IF YOU REQUIRE ANY HELP OR ADVISE ON TRAINING OR BEHAVIOUR PROBLEMS I AM ALWAYS AVAILABLE TO HELP IF I CAN! JUST DROP ME AN EMAIL.
Alpha Rules
What Rules Do I Need to Know as I Raise My Bully Pup?
Try the Alpha Rules!
Leaders go first. Make your dog wait at every door and gate (including the car) until you allow the dog to go through it. Make sure YOU go out the door first. Use the word “wait” and then a release word.
Leaders eat first. You and your family eats first, then you feed the dog BUT not at the table.
Leaders control food. If the dog gets to eat anytime he likes, he’s the leader, the Alpha. No self feeding.
Leaders get the best spots. Do not let the dog on your furniture, including your bed. He can come only if you invite him. Once or twice a week is plenty until he knows his place.
Leaders have the highest place to sit or lie down. When you have a problems with your dog, do not let him be higher then you are. Do not sit on the floor while your dog is lounging on your sofa. Wrong! Let him be on the floor next to your leg and you sit on the sofa.
Leaders can go wherever they want, and the dog must get out of their way. There should not be ANY resistance on his part. He should move away quickly, if not just run right into him.
Leaders get to see tummies and genitals. Submissive gesture for the dog is to expose his stomach and genitals to the Alpha dog. You can use a tummy rub for that purpose.
Leaders stand tall. When playing make sure you put your hand (paw) or head on your dogs back or put your chin on his head, but do not let him do same to you. If your dog is misbehaving, stand up and be tall; do not bend over.
Leaders can stare. If you look at your dog, do not avert your eyes first but wait till he does. Check on this, you will be amazed how many times you look at your dog and how quickly you avert your eyes not even thinking about it.
Leaders can take the toys and keep them.
Leaders do not play tug of war. if you must play this game ALWAYS make sure you win, the dog MUST give you the toy
Leaders do not chase members of their pack. Do not chase your dog, rather let him run after you.
Leaders are fair and benevolent, not cruel.
Leaders=Alpha inspires security, confidence, and happiness in the souls of their pack members
here are some top tips on teaching your dog who is the boss!
if you think at any time you may get bitten by your dog do not attempt these "mind games" seek proper dog behaviour advice these games are simply for the dog that thinks its boss but is not aggressive with it! and for the owner who wants to be in control
Mind Game #1: No More Kibble From Heaven!
Free feeding is the equivalent of grub from heaven--some dogs seem to imagine that they own their bowl and that the food appears whenever they want it.
Feed your adult dog twice a day (puppies may need 2-6 meals per day depending on age and health status). Before you put the bowl down, have your dog do a sit. If your dog tries to dive on the bowl before you give him permission to eat, pick up the bowl and start again. When your dog stops eating and walks away from the bowl, pick up any remaining food and dispose of it.
Mind Game #2: No Free Lunches!
Dogs that never have to do anything to earn their living (their food) can become very spoilt. They see no reason to obey their owner at any time because they can get what they want (food) without any conditions at all.
At least four times a week feed your dog his entire meal from your hand. Divide your dog’s meal up into 15-25 parts (depending on the size of your dog, this might be anything from individual pieces to small handfuls). Have your dog perform a simple command for every part of his meal. It doesn’t have to be complex--it can be sits, downs, stand, shake hands, salute, roll over, etc.
If your dog is overly rough about how he takes food, work on his eating-from-your-hand skills with his first meal fed this way. If he tries to grab the food roughly from you, pull your hand away, give him a short time out, then offer the food again. If your dog refuses to carry out known commands, quietly put his food away until the next regularly scheduled meal. It’s completely up to him whether he eats or not--don’t try to convince him. Let him discover where his own best interests lie!
Mind Game #3: No More “Pee-Mail”!
Dogs sometimes use urination and defecation to mark their own territories. Some males are particularly persistent about urine marking as many places as possible (some bitches do this as well). I call this “pee-mail”--dogs send social messages to other dogs with their urine. Dogs do not need to assert their ownership over a large territory; some dogs who mark the same places on a regular basis become quite territorial.
Urine marking is different from regular urination--the dog sniffs something (often a vertical object or a place where another dog has peed), then moves forward a little and sprinkles that place with a few drops of urine.
If your dog is in the habit of marking during walks on lead, take control of his pee-mail. Give him (or her) two chances to urinate at home and then insist that your dog keep up with you during your walk. You may have to use a head halter to give you control over your dog’s nose.
Mind Game #4: Patience!
Dogs that are overly pushy and dogs that are too fearful share one important personality trait: they tend to be impatient. They move, act and make decisions too quickly. Having your dog do a thirty minute down stay every day helps teach your dog how to be patient and just relax.
First teach your dog to do a down. Then put him on leash, have him do a down and run the leash under your own foot. Leave your dog enough slack to lie comfortably but not enough to be comfortable sitting or standing.
If your dog gets up, just stay quiet and keep pressure on the leash. Let your dog discover how to be comfortable. Your dog will eventually relax and just hang out.
If you do this regularly, your dog will start to relax sooner and sooner.
Mind Game #5: Learning His Place!
Controlling the best spots to sleep are one of the games dogs play with each other to establish authority. As almost every dog could tell you, the best spots to sleep in any house are the furniture and human beds.
If you are playing Mind Games because your dog lacks respect for you, prohibit your dog from getting up on the furniture and on your bed. If he doesn’t respect your “Off!” command, attach a houseline to move him when he doesn’t feel like moving. Don’t be harsh, just firm and matter of fact.
If your dog has a favourite place to sleep (a particular corner or dog bed), make sure to take control of that place at least once a day by making your dog move out of it and then sitting or standing in it yourself for a few minutes.
If your dog sneaks up on the bed with you after you fall asleep, put him in a crate or shut him out of the bedroom.
If you are playing Mind Games because your dog is fearful or anxious, it is important to get your dog out of the bedroom. British trainer John Rogerson has noted that he has never seen a case of separation anxiety in a dog that routinely sleeps outside the bedroom. I have seen a few cases of separation anxiety in dogs that didn’t sleep in the owner’s bedroom but *did* sleep with one or more other dogs. Removing the other dogs did trigger anxiety, so make sure your dog is sleeping in a room alone.
Mind Game #6: Taking Back Your Space!
Dogs can take control of a space by lying in the middle of the traffic pattern or by lying in the doorway. Anxious dogs are trying to prevent their owner from leaving, dogs with leadership ambitions are trying to control their owner’s movement. In dog society, the lesser ranked dogs have to move around the higher ranked dogs.
If your dog is lying in your way, shuffle your feet and shuffle right through him. You don’t want to hurt him (that’s why you’re shuffling) but you do want him to move for you.
Don’t ask your dog to move or warn your dog that you are about to make him move. Make it your dog’s responsibility to keep an eye on you and to move as needed to accommodate you.
If you think your dog might bite you, consult a trainer or behaviourist with experience dealing with aggressive dogs ASAP! In the meantime, put a buckle or limited-slip collar on your dog and attach a houseline. Use the houseline to move your dog.
Mind Game #7: Follow the Leader!
Teaching your dog to follow you teaches your dog to keep an eye on you and to accommodate your movements. You’re an important person in your dog’s life and if he doesn’t know it, it’s time for him to learn it.
Tie your dog’s leash to your belt or around your waist for at least one hour each day. Go about your every day business without paying particular attention to your dog. Don’t warn your dog you are about to move, don’t pay attention to your dog, don’t coax him to come with you. Make it his responsibility to follow his leader (you!) around.
It’s inconvenient to do--but the more often you can do this, the faster you will see a change in your dog’s behaviour.
Mind Game #8: Take Control of Your Dog’s Body!
Dogs prefer to be touched on their own terms. Some dogs want to be petted constantly and some dogs would prefer only to be handled by invitation only.
If your dog solicits petting constantly, stop all free petting. Insist that your dog earn each petting session by performing one or more commands and keep each petting session short in duration.
If your dog doesn’t enjoy being handled, make sure that you handle your dog all over every day. Make sure you can touch and examine every part of your dog’s body, including his ears and between his pads.
If it gives you more confidence in handling, wear gloves until you feel safe handling your dog. If you think there is a high probability that your dog will bite you, seek professional help!
Mind Game #9: S/he Who Owns the Most Toys Wins!
In dog society, the dog able to control the most resources is usually the highest ranked. Giving a dog lots of toys that no one else touches can give that dog a mistaken impression of his own rank in the world. Overly confident dogs can become aggressive resource guarders and overly fearful dogs feel stressed by the enormity of their responsibilities.
Pick up and put out of your dog’s reach all of the toys, including chew toys. Hold one play session per day with your dog where you bring out one toy and use it to play with your dog for 10-15 minutes.
If your dog declines to play with you, put the toy away without comment.
Mind Game #10: Daily Chores!
Remind your dog that he works for his living by holding two short daily obedience sessions. For 5-10 minutes in each session, run through all the commands your dog knows or teach him new ones.
These can be combined with hand feeding sessions.
Mind Game #11: A Healthy Mind in a Healthy Body!
Dogs need physical exercise to stay physically and mentally healthy. Make sure your dog is getting 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every other day. Aerobic exercise is any exercise that makes your dog pant steadily. Depending on your dog’s size and fitness level, this can be on lead walking, jogging, road work, treadmill, retrieve games, swimming or pulling.
It’s difficult for many people to walk fast enough to give a medium or large dog aerobic exercise (any dog over about 25 pounds). If on lead walking is the only option, you can increase the oomph factor by teaching your dog to pull a drag from a non-restrictive harness. I start small with loops of rope and work up to motorcycle tires (depending on the size and condition of the dog). This has an added advantage for conformation people of building the dog’s rear.
Avoid retrieve games if your dog doesn’t play nicely. Playing nicely means respecting your space when you have possession of the object (in other words, not leaping on you to rip it out of your hands), bringing the object directly back to you and allowing you to take the object out of his mouth.
Make sure your dog is getting a high quality diet with moderate amounts of protein and fat. I believe that a homemade diet based on raw ingredients (meats and veggies) is healthiest for dogs. There are high quality kibbles on the market for those who prefer to feed a commercial diet. Money saved on cheap kibble often gets spent at the vet, so there’s no point in trying to economize with cheap dog food.
Mind Game #12: Rewards From Daily Life!
All dogs have things that they enjoy doing. Earning these daily pleasures can help your dog learn confidence and compliance.
It might include things like going out in the yard, going for a walk, being fed, going for a ride in the car, being groomed, being petted, getting scratched in that spot that is always itchy, etc. Before you let your dog have any of the things on that list, have your dog perform a known command, then reward him with the intended activity. If he refuses to do the behaviour, don’t comment, just walk away, wait for five to ten minutes and try again.
Play as many of the Mind Games as you can for at least a month. If your dog’s attitude has improved, slowly start dropping some of the games. I recommend that you keep the first game (No More Kibble From Heaven!) and the last game (Rewards From Daily Life!) for life. You may decide to keep playing more or all of the games. If your dog’s attitude starts to get worse again, re-institute the game you most recently dropped for at least another month.
The Crate Training Process
Crate training
your dog may take some time and effort, but can be useful in a variety of
situations. If you have a new dog or puppy, you can use the crate to limit his
access to the house until he learns all the house rules - like what he can and
can't chew on and where he can and can't eliminate. Dog crates are also a safe
way of transporting your dog in the car, as well as a way of taking him places
where he may not be welcome to run freely. If you properly train your dog to
use dog crates, he'll think his dog crates are safe places and will be happy
to spend time in his dog crates when needed.
Crate training can take days or weeks, depending on your dog's age,
temperament and past experiences. It's important to keep two things in mind
while dog crates training. The dog crates should always be associated with
something pleasant, and training should take place in a series of small steps
- don't go too fast.
Your puppy/dog may already be used to a crate if the breeder had introduced them to it at an early age!
Step 1: Introducing Your Dog To The
Crate
Put the dog
crates in an area of your house where the family spends a lot of time, such as
the family room. Put a soft blanket or towel in the dog crates. Bring your dog
over to the dog crates and talk to him in a happy tone of voice. Make sure the
dog crate door is securely fastened opened so it won't hit your dog and
frighten him.
To encourage your dog to enter the dog crates, drop some small food treats
near it, then just inside the door, and finally, all the way inside the dog
crates. If he refuses to go all the way in at first, that's okay - don't force
him to enter. Continue tossing treats into the dog crates until your dog will
walk calmly all the way into the dog crates to get the food. If he isn't
interested in treats, try tossing a favourite toy in the dog crates. This step
may take a few minutes or as long as several days.
Step 2: Feeding Your Dog His Meals
In The Crate
After
introducing your dog to the dog crates, begin feeding him his regular meals
near the dog crates. This will create a pleasant association with the dog
crates. If your dog is readily entering the dog crates when you begin Step 2,
put the food dish all the way at the back of the dog crates. If your dog is
still reluctant to enter the dog crates, put the dish only as far inside as he
will readily go without becoming fearful or anxious. Each time you feed him,
place the dish a little further back in the dog crates.
Once your dog is standing comfortably in the dog crates to eat his meal, you
can close the door while he's eating. At first, open the door as soon as he
finishes his meal. With each successive feeding, leave the door closed a few
minutes longer, until he's staying in the crate for ten minutes or so after
eating. If he begins to whine to be let out, you may have increased the length
of time too quickly in the dog crates. Next time, try leaving him in the dog
crates for a shorter time period. If he does whine or cry in the crate, it's
imperative that you not let him out until he stops. Otherwise, he'll learn
that the way to get out of the dog crates is to whine, so he'll keep doing it.
Step 3: Conditioning Your Dog To The Crate For Longer Time Periods
After your dog is eating his regular meals in the dog crates with no sign of
fear or anxiety, you can confine him there for short time periods while you're
home. Call him over to the dog crates and give him a treat. Give him a command
to enter such as, "kennel up." Encourage him by pointing to the inside of the
dog crates with a treat in your hand. After your dog enters the dog crates,
praise him, give him the treat and close the door. Sit quietly near the dog
crates for five to ten minutes and then go into another room for a few
minutes. Return, sit quietly again for a short time, then let him out of the
dog crates. Repeat this process several times a day. With each repetition,
gradually increase the length of time you leave him in the dog crates and the
length of time you're out of his sight. Once your dog will stay quietly in the
dog crates for about 30 minutes with you out of sight the majority of the
time, you can begin leaving him crated when you're gone for short time periods
and/or letting him sleep there at night. This may take several days or several
weeks.
Step 4: Part A - Crating Your Dog
When Left Alone
After your dog
is spending about 30 minutes in the dog crates without becoming anxious or
afraid, you can begin leaving him crated for short periods when you leave the
house. Put him in the dog crates using your regular command and a treat. You
might also want to leave him with a few safe toys in the dog crates. You'll
want to vary at what point in your "getting ready to leave" routine you put
your dog in the dog crates. Although he shouldn't be crated for a long time
before you leave, you can crate him anywhere from five to 20 minutes prior to
leaving. Don't make your departures emotional and prolonged, but
matter-of-fact. Praise your dog briefly, give him a treat for entering the dog
crates and then leave quietly. When you return home, don't reward your dog for
excited behaviour by responding to him in an excited, enthusiastic way. Keep
arrivals low key. Continue to crate your dog for short periods from time to
time when you're home so he doesn't associate crating with being left alone.
Part B - Crating
Your Dog At Night
Put your dog in
the dog crates using your regular command and a treat. Initially, it may be a
good idea to put the dog crates in your bedroom or nearby in a hallway,
especially if you have a puppy. Puppies often need to go outside to eliminate
during the night, and you'll want to be able to hear your puppy when he whines
to be let outside. Older dogs, too, should initially be kept nearby so that
crating doesn't become associated with social isolation. Once your dog is
sleeping comfortably through the night with his dog crates near you, you can
begin to gradually move it to the location you prefer.
SO FIRST THINGS FIRST. WHAT MAKES THE CLICKER SUCH A GREAT TOOL TO TRAIN YOUR DOG?
Well the first thing is it is totally dog (or any animal come to think of it!) friendly it works by giving a sound (click) that the dog will come to understand to mean he has done good. and re-enforcing the sound with a positive reward (the treat) he learns that for everything he does right he hears the click and gets a yummy treat to boot! what more can your pet ask for (except more treats!)
you can train your
pet to do almost anything with the clicker from play find the keys to simple
obedience like sit, stay. personally prefer the Karen Pryor clicker I-Click
( I can supply these clickers email me for details and price) now unlike the
usual clicker you will find in most pet shops (the box type) this is a
revolutionary new clicker that can be activated with so much ease its unreal.
I used to get frustrated when I went to click using the box type I often
missed the opportunity to click because the clicker was upside down or I
couldn't get my thumb in there! which made it in my opinion a lot harder than
it needed to be. then I discovered I-click it can be clicked using the palm of
your hand , foot, elbow it really is that easy!
Once you have your clicker its time to get your pet accustomed to what it means to hear that click!
15 simple rules to clicker training
Push and release the springy end of the clicker, making a two-toned click. Then treat. Keep the treats small. Use a delicious treat at first: for a dog or cat, little cubes of roast chicken, not a lump of kibble.
Click DURING the desired behaviour, not after it is completed. The timing of the click is crucial. Don't be dismayed if your pet stops the behaviour when it hears the click. The click ends the behaviour. Give the treat after that; the timing of the treat is not important.
Click when your dog or other pet does something you like. Begin with something easy that the pet is likely to do on its own. (Ideas: sit; come toward you; touch your hand with its nose; lift a foot; touch and follow a target object such as a pencil or a spoon.)
Click once (in-out.) If you want to express special enthusiasm, increase the number of treats, not the number of clicks.
Keep practice sessions short. Much more is learned in three sessions of five minutes each than in an hour of boring repetition. You can get dramatic results, and teach your pet many new things, by fitting a few clicks a day here and there in your normal routine.
Fix bad behaviour by clicking good behaviour. Click the puppy for relieving itself in the proper spot. Click for paws on the ground, not on the visitors. Instead of scolding for making noise, click for silence. Cure leash-pulling by clicking and treating those moments when the leash happens to go slack.
Click for voluntary (or accidental) movements toward your goal. You may coax or lure the animal into a movement or position, but don't push, pull, or hold it. Let the animal discover how to do the behaviour on its own. If you need a leash for safety's sake, loop it over your shoulder or tie it to your belt.
Don't wait for the "whole picture" or the perfect behaviour. Click and treat for small movements in the right direction. You want the dog to sit, and it starts to crouch in back: click. You want it to come when called, and it takes a few steps your way: click.
Keep raising your goal. As soon as you have a good response-when a dog, for example, is voluntarily lying down, coming toward you, or sitting repeatedly-start asking for more. Wait a few beats, until the dog stays down a little longer, comes a little further, sits a little faster. Then click. This is called "shaping" a behaviour.
When your animal has learned to do something for clicks, it will begin showing you the behaviour spontaneously, trying to get you to click. Now is the time to begin offering a cue, such as a word or a hand signal. Start clicking for that behaviour if it happens during or after the cue. Start ignoring that behaviour when the cue wasn't given.
Don't order the animal around; clicker training is not command-based. If your pet does not respond to a cue, it is not disobeying; it just hasn't learned the cue completely. Find more ways to cue it and click it for the desired behaviour. Try working in a quieter, less distracting place for a while. If you have more than one pet, separate them for training, and let them take turns.
Carry a clicker and "catch" cute behaviours like cocking the head, chasing the tail, or holding up one foot. You can click for many different behaviours, whenever you happen to notice them, without confusing your pet.
If you get mad, put the clicker away. Don't mix scolding, leash-jerking, and correction training with clicker training; you will lose the animal's confidence in the clicker and perhaps in you.
If you are not making progress with a particular behaviour, you are probably clicking too late. Accurate timing is important. Get someone else to watch you, and perhaps to click for you, a few times.
Above all, have fun. Clicker-training is a wonderful way to enrich your relationship with any learner.
remember make the learning fun for both of you!
Raise criteria in increments small enough so that the subject always has a realistic chance of reinforcement.
Train one aspect of any particular behaviour at a time. Don't try to shape for two criteria simultaneously.( i.e. come & sit)
During shaping, put the current level of response on a variable ratio schedule of reinforcement before adding or raising the criteria.( i.e. teaching sit dogs bum nearly down click! as he gets he supposed to sit raise the criteria to bum on floor!)
When introducing a new criterion, or aspect of the behavioural skill, temporarily relax the old ones.
Stay ahead of your subject: Plan your shaping program completely so that if the subject makes sudden progress, you are aware of what to reinforce next.
Don't change trainers in midstream. You can have several trainers per trainee, but stick to one shaper per behaviour.( i.e. get you family involved in clicking & treating,
If one shaping procedure is not eliciting progress, find another. There are as many ways to get behaviour as there are trainers to think them up.
Don't interrupt a training session gratuitously; that constitutes a punishment.
If behaviour deteriorates, "Go back to kindergarten." Quickly review the whole shaping process with a series of easily earned reinforcers.
End each session on a high note, if possible, but in any case quit while you're ahead.
Anything you do to get rid of behaviour you don't want will fall into one of the following eight methods. The first four are the 'bad fairies,' the methods that have neither kindness nor special efficacy to recommend them. The second four are the 'good fairies,' the approaches that involve positive reinforcement and some understanding of behaviour, and that are highly likely to work. This material, specially adapted for the show dog owner, is based on Chapter 4 of Don't Shoot the Dog! By Karen Pryor.
Method 1. Shoot the
animal.
This definitely works. Get rid of the animal, by whatever means, and you will
never have to deal with that particular behaviour from that particular subject
again. Method One is a common solution, in the dog show world, to a dog that
"won't show." Give the dog away and buy a new and more expensive dog.
Method 2. Punishment.
Everybody's favourite, in spite of the fact that it almost never really works.
In the show ring leash jerks are the commonest punishment (euphemistically
called 'corrections') but I have also seen dogs stepped on, yanked off their
feet, kneed in the ribs, and ear-pinched for not paying attention, for failure
to obey a command, and for misbehaviour such as growling at the handler.
Punishment does not improve a show dog's attitude.
Method 3. Negative
reinforcement.
This does not mean doing something negative to the dog when it makes a
mistake: it means removing something negative when the dog does something
right. For example, during gaiting and stacking in the show ring many handlers
hold the leash high over the dog's head, dragging the dog upward. An
appropriate use of negative reinforcement would be to slacken the leash
whenever the dog holds its head high voluntarily.
Method 4. Extinction.
Letting the behaviour go away by itself. For example, playfulness in a puppy,
and overexcitement in any dog making its first trip into the show ring, will
go away with or without training, as the dog matures and becomes accustomed to
the show environment. Clicking for calmness, or clicker training specific
behaviours such as focusing on a target, can speed the process of
desensitisation and help extinguish overreactions.
Method 5. Train an
incompatible behaviour.
The dog sniffs the ground all the time in the ring? Click it for keeping its
nose in the air for two steps, then three, then five, then a ring length, then
longer and longer times. The dog is being paid to keep its head up; it cannot
do that, and sniff the ground at the same time. Eventually just putting on a
show collar and lead can become a cue for "Keep your nose off the ground."
Training an incompatible behaviour-and paying for it, with the treats one is
allowed to carry in the show ring-is much more effective than punishing the
sniff (which encourages the dog to try to sneak in sniffs when you're not
looking) or than the physical intervention of hauling the dog's head into the
air by leash, which will give you a sore arm by the end of the day.
Method 6: Put the behaviour on cue. (Then you almost never give the cue.) This is an elegant way of getting rid of unwanted behaviour, but so counterintuitive most people just can't bring themselves to try it. Click the behaviour; get the dog offering it for the click. Add a cue. Reinforce the behaviour when you have cued it, ignore it when you haven't. The behaviour will disappear except when cued. This is one way to get rid of puppyish appeasement behaviours such as frantic face-licking; pawing and begging; jumping up; intrusive sniffing; barking and whining; scratching at doors; and (trust me) submissive urination. These are all innate puppy-to-adult-dog behaviours that we often intensify both by getting angry and by inadvertent reinforcement.
Method 7. Shape the
Absence of the behaviour.
Reinforce everything that is not the undesired behaviour. This method is
particularly appropriate with fearful or aggressive dogs. If the dog does
anything normal, click. And treat. Keep the sessions short, keep the
reinforcements coming thick and strong, once every ten seconds at least, and
repeat as desired.
Method 8. Change the
motivation.
Example: the dog in the yard that barks all night, disturbing the neighbours.
This is a lonely and frightened dog. Let the dog sleep in the house. Problem
solved. Too often, however, modern dog owners try to solve behaviour problems
by analysing or explaining why the dog is misbehaving. With the exception of
genetically induced behavioural anomalies (which are hard to diagnose and pin
down) it is rarely productive to ask why a dog does what it does. Identify the
behaviour (not the cause of the behaviour). Then identify something you can
reinforce that will replace that behaviour-and the stuff you don't want will
go away by itself.
Ok so we now have the basic rules
lets learn about TARGET TRAINING!
What is target training?? it is simply teaching your pet to follow a target. This could be your finger a pen or anything like that or you could buy a target from a clicker training site. with target training you can teach your dog to walk at heal to jump obstacles weave, to stand for showing.
Getting started with target training
Rub some food on the tip of the target stick and encourage the dog to sniff it. Click for looking at the stick, for nosing it, licking it, and bumping it. Give the dog a treat after each click. Repeat several times, putting the end of the stick an inch or two from the dog's nose each time.
Move the stick so it is above the dog's nose, below it, to the left, and to the right, clicking for touches in each direction. Move it away a little, and click if the dog takes a step toward it. Try walking with the dog and the stick; sometimes the dog catches on faster if it gets clicked while moving.
See if you can get the dog to stand on its hind legs to reach the tip of the stick, or bow down to reach to the floor. Settle for small movements at first; make it easy for the dog, not hard.
Keep your sessions short; three or four minutes is plenty. Keep the stick and some treats handy, perhaps in the kitchen, so you can do a little target training several times a day. Some dogs will catch on in a single session, and begin racing for a chance to touch the stick; others may take five or six sessions just to touch it with confidence.
Watch for signs of understanding: a wagging tail is a good sign. When the dog is eagerly touching and following the stick, and perhaps grabbing at it when you aren't even asking for that, raise your criteria. Start asking him to touch it two or three times for a single click and treat, or to follow it for several steps.
Omit the click if the dog mouths or bites the target stick, or touches it along the side rather than at the end. Your dog will not mind the omitted clicks, but will try harder to find out what he needs to do to get you to click him again.
Now you can use the target stick to teach other behaviour. If you are interested in agility training, you can use the target stick to teach the dog the obstacles, and to indicate contact points. An obedience trainer could use the target to teach go-outs and the drop on recall.
Use the target to teach the dog to walk beside you on a loose leash, or out in front of you in "parade" position for the conformation show ring.
You can transfer the behaviour to other targets. Yellow sticky notes can be used as targets on furniture or on/off switches, or to teach the dog to retrieve specific items such as the TV remote. The red dot of a laser pointer can be a wonderful target for working your dog at a distance; a laser pointer can be useful in tracking and other scent work, in agility, and in police work.
Above all, have fun with target training, and enjoy this new way of communicating with your dog.
Learning Bite InhibitionMost puppies will start to learn bite inhibition from playing with their litter mates and mother. But when we take them away from this social structure we must make up for the incomplete learning. How do puppies learn bite inhibition?Observation of puppies within a litter helps in our understanding of how they learn. Typically, they role and scramble around and have simulated fights. Using their mouths to grab and bite each other is a common feature of this activity and of course its not to long before one pup grabs and bites a little too hard. The natural reaction from the victim is a loud yelp, startling the culprit and causing a lapse in the play activity. Puppies soon learn that being to eager in their play-biting results in a scary noise and the momentary loss of a play mate, neither of which they like. So during puppy social interaction, they teach each other to play gently. Should I look to eliminate biting altogether?Not straight way! biting is natural in puppies and they must first learn mouth/jaw control and to inhibit the force of its bite. Dr Ian Dunbar, a world renowned animal behaviourist and vet, suggests a four step process to eliminate biting:
|
|
|