The Smart Dog U Blog

The Science of Dog Training

Every year, I head to a terrific conference called ClickerExpo that's targeted at clicker trainers. It's fantastic every year, and this year is no different. At this morning's sessions, I went to a session called Working for the Joy of It: A Systematic Look at Non-Food Reinforcers by Ken Ramirez (Shedd Aquarium Training Director). It was a great talk with lots of valuable information for how to use things other than food to train your dog. Here are a couple really good ideas I got from Ken:

1. Don't assume you know your dog's preferences. In other words, your dog gets to choose what's reinforcing to him, not you. Which is hard for some people to accept. They'll say "He's a Lab, he should love to swim" even though it's clear their dog doesn't like getting wet. Or they'll say, "my dog has to work for praise because I don't want to train with food." Uh-uh: your dog chooses what he likes, not you.
2. Never take reinforcers for granted. Just because a piece of chicken works well right now, it doesn't mean it will work well all the time. What if your dog just finished dinner? That chicken's not as appealing if your dog is full.
3. Avoid reinforcement pitfalls:
   1. don't take reinforcers for granted (see #2 above).
   2. constantly evaluate the effectiveness of the reinforcers
   3. vary the reinforcers - don't always give a piece of kibble when your dog sits. Sometimes give him a piece of chicken, sometimes give him access to a favorite toy, sometimes run and let him chase you.
   4. control your dog's access to reinforcers. How valuable is $5 if you always have a $20 in your pocket? 
   5. Look at the behavior and let it tell you if the reinforcer is working: are you getting more behavior or less behavior as a result of the reinforcer?

When I get home, I'm going to systematically evaluate the reinforcers I use for my dogs. I'll bet I'll make some changes based on what I learned from Ken today.

A Dog's Memory

Tango was a regular companion for 2 1/2 years with my husband as he visited his mother at the assisted living facility each week. My mother-in-law died earlier this month and we were invited back to the assisted living facility for a memorial service in her honor. We took Tango, of course, as he was as much a part of their family as he was ours.

We hadn't been back to the assisted living facility with Tango in over three months. The last place he'd visited my mother-in-law was the hospice house.

After the memorial, we were walking through the facility visiting some of my mother-in-law's friends one last time before we left. We had to pass my mother-in-law's apartment to get to the exit. We approached from the opposite direction we normally went.

As we approached her apartment, not intending to stop (as there were new residents in the apartment), Tango stopped. So, of course, I stopped. Tango looked at me (his signal that he'd like permission to go sniff). I glanced curiously at my husband; surely Tango didn't remember that this was her place? To our surprise, he walked right over to her door and sniffed under it. He then looked at us as if to say "Here's where you want to go, silly. You were going to go right past."

We couldn't go in, of course. So he looked a little confused when I called him away and kept walking. I don't know he remembered the actual apartment or if it was the scent - or maybe a little of both - but it really brought home to me how aware our dogs are of their surroundings.

I've read that scent invokes strong memories for humans. What summer memories come rolling in when you smell fresh-cut grass first thing in the spring, how you're transported right back to age 8 when you smell fresh-baked apple pie (or whatever scent you've associated with childhood)... I wonder if it's the same thing with dogs? Curious phenomenon, for sure.

Housetraining the Easy Way

I'm meeting with two clients today who have the same problem: house training. One has a puppy, the other has a young dog. The solution is the same for both clients: get (and stick to) a schedule.

These are the things you need to schedule if you're house training your dog:

• feeding time
• outside time
• crate time

Feeding Time
Feed your dog on a regular schedule, two or three times a day. Put the food bowl down. After 20 minutes pick up the bowl (yes, even if there's food still in it). Keep the food bowl off the floor until the next feeding. No in-between meals.

Outside Time
Take your dog out on a regular schedule. In general, during waking hours, you should take your dog out every hour. Go outside for about five minutes. If your dog doesn't go to the bathroom, put him in his crate or tether him to you for 20 minutes. Then take him back outside for another 5 minutes. If he goes, praise enthusiastically when he finishes. You can then play with him outside or go for a nice walk. When you get back inside, keep a close watch on him -- he's never allowed out of your sight! If he didn't go to the bathroom, crate or tether him for another 20 minutes. Then take him back outside for a chance to go to the bathroom.

Also, take your dog outside:

• As soon as he wakes up from a nap. Go straight out - get yourself ready before you let him out of the crate so you're ready to step outside immediately after letting him out of his crate.
• When he's just finished a vigorous play session.
• 20 - 30 minutes after he's eaten a meal.
• Whenever he goes toward the door you regularly take him out to do his business.

Crate Time
The crate is very helpful to teach your dog to eliminate outdoors. The proper size crate is essential: your dog should have enough room to stand up, turn around, and lay down comfortably. If the crate is too large, your dog will be able to go to the bathroom in one end and sleep in the other -- no help for house training.

If you can't give your dog 100% of your attention, put him in his crate with some chew toys (that you've already taught him how to enjoy). Alternatively, you can tether your dog to you using his 6-foot leash. This means you simply clip your dog to his leash, then affix that leash to you. The dog will never be more than 6 feet away from you -- you'll be able to ensure he can't make a mistake.

In short, it's your job to teach your dog where to eliminate. There is no place for punishment in house  training (or in any training for that matter). Here are a few quick NEVER's:

• Never rub your dog's nose in his mess.
• Never take your dog over to his mess, point, and say "NO!," or "Bad dog!"
• Never leave your dog unsupervised in the house (until he's completely housetrained).  

When in doubt, create a schedule and stick to it. Almost every house training problem can be solved with a schedule. It makes your life easier, as well as your dog's. And that's a win-win!

More On Retractable Leashes

Earlier this month, I posted on the (few) pros and (mostly) cons of retractable leashes. Here's some more on the dangers of those retractable leashes. One woman actually lost her finger to one of these leashes - if that's not reason enough to want to switch leashes, I don't know what is.

From the Consumer Reports website:
Retractable-leash makers do put some pretty stark warnings about their products on their Web sites and on the packaging. Germany-based Flexi, one of the largest manufacturers of the leashes, has a long page of warnings on it Web site. Here’s how it begins:

“To avoid the risk of eye or face injury and cuts, burns, and amputations to your body or the body of another person from the leash cord/tape or all belt and hook, (sic) read and follow these Warnings and Directions for Use before using your Flexi leash.”

Read the entire article on retractable leashes here.

Allergy Season Is Upon Us

Poor Lily's been chewing on her foot so much she's now limping. Her ears are infected. It must be Spring because her allergies are here in full force.

I took her to Kingsbrook Animal Hospital for them to look her over. We left with the usual: antibiotics for the bacterial infection in her paws, and drops for the yeast infection in her ears.

We believe Lily also has an underlying food allergy as well. Corn and wheat are the likely suspects, and lots of dogs have this allergy. In fact, if you've got a dog with recurrent ear infections, food allergies are worth investigating. It's as easy as a simple food trial. Feed your dog a new food -- one without corn or wheat products -- for about six weeks. See if the coat and skin and ears improve. If they do, your dog might have a food allergy. Of course, always check with your vet about things like this - they're the experts.

Spring always makes Lily's allergies worse, so we're pretty sure she's got inhaled allergies as well as the food allergies. But timing was poor this spring: a friend had given us a package of "Beggin' Strips." Not even thinking about the allergies, we gave them to the dogs. Within two days, Lily's allergies had bloomed -- she began chewing on her feet and her ears got goopy. I took a look at the ingredients and - you guessed it - we'd given those allergies a jump-start with the Beggin Strips - they had both corn and wheat on the ingredient panel.

After being on the antibiotics for only 24 hours, her foot chewing has slowed and she's not limping anymore. I'll be closely examining those ingredient panels in the future...

Retractable Leashes: Friend or Foe?

Everyone wants to give their dog as much freedom as possible and still keep them safe, right? It would stand to reason, then, that a long leash which is quickly retractable, would be the best thing out there. These leashes can be useful and helpful, but more often than not, they're a nuisance at best, and downright dangerous at worst.

PROS
Retractable leashes are great if you've got your dog in a big open field and you're letting your dog be a dog: sniffing, gamboling across the field, pouncing, playing. And that's about the only place and time that retractable leashes are good.

CONS
You can lose a finger, get a rope burn or break your dog's leg. These leashes are NOT good near roads, near other dogs, in pet supply stores, in training class, in downtown areas, or in doggie parks. Used in these locations, they actually hinder you and your dog.

Retractable leashes can actually teach your dog to pull on the leash. Because there's always tension on the leash, the collar is always tight. If the dog knows that to go anywhere his collar must be tight, you'll never convince him to not pull even when he's on his regular leash.

If you're headed anywhere other than a wide-open field, use a standard 4- or 6-foot leash. I like plain cotton web leashes - they come in varying lengths: 20, 30, even 50 feet. They don't retract which means there's less chance of me losing a finger, and there's never tension on the leash.

The Right Decisions Can Be the Hardest

I mentioned that we'd taken in a new dog temporarily. I hoped to get him adopted as a companion or a service dog for someone who needed a little extra help. He was a client's dog and just wasn't the right fit for them. He touched me in such a way that I told them to let me know if he didn't work out for them. So they did, and I took him in.

Less than 24 hours later, we got the call from hospice to tell us my mother-in-law was dying. I spent four days in limbo at hospice, coming home every six hours to let the dogs out and feed them. Not the best circumstances for any dog, but especially not for a dog who was so new to us.

He got along great with all my dogs, although quite often he was a bit much for them, and they were always reminding him that he was crossing the line. He decided he liked to play with Lily, our seven year old Lab. Unfortunately, Lily's the most laid-back dog we've got, and she didn't share his love of play. He badgered her until she was in a state of denial. She'd lay still no matter how much he barked and play-bowed. Frustrated that his efforts weren't working, he then resorted to nipping her as she laid down and tried to ignore him. If I didn't step in to stop him, our other two dogs were more than happy to do it for me. Which, clearly, wasn't a good idea.

I began to separate the new guy from our three, which of course made him miserable. He jumped every gate we put up. Nothing could keep him away from these three. So I began leaving him inside and taking my three out for a romp, then taking him out while my three stayed inside. Everyone was now miserable! I couldn't win. I couldn't keep him safe in the house either - he had escaped from crates before and I feared he'd get stuck half-in and half-out and kill himself while I was gone. He could scale any gate (or two) I created with ease.

When he was outside, he decided the grass was greener on the other side of the fence. And he jumped it. With ease. And once outside the fence wouldn't let anyone near him. He'd bark and bark and bark, but wouldn't come close. And would run away when I tried to offer him some bits of chicken. I'd run in the opposite direction, hoping he'd chase me. He'd watch me, but wouldn't take a step closer. He just wanted to run, run, run. I could do nothing but wait for him to come back on his own, because my efforts to convince him to come back only made him go further away. So from that moment on, he was only outside on a leash. Which he hated. He wouldn't run (plus my two legs are so much slower than his four), he didn't want to go to the bathroom, he wouldn't play with me. He just looked at me.

These issues individually weren't insurmountable. But all these issues together with the emotions and stress of the death of a loved one were making everyone and every dog miserable. The new dog just wasn't happy when he couldn't be with our three. And our three were definitely unhappy when he was around them.

We didn't have a training issue, we had a compatibility issue. My dogs weren't happy with his being here. And the new dog wasn't happy, either. And no amount of training was going to "fix" these issues. It was one of the most difficult decisions I've faced yet in life, but I decided to take the new guy to the shelter. I'm glad there are safe places like shelters where dogs can get a second chance. I'm hoping this guy finds the perfect home: a young man who likes to go running and hiking; or some empty-nesters who need a walking partner and someone to shower with affection; or maybe a family with a young, energetic dog who would love to have another playmate.

Your Smart Dog - March Newsletter Published

The March newsletter has been published. Not a subscriber? Why not - it's free, it comes once a month in your email box, and it's full of good doggie-related information, as well as SDU news and what's happening locally. You can subscribe here.

This month's newsletter addresses what things in addition to training your dog needs to become a well-adjusted, well-mannered family member. You don't want to miss it! Click here to download the article.

Resuming Our Regular Routine

Our family has had an emotional week. I wrote earlier about hospice and how helpful it's been to have a dog with us during the process. Those four days we spent with my mother-in-law were made much easier because we had the company of a dog.

While we were happy to have a dog with us, the remaining three dogs at home weren't as happy to be left alone. We've got a new dog (I'll try to get a good picture soon). He wasn't here for even 24 hours before this new schedule of home-for-an-hour-every-seven-hours was thrown on him. So he was in a new house, with new dogs, and a brand new (long and lonely) schedule imposed on him. I felt really bad for him. But he did just fine actually.

I tried to come home at regular intervals and keep their (new) routine, well, routine. I'd let them outside to do their business and run around, then feed them, and let them visit with me for 30 minutes or so. During that 30-minute block, I gave them each a peanut butter stuffed food toy. I didn't want the new dog to think "Uh oh, there's the peanut butter; she's leaving again." Then it was back outside for another pee break, and a few more minutes of lovin' before I gave them another peanut butter stuffed toy and left again.

I left a light on for them at night, as well as the radio. Then I began to wonder if that was a good idea -- when we were home with them during the night, the house was quiet and dark. Was the light and radio a cue to the dogs that things weren't normal? So I compromised and turned on a night-light and lowered the volume on the radio when I left them at night. 

So now we're getting back into a regular groove and I hope to start working with the new dog. See what he can do, what he likes, doesn't like, and all that. I'll keep you posted on our progress...