3 Lost Dogs » Basic Training

Play With Your (Dog) Food: The Easy Way to Prevent Food Aggression

admin — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 20:45:49 +0000

If you’ve got a new dog, you’ve got a lot to think about. Your hands are full with training and socialization and vet visits and all that. I’m going to add one more “to do” to your list. Please don’t hate me.

The thing is, this is an extremely important to-do. Especially if you have little kids who would like to keep their fingers. It’ll take you all of five minutes a day and provide peace of mind for years.

You know the old wisdom to leave the damn dog alone when he’s eating? If you are 5 years old, this applies to you. But I’m assuming you’re a grown-up-type person, so I’m going to ask you to kindly ignore that advice.

This exercise is designed to prevent “resource guarding,” which is when a dog becomes protective of his food, growling or snapping when you try to take it. We’re going to teach your dog that people touching his food is OK, and actually a good thing.

But wait, you say. My dog hasn’t shown any signs of resource guarding. Do I still have to do this? Yes! You do. Resource guarding/food aggression can show up later in life. As with most bad habits, it is MUCH easier to prevent the problem now than to try to cure it later.

First of all, you’ll want to feed your dog meals two or three times a day. If you are free-feeding -that is, leaving food out all day for Fido to pick at- it’s time to stop that. Feeding meals makes it clear to Fido that his food comes from YOU, and not that magical bowl on the floor that is somehow always full.

Second, hand feed your dog. I hear you snickering. But seriously, when you feed Fido his breakfast, take a minute to feed him some kibble by hand. This is where the “play with your food” part comes in. Fill the bowl. Before you put it on the floor, have Fido do some tricks. Reward each trick with a piece of food. You only have to do this three or four times, and then you can put the bowl on the floor.

You don’t have to do this part for very long. Just the first couple weeks or so, to establish in Fido’s mind that you are the provider of food.

Third, occasionally give your dog some “gifts” at dinner. Feed your dog his regular food, be it kibble or canned food or whatever. When he’s eating, take his dish away and put something really good in it (piece of boiled chicken, cheese, deli meat, etc), then give it back. This teaches Fido that when people take his dish away, good things happen. Pretty soon, he’ll be eagerly anticipating you taking his dish away!

And that’s it. Pretty easy, yeah? This simple process will go a long way to preventing dog bites in the future. And if you have young kids, this isn’t just a “nice thing to do,” it’s pretty much the most important thing you can do. The last thing you want is for your toddler to escape your supervision, wander up to your eating dog and get bitten in the face.

After you’ve worked on this stuff with your dog and feel pretty confident that the dog is comfortable with it, have your kids do it, too. Just make sure to supervise closely and make sure your child understands the rules.

Photo Credits

Dog Crates: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

admin — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:00:30 +0000

It is my humble opinion that the dog crate is the most awesome invention to hit the world of Dog Stuff since the tennis ball.

They’re a great tool for keeping mischievous canines out of trouble, and for traveling. Crates make the dreaded housetraining process so much faster and easier, since dogs don’t like to soil their sleeping area.

Dogs are den animals, naturally preferring to sleep in enclosed spaces (this isn’t true of all dogs, but generally speaking). If properly introduced to his crate, a dog will come to treat it as his bedroom; a safe retreat from the stress of life with those crazy two legged members of his family. It is not uncommon for dogs to seek out their crate when they need a nap.

If you have a new dog or plan on getting one, your first step should be to get a crate. It will be one of the most valuable pieces of dog equipment you’ll ever buy. Seriously.

There are many design options as far as crates go – choose from wire, plastic, or wood. Wood dog crates are a little more expensive, but worth it if you want a good-looking, multi-purpose piece of furniture (they usually double as end tables).

But, you know, too much of a good thing…

As a wise superhero once said, “with great power comes great responsibility.” This applies to crate training. As crate training becomes more mainstream, more and more people are using crates.

And more and more people are misusing them.

People often rely on the crate too much. Dogs end up crated for eight + hours per day while their families are at work and school. Imagine being stuck inside a box that was just big enough for you to stand up, turn around, and lie down in from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. Now imagine doing this five days a week. You’d go crazy, too.

It just struck me, as I write this, that this must be what it feels like to work in a cubicle. Huh. If that’s you, my sympathies. Try this. But I digress.

Crates were not designed to contain dogs for very long periods of time. Dogs who are over-crated can become destructive, hyperactive, anxious, or even develop bladder infections from having to “hold it” all day.

How much is too much?

Puppies under four months of age can hold it in their crate for a maximum of three hours. But ideally, they should be let out every 1 – 2 hours. Puppies four to five months old, a maximum of four hours. If a puppy is crated too long, they may start having accidents in the crate.

No dog should be crated more than six hours per day. If you need to be away longer than this, there are a few things you can do:

-Pick a room of your house, like the kitchen, and “dog-proof” it so that you can confine your dog here.
-Use an exercise pen instead of a dog crate. Add a bed in one corner and a “dog potty” in another.
-Hire someone to come and play with your dog or walk him during the day.

Hey, this isn’t a prison cell

Another common misuse of the dog crate is using it as punishment. An occasional time-out when your dog is playing too rough is OK, but your dog is supposed to associate the crate with good things, not bad things. Never angrily drag Fido into his crate, never yell at him or hit the crate when he’s in it.

This will only make your dog hate his crate. It certainly won’t be a place he wants to be.

Bottom line, your dog’s crate can be a great tool, as long as you don’t overuse it and don’t use it as punishment. Misuse of the crate can lead to all kinds of behavior problems.

Make the crate a comfortable place: Keep it in a spot that’s out of the way, but where he can still see the family’s activity. Put a bed and some chew toys inside, and your dog will learn to love his “room.”

You might also like:
Mischief Managed
Video: Keep Your Hyper Dog Entertained and Out of Trouble
video: Hey, That WAS My iPod! How to Stop Your Dog’s Destructive Chewing
I Just Got a New Puppy – What Do I Do With It?

Video: Keep Your Hyper Dog Entertained And Out Of Trouble

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:00:36 +0000

Want more? Check out 14 Quick and Easy Ways to Keep Your Dog Occupied

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

WAIT! (how to train it, that is)

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:17:49 +0000

Here’s a quick tutorial for teaching your dog to wait.

Not to be confused with the stay command, Wait is a useful command to have in addition to Stay. “Stay” means “stay in that position until I release you.” Wait means “don’t move forward.”

Tomorrow I’ll post a how-to that follows up on this, for teaching your dog to wait at the front door. (Update: Here’s the article: How to Stop Your Dog From Bolting Out The Door)

Step 1. Start with your dog on leash, somewhere with few distractions, like your backyard. Walk alongside him and after a few steps, turn in towards him, bringing your outside hand, open-palmed, in front of him so that you are facing him, blocking his path. When he stops moving, praise and give him a small treat (if you’re clicker training, click and treat). Hold the position for a second, then give your release word (“okay”, “free,” etc) and keep walking.

Repeat this about a dozen times, and switch sides, working on your dogs left and then right.

Don’t add the verbal cue “wait” yet; first get him used to the hand signal.

Step 2. Gradually make the motion of turning towards the dog less exaggerated, until you are only placing your outside arm in front of him, and turning towards him only slightly.

Step 3. Add the verbal command. Say “wait” as soon as the dog stops moving.

Step 4. Next, have your dog wait while you take a step away. If he stays in position, praise/treat. Take a few more steps away. Work on this until you can walk, then run, away without him taking even one step towards you until you release him.

A couple tips:

Praise him for waiting before you give the release cue. If you release and then praise, it will likely confuse Fido. He’ll probably assume you’re praising him for coming towards you, not waiting.

As your dog gets better at Wait, practice it in different places with different distractions. Indoors, on walks, with people watching, etc.

With this command in your “tool kit,” you can teach your dog to wait at curbs before stepping into the street, stop him before he jumps on someone, or, as you’ll see in this how-to, keep him from barging out the front door.

Video Post: How to Use Treats in Dog Training

admin — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 23:12:14 +0000

Do you know how to effectively use food rewards when you’re training your dog? Check out 3LostDogs’ “inaugural” video tutorial to find out all the basics
you’ll need to know to get started:

Music by Jason Shaw at Audionautix.com

On Getting Your Dog To Come When You Call Him

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 17:04:27 +0000

Photo courtesy Flickr.com/marilynjane" title="RecallShepherds" width="284" height="289" class="size-full wp-image-551" />

Photo courtesy Flickr.com/marilynjane

As far as basic obedience goes, “come” is a pretty easy command to teach.
You excitedly call your dog toward you, maybe tugging the leash or offering a treat. When he comes, you praise him. Eventually you attach the word “come” to it, and there ya go, you have taught the recall command. But that’s not what people have trouble with. What really frustrates dog owners is
a) getting the dog to respond no matter what, and/or
b), maintaining the command.
How many of you started out in your training with a beautiful response to the recall, only to have it deteriorate to the point where you’re lucky if the dog even flicks an ear in your direction when you call him? I’m in the process of fixing a broken recall with one of my own dogs, so I feel your pain. Whether you’re just starting to teach your dog to come or fixing a broken recall, there are some things to keep in mind.

First off, the Golden Rule of The Recall: when in the process of training it, never utter the command “come” unless you can enforce it. See, the trick is to convince dear Fido that he does not have a choice in the matter, and that when you call him, he comes, no questions asked. How? By making the recall such a habit that he doesn’t even have to think about it. You accomplish this with…

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE (and practice some more). First, you practice at home with Fido on leash. Minimal distractions. After he’s responding 100% of the time, take the leash off. Then you practice out in the neighborhood – there are more distractions here, so put the leash back on.

Once he’s responding 100% of the time in the neighborhood, take the leash off and put on a long line ( a long training leash or clothesline). Then you take him to a park. There are even more distractions now, so he’s back on leash. Seeing the pattern here? Every time you up the distractions, you go back to square one, with the leash on.

Practicing doesn’t have to take up all of your time. Just do a couple sessions per day where you work in 10 – 15 recalls each.

Make sure that really good things happen when he comes to you! Give him treats, throw a ball, tell him what a genius he is.

Then (and this is equally important), let him go back to whatever it was he was doing before you called him. You don’t want him to learn that coming to you means the fun is over. So call him, praise/treat him, then encourage him to go back to sniffing that fascinating bush.

No dancing allowed, Fido. Ever seen a person call their dog to them, only to have the dog run up to them just out of arm’s reach, and then gleefully dance away? The dog thinks it’s hilarious and it’s kind of funny to watch, but it sucks to be the person involved. To avoid this situation, teach Fido that “come” means “come here and let me grab your collar.” When training the recall, call him to you and make a point of touching his collar before you reward him.

Or if you’d prefer, you could teach him that “come” means “come here and sit still at my side.” Both techniques serve to prevent Fido from learning the recall dance.

Do not recall him off leash unless you are 99% sure he will listen. Let’s say you’ve only been training on leash with moderate-level distractions. You take Fido to the dog park and let him off leash. He is having a great time socializing with his buddies. Now, you know that there is absolutely no way he is going to come back to you when you call at this point. So don’t stand there going, “Fido, come! Come! Fido… come on! Let’s go!” while Fido cheerfully ignores you. Remember the golden rule? You can’t enforce it in this situation. All it will teach him is that “come” is optional. So walk over and grab him (nicely) yourself.

Now, let’s say that instead of him being off leash, you have him on a long line. He’s socializing with his pals again. You say “come,” gently reeling him in if necessary. When he gets to you, tell him he’s awesome, then quickly let him get back to the other dogs.

Now for the other Golden Rule of the Recall: Never ever under any circumstances, call your dog to punish him. Doesn’t matter how angry, tired, frustrated or cranky you are. Calling a dog to yell at him or angrily stuff him in his kennel is the quickest way to ruin your recall. Fido won’t know that you’re punishing him for digging up your lawn. He’ll think you’re punishing him for coming to you.

You can see how this might be a problem.

On a similiar note, don’t call your dog if you are, for any reason, about to do something unpleasant. If Fido hates taking a bath, don’t call him when it’s time to wash him. If you are heading off to go to work for eight hours, don’t call Fido to lock him up in his crate. This will have the same effect as punishment and will make Fido wary about coming to you in the future. In situations like these, you’ll have to just go and grab him yourself.

Bottom line:
-Create a strong recall by practicing often when you can enforce it
-Start with minimal distractions and work your way up
-Don’t call your dog when you know he’s gonna ignore you
-Make sure nothing but good things happen when he comes to you

Use these pointers consistently, and I guarantee you you’ll see improvement in your recall work. So have fun training, good luck, and let me know how it turns out.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Dog Trainers

admin — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:15:50 +0000

Some people are just really good at dog training. They get results and seem like naturals. Does this mean that the rest of us mere mortals cannot hope to be as good as they are? Nope.
photo courtesy of Flickr.com/OakleyOriginals" title="oakleyoriginals1" width="294" height="449" class="size-full wp-image-383" />
photo courtesy of Flickr.com/OakleyOriginals

Ask any one of these “naturals” how they got so good and they’ll probably tell you “with lots of practice.” And whether they are pros with hundreds of clients, agility handlers, or 12 year old kids training their pet in the backyard, they all tend to possess the following seven habits. I could probably turn each one of these into a blog post by themselves, but for now, here’s an overview.

Good trainers…

1. are clear and consistent
Imagine being taught the rules of a new game in a foreign language. Hard enough, but your teacher constantly changes the rules and even changes the meaning of words. This is what your dog faces when you don’t use consistency in your training.
Before you start your training sessions, get an image in your head of how you want the session to go. Think of what voice/hand signals you’ll use and the exact behavior you want the dog to perform. Once you’re actually training, concentrate on delivering your cues clearly. Use the same cues every time.

2. know what their dog wants
Because sometimes liver treats aren’t enough. Whenever you’re training (or even just hanging out), watch your dog and ask yourself “what does my dog want right now?” Maybe she really wants to go sniff that fascinating tree. Maybe she can’t wait to get to the dog park. Turn distractions into rewards. Once she does what you ask, reward her by letting her have the “distraction” for a while. She’ll learn that doing what you want gets her what she wants.

3. make it fun
The top dog sports competitors in the world will tell you: play with your dog! Play with toys – keep a tug toy on hand for a quick game as a break between training drills. And play without toys – challenge Fido to a game of tag or roughhousing. “Play training” builds focus and enthusiasm and is the best way to build a strong relationship between you and your dog. He’ll respect you, and like you, better for it.

4. are patient
Success in dog training is accomplished through short sessions of small steps that are repeated many times. It’s easy to get overeager and try to rush through, pushing the dog into something he is not yet able to do. This will actually make the training process take longer. Remember: short sessions, repeat small steps until you and Fido are proficient, and then move on to the next level.

5. willing to adapt
Sometimes, no matter how patient you are or how many times you repeat a training exercise, your trainee just won’t get it. Your dog isn’t stupid, though. When the canine student doesn’t understand, it’s usually because of something the trainer is or isn’t doing. Try changing your approach. There are, for example, at least half a dozen ways of teaching a dog to lie down. If one method isn’t working, try another. Which brings us to…

6. never stop learning
The world of dog training is always growing. New discoveries about the ways dogs learn are being made all the time. There are at least a dozen methods to teach a dog anything and by the time you finish reading this someone will probably have invented yet another way of teaching “Heel.” Of course, most dog owners don’t need to stay on the cutting edge of the industry. But try to continue your education by reading new books and awesome blogs like 3 Lost Dogs (ahem).

7. can laugh at themselves
Dogs love it when we go crazy. Why? Maybe they just think it’s funny when we embarrass ourselves in public. The best trainers are those willing to make fools of themselves for their dogs’ sakes. Did Fido do a great job at whatever you’re teaching him? Whoop it up! Break out the treats and tell him what a genius puppy he is, preferably in a high pitched voice. I know, easier said than done when the entire park or training class is watching. But if you can swallow your pride for a a little while, Fido will thank you.

Using Rewards in Dog Training

admin — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 08:15:37 +0000

photo courtesy of Flickr.com/joeshlabotnik" title="joeshlabotnik" width="494" height="202" class="size-full wp-image-179" />
photo courtesy of Flickr.com/joeshlabotnik

Food! When you saw the title, that was the first thing you thought of, right? You may envision colorful little Milkbones, liver treats or chopped-up hot dogs. If you train with food a lot and are now sick of the smell of hot dogs, you’ll be relieved to know that rewards don’t have to be just treats.

A reward (“reinforcement” is the technical term) is whatever the trainee finds valuable. Trainers use treats a lot because most dogs will work enthusiastically for treats and they are easy to carry around. You can also use toys. Have a tennis ball-obsessed retriever? Use balls as a training reward. Same with flying dics for frisbee-obsessed Border Collies. Police dogs do what they do for a chance to play with their toy. It’s their “paycheck.”

Sometimes, in a highly distracting environment, treats and toys lose their value for dogs, because there are a million other things out there that the dog is more interested in. You can try making the food more valuable (e.g. switch from kibble to bits of chicken), but if that doesn’t work, you need to be more creative. In any training situation, good trainers stop and think: “What does my dog want right now?” Figure that out, and you can use it to make your training more successful. If there are other dogs around and your dog seems interested, a reward can be letting him play with them.

One of my dogs, Friday, is normally food crazy. She’ll do anything for a treat. But when we’re out in public, she loses all interest in treats. What she really wants to do is to go sniff all the trees and bushes on our path. So I’ll have her do a training exercise, then let her go smell the bushes.

A helpful exercise for determining what to use as rewards: grab a pen and paper and make a list of everything your dog likes. My dogs’ lists look something like this:

Friday: walks, swimming, food, meeting new people (especially kids), meeting dogs, her plastic bowling ball, NOT being petted (what can I say. Must be her Akita genes)

Jonas: Attention (petting, praise), food, frisbees, tug-of-war, walks, hunting for lizards at the park, playing with empty plastic water jugs

Merlin: Frisbees, frisbees, more frisbees, hot dogs, playing with dogs, tug-of-war

Once you have your list, think of how you can use it to your advantage. Since Merlin lives for frisbees, I use them a lot in training. When we’re at the park, Jonas doesn’t want to do anything but chase lizards. So we’ll work on whatever I’m trying to teach him, and when he does a good job I’ll release him to hunt geckos to his heart’s content (not that he’ll ever manage to catch any). Having a good understanding of what your dog likes increases your “arsenal” of training rewards.

The Disney dog myth
Some people* sneer at the idea of using rewards in training, thinking that the dog should work for his owner because he loves her and wants to please her. I think of this as the Disney Dog Ideal.
It’s a nice idea, but… it is the very, very rare dog that will actually work simply for his master’s approval. There are those (old fashioned) trainers who insist that they never use treats or other rewards, insist that they can make a dog work for praise alone. Chances are, these trainers are relying heavily on frequent collar corrections, loud scary noises and other unpleasant things.

News flash: The dog is not working for the praise. He’s working to avoid the bad stuff.

I’m not trying to suggest that your dog doesn’t love you, and using rewards in training will not undermine your relationship with your dog. Think of how you treat your kids. You love them and they love you, but they’ll probably do their chores more willingly if they receive an allowance in return for their work.

*I used to be one of them. I’ve since seen the light.