “How in the world do you do that?” My simple answer was, “You train it.”

I get immense enjoyment doing a variety of things with Willow – hiking, swimming, stand-up paddleboarding – all of which are more enjoyable because I know she has a rocket recall. I define that as, “That glorious moment when anytime and anywhere you say ‘Come!’ and your dog immediately and enthusiastically turns on a dime and bounds rapidly to you.” Sound impossible? It’s not. It can be done.

In our two-day Rocket Recall workshops, I tell participants that an indoor, off-leash recall is like a high school diploma – pretty easy to get – but an off-leash, outdoor recall is like a PhD. Admittedly, that’s an exaggeration, but it gets the point across. A reliable rocket recall just doesn’t miraculously happen.

Having worked with hundreds of dogs and clients over the years, we’ve created a systematic way of training recall that includes The 12 Rules of Rocket Recall, a list of very important things to remember.

dog coming when called
The goal: An instantaneous, joyous, fast recall, without a trace of ambivalence.

Ways to Fail at Teaching Your Dog a Recall

Before I discuss the training steps, though, let’s consider a few common training mistakes:

  • Not training. Recall is a learned behavior, just like anything else you teach your dog. It’s not hard to teach and it’s not hard to train, but you do have to do the work. Unfortunately, dogs don’t come with an English software package installed, so it’s up to us to teach them the behavior, then add the cue (see “Clean Up Your Cues!” WDJ August 2015) and then practice the recall so that the dog truly learns the behavior.
  • If trained, not practicing. Practice should take place through all four stages of learning: acquisition, fluency, generalization, and maintenance. First, the dog has to begin to acquire the skill of returning to you. Then you continue to practice so that the behavior is fluent and is occurring with regularity. Next, generalize the behavior of coming to you in a variety of places and settings, always beginning in a low-distraction environment, and as your dog makes progress, moving to a slightly more distracting environment.

Do all of this before ever practicing in a highly distracting environment (such as off-leash play with other dogs). Eventually you reach the maintenance phase of learning, where you continue to practice recall so that the behavior stays solid.

Here’s an example: I used to be a very good mandolin player. I first learned to play a few tunes (acquisition). I got pretty good because I continued to practice daily and could play a lot of tunes well at home (fluency). I then generalized the behavior of playing the mandolin to a variety of places (at home with friends, at a music jam in public, playing on stage, etc.) and I maintained that level of proficiency for a while. But life got busy and I stopped practicing – no maintenance! Result? My mandolin playing isn’t so great anymore.

  • Using the cue and then ignoring the dog. Here’s a common scenario: People train their dog to come to them when they say “Come” – but almost as soon as that is accomplished, they begin using the word very casually and taking the (formerly much sought-after) behavior for granted, and failing to even acknowledge, much less reward it.

As an example, say you use the word “Come” to call your dog when she’s outside enjoying herself; she returns to you the first time you call because you’re nice to her and you feed her; there’s a bit of reinforcement history between the two of you. But then you bring her inside the house, you pick up your car keys, and you go to work.

From your dog’s perspective, you’ve just taken the “good stuff” away (the outdoors with all those awesome smells!) and ignored her (by locking her inside and going to work). In dog training, taking the good stuff away constitutes punishment, and punishment makes the behavior of coming to you less likely.

  • Punishing your dog for not coming. If there’s one sure way to insure your dog never comes back to you, it’s yelling or screaming at (or heaven forbid, hitting) your dog when she doesn’t come back to you. If you do this, it cements in your dog’s brain that you’re unpredictable and the behavior you cherish and want so much is very likely to not happen again.

Things You Should Do for a Rocket Recall

Enough of what you don’t want to do! Here’s how I taught my own girl, Willow, and how you can to train an effective “rocket recall” for your dog:

  • Understand how dogs learn. Dogs learn by association and by consequence. Learning by association means that dogs are always making decisions about what’s safe and what’s not in their world. Making the recall training process fun helps your dog develop a positive emotional response to the exercise.

Dogs also constantly make decisions based on consequence (i.e., “Is this good for me or is this bad for me?”). Reinforcing your dog each and every time she returns to you will increase the likelihood she’ll return to you again. The consequence of returning equals something awesome (with a high-value reinforcer such as an especially yummy treat or a game of tug).

  • Understand the value and timing of reinforcers. Reinforcement for the behavior of returning to you should be immediate and must be of “high value” to your dog – something your dog loves. Don’t buy one box of treats and plan to use them exclusively as the reward; try a number of treats so you can determine which your dog likes the most. I’ve met dogs who would spit out a hot dog in a nanosecond and preferred carrots. That said, food is a primary reinforcer for dogs and a good choice, though for some dogs a game of tug or the opportunity to chase a toy is more reinforcing.

Timing of the reinforcement is also very important; it must be immediate. If you call your dog from the back porch and she comes running toward you, but she doesn’t get a reward for this until you go back inside the house and enter the kitchen, open a treat jar, and wait for her to sit before you pop it into her mouth – in reality you’re reinforcing her for sitting in the kitchen.

  • Appropriate pairing of reinforcers and distractions. Think of reinforcement as your dog’s paycheck. I like to pay my dog well for succeeding with challenging work. Because each dog values a specific reinforcer differently, experiment to find out which foods or other reinforcers your dog likes and which ones she really likes. Be creative! Build a written reinforcement hierarchy. Identify 10 to 20 reinforcers (food, toys, and other things your dog loves) and rank those as low-, medium-, or high-value reinforcers. Then identify 10 to 20 distractions (another dog, a squirrel, a fire truck roaring by with siren blaring) and rank those as being worthy of low-, medium-, or high-value rewards if ignored by your dog. This helps you understand how your dog views her world; what’s important to her?

Your next step is to look at each list and pair the distractions and reinforcers wisely. Use high-value reinforcers for high-value distractions. If paired inappropriately, your dog’s focus and your training suffer, but if paired suitably, everyone succeeds. For example, I use something Willow will do backflips over (steak) if I plan to do training in a new, outdoor environment where there may be squirrels running about. Choose wisely!

Play focus & attention games. (Note: I call training exercises “games,” because games are fun, and if you and your dog are both having fun, then training is bound to be successful.) There are two main focus and attention games I play with my dogs: “Capturing Attention” and “The Name Game.”

Capturing Attention. The goal of this game is to teach your dog to “check in” with you. Stand with your dog on leash and merely observe your dog without talking to her. Your goal is to set her up for success, so please practice initially in a no-distraction environment.

Say nothing at all to your dog; merely watch her. The instant your dog orients toward you or looks at you, mark the behavior with a verbal Yes! or the click of a clicker, reinforce with a yummy treat, verbally praise your dog, and then take your attention off your dog for a moment. Removing your eye contact gives your dog permission to return to visually explore the environment.

Repeat this exercise until you’ve achieved success in the no-distraction environment; then slowly work up to success in gradually more distracting environments. You can begin with a six-foot leash and gradually work up to using a 20-foot (or longer) long line.

Watch how the “Capturing Attention” game is played.

The Name Game. This game teaches your dog to immediately look toward you when her is spoken. Your dog’s name should mean, “Look immediately at me and wait for further instruction!” Your dog’s name does not mean: Get out of the trash; stop chasing the cat; or drop my shoe! You want your dog to always feel awesome when you say her name.

Again, begin on leash and in a distraction-free environment. When your dog is slightly distracted, say her name (one time) in a happy tone of voice; the instant she turns her head toward you, mark the behavior with a Yes! or the click of a clicker, and reinforce with a yummy treat and verbal praise. Then withdraw your attention for a moment, giving her a chance to look away.

If she doesn’t look at you immediately when you say her name, resist the urge to repeat her name. Instead, make a kissy or squeaky noise that will likely get her attention. Then you can mark her look toward you with a Yes! or a click and reinforce her with a treat or other reinforcer.

dog leash games
Start playing the “Chase Me!” game on a regular leash, but keep in mind that the leash is present only to keep your dog with you, never for pulling your dog toward you. Keep it slack!

Pick a cue

Once you’re successful with Capturing Attention and The Name Game, it’s time to pick a cue. If your dog hasn’t been reliably responding to your current cue at least 75 percent of the time, pick a new cue. It’s easier to condition a new cue than it is to change the emotional response to an old one. Common cues are Come! and Here!, though I highly encourage you to pick a fun cue, such as Shazam!, Cookie!, Batman!, Lottery!, or Happy Hour!

Turn on the cue with an exercise that is designed to help your dog develop a positive feeling about the word you’ve chosen for your recall cue. You’ll give the cue value by pairing the word with some high-value food (remember, your dog gets to choose what’s of high value to her). Count out 10 pea-sized pieces of food. Say your recall cue (such as “Shazam!”) and then immediately pop a treat into your dog’s mouth. Repeat 10 times. Practice this exercise two times a day for a week. Very quickly, your dog will associate the cue (Shazam!) with the experience of yummy food and you’ll have created a very positive association with the cue.

Then it’s time to play the “Chase Me” game, which takes advantage of your dog’s natural desire to chase. With your dog on leash and your body facing away from her, say her name; when she looks at you (from all that fun “Name Game” work), turn and trot away from her as you say your recall cue, “Shazam!” in a very happy tone of voice. As your dog starts to follow you, continue to encourage her as she moves toward you, then click or say Yes! while she’s in movement toward you.

When she reaches you, put your hand on her collar and feed her a treat. After you deliver the treat, lavishly reward her with tiny bits of reinforcers (yummy food), one after another (rather than in a single handful) for a minimum of 15 to 30 seconds, combined with lots of verbal praise. Before long, as you say your recall cue, she’ll be enthusiastically bounding with you as you run. You want to be animated and enthusiastic in your approach to this fun exercise. Channel a Looney Tunes character!

As your dog gains success on a short leash, you can transition to a longer line (20 to 50 feet) while continuing to play the “Chase Me” game. When you’re successful with a long line, find a safe, fenced area to practice off-leash recalls. Remember that when you move to practicing off leash, you will need to decrease the distance she travels to you so that your dog can be successful in that new, more challenging environment.

See video of “turning on the cue” and the “chase me” game.

Practice, practice, practice

We learn by repetition and so do dogs. Training doesn’t have to be laborious. In fact, it shouldn’t be. Practicing recall with your dog in short 3- to 5-minute sessions is much better than a long session. Keep it interesting for your dog and remember to set her up for success. You want her to get it right the first time. Getting it right means she earns reinforcement, and reinforcement makes a behavior happen again. Don’t forget those four stages of learning: Your dog first has to acquire the skill and generalize it to a variety of situations and locations before it becomes fluent. Then you’ll need to continue to train the skill periodically to maintain the behavior so it’s always strong.

Recall & Release game

This game will strengthen your dog’s recall. When your dog successfully returns to you, reinforce her and then immediately release her to go play or return to whatever it is she was doing before you called. This game is beneficial in helping your dog learn that returning to you when you call doesn’t always end the fun.

Putting It All Together

Here’s an example of how I set up Willow for success in the early days of our training together: During multi-dog, off-leash play groups, I waited until Willow had been running around for 5 or 10 minutes and was beginning to tire from playing with the other dogs. As she began to disengage from a play group, I’d position myself a few feet away from her (my body facing away from her), and call her name.

As she immediately looked at me, I’d say her recall cue (in a very happy tone of voice), and then run away from her. As she began to follow me, I’d mark that behavior with a verbal Yes!, praise her as if she were the best dog in the whole wide world (she is, of course), and reinforce her with her favorite treat.

Practicing this way, over time, now allows me to call her away from other dogs when she’s still engaged in play. Pretty amazing!

There’s an incredible peace of mind that comes with knowing your dog will reliably return to you anywhere and anytime when you call. It will help you enjoy more fun, off-leash activities and it can also save your dog’s life.

So get up, get going, start training, and you’ll be on your way to getting that coveted rocket recall from your dog, every time.

The 12 Rules of Rocket Recall

The 12 Rules of Rocket Recall
1. Train it! Practice it!
2. Use the reinforcers that have the highest value for your dog for recall practice.
3. Reward ALL check-ins during other times of the day
(a check-in is any time your dog chooses to visit you of his
own accord).
4. Don’t call a dog for anything he doesn’t or won’t like (such as trimming nails).
5. Don’t call your dog if you don’t think he will come (i.e., if your dog is riveted by a twitching squirrel).
6. If you make a mistake on #5, “save” the recall by going to get your dog, encouraging her to move with you, and then rewarding her.
7. Don’t repeat the cue! Say it only once, then make yourself as interesting as possible, “squeaking” in a high-pitched voice, clapping, jogging away, etc.
8. Never, ever, punish your dog if she doesn’t come to you.
9. HUGE payoff – always give lots of treats or something novel and special when your dog returns to you.
10. Maintain it after you train it! Practice at least three times a week for life.
11. Play Hide & Seek.
12. Play the Recall & Release Game.

 

The 12 Rules of Rocket Recall

By
Nancy Kerns
-
0

Cold Nose College rocket recall

1. Train it! Practice it!

2. Use the reinforcers that have the highest value for your dog for recall practice.

3. Reward ALL check-ins during other times of the day (a check-in is any time your dog chooses to visit you of his own accord).

4. Don’t call a dog for anything he doesn’t or won’t like (such as trimming nails).

5. Don’t call your dog if you don’t think he will come (i.e., if your dog is riveted by a twitching squirrel).

6. If you make a mistake on #5, “save” the recall by going to get your dog, encouraging her to move with you, and then rewarding her.

7. Don’t repeat the cue! Say it only once, then make yourself as interesting as possible, “squeaking” in a high-pitched voice, clapping, jogging away, etc.

8. Never, ever, punish your dog if she doesn’t come to you.

9. HUGE payoff – always give lots of treats or something novel and special when your dog returns to you.

10. Maintain it after you train it! Practice at least three times a week for life.

11. Play Hide & Seek.

12. Play the Recall & Release Game.

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