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Laurie Luck

Get Your Dog To Notice You!

Does your dog dash out the door, pulling you along behind. 

If you dropped the leash, would your dog even notice?

Does your dog pay more attention to the distractions outside than you?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you're not alone! This is one of the most common complaints I hear from owners. Their dog doesn't even know they exist once the dog is outside. Thankfully, there's an easy remedy to this situation. 

You'll need:

  • a clicker
  • delish treats
  • 6' leash (no retractable leashes!)
  • regular buckle collar (no prong or choke collars!)

Leash your dog, put your treats in a fanny pack and have your clicker ready. Open the door, step outside and wait for your dog to look at you. Don't move any further than just outside the door. As soon as your dog looks in your direction, click and give him the treat. You may have to reach and put the treat in his mouth if he's really distracted. Then just wait some more. Click every time your dog looks in your direction. If you're using super high-value treats, your dog will start looking at you more often than he's looking at his environment. 

Here's a video of my four dogs so you can get a feel for what this exercise looks like and how to do it. Each piece is only about two minutes long.

Fear Not (Video)

We're always on the lookout for ways to expose Talos to new and unusual sights and sounds. When we were at the Christmas Tree farm we had the chance to get our Christmas tree bundled. The bundler is loud and big. And there was plenty of room to move away if Talos showed any fear or avoidance of the crazy contraption.

The key to introducing your dog to something novel is to do it incrementally, to do it systematically, and to always (and I mean always!) go at your dog's pace. If you see signs of anxiety (tucked tail, ears back, lip licking, hiding behind your legs), STOP! Move further away, speak calmly and quietly to your dog, and try to feed some extra yummy treats. If your dog isn't eating those delicious treats, you know he's still too stressed. Move even farther away. Keep moving away until the dog's body language is more relaxed and until he's able to take treats.

What NOT to do: Don't reprimand your dog, don't boss your dog, don't pull your dog closer, don't stay there and expect your dog to get used to it. That's not fair to the dog and proves to the dog that you're not on the same team.

Take a look at what a really good relationship (developed through clicker training) can get you…a dog who's a little uncertain, but who trusts that everything's ok as long as he's with you.

Talos Learns about Shaping (Video)

I love shaping. I love teaching a dog how much fun shaping can be. It takes the dog just a few minutes to understand what shaping is, and then: hold on and be ready to click – the dog loves this new game! 

What is shaping, you ask? Imagine a sculptor with a chunk of clay. How does he get that clay from chunk to masterpiece? He shapes it with his hands, slowly changing the form, until it meets the artist's satisfaction. That's what we do with the behavior of an animal: we take whatever "chunk" of behavior the dog gives us, and we slowly mold that behavior into something we like. We use the clicker to tell the dog "Yes, I like that!" If the dog knows the way to earn a click (and therefore a goodie), it's only a matter of a few clicks before you've got the dog creating behavior that matches what you wanted to see.

If you want to try it with your own dog, here's what you need:

  1. Clear the room – no other dogs allowed. Keep the distractions to a minimum.
  2. Have high value treats. No dog food, biscuits, or Pupperoni. We're talking ham, turkey, cheese, chicken, or hot dogs!
  3. Have a large object ready to put on the floor. Put the object down, step back, and zip your lips!
  4. Click the dog for any interaction with that object. This is not the time to be stingy or to have high expectations. 
  5. Remain still. Remain quiet. Resist the urge to help your dog.

I made a video of Talos learning how to shape. (At the bottom of this post.) The sound isn't very good (sorry, I'll remember this for the next video), so you may have to turn your volume way up. Originally, I thought I might shape Talos to use his feet to interact with the box. But it turns out he's not that advanced yet – he's still learning that interacting with the box is a good thing. So I decided to lower my criteria and reinforce any and all interactions with the box.

At one point, Talos stops, sits, and waits for me to direct him to do something with the box. That indicates to me that he doesn't understand fully what shaping is all about. And that's ok! That's why I didn't raise my criterion to paw touch. The more experience he has with shaping, the better he'll get.

Why is shaping important? Your dog is learning how to learn – which is the most important reason to work on shaping. Another thing, it's FUN for the dog! Your dog gets to engage with you, work his mind, and try to figure out how to get you to click. The more you practice shaping with your dog, the faster he'll be able to figure out a solution. So when you actually need to teach a new behavior, it's super easy!

Now here's the video of Talos shaping:

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