As you delve into the training techniques in this book, remember that you need to be a confident, secure, and understanding leader for your dog. That’s the mental game, because I can promise that you will not feel confident or secure or understanding all the time—and I’d be a total liar if I told you I never get flustered or frustrated during training myself. I feel it the same as anyone else, especially when I’m looking at an unfamiliar, untrained animal at the end of a leash and knowing I’ve got just a week or two to teach him some manners, obedience, or even tricks.
The secret, as they say in the deodorant commercials, is to “never let ’em see you sweat.” Tamping down frustration, fear, or worry is a mental exercise every good animal trainer has to master. If you show your dog frustration or anxiety or that you don’t know how to handle a situation, you might as well walk away. Your dog will read it in your face. Instead, always approach training with determination and calm. No matter how you feel inside, your face should say, “We’re doing this. I’m not quitting, and I don’t want you to quit, either.”
When you do get frustrated, keep in mind that your partner in this endeavor is “just a dog.” I don’t mean that in a disparaging way. What I mean is that a dog has less capacity than you do to learn and process language, and a dog has to learn at his own pace. Take your time, start with the easy stuff, and be patient. Remember that you’re the one who has thumbs and walks upright, so you’re the leader in this relationship. Your dog will slowly, steadily learn everything he needs to know.
Control
My most basic summary of what it takes to train a dog has always been “control, train, treat.” Anyone who’s ever worked with me has heard that phrase—probably more than once. It’s a rule I live by. Whether you’re starting on your first day of training with a puppy who never stops moving, or working with an older dog who doesn’t want to get off the sunny end of the couch, these are the steps that will allow you to successfully train. This process should be your blueprint for approaching everything that’s covered in this book. If you find yourself training your dog and not seeing results in a timely manner, I want you to stop, remember those three words, and ask yourself if you are following them in order.
In dog training, everything starts with control. Why is this one issue so important? Think about it like this: a teacher has twenty kindergartners and is responsible for teaching all of them to recognize, pronounce, and write their ABCs. What are the first steps that teacher will take to get twenty small children under control? Take them into a classroom, have them sit in chairs, turn those chairs toward one focal point, and occupy that space. That’s a pretty good system for taking a chaotic situation and gaining some control.
Your dog is like your twenty kindergartners (dog training is starting to sound easier than teaching, isn’t it?). He is a creature with a brain not nearly as developed as yours, interests entirely different from yours, and a world full of sights, smells, animals, people, and distractions of every kind. Before you can even think of teaching this animal, you have to establish some kind of control. I know this seems almost too simple to explain, but I see people every day trying to train dogs when they haven’t taken this step yet. I bet you see them, too—being dragged down the street by a dog on a leash; chasing a runaway pet at the dog park; saying, “sit, Sit, SIT, SIT” over and over to a dog who isn’t even listening. We’ve all seen it, and we’ve probably all done it at some point, too—and we know it’s not effective.
That’s why the very first step in starting any training session is going to be establishing control.
Fortunately, this step is an easy one. A room or other space that’s free of distractions gives you a little control. Getting your dog up off the floor—especially if you have a small breed—gives you more. A leash is probably the simplest way to gain control, because once your dog is clipped in, running away is no longer an option. And here’s a training trade secret: two leashes give you twice as much control.
Over the years, one of the training staples I’ve come to rely on is a technique I call the Double Leash Lock-Off. If you watch Lucky Dog, you’ve seen me use this time and again. I swear by it because it works so well, helping me to establish control on easily 95 percent of the dogs I use it on.
Remember as you move forward with your training program that control is always the cornerstone. I’ve shared this simple method of gaining control with dog owners all over the world, and in response I get e-mails every day from people who want to send their thanks and say those two words I love to hear: “It worked.”
THE DOUBLE LEASH LOCK-OFF
The best part of the Double Leash Lock-Off (besides the fact that it works) is that it’s easy to use. You don’t have to be an experienced dog handler to master this one or use it effectively, but the results are very high level anyway. To use this technique, you’ll need:
•Two six-foot leashes
•A harness
•A flat collar
•A bag of treats
The Double Leash Lock-Off
Start by harnessing your dog, then loop the handle end of the first leash—the anchor leash—around the leg of a couch, heavy table, or other stationary object. In the training barn, I use mounted O-rings for this purpose, and you can easily install one in your garage or backyard if you want to have a permanent training station. Once the leash is anchored, clip the other end of it to your dog’s harness. Next, attach the second leash to your dog’s collar—this is your guide leash.
Hold the end of the guide leash in your hand and pull it toward you gently, there’s no need for force with this technique because the leashes do the work. As you pull, the tension between the two leashes will automatically straighten your dog’s body and limit his movement left, right, forward, or back. And just like that, you are in control of the situation.
A close-up of the Double-Leash Lock-Off
Your dog may not like it at first, and that’s okay. You’re not causing any harm or pain with this method. Hold a treat up in the air a foot or so away from his snout. Your dog may lunge or dive for it, but that won’t work in the lock-off position, so just wait for him to stop struggling. If your dog refuses to settle down, simply pull the leash toward you to maintain control. You’ll notice that when you pull, this technique will straighten out your dog’s body. You can give him a CALM DOWN or EASY command as you work to help him understand where you’re going with all this. Keep in mind that if you choose to use a command here, you’ll want to be consistent with it from that point on. It will be a useful command in the future if you train it right. Most dogs settle down after just a few seconds; some take a little longer. As soon as your dog is completely still, silently count to three. When you get there, if your dog is still calm, praise him and reward him with a treat. Reward your dog only while he is still and calm—you don’t want to create any confusion by rewarding lunging or pulling.
Like most obedience exercises, this takes some practice to sink into your dog’s brain. Repeat the exercise ten times. The next time you do it, add one second to your count-off (four whole seconds of calm!), and repeat ten times again. Gradually work up to ten seconds or more. Once your dog hits the ten-second mark and reliably stays calm, you can start using the command and the treats without the help of the anchor leash, and then you can remove the guide leash. If your dog loses control during that ten-second count, simply start over and try again to make it to the same goal. Each time your dog makes the association between being calm and receiving a reward, he becomes a little more trainable. Without the immobilizing factor of the leashes, it could take weeks—if not months—for a dog to figure out that simply being calm and quiet earns rewards. Once your dog has become comfortable with the Double Leash Lock-Off technique, you’ll have it in your arsenal whenever you need to exercise a little extra control during training. Try to keep up the practice of this exercise throughout the training process because the more you do it, the better control you’ll have, and the easier training will be.
In order to effectively train, you need more than just control—you need your dog’s undivided attention. When you’re working with a puppy or an adolescent, this can be a lot tougher than it sounds. The best way to get the focus you need is to offer something your dog just can’t ignore. Remember in Chapter 1 when we talked about breed and motivation? This is where that comes into play. Most dogs like treats, others respond to toys, and some just love to be loved. If you can find out what your dog responds to best, before long you’ll have him doing backflips all over the house for you.
If your dog has a strong food drive (as a majority of dogs do), then almost any treat will do. If your dog has a less-pronounced food drive, you’ll have to up the ante. The way to approach this is to keep in mind that food is like money to a dog—and like money, it comes in different denominations. Think about the foods your dog really loves—things that go way beyond the kibble in the bowl. Let’s say a piece of your dog’s regular food is a one-dollar bill. Then a biscuit might be a five-dollar bill. A liver treat might be a ten- or twenty-dollar bill. And a bit of steak might be the emergency hundred-dollar bill in the back of your wallet. When you set out to train, be ready with a variety of rewards so you can command your dog’s attention and keep his interest from start to finish during the session. Don’t be in any hurry to give up the big bucks too soon. They’re what will keep your dog focused from beginning to end and will reward his absolute best efforts. There’s a good chance he’ll be able to smell them in your pocket or bait bag the whole time.
One important thing to remember about using food to gain focus is that it works way better on a hungry dog. Don’t bother trying to get your dog’s attention with treats right after a meal. Instead, try training thirty to sixty minutes before mealtime, when your dog is already starting to think about food and is likely to hone in on any treats you use. If you have a dog who follows you around like a hawk near dinnertime, that’s because his internal clock is telling him mealtime is right around the corner. Those moments when your dog is already mentally bellying up to the bowl provide a perfect opportunity to capitalize on his food-oriented focus by working in a training session before the meal.
Some dogs are more easily motivated by play or toys than by food. If you’ve ever seen a retriever with a cherished tennis ball or a bully breed working over a rope or tug toy, you know what I mean. That was the case with Murphy, a very energetic, very powerful, and very ornery one-year-old, eighty-pound Lab I rescued.
Murphy was the combination of all the things that can make a dog too much for a new owner to handle: size, strength, an adolescent’s stubborn attitude, a complete lack of focus, and enough horsepower to challenge even the most seasoned trainer. This was a dog who put me through my paces right up until I decided to put his fascination with all the dog toys I had around the ranch to work for me. I gave Murphy a big pile of toys and let him choose his favorite. After trying (and failing) to fit all of them in his mouth, he finally settled on a Chuckit! ball—he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Instead of me blindly choosing a toy he kinda wanted, I let Murphy pick something he really wanted to motivate him through training. This made him more eager to work and learn. Once that ball was in play and I took control of it, I had Murphy’s complete and total focus. As I trained his commands, I held that ball in my hand, and each time the big, goofy, wildly exuberant dog did something right, I’d throw it for him and give him a few seconds to play. It worked like magic, providing far better results than I’d been able to wrangle from him with treats alone. So if your dog loves nothing more than a particular toy, don’t hesitate to incorporate it into training, using it first to gain focus, and then as part of a reward.
Treats aren’t the only way to gain your dog’s focus. Sometimes a favorite toy is more effective.
Another factor in the equation is your dog’s energy level. When it’s too high, focus is hard to come by. Let’s go back to that analogy that a dog trainer is like a teacher. If you ask any teacher worth his or her salt how to handle a classroom full of energetic three- or five- or seven-year-olds, you’re going to find all their answers have something in common. Those kids need a physical outlet for their energy. Without it, they can be impossible to teach. If you have a high-energy dog, take a walk before training to take the edge off. Be sure to wait a good twenty minutes after the walk to let your dog’s adrenaline ease up a bit. Otherwise, he’ll still be in exercise mode.
Remember that control and focus go hand in hand, so if you’re having trouble getting and keeping your dog’s attention for training, use the Double Leash Lock-Off to limit his mobility and with it the options for his focus. Think of that technique as your go-to move when things aren’t going as planned.
Courtesy of Litton Syndications, Inc.
Meet Kobe. One thing I’ve learned over the years is that when it comes to control, size doesn’t matter. I’ve worked with plenty of small dogs who were capable of bringing just as much chaos and distraction to training as the most difficult giants. Kobe was one of those dogs, and when I met him he’d already paid a high price for his lack of focus. His owner surrendered this terrier mix to a shelter after having him for just one month, saying the nine-pound, year-old dog could not be trained. Being labeled untrainable can be a death sentence for a shelter dog, but the staff believed Kobe might have been mislabeled, so they called me.
In the training yard at the ranch, Kobe showed he was outgoing and fearless—racing up to dogs of all shapes and sizes, jumping up and down to say hello. But when it came time to train, he showed me a different side of his personality. This was much more than the case of a dog who didn’t know anything. Yes, it was obvious he didn’t have any commands, but I’ve trained lots of dogs who came in the door with their experience at zero. The bigger issue with Kobe was that his lack of focus was so profound; even if he did know his commands, he still might not tune in long enough to show me. His attention was all over the place—the grass, the pedestal, the treats, the toys, the wall, my hand, my shirt, my shoes—it was like every single thing was competing for his attention every second of the day. If Kobe were a kid, he’d be the kind who never stops moving or who provides a running monologue of his experience. I could almost hear the thoughts racing through Kobe’s head: “Hey, a hand! Two hands! Did I see a treat? Look—a toy! And it squeaks! Whoa, a bird! A squirrel! A fly! A leaf! Dude, get outta my way with that leash. I’m busy!” And then he’d blow by me and on to the next distraction. This dog was incorrigible, and I could almost see how an inexperienced owner might think he could not be trained.
Lucky for Kobe, I had no intention of giving up. What this dog needed was control and focus, and as our hours training together added up, I started sensing a pattern that told me what else he needed. Kobe was undisciplined, for sure, but he was also headstrong and smart. People often think that because a dog is stubborn, he’s not intelligent, but the opposite is often true. A smart dog can anticipate what you want and, sometimes, beat you at your own game by figuring out a way to avoid it. That was part of what was going on between Kobe and me. I wanted him to play my game. He wanted to play his own.
In order to succeed with this dog, I was going to have to elevate his training to another level. First, I took control, putting him on a short leash and perching him on a training pedestal. The extra height made eye contact possible between us and helped keep his attention on me. Next, I broke out the treats. One thing about Kobe that did make him a good candidate for training was that he was totally, shamelessly food motivated. It didn’t matter much what treat I had—he wanted it.
The last step in turning this training around was something a little less conventional. Kobe needed to be surprised. Whenever my training got too predictable, he tried to turn the tables on me. And so I changed up my methods as I taught him the NO command, using multiple techniques to keep him guessing. That was when we finally reached a breakthrough. Kobe paid enough attention to actually learn the command instead of just fighti
ng against it. Once he’d figured out how to work with me, he was happy to master the command and earn rewards for his accomplishments. Equally important is that learning that command gave him a newfound respect for and interest in me. I’d surprised him, taught him something, and rewarded him for learning. From then on, he looked at me as someone worthy of his respect and not just his ill-behaved antics. The rest of his commands came a lot more easily.
Technique
Every once in a while I encounter a dog trainer who claims to “speak dog,” to have some magical insight into how to communicate with animals that the rest of us don’t. Who knows? Maybe there’s something to that, but I’ve never seen it. Nor has there ever been any scientific evidence of it. The truly great animal trainers I’ve met all over the world rely on one thing above all others to get results: technique. And knowing how to apply proper technique requires years of experience. The fact is the best dog trainers in the world are the most experienced at their craft. They’ve seen the issue they’re trying to solve hundreds of times before, so they know the exact technique to apply and the right moment to use it. It comes down to experience, plain and simple. After enough years of practice working effective techniques, these trainers develop instincts to match their skills—and then I guess it might almost look like they’ve pulled a Dr. Doolittle and learned to talk with the animals.
The bottom line is that dog training is a lot like martial arts in that it’s all about technique and conditioning. Learn the technique one day. Condition with it for days, weeks, and months. The best martial artists in history didn’t “speak” their craft. They became masters of it through a lot of training and practice. Eventually, when you work that steadily at anything, it becomes part of your lifestyle. Training our dogs helps them seamlessly blend into our everyday lives, living by the rules we’ve set.
Lucky Dog Lessons Page 6