Adrienne Farricelli

Jennifer has provided excellent tips on how to make the area super rewarding and getting dogs used to the sensation of getting wet while making it fun. Yes, baby steps are the way to go if your dog is giving signs of being over threshold (not taking treats, tense body, resistance etc.) With some dogs, another aggravating factor is the surface they are placed on. If it is slippery, adding a non-slip mat can be helpful. When we think of giving our dogs a bath we think of it as just one single action, while in reality it consists of several units of behaviors (that dogs may perceive as unpleasant/scary). We might have to lift the puppy up, place the puppy in an unfamiliar place, restrain him, touch him (which can be a problem if a puppy isn't used to being handled), then being exposed to water that is often poured over, exposure to shampoo having a strong scent, then placing him down again, and sometimes even drying with a loud dryer. So we sure have a lot of things going on! Some things that come to mind: -Some dogs dislike the part of being lifted into the bath tub. Portable steps may be helpful or you may need to also desensitize him to being picked up by practicing in another room at first and feeding some tasty treats while placing your hands under him, then for putting a little bit of pressure, then for lifting him slightly up, then a little more and then for staying in your arms a bit (always feed treats while he's up, once you put him down, no more treats). Once he's accepting of all that and you see a conditioned emotional response (your dog looks relaxed and even happy to being picked up) you can then start doing that in the bathroom. -How does your puppy do with being handled? Some pups get nippy or tense when touched. It can be helpful as well getting him used to that in case that may be part of the problem. So when he's in the living room and relaxed, just mimic what you do during a bath. Massage him briefly-treat. Belly rub-treat, touch paw-treat etc, gradually building up the time it takes to give a bath. Also, make sure to use a tear-less shampoo when you're at the point of bathing him. All we need is a negative experience of shampoo that accidentally gets in the eyes to un-do all the hard work! One your puppy start enjoying baths, something great is likely to happen: the bath itself becomes a big reward on its own and you will no longer need to give treats all the time (but always provide lots of praise, fun doggy massages, and sing silly songs) However, give some treats every now and then to maintain all those super positive associations still crisp. How to tell if a dog loves a particular treat? In my experience, what I notice is the dog asking for more (you can almost see them think "wow, that was so good, do you have anymore of that?" On top of this, I take it as a good sign if a particular treat helped a dog overcome a little hurdle in training of behavior modification helping us move to the next step (just as we may feel more likely to take a little risk if the incentive is high enough) and some dogs may start visibly drooling when they really like something. Of course, every dog is different, so you may see other signs. It would be interesting to hear other dog owners' input on this as it's surely an interesting question!

With Kongs, it can be a bit tricky for some dogs. I wished they had some instructions included because several dogs I boarded and trained had problems with Kongs as well initially. I had to make them really really easy to "de-stuff' at first, until they learned to enjoy the challenge. At first, I would just put a little smear of plain canned pumpkin (not the pie mix) right on the edge, then I would progress to put a little more on the edge and inside easily in reach, and then moved on to placing some kibble inside (which was loose and easy to get out) and only after some time I would start adding inside some pumpkin on the bottom topped with kibble and then finally cookies on top of it all to work out. A Kong Wobbler may work better for some dogs as they are easier to empty since all the dog needs to do is just to nudge it around and/or paw it. Even with this, I had to sometimes teach dogs how not to get too frustrated by simply tossing treats in the dog's direction when he or she managed to tilt it. Making it extra full helps the kibble come more easily out. But then, dogs with separation anxiety or separation distress may not be yet relaxed enough to lie down and work on something that keeps them occupied so I would take that as a sign that she is still somewhat over threshold. I would experiment with a variety of food options and gradually increase the challenge. With a dog I had with pretty severe anxiety, I started with treasure hunts. I would start to toss treats/kibble around the room in a treasure hunt style --see here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ and tell the dog to "leave it" until I opened the door and said "go!" This built enough anticipation and the dog had fun eating and I would count how long I would expect him to eat it all and return just as he was finishing up. The goal of this was that great things were happening contingent upon my leaving, then once I cam back, things got boring again. It took some experimenting to find treats that were high value enough for him to feel like eating and he wouldn't eat at first the longer lasting treat (a bully stick) but after a few days, he started enjoying that as well. Let me know how things progress in the next few days.

If she was doing fine, but then at 40 she got up, most likely she's not ready for that length of time and/or she started predicting that the exercise was getting longer and longer in duration and started to get a tad bit worried. It's a good idea to sometimes mix in briefer "outings" within the longer ones so that she doesn't get increasingly worried about the exercise getting harder. Then, once the exercises get longer and closer to one minute, it helps to have her hold a down/stay on the mat or just keeping her free behind a baby gate with something tasty (to keep occupied, but also to make great things happen contingent upon you leaving) as explained in step 3. If she won't eat, it means that she isn't still comfortable enough, and needs to be worked at a slower pace). Always good to end the exercise on a positive note. You can also end a session by giving her a stuffed Kong to enjoy on a mat so to encourage a bit of independence rather than settling right next to you.

Thanks for posting these details, So it appears that he takes treats by your hand, but won't if you put the treat above his head? This little piece of detail helps a lot. Perhaps he's a little hand shy. I boarded and trained a dog like that and this dog had a history of going to obedience classes from other local trainers and not being able to learn anything. I have seen this behavior too in small dogs who are often taken to be groomed. In any case, no worries! There's a solution for that and it's called capturing. Basically, what you do is wait for your dog to voluntarily sit. You can therefore have him in a room with little distractions, you sit down on the couch and just wait for him to sit. This should be easy considering that you mention he sits already and stares at you. The moment he sits, you say "yes!" and toss a treat in his direction. Repeat several times. Trial after trial, your dog learns that sit makes good things happen and you should see it happening more and more often. Once it happens more and more predictably, you can add the verbal cue, just say "sit" a split second before you notice him sitting or right as he sits. After several trials, he'll start associating the word with the action and you can say "sit" and he should sit automatically. You can share videos here if you have them uploaded on YouTube and then you can post the link here. Here is a video I made several years ago, showing that dog who was hand shy and wasn't doing well with luring so we moved on to capturing. Let me know if you are seeing something similar. The owner was ecstatic with the results from using capturing and the dog also started having fun too.

nic.mulder, Welcome to the forums, That thread Jennifer shared should have you covered, if you need help with anything else, feel free to post. Happy training, Adrienne

Jennifer's tips are spot on. When we remove ourselves from a dog who is looking for attention, we are no longer fueling the behavior, in other words, we remove what gives oxygen to the behavior. This method is known as "negative punishment," the removal of something the dog wants/likes which ends up weakening a behavior. Trial after trial, we should be therefore extinguishing the licking behavior because the behavior no longer works since we are removing our attention contingent upon the licking. At the same time, we can also ask ourselves what would we like our dogs to do instead to replace the licking. There are dozens of other behaviors that we can reinforce so that our puppy learns a more appropriate way to interact with us that doesn't involve licking. We can therefore train our pup to do some hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ In this exercise, make sure to be fast to click/say yes to mark that nose target before your puppy tries to lick. You can toss the treat so that your pup gets a little workout too. Or we can train our puppy to come to sit, lie down or do a trick when she walks towards us with the intent to lick. Redirecting to a toy is also a good idea as Jennifer pointed out. With licking when petting her, we need to be observant: can it be she's licking as a way to stop hands from petting her? Some dogs aren't too crazy about being touched and the licking is their way of getting our hands off of them. Then on the other hand, she could be sort of "exchanging the favor" some dogs are just that way and like to lick as they would groom another dog who is grooming them. An exercise I would try is to keep some kibble handy ( you can use a portion from her meal) and pass your hand on her body in one stroke as if petting her and give her a kibble right after while telling her "good girl!" as we present the kibble and she eats. For each little stroke, one kibble. After some time of doing this, does her licking seem to subside? Perhaps she needs to learn to like being handled/pet. Many breeders slack on getting puppies used to being handled from a young age. These pups may instinctively want to bite, but some pups who were corrected for biting or who are naturally submissive/polite may opt to lick instead. After several sessions, we can then start doing 2 strokes for one kibble, then gradually increase the stroking to 3-4 strokes for one kibble and then so forth, increasing the stroking and giving the kibble now only every now and then. Then, we can progress to touching various body parts and go back momentarily to giving one kibble for each stroke and see how it goes. If all goes well, we can increase the length/quantity of stroking per kibble, until we can start giving kibble intermittently, but while still giving feedback (good girl!). If the licking decreases and she tolerates more and more being pet, this can be a sign that she just needed to learn to enjoy handling.

She sounds like a very smart girl eager to learn! Brain games (especially those that encourage her to play at a distance from you such as the Treasure Hunt game) and obedience exercises should help boost her confidence over time. Stays are challenging to train to dogs who want to always be around. These dogs need micro steps as often when we train these things we set goals that our dogs don't really understand. To us, being out of sight for 5 seconds is hardly any time at all, while to them, if they're stressed by their owners leaving, they're stressed whether it's 1 second or 1 hour. Desensitization exercises involving the door being opened/closed are likely needed, but we must gauge how she does carefully. If she follows you, it's sign she's not ready yet for that step, so we need to proceed at a slower pace maybe we can try just walking towards the door back and forth. It's good you went back to just moving around the house so to get her back to a more relaxed state. It helps to also teach them to lie on a mat away from us and our feet (many "Velcro dogs" like sleeping near our feet so that they can easily detect our movements). Separation anxiety is something that takes time to work on. Some owners see improvements in as little as 1 month others can take up to a year. The use of medication along with behavior modification is more likely to bring quicker results for moderate to severe cases.

Thank you for the details, they are very helpful! The fact you are both retired offers an advantage. Many people who work or are away from home a lot, struggle with behavior modification for separation anxiety because it requires gradually desensitizing to very brief absences. Indeed, to get started, they often have to start while on vacation and sometimes have to take time off work purposely for the task. In the meanwhile, they are often forced to hire a pet sitter or take the dog to day care (if the dog fares well with that-some do not), or if the dog does well being left with one owner, he or she watches the dog while the other owner is out and about. Many times when behavior modification for separation anxiety doesn't work it's because the dog may need smaller steps and a more gradual approach. It is important to prevent as much as possible rehearsal of the problem behavior as that causes stress and the fear of separation to intensify. Setbacks can be common if too long absences are started too soon. If she doesn't take treats when left alone, that is often a sign that she is over threshold. Slow and steady wins the race with these dogs. It also helps to raise these dogs' confidence with brain games and giving these dogs a routine which is reassuring to them.

You are very welcome, keep us posted on how it goes!

Hello and welcome to the forums, Sorry to hear you are dealing with a dog who is terrified of being alone. Have you ever recorded her behavior when you are absent? If so, is she mostly howling or is she also pacing, panting, acting restless, drooling, having accidents in the home, scratching at windows or doors? Does she also act nervous when you start getting ready to go outside? Does she follow you from room-to-room? Also, is she showing this behavior only when you leave? When everybody leaves? Some dogs are attached to one particular individual, others do well as long as they have company. If she is suffering from separation anxiety and goes straight away to howling as soon as you leave, she may need a gradual behavior modification protocol. This would entail very gradually adjusting her to very brief absences (starting with sit/stays/ down/stays as you go to different rooms and then progressing to going out the door) ensuring she is under threshold https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ without advancing to longer absences until she appears comfortable for that level of time. This might not be easy to implement if you work and don't have time for helping her adjust at her pace. You can find some examples of behavior modification protocols for separation anxiety in this thread: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?130-Thundershirt While many dog owners give their dogs a stuffed Kong or other goodie upon leaving, it's important to provide this regularly as well when you are relaxing at home, so that it doesn't become a clear predictor of you leaving and therefore losing its value. It's also important not leaving the dog alone for too long in the initial stages as this can undo any progress. Also, important is to mix briefer absences with the longer ones so that your dog doesn't get stressed in knowing that the exercise gets progressively more difficult. In some cases, dogs may need medications for their separation anxiety in order to pave the path for learning to take place. Working with a veterinary behaviorist may be recommended for some moderate to severe cases.

Hello and welcome to Brain Training for Dogs, Thank you for opening your heart and home to a stray pitbull/boxer mix! Glad to hear that Dawg is on the mend and is on his way to being healthy. I will answer your questions one by one in the order they were posted. 1) We are missing several puzzle pieces here to determine with accuracy what could have triggered this fight. In behavioral terms we are looking for the "antecedent," in other words, what could have potentially triggered the behavior. So many things could have happened. Yes, territoriality can be a cause, but so can other triggers. It could be this other dog jumped up the social ladder and approached him in a "rude way," (e.g. walking directly up to him/giving direct eye contact/jumping up or placing a paw on his shoulder). It could be this other dog was getting too close to something your dog was guarding (food, sleeping area, toys, you). It could be this other initiated things, seeing your dog as an intruder (if he was usual to patrol this area) and things escalated from there. It could also be that, since Dawg is 18 months, he has reached an age when he is more discriminating of who to befriend. He might not have liked this dog for some reason so the interaction somehow went south. You can read more about doggy adolescence here:https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ 2) You are correct, invisible fences may keep dogs confined but have no mechanism to prevent other animals or dogs from entering the boundaries. Short of keeping your dog on leash or erecting a fence, I do not see any other options to preventing future episodes as such. Since Dawg is new and has a history of roaming and has likely had little to no training in his life, management is therefore in order. This means preventing putting Dawg in situations where he could attack again. This is important considering how reinforcing it is for a dog to attack a dog who is pushing social boundaries and/or is in another dog's perceived territory. Because the "attack" successfully sends the other dog away, it is likely to happen again in a similar circumstance (even with a different dog), especially if territoriality was the trigger. What are you afraid about exactly when walking him? Encountering other off-leash dogs? In that case, it's a good idea to have a plan. An Emergency u-turn (https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/emergency-u-turn/) can come handy and so is carrying some food that can be tossed in the direction of the upcoming dog to deflect his intention to come close as you walk away. If the fear is of him pulling, in this latter case, a no-pull harness can come handy as you aim to train loose-leash walking. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/pulling-on-the-leash/ 3) Boundaries of a property can be trained, but it's an advanced form of training and your dog might not be ready for this level of impulse control yet, especially considering his history for roaming. On top of this, boundary training still requires constant supervision (no dog can be expected to be left to his own devices and stay put in a designated area just as a toddler cannot be trusted to being kept outside on his own (the temptation to cross the street may be too strong, not to mention, other lurking dangers). Before considering boundary training, a dog must have a very strong response to a recall (despite strong distractions) and be capable of responding to distance commands such as sit and down and learn to back away from an imaginary boundary. While this type of training can be feasible in certain settings, I would not recommend it if there is a road nearby as the risks at stake are too high . No dog training can be 100 percent fool-proof and sadly there are stories of dogs who have always obeyed to a recall, but then one day for some reason something goes wrong and the dog is hit by a car. 4. Should we attempt to make amends between Dawg and the dog he was fighting? Dogs aren't really into forgiveness the way we say "sorry" indeed, many dogs just after having a minor squabble are back to being friends as if nothing ever happened. However, if the fight was quite serious, the other dog may be impacted and may even respond defensively. Your dog may also try to attack again. One can work though on behavior modification (ideally with the help of a professional) if this dog is often around, by keeping distance with the leash and feeding high-value treats to your dog every time this dog is nearby and your dog sees him. Then, once this dog is out of sight, no more treats. This type of training can even be started indoors by looking at the other dog through a window. See (https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/university/look-at-that/) This may help change your dog's emotional response to some extent, which can pave the path towards behavior modification done on walks if your dog happens to react aggressively to other dogs. You can read more about behavior modification protocols here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/open-bar-closed-bar/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/desensitization/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/counterconditioning/ 5. Praying it won't happen again, but how to break up a dog fight without injury to dog or human. When breaking up dog fights, there are risks for re-directed bites to the human getting in the middle. There are no 100 percent effective and completely safe ways to break up a fight, but we are at an advantage if we can do so without placing our hands or bodies between the fighting parties. One can therefore try to use pot lids to clash suddenly to startle the dogs enough to stop focusing on each other, but outdoors these may be impractical to carry around. Some dog owners will toss a blanket on the dogs to disorient them, but again it may be impractical to keep handy. An air horn is another option, and some can be small enough to keep in a pocket. The sound may do the job to allow the dogs to disengage. But ideally, the ultimate goal is that we want to avoid the fight from happening as much as we can because fights lead to emotional and physical scars and the attacker just had another opportunity to engage in the undesirable behavior. If you want to grant your dog a little more freedom, you can try to invest in a long-line ( a long leash often sold in horse tack supply stores) versus a leash, but the drawback is that they don't give you enough control should there be an imminent danger nearby. So if there are off leash dogs roaming around in your yard, the leash may be your best bet. I hope this helps! Of course, make sure Dawg gets mental stimulation (through brain games and interaxtive toys) exercise and training so that you can unleash his full potential and help him become a great companion. Best wishes, Adrienne Disclaimer: behavior modification comes with risks. If your dog is aggressive, please use caution and consult with a dog behavior professional for in-person coaching, safety and correct implementation.

Glad to hear he is starting to respond well! Are you working on heeling (where you reward your dog for being in the "reward zone" right beside your leg) or are you working on attention heeling (where you reward your dog for making eye contact?) Regardless, if you are in the introductory phase where you are using food in plain view (the dogs sees it protrude from your hand as a lure), it's important to start fading the lure. You can take baby steps in this too if needed. For example, if we are doing regular heeling, instead of letting the food very visibly protrude from your hand, let it gradually protrude less and less, then keep it in your closed fist and then open your hand to feed it once in heel position, then progress to using your hand (as if food was there) but keep the food in your other hand and feed it from your other hand. This teaches the dog to not depend on the sight of food. If instead we are doing attention heeling, you can gradually start making the food gradually less and less visible from your hand held at eye level by letting it protrude less and less, and then proceed to do the exercise with an empty hand (as if holding an invisible treat), but then feeding him the treat from your other hand hidden behind your back. Once again, the goal is to rely less and less on the sight of food. Usually, if we used food as a lure for brief periods of time, it is quite easy to fade the dogs' reliance on the sight of food. Fading food lures though can get a bit challenging if we have made the mistake of showing food for a long time, as the dog has likely learned that the presence of food is the cue to perform the behavior. If this is the case, it could take him some time to get used to the lack of visible food. The answer is to have patience and to progress at a gradual pace. Now, after fading the food lure (reliance on seeing food to perform a behavior), we still want to use treats to reward the behavior. The general rule is that in the initial stages of training, we give a food reward for every completed behavior. This is important so we firmly confirm in the dog's mind that he is doing everything right. We want to move onto giving treats intermittently only once the behavior is fluent. You can read about this in the polishing up section. https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training/ And here is how to move to an intermittent (variable) schedule: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/polishing-up-training/fading-continuous-rewards/ For the sniffing yummy stuff on walks, here are some tips: -Scan the environment. I know it's tempting to walk with a friend and chit-chat or look at our phones as we walk our dogs, but especially when our dogs are in the process of being trained, it's important to scan the environment. This means paying attention to things that may be on the sidewalk that our dogs may try to eat, or that might grab their attention. If we can scan the environment well, we may prevent putting our dogs into the position of engaging in behaviors we find troublesome. So for instance, if we scan the environment carefully, we may notice that there is a fast-food wrapper ahead, giving us time to walk at a distance from it, so our dog will be less tempted. - Create set-ups in your yard on in a controlled environment. One exercise I like to do is this: I place a toy on the ground and have owners practice walking initially at a distance from it on leash. I tell owners to say "leave it" and reward their dogs with a treat as they walk past it. Then I progress to placing on the ground something more intriguing (like a piece of bread or some kibble) and have owners practice "leave its) as they walk by that and reward their dogs with several treats in row that are higher-in value than the stuff on the ground. Then, I progress to leaving a raw hide stick on the ground and have owners practice leave its walking past that and rewarding with a higher-value treat (bully stick, pig ear, whatever dog owners know their dogs go crazy over). Finally, at home dog owners are instructed to practice doing the exercise off leash. The dog is asked to sit stay, the owner is placed at the opposite side with something tempting strategically left on the floor in the middle. Then, the dog is called, and reminded to leave it as he walks/run by and is rewarded with something higher in value (I prefer something that is long-lasting so that the dog can lie down and enjoy munching on). I think if your dog is food-driven and smart, through several reps, he'll decide to "leave-it" because he'll know to expect something far better from you. In this scenario, it's the delayed gratification versus instant gratification that teaches dogs the virtue of controlling their impulses.

You're very welcome, keep us posted!

Hello, If your puppy is a large breed, you may find fitting him with a front-attachment harness helpful. This type of harness has a ring in the dog's chest area to where a leash is attached. Examples of this type of harness are the Easy-walk harness, the Sensible harness and the Walk your dog with love harness. To train your puppy to walk nicely on leash, you'll find a guide here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ And more tips here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/pulling-on-the-leash/ and here if your puppy tends to pull towards people: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/approaching-people/ Puppies also need to be trained to control their impulses, here you can find ways to incorporate impulse control in various settings: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ And of course, make sure you drain your pup's energy through brain games and structured play prior to walks so to pave the path for a calmer mindset. Feel free to post if you need more specific tips. Happy training!

You are very welcome! Yes, studies as such are so interesting! It makes sense though if we consider that, while the average human is blessed with anywhere in between 2,000 and 8,000 taste buds in total, dogs have just a mere 1,700. However, on the plus side, a dog's poor sense of taste is compensated by a very powerful sniffer, which explains why they are attracted to smelly treats. I think you are referring to my statement "ideally, we use food because it's a primary reinforcer and it provides clarity with no need for learning to be involved." Reinforcers take place following a behavior. They make certain behaviors stronger and likely to repeat. Reinforcers can take place naturally, or they can be mediated by us. Let's make an example of both: Naturally (without our direct intervention): a dog walks under a table and finds some left over crumbs. Because the dog enjoys eating the crumbs, the behavior of walking under the table will likely repeat and become stronger. The dog will therefore walk under the table more and more. Mediated by us (with our direct intervention): a dog's nose makes contact with our hand (hand targeting), and upon contact, we click our clicker (or say the verbal marker yes!) followed by a treat. Because the dog enjoys the treat, the behavior of nose-touching our hand establishes, and rep after rep, becomes stronger and more likely to repeat. Now, there are two categories of reinforcers: primary and secondary reinforcers. Primary reinforcers (also known as unconditioned reinforcers) encompass anything dogs don't need to learn to love as they're naturally programmed to like, and therefore, depend on them already. Dogs in general are by nature attracted to water, food, exercise, and shelter, to name a few, and nobody taught them that. This appreciation is hard-wired in all dogs so giving this "raw" form of reinforcement provides clarity (there's no margin for error, as most dogs-other than a few exceptions- like food and need it to survive). Secondary reinforcers, (also known as conditioned reinforcers) on the other hand, are all things that are normally neutral to the dog, but through experience, dogs learn to appreciate mainly because they have been associated with a primary reinforcer. Here are a few examples: -Saying "Good boy" or any other form of praise followed by a treat right afterward (or a round of tug if the dog is highly play motivated) causes praise to generally become a conditioned reinforcer. This means that praise can be used to reinforce behavior every now and then because it has been associated with good things. (I still treat a lot to keep important behaviors strong). -Patting the dog. If you pat a dog and feed treats, the dog may come to associate the pats with treats, and as with praise, it can be used to reinforce behaviors every now and then (even without treats following). -Using a clicker. If you are using a clicker and it's always followed by a treat, the noise of the click will soon become a conditioned reinforcer. -Dog whistles. Just as a clicker, a dog whistle can be charged and allowed to become a conditioned,secondary reinforcer that signals great things happening. Now, there are no rules set in stone because what is reinforcing is ultimately in the eye of the beholder. Some dogs for one reason or another (after medical causes being ruled out) may not enjoy food to the extent of them feeling like working for it (although there are ways to increase "food drive"in some dogs). On the other hand, some dogs may find happy-voiced praise and pats also fun (though not all) and may perceive them as semi-primary reinforcers, but their use should be interspersed with a sure bet (food) at least on several occasions. Happy praise and pats may also work for some dogs on some occasions/circumstances, but if one aims to rely on them exclusively, especially when working to train a dog a new or challenging task (like coming when called, especially!) it's extra helpful to offer high-value foods to leave a strong impact/impression. Just as humans work for a pay check, and rather get money from their boss than just a pat on the shoulder and being told "well done", dogs are more likely to work for food (when they're healthy, feel safe and are food motivated). Praise while nice, may not keep an employee going in an office job five days a week. The paycheck is what keep the employee motivated to get up early and go to work every day. Same way, dogs are not "naturally" motivated to work just for praise or they may not have had the opportunity to learn to appreciate it during their training/development. Regardless of what reinforcer chosen, it ultimately all boils down to this: if the desired behavior is repeating and getting stronger over time, chances are high that the dog is finding the reinforcer valuable enough; if it is weakening and reducing, whatever is being used may not be valuable enough or there may be too many super valuable competing reinforcers around (and/or there may be several other dynamics going on that are worthy of investigation). I leave a final quote from the Association of Professional Dog Trainers: "It’s poetic to think that dogs live to please their masters, but the reality is that dogs live to please themselves. When we ask our dogs to do something, the first thought racing through their heads is, “What’s in it for me right now?” Behaviors that are rewarded are statistically more likely to be repeated, so when we regularly reward our dogs for a job well done, they’ll want to keep showing up for work! Food can be a very valuable reinforcer (paycheck!) for dogs during training. It’s one of a very short list of things that dogs are born already knowing is good. While most dogs easily learn to enjoy praise, petting and play – all of which also make good rewards — food still holds a special place in their mind due to its primal nature." Of course, there are always specific circumstances and exceptions to the rule in almost everything in life, so once again, the take-home message is: find what makes your dog super happy and use it to your advantage and then analytically evaluate how it goes. Is the behavior increasing or decreasing? Does your dog look forward to being trained? Does she look like a happy learner? If you are looking for more tips/ideas, feel free to post. Hope this helps, Best, Adrienne

Hi there, Welcome to the forums! Calm is a very cherished word for owners of hyper dogs such as border collies and labs! These dogs tend to need lots of exercise, training and very importantly, mental stimulation (brain games, putting their nose. to work, interactive food puzzles can turn helpful) due to their past histories of being selectively bred for running around and working. Your mix in particular boasts the best of both worlds: one breed full of stamina bred for herding sheep (the workaholic border collie) and one breed bred for retrieving downed birds back and forth from lakes and all terrains (retriever). If it's the praise, you can skip that altogether for now and just click your clicker (or just say yes) followed by a treat. Once she performs the behavior in a calmer state of mind, you can start introducing praise (as you feed the treat) modulating the tone of voice, so that it's not high pitch and overly stimulating. If your dog needs to burn off more energy and can benefit from an extra workout, you can try tossing the treat on the ground across the room rather than hand feeding it after each target. This should cause her to run towards the tossed treat and also put her nose to work (if she must search for it) and then come back for another target. Hopefully, since che comes back with a purpose she should start getting into a calmer state of mind. It may also help to reserve training sessions after walking her/exercising her so that she burns excessive steam. Also, it helps to keep training sessions short in case she might be getting cranky from the exercise turning boring or her tiring. You can try doing several targets with treat-tossing in a row, and then before she starts getting too wound up, you can end the exercise with one last target rewarded with a Kong Wobbler stuffed with a portion of her meal (that you have prepared before hand and kept near by) so to revert her to a mental game which should calm her down. Some dogs may also get too excited if we use treats that are too high value, working with kibble may calm them down a notch. A game that may help turn on an "off button" is the Jazz Up and Settle Down game: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/high-school/jazz-up-and-settle-down/ You may also find these impulse control exercises helpful in the long run, start incorporating them in your dog's daily activities: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/

Greetings, and welcome to the forums! You have a smart pup and your pup is in great hands if he is learning so quickly! To answer your question, once your puppy is able to respond to your verbal request to sit, wait and come, you must work on perfecting those, but the great thing about training dogs is that you can always train something else in another session so that your puppy won't get bored. Actually, I will say that, with young pups, it is optimal to mix up several different behaviors after they have learned a couple of basic things like sit and come. Puppies can get bored easily and they have short attention spans so mixing up different behaviors can help them stay focused. You can also take advantage of your pup's energy levels and plan what to train accordingly. For instance, most puppies wake up with lots of energy or they may get the "zoomies" after finishing a meal. These are good times to take advantage of such energy bursts to train some recalls. Then, as the puppy gets a bit tired, why not focus more on some stationary exercises such as sit, down and stay? Once they are relaxed more, then you can resume with some more kinetic energy exercises such as polite leash walking. These exercises feature shifts in energy that are more in tune with the pups' activity levels and therefore can help maintain interest. On top of training different behaviors, it's important to also train them with different people and locations. All family members should be involved and take turns asking for behaviors. While training should start in a quite room, it should then progress to involve various rooms of the house and the yard and then outside the home. So, yes, there are really no rules set in stone, just make sure those sessions are short and sweet (puppies have short attention spans) and that you are both having fun. Nothing is worse for a puppy than a tedious training session that is boring or too difficult. Worth reminding is also the fact that puppies are learning with every interaction so they are perpetually in "training." Play is training. Resting is training (yes, puppies retain what they learned while they sleep!). Walking is training, and even learning to be away from you is training. Hope this helps, Happy training!

Thank you for the additional details, they are very helpful! I hear you about not being able to ignore the behavior, also considering that, if the jumping is due to attention, that day we decide to not give it any longer, this may trigger a phenomenon known as an "extinction burst." In other words, the dog will try to increase the behavior in hopes of getting attention which mean jumping and biting with more intensity, which as you observed, it is difficult to ignore the behavior when on leash. Your case brings me back to a shelter dog I fostered many years ago (who was at high risk of euthanasia) when I first gained an interest in training. I remember asking for a challenging dog and they happily assigned her to me. Her problem? The ingrained habit of jumping up like a kangaroo and biting latching on your arms like a crocodile. In her case, since she was never walked on a leash and therefore was used to chasing animals and doing all she wanted, restrain from the leash caused her deep frustration. So upon spotting people or other dogs and unable to reach them, she would redirect on me and this led to countless black and blues and scratches. Fortunately, with time, patience and consistency she got much better, but it wasn't an easy ordeal due to off-leash dogs and un-collaborative people (they would pet her while she was jumping despite my instructions not to). In your case, it does sound like play behavior, also considering that this behavior seems to have made a comeback with the cooler weather as many dog owners notice surges in the energy levels in their dogs as the weather cools down. I remember my husband and I remarking several times in the summer how our dogs were slowing down due to aging, only to see them "come back to life" when fall weather was around corner. Other causes of dogs jumping up and biting on walks may be due to frustration (such as barrier frustration when dogs are restrained by a leash and unable to go greet other dogs and people or frustration because they want to go sniff or chase birds or they do not want the walk to end) and anxiety and over stimulation (this latter can cause puppies to get cranky and misbehave when tired). These behaviors in general tend to occur upon the dog spotting dogs or people, things the dogs fears etc, but may also occur in the middle/end portions of the walk due to cumulative effects of over stimulation. So what are some things we can do to work on this issue? As with tackling other behaviors, a multi-faceted approach is ideal so that we can approach this exuberance from a variety of angles. -First and foremost, avoid punishment-based techniques such as yanking on the leash, grabbing, pushing your dog or grabbing him by the snout. These methods may potentially turn play, attention seeking behavior or excitement into defensive aggression. -Drain your dog's energy. Consider that often, dogs who are left at home for too long due to owners working extended hours or inclement weather may develop pent-up energy. This excessive energy must go somewhere and therefore may lead to high arousal levels that may trigger dogs to act particularly boisterous. In particular, herding breeds and dogs selectively bred to work on vast acreage may need space to run. Just as with horses, it helps to have dogs run and play in a yard/corral after taking them out of the home/stables prior to walking them/riding them. -Provide your dog with more mental stimulation when at home. Give him some puzzle toys or a frozen Kong. Invest in snuffles mats, Kong Wobblers, and engage him in a variety of brain games. Also, put his nose to work which can be quite a tiring activity. For meal times, organize fun treasure hunts. For example, when he's outside going potty in the yard, surprise him when he returns inside by preparing a treasure hunt game (scatter treats or his kibble in a variety and places) and telling him to go find them. Resource: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/elementary/the-treasure-hunt/ -Consider that your dog is in peak adolescent stage, a time when challenges are often encountered. Resource: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/survive-dogs-adolescent-stage/ -Avoid encouraging highly arousing wrestling games or roughhousing involving mouth contact with people's clothing or skin. Use toys as an outlet for grabbing. -Implement dog impulse control exercises. These exercises teach dogs how to cope with their frustration allowing greater tolerance levels. Resource: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/impulse-control-frustration-tolerance/ -Learn how to read your dog's body language so that you can readily recognize physical cues suggesting your dog is escalating up his arousal ladder. Perhaps you notice a certain look on your dog's face or he may twitch his ears. Knowledge is power considering that, once you recognize these cues, you may be able to redirect your dog to another activity before he has a chance of rehearsing the troublesome behavior. -Prevent rehearsal of the problem behavior as much as possible. The more your dog rehearses the behavior, the more it puts roots considering that it gains a strong reinforcement history. -On walks, try to redirect him before he has the opportunity to engage in the problematic behavior. One way to redirect is by offering a tug toy you have kept in your pocket. Prior to this though, get your dog to learn to really enjoy playing tug at home. Train him to "take" and "drop it" on cue. Afterward, practice playing with the tug toy in the yard. Then, try getting your dog to play with it in the yard every time a dog or person passes by. Finally, practice using it on walks upon seeing his triggers at a distance. Playing with the tug toy, in this case, provides your dog a controlled outlet that doesn't involve jumping or biting. If your dog doesn't seem interested in a regular tug toy, try using one made with rabbit fur (Etsy sells a variety and many dogs find these irresistible). Always put the tug toy away, out of the dog's reach once done using it so to keep your dog's interest for the toy alive. -Alternatively, you can try to redirect to a flirt pole that you bring along on walks. I like to attach mine around my waist. A flirt pole is like one of those cat toys with a toy attached to a string. The canine version is a sort of pole with a fluffy toy attached. -Start a treasure hunt game on walks. Upon noting your dog starting to get revved up, say something like "find them!" as you scatter a bunch of treats/kibble on the ground so to let your dog focus on searching on the ground rather than jumping upwards and biting you. This strategy can help de-escalate over aroused dogs quite effectively as sniffing in search of treats requires quite some concentration. -At some point, we can try to wean the use of bringing toys along and start incorporating some training such as training a dog to heel for several steps or hand targeting rewarding the dog by tossing a treat to add a fun component. Resources: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ - Wear old thick clothing to protect your skin and new clothes from being destroyed. -Vary the walks so that your dog doesn't get bored in hopes that he finds the change of scenery more interesting than using you as his form of entertainment. These are just a few ideas. With time, if we drain our dog's energy, provide more mental stimulation and make engaging in an alternate behavior super rewarding, we should notice the dog engaging in these behaviors more and more and the jumping up and biting less and less until it is finally outranked. If we still encounter problems despite implementing these changes, we must do some troubleshooting and find out why the dog still prefers to jump up. Let me know how it goes! Best, Adrienne

Hello and welcome to the forums! I will be working on a detailed answer with thoughts, resources etc. however, it would be extra helpful to first know whether you have noticed any triggers. Like, does your dog just straight out jump and bite for the entire walk? Or mostly at the beginning? or perhaps towards the end? Have you ever noticed whether the jumping and biting occurs when he sees other people and dogs? Does your dog ever exhibit the behavior at home or in other contexts? Thanks!

OK, so you have described to me a 5-month old standard poodle who acts afraid of reflections during the day and shadows at night and who during walks growls, attempts to bite shadows or runs away from them. These seem a bit conflicting reactions because, on one hand, he seems to be acting fearful of shadows (running away) , but then on other occasions, he seems to want to attack them and bite them. However, fearful dogs can certainly chase things especially when they cannot remove themselves from certain situations by escaping as it may happen when they are on leash or some dogs just get a bit bolder when they are around their owners. Knowing the exact emotions going on in his head are though very important (actually crucial!) as it impacts the course of action needed. For example, if he is truly fearful, we want to work on creating positive associations with the shadows so that his underlying emotions are changed. If for instance, every time he sees a shadow from a distance where he isn't overly concerned, we feed him a tasty treat or play a fun game if he is toy-motivated (a behavior modification process known as desensitization and counterconditioning), chances are good that, if we do this consistently, he may start looking forward to spotting shadows as they have started to predict great things. In this case, rep after rep, we should start seeing a reduction in fearful behavior and an increase of anticipation with him looking up to you for treats/games. However, if he is instead chasing shadows out of under-stimulation or prey drive (a natural desire to chase seen in many dog breeds- and poodles are one of them), we need a totally different approach. If he chasing shadows out of prey drive and we present a treat every time he sees one, we risk reinforcing the behavior, which can become very problematic in the long run considering that some forms of shadow chasing can even turn into compulsive, obsessive disorders. So knowing what is really going on in his mind is very important here. Is he really fearful? Is he ever acting out of prey drive? Or can he be fearful sometimes, and bolder in others? Is the leash making him act differently? Lots of things to consider there. When we see behaviors as such and can't really make out of what may triggering it or why a dog may act in a certain way, a visit to the vet can be an important starting point. The reason being that, sometimes, chasing shadows may stem from some underlying medical problem. Some dogs may have eye problems which causes them to act in peculiar ways and some repetitive behavior shave even been found to be linked to seizures (fly catching behavior is one of them). It is also possible for a dog to have felt pain one day and spotted a shadow coincidentally at the same time, causing the dog to next act fearful of shadows. Not saying a medical cause is necessarily at play, but it's always important to point out this possibility to play it safe. As for what to do, in general, these kinds of behaviors require a multi-faceted approach, here are a few tips that come to mind: -As already mentioned, I would suggest starting by having your dog see the veterinarian. It is important to exclude medical causes that may trigger behavior abnormalities in dogs. -Carefully evaluate why your dog may be chasing shadows once medical causes have been ruled out. Is he ever stressed, anxious or frustrated? Does your dog receive enough exercise and mental stimulation? Can he be overwhelmed by excessive noises and exposure to over stimulating situations? Only by carefully evaluating the root cause, you can address it correctly. Enlist the help of a behavior professional using force-free methods if you are not sure why your dog may be prone to chasing shadows. -Provide outlets for natural, instinctive behaviors with fun brain games, sniffing adventures, digging opportunities and food puzzles so that your dog has an opportunity to put his mind to work and engage in natural behaviors. -If your dog is stressed or anxious, determine why that may be. Then, take steps to minimize exposure to those stimuli or situations and work on a desensitization and counterconditioning program with the help of a professional. -Consider a consistent routine. Stressed and anxious who have a hard time coping with changes, may benefit from daily routines which provide a reassuring effect. -Redirect the behavior. As soon as you notice your dog is about to bite/react towards the shadow (very important that we redirect before the behavior occurs) redirect the behavior to another activity and make engaging in that activity very reinforcing, so that, over time, your dog will pick that activity more and more. For example, as soon as you notice a shadow and you see your dog noticing it as well, ask your dog to perform an easy-to perform replacement behavior you have practiced extensively in absence of the shadow and reinforce that generously with some high-value treats. You can for instance, ask your dog to target your hand or catch a treat you have tossed the opposite side away from the shadow. You can even do some steps of attention heeling if the attacking-shadow behavior occurs on walks. Here you can find how to train these behaviors (train them first fluently in absence of shadows) Hand targeting: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/preschool/targeting/ Attention heeling: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/obedience-101/heeling-attention-heeling/ -Do not provide ANY form of attention when the behavior occurs. Ignore and even walk away from the room when your dog starts the behavior. Provide ample of attention though when your dog engages in other behaviors. However, aim to prevent the behavior from occurring as much as possible, which brings to the next tip. -Avoid situations known for creating shadows and avoid walking your dog directly in areas or at times when there are lots of shadows. I know, easier said than done, but we don't want to allow rehearsal of the behavior. The more a behavior is rehearsed, the more it tends to become more and more ingrained, therefore, try your best in preventing the behavior from occurring in full form in the first place. -However, avoidance need not be a long-term solution. Its primary goal is to provide fearful rescue dogs a break from daily anxiety-provoking stimuli, and prevent rehearsal of fearful behaviors until behavior modification can take place. If you want to work on the issue, keep your dog under threshold (https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/threshold-levels/) at a distance from the shadow and work on reinforcing alternate behaviors (as mentioned, upon seeing the shadow at a distance, ask your dog to hand target, make eye contact or chase a kibble you toss the opposite way of the shadow). It is always best if behavior modification is done with the help of a professional for in-person guidance for an accurate assessment and correct implementation. -Provide challenges and keep that brain working with the use of clicker training which is a great confidence booster (if your dog is afraid of sounds use a verbal marker or use the clicker in your pocket) -Encourage structured brain games (such as hide-and-seek, the jazz-up and settle games) play fetch by asking your dog to sit before tossing the ball, or tug where your dog is asked to drop and take on cue. I hope this helps, Please let me know if you need further assistance or elucidations! Best, Adrienne

Hello, and welcome to the forums! To some extent, it is normal for puppies to go through certain times where they are particularly skittish and these stages are referred to as "fear periods." However, it sounds like your pup is going through something that is impacting his life to the extent of making walks difficult, when walks should be a time for pups to enjoy. You are correct, it is important to avoid doing certain things to prevent this fear from getting worse and kudos to you for seeking help on this issue so to nip it in the bud before it becomes too established. Hopefully, this is a fairly new behavior that can be worked on. In my next post, I will provide some in-depth information. Please stand by as I work on the next post with some feedback and assistance.

Sounds like your dog is doing very well with the recall! It's one of those things we actually never end training as there are always new challenges and opportunities. As always, it's important to ensure we put the dog up for success. I like to think about every successful recall (that is rewarded generously) as adding a coin to a virtual piggy bank that will pay off in the long run especially that day we may really need our dog to come when called (think emergency situation). However, if we make it too difficult for the dog ( e.g. call the dog when exposed to a level too high with distractions), every time the dog doesn't come when called, we are removing a coin from the piggy bank, considering that when our dogs fail to come when called we are weakening our recall. It sounds like Jake's owner is struggling and repeating himself a lot instead which as you imagine will have negative repercussions.

Hello and welcome to the forums! Your circumstance is not unusual considering that dogs have a natural inclination to want to interact with objects found around the home just to keep themselves busy. Usually, this takes a multi-faceted approach by providing mental stimulation through legitimate outlets (brain games), supplying food puzzles, training (in particular, focus on training the leave it and drop it commands), management (keeping items out of reach) and preventing your dog from thinking it's a game (avoid chasing your dog around the home when he has something, instead work on trading the item for something else). Here is a thread that covers ways to deal with thieving dogs: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?43-Thieving-Pooch&highlight=stealing

Hello and welcome to the forums, You are describing the poster child of separation anxiety, albeit a milder form, as in general dogs with separation anxiety tend to pace, whine, scratch at doors, eliminate, drool and act as if having a panic attack when their favorite person goes out the door. Nevertheless, these dogs suffer at an emotional level when they develop such strong attachments. Jennifer provided you with a thread where there is an example of what behavior modification for separation anxiety may entail. Of course, every dog is different, so each dog may need a program that is custom tailored for them based on their history and after taking a careful assessment through observations. Ideally, these cases are worked with the help of a professional so to ensure correct implementation of behavior modification. Sure, it can be accomplished without that for mild cases (I have several success stories of owners who applied behavior modification on their own by following guidelines), but it's important paying close attention not to cause the dog to go over threshold (over that thin line that causes a dog to develop signs of anxiety), or we risk their fear getting worse. So for example, for the barking in the car, you would do a similar exercise as the one outlined for getting out of the door in the thread Jennifer shared, but it would look more like this: -Turn the car off, touch the car handle, open the car door, take a step out, return inside and sit back in the car. -Turn the car off, touch the car handle, open the car door, walk a few steps, make an about turn and sit back in the car. -Turn the car off, touch the car handle, open the car door, walk up to a store's door, make an about turn and sit back in the car. -Turn the car off, touch the car handle, open the car door, walk up to a store's door, enter the store, get out of your dog's view for a second, make an about turn and sit back in the car. -Turn the car off, touch the car handle, open the car door, walk up to a store's door, enter the store, get out of your dog's view for a second for a few seconds, make an about turn and sit back in the car. It all proceeds this way in baby steps. If we notice barking, whining etc, it means we have pushed too far and we are sending the dog over threshold. In this case, we need to take a step back and work longer at a lower level where the dog is more relaxed. It also helps at some point to add in shorter absences with longer ones so that the dog doesn't believe that the exercise is getting incrementally harder. The day care scenario may be too early for now. It may take some time for him to learn how to relax in your absence to be able to cope with not seeing you for several hours while he's at an unfamiliar place. The fact he doesn't play is because he's too anxious. Play, eating, sleeping are things dogs tend to do when they feel safe and relaxed. However, worthy of pointing out is that sometimes dogs act like Hank the first few days when they are left at daycare. After the place, the people and the dogs frequenting the day care become more familiar, there are chances he may start relaxing a bit. Similar to children's first days at daycare, where they cry for mommy, but then soon discover that the teachers and other children are OK and that actually fun things take place there. However, it may still be too early for him to endure daycare, if he already has to deal with the stress of seeing you leave the home, the car and you being out of sight at home. It is best to help him learn some coping skills first. Brief sit-stays and down-stays as explained in the Obedience 101 section can help him learn that he'll be alright if you are out of sight for a bit. As always, baby steps. I am so sorry to hear about your dog's negative experience at the board and training center. It's unfortunate, but there are several horror stories like yours. On top of that, many rescue dogs are naturally prone to separation anxiety, so being boarded in a new place and with unfamiliar people who mistreated him sure must have been traumatic. The fact is when we leave rescued dogs in a place even if for their own good such as daycare, they likely re-play in their minds the days when they were at the shelter and this makes them panic similar to people with post-traumatic stress. The good news is though that now Hank is in great hands and has a loving and dedicated dog owner committed to helping him out! Thanks for posting the picture, Hanks is surely a handsome boy!

Oh no, please don't be discouraged! We all face some challenges when training at some point or another. Issues with clickers sometimes arise, sometimes like 1 dog in 10 will find the noise intimidating. I have seen this happen with fearful rescue dogs or noise-sensitive animals, and when clicker training chickens. I know you mention your dog is not normally scared of sounds, but the clicker may be a sound your dog was never exposed to in his life and he may for some reason find it intimidating. Of course, this is just an assumption. Some dogs may react this way too when they are a bit confused or not sure of what is expected from them. Dogs not used to be trained may find the whole idea a bit intimidating sometimes, and they may need smaller steps. Sensitive dogs may also sometimes feel our frustration when things don't progress as we wish and this may cause them to shut down. If the sound is the issue, you can work on using a verbal marker or use some strategies to make the sound less intense as outlined below in a case like yours: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/forum/showthread.php?246-Dog-is-terrified-of-the-clicker It may help as well to practice in a different room, just in case he associated a particular room with the sound. Perhaps try in the living room with you sitting on the couch and use your verbal marker "yes" in the same way a clicker is charged "yes, treat, yes, treat." If you still have issues, then likely there's more going on than finding the clicker's sound intimidating and this may require more troubleshooting.