Service Dog Archives - Page 4 of 34

Is Your Dog Guessing? Cues are Important! (Video)

October 24, 2014

Does your dog KNOW what the word “sit” means? Or is he guessing?

Does your dog go through all the behaviors he knows when you ask him for something?

Sometimes, when you ask your dog to do something, does he look at you like you’re speaking a foreign language?

All of those things are related to cues — the way you ask a dog to do something. We’ve talked a lot about cues here because they’re so important. What makes a good cue; a post with video on how to use cues to ask your dog to do something for you; how cues get your dog to do what you ask; and the basics of cues.

To illustrate what it looks like when a dog is learning how to differentiate between cues — when they’re really thinking about what you’re saying and actually listening — here’s a video I shot in 2011 with a very young puppy learning the difference between “kennel” and “mat.”

That pup is Sweet Baby Caysun, one of the service puppies in training that has graced us with her presence. She’s now a working girl — working as a diabetic alert dog.

You’ll notice that Caysun’s just a pup when I’m teaching her to distinguish between the cues. That’s the beauty of clicker training — even very young dogs can learn, and very quickly!

Here’s what you need to know:

I’d taught the two behaviors separately and put them both on cue.
The dog knew both “kennel” and “mat” behaviors by themselves. I could say the word — just once — and Caysun could make the correct choice if just the mat or just the kennel was available.
I was confident that the dog had a very good chance of learning to listen to the words coming out of my mouth.

How to find out if your dog is guessing.

It’s easy to find out if your dog is guessing. Start with two very well known behaviors. Make sure you only ask once for the behavior. (Not: “sit, sit, sit, SIT!”) Alternate between the two known cues. Click and treat every correct response. Ignore any incorrect responses.

Talk back! What questions do you have about cues or cueing? Have you taught your dog any creative cues?

Teaching an Advanced Stay

September 18, 2014

Sit. Stay.

The doorbell is ringing, the dog is barking. You struggle with your dog, hanging onto his collar with one hand, unlocking and opening the door with the other, holding on for dear life so the dog doesn’t bolt out the door or jump on the person outside.

Or. Imagine this.

The doorbell is ringing. You ask your dog to sit and to stay. You walk to the door, dog sitting calmly behind you, sign for the package, thank the delivery person, and close the door.

BAM! That’s how it’s done!

Teaching your dog a solid, advanced stay isn’t hard. First, of course, you have to teach your dog how to stay (see our article on how to do that). Once your dog knows the basics, all you have to do is add the three D’s: duration (how long he can stay), distractions (how crazy his surroundings can be), and distance (how far away you can be).

Set your dog up for success.

Start by working at a level you know he can accomplish. If you know you can take a few steps away, start there! Don’t start by trying to walk 10 feet away. Introduce just two components at a time. For instance, work on distractions and distance, without adding in duration. YET.

Levi’s service dog training.

Levi is going to be in public a lot. Distractions abound. The number of hands that reach out to pet him while he’s shopping with me could be overwhelming if Levi didn’t have a good stay. If we don’t perfect this now, he could leave his person’s side, thereby breaking the attention he has on his handler (someone who needs his help, like a person with diabetes or someone in a wheelchair, for instance).

Levi’s goals.

By our next training session with the service dog organization, our goal is to have Levi holding a stay while food or toys are tossed near and at him, while people are calling his name and talking to him, and while I walk away from him and interact with someone else.

We’ll be working on these goals over the next few weeks so stay tuned for more Levi and more stays! Here’s a quick pic of sweet Caysun, one of our previous pups in training. She’s in a mall, handling that stay like nobody’s business!

Talk back! Leave a comment and let us know a situation in which the stay could come in real handy.

Doggie Birthdays: Miss Monti is 2!

July 30, 2014

Do you celebrate your dog’s birthday?

Monti’s a service dog in-training that we welcomed into our home in the fall of 2012.

Miss Monti just turned 2 years old. She was a handful! My word, that dog was always getting herself into one predicament or another.

She’s now back at the service dog organization, so we celebrated her birthday in spirit here at our house. She’s in training to be a diabetic alert dog and we miss the heck out of her! There are some dogs that come along that hold a special place and this girl’s one of them.

She fit in the minute she came into the house. Here she’s using (sort of) Lily and Nemo to assist her napping pose.

I think she’s one of the most photogenic dogs we’ve ever raised.

In addition to her good looks, she’s always been good at getting herself into “situations.”

Once we came home and she had her head stuck in the toilet brush cleaner holder thing. And didn’t care a lick, either. She’s unflappable, that one.

But when she looks like this, how can anyone resist?

Happy 2nd birthday, sweet Monti! I wish for you lots more birthdays and a wonderful new partner with whom to share your [crazy, hectic, chaotic, and never dull] life!

Talk back! Do you celebrate doggie birthdays in your house? How?

Do This, Not That! Video

July 24, 2014

It’s impossible to get rid of a behavior.

It can only be replaced with a different, more acceptable behavior.

Dog training really is that simple, I swear.

Focus on what you want your dog to do instead of complaining about all the things he does wrong. Make a list! Have two columns: One with “Good Behavior,” and another with “Get Rid Of.” Go ahead, get your complaints out first — write down everything your dog does that drives you batty. Now, and here’s the important part, write down something that the dog can (should, whatever) do instead of doing the thing that annoys you next to every complaint you wrote.

All that’s left is to simply teach your dog how to do the desired thing, and reward him handsomely for doing it.

Check out our YouTube channel for lots of dog training videos on the basic obedience skills and get to teaching!

Talk back!

Honestly, how many of you didn’t hear a word I said because watching Levi was so much more entertaining? Talk about a ham — he had a bee in his bonnet during that taping, didn’t he?

Service Dog Schooner is Going to High School!

July 18, 2014

Raising service dogs is good work if you can get it.

I mean, it’s tough work for sure — house training, teaching good manners, public outings that go awry, the list goes on. But I wouldn’t keep doing it if it weren’t loaded with good stuff, too.

One of the best things is seeing the dog I raised working with his new partner. (I originally typed “my dog,” but had to change it. It’s a little difficult to make that mental shift sometimes. He’s not really mine, of course, and I know that, but I quite often let myself forget that, just for a little while.) He’s all Tabitha’s — and she’ll be all his. It’s impossible not to fall head over heels for that boy, I can vouch for that. What a great team they’ll be!

Anyway, I’m all kinds of excited for Schooner.

He’s going to be a senior in high school this year!

Can you imagine that dog in a high school?! It makes me giggle just thinking about it. He’ll love it. They’ll love him. It’ll be one big lovefest.

I’m not saying the entire road will be easy. There will be moments for both Schooner and his new partner, Tabitha, that’ll make them both think “What am I doing?!” Fortunately, those moments pass quickly and are crowded out by the “How did I ever get along without you?” thoughts.

It’s quite a gift to have the opportunity to watch the partnership take place and I’m grateful to Tabitha and her family for allowing me be a little part of this.

Go on, Schoons, rule the school, my friend!

P.S. I want to see your high school graduation picture!

Perfecting the Down – Video

July 14, 2014

We’ve been working for the last few weeks on improving Levi’s down.

He’s a service dog in-training and his behavior is held to a little higher standard because he needs to work in extreme circumstances. His behavior needs to be good at the mall, at a concert, in a doctor’s office, at the park, and yes, at the grocery store, too.

After identifying the parts of his “down” that needed improvement, we developed a simple, straightforward training plan.

You’ve watched the training plan unfold over the last several articles and I’m proud to present our final product. The problems weren’t overwhelming, but they do often give dog owners a headache.

Too often, the dog is accused of ignoring his owner, being stubborn, or just not listening.

Hopefully you’ve seen that none of those things are true, and that the answer lies in some good, clean, clicker training.

Menu

Service Dog