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Off Leash Training

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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Dog running to it's male owner through a tall grassy field.
Do some reconnaissance before bringing your dog to a new unfenced space, in order to determine when there is little activity from other visitors to the area. Set up your dog for success by initially visiting these off-leash spaces when there are few distractions. Photo © Cavan Images | Getty Images

Does your dog get to run off leash? I suspect it’s every dog’s fantasy to race full speed across an open meadow unrestrained by a leash, wind ruffling fur as they dart into the woods, hot on the heels of fresh bunny scent. Sadly, far too many dogs don’t get this opportunity because their humans haven’t trained them to be reliable off leash. If your dog is one of those who can’t go for a hike without an umbilical cord attaching her to you, it’s time to get to work!

On Leash Training

Before you even consider taking your dog off leash, she needs a solid foundation of good manners training on leash. This usually starts in a group class environment with a well-qualified force-free training professional, then needs to be generalized to the real world.

If you want your dog to be able to walk with you off leash, the following skills are prerequisites for your dog:

  • Ability to walk politely on leash. (For help with teaching this skill to your dog, see “Polite Leash Walking,” WDJ September 2021.)
  • A solid response to your recall cue (“Come!”). The ability to return quickly and reliably to you when called is especially critical when you work off leash. (See “Rocket Recall,” September 2015.)
  • Targeting – where your dog approaches you and touches his nose or paw to your hand or some other part of your body – is a helpful close relative of the recall. It helps not only bring your dog back to you, but also asks for a particular body position. (See “On Target Training,” September 2021.)
  • “Find It” is a cue that asks your dog to look for treats dropped at your feet. Like targeting, this can help grab your dog’s attention and bring him back to you.

Generalize Your Dog’s Training

Your next step is to generalize your dog’s training. Generalization means practicing your dog’s good manners behaviors in various public places (such as community parks, city streets, and shopping center parking lots), and dog-friendly commercial locations (pet supply stores, many hardware stores, etc.).

Specifically, practice distance work (teaching your dog to respond to your cues when he’s 6 feet and farther away from you) and blind work (where he is asked to respond to your cues when he’s behind you and you’re not making eye contact). For help with these more advanced skills, see “Beyond Basic Dog Training,” May 2021.

When your dog’s behaviors are solid around distractions in public, you’re ready to begin your off-leash training.

Start in a Large but Secure Space

Your dog’s training off leash begins in a private, securely fenced area where you can eventually let him off leash without worrying that he’ll disappear into the great beyond. If you don’t have a fenced yard, perhaps a friend or family member does. If not, check out Sniffspot – a company that contracts with property owners to make fenced spaces available to dog owners for an hourly fee (sniffspot.com).

You’ll need a long line – a sturdy nylon, polypropylene, or BioThane leash between 20 and 100 feet long that allows your dog to be a distance from you but still under your control. With your long line attached, let him move a short distance away from you and practice your Rocket Recalls, distance work, “Touch,” and/or “Find It.” Also in your fenced space, remove your long line and practice polite walking. Remember to use your happy voice and high-value reinforcers. Toys and play can be valuable reinforcers here, too; it doesn’t have to be just food treats!

This is an ideal opportunity to make use of the Premack Principle, which says you can use a more desirable behavior to reinforce a less desirable behavior (from the dog’s perspective). If your dog loves to sniff and dig, reward him for a lovely stretch of off-leash walking by giving him permission to go sniff the bushes or dig in the dirt.

When your dog is responding promptly, consistently, and reliably at close distances, gradually increase his range to the outer limits of your long line. If his responses start to falter as he moves farther away, go back to working at a closer distance. Remember to keep it fun!

When your dog can work reliably at the end of your long line you’re ready to let him go free – in your large but securely fenced space. Without changing your demeanor (keep it fun!), practice all his behavior cues.

Resist any temptation to get angry with him if he doesn’t respond. The use of an aversive tone of voice can “poison” your cues – giving him a negative association and making him less likely to respond well in the future. If he’s not responding as well as you hope, decrease the distance between you, increase the value of the reinforcers you have to offer him, and if necessary, put him back on the long line for more foundation work.

Off-Leash Training in the Real World

When all is going well in the fenced area, you’re ready for the next giant step – off to the real world! This can be tricky, since many municipalities don’t allow dogs off leash in public, and it’s important that you obey those leash laws.

Your first assignment is to find safe places where you can legally have your dog off leash. When you have found appropriate locations, go back to square one and start with your dog on a long line, working close to you. To set up your dog for success, identify times when there will be less activity and begin your training at those times.

Follow the same steps that you did in your fenced area, gradually increasing the distance between you and your dog while convincing him that it’s more fun to engage with you than to explore the world on hisown. When he’s responding to you well at times when there is little activity in that location, try times when there are more distractions, gradually working up to long line reliability at high-activity times.

Now the final step: Go back to the off-leash environment during a time of low activity, armed with high-value reinforcers. Warm up on the long line, then take a deep breath and remove the leash. Continue working with your dog as you have been – happy and upbeat.

Practice his favorite behaviors first, keeping him relatively close to you. Keep your off-leash sessions short, so you can end with success. Do a few minutes of training off leash, then put your dog back on leash and train some more. Have fun!

Watch for the arrival of any distractions that might be too much for your dog to handle. If you notice the impending arrival of something that might disrupt his training, calmly snap his leash back on until the distraction is gone.

As you enjoy success at low-activity times, gradually move your training to busier times.

Err on the Side of Caution

Some dogs have a strong inherited propensity for certain behaviors, such as following their noses. © Johner Images | Getty Images

There’s a lot that can go wrong when you have your dog off leash. As well-trained as my dogs might be, I never try to walk them off leash along a busy street. If a car backfires or a skateboarder zooms past too close,  even the best-trained dog could swerve sideways into the road and meet with tragedy.

So enjoy those off leash hikes in dog-friendly open spaces. Practice your good manners behaviors in community parks that welcome dogs. But if anything seems off – if there are one or more inappropriate dogs in the area, a human who seems uncomfortable with your well-behaved off-leash canine pal, or your dog just isn’t responding as well as she usually does – put the leash back on. You can always come back and play off leash another day, and another, and another.

Off-Leash Genetics
Keep in mind that some dogs are easier to train for off-leash work than others. Dogs who are bred to work very closely with their humans (i.e., the herding and sporting breeds) generally find it more reinforcing to stay near us than dogs who are genetically programmed to enjoy running off through the woods after other animals (such as hounds and terriers). That doesn’t mean your Beagle can’t learn to work off leash – you just may have to work harder at it than your neighbor does with her Border Collie.

Dog Safety in the Home

By
Editorial Staff
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Dog Dangers

The Problem: There are any number of dangers for your dogs at home, including things they can eat, things they can chew, things they can get caught in, and things that can fall on them. Hazards outside are even greater, even in a fenced yard, including malicious mischief, theft, poisoning, attack from predators, and accidental escape or release.

Young puppies are at greatest risk, since they explore the world with their mouths, and because they are smaller and more vulnerable than adult dogs. Puppies chew cords and get electrocuted. They get into garbage and household cleaners. They are more likely to ingest multiple pieces of chew toys as well as non-edible objects and become impacted, requiring emergency surgery.

Adult dogs are not immune, however. Nuisance barkers often get released from their yards, shot or poisoned. Dogs escape their yards by jumping over, digging under, or slipping through the fence when the pool cleaner leaves the gate open. They also get stolen for resale, breeding, and lost pet scams.

Solutions: First and foremost, keep your dogs indoors when you are not home to protect them. If they must be left outside, make sure your fence is solid and secure. Also make sure your dogs are not disturbing the neighbors, at risk of escaping, or able to fall into the hot tub or swimming pool. Finally, padlock the gates religiously.

Indoors, a puppy should be crated, or kept in an ex-pen or puppy-proofed room during your absence. Any new dogs in our home are crated when we are not there until they are at least a year old, at which time we give them gradually increasing periods of freedom as they demonstrate their maturity and ability to handle house-freedom privileges.

In addition, baby-proof latches on cupboard doors, covered garbage cans, and similar management tools can protect hazardous materials from pooches who have a penchant for snooping where they ought not.

For a more comprehensive guide on keeping your dog safe, download Dog Dangers now.

Growls Are Good!

By
Editorial Staff
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Dog Bites
Is the child about to be bitten? Or does the dog adore the kid? We don’t know! This is a stock photo! The dog may be trying to avoid the child, or just turning her head . . . However, we can say that this isn’t something that you should allow your child to do with any but the most rock-solid, kid-loving dog – and if this is the only type of dog your child has experience with, you will have to make sure he doesn’t have the opportunity to try it with dogs whose kid-tolerance is unknown.

Let’s say, for example, a dog is not fond of children. A child approaches and the dog growls — his attempt to let us (and the child) know that her presence is stressful to him. We jerk on his leash and tell him to knock it off. He snaps at us in response to the jerk, so we punish him harder, until he stops fighting and submits. The end result is a dog who isn’t any happier about being around small children, who has now learned that it isn’t safe to growl.

This dog is now more likely to bite a child next time he sees one, rather than growling to warn her away, since he has learned that his growling makes us unreasonably aggressive. We may have suppressed the growl, but we haven’t helped him feel any better about being around kids! A growl is a good thing. It tells us that our dog is nearing his bite threshold, and gives us the opportunity to identify and remove the stressor. Snarls and air-snaps are two steps closer to the threshold – our dog’s last ditch attempts to warn off the stressor before he commits the ultimate offense: The actual bite.

If your dog growls or snaps frequently, you need to take notice. He is telling you that there are lots of stressors pushing him toward his bite threshold. If you don’t take action, chances are good that he will eventually bite. Dogs who bite tend to have short lifespans. If your dog bites, you have at least four options.

  1. Manage his behavior to prevent him from ever having the opportunity to bite again.
  2. Manage his behavior to prevent him from biting while you implement a comprehensive behavior modification program.
  3. Rehome him with a new owner who is willing and able to do one of the first two.
  4. Have the dog euthanized.

What you should not do is close your eyes and hope that he doesn’t bite again. You are responsible for protecting your family and other members of your community. Denial will only result in more bites.The good news is that relatively few dogs are beyond help. If you make a commitment to helping your dog feel more comfortable with the world, there’s a good chance you will succeed.

To find out how to manage stressors and prevent your dog from biting, download Dog Bites today.

It Is Not a Prison

By
Editorial Staff
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To crate train an older dog you must communicate that the crate is a safe protected place.
A well crate-trained dog considers the crate "his spot," a safe place where he can relax. Photo by Christine McCann.

A crate is not a place of punishment. Never force your dog or puppy into a crate in anger. Even if he has earned a time-out through inappropriate behavior, don’t yell at him, throw him in the crate, and slam the door. Instead, quietly remove the dog from the scene and invite him into his crate to give both of you an opportunity to calm down.

Nor is a crate appropriate for long-term confinement. While some puppies are able to make it through an eight-hour stretch in a crate at night, you should be sleeping nearby and available to take your pup out if he tells you he needs to go.

During the day, a puppy should not be asked to stay in a crate longer than two to four hours at a time; an adult dog no more than six to eight hours. Longer than that and you risk forcing Buddy to eliminate in his crate, which is a very bad thing, since it breaks down his instinctive inhibitions against soiling his den. Dogs who learn to soil their dens can be extremely difficult, sometimes nearly impossible, to house train – a common behavior problem for puppies from unclean puppy mills.

To find out how to help your dog find contentment in the close quarters of a crate, download Crate Training Made Easy now.

Canine Allergy Basics

By
Editorial Staff
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Apoquel and cytopoint are two new medications for dog allergies.

In the simplest terms, allergy is the result of an immune system gone awry. When it’s functioning as it should, the immune system patrols the body, with various agents checking the identification (as it were) of every molecule in the body. It allows the body’s own molecules and harmless foreign substances to go about their business, but detects, recognizes, and attacks potentially harmful agents such as viruses and pathogenic bacteria.

When a dog develops an allergy, the immune system becomes hypersensitive and malfunctions. It may mistake benign agents (such as pollen or nutritious food) for harmful ones and sound the alarm, calling in all the body’s defenses in a misguided, one-sided battle that ultimately harms the body’s tissues or disrupts the body’s usual tasks. Alternately, the immune system may fail to recognize normal agents of the body itself, and start a biochemical war against those agents.

The three most common types of canine allergy are, in order of prevalence:

  • Flea bite hypersensitivity (known informally as “flea allergy”)
  • Atopy (also known as atopic disease or atopic dermatitis)
  • Food hypersensitivity (also called “food allergy”)

Flea bites, environmental allergens, and food account for the vast majority of cases of canine allergy. But dogs can be hypersensitive to all sorts of other things, including the bites of flies, mosquitoes, ticks, and mites; drugs, medications, and nutritional supplements; various fungal and yeast species; internal parasites (such as ascarids, hookworms, tapeworms, whipworms, and heartworms); and even their own sex hormones (in intact animals).

To learn more about common causes, best tests, and effective treatments for your dog’s allergies, download Canine Allergies today.

Why Do Dogs Kick Grass?

By
CJ Puotinen
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dog kicking up grass
Many dogs habitually scratch the ground with their back feet after they eliminate, in a gesture that is similar to a cat covering its feces. Sometimes owners have to take care not to get hit by flung dirt – or even the feces! Photo by 179 LLC, Getty Images

It’s a familiar ritual. A dog urinates or defecates and then scuffs dirt, grass, or gravel into the air in what looks like a celebration or at least a mark of completion. Why do dogs do this? Here are some theories.

  • Dogs kick the ground to mark their territory (scent marking) in order to keep other dogs or animals away or to notify them of the kicking dog’s presence.
  • Kicking the ground stimulates scent glands in the dog’s feet, spreading pheromones (scent marking, continued).
  • This is an instinctive behavior, inherited rather than learned.
  • Kicking the ground is a form of visual messaging or a social display.
  • Kicking the ground is a way of hiding or burying waste.

Some studies have shown that males perform this ritual more often than females, and males do it significantly more when observed by other dogs.

In 2019, Psychology Today published “Ground Scratching by Dogs: Scent, Sight, and Ecstasy” by Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., a professor emeritus of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. According to Dr. Bekoff, dogs kick the grass for many reasons, depending on who else is around and what they’re trying to communicate with visual, olfactory, and auditory signals. He says that dogs who do this behavior enjoy it, and it appears to be meaningful to them.

If your dog’s grass kicking damages your lawn or causes other problems, create interesting distractions and reward alternative behaviors until this one is under control. Otherwise, take Dr. Bekoff’s advice: “Let your dogs finish their message – give them time to scratch after they have peed or pooped – before continuing your walk.”

How To Add a Cue

By
Editorial Staff
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The Recall

If you want to teach your dog a new behavior, you must first “show” the dog what to do and make sure the behavior is reliable before adding a cue. For example, if I’m attempting to teach a dog to sit, I would help to elicit the behavior by first luring, capturing, or shaping the movement. Our dogs know how to sit, right? They just don’t know how to sit when we say “sit.”

To lure the dog into a sit, hold a piece of food in your hand, place it at the dog’s nose and move it up and back over the dog’s head. This causes the dog to look up, rock back a bit, and as she does so, her bottom goes down. When the dog’s bottom hits the floor, you’d mark the desired behavior with the click of a clicker (or a verbal marker, such as the word “Yes!”) and give the dog a yummy piece of food.

To capture a sit, merely wait patiently and observe the dog. When the dog happens to move into the sit position, click/treat.

To shape a sit, consider all the tiny parts of the entire sit position (looking up, rocking back, rear end begins to move closer to the floor), and reinforce each of those tiny parts toward the final behavior of sitting.

Once the dog is reliably (at least 80 to 90 percent of the time) performing the behavior, you can begin to incorporate whatever cue you wish by using your desired cue as the dog performs the behavior.

For more training tips, download The Recall: Teach Your Dog To Come When Called today.

What Exactly Is Appropriate Play?

By
Editorial Staff
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Canine Aggression

For some reason, dog owners often have difficulty distinguishing between appropriate and inappropriate play. Some may think that perfectly acceptable play behavior is bullying because it involves growling, biting, and apparently pinning the playmate to the ground. Appropriate play can, in fact, look and sound quite ferocious.

The difference is in the response of the playmate. If both dogs appear to be having a good time and no one’s getting hurt, it’s usually fine to allow the play to continue. Thwarting your dog’s need to play by stopping him every time he engages another dog, even if it’s rough play, can sometimes lead to other behavior problems.

With a bully, the playmate clearly does not enjoy the interaction. The softer dog may offer multiple appeasement and deference signals that are largely or totally ignored by the canine bully. The harassment continues, or escalates.

Any time one play partner is obviously not having a good time, it’s wise to intervene. A traumatic play experience can damage the softer dog’s confidence and potentially induce a life-long fear-aggression or “Reactive Rover” response — definitely not a good thing!

Some bullies seem to spring from the box fullblown, meaning there could be a genetic element behind this type of personality. However, there can certainly be a learned component of any bullying behavior. As Jean Donaldson reminds us, the act of harassing a “non-consenting dog” is in and of itself reinforcing for bullies.

By definition, a behavior that’s reinforced continues or increases — hence the importance of intervening with a bully at the earliest possible moment, rather than letting the behavior become more and more ingrained through reinforcement. As with most behavior modification, prognosis is brightest if the dog is young, if he hasn’t had much chance to practice the unwanted behavior, and if he has not been repeatedly successful at it.

To prevent your dog from becoming the neighborhood bully, download Canine Aggression now.

Communication Efforts

By
Editorial Staff
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Growling

Most dogs don’t want to bite or fight. The behaviors that signal pending aggression are intended first and foremost to warn away a threat. The dog who doesn’t want to bite or fight tries his hardest to make you go away. He may begin with subtle signs of discomfort that are often overlooked by many humans – tension in body movements, a stiffly wagging tail.

“Please,” he says gently, “I don’t want you to be here.”

If you continue to invade his comfort zone, his threats may intensify, with more tension, a hard stare, and a low growl. “I mean it,” he says more firmly, “I want you to leave.”

If those are ignored, he may become more insistent, with an air snap, a bump of the nose, or even open mouth contact that closes gently on an arm but doesn’t break skin. “Please,” he says, “don’t make me bite you.”

If that doesn’t succeed in convincing you to leave, the dog may feel compelled to bite hard enough to break skin in his efforts to protect self, territory, members of his social group, or other valuable resources.

To understand why your dog is growling, and for practical advice on modifying this behavior, download Growling – Understanding Your Dog’s Language today.

Why Try Agility With Your Dog?

By
Editorial Staff
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Agility Training

In many cases, people with difficult dogs spend most of their time trying to get their dogs not to do something don’t jump, don’t bark, don’t pull, don’t lunge. Agility gives those dogs something easy and enjoyable to do, and do with enthusiasm!

Agility is a game that you play with your dog. Play is emotionally incompatible with the emotions linked to aggression. If your dog is playful she is less likely to bark or lunge at a person or other dog.

Just as “rope courses” build confidence in people, agility course training builds confidence in dogs. As dogs learn to leap over hurdles, run through tunnels, and balance over planks, their confidence increases. Since most aggression is based on fear, this increase in confidence is helpful. A more confident dog is usually a less fearful dog.

Every part of agility requires a certain amount of self-control – some parts require a lot – which is always a benefit for an aggressive dog. Once a dog has learned that agility is a fun game, she will be eager to start performing the obstacles. Before she is allowed to play, however, she has to wait at the start line until her handler releases her. This is just the kind of self-control game that is beneficial to a dog with aggression issues.

Dogs also have to exhibit extraordinary self-control at an obstacle called the table. At this obstacle, the dog is asked to leap onto the table top and sit or down, holding that position for five seconds. Most dogs consider it more fun to be moving. Learning to hold still earns her the reward (positive reinforcement) of getting to continue with more running and jumping.

Agility can even help canines who don’t enjoy the company of other dogs learn to ignore them. They may even learn that dogs near agility equipment signal impending fun a little classical conditioning.

Before you get started, download Beginner’s Guide for Agility Training today.

Tips For Grooming An Anxious Dog

By
Stephanie Colman
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dog being brushed
If your dog is calmer and more comfortable sitting in your lap than being on a table, by all means, do your best to accommodate her to the extent possible. See if you can accomplish most of the brushing there, and use a table to do only the spots on her body that you can’t reach with her on your lap. © Mixetto | Getty Images

So, your dog’s not a fan of your at-home spa day, but his coat requires regular brushing, and you want to keep his nails manageable for his own comfort. What can you do? Here are five tips to help make grooming a bit more pleasant for all involved:

Practice all the parts of a grooming session, without the grooming

Decide how you’ll both be most comfortable during grooming and practice this set-up without performing any grooming. Maybe it’s with your dog atop a grooming table or maybe it’s with your dog in your lap. Whatever the set-up, make sure your dog can access it on his own, so he has a choice to participate or not – but treats only happen during participation. (We all value the freedom to choose!) Practice the set-up without grooming daily to help build and maintain a positive association with the situation. Otherwise, your dog will see your set-up and immediately think, “Uh oh!”

Use high-value rewards

If I’m performing a task I find unpleasant, but my boss is providing a nice bonus for my participation, I still don’t love the task at hand, but I have a reason to feel a bit better about it. The same goes with our dogs. Don’t be afraid to pay generously and use your dog’s favorite treats while grooming. If you have a helper, they can feed treats as you groom. If you’re working alone, try stuffing high-value food into a Toppl or Kong, or blend it up and smear it onto a lick mat to keep your dog busy while you work. If your dog isn’t food motivated but is obsessed with a favorite toy, use that instead.

Try grooming a tired dog

For some dogs, it’s easier to tolerate grooming when they’re tired and content after a long day of enriching activity. Go out for a long walk in a new area and give your dog plenty of time to sniff his way around and take in all the new olfactory information. If the area is appropriate, you can even use a long line in place of your regular short leash to simulate some off-leash time where your dog can really enjoy the sights, sounds – and smells! Or schedule a play date with appropriate dog friends. Some dogs find it easier to go with the flow and accept light grooming when they’re tired. Other dogs might be edgy and irritable if disturbed when tired, so be aware of your dog’s body language and respect what she’s telling you.

Break it down

Accept that you may not be able to groom the entire dog in one sitting. If your dog struggles with grooming, try making sessions much shorter and end the session before it’s turned into a prolonged struggle and do a little more tomorrow. You’ll both be happier!

Be patient, respect your dog and train for the behavior you want

If your dog isn’t a fan of grooming, find a positive reinforcement trainer who can help you create a training program that’s right for your dog. Whether the issue is trimming nails or cooperating on the grooming table for a thorough brushing, a thoughtful training program can help improve the situation for both species! Just like humans, all dogs are different and what technique might work quickly for one dog can take longer – or need adjustment – with another. While it can be tempting to use force and “strong arm” a dog into compliance via restraint in order to get the job done this time, in the long run, that will make the issue worse. Taking the time to make grooming enjoyable for your dog – or least something they willingly tolerate – will benefit you and your dog for years to come.

Why Do Dogs Yawn?

By
Pat Miller, CBCC-KA, CPDT-KA
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dog yawning
If your dog consistently yawns when you pet him (or pick up your small dog), he’s likely uncomfortable being handled in that way. © Monzenmachi | Getty Images

There are many canine behaviors that parallel human behaviors. Yawning is one of these. Why does your dog yawn? There are lots of theories about why dogs (and humans) yawn, but there has been surprisingly little research into this behavior. Here are some theories about why we all yawn:

  • Boredom or drowsiness. There are some studies that indicate an increase in arousal levels and heart rates following a yawn, probably due to increased blood flow. This helps wake the yawner up!
  • A dog’s yawns are usually accompanied by other classic signs of canine stress: flattened ears, lowered body posture, avoidance of eye contact, lip-licking, and muscle tension. If your dog yawns when you pet her, she might be telling you that she finds petting at least a little stressful.
  • Empathy/Contagion. Cross-species contagion has been documented: Seeing your dog yawn can elicit a yawn from you, and vice versa. There is some science to support this theory that these are empathy yawns, although the science doesn’t explain why just hearing or reading the word “yawn” can elicit yawning. Yes, I’m betting you are yawning while reading this!
  • Communication: A dog yawning to another dog is not a sign of “submission” (as in, “Please don’t hurt me!”). Rather, the yawning dog is simply peace-making by deflecting tension with a “I don’t want any trouble” signal.

Look at the whole dog

Like so many other canine body language signals, yawning has multiple meanings. If you want to understand what your dog’s particular yawn means, you need to look at the whole dog, then draw your conclusion about what your dog’s yawn is telling you.

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