The Smart Dog U Blog

Get Your Dog To Notice You!

Does your dog dash out the door, pulling you along behind. 

If you dropped the leash, would your dog even notice?

Does your dog pay more attention to the distractions outside than you?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you're not alone! This is one of the most common complaints I hear from owners. Their dog doesn't even know they exist once the dog is outside. Thankfully, there's an easy remedy to this situation. 

You'll need:

• a clicker
• delish treats
• 6' leash (no retractable leashes!)
• regular buckle collar (no prong or choke collars!)

Leash your dog, put your treats in a fanny pack and have your clicker ready. Open the door, step outside and wait for your dog to look at you. Don't move any further than just outside the door. As soon as your dog looks in your direction, click and give him the treat. You may have to reach and put the treat in his mouth if he's really distracted. Then just wait some more. Click every time your dog looks in your direction. If you're using super high-value treats, your dog will start looking at you more often than he's looking at his environment. 

Here's a video of my four dogs so you can get a feel for what this exercise looks like and how to do it. Each piece is only about two minutes long.

Return from ClickerExpo

Tango and I got in very early this morning (3:00a) from our 10-hour drive from Lexington, KY where we'd attended Clicker Expo 2010. 

 I Tweeted, I Facebooked, and now I'm blogging about the fun we had in KY. I traveled with three other positive reinforcement trainers and we talked the entire 10-hour trip. The subject? Dogs, naturally! 

Tango traveled with us, laying happily at our feet. He trekked with me from seminar to seminar for three full days, never complaining, never causing any trouble. He's the perfect conference dog.

He even accompanied me on stage when I gave my talk Social Media for the Entrepreneurial Dog Trainer. You can't see him in this picture - he's behind the podium eating a rawhide. Later during the talk he came over and laid quietly. Until he wanted a tummy rub. Then he flipped onto his back and rolled with his feet in the air. Ever the obedient and well-trained person, I obliged him. I kicked off my shoe, rubbed his tummy, and never missed a beat in the presentation. 

I found it extremely calming to share the stage with a dog. I gave this same talk at Clicker Expo - Portland and was much more nervous. It was a fun weekend filled with learning, fun, and catching up with training friends from distant states. Keep an eye on the blog for lots of ideas I picked up at Clicker Expo!

The Aftermath of Blizzard 2010 - Talos and Tango [Video]

The Mid-Atlantic has been hit with some serious snow this winter. I hate winter, but I love snow. I figure if it's got to be cold, we might as well have lots of snow. And this year, I've been a happy camper. We got about 30" of snow over the weekend and the dogs turned into puppies again in the snow. And we're expecting 10" - 20" tomorrow. When did I move to the Arctic Circle?!

Talos, naturally, had the easiest time getting around in the snow because he's the tallest. But Tango could keep up if a path had already been created. Here's a little bit of video of Talos and Tango playing in the snow. 

Too Cold Outside? Ideas to Keep Your Dog Busy Indoors.

Most of the country is suffering from the abysmal cold. It's difficult to stay outside with your dog long enough to accomplish even the briefest of bathroom breaks, let alone play games outside. SDU thinks you'll like this list of ideas to help you keep your dog active indoors, where you'll both be warm and toasty. And in the spirit of living a greener life, many of these ideas call for things that are in your trash or recycle bin already. So they're not only green, but they're also inexpensive!

Here's what I came up with today, with an empty McDonald's drink cup, a paper lunch sack, and a rawhide.

Start with an empty paper soda cup.

Then grab a rawhide, stuffed food toy, or anything your dog likes (that's safe for him to have, of course).

 

Put the rawhide in a paper lunch sack.

 

Wrap the bag up tightly around the rawhide.

 

Put the rawhide inside and put the lid on the cup.

 

Put the cup on the floor for the dog. 

Sit back and watch the dog enjoy opening the cup, shredding the paper bag, and finding the rawhide inside!

Snow Hounds (Video)

We love the snow! This is Talos the Great Dane's first big snow. And because he's a service dog in training, we'll have to return him to Service Dogs of Virginia before next winter. So every snow's important to us! Enjoy watching the dogs romp...

Blondes Rocking the Hunter Orange

Neither Tango nor I are slaves to fashion.

As the picture above proves.

That's us, the two blondes rockin' the hunter orange. You probably didn't even notice the black Lab in the picture. That's Lily. She's not wearing any orange. You see, it would clash with her silky black coat. (Actually, her hunter orange vest didn't fit.)

Because it's hunting season, we're decked out in our orange. Hunting is illegal on Sunday, which is when we were out, but we figured it was better to be safe than shot. I think we look pretty darn good, Tango and I.

We found a pond. You put Tango anywhere near water and he's going in. Water is a magnet to him. I felt the water - it was cold! Probably in the 40's. Thank goodness the Labs have the double coat - I don't think Tango's skin was ever touched by the water. Note that Tango's still on leash, even though he's retrieving. There was no reason for him to be off leash. First, it's illegal. Second, it's dangerous. (Those are leaves on the surface of the pond, not algae.)

The water's good, but chasing a stick into the water is even better. I found a good sized stick and Tango retrieved to his heart's content. I was tired of throwing the stick long before he was tired of retrieving it. That's a Labrador for you.

We were out for about two hours. We saw one deer and lots of hawks and squirrels. Unfortunately, we were the hosts to lots of ticks. Little tiny ticks. I found four on Tango, one on me, and one on my husband. 

Take some time this weekend to get out and enjoy the woods with your dogs. Just wait until Sunday, wear lots of orange and check for ticks when you're done!

Three Dogs, One Christmas Tree

Our annual Christmas tradition includes cutting our Christmas tree. We always take some dogs with us, of course. It's just not Christmas if the dogs aren't included!

 

We found one of Talos' relatives when we were at the Christmas tree farm! A cow!

It was a cold and windy day, threatening rain, but we all had a fine time.

Christmases spent with dogs are my favorite memories.

Our Beginner Gun Dog Weekend

 Tango and I had so much fun at the Beginner Gun Dog workshop in Virginia over the weekend. It's always fun to spend time with your dog outdoors, and this weekend was no different. The weather was spectacular! And the subject matter and the skills we learned about were so new to us.

I learned a lot at this workshop. First, even though Tango is a natural retriever and loves the water, it takes A LOT more than that to make a good gun dog! The dogs need to be focused on their handler, no matter the terrain (water, marsh, corn field, forest, etc.), or the distractions (horses, off-leash dogs, birds, wild animals, gunshots, wounded birds, etc.).

Just being outdoors was distracting for many of the dogs. Then when we moved into low cover, things got even more distracting for the dogs. So for the first hour or so, we worked with the dogs in the least distracting area - the gravel parking lot. But even that held fascinating scents. We upped the value of our reinforcers (I switched from dehydrated hot dogs to chicken), and also raised the rate of reinforcement (we clicked a lot more, often just because the dog looked in our direction instead of sniffing).

 A good retriever will retrieve anything: car keys, a dead bird, your shoe, a wounded bird, the newspaper, or your slippers. He'll also wait for you to tell him when and where to retrieve the object. And he'll also go straight out, come straight back and deliver that object to your hand (not dropping it when he gets to you).

It's a lot of fine detail, believe me! There are also whistle cues instead of spoken cues when you're working with a gun dog. First of all, your dog may be far away from you so he can't see you or hear your voice. A whistle carries over a long distance. The cues we learned are: 1 whistle pip = sit; two pips = change direction; and three pips = come to me.

Tango has the 1 and 3 pips down just fine. We need to incorporate the 2 pips into his reperatoire. I also, of course, need to work on those new whistle cues in the field, in the woods, on the pavement. It's so much fun to work with your dog.

I love these new challenges, which ultimately lead to new accomplishments.

Best Day

Some of the best times Tango and I have had together have been training times. Because he was a service dog in training for over a year, we were able to spend a lot of time together. There's something about Tango that cuts right to my core, some kind of special wiring we share. The time we spend together recharges me, makes the day better, reconnects us.

We spent the day in a Beginner Gun Dog workshop. There aren't a lot of positive reinforcement trainers in the gun dog community. So when I got the chance to attend a workshop (in driving distance!), I signed us up quick as a whip. (I'll post pictures in a future post, hopefully.)

We spent the day learning about gun dog training, the skills needed, and how to work on them. What fun we had! Tango's an eager partner and is patient with me as I'm trying to incorporate new skills into our training program.

It feels fantastic to work with him, in tandem, to be learning together. I can't describe the feeling or the experience other than to say I'm on a doggie high at the moment. I can't wait for tomorrow, the second half of the workshop. 

There simply isn't any better way to spend a beautiful fall weekend than outdoors with Tango.

Halloween 2009

  We had a happy, uneventful Halloween 2009. I gave the dogs some rawhides and put them behind a sturdy gate. The door knocking, the bell ringing - I thought it might be too much for the hounds.

As we got a feel for the pace of the trick-or-treater's I felt comfortable bringing Talos out for a few rounds of kids. He started wagging his tail the moment he heard the kids. I had plenty of delicious dog treats on hand to pair with the approaching kids. He brushed off my treats - the kids were his reward!

After about three herds of kids, I thought it prudent to put Talos back in the house. Tango was very happy to take Talos' place and did just as well at Talos did with the kids. In fact, I believe Tango got a bit bored toward the end. He laid down on the porch and tried to get in some sleep.

We hope you and your dogs had a happy Halloween and enjoyed more treats than tricks!