Oh Behave!

Max, Lola, Roxie, Charlie, Pancake, Izzy, Suki! . . . When it comes to dogs, what’s in a name?

As it turns out, with the right training, quite a bit.

Your dog’s name can be a lot more than just the word you use to refer to him. With the right training, your dog’s name can serve as a cue to look at you. Getting dogs to pay attention to their humans around lots of distractions is one of the most common dog guardians’ challenges. Name training is the first step to teaching your dog to attend to and focus on you no matter where you are. Name training is also a terrific building block for teaching your dog to come to you when you call him.

To train your dog to look at you when you say his name all you need are a clicker and some treats he really likes. Small soft smelly treats work best because your dog can eat them quickly, which helps you get the most mileage out of a training session. Most importantly, use treats that your dog likes. (Every dog is different and just because one dog likes a certain type of treat doesn’t mean another dog will. A student in one of my group training classes had a puppy who would happily train for tiny pieces of apple! I tried giving my dog a piece of apple and he just sniffed it and walked away from me.)

This exercise rewards your dog for looking at you when you say his name, and will teach a newly adopted dog or pup his name if he doesn’t already know it. Your dog learns that looking at you when you say his name is a splendid thing to do because doing so means yummies are coming his way.

1. Do this exercise at home in a room where there’s not a lot of activity.
2. Have your clicker ready and a handful (about 15-20) of treats in one hand held behind your back, or in a treat pouch or in a pocket.
3. Say your dog’s name one time only in a happy upbeat voice. The moment your dog looks at you, click, then give him a treat. Be sure to click first, and then give the treat.
4. If your dog doesn’t look at you, don’t repeat his name. Instead, watch for any response to hearing his name. It might be a slight head turn, a pricking up of his ears, or a tail wag. Click the moment he responds and then feed him a treat.
5. If your dog does absolutely nothing when you say his name, try making kissy noises, clapping your hands, or using jolly talk to get his attention. The moment he responds click, then treat.
6. Continue the exercise until you’ve used up your handful of treats.

Do the exercise a couple of times a day for 2-3 minutes at a time. Practice at different times of day and in different rooms of the house.

It won’t take long for you to notice progress. Small head turns will soon become quite deliberate looks at you. Looks at you will very likely turn into actual approaches. (See what I mean about name training serving as a great foundation for training your dog to come when you call?)

When your dog is reliably looking at you at least 8/10 times when you say his name, kick the exercise up a notch:

• Randomly say your dog’s name when he’s not expecting it. Remember to click when he looks at you, then give him a treat.
• Ask a helper to do the exercise with you so your dog learns to respond to his name when other people say it.
• Gradually increase the level of environmental distractions when you do name training. Enlist a friend or family member to be the distractor. Their simple presence might be enough to distract your dog, or your helper can bounce a ball, squeak a squeaky toy, or jump around and act silly.
• Practice on leash walks and outdoors in an enclosed yard.

When your dog is looking at you 90% of the times that you say his name, treat him less often and phase in real life rewards. Treat him occasionally and randomly for looking at you in response to his name. Reward him at other times with other things he enjoys such as belly scratches, playtime with you, a special toy, or a long-term chewie like a bully stick or tendon. If you stop rewarding him altogether for looking at you, he will eventually stop doing the behavior.

Happy Training!

Training and fun may not seem like obvious bedfellows. I suspect many folks think of training as a bore, drudgery. But not only can training be fun, training and fun should go hand-in-hand. Training with old-school methods – yelling, leash jerks, physical force, shock collars, pain and punishment – is no fun for the dog. Punishment-based training often makes the dog fear its guardian/trainer. Because punishment is hard to do correctly, the dog often has no clear understanding of what behavior is “wrong.” While punishment may teach a dog what not to do, it doesn’t teach the dog what behavior is acceptable. Punishment-based training also undermines confidence and causes fearful and aggressive behavior to worsen.

Positive reinforcement training however, is reward-based; it rewards dogs for behaviors that humans like and want to see more of. By definition, rewards are enjoyable; the dog getting the reward feels good. Given that, positive training done the right way can’t help but be fun. The trainer rewards the dog for desirable behavior with stuff the particular dog finds rewarding. Depending on the dog, the behavior being trained and the environment, rewards range from a variety of yummy food treats, to playtime or socializing with dogs, to a walk in the park, to fun and games with humans. The trainer works at the stage that’s right for the individual dog, a strategy that minimizes dog and human stress and frustration. Instead of shutting behavior down, positive training teaches dogs to do alternative acceptable behaviors that are incompatible with the undesirable behavior.

Dogs trained using positive methods develop a strong positive association to and eagerly anticipate training. Because training activities predict rewards for the dog, he’s happy to train. Training’s not work, it’s the “FUN-tastic Training Game!”

Whether you’re teaching your dog to take a bow or stay on a mat while you cook dinner, positive training done correctly should feel less like work and a lot more like play. If you’re not having fun training your dog probably isn’t either. Common causes of frustration around training include:

The training exercise is too hard for the dog. If the exercise is too difficult, dogs get frustrated and lose interest in training. Backpedal and make the exercise a little easier. Make the exercise harder only when the dog’s getting the behavior right at the current level at least 8/10 times.

The rewards aren’t rewarding to the dog. Dogs are individuals with unique personalities and tastes. Just because Rover likes sweet potato doesn’t mean Fido does too. Find and train with rewards that your dog really likes.

Rewards aren’t sufficiently rewarding to the dog. Vinnie really likes small hard biscuits and will do many tricks in a row at home for one. But when out romping off-leash around lovely distractions like gopher holes and other dogs, if I want him to leave all that alone and come to me, I reward him with something he loves to make it worth his while. Using rewards your dog really loves in more distracting contexts keeps him interested in the Training Game.

It’s time for a break. You and your dog may have been at it too long. Dogs have short attention spans. A few 3-5 minute training sessions scattered throughout your day are far more effective than one long marathon session. If you’re prepared with your training game plan, treats and training setups you need, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of a brief session.

If you and your dog are in the doldrums about training, take an informed break. Check out the resources at www.trainyourdogmonth.com. You’re sure to come away inspired and with practical easy-to-apply information for a new Training Game plan.

If you’ve never trained your dog, there’s no time like the present. If it’s been some time since you trained your dog, brush up on his manners, teach him a new trick, or sign up for a positive training class. Here are a couple of websites dedicated to positive dog training and with loads of free information to get you started:

• The Bay Area’s own www.dogstardaily.com
• Karen Pryor’s Clicker Training site at www.clickertraining.com

Have fun training!