Stealing, recall, walking

[ManidaMorrell]

I need help please...

Sorry this may be a long post, I'm having a few issues that I'm getting quite frustrated with, maybe a stage he's going through, adolescence? Blue (Border Collie) is now 14months old.

 

Treats and toys...

1. He steals treats and toys from his chihuahua sister and always has unless we watch/stop him. It's like he always wants what she's having and as soon as he's snatched one thing if she picks up something else he immediately drops what he just stole to take that as well. Not sure how to deal with this which leads to the next issue...

2. We have come home after being out for the day and she seems to cower away from him (rough play or treat snatching, I'm not sure?) I usually leave Blue with lots of treat puzzles to keep him busy for a while (stacked cups with treats in them, Kong, hidden treats to find, an ear. I usually give Kiki a smaller piece of ear so she has a chance to eat it before Blue can possibly steal it. She has it in her bedroom with the door open enough for her to get through. He's not allowed in but that probably doesn't stop him from pushing the door open, I'm not sure?

 

Next two issues are recall and walking in distracting areas...

 

1. He knows his basic commands, sit, down, stay, wait, come, heel. What I have trouble with is his heeling/walking beside me when out walking in the forest or park ( he is always on lead). I practice stopping till he comes back to my side, gently pulling him as I walk backwards till he is beside me or I turn and walk in the other direction but he continually creeps on front of me or keeps pulling until I have to drag him away from a smell. He will pull in other directions if he smells something on the side of the track and walks with his nose to the ground all the time. This leads him to not being aware of my body cues like when I turn. I'm not sure where to go from here, should I be letting him sniff? Or when on walks should he be walking head up unless I stop and tell him it's ok to sniff? Also, treats don't stop him from creeping or pulling, he will just revert back to this after a treat for being good for a little bit.

2. Recall.... in the backyard he has started ignoring me won't come unless he knows he will get a treat. If we are playing fetch in the backyard or field his recall doesn't exist all that matters to him is the ball. I've tried playing fetch with him on the long lead, having the ball on the ground a little distance away and calling him to me and treating him when he does. It is very hard for him and as soon as I let him off lead he won't come.

 

I hope I have included everything.

Manida

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Hi there! It sounds like your dog is just being an adolescent. This is a difficult phase and not surprisingly, the reason why sadly many dogs in shelters are surrendered between the ages of 6-36 months. You are not alone. Dogs during this stage may seem like they have never picked up on all the training you gave them. These "duh?!" episodes of memory loss are quite common during this stage and require lots of patience and understanding. It is easy to get frustrated, but often this only makes matters worse.

 

For the stealing toys/treats from his sister. I am writing this based on the assumption his sister is older. These interactions at times can be quite complex, so this needs a careful evaluation. Here is some info about dogs stealing toys/treats. It will help you understand why it may be difficult choosing the right approach because there may be different dynamics going on. Be prepared: this is a long read but I think it's important to cover all basis.

 

How it Generally Develops

 

Interestingly, when a dog is added in a household as the two dogs get more familiar with each other, they will carefully look for signs that may indicate how the other dog may react to any given action. This testing may start from puppy hood. Puppies love toys and therefore may sometimes try to "test" an older dog's behaviors to see what they can get away with.They may soon learn that advancing when the older dog is eating, may lead to a frightening warning growl, while stealing a toy under the dog's nose may have little to no consequence.

 

Usually, for minor cases or with young pups, no intervention may be needed, as long as the older is fine with the pup's behavior as he or she places a low value on the toys or doesn't feel threatened by a young puppy who has yet to develop. Many older dogs allow puppies to get away with things they wouldn't with older dogs.

 

Fast forward next a few month when the puppy matures and develops into an adolescent. This is a stage of bratty behaviors and things start exacerbating especially among same-sex dogs (male-female interactions generally tend to be much more mellow) once they reach social maturity at around 12 to 36 months. The "puppy" may get more bold and this may cause issues at times.

 

If the other dog allows stealing, and there are no fights, it just may be the other dog simply places a low values on toys ("you can have it, I don't see the reason to get upset about it"). Generally, behind a stealing dog there is often a dog allowing the stealing to take place.

 

Different Forms of Stealing

 

Sometimes, the stealing may be just play. One dog may grab something and the other dog's job is to try to steal it. Dogs play all the time games of "keep away." Eventually, the game ends and usually the dog with the intent of stealing gets the toy.

 

My female Rottweiler Petra always wanted Einstein's toys- even if they were exactly the same. She would get real creative at times (and I must confess, this was fun to watch!). She has gone as far as rushing and barking at the door enticing Einstein to come and check things out, and then the moment he was up, she went rushing to steal the toy.

Other times, she would be coming to me to elicit attention hoping that our other dog would join in to steal the toy the moment he moved away from it.

 

On some days, she even managed to bark and then howl, knowing that our male dog would join in the chorus and drop the toy to howl and bingo!, she would steal it right under his nose! It was sure fun watching all her astute antics and creativity purposely crafted to just get him to drop the ball and get him to chase her.

 

Play or Bullying?

 

Problems usually start when either dog refuses to give way, which potentially leads to aggression. Interaction after interaction, the dog stealing the toys gains more and more confidence, and one day, should the other dog object or should the dog stealing toys try to steal from other dogs who object, then, things can get awry.

 

Usually when dealing with this issue there are several behavior modification goals. Often dealing with this issue entails teaching the approaching dog not to steal other dogs' belongings, but sometimes it may also entail teaching the dog whose toys are stolen to relax.

 

Care should be taken in not punishing the thief, considering that he may associate the punishment, not with his stealing behavior, but with the other dog, and this can exacerbate things creating more tension (and potential fights) rather than making things better.

 

Another worrisome scenario is the dog owner correcting dogs prone to stealing toys out of play by removing the toys. This may lead to real resource guarding directed towards the owner because the owner assumes a negative connotation, and therefore, becomes a threatening entity that removes resources.

 

The way the issue is tackled may therefore range from doing nothing, to providing plenty of toys, limiting the opportunities to steal through redirection, close supervision when toys are provided, and if necessary, separating dogs (tethers, baby gate, different rooms) so that they can each enjoy their toys in peace.

 

Depending on the situation, it therefore may require different approaches. To find the ideal method, it is best to consult with a dog behavior professional for a careful evaluation considering the complexities of this behavior and potential risks for injuries involved when there is potential for aggression. I will be listing some approaches in the next post.

Edited April 6, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

So what can be done about this? It really depends based on whether the dog is playing or engaging in potentially harmful bullying that could lead to aggression or whether the dog having toys/treats stolen seems to be emotionally suffering from the behavior and lives in tension. I will go through some options used to tackle this issue.

 

Doing Nothing

 

With playful stealing, usually there's not much needed to do. Then, there are mild cases of stealing where the older dog is just chill relinquishing things. Generally, if the older dog capitulates, the situation usually resolves on its own without the need of intervention

 

In general, "Doing nothing" may work fine only for dogs who are playing or for dogs who simply have mostly vocal disagreements. Growls and barks are often times just "normal discussions" and the dogs are not really fighting, just communicating. Dog A: "I want that!" Dog B: "I won't give you an easy time." Dog A: ' "But I really want it" Dog B: "Not so easy". Dog A: "Common, I really want it and won't give up" Dog B: (rolling eyes) "Fine just take it, for God's sake!" Dog A steals the toy and dog B may care less and do something else or may try to get it back.

 

Sometimes a careful evaluation is needed though, as these dogs may give up the toy just out of blunt intimidation: "Here, take it, this toy is not worthy of fighting over, I don't want to be harmed. You scare me when you approach me this way." These dogs may display a fearful body posture, ears back, lip licking and yawning as an appeasement signal.

 

These dogs are being bullied and may lead a tense life. It sounds like this may be the case you are dealing with based on your description of your dog's body posture upon coming home. Perhaps, without your supervision things may have escalated? Perhaps Blue spent all the time trying to push, dig through and perhaps barked in frustration and this may have frightened her? But who knows maybe she just is scared to greet you when Blue is around and shows submissive body language and steers clear out of trouble because she knows you are a valuable resource to Blue upon coming home. We can't really know without recording what may be going on and can just make assumptions. In any case, plan B may be needed by keeping each dogs in separate rooms.

 

Redirection and Positive Associations

 

For mild cases of stealing, it is possible to give to the dog stealing toys oodles of attention when the other dog is playing with toys so that he eventually learns that patience pays and sharing leads to something even better. A leash can provide better control and prevent attempts to steal until the behavior of looking at the owner for treats is well-under stimulus control. Giving treats might be a great way to create positive associations while the other dog is approaching or playing with toys the dog considers as "his."

 

For example, the moment the other dog interacts with toys, you can make a smacking sound with your mouth and feed the stealer several high-value treats in a row giving loads of praise "good booooy" as you feed them. You can even do some fun training sessions. Generally, the dogs being bullied won't come near just to avoid possible conflict and are happy to focus on the toy since they rarely get to enjoy them undisturbed. You can then swap and take turns with one dog being trained and given treats while the other dogs enjoys a toy (may need to use an interactive toy filled with food to keep the stealer busy while training the dog prone to being bullied)

 

Another example? You are playing fetch and the ball happens to go to other dog who gets toys stolen all the time? That means smacking sound with your mouth, and several treats fed in a row to the stealer with lots of praise until the other dog drops the ball at your hand.

 

While helpful in creating positive associations when the other dog gets toys, caution is needed though with this approach if any of the two dogs has a history of aggression. If one or both dogs have a history of resource guarding food, skip this method.

 

There are several cues that can also be trained to prevent a dog from stealing toys. If one dog has a toy, the other dog should be given a cue to "leave it" and come to the owner for attention/rewards. Again, this may be fine as long as this doesn't provoke resource guarding.

 

Other helpful cues are solid responses to “stay” behavior and going to a mat. When there is no supervision, it is best to keep dogs separated especially if this leads to aggression or bullying.

 

Sometimes, mild cases of a dog stealing toys from other dogs may benefit from engaging both parties with a long tug toy, one dog tugging on either end. Dogs learn to enjoy "sharing" in this case as the game is all about creating "resistance." Once one dog has exclusive access to the toy, the fun ends as there's no longer "resistance." However, for some resource guarders, the value of stealing the toy and having it all for themselves may surpass the fun of tugging with a pal.

 

Providing interactive toys (toys filled with kibble/treats such as a Kong) to both dogs at the same time may provide an option where the dogs get to "play" in peace as their focus is on their own toys rather than each other. However, care must be taken to prevent the dog prone to stealing from approaching and trying to "steal the toy" from the other dog should he happen to finish first. Best to have a precaution in place such as a baby gate between both dogs, or the dog prone to stealing on a tether or leash for the most aggressive cases.

 

A dog prone to stealing may be also be trained to lie on a mat with his treat-stuffed toy and not get up until the other dog has finished his. Giving some treats every now and then may reward the dog's patience.

 

Providing Lots of Toys

 

Providing plenty of toys and keeping them always out can sometimes help make toys less salient for mild cases. This is based on the principle that scarcity is what increases the value of toys. This works sometimes, but not always. In my experience, it works better as a preventive more than a treatment. Some dogs just want the toy the other dogs has, no matter what. They can even each have the same exact toy, but the other dog just wants that one. Care is warranted with new toys as these can be very valuable compared to ordinary toys seen on a daily basis.

 

As seen, there are different aspects of stealing. In general, problems usually start when either dog refuses to give way, which potentially leads to aggression. Interaction after interaction, the dog stealing the toys gains more and more confidence, and one day, should the other dog object or should the dog stealing toys try to steal from other dogs who object, then, things can get awry.

 

Management is Always the Safest Option

 

And of course, management is always the safest option and should be always activated when the interactions cannot be supervised and have lead to aggression or excessive bullying that impacts the dog's emotional well being. If you are unsure how your dogs may react, but want your other dog to play with toys, keep the stealer in a crate or behind a baby gate to enjoy a chew or stuffed Kong while your other dog plays with you or with toys. If you do this often, he will come to look forward to your play sessions with your other dog and his toys as it means "goodies time" as this good time is always contingent upon play time.

 

Of course, a disclaimer is warranted here: due to the complexities of dog-to-dog interactions and cases where there is potential aggression or any intent to do harm physically or emotionally, the intervention of a professional for a hands-on evaluation and behavior modification based on observations is the safest and more accurate way to deal with behavior issues.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Issues with heeling:

 

It sounds like a matter of him being in a distracting environment and getting too aroused by all the smells, but there may also be a component of some anxiety at play too. Let's tackle first anxiety pulling.

 

See, when dogs are anxious and go in places that are new or they haven't been there for a while or where they aren't entirely comfortable being in, they tend to sniff. Sniffing is their way of getting to know more about the place and by getting more acquainted, they often relax more. Preventing dogs from sniffing in these cases, is to some extent sort of like asking us to walk in an unfamiliar place blindfolded. More and more dog trainers are discovering lately the importance of letting dogs sniff. I can attest that almost every week I am offered to attend some continuing education course that revolves around something that has to do with sniffing.

 

In dogs exhibiting anxious sniffing, it may help to often find an initial compromise. Let them sniff the area initially until they seem more relaxed and then practice some loose-leash walking if the area permits. To prevent reinforcing the sniffing on leash, it may help to start with a long line. The long line should come to represent more freedom and ability to sniff. After sniffing (which is extra tiring too, by the way) and moving around, the dog may often become calmer (unless they encounter stimuli or situations that trigger more anxiety).

 

At that point, once the dog seems calmer, the dog can be switched to the leash and you may be better able to work on loose-leash walking (always using high-value rewards). Often, it is possible to park the car and walk to point A with the long line and then return with the regular leash to the car and the dog doing much better in heeling. This should be repeated several days always sticking to walking in the place to reduce the chances of setback associated with new places.

 

Then, the dog can be walked halfway to point A with the long line and then switch to the leash, gradually, reducing the length of the walk done with the long line. At some point the dog may be doing well with just the leash. However, we don't want to remove totally the freedom of sniffing so we can reward the dog for walking nicely on leash all the way to point A by giving a treat and then putting on the long line and allowing sniffing in an area of going to a fenced area where the dog can be free to smell to his heart's content.

 

Alternatively, every now and then, you can make it a habit of rewarding your dog for walking nicely on the leash by allowing him to "go sniff." You can teach the "go sniff" cue by simply using a hand gesture to direct your dog to an area to explore. This is one of the easiest training cues you will ever train since sniffing to dogs comes so naturally! However, if you have been very strict with your dog in training him to perfectly heel the past he may need some encouragement to inform him that it's perfectly OK to go sniff. (I don't think you will incur in this problem!) Allow your dog some time to sniff the area when he seems to be losing interest,then say “let’s go” praise, (give a treat) and continue on your walk.

 

Now, it may be just that he walks somewhat well on a loose leash at home, in your yard and in your familiar neighborhood, be he doesn't do well in the park or forest because there is too much going on at a sensory level. He simply hasn't been trained at this level of distraction yet. With dogs having a brain of which 35 percent is dedicated for the task on detecting odors, while in us humans it's just a mere 5 percent, who can blamed them!

 

In such cases, it may help working more in less distracting areas until loose-leash walking becomes very natural. Dogs aren't that great in generalizing behaviors if they aren't doing those well enough at levels that are less distracting. So it may be a matter of proofing more the behavior.

 

It sounds like you may need to find ways to keep his threshold lower while also increasing the salience of yourself and the treats. Here are some tips to make walks a bit more boring and reduce the excess excitability associated with them

 

-Start calm behaviors at the door, ask your dog to sit when you clip the leash, sit before opening the door, staying until invited out. If you haven't already: Look up the open sesame brain game. You can find it here: https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/brain-training/college/open-sesame/

-Daily walks in the same areas are great for making all the stimuli a bit more boring.

-Double the walk (re-do the same loop) if your dog is still actively pulling a lot.

-Measure improvement. You want to see an increase in the percentage of loose-leash walking on these walks versus pulling.

-Once mastered walks in these same areas, it is a good idea to go off the beaten path and practice there. During a regular walk go on a different road. This can temporary create setbacks, but with consistency, the dog eventually learns that loose leash walking applies there too.

that and it helps a lot as well exercising the dog before going on walks.

-Exercise and brain games prior to walks can help reduce excessive energy and excitement.

-If walking in the forest, it may help to walk in the middle of the path versus the sides with is where often other dogs urinate and where there is grass and animal droppings

 

To make yourself more interesting:

 

-Invest in high value treats. If your dog prefers to sniff than eat those, they are likely not valuable enough (or your dog is over threshold or in a place that's too distracting)

-Be generous and aim for some heavy duty reinforcement. If you give a treat, and then your dog goes back to sniffing, most likely your dog thinks the exercise is over. Before his head goes back down, make your smacking sound as described in attention heeling section of the book. Increase duration too gradually. Don't give the treat right away, bring it at eye level and hold his gaze for several steps. Aim to do several steps of attention heeling or at least aim for heeling without the head always to the ground. Dogs can air scent too, so we are not totally depriving them from just being dogs.

-Put sniffing on cue. When behaviors are put solidly on cue, dogs learn that they must do them only when told to do so. You can even incorporate training here. Ask for sits, downs, and then reward by saying "go sniff" then bring him back to you playing with a toy or resuming heeling and rewarding with some tasty treats.

-Practice a lot (in group classes, my mentor used to do this exercise ad nauseum: having dog owners practice heeling while giving them (the owners) orders to walk straight, turn right, then left, then stop, then walk fast, then slow etc. Like 80 percent of the hour class was done doing this because he really gave high importance to polite leash walking. Add to that homework for the whole week. It seemed tedious, but it yielded awesome results by the 6th class and for stubborn cases (mostly hound/hound mixes) by the 8th class. Th

-Be consistent: loose leash means you walk and dole out goodies to your dog in heel position, tense leash makes you stop walking and delivering goodies. It may take a while to finish a walk this way, but it's mostly initially, things get better with practice and constant feed back.

-Dogs can be trained three types of walk: sniff walking (this is your dog's time, dog can sniff with head low to the ground), loose side walking (dog walks by the side), and attention heeling (dog looks up while walking -often used to keep focus around distractions).

-Once there is significant progress, it's time to practice in different areas and around different distractions. The more the better. Your dog will generalize the behavior and become more fluent in performing it. With service dogs in training we bring them to pet stores, to Lowes, Home Depot, farmer markets, walk by schools, etc. This makes for some pretty bomb-proof dogs, sort of like those Police horses in New York.

-Trips in a big city are always a great place to practice good leash walking around crowds and busy areas. My female Rottie learned heeling best after we spent 15 days in a big city. The first few days were a bit tough as she never saw trucks and bikes so close. She also wasn't used to people with umbrellas because in Arizona it only tends to mostly rain in 3 months during monsoon season. She wasn't very fond of dogs walking closely by and wanted to meet everybody. First days, her heeling was not great. But on the fifth-sixth day, oh the improvement! She learned to ignore people at the farmer's market, ignore all the dogs we passed by and all the traffic sounds. This training really left a big impact although it was just a mere 15 days. I used freshly baked calf liver in strips for this and even though it was very yucky to handle in a treat bag, it made the whole lot of difference.

 

Hope this helps! Next post on the recall...

Edited April 6, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[Adrienne Farricelli]

When I hear a dog ignoring unless there is a treat, my first thought goes to whether there is some level of bribing going on. Are you showing the food when you call your dog? If so, this can be a problem because it means your dog has become overly dependent on its sight (with border collies, they are quick learning things like this!) We always need to fade the sight of food when training otherwise dogs become overly dependent on it. That day we have no food, we are out of luck.

 

So the remedy to this is to avoid this type of dependence. You would probably start in a low distraction area, calling your dog (while holding food in a pocket) and giving it only once your dog is near you.

 

I also like to even create a little"bridge" between the action and the reinforcement in these cases eventually. For instance, call your dog, let your dog know he has done well, (yes!) and together, rush to the closet to grab a cookie from a jar or his meal you kept on a shelf.

 

More on fading food can be found here:

https://www.braintraining4dogs.com/members/archive/dog-listens-treats/

 

 

If he is not coming when called in the backyard, he is likely gaining more reinforcement from other sources. There may be too many competing stimuli. Here are some tips:

 

-Wait for him to get a bit bored of the yard when practicing recalls. This means he has already sniffed several areas, played and stretched his legs. Waiting a bit helps make his environment less salient and you more interesting.

-If he is so focused on the ball, it might help using the ball itself as reinforcement. Practice first at home, then in the yard. Call him when he's not doing anything interesting and then once he comes, praise like crazy and toss the ball. To prevent over-dependence on the sight of the ball, you can start hiding one in your pocket or several inside a bag you can bring along for the sake of practicing.

-When using food, be extra generous to leave a big impact on him. Give several treats in a row rather than just one.

-Several trials of recalls in a row can quickly get boring to dogs loosening its power. Just a few here and there and you can call it a day.

-You can also create special set-ups to practice great recalls, for instance, in the morning, when you know your pup is extra hungry, keep him/her in the yard as you prepare your dog's meal and then call him/her inside while keeping the food bowl behind your back. Once your dog reaches you (at full speed!) praise him/her and then put the food bowl down. Once your dog responds well to this, you can ask your dog to politely sit before you put the food bowl down.

-Never call your dog for things your dog doesn't seem to like e.g. don't call your dog for a bath if he hates water, don't call your dog to only have his paws trimmed if he dislikes that. Doing so will "poison the cue" which means it assumes negative connotations and the recall will weaken, meaning that your dog will be reluctant to come eventually.

-Never try to catch your dog for not coming. Most dogs thinks this is a fun game and will get harder and harder to catch. Rather, let him chase you (border collies love to chase!). So if you really need him to come, attract him with movement and and when he reaches you, give him a treat from your pocket or toss that ball.

-Border collies rely a lot on movement so you can use some hand gestures if they help in getting your dog to come.

-When practicing recalls, avoid calling your dog in those situations where you wonder whether he may truly come. Don't call your dog when he is sniffing just to "test him." When dogs sniff, a good portion of their brain is focused on the smell. Every time you call your dog and he doesn't come you risk weakening your recall. Make it easy, especially at first. Call him when he is paying attention to you, or when is coming already in your direction. Baby steps. Often we raise the bar too high and this creates setbacks.

-Last but not least, consider that the recall is one of those things you have to maintain and reward generously. It's an investment that will provide coverage that day you are caught off guard and you really need your dog to come back to you ASAP, no questions asked.

Edited April 5, 2019 by Adrienne Farricelli

[ManidaMorrell]

Thank you Adrienne,

I've had some success with the loose leash walking mixed with sniffing. He really loves being on long lead. And walking in the middle of the path works great to minimise distractions.

 

Still working on the recall

[Adrienne Farricelli]

Recalls are always a work in progress. As I mentioned recently in another post, recalls are much more than just a training exercise, it's about bonding, competing with stimuli, increasing criteria and troubleshooting. I like to compare training recalls to a piggy bank investment. Every time we get a successful response to a recall, we are adding a coin to the piggy bank. Each time though our recall goes to deaf ears, we are removing a coin from the piggy bank. So we want to make sure a great percentage of those recalls are a success by making them easy peasy for the dog (focusing on closer recalls before moving to the more difficult ones) and offering treats/goodies that leave quite an impact. Surprising the dog with something exceptionally tasty and giving several pieces of it in a row will accomplish that (leave an impact). You want your dog to think "holy cow, that was amazing, I shall not think twice to come next time because this was so impressive!"

 

So yes, we must make those recalls music to a dog's ears an we can do so incorporating things dogs love, such as calling dogs when it's meal time, which for many dogs it's the perk of the day.

 

Sounds like you are seeing progress on walks, keep up the good work! It starts with little progresses which pave the path to more and more. Thanks for the update.