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Puppy Biting Solved

January 30, 2014

If you have a puppy, you are probably acutely aware of just how sharp those little puppy teeth are!

My goodness, who knew puppy teeth could cause so much damage and even cause bleeding!? Thankfully, this is completely normal, albeit unpleasant, puppy behavior. And the good news is that now is the best time to teach your puppy how to have a gentle mouth.

Puppies need to chew. Puppies need to bite.

It’s what puppies do. This is your opportunity to provide clear feedback to your puppy on just how much his puppy teeth hurt so your pup can learn to inhibit his bite.

Check out this short video (with adorable yellow Lab, Deacon) for ideas to help you stop your pup from biting roughly (and see the tips below!).

Here’s how to curb your pup’s painful nipping.

Categorize the bites — 4 = blood! 3 = indented skin (you’re surprised there isn’t any blood). 2 = firm pressure. 1 = gentle teeth on skin without any pressure.
Your reaction will never change, regardless of which step you’re on.
Have a couple of toys within reach (you may need to leave a toy in each room of the house to make this easier for you) so you can substitute a toy for your skin.
The first week of the program, you’re going to react only to the 4s. When your pup give you a 4, say “OW!” and stand up and leave. That’s it — just stand up and leave. No lectures, no grabbing the muzzle, no squealing. Just leave.
During that first week, you’ll also get lots of 3s, 2s, and 1s. Simply offer your pup a toy when you get those bites.
After Week 1, you should notice a decrease in the number of 4s. This is good news! Now, you’re going to react the same way to the 3s and the 4s “OW!” and leave. If you find that you’re squealing when you say “Ow!,” you can skip that part and just leave.
After about a week, the 3s should be reduced (just like the 4s did the week before) and in Week 3, you’re going to do the “Ow!” for the 2s (and the occasional 3s and 4s).
Lather, rinse, repeat until your pup has as gentle a mouth as you need.

Things that don’t work to teach your pup to stop biting.

Putting your hand over his muzzle, staring him in the face, and saying “NO!” This doesn’t work and will teach your pup to dislike your handling him around his face.
Shoving your thumb (or fist) into his mouth as he’s biting. I sometimes wonder where on earth people get these ideas, but I hear this one enough to mention it here. Don’t do this!
Turning him over until he “submits.” Again, way outdated advice. If you’d like to teach your pup to fear you, then do this as that’s the only thing this old-fashioned advice is good for.

Avoid these things while teaching your pup not to bite.

Roughhousing with your hands. You can roughhouse later in your dog’s life (if your dog likes that sort of thing) after he completely understands bite inhibition. Roughhousing with a dog who understands bite inhibition is actually fun — most of my dogs enjoy roughhousing and are quite gentle with their mouths, which makes them a joy to play with.
Letting kids play unsupervised with the pup. For so many reasons this a huge no-no. Kids need constant supervision with your pup, no matter how good the kids are with the dog or vice versa. It’s just smart parenting.

Puppy biting is an important phase in your puppy’s life.

While most of us find it annoying, it’s the time to teach your pup how to use his teeth gently. Follow these easy steps and your crazy puppy will be a calm puppy in a matter of weeks.

Yellow Lab Stars in Budweiser Super Bowl Commercial

January 29, 2014

Nothing like a showcasing the bond between people and animals to make a killer commercial.

Thanks for ruining my makeup this morning, Budweiser ad guys!

It’s hard to imagine improving upon those majestic Clydesdale horses that Budweiser so beautifully shows off in their annual Super Bowl ads. But adding a puppy to the mix — a yellow Labrador puppy — definitely amps up the “awww” factor exponentially. This year’s Budweiser commercial is especially meaningful because I’ve got a special yellow Labrador that shares my life, my Tango. That cute little yellow Labrador in the picture above is my Tango when he was being raised to be a service dog.

It seems that I’m always turning in a service puppy a month or so before the Super Bowl and maybe that’s why I’m especially vulnerable (and dissolve into sobs) when I see these commercials.

This year’s commercial (below) is pretty amazing:

http://youtu.be/uQB7QRyF4p4

Last year’s commercial hit me especially hard because I’d just turned in yet another puppy and was feeling the post turn-in blues. Last year’s commercial really gets the bond between people and animals and is good in it’s own right:

http://youtu.be/E0HI4DAmVDo

What do you think?

Another hit for Budweiser? What are some of your favorite animal themed commercials?

Dog Nail Trims: The Beginning

January 25, 2014

How many of you love trimming your dog’s nails?

How many of you have a dog who loves having his nails trimmed?

Probably not many, no matter which question. Many dog owners are scared to trim their dog’s nails, but it’s something that must be done for both the comfort and the health of your dog. And no one enjoys having their leg ripped with their dog’s paw as he playfully jumps on them.

Many dogs exhibit discomfort as soon as you pick up their paw. If you want your dog to enjoy having his nails trimmed, you’re going to have to start with getting him comfortable with just having his paws handled. So that’s where we start.

Below the video are the steps I’m using with Schooner to help him get more comfortable with simple paw touches.

Step 1: Get your supplies ready.

Start with really delicious treats. I’m using summer sausage and colby jack cheese for Schooner. Have a comfortable, cushy bed on the floor for your dog to relax onto.

Step 2: Touch a paw.

Touch your dog’s paw gently. As soon as you touch, click (mouth click or a “yip” like in the video) and immediately deliver the delicious goody.

Step 3: Allow the dog to control the pace of the session.

If your dog wants to get up and leave, let him. It’s his choice. If that happens, what he’s telling you is you were going too far, too quickly. Next training session, go slowly. Treat more frequently. Your goal is that the dog wants to stay in the training session with you because he’s enjoying it.

Step 4: Keep practicing!

Side note: Interestingly, Schooner showed sensitivity in this video to one of his front paws being touched. As I reviewed other video we shot that same day, he’s also showing sensitivity on that front leg. He’s since recovered from whatever injury he had, but the sensitivity of his paw wasn’t just related to my touching his paw, but even to him standing on that leg.

Train Your Dog Month: Getting Your Dog to Behave in the Real World

January 24, 2014

Since the beginning of January, we’ve talked a lot about what to train your dog, why to train, how to train, and have even given you some ideas on how to get started training. Now, as your training has progressed, you need to “real-life” your dog’s skills.

The picture above was taken at a dog training conference dinner. Tango has perfected a real-life version of settle (which means lie down and relax, no matter what’s going on around you). At the dinner, there were other dogs, dinner was being served, and there was a speaker on stage complete with microphone and applause. There was a a lot going on. Yet Tango handled it with ease and actually went to sleep. It’s not out of reach — you can teach your dog to do it, too!

What’s “Real Life?”

Real life is what happens in your everyday life — usually real life means distractions (the doorbell rings), distance (how far away can you be from the dog), and duration (how long can the dog keep doing whatever you’re asking). So: real life = distractions, distance, and duration, a.k.a. the three “Ds.”

Here’s how I taught a service dog to lay quietly while incorporating distractions, duration, and distance.

Know that you can apply these principles to any behavior, not just laying quietly on a mat. You can use the information to help “real life” anything you’d like your dog to do.

There are several steps involved when creating a training plan.

Step One: Define precisely what the finished behavior look like.

What does the finished behavior look like? The dog is able to lie quietly (preferably sleep) on his mat for 45 minutes in a crowded room regardless of the noise level (or the lack of noise), foot traffic, or other distractions.

Step Two: Determine the skills your dog needs to be able to accomplish the behavior.

What does the dog need to learn? He already knows to go to his mat and lie down on cue: when I say “mat” he goes to his mat and lays down. So the skill is there, but we need to improve two things: this behavior in public settings and we also need to improve duration (how long can he do this behavior).

Step Three: Teach your dog the skills (the components of the behavior) he needs to accomplish the behavior.

What skills does the dog already have? He doesn’t need to learn any additional skills – he can already go to his mat and lay down. We need to work on two variables: distractions and duration.

Step Four: Create a training plan.

A good training plan breaks the behavior(s) into very small, easily accomplished steps, and should include distractions, duration, and distance. The settle training plan for the dog looks like this:

Add Duration

I want the dog to stay on the mat longer before he gets his click and treat. Without changing Distance or Distractions, I will simply delay my click for two seconds. It looks like this: I say “mat.” The dog goes to his mat and lies down. I wait two seconds. I click and treat (throwing the treat off the mat so he gets off the mat). I want at least ten successes at the two-second level before I ask for more time. My end goal would be fifteen seconds. Now that you’ve accomplished this goal, you’ll drop duration out of the picture while you go onto the next step

Add Distraction

My job is to make it easy enough for the dog that he’s able to notice the distraction, but still be able to get to the mat and lay down.

In the beginning, to add a distraction I might tap my toes while I say “mat.” The instant the dog lies on the mat, I click and toss the treat off the mat. (Remember, we’re relaxing the requirement of Duration while we introduce Distractions.). Again, I’ll repeat this Distraction ten times to be sure the dog really has the concept before I increase the distraction.

Next time, I’ll clap my hands when I say “mat.” Other distractions can include: a ringing doorbell, someone running through the house, my body position (kneeling, laying on the floor, standing facing the opposite direction, waving my hands in the air, etc.).

This also includes changing locations. I would start inside the house, then move outside (at my house), then to a public indoor location, then a public outdoor location. My goal is that the dog can go to his mat in a crowded public location both outdoors and indoors.

Add Distance

Because we’re introducing a new criterion (Distance), we’re going to relax the other two (Duration and Distraction). So we’re back inside the house with no Distractions, and we’re not going to require that the dog stays on the bed for any length of time.

I’ll start off asking “mat” from my regular position. When he does the behavior and I click and toss the treat off the mat, I’ll take half a step backward while he’s eating the treat. I’ll again say “mat.” If he lays on the mat (and doesn’t inch forward to try to be close to me), I’ll click and treat. I’ll ask for this behavior from this distance ten times in a row before taking another half step backward. My goal is that I can say “mat” from across the room and the dog can walk away from me and go to the mat and lay down.
Once I have all three pieces of the puzzle (Distraction, Duration, and Distance), I can begin putting them together.

I’ll choose two to work with first and I’ll keep both of them at their simplest levels. For instance, if I work on Distance and Duration, I’ll be one step away from the mat when I cue “mat” and I will click him after he’s been on the mat for one second.

Let me know —

What behavior do you think you’ll work on with your dog? Have you already gotten some success with “real-lifing” anything your dog already does?Leave a comment and let me know!

Service Dog Training: Our New Charge, Levi

January 20, 2014

Meet Levi, our newest service pup in-training.

He’s about 10.5 weeks old and cute as a button. He’s a Labrador retriever from service dog parents. He was bred specially to be a service dog and we have high hopes for this boy.

I picked him up on Thursday evening and we made the 3-hour trek to the service dog organization before dawn on Friday so the trainers could meet Levi. He came from a breeding cooperative made up of several service dog agencies.

Levi is part of the western themed class.

He’s named after Levi Strauss, of course. The Strauss family had a thriving business in New York and decided to open a West Coast branch of the dry goods business in San Francisco, which was the commercial hub of the California Gold Rush. Levi was chosen to represent the family and he took a steamship for San Francisco, arriving in early March 1853, where he joined his sister’s family. The doggie version of Levi joins Annie Oakley, Stetson, Bolo, and others who are all within about 4 months of one another.

We puppy tested him to make sure he was a solid young pup.

Part of he initial puppy test involves presenting several novel objects to the pup and noting his reactions. Ideally, the pup won’t mind any of the objects or, if startled, we’re looking for a speedy recovery and then curiosity toward the unfamiliar object.

After raising Schooner, the Great Dane, it’s fun to be back in the familiar land of chow hounds. Food is a powerful motivator for the Labrador retrievers and makes for some really quick learning. He’s integrating gradually into the dog family on schedule. The other dogs don’t love him yet — and will very often get up and move away when he comes near — but it’s good, steady progress.

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