New Places!
This week I want to focus on taking your dog’s new skills on the road!
Many people do not realize that dogs do not generalize behaviors well. What does this mean? Well as a human if I teach you to read the word stop in the house at the kitchen table, you can then recognize it when you see it on a street sign and all the other places you see the word written. But with a dog, if I teach my dog the word “sit” in my living room, and then take my dog for a walk and ask him to sit, he very well might have any idea what I am talking about, because to him sit means when I am in the living room and you tell me to sit and hold a cookie over my head I sit but it only means that in that one place. So with dogs we need to take them out to new places and work on teaching them all of these behaviors mean the same thing.
The order you want to add new places should be strategic. Start with an area your dog frequent access to: front driveway/sidewalk, parking area near the house you walk by each day, park down the street or find a very quiet area with minimal distractions: empty church parking lot, shopping center parking lot on a day the shops are closed, gated off logging road, vacant lot, etc.
When you first get there don’t try to engage your dog. Let them explore the area, stand still and hold the end of the leash and let the dog look at and sniff whatever they please. Wait for your dog to get bored and when they look at you wondering why you are just standing there, begin to engage them with either a toy and some play, or a treat toss or two. Once your dog is engaging with you sneak in a few behaviors to your engagement. So ask for a sit, then resume playing once they do, ask for down, then resume playing when they do. Keep your session mostly play and engagement with their best known at home behaviors snuck into the play. See the video from Module 3 of the Get engaged class for starting engagement in a new place.
A little further down the page of module 3 is this next video on how to sneak the behaviors into your engagement games.
So your homework for this week is to find at least one new place and to try to get your dog to play with you, either using toys &/or treats, then see if you can get a sit, down (if they are fluent with it at home), and a super short successful stay.
If you are participating in this weeks group training class we will be once again working on furthering cooperative care, so be sure to practice that game where you hold the dog back and place the food in the bowl in front of them that we did in a previous group class. And also work on the chin rest which you can find more details about in Foundations Module 4.
Foundation Tricks
Hopefully you have had a chance to play around with the clicker training and box games to get a little experience with shaping. This week we will look at starting some of the foundation tricks that can be used to teach many behaviors. Next weekend’s classes we will play around with some of these tricks so I’m going to share with you the videos so you can get familiar with teaching these tricks. You can play with them during the week and then during class we can discuss the process and troubleshoot problems.
Pedestal Training: in the group classes you have already heard me reference pedestal training, so let’s look more at it. Why do it? It can help your dog learn better rear end awareness and coordination. It can strengthen your dog’s rear legs. It can improve heeling skills, help dogs learn to sit closer to you. Teaches pivoting skills, is a foundation for Orbit trick, helps a dog learn how to back up and do other rear leg driven tricks.
Pedestal Training is explained in more detail in the Tricks Module, click the link and scroll down to find written instructions.
Target training with a paw touch. We have done a lot of nose touch with our reactivity work, but for tricks and body mechanics we also want to work on paw touching targets. We can teach our dogs a lot more for building confidence and coordination if our dogs will touch a target with their paws and physically interact with objects.
More written instructions and details can be found in the Clicks & Tricks module.
Hold is one of the more challenging tricks to teach if your dog does not have a natural retrieve. I want to help get you started on this one early if you have a desire to teach your dogs a retrieve as it can take a bit to perfect this one. This is also in the clicks and tricks Module, all the way almost at the end, again because this is one of the more challenging tricks to teach. So hit the module and go all the way to the end for written instructions and details. The first step is to simply mark and reward any contact your dog makes with the item with their nose or mouth.
So your homework for this week is to do any of the following that interests you:
Get your dog standing on an object with their front feet
Click any movement with the back feet and reward with that head turned away position
Introduce your dog to a paw touch target (if you do nose targeting use a different looking target)
Click any paw touching of the target
Try to remove your hand from behind the target
Introduce your dog to an item to hold
Click and nosing or open mouth on the object
Walk with me
This week let’s look at the foundation steps for helping a dog learn how to walk with you. We like to start with focusing on what we want the dog TO DO, rather than wait for them to start pulling us down the street. So let’s look at the beginning steps of teach a dog to heel. While your end goal might not be for your dog to walk at your side, it is still a very good way to start teaching your dog how to move with you when we ask them to.
check out the following exercises from Foundation Module 2.
And let’s make sure we clean up our dog’s associations with being leashed and unleashed. If your dog loses their mind with excitement, or tries to run the other way when they see the leash we have some work to do. Your dogs should see having their leashes put on and off as a positive normal experience. If you see potentially problematic behaviors shaping into your leashing you want to fix those right away before they become habits. See these exercises from Foundations Module 3
For loose leash walking I prefer if possible to teach it using a long line so I am doing very little with the leash and actually rewarding for staying connected to me and following me. I like to use large empty parking lots or other large open areas. Parking lots are easier with dogs as you generally have less sniffing distractions as you can get with grass. The following video is also in Foundation Module 3.
These exercises may all seem a little bit basic and like review for you, and that’s ok. A great trainer loves revisiting the basics and making sure your foundations are strong. All year long we are going to be digging in deeper and deeper into helping our dogs to learn to LOVE walking by us. If your dogs already know how to walk with you show me a video of your dog both: walking next to you in heel position and also walking with you on a loose leash. If your dogs have it down, show me the follow my lead game above and you can put some distractions on those things you are walking around, maybe set some toys on one chair and some treats on another of the chairs.
All work and no play, no way!
This week we are going to look at ways to really make our play with our dogs not just about energy and excitement, but about shaping this for training.
The first thing we need is that when we Give our dogs a toy they WANT to return to us. It’s not about getting the toy back, it’s about getting the dog back! So don’t go straight for the toy, go for engaging with the dog. The following exercise from the Get Engaged Class Module 2 is an exercise to help our dogs return to us with a toy. My general rule of thumb is: if I have a pup that does not yet return to me with a toy, either the dog or the toy is on a leash. I need to be able to shape the action that I want.
Many puppies don’t come to you knowing how to play fetch or chase a ball so we can actually teach a puppy that doesn’t have any interest in playing fetch to love the game, if we love the game and make it fun, puppies are all about action so if we are engaging with them and showing them the games we like to play we can shape in a love for any game. This next exercise you can find more details in the Foundations Class Module 4
For our puppies that have a lot of drive and excitement for play already we want to be sure to be building self control with the games as well. Play is not fun when it ends up sending our puppies into an over aroused crazy state of mind, we need them thinking and playing. So this game is a favorite for dogs that love to play. If you are still trying to build interest in the games don’t play this one quite yet. Instead keep focusing on increasing interest. You can find this game in Get Engaged Module 3
Let’s see if you can use some of our play exercises to reward the behaviors you have been working on so far this month! Let me see you:
Call your dog and reward with a toy
Have your dog sit & reward with a toy
Have your dog stay & reward with a toy.
If you dog does not yet play with a toy then in place of the toy I want you to use something that holds your dogs treats that you can toss that they can run to, that you can then help them get the food out. Keep this item attached to a string or leash so they don’t run away with it. It’s ok that they still don’t tug or fetch this item, just having the food coming from this object instead of you is laying some foundation for play!
You can post your attempts with the above as a comment under the Academy Group post where I announce this classroom update as there are no specific videos for you to go find and post under.
Troubleshooting: What if you have a dog that likes to play ball but won’t give it back to you, even if you have a second ball?
Come!
Come is the most important exercise we can teach a dog without question!
To perfect a recall we have to have perfect working pieces in all of the following categories
Instant response to hearing their name, no matter the environment
A strong desire to move to us as quickly as possible
An ability to ignore all other things on their way to us
A desire to stay connected to us once they get to us
To teach a great come command we need to actually teach all four of these pieces!
Since we have started I’ve had you working on your engagement so we can make that last bit very strong! Now let’s start to work on that first part. The instant response to their name. First order of business try not to use their name as part of a correction, don’t holler your dog’s name at them when you are angry with what they are doing. Don’t make their name a negative and don’t make it a nagging bit of micromanaging. Make it POWERFUL! If your dog loves toys this is the perfect reward for a head swing.
Don’t worry about the return to you yet, and don’t worry about adding the come cue yet, just condition their name to mean treat or toy is incoming. You can use a treat too as long as your dog is close enough for you to throw it to them for a catch.
I also want to build a lot of value for my dog’s response to their name when they are not expecting it. So when my dogs laying around the house and not distracted I am going to practice calling them. Notice in the video below I have a nice container of treats that’s just on my table. That way I can call BEFORE I reach for the treats and I can wait until he is to me before rewarding. When I am training a dog I just have some containers like this laying around my house in areas I hang out in. Hot tip: in the US Talenti Gelato jars are awesome for this, and you have to eat the gelato first so win/win.
OK Let’s see those head swings outside and surprise calls at come.
Grrrrrrrrr ruff
We have a lot of reactive dogs in the academy this year so we are going to be talking about ways to work on things with a reactive dog. Since we have a lot more time to work we are not going to race through the modules, but rather spend some time putting a more solid foundation in place so that when you are working on reactivity you have a LOT of skills in your tool box.
Now the beautiful thing is, even if you don’t have a reactive dog all of these skills are super helpful for any dog to learn! They help with just excitable dogs, with worried dogs, help your leash walking, recall and stay foundations. So while these are framed in the concept of reactivity, I teach these skills to all of the dogs I work with.
If you attended the live class this weekend you will see we are starting with three key foundations:
place training
target touching your hand
Emergency u-turns
Place Training
Shape using the same techniques we used for the box game so the dog offers place instead of you having to make them go to their spot.
Have treats and clicker ready (can use marker word if you don’t have coordination to hold three things at once
Hold your place mat
Set mat down and immediately reward the moment your dog looks at or steps on the mat
Follow the shaping techniques explained in the video to shape your dog to offer a sit or down on their spot
start with dog on place
release dog to come to you
feed 4-5 treats in steady pace to hold their focus the entire time
end by having dog place again
Place a treat between thumb and palm
Present open palm
Mark when dog’s nose touches hand
Give treat
Repeat
Add Cue when dog is reliably touching open palm with nose, add cue as dog touches at first and then move cue earlier as they continue to succeed
Fade lure by sometimes having food between thumb and palm and sometimes not (when you do not have it there, still mark and feed.
Find more written instructions on Reactive Dog Module 2
For small dogs you can also teach them to nose touch a physical target that you could then use to shape them to touch your shoelaces or your pant leg so you don’t have to always bend over. I have trained several smaller reactive agility dogs to touch their owners shoelaces as a game, so they sit waiting surrounded by other dogs and are nose bonking their handlers shoe without caring about the dogs surrounding them.
Emergency U turn & Tap and Turns
Put out or toss out a distraction you can move towards
When your dog is not focused on you, stop
Extend your hand with a treat in it towards your dog
Give a verbal signal (do not use come)
When your dog looks at you back up drawing them to you with that extended hand
Feed and have a fun party when they reach you
We can teach the same game also adding in a physical cue for those moments when our dogs are struggling to hear our voices. This is NOT something you do during a reaction or when your dog is over threshold as physical touch at that moment could spark a redirected aggression if your dog feels something unexpected. So this is just for when your dog is staring and needs a tap on the shoulder to hear you. Your tap should always be gentle! This is not a hard poke. It is like you would tap someone’s shoulder to get their attention.
Work as above, but you add the touch on their side or hip with the verbal cue as you stop
This is the same game focused on using it for recall training. If your dog is not reactive you can use the “come” cue.
In the weeks to come we are going to be talking a lot about how to set the scene for great reactive dog training. Please keep working on the engagement exercises from last week. The key to great training is an engaged connected dog with a solid relationship with our available reinforcers.
Let's get started!
So by now hopefully you had a chance to look around the academy modules and get a sense of the layout. The modules are designed so you can work your way through on your own pace. You can work them one at a time or all at once, all the different course support each other. I will be with these posts be giving you the blend of exercises of how I would work through the program with a dog.
Engagement & Play comes first!
Exercise 1 from Get Engaged:
We want to build a very strong relationship with our reinforcements , we want to bring emotion and connection into every reinforcement we give our dogs so we can strengthen our connection and bond with our dog.
Play is the secret language of dogs and the best way to unlock all the ways you can use them to overcome distractions and channel prey drive and put it to work for you instead of against you.
Exercise 1 from Foundations:
We want our play to be cooperative and about use connecting using a toy, not about us competing for possession of the same toy.
Clicker Training
While it’s not required that you use clickers to train your dog for this class I want you to know how to use this valuable tool if you want to learn how. Clicker training can be a super valuable tool to help us isolate exact behaviors we want to reinforce. Clicker training can be a wonderful way to help boost a dog’s confidence which can help a lot for working on reactivity and anxiety issues.
Check out the Foundations Module 1 for videos and instructions on introducing your dog to a clicker and let’s start with the Box Game. If you have already gotten your dog used to a clicker and have already played the box game pick another trick from the Clicker Training Module for us to work on.
Homework for week 1
1) Show me your dog’s sit & down rewarding each one with engaged food rewards.
2) Let me see you playing (or attempting to play) with your dog, use two of the same toys if play is new to you both.
3) Let’s see you working on the box game or a trick with your pup.
For uploading video homework to FB tips:
Upload a short video of each exercise instead of one long one, short videos are faster to upload and easier for me to watch and comment. No videos over 5 minutes!
Using a Youtube unlisted playlist is a nice way to keep your videos all in one place for your own progress, then you can put the link for the video in the comments on the FB group. Don’t post videos to the main feed as it will quickly get buried and I might not see it. Post comments under the exercises found in “units”.
Don’t worry if these exercises seem very basic. We are setting a baseline and looking at our foundations.
Returning members, I would love to see your pups new starting point as well!
Zoom room is live
The zoom room is active and has the links for the first live zoom sessions.
The sessions have two available times to meet the needs of multiple time zones. Please comment below if you are NOT on FB and plan to attend so I can keep you updated. If you don’t see a space to comment, click on the title of the post to take you to the post’s page where you should see a comment box at the bottom
What to do:
make sure you are familiar with zoom, if you have not yet used zoom send me an email dawn@thehikerpup.com and I will help you get familiar.
look at your set up and figure out where you can set your phone or computer so I can see you and your dog in your camera view if it is a live training class.
make sure you have had your pup out for a walk so they don’t need to potty during the session.
keep yourself muted unless asking or answering a question. if you do not want to be recorded you can turn your screen off.
Welcome to the Academy!
Getting started
Facebook?
You get the most out of the academy if you choose to opt in to using the private FB groups to post homework and observe others work and see the commentary. It’s not required and all content is housed here on the site but it does make for a more complete experience.
First join the main Academy Group. When it asks you for a password: 2021HPA
https://www.facebook.com/groups/hikerpupacademy2021
Once you are a member of the Academy it will automatically approve you for all the other class groups. You can find those Links on the Facebook link page:
The Academy doesn’t start until Feb 1st but feel free to head to the FB Group and start introducing yourselves so we can get to know each other before we start.
The FB groups are set up with learning units so you will see the exercises from the class content in the unit where you can then upload your homework video to.
Navigating the Academy
Once class is live the home page when you log in will have a link to this classroom, as well as to a master directory. The directory page has links to all of the other classes, video playlists, and all you need to make your way around the site.
Classes
The academy includes access to all of the classes I currently offer. You will find in the directory links (I will add a link here once class is live) to each of the class modules and Classroom blogs and the Facebook link above will take you to their FB discussion groups. As an Academy member you have the choice whether you want to work that class content on your own pace or wait until a class is running. I will offer three to four series of the classes during the year (meaning the classes will open to the public for ala cart purchase and they will have access to that class Facebook group.) The other option is to bounce between classes and work on things that compliment each other while progress through the year. I will be offering those layout suggestions here in this classroom.
Zoom Room
Throughout the year we will have regular Zoom sessions, I record them so folks who cannot watch live can view later. You can find Invitations and Recordings in the zoom room, I will add the link here once the class is live, and you can also use the directory on the welcome page. Zoom sessions will be a mix of following the content we are working on together and live Q & A’s, some topic related and some open topic.
You have the option of purchasing private zoom sessions at a discounted price, I will share that discount code once we get going.
Posting homework
Homework videos are limited to 5 minutes per submission. You can post follow up videos to the same exercises as we work together to adjust what you and your dog need. Capturing decent footage and editing is crucial to being able to best help you. Above is a video with some basic editing tips using iMovie which is on all iPhones and is pretty easy to figure out. You can also use editing apps like InShot and others, just be sure that you select a view that allows me to see both you and your dog.
I’ll be honest, a lot of people find this aspect of the class difficult because it is not easy to show yourself making mistakes and many of us don’t like seeing ourselves on the screen and prefer being behind it. I totally get it. I will say that those that take the leap and do it, get used to that and find that the benefit is so worth being brave. But you are not required to submit homework videos. I just can’t give you personal feedback if you don’t.
Shooting footage
This is tricky! Especially for the reactive dog class since triggers can pop up unexpectedly. But first let’s work on easier set ups and how to film for best use in class.
find a location with something you can put your phone on, a park bench, a fence, a wall, a curb, anything flat above ground level.
Tap your screen so your camera flips and you can see yourself so you know if you are in view or not.
Try to have the camera set so I can see you and your dog! Videos that just show me your dog’s adorable face are cute and lovely, but they don’t show me what it is that you are doing and what your dog is or isn’t responding to.
Keep in mind when you set up things like, is the lens above the grass. Am I standing in front of it the whole time so all I see is you legs and not the dog 😂
helpers are amazing! Pay your friends and family to follow you and film for a few minutes, just show them how to be sure to get all of you and the dog in the shot.
Equipment
I film most all of my videos with an iPhone. Smartphones make it easy to film, edit and upload.
I strongly suggest you invest in a small tripod. They make little portable ones that fit in a pocket that you can set up anywhere, and they are not very expensive.
Many of the tripods also come with remotes so you can start and stop the camera so you have less editing to do later.
If you have a smartphone you should be able to do all your editing and uploading on it.
Editing videos
watch the video for tips.
Please cut down the unnecessary bits and the start and end of you turning the camera on and off. Most all cell phones have the option of you editing your clips from your library to cut that part out even without iMovie.
If you have long periods of dead space where nothing happens, speed the video up, or simply cut that piece out.
If you have to film from farther away and we can barely see you, you can zoom the footage in.
Posting videos
again, 5 minutes or less. Most of the exercises I can see what I need to see in as little as 30-45 seconds and 2-3 minute videos are usually more than enough.
Post the video in the comment section of the exercise you are working on in that classes FB page.
I strongly recommend you consider using Youtube or Vimeo for uploading your videos, then you can just post the share link in the comments. This way you have these videos in your own library forever to come back and reference later. Both platforms offer the option of making your videos unlisted so no one can see them without the link.
You can post directly to FB comments using their uploading features, but I find they fail to load sometimes and that can be very frustrating. This is especially the case with longer videos. Under a minute is usually great on FB.
If you can’t figure it out ask for help!!! Either message me or leave a comment and someone can probably help you sort it out.