Training Diaries

We would like to share the Training article Joy wrote for Canine Review magazine recently. Here is a link to the file. Please check back for more...

Conformation dog, obedience dog, agility dog, rally dog or just the pet dog following you around the house; all dogs should have some formal training to make their life and their owners lives better.

All training has to start somewhere. So we start with focus, without focus or what some people refer to as attention there is no learning because the dog is not aware that you are even speaking to him; let alone trying to teach him something. You may think your dog has good focus already and maybe he does but even good focus can be improved; and any improvement in focus = better performance in any of those dog sports you love to do. For those of you that are starting a new dog lets start training all exercises with good focus, and any of you that want to improve what you have already been working on let’s revisit those basic exercises and take another look at our focus.

Because I am a motivational trainer as opposed to a trainer that uses compulsion I will want you using something to motivate your dogs with to get the focus we need from them in order for them to learn. For those of you that do not know the difference between a motivational trainer and one that uses compulsion; the difference is that when you use motivation you are shaping behaviour with reward, basically convincing the dog that it is his idea to do what YOU WANT HIM TO DO. A trainer that uses compulsion to get the results he wants; is forcing the dog with correction to obey his commands. My favourite motivator is food, I find toys less reliable because the dog has the ability to simply take the toy and go into BUSINESS FOR HIMSELF any time he gets tired of you. However when you are using food you have a lot more leverage i.e. by always working with him before he has his dinner; you control his hunger. When working with food you only give him very small treats so you keep him hungry the whole time you are working with him.

And you end every work session while he is still hungry which in dog training equals motivated.

Because we are using treats to motivate our dogs, we have to determine what type of treat to use. My general rule for choosing the right treat is too use a less valuable treat such as the dog’s own kibble for a simple exercise or when working with no distractions. When the exercise is more difficult or you are working with distraction you must make the treat more valuable. You also have to consider that you cannot use something that will give your dog an upset tummy. So choose something he likes and something that is safe. We use a lot of chicken hot dogs in our house.

Your timing is very important to getting the dog to understand which behaviour you are rewarding him for. In order to help your timing I suggest you wear a treat pouch or a pocket with easy access. This way you are not fishing around looking for a treat long after the dog has performed the desired task. So you now have your treats ready and you have quick access to them, be very aware to give that reward as soon as the dog gives you the desired behaviour. Under no circumstances give him a treat for NO REASON. You will only confuse him.

So let’s get started training our dogs with focus. Or in some cases retraining our dogs some familiar exercises with focus.

COME is the first and most important command any dog should be taught. To come when they are called “reliably” Because we want to ensure success we break each exercise we are working on into several small steps. Our goal when it comes to training our dogs should be to build on small successes. The main reason people do not have success when they are training a dog is that they try to progress too quickly. This causes failure and they become discouraged and give up. We only move on to the next step when the dog has perfected the step he is currently working on. No harm will be done if you stay at the same level for several days. So please be prepared to only move on at Your Dog’s pace. Every dog has his own individual learning speed. This learning speed increases as his FOCUS improves. Once he has reliable focus he will suddenly appear to have an ON SWITCH. But in the beginning he is only LEARNING how to LEARN.

If you have already taught your dog the Come command but are unsure if your dog is reliable or you just want to test his reliability on this exercise; give him this simple test. Choose 5 times during the day in different situations with some distraction and call him to you. If he comes quickly to within reach of you every time; he is then GIVEN A PASS on this test.

If he does not come or takes his time to check out a distraction on his way to you, he is GIVEN A FAIL. If your dog fails this test you need to work your way through the following training exercises from beginning to end and teach him how to be more reliable. Please remember reliability on the come command is not just training it is a safety issue. Many dogs have been injured darting out the front door into the street when they fail to respond to their owners calling them back.

I am an ALL BREED COMPETITION TRAINER both conformation and obedience. My focus is conformation; the come command is the first exercise I train all dogs; and I train all exercises with focus.

NOTE Always start new training in an area with no ”distractions” and for safety sake with the dog on lead. I like to use an area that the dog is familiar with so that his own curiosity with an unfamiliar area doesn’t become a distraction.

On step one we are going to establish that the dog knows his name and responds to it every time you sat it.

Teach the dog to move toward you when you say his name and add the COME command.

We want him coming as fast as he can, every time we call him. We never want him to have time to look around on his way to you. So instead of increasing the distance too quickly we will keep it a short GAME OF TAG with some motivational moves.

5 ◊ While he is busy picking up his treat run in the opposite direction calling his name

If your dog is supper fast put 3 treats on the ground to give you more GET AWAY time.

Once you have worked through the above training steps you should have the start of some good dog FOCUS and the start of a good recall. However you have been working in an area with NO DISTRACTIONS.

When you are ready to start working with distractions you must start with very low distractions—for example go to another quiet place, just somewhere different. Take your time and work your way through the above training steps all over again. Just because you have done this once with great success DO NOT RUSH through the second round. GOOD DOG TRAINERS are all about patience.

You will gradually keep adding different and slightly more distractions to your dog’s training routine. Each time you will go right back to step one and work all the way through step four .As long as your timing is good and you never take your dog too far too soon he will always love his training sessions. Working with a good trainer with good timing is always a WIN! WIN! Situation for a dog. When training is done properly it is just a series of fun games as far as your dog is concerned.

We hope you will join us for the upcoming Workshop being held at George Preston Arena, Langley, BC sponsored by the Group 5 Club of BC.

We look forward to seeing you there August 25th & 26th, 2007.

All the Best!

Joy and Vaughn

We are adding a new page "Training Tips" so you can go back and review tips given in previous Training Diaries.

All our Workshops are tailored to your needs, from beginner to advanced handlers. We have several rings going on at the same time working on different levels of ability...yours and your dog's. We review work covered that was covered at previous Workshops. Everyone is able to start or pick up where you are individually, puppies to very advanced dogs. We hope you will join us in a great weekend of learning.

Enjoy our new website: www.joyandvaughn.com please send Maxine your photos and brags so we can share in your successes. Don't forget to include your name, your dog's name and the win.

The Training Diaries: