Video Archives - Page 3 of 22 - Smart Dog University

Advanced Nose Targeting (Video)

November 6, 2014

I’ve talked a lot about the benefits of teaching your dog to target your hand.

After your dog has a solid hand target (nose touch to your hand), you’re ready to take this skill to the next level where it can be really useful!

Here are some advanced uses for targeting. Here it is — the fun stuff!

Using targeting, your dog can:

push a drawer closed
push a basket across the floor
tip a cup over
play soccer
close the refrigerator door
close the door after he comes indoors
signal you that someone’s at the door
alert a person that blood sugar levels have changed drastically

The uses for targeting are endless — use your imagination!

Make the move from basic targeting to advanced targeting.

First, transfer the touches to another object.

Using just your hand as the target limits the uses of targeting. It’s important to teach your dog to target another object, like a piece of paper or tape. I like to use a sticky note — it’s a good size and the sticky part helps you hold the paper. Simply hold the target in your hand, and cue your dog to touch the target with his nose. Click and treat your dog for all correct nose touches to the target you’re holding in your hand.

Gradually begin to move the target toward the end of your hand (toward the end of your fingers) so that the dog is reaching for the target more than your hand. You may need to make tiny approximations so the dog easily understands that he’s now getting clicked for touching the new object, instead of getting clicked for touching your hand.

Then move the target to a different surface.

In the video, I’ve moved the target ever so slightly — from my hand to my leg. It’s still at nose-height for Levi, which makes it easy for him to be successful. Occasionally I have to help Levi a little bit — you’ll see me point to the paper stuck to my leg to give Levi a little hint. If I’m relying on hints, then that tells me I’ve moved too quickly. But if he needs just one or two hints before he’s got the idea, then I can keep right on going. Remember to click and treat for every successful nose touch to the target that is now stuck somewhere other than your hand!

In an upcoming video, we’ll show you how to transfer this new skill to something fun like closing cabinets!

Talk back! How could you use targeting with your dog? Something fun? A cool trick? Helpful tasks? Let us know — leave a comment!

Door Manners for the Dog: Who Goes First (Video)

October 31, 2014

Who goes through the door first: you or your dog?

Truth be told, I don’t really care who goes first. It doesn’t make you the leader of the pack if you go first, and it doesn’t make your dog dominant if he goes first.

What?! Can’t believe a professional dog trainer is saying such things?! Yeah, hold onto your pants, that’s exactly what I’m saying. The old-style, uninformed trainers who say that kind of thing are just copying another old-style, uninformed trainer you may have run into on tv.

Here’s the truth: do what makes sense to you — go through the door first if it’s more convenient.

Personally, in most cases, I usually prefer that the dogs go first so I can get out the door unencumbered and on my own time.

Polite, well mannered dogs will go through the door and then wait for their person to catch up.

Here’s how to teach your dog to go through the door first, then turn around on his own to wait for you.

Be ready with your clicker and tasty treats.
Have your dog on a 6-foot leash (no Flexis!). (I have the clicker and the leash in the same hand so I have a free hand to deliver a treat.)
Open the door and begin to exit, encouraging your dog to go first if necessary.
Click the instant the dog’s rump has gone out the door.
Treat when he turns around toward you.
Repeat several times until the dog begins to expect the click (and resulting treat).
Go through the door and click when the dog looks back (instead of clicking to cause the dog to look back).
Systematically increase the distraction difficulty (but always begin without any distractions, of course) until your dog is great at turning around to look back at you no matter what.

I’ve taught this at our front door, but if your front door is too highly charged for your dog (he’s too excited to pay any attention to you after the door opens), use an interior door (say, a door to your bedroom, for example). Another tip if your dog is too excited to pay attention: use yummier treats!

Talk back! Do you care who goes through the door first? Why or why not?

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?

Which Dogs Need Grooming & What to Look for in a Groomer

October 16, 2014

Do Labradors need to be groomed?

Apparently they do. Who knew?! I’d always assumed that because my dogs had manageable coats that didn’t need trimming or that didn’t mat up, that I got to skip the groomer.

Every dog benefits from regular professional grooming. We visited Happy Dog Grooming in Mt. Airy, MD to learn a little bit more about dog grooming and why it’s so important.

We’re guilty of letting our dogs’ nails get so long that they tap, tap, tap on the floor. After hearing why this is so bad for the dog, we’ve resolved to go to the groomer weekly for nail trims until our guys’ nails are back in (short!) shape!

One of the things that surprised me about the grooming salon was how homey it felt. And that the dogs each had their own room (with a couch or chair — totally ok for the dog to get up on!) to reduce the stress on the dogs. These folks know how to do low-stress grooming! It’s not about sheer volume — dogs in, dogs out. It’s about ensuring the dog has as good a time grooming as possible. They go slowly if they need to, to help a dog get accustomed to the grooming table, shampoo tub, or dryers.

If you’re not in the local area, you can take all the information from the video (especially about the dander in your dog’s coat, as well as the nail information) to find a good, low-stress groomer in your area!

Here’s to a happy, clean, and good-smelling dog!

The Best Dog Training Treats? People Food! (Video)

October 9, 2014

Have you read the ingredient list in commercial dog treats?

Have you smelled those commercial dog treats?!

Many of the popular dog treats found in grocery stores are (1) expensive, (2) filled with preservatives and by-products, and (3) smell just horrible. Yet, many of my clients still want to feed their dogs these ick-laden things to their dogs (and expect their dogs to remain focused and happy to work, even in the face of distractions).

Would you eat one of your dog’s treats?

And more importantly, would you enjoy it? I doubt it. [Yes, I know. Dogs love a lot of things we don’t find appealing.] My point is still: people food is a really good choice for dog training treats.

Concerns About People Food

My dog will beg for food if I feed her people food.
- Not even close. Dogs don’t beg at the table because of people food. Dogs beg at the table because they’ve been fed at the table! The begging is more closely related to WHERE the food comes from than WHAT KIND of food your dog is eating. In other words, if you fed your dog his own kibble from the table, your dog’s going to beg for his food at the table.
Dog treats are healthier for my dog.
- Take a look at the ingredient list below for T-Bonz. I think plain chicken breasts are a lot healthier.
It’s expensive to feed people food.
- It’s a lot cheaper to feed human-grade food to your dog. See below.

T-Bonz is a dog treat from Purina. If you shop at Target, you can pick up a 45 oz. bag of T-Bonz for $10.99. That’s $0.24 per ounce or $3.90 per pound.

Chicken breasts, also from Target, run $7.19 for 40 ounces. That’s about $0.18 an ounce. That’s almost $1 a pound cheaper than dog treats!

Still not convinced? No problem.

Chicken breast ingredients: chicken, salt

T-Bonz ingredients: Ground wheat, corn gluten meal, water, wheat flour, ground yellow corn, sugar, glycerin, beef, chicken by-product meal, hydrogenated starch hydrolysate, corn starch-modified, liver, soybean meal, salt, bacon fat preserved with BHA, natural and artificial flavors, added color (Red 40 and other color), phosphoric acid, dried whey, sorbic acid (a preservative), gelatin, animal digest, natural porterhouse steak flavor, calcium propionate (a preservative), soy protein isolate, BHA (a preservative), citric acid. I-4258

Ew, really?!

Yeah, clearly chicken’s the winner here no matter which way you look at it. It’s healthier, it’s more economical, and you can eat it!

Other People-Food Choices

Cheese (buy a big block of cheese and cut it into hundreds of tiny pieces — this is super inexpensive!)
Hot dogs (dice them and then microwave — paper plate lined with paper towel, lay hot dogs in single layer, cover with paper towel, microwave until dried out. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn!)
Pepperoni, summer sausage, kielbasa
Luncheon meat (bologna dices nicely)
Spam or Treet
Leftovers from the grill (pork chops, steak, chicken, salmon, whatever!)

Make your dog (and dog trainer!) happy, bring tiny, pea-sized pieces of chopped people food to your dog training classes for your dog. And you, too — if you skipped dinner, just reach into the treat pouch and grab a handful for yourself!

Talk back! What people food do you use for dog training treats?

Do You Train Your Dog Enough? (Video)

October 2, 2014

How often do you train your dog?

I get asked both these questions every week. The answer is pretty simple. I work with my dogs every day. Every time we interact with our dogs, we’re teaching them something, or reinforcing their good behavior.

Don’t worry, I’m not telling you to train your dogs for hours each day in formal training sessions.

What I am saying, though, is training’s gotta be a part of your dog’s everyday routine if you want the training to stick.

I work with our service dog in-training, Levi, in formal training sessions almost every day on various different skills. This month it’s been working on his stays, downs, and some service dog-specific tasks like moving to my right side or my left side when asked. He’s a little different than your dog, though, because Levi’s got a job to do — and the sooner he’s trained, the sooner he can be paired with his partner and improve that person’s life.

Just as important as those formal training sessions, though, is our “everyday” training.

What’s everyday training?

It’s when I ask Levi to sit before he comes out of his crate. Or down before asking him to go into the crate. Here are some other examples of our everyday training. I ask my dogs to do something before I:

Clip the leash on
Open the door for them to go inside or outside
Feed them their meals
Throw the ball
Tug the toy
Invite them onto the furniture (yes, the dogs are allowed on our furniture.
Give them a stuffed Kong
Give them individual attention
Open the car door
Give them a treat

You get the picture. There are lots of things you do for your dog everyday that he loves. Those things can be the way you reinforce the good behavior without needing a clicker and food (once the behaviors are learned, of course).

So stop worrying about finding time to train. Everyone’s got time. Especially if you do what I call everyday training.

Menu

Video