FitDog Friday #55 - Indoor Games

Now that it's colder, we'll be playing more training games indoors. We just got a set of tiny cones which I'll be using to train distance work (going around the cone and returning to me for instance). Mr. N has trouble working away from me sometimes so that should help.

We're also preparing for a leave it challenge his therapy group is going to host soon. Which doubled as a thank you card. I think a version with bacon and steak and meatballs would be fun.

I also kind of want to teach a hot dog retrieve this winter. Anyone else up for it?

BW Sunday #63 - Trainer

Positive Pet Training #9 - Therapy Dog Training

Mr. N doesn't let his size or breed(s) stop him from doing anything. He plays with much bigger dogs, goes hiking, competes in sports and does pretty much anything he sets his mind to. And I've encouraged him to do so most of the time. Jumping off a cliff after a squirrel is not recommended no matter what your size.

The last couple of months, Mr. N has been training to become a therapy dog. When I told my co-workers about his classes, one of them asked about Mr. N's breed and said, "oh aren't those the yappy, snappy ones?"

I told her actually Mr. N is following in the footsteps of the first therapy dog of record who was also a Yorkie. Smoky was also a war dog who served in World War II.

In his training class, Mr. N was the smallest (by far) and oldest and most energetic. The other dogs would start napping or winding down at the end of class and Mr. N showed no signs of being tired (I have no photos because we were too busy working the entire time).

Mr. N will be working with at-risk children at a domestic violence shelter. The therapy program teaches kids positive communication skills by using clicker training and positive reinforcement to work with the dogs. He has orientation this week and we'll have a few supervised sessions before he becomes a bona fide therapy dog.

Since we adopted him, I've been positively training Mr. N and working on his socialization. I've taught him that kids are a source of good things and they will pet him and feed him and praise him. We've also worked extensively on his leash reactivity to the point where he was able to take the training classes with the other dogs and focus instead of barking and lunging the entire class.

I think it will be good for Mr. N to have a "job." Who says little dogs are useless? 

This is the First Monday Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola & Tenacious Little Terrier. 

Next month's blog hop will be on October 6th. The theme will be Positive Training Fun with A Box!

BW Sunday #48 - Little Retriever

Can all dogs fetch? Even non-mouthy dogs can be taught.

In a past life, I think Mr. N would have made a good circus dog. Assuming he didn't try to chase the elephants.

He likes learning tricks (and he's good at it!). And he loves being the center of attention. But there was one area of tricks that was totally closed to us. Retrieving tricks. A lot of tricks are built around your dog fetching on cue.

Most of the advice I came across suggested teasing your dog with the object and they would try to mouth it. Well Mr. N wouldn't even do that. I would throw a toy and he would look at me with this quizzical look on his face.

I stumbled across this Youtube video for dogs that takes a different approach to teaching them how to fetch. It's meant especially for dogs that don't naturally mouth things. You use dog chews to teach them how to mouth on cue and transfer that to a wooden stick.

I used a bully stick because that's what we had in the house. Mr. N would pick up the bully stick with his mouth. I would click and treat. We did a few rounds of this and then I tried giving him a bamboo skewer. And then he started mouthing that and picking it up.

This video is amazing. For people who are having trouble getting their dogs to even mouth things, I would definitely recommend this.



Something clicked in his brain. Within a day or two, he started bringing back objects and releasing them to my hand. We've been working with different objects and he totally gets the concept now.

I thought it was going to take us weeks if not months for him to learn how to put away toys in his toy box. And just a couple of days after we started working on fetch, he figured it out.

Yesterday, we were cleaning out objects from under the couch. I was holding a sock in my hand when Mr. N took it from me unexpectedly. I started laughing when I realized he thought we were going to start training and he wanted me to throw it for him.

Next on our agenda... a handstand maybe?



What training successes or triumphs have you had with your dog(s) or other pets?

Mr. N can fetch!

Mr. N is not a natural retriever both by nature and genetics-wise. His toy drive was utterly squashed as a puppy. When his foster got him at the age of two, he didn't know what toys were or how to play with them.

He'll play fetch occasionally when he feels like it with soft toys but only then. Basically he is not a "mouthy" dog. When presented with objects for shaping, his inclination is to paw at them or nose them.

I've wanted to teach him how to put away his toys for quite a while but I didn't think it would happen anytime soon seeing as I would have to teach him fetch from scratch. In the past two weeks, he has progressed from refusing to putting his mouth anywhere near objects to fetching a toy and putting it in his toy box. Next, we'll be working on fetching the rest of his toys and putting them away as well.

I'll be sharing more about the training process and putting up a video of Mr. N putting away his toys for next month's Positive Pet Training Hop on July 7th.

So proud of my little pup.

Also don't forget to enter our giveaway!

FitDog Friday #34 - Recall

I took Mr. N out to a nearby school yard after hours so he could run around for a bit. When he's off-leash, we usually practice recall at least once or twice. I decided to try this method of sharpening recall that I had read about. You hide from your dog and it supposedly encourages them to keep an eye on you and not wander too far. Well Mr. N usually keeps an eye on me so I haven't had a chance to try it before.

He was off in a corner so I took the opportunity to hide behind some bushes. He finishes marking some grass, and looks up to find me. And he didn't see me. If a dog's face could express four letter words, his did at that moment.

He sprints across the yard and playground in seconds, headed in the direction of home before I got a chance to call his name. Mr. N comes running back and I rewarded him with treats.

How do you work on recall with your dog(s)? Are they velcro dogs like Mr. N or do they want to go follow their nose? 

We went for a short hike last weekend. No recall photos. He moves too fast!

Your Dog's Favorite Trick(s)

Welcome to June's edition of the Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola and myself. This month, we're discussing our favorite trick.

Mr. N's favorites are probably either "high five" or "dance." They're his default if he is confused or mugging for a treat. He has also been offering "shame" a lot lately because that was the last thing we worked on so he assumes that's what I want.

As for my favorite... it's probably whichever one I'm working on at the time! Right now, we're working on unrolling a yoga mat and retrieving.

The latter is frustrating me terribly because Mr. N is not a natural mouther. He will paw at the object in question or nose it but won't offer any mouthing behavior. So we're working on it with tiny baby steps. We're on day three of working on it and he's progressed from refusing to put his mouth anywhere near the stick to bringing it to me from four feet away.

Mr. N seems incredulous that I just want him to bring back the stick. He's like what if I hold the stick in my mouth and try to wave at the same time? Or if I hold the stick and cover my eyes? Oh fine. Have the stupid stick! And he'll fling the stick at me.

Yoga mat rolling is going rather smoothly. Initially, he wanted to roll it up rather than unroll it but it's going in the right direction now. I think later on, I might try to have him unroll the mat then roll it back up.

This video is from our first session.

What's your favorite trick? Does it differ from your dog's favorite? 

Next month, we're sharing our training triumphs, successes, ribbons, titles on July 7th but as always all posts about positive-based training are welcome. 

Positive Pet Training #4 - Teaching "speak"

One thing I've never been able to teach Mr. N is "speak." I've tried knocking on doors to get him to bark and offering him a toy/treat but not letting him have it. He just looks at me with sad eyes and lies down. I tried for maybe two or three sessions and then gave up. Mr. N isn't one of those dogs that barks for the sake of barking. He generally barks for a reason: someone at the door, excitement during play time or during dog greetings.

Onyxx likes to vocalize. He whines and chirps and howls. Somewhere along the way, the boyfriend discovered that if you bark at Onyxx, he will bark back.

So I've been teaching Onyxx to speak on command instead. I'll bark at him, and when he barks back, I tell him "yes" and reward him. The things we do for our dogs right? I'm working on getting it on cue so I don't have to bark at him every time!

I'll put a video up later.

Have you tried any "unusual" methods in the course of training your dog?

Positive Pet Training #3 - Turn it off, like a light bulb

Onyxx and Mr. N both know the "touch" trick where they bump their nose against my fingers. Well Mr. N does, Onyxx tries to lick my hand half the time. It's the building block for tricks that involve targeting.

Mr. N and I are currently working on weaving through my legs. I move my hand in the direction I want him to move until he does a figure eight through my legs. I'm currently having some difficult in fading out the hand cues so any advice would be welcome!

I apologize for the lack of video but I can't film it by myself and our place is currently in shambles due to cleaning our carpet this weekend.

Closing doors is a trick that can be taught utilizing targeting. If I knew about targeting at the time, teaching Mr. N might have been easier! Basically, you attach a post-it note or something similar to the door and you teach your dog to target the post-it with his nose and eventually close the door. Instead, I shaped the trick by clicking for any interaction with the door until he understood that I wanted him to push the door with his nose. Mr. N would have preferred targeting. He likes clear instructions.

Other potential tricks include: teaching your dog to "play" piano, ringing a bell to signal the need to go to the bathroom, and turning off lights.

Thank you for joining Cascadian Nomads,Dachshund Nola & Tenacious Little Terrier for the first Monday Positive Pet Training Blog Hop. Each month, bloggers and readers share and learn about positive pet training techniques, tools, frustrations and triumphs. Please join us next month, Monday, April 7th, with posts and stories about positive based training with any pets.

Pet Training: No, You Leave It

Welcome to the second Positive Pet Training Blog Hop hosted by Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola, and Tenacious Little Terrier.

It's rare a walk goes by without my saying "leave it" at least once. It's a multi-purpose word for us. I use it to tell Mr. N (and Onyxx) to stop sniffing other dogs' poop, ignore food on the ground and dead animals. As well as ignoring people.

It's especially important in the case of food because the dogs both find so many things that could make them sick.

So far Mr. N has found:

• Chicken bones multiple times
• Part of a chocolate donut with sprinkles
• A strip of bacon (who throws bacon away?)
• And other things that don't come to mind right now.

Onyxx has found:

• A corn husk
• Chicken bones
• Some kind of white sauce
• Pastry crumbs

I teach "leave it" by putting a low-value treat on the ground and rewarding for ignoring it with something high-value like liver. I think what also helps is that they have to wait for permission to eat so they learn self-control around food. 

Both dogs are pretty proficient at "leave it" now. It was probably one of the hardest things to teach Onyxx because his little Chihuahua brain could not comprehend the concept of leaving perfectly good food alone.

They can both do the balance food on your paws and nose without eating it trick. Which is fun but "leave it" can also be a life-saving command if your dogs are prone to finding weird things like the pups.

What do you tell your dogs to "leave it?"

Monday Mischief #21 - Human Barks at Dog

Onyxx's second (and my third) class went a lot better than the last one. The mastiff mix wants to be BFFs with Onyxx but Onyxx ignores him in favor of food. Only one of the kids was there and he stayed away from us. The instructor told him not to practice with Onyxx (we rotated) for the "off" portion of the class. Onyxx doesn't really jump on people so he practiced greeting strangers. Which is probably his weakest point. 

Everyone else raised their hands when asked if their dogs jumped or pulled. Then the instructor asked us, and I was like well nope he never pulls. I'm starting to wonder if the rest of the class thinks Onyxx is (mostly) magically trained. Because he isn't! 

After class, the instructor said Onyxx did extremely well and I must have put a lot of time into him. Yes, I spend a lot of time trying to cram some tricks and manners into his little Chihuahua brain. 

Mr. N wants to be good. And praised. And applauded. Onyxx wants to be fed. Mr. N won't work solely for praise all the time but he does like being told he's good. Onyxx has trouble performing without treats. I routinely have to "shove" Mr. N out of the way when practicing with Onyxx even if there's no food involved. 

I think I was spoiled having Mr. N to train first. 

The boyfriend says Mr. N is good indoors and is "bad" outdoors (due to his leash reactivity which is slowly getting better). And Onyxx is bad indoors (he's always sneaking off to the kitchen and trying to eat food) and good outdoors. Which is better? 

Also the boyfriend has discovered that if he barks, Onyxx will bark back. Oh joy. Mr. N is above such things. 

I've finished Onyxx's video. Anything I should change or fix?

Onyxx's Tricks Video Version 1.0

I'm working on a tricks video for Onyxx to post on Petfinder to boost his adoptability. I still need to add some clips of him playing dead and jumping through a hoop. Thoughts? Or suggestions for other easy tricks to add? 

Monday Mischief #20 - My Dog is Better-Behaved than your Kids

So Foster Pup Onyxx is taking a basic obedience class. He already knows how to do almost everything that the class teaches but I figured it would be good for him to work around distractions (other dogs and people who have treats) and the training would be good for his adoptability. One distraction I didn't anticipate, however, were kids. There's never been any in any of the classes I've taken with Mr. N so I guess I didn't really consider the possibility (So I didn't manage to take any photos. I'll try next class).

At the first class (the one without dogs), there were these two kids (somewhere in the 7-9 range, I think) who were being total nuisances during the entire class. They took up at least a quarter of the class time asking the most inane questions. They played in the kennels. They ran around the training room. They swung from the gate. One of them kicked me accidentally because he was fidgeting so much. Their father didn't say anything to any of this.

Now Onyxx is a little fearful around kids due to past history. I told the instructor so during that class. She said it would be good socialization for him. Well it's good socialization if the encounters are positive. Which I didn't think these would be. 

One woman told me after class that she was going to call the next day to complain to the instructor that the kids were disruptive and taking up too much of the class time. I didn't get a chance to ask her if she did or not but it was clear that I was not the only one who was frustrated with their behavior. 

Fast forward to the second class. I was already stressed out because I was feeling a little ill but I decided to go to class anyway. The kids zeroed in on Onyxx (small + fluffy factor). They followed me around, giving Onyxx commands and telling me that I was giving him too many treats. And trying to pet him while I was training with him before class. We retreated to a corner and I told the kids that he was shy but they followed us and continued.

They were doing the same to another dog and the dog's owner told them that in order for their dog to listen, they (the owners) had to be the ones training and giving commands. 

During the off-leash socialization time in the class, the instructor told me I could put Onyxx in one of the kennels. Onyxx is five pounds and the smallest dog in the class. There is a mastiff mix in the class that is close to a hundred pounds. There is no way I was going to let him play with strange dogs much bigger than him. (Note: I'm not opposed to the idea of big and small dogs playing together while supervised. Mr. N's best friend is 70-something pounds but I know that dog and his temperament). Even accidentally, they could hurt him. 

Onyxx was not fond of the kennel idea and was vocally expressing his displeasure. I was trying to quiet him down when the kids came over again and made comments about how Onyxx really doesn't like being in the kennel and I should take him out of "jail" repeatedly. I was a little worried that they were going to let him out. Their hands were perilously close to the latch.

So I told them that Onyxx was not their dog and that they should leave him alone. The kids' father came over and told me that I should not to be rude to his kids and to take it up with him if I had issues. To which I replied that they were being rude to my dog. He huffed and went over and told his kids that they should stay away from me. Mission accomplished.

I probably could have been more polite but I was just utterly fed up with these kids. There were many more things I could have said like: Well if you taught your kids how to behave, then other people wouldn't have to tell them how to behave. 

And it's not just the kids. Their dog peed on a coat and tried to attack another dog. I will be the first to admit that my dogs are not always perfectly well-behaved. But I try. And if they are disruptive, well then they lose privileges or have to leave. 

Towards the end of the class, one of the kids asked the instructor if by the end of the six weeks, all the dogs were going to be as well-trained as Onyxx. We were quietly practicing tricks in a corner (Onyxx's current tricks: sit, down, come, stay, jump over, wave, shake, high five, roll over, play dead and spin) while the instructor explained NILF (Nothing in Life is Free) to give Onyxx something constructive to do instead of barking. He gets really excited around food and starts barking in anticipation. Or demand barking. I'm not quite sure which. Aside from that though, he was doing everything perfectly and some bonus tricks to boot. 

The instructor replied that it depended on how much they practiced. Yes, it does. And rewarding good behavior and teaching him what is not acceptable behavior and that there are consequences for bad behavior. Which are universal lessons for kids and dogs! 

What do you think? Do kids belong in training classes?

FitDog Friday #18 - Training Treats for Small Dogs (and those on a diet)

According to SlimDoggy's calorie calculator, Onyxx needs roughly 170 calories/day. That's barely anything when you think about it.

When you go to training classes, they tell you to bring lots and lots of various high value treats. No kibble! Don't feed them before you come to class. 

With small dogs, you have additional challenges beyond finding something your dog loves to eat beyond all measure. There's only so many calories your small dog can/should eat in a day. You can't skip feeding them entirely either because of the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or other adverse effects. Mr. N will throw up bile if his stomach is empty for too long. 

On class days, the dogs get breakfast and a snack around noon but no dinner. So I have to find something low calorie but high value because they will get dozens of treats during one class.

Zuke's cut up into fourths

Oh and it also has to be something they can eat quickly (no hard treats), and won't crumble (other dogs get distracted by the crumbs), and not messy. Preferably smelly. It's a wonder I find anything at all. 

So what did I end up taking? Inside my treat bag, I had Zuke's mini naturals treats painstakingly cut up into fourths (Zuke's was just sold to Nestlé Purina so if they change the ingredients/formula, I may stop feeding them to the dogs/ EDIT: I was just reminded that Nestlé Purina owns the Waggin' Train and Canyon Creek Ranch brands that made so many dogs sick. We're not buying Zuke's anymore), a few Whole Life Pet beef liver treats (smelly, easy to break up but a little crumbly), one of the lamb lungs from Merrick's (for super high value, a little hard to tear up into small pieces), a Bocce's biscuit (for when I need him occupied for a minute), Clear Conscience Chicken Sliders (easy to tear and high value but left my fingers a little oily) and kibble. I normally wouldn't include kibble but Onyxx loves all food and I give them to him interspersed with higher value treats.

Treat bag contents

Onyxx ate a fraction of what I took. I figured it was better to overpack than run out of treats. Not everything was low calorie but he got mainly Zuke's, kibble and the sliders with a few other things mixed in here and there. 

I also like Real Meat treats because they're easy to tear. Dog food rolls like Redbarn's cut up into small pieces are also an easy treat option. They're supposed to be a complete and balanced meal. I've heard of people soaking kibble in broth to make them more high value but when I tried it, they were too soggy for my taste so I didn't bring them.  Canned food/yogurt/baby food in a squeezable tube has worked for us in the past as has slicing up dehydrated chicken breast or beef heart or liver into tiny pieces.

Training treats at home can be lower value (like part of their meals or fruit/vegetables if your dog will eat them, Mr. N won't) but for class, a lot of dogs need more motivation to ignore the many distractions.

This one guy brought just a bag of banana chips to class. Which seems like a weird choice for dog training treats. I'm wondering if he forgot to bring treats and just grabbed something out of the car? His dog apparently wasn't working well for them and the instructor told him to bring something more high value next time. So I offered the guy some chicken treats and beef liver when I got a chance which he happily took. 

I can just imagine Mr. N's reaction if I tried to train him with dried fruit. He would just look at me with utter disdain and be like, I am not a monkey. Now hand over the meat! Onyxx would probably work for them for a while (until he saw something better) but he'll eat just about anything. 

What do you use for training treats? Especially for those of you who have dogs on diets or small dogs? 

*The products listed above were either purchased or won in a giveaway except for the Merrick's which we received from Chewy.com to review. A longer review will be forthcoming. 

We're working on Onyxx's food guarding issues by "trading up"

Daily Dog Training Schedule

The easiest way to fit in training every day for us is to pair it with everyday activities. Setting aside time specifically is nice and I try to but sometimes it just gets lost in everyday living.
   
The dogs are expected to sit/lie down and wait nicely for their meals. They're not allowed to eat until they get a verbal confirmation. Mr. N is very good at this and will wait patiently even if I leave the room. Foster Pup Onyxx? If I don't watch him, he will scarf everything down the moment he senses the opportunity.

The dogs are fed several small meals a day (due to Mr. N's sensitive stomach). For their "snacks," they usually have to perform. If I'm in a rush, they get away with a trick each. But usually it's a combination of tricks. I try to vary the order so the dogs don't anticipate what's coming. Onyxx always thinks "play dead" comes right after "down" and he'll flop over as soon as he lies down.

So it might look something like this for Mr. N: sit, shake, dance, back up, spin, spin the other way, down, roll over, touch (high), beg. It takes about two minutes and reinforces their trick knowledge.

Onyxx's isn't quite as long both because we're still working on his impulse control and he doesn't know as many tricks but he is adding to his repertoire. In the past two weeks, he's learned how to spin, jump through a hoop, and wave.

I'll put one of the dogs in a stay and run through several tricks with the other dog. Both dogs find this difficult. Onyxx will start demand barking and Mr. N comes over and starts running through his tricks. It's good for their impulse control though.

Also I'll use odd bits of time here and there to work on training. I'll unload the dishwasher and tell them to stay for however long it takes me. I'll ask for a couple of tricks during commercial breaks. If we're waiting in line, we'll do a couple of the more stationary tricks (shake, watch me, touch etc).

I got word today that a local dog daycare will let Onyxx take their basic training class for free (which is nice of them). He knows almost everything they're teaching in the class but I figure working in a high distraction environment will be good for him plus I need to work with him on curbing his demand barking. We'll see if he's the star or the dunce of the class!

Thank you for joining Cascadian Nomads, Dachshund Nola & Tenacious Little Terrier for the premiere of our first Monday Positive Pet Training Blog Hop. Each month, bloggers and readers share and learn about positive pet training techniques, tools, frustrations and triumphs. Please join us next month, Monday, February 3rd, to celebrate Responsible Pet Owners Month. We encourage posts about how training and maintaining socialization makes you and your pet better members of society. Please share tips for life long pet socialization, important cues in a well behaved pet, taking the CGC test, how well behaved pets are more accepted places, etc. However, any posts about positive based training with any pets are welcome in our blog hop this and every month.

Tricks for a treat

When we first met Mr. N, he knew how to sit, high five, dance and his name. Since then, his repertoire has increased by leaps and bounds. High five is still a crowd favorite though.

I teach with a clicker (to mark the desired behavior) and use a combination of shaping (breaking down a behavior into tiny steps and rewarding them for each step towards the desired behavior) and luring. Mr. N understands that the click means he is doing something I want him to do and he will be rewarded. Usually with food. 

His favorites are anything with meat in them. He used to eat fruits and vegetables but since he started eating raw, he turns up his little nose at them. We're always looking for new training treats especially those that come in bite size pieces or can be divided easily.

Shaping box behaviors.

We work on a couple of things at once. Right now, we're working on beg, figure eights around my legs and go to your bed from twenty feet away. 

Some tricks are much easier than others. I didn't even have to teach him to walk on his hind legs. He does it occasionally out of excitement and I just put it on cue. Teaching him how to back up took forever. Forever being about two or three weeks.

Mr. N find shaping frustrating sometimes because he likes being right. Lack of direction drives him crazy. He sits there and whines and is like what do you want me to do? He's slowly starting to offer some behaviors unsolicited during our shaping exercises.

The pre-agility class we took was small and consisted of Mr. N and a papillon. The instructor watched both of them work and commented that the papillon is a "flinger" where he offers a bunch of behaviors to figure out what his owner wants and that Mr. N is a "thinker."

What do thinking dogs do? They try to outsmart you. One day, we were working on shaping closing a door and he was getting frustrated. So he decides to speed the process up. He walks over to me and paws the clicker in my hand. Once it clicks, he looks up at me expectantly, waiting for his treat.

This is why people say it's easier to train a dumb dog than a smart one.

Mr. N during our first session of learning how to close a door.