I’ve been playing a game with myself on my dog walks lately and thought I would share it with you all.
I’ve been doing nosework training (where they search for a specific scent) with both my dogs for awhile now. Since I’ve been involved in nosework, I’ve become fascinated by what, how and where they sniff. It’s this whole world that they can enjoy that we cannot perceive and there is something about that that is captivating to me.
Most of my walks with my dogs are simply for sniffing. I try to choose quieter locations so that we can just relax and they can sniff and I can look and we don’t have to worry too much about training.
Okay – so here’s the game:
When I turn a corner or otherwise enter a new area of our walk, I pause and look at the surroundings. I try to guess where Doug or Dan will stop to sniff. If they stop in an area I didn’t expect, I try to think about what that area has that other areas do not.
Here’s some of the things I’ve observed: -Bushy bushes are good for sniffing. I think this is because there is more surface area on bushier plants and so they hold more odor.
-Vertical surfaces, especially corners are good for sniffing. Likely because these are preferred marking locations for other dogs.
-Sometimes, my dog will pass a bush, tree or other object and then turn back to sniff it. This usually has to do with the wind direction. Even when it seems still, there is direction to the air movement.
Try it!
I wanted to give you a chance to try this before your next dog walk. Below is a photo of a neighborhood block that Doug and I were about to walk down. Check out the photo and see if you can guess where Doug will sniff. Then, you can see in the video where he *did* sniff. How many of the spots did you guess correctly? Were there any surprises?
Guess where Doug will sniff!
Try this on your next dog walk. Let me know what you learned! I would love to see your predictions and results too.
The saying holds true for dog training. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
My hope for animal training and pet owning is that in the next few years we see a shift towards emphasizing prevention of behavior problems rather than major problem solving.
Why prevention?
If you focus on prevention, rather than waiting for a problem to occur, you have some advantages. First, it’s a better use of your time and energy. Solving a behavior problem when you’ve already lived with it for weeks, months, or years can be both daunting and exhausting. You might already be burned out from living with the problem for a long time. Doing the work to change the behavior can be hard when you already feel used up.
Second, your dog won’t have the history of practicing the unwanted behavior. If your dog barks at the mailman for years before you start to change that behavior, it’s much harder! Your dog has years of practice with “barking at the mailman = mailman goes away”. That history can mean the behavior will come back easily, even if you are successful in changing it.
How to focus on prevention?
There’s a few things to consider in order to be effective at preventing problems before they start, or at least before they get big.
1. Visualize and write down what you would you like your dog to do. Each time I’m about to encounter a new-to-my dog scenario, I ask – “what do I want him to do here”?
Example: When I’m watering the vegetable garden, I want Doug to lie down nearby and stay until I release him to chase the water.
2. Build the necessary skills and behaviors so that your dog can do those things.
Example: Doug has learned lie down on cue, but the water is really really enticing! I have to work on this slowly so that he can lie down and stay for long enough for me to water. I might begin with just 1-2 seconds of seconds of lie down and stay while the water is on.
3. Manage the situation for success if your dog’s skills aren’t ready for the real deal.
Example: Doug stays inside while I am actually watering the veggie garden until he can lie down and stay in the presence of the hose for long enough that I can water the garden.
4. Reinforce the behavior you like with something you dog actually wants in that moment.
Example: Doug’s reinforcer for staying while I water is to chase the water in the grass near the garden. If I toss a ball while the hose is on, he watches me toss it and then looks at me. He does not want to fetch (normally his favorite game). If I stop providing water-chasing time after his down stay, I would fully expect him to start to charge into the garden at the hose.
For the example above, Doug did charge through my veggie garden to chase the hose water once before I created this training plan. But as soon as I caught myself thinking, “GAH DOUG!!!”, I stopped. I put him inside to prevent practice of that behavior so that I could finish watering and I came up with a plan. We can’t predict everything our dogs will experience nor can we anticipate everything they might do in specific situations. Like in this example, there will be times where a problem will pop up and you’ll have to solve it right away. And that might be the closest you can get to prevention in some situations.
Doug, waiting for his chance to chase the hose water
However, there are many experiences your dog will encounter every day or multiple times a day for his whole life. Some examples: Being with you in your living room while you watch TV or read. Being with you while you work from home (like so many of us are doing now). Going on walks in your neighborhood. Spending time with your family members. Playing with toys. Eating meals near people or other pets in the house. And so on. These things will vary based on your lifestyle, household, and where you live.
No matter how long you’ve had your dog – start this now! You can come up with your own list by thinking through your own personal daily or weekly routines and the routines that you’ll go through to care for your dog. From there, ask:
What do you want your dog to do in each of these situations?
Does your dog have the skills to actually do that behavior? If not, what do you need to teach to get there?
How can you manage the scenario while your dog develops those skills?
And how are you going to reinforce those behaviors so that they persist?
This is a handout I created years ago and have given to many clients. If you are struggling with “come”, check to see whether you are doing these things first.
Tips for Come
Always reinforce, always with something special. Your dog’s preferences determine what is special. Maybe it’s a game of tug, maybe it’s a special treat, maybe it’s some nice neck scratches or some time to sniff a light post.
Do not only call for possibly unpleasant events such as a bath or leaving an off leash area. Instead calmly and gently go get your dog. If there are events that are consistently unpleasant for your dog, work with a (professional, positive) trainer to work on that! Even bath time can be enjoyable with training.
Call and release back to the activity your dog was enjoying as often as possible so that coming to you doesn’t end the current activity.
Surprise reinforcers! – Treats around the house, extra special treats, or other unexpected fun for your dog.
Call only once. Only call after you have your dog’s attention (I use a name cue for attention first – if they don’t look when you call their name, they probably won’t come to you). If you repeat their name or the “come” cue over and over, it will just become background noise. The word will quickly lose its meaning.
Only call if you are sure your dog will listen. (Would you bet $50 she or he will come?) If you aren’t sure, gently go up to him to get him instead of calling and practice more.
Teach your dog that touching their collar is a positive thing! Some dogs will mouth, nip or growl when you take their collar – if this is something your dog struggles with, work with a (professional, positive) trainer to teach this one.
Dan has a cyst on his toe that he is licking constantly. The vet said he needs to stop licking. A cone is the easiest way to do this, but Dan hasn’t worn a cone since he got neutered as a puppy. He’s 8 now. I haven’t done any training around wearing a cone with him, although it is now high on my list for both Dan and Doug.
Because I want the cone to be as low-stress as possible, I decided to introduce it slowly. Putting it on and leaving it on right away could be unpleasant and might result in all sorts of avoidance-behaviors or escape-behaviors like pawing it, rubbing it on the ground, or hiding when we pick up the cone to put it on. In the meantime, that we have had to use socks to prevent licking (vet-approved) for now. This is not ideal because they don’t stay on well, but Dan is more used to the socks and it seemed like the least intrusive solution while we work on the cone training.
The cone training is going faster than I expected. My best guess is that maybe our muzzle training is similar enough that there’s a bit of generalization there. We began Saturday morning and are still working on it, but I wanted to share some of the training sessions we’ve done so far.
Generally the steps I’ve used have been:
Introduce the cone, yes+treat for sniffing or interacting with it. (Video 1)
Put head into cone voluntarily–> yes+treat and release word “ok” for pulling head back to take it off. (Video 2)
Wear cone while doing known tricks. This is something I learned from Muzzle Up!’s Maureen Backman. That by doing tricks and playing little games while wearing a muzzle, dogs can contact reinforcement for moving while wearing the thing. (Video 3)
Wear cone while doing the “bed” behavior. This one I decided was critical because ideally he will wear the cone while relaxing and just hanging out. I wanted to be sure Dan could easily navigate to his bed, lie down in the cone, and get back up. It was also a way to add a little bit of duration with a stay on the bed. (Video 4)
Yard walk. We did a few laps around the yard together, frequent treats for coming to me when I called, a chance to try munching on grass and sniffing while wearing the cone. This went so well that I left it on for about 30 minutes while we sat in the yard together. (No video, but photos at the bottom).
Sunday afternoon we tried to have him wear the cone while we watched a little TV. After about 15 minutes he began to paw at the cone. So we took it off immediately. This might be the most important part of the training. I want to be sure that Dan does not practice lots of pawing, or pulling the cone off. This is information to me that he wasn’t ready for that situation. This is one of those escape-behaviors that I want to prevent from popping up. It could be the context of the TV room while wearing the cone doesn’t have enough reinforcement behind it yet or maybe the duration was too long or maybe his foot itched more during this time. Licking has been more likely during TV time than during yard time, so that could be playing a role as well. Cone on during TV time is what we will work on next. (No video)
These steps might be different for different dogs – this isn’t meant to be a training plan or formula. I just wanted to share what I’ve done with Dan so you can see how I gradually introduced the cone. So far, he comes up to us, tail wagging, when we pick it up. My goal is for that behavior to be a lasting response to the sight of the cone and for Dan to be able to wear the cone for longer periods of time, comfortably, so that we can get a bit of a break from putting his sock on over and over again.
1. Introduction to the cone, begin head-in
2. Practicing head in and out of the cone
3. Tricks with cone on
4. Practicing “bed” with cone on
Dan on deck with cone – first time leaving it on for a few minutes
Dan and Doug, hanging out in the yard. First longer duration for wearing the cone.
I think that loose leash walking, or “stop pulling” may be one of the most frequently requested goals I have from clients. Dogs pull on leash for sooo many reasons. Some examples are: to access to an object to sniff it, to access to people or other dogs, in an attempt to chase something like a squirrel or car, or perhaps just because they would like to walk at a faster pace (4 legs is really an advantage over 2!) . Understanding the “why” is definitely key to getting this behavior to happen in the way that you want. A dog could pull for all of these reasons and more on a single given walk.
But I’m not going to talk about solving pulling today. Instead I’m going to talk about building a walking behavior that you like. Before you can accomplish your walking goals, you absolutely have to know what you want it to look like. You need to define the behavior, decide on your criteria and cues, and have a plan for reinforcement. What will the structure of walking be for you and your dog?
I’ve chosen to teach my dogs several kinds of walking, because we walk in many different environments. For each environment, I have different behaviors in mind that will result in reinforcement for my dogs. My types of walks are: heeling, downtown/in public buildings leash walks (with me), neighborhood sniffy leash walks (sniffy walk), and hiking. For each, I have chosen to use a different equipment set-up to help my dog differentiate. This becomes part of the cue for which walk we are doing. I’m going to break down each one so you can see examples for planning your own walking goals.
Heeling:
Critiera – What you would want in competition obedience. I would like my dogs’ foot to line up with my foot. I would like my dog to look at me and match my pace and path.
Environments – Any open space, inside the house, backyard, park, training building, etc.
Cues – 4-6 foot leash attached to the collar, a verbal “heel”, and my arm in an L shape.
Reinforcement – Food, play, praise/petting and sniffing time.
Duration of walking – Short, small doses. Never more than a couple of minutes at a time.
Purpose – Competition, feels like a formal training session. Heeling should really be treated like a trick that you and your dog are performing together as a mutually engaging activity.
With Me:
Criteria – For my dog to stay within a foot or so of my side and to move on quickly from things in the environment such as smells or people with a “let’s go” cue. I often ask for a sit + wait during this type of walk to let people pass us closely.
Environments – Downtown areas, inside pet-friendly stores, on busier streets.
Cues – A 4-6 foot leash attached to the front clip of my dog’s harness. A verbal cue “with me”.
Reinforcement – Food, sniffing, verbal praise/petting, opportunity to greet people.
Duration of walking – 10-15 minutes at the most. Often just a few minutes at a time.
Purpose – To safely and politely navigate a busier
Sniffy Walks:
Criteria – If you (dog) want to stop and sniff, we do. If I want to stop and look, we do. If a walker, biker or car needs to pass us we will move to the side. I ask for a sit+wait, do a treat scatter, or let him sniff something while the person passes. All offered check-ins, where he looks at me or comes to my side, will be reinforced.
Environments – Neighborhood streets, quieter roads, park paths, open fields
Cues – 6-12 foot leash attached to the back clip of my dog’s harness. No formal verbal cue but I’m sure I use the phrase “sniffy walk” often before we start.
Reinforcement – Food, sniffing, verbal praise/petting, (rarely) greeting a person.
Duration of walking – Longer walks, 30-90 minutes usually.
Purpose – For me and my dog to get out into the world, see things, hear things, smell things, enjoy each other’s company and get a little mild exercise.
Dan on a Sniffy Walk
Hiking:
Criteria – If you (dog) want to stop and sniff, you may, I will keep walking and if you are still sniffing when I get to the end of the lead, I will stop and wait until you run to catch up. The reverse is also true: If I want to stop and look at something, you (dog) may keep going but if you get to the end of the leash before I’m ready to move on, you will pause and wait until I start walking again. I usually say “wait” before I stop. If a walker, biker or car needs to pass us we will move to the side. We do a sit+wait as people pass. Occasionally I may cue a “let’s go” to move on from something gross or potentially harmful. All offered check-ins, where he looks at me or comes to my side, will be reinforced.
Environments – Hiking trails, open fields, quiet country roads
Cues – 15-20 foot long line attached to the back clip of my dog’s harness. No verbal cue.
Purpose – For me and my dog to get out into the world, see things, hear things, smell things, enjoy each other’s company and get a some exercise and decompression.
What types of walking are useful in your life? What does each type of walk look like? How will you help your dog to understand your criteria?
Some other great resources regarding walking with your dog:
This is Molly. She was my sister’s dog when we were kids. She joined our family as a tiny puppy when my sister turned 6. We were told she was a Chow and Golden Retriever mix. She was a lovely dog.
When we were kids, our dogs lived outside. We lived in the country and had lots of space and they always had access to the garage. My sister and I spent lots of free time outside playing with the animals and exploring our property. But back to Molly. She was a very laid back dog. Most of the time she just enjoyed laying in the yard or patrolling the perimeter. And as you can see from this photo, she had a LOT of hair. In the winter she grew out that Chow Chow coat. It was thick. We would brush that dog (well…my mom would…) all summer and just about the time she started looking more like a Golden Retriever it would start to get cold again.
Aside from chewing the front porch pillars as a puppy, the one struggle we had in sharing our lives with Molly was digging. She would uproot my mom’s shrubs and just dig and dig. And then she would rest in the “hole” she created. My mom realized that she was seeking a cool spot. We had a stock tank that functioned as a doggy pool that the other dogs enjoyed, but Molly was not a fan.
So, my mom started leaving the cellar door open that went to our basement. The house we lived in was very old and the cellar was closed off from the rest of the basement. It had a dirt floor and brick walls and it was always nice and cool in the summer. After that Molly started spending her summer afternoons dozing in the cellar. And no more digging.
When I stumbled upon this photo the other day this was the memory that came to mind. And I realized that this is a perfect example of antecedent arrangement. In other words, it is an example of making a change to the environmental set up in order to change a behavior. By offering another cool resting place, Molly no longer had to create her own via digging.
Antecedent arrangement is a really useful tool for changing behavior. It is usually low-stress for the animal. And it is usually less work for the teacher, too. In this example, my mom only had to open the cellar doors rather than train Molly to dig in another place or rest in another place.
Do you have any examples of times where you have changed the set up of an environment to change behavior?
Cecil had his annual vet visit back in January. This was a new vet clinic for him, which I hoped would be a good thing. I carefully chose a clinic with Fear Free Certified staff. I had taken both dogs there and really was impressed with how they handled them. And Cecil’s new doctor (the cat vet at the clinic) is wonderful – it was immediately clear that she really “gets” cats!
However, Cecil still had a tough time. He was due for some bloodwork and a physical exam. He has never loved the vet but at other clinics, they have always been able to do what they needed to do. This time, they tried to get blood and could not. He was growling and hissing. I was very glad they stopped, rather than push through and make it happen. I suspect that is what happened at the last clinic and that is why he suddenly was so upset over this procedure.
I feel badly even describing this because I hate the idea of him being so upset and afraid.
They really needed to do the bloodwork because he needed a dental cleaning (his teeth have always been awful) which requires anesthesia. So, we returned a week later with Cecil on some gooood meds and they were able to get the blood sample more easily. He still wasn’t relaxed or calm, but he didn’t growl or hiss. His bloodwork showed a clean bill of health and he got his teeth cleaning shortly after that. He’s as good as new.
Sort of.
He and I have work to do. Before next January, my goal is to help him learn to remain calm and happy during restraint for a blood draw. This is a big goal. We might not make it in 9 months. But I have to give it my best shot, because it’s just not acceptable for vet care to be so stressful for him.
This is another example of something I’ve been working on diligently with my dogs for years but hadn’t tried to do with my cats. I always felt like they could tolerate the vet just fine and that was good enough. It wasn’t until Cecil developed some extreme stress that I realized this is not good enough. And when we know better, we should do better. So get ready for some videos of Cecil’s vet care practice! I’ll be sharing our training sessions frequently on my Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Lauraperkinsanimalbehavior/
I almost called this post “Treating your Cat more Like a Dog” – But I didn’t want to imply that cats’ species specific needs should be ignored. However, some of the things I’ve been doing with my dogs have gotten me thinking about my cat’s behavior a little more carefully too.
I have two stories to share about our cat, Cecil. I’ll share one today and one next time.
He’s 11 years old. He and his sister, Ida, were adopted by my husband before we were married. We were dating at the time and I got to be there the day he brought them home, so even though they are my “step-pets” I’ve known them their whole lives. Cecil is an especially active orange tabby. Cecil once raided the spice cabinet above the stove, he used to hide the sink drain cover in Justin’s shoes, and he has always followed us around the house like a puppy. He has also always dashed outside whenever we had the door open for a moment too long. (Ida is much more mellow by nature. I’ll have to write about her soon too.)
As Cecil has gotten older, he’s slowed down a bit but he still is always in the same room with one of us. And he still yearns to go outside. He often makes a break for it in nice weather and then when we need to bring him in, he hides under the deck. Usually this happens when I am on the way out the door to an appointment.
This behavior makes perfect sense. He never got satiated on outside time because he only gets a few minutes at a time. And usually getting picked up = going inside. So he would avoid us when we were outside.
Cecil in his cat tree by the window – A perfect spot to watch the birds.
A month or so ago, when it started getting warmer out again, Cecil got out. And since I’m home 24/7 right now, I had the time to let him explore. So I did. I followed him from about 15 feet away – which seemed to be enough space that he wouldn’t run away from me under a tree/bush/deck. I grabbed some of his favorite treats. And I just watched. After 20 minute or so I said hi to him and he chattered at me and I offered him some treats. Then I let him go back to exploring.
After another 20 minutes, he finally walked back the the door that goes inside on his own. I pet him, gave him a few more treats, put the dogs in another room and left the backdoor open. He came in on his own and got a few more treats. I closed the door and played with him with his favorite toy. Then he took the longest nap he’s had maybe ever!
This is exactly how I would teach a recall to a dog in a similar situation. I’m not sure why, but I just hadn’t thought about teaching my cat a recall before.
Anyway, we’ve been practicing this on nice days. Over the last few weeks we’ve gotten to the point now where he will come to me easily after about 10 minutes outside. After 20 minutes I can convince him to go in if I need to. But if he is given complete choice, 45 minutes seems to be the right amount of time.
Cecil comes for Petting (below)
Practicing Recalls with Treats (below)
Cecil on March 25th – You can observe that he moves away from me when I approach. This was early on in our outdoor adventures. (below)
Cecil on April 8th – After some practice with outdoor adventures, he comes when I call, then I let him go explore some more. (below)
Now that he is not in constant deprivation for outside time, he is a little less likely to dart outside when we are going in and out. Now that I don’t scoop him up and take him in every time I get close to him outside, he is coming up to me on his own for petting and treats. He has stopped running from me. Yesterday, for the first time I tried approaching and I was able to walk right up to him and pet him. The consequences changed so his behavior changed.
I’ve really enjoyed watching him outside. He explores, eats grass, sniffs out critters, watches the birds, rolls on the sunny sidewalk or deck. He’s even spent time getting pets from us while we sit in the sunshine together – more interested in our attention than exploring. I’ve learned so much about what he enjoys, what enrichment could look like for him, and I feel like we’ve really bonded over this time.
Evening snuggles
Safety Note:
I need to mention – this isn’t possible for everyone – our secure yard makes this something I’m comfortable with. Our 2 acre yard is fenced with 1×2″ wire and there are very few gaps in it. I have covered up the gaps between the fence and the ground. I have never observed him even looking up the fence to indicate he might climb or jump. So I feel pretty confident that he will stay in the yard if we are right there. But I wouldn’t let him out of my sight. I am very focused on following him.
If your yard isn’t cat-escape-proof you might be able to try a harness and leash or build a catio to let your cat have a similar experience at home. Remember to slowly teach your cat how to wear the leash and harness first and build lost of positive reinforcement into the experience.
Last summer, when Leslie McDevitt’s new Control Unleashed book was released, I worked through the exercises with my dogs. One of the exercises is teaching your dog to take a deep breath on cue. You can check out her book for more information on that and other great exercises for any dog (but especially reactive dogs):
It took me a few weeks as I wasn’t very practiced at observing my dog’s nostrils and breathing. But we eventually got it.
As part of this process, I started trying to capture anytime my dogs took deep breaths while resting. Dan especially, because he sleeps at my feet when I’m at my desk. If he took a big, heavy sigh, I would calmly say “gooood boy”, almost under my breath. I didn’t want it to be exciting, instead soothing praise.
One suggestion for a cue to ask your dog to do the deep breath behavior is you taking a deep breath. So when I take a deep breath, my dog takes a deep breath. I liked this idea for a cue, although my cue ended up being touching my nose with one finger.
However, because I was thinking of my breath being a possible cue, I started taking deep breaths a lot when working on this behavior.
Over time it has drifted. I noticed in the last few weeks that when Dan is nearby resting and he takes a deep breath, I take a deep breath too! I inadvertently trained myself to breath deeply when Dan does! It’s such a soothing thing and brings a tiny moment of calm into my day each time it happens.
For me, this happened unintentionally, but I would encourage everyone to teach yourself to take a nice deep breath when your dog gives a big sigh. You might find that your dog can be your own mindfulness coach.
I’ve gotten this question several times, but it came up again recently in an online course I’m teaching. If you have multiple dogs, and especially when you are just getting started with training, it can be tough to work with one at a time. Here’s a handout with some ideas to help you through those beginning training sessions.
You could continue to increase the duration of “waiting her turn” until your dog can wait for 5-10 minutes between turns. Alternatively, you could teach a go-to-mat or similar stationing behavior for the waiting dog.
It’s important to give each dog a turn – even if the training is a little different for each of them. Getting an individual turn for training will become part of the reinforcer for waiting.
