Teach

Shut Up and Train

As I creep closer to my next Big Birthday, I’ve come to realize that just cutting a few calories and walking the dog isn’t going to do what I need (which is to reduce the jiggly bits). I reluctantly, recalcitrantly, grudgingly, and unenthusiastically started running. I’ve been running a little over two years. I started out hating it. HATING IT.

Ew, it was awful. I ran just to get it over with. I ran so I could have the rest of the day without the threat of the run hanging over me. Run days were awful. I was grumpy. I started slow (with hate in my heart) with Couch to 5K. It wasn’t as awful as having my wisdom teeth pulled, but it was definitely worse than my annual physical exam.

Anyway, I now love running. LOVE IT. I’m one of those people that used to mystify me: love running? Get real. No one, and I mean no one loves running. Ah, but now I do. And because I fly my nerd flag proudly, I research the hell out of anything and everything – and running is not exempt.

Which is how I found Beth Ridson’s blog Shut Up and Run (SUAR). I’m a blogger (obvi) and I love to read other people’s blogs, especially when they’re not related to dog training. So I found Ms. Ridson’s blog (who has no idea I’m writing about her or that she inspired this post) and was immediately hooked on her no-nonsense mantra and wicked sense of humor. Plus: running!

So for this month’s newsletter, I’m borrowing her sentiment and I’m coming on strong with Shut Up and Train (Your Dog). I’m busting your “I can’t train my dog because…” excuses right here, right now. More myth busting here.

Excuse #1: No Time.

That’s baloney. We all have the same 24 hours in a day. No one gets more, no one gets less. How you spend them, now that’s up to you. Short on time? Train your dog when you’re brewing your coffee or tea. Toasting a bagel? Train your dog! Waiting for the kids to get their soccer clothes on and get in the car? Train your dog!

How: Keep some shelf-stable treats around the house so you can do some on-the-run training. You don’t need a 15 minute block of time! You need about 30 seconds. If you don’t have 30 seconds, you’re in trouble, Jack.

Excuse #2: Stubborn Dog.

Another claim I’m going to call BS on. There are no stubborn dogs. There are dogs that have been (1) taught to listen only if you have food, (2) don’t completely understand what you’re asking, (3) are too distracted, or (4) haven’t been taught what to do. Shut up and train and watch your stubborn dog disappear.

Excuse #3: Never Prepared.

This is an easy one to fix. If you’re willing to train your dog, but just find yourself unorganized and unprepared, I have your fix. Make a list of when and where you’d like to train your dog. Maybe you’d like to teach your dog how to greet guests politely. Great. Keep your dog’s leash near the door. Put some treats in a closed container there, too, while you’re at it. Now, whenever someone comes to the door, you’re ready to train!

Excuse #4: Don’t Know What to Train

I get this one. I know I need to do running things, but not sure what things I should be doing, so I don’t do anything. I hear mention of speed drills, tempo runs, and all kinds of things I don’t know anything about. Doing nothing is bad. Very bad. For runners and for dog owners. For dogs, basic manners build a good foundation for all kinds of advanced and fancy tricks later on. Here are some things you can teach your dog that fall under the “good manners” category:

• Down
• Leave it
• Wait
• Loose leash walking
• Attention
• Targeting

Excuse #5: Don’t Want to Train.

Yeah, I get this one, too. There are some days I don’t want to run. I’m tired, I’m lazy, whatever. Here’s one of Ms. Ridson’s SUARs posts that pretty much demolishes any runner’s excuses.

Back to dog training. Like running, getting started is the hardest part. I promise you: just get through one training session – one session – and then quit for the day if you want. This is how I get myself outside on my lazy days. I promise myself that I don’t have to go far, I just have to GO. Once I’m out there, it’s the rare day that I go ¼ mile and then head for home. I’m out there and feeling good if I can just get past the getting started part.

The takeaway?

There aren’t any excuses on your part. Either your train your dog or you don’t. And just like running (or anything, for that matter), you’ll see the results of your inactivity way before you see the results of your activity – and you won’t like what you see if you don’t do something about it. Now shut up and train!

I was buzzing through town the other day when I spied a dog training franchise. The slogan on their truck said something like “No, we DON’T teach husbands or kids.” I had to laugh because here at Smart Dog University, that’s exactly what we DO! In addition to dogs, we teach husbands, kids, wives, neighbors, co-workers, and relatives.

Here are some tips that will help you get that husband (or whomever) behaving a little more like you want.

The best part? Unlike the franchise, you don’t need a special collar to get your husband to do what you ask. Ditch the crazy training advice from the pop-up franchises and start doing what works.

Bonus: the tips we offer won’t get you in trouble with the law when you try them on people (unlike those collars that franchise uses to “teach”). Use those collars on people and you’d wind up in jail for abuse — if it’s against the law to use them on a person, why would we want to use them on our dogs?!

Step 1: Determine what you WANT to happen.

Example: You want dishes in the dishwasher.
Phrase it positively, like I did above. In other words, “Put the dishes in the dishwasher” is way more powerful than “Quit putting the dishes in the sink!”

Step 2: Determine what might make doing what you want a little easier than doing the thing that bugs you.

Example: Leave the dishwasher door open so it’s obvious and clear — and easy — to put the dishes in the dishwasher. Or put a little sign near the sink that says “Dishes in the dishwasher, please.”

Step 3: Decide what motivates your husband (kid, aunt, sister, etc.).

Example: If your husband enjoys it when you say good things about him to your friends, be sure to mention it to your friends (within earshot of your husband) when he does something good.

Everyone is different. “Atta boy” works well for some people, while cash works for a different subset, and public praise is what does it for another person.

Step 4: Close enough is just as good as perfect.

Example: Breakfast and dinner dishes found their way to the dishwasher, but there was one coffee cup in the sink at the end of the day. One coffee cup in the sink is way better than two plates, a knife, and two forks, right? Right! So take it and be happy about it!

Step 5: Be generous with that reinforcement.

Example: Your husband likes to be praised in front of your friends, so if he’s been better about getting some of the dishes to the dishwasher, tell your friends how helpful he’s been around the house. Give him the credit he’s earned!

Whatever you identified in Step 3 above, be ready to pay it out in bulk when you get something close to your goal behavior.

Notice that none of those steps involved any special equipment?

Focusing on a tool — especially one that’s illegal to use on people — is where that franchise made their mistake. Qualified professional trainers understand that behavior can be modified in people, dogs, horses, fish, cats, birds, just about anything — without special equipment.

Here’s where good, experienced, and educated trainers can come in and teach the whole family, not just the dog. We CAN teach husbands. We CAN teach kids. Heck, we can teach you how to modify your co-workers’ behavior if you want!

We understand what motivates and what reinforces behavior. We don’t need no stinkin’ “special equipment!” And neither do you. Now get out there and get those dishes in that dishwasher!

Talk back! Leave a comment below.

Tell us the coolest thing you taught your husband (coworker, kid, neighbor) to do using the principles outlined above.

There’s a little secret that dog trainers know and use that only a few dog owners take advantage of.

It’s free, it’s easy, and it’s dead simple. This one thing can mean the difference between years of frustration and years of enjoyment with your dog. It requires no special knowledge, no advanced training, no equipment. It’s more powerful than any correction, “no,” or discipline.

It’s the power of noticing what your dog does right and reinforcing it in the moment.

People ask me how I teach my dogs to understand “No.” I disappoint every one of them when I answer that my dogs don’t know that word. “But how do you teach them what you want them to do without that word!?” they wonder. Easy: pay attention to my dogs when they do stuff I like. Take two seconds to praise them, play with them, or otherwise provide something they love when they’re doing the stuff I like.

The power of “yes” will beat 100 “no’s.”

Why notice the good stuff?

Dogs (and people) do what works. If chewing on the couch feels good to the dog, he’s not likely to quit chewing on the couch. Most people jump right into the “No” zone, skipping over the “yes.” Behavior is governed by rules, thankfully. There are five rules, but two of those rules apply specifically to this situation.

1. Behavior that is reinforced will happen more often.
2. Behavior that isn’t reinforced will likely go away.

Let’s take the couch chewing dog example a little further. If the dog is chewing on the couch, a clicker trainer is likely to find an appropriate chewable object (stuffed toy, rope toy, etc.) for the dog to chew on, redirect the sofa-chewing dog to the preferred object and then praise the heck out of the dog for putting his mouth on the dog toy. And we’ll make sure we notice and reward the dog every time he has a toy in his mouth. Because after all, the toy is what we want the dog to put in his mouth, not the sofa. And we’ll also be pretty darn sure to supervise the dog so he doesn’t get the opportunity to chew on the sofa when we’re not around.

We’re practically guaranteeing that the dog will choose the toy to chew on because we’ve paid so much attention to him every time he’s had the toy in his mouth. We can’t necessarily ignore the dog for couch chewing because that probably feels just as good to the dog as chewing on the toy. Because we can’t ignore it, we’ll do something a little different – we’ll distract and redirect the dog to the appropriate object, the toy. And we’ll also be sure that if we’re spending too much time distracting and redirecting, we’ll set some barriers up so the dog can’t get to the couch to chew on it until after we’ve gotten lots and lots of repetitions of praise and attention for chewing on the toys.

We aren’t stingy.

Dog trainers are generous with praise, play, and fun. It’s free! Give it away frequently! When raising puppies for service work, I start giving the puppy feedback right away about what things gets him attention and what things aren’t worth doing.

We look for the things that the puppy is doing that we really like. It’s much more fun to praise your dog than scold him, don’t you think? By paying attention to everything your dog does that you like, you’re setting the stage for a really fun life together, while making your job as teacher super easy and quick.

Here are some of the things dog trainers notice – and reinforce – that sometimes pet owners don’t even think about.

• When the dog has all four feet on the floor, he gets lots of fun attention – I’ll pet him, play with him, and praise him.
• When the dog picks up an appropriate toy, I’ll run over to play with him.
• When the dog goes to the door to go outside, I’ll praise him and quickly take him outside so he can go to the bathroom.
• When the dog looks at me, I will praise him, pet him.

If your dog is older, don’t worry – this works with any dog, no matter the age! It may take some retraining on your part to notice the good, but once you practice it for a week or two, you’ll want to do it because it feels so good!

The challenge.

For the next week, start to notice the things your dog does that are good (really, anything that isn’t bad is worth noticing). Praise your dog, pet your dog, play with your dog – do whatever your dog really likes so you can convey to your dog that he’s getting those good things because of what he did. The cause-effect part is important here: the dog needs to know that his actions produced the good stuff.

After the first week, if you haven’t already, start to drop out the corrections. See if you can reduce the “no,” “eh-eh,” “knock it off,” etc. Instead, if your dog is getting ready to misbehave, redirect him (“Fido, come over here” in a happy voice), get him involved in something appropriate, and praise him (or play, or give a treat, etc.) for following your lead.