Levi Archives - Page 2 of 6 - Smart Dog University

‘Tis the Season: When a Dog Trainer Takes Her Own Advice

December 10, 2014

It’s ridiculously annoying when people tell us how busy they are. We KNOW! We’re ALL busy, right? Especially now that the holiday season has kicked in. We need to be in 100 places in 24 hours, have a to-do list longer than our shopping list, and absolutely no time to get it all done.

Most of us are experiencing cold temps, some people are getting buckets of snow, and others are getting that nasty cold rain and freezing rain.

In addition to the monumental to-do list, we have to exercise, train, or otherwise entertain our dogs. Or we pay the price.

I fed my dogs out of a Kong this morning. Levi almost always eats out of food dispensing toy, but I added the puzzle toys for my other three dogs, too.

Come back with me three days ago to learn the reason behind the changes…

First, the destruction of the cat toy.

We have the Christmas tree in the living room and presents under the tree. The dogs are normally gated in that room when we’re away. Levi is almost always crated. However, with presents under the tree, I had to revise the confinement scenario. I (thought I) dog-proofed the family room/kitchen area and left the dogs with frozen stuffed Kongs, like usual, while I ran my errands.

I returned to the mess above. Poor kitty’s scratcher toy was in a thousand pieces scattered all over the family room. Levi had found the one non dog-proofed object and had his way with it. It was my fault, it was left on the floor and within easy reach. Clearly, it was a dog toy I’d left for their enjoyment and amazement.

But wait, there’s more.

The next day, I was awakened by Levi delivering something to me in bed. This is pretty normal. Sometimes it’s a deer antler, other times is a stuffed toy. I never opened my eyes, just took it from him when he offered it. Imagine my surprise when I saw this:

Yep, a big old sharp knife. Thank goodness he has a soft mouth and doesn’t flail around when he’s carrying things. He could’ve cut up the whole house, for Pete’s sake.

The knife was my cue to get up. When I walked into the kitchen, I found cold, hard poop. Someone ::cough Levi:: must’ve gotten up in the night and had to go. He’s the only dog in the house who won’t bark or otherwise let us know he’s gotta go.

Wait, the story gets better.

I tried to flush one tootsie roll at a time and — you guessed it! — the toilet clogged! I guess cold poop isn’t as cooperative as, well, you get the idea. No pictures of that, sorry.

The lesson here, kids, is you’re never too busy to:

make liberal use of crates
dog-proof once, twice, thrice
dog-proof again
make feeding time a fun challenge with food stuffed toys to help combat boredom and destructivity (yeah, I think that’s a made up word)

Talk back! Share your dog destruction stories — leave a comment below! You’ll make me feel a little better. You can even make it up.

Supercharge Your Dog’s Paw & Shake Skills (Video)

December 4, 2014

“Shake” and “paw” are pretty cool tricks, but your dog is capable of so much more!

Wanna supercharge your dog’s paw or shake skills? Teach your dog how to use his paw to touch different things.

Here are some of the cool things paw targeting can get you:

Ring a wireless doorbell to go outside (or come inside)
Turn on a push-light
Play a kid’s toy piano
Give you a high-five (or high-ten!)
Knock a cup over to reveal hidden treats
The sky’s the limit!

Now, doesn’t “shake” seem kind of boring?!

What you’ll need:

clicker
treats
large indestructible target (large margarine lid, plant “coaster”, 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper, etc.”

Here’s how to teach your dog to use his foot:

Gather your dog and the supplies above.
Place the target on the floor and wait for your dog to walk on it with his paw.
If your dog is sitting or lying down, toss a treat to get him up and moving first. (It’s hard to put his foot on a target if he’s still.)
Click the instant your dog’s paw touches the target, and toss the treat a little bit away so the dog moves off the target.
Continue to silently wait for one of your dog’s paws to touch the target, clicking and treating each time.
Once it’s clear that your dog understands that touching his foot to the target means he gets a click and treat, start adding the cue just before the dog touches the target with his paw. Click and treat every correct response.
After 10 – 15 repetitions, begin to say the cue about one second before the dog touches the target with his paw, clicking and treating correct responses.
Continue to gradually move the cue earlier, clicking every correct response.
Then, begin to remove the target and ask for a different behavior (like sit, for instance). You’re helping the dog pay attention to your cues.

We’ll go further with paw targeting in future videos, so get your dog’s foundation targeting skills ready!

Talk back! How do you (or could you) use paw targeting with your dog? Leave a comment below and let us know!

Teach Your Dog to Close Cabinets and Doors (Video)

November 27, 2014

It’s the simple things, sometimes, that make a big impression.

If you’d like a little help around the house, use nose targeting to really up your dog’s “around the house” value. If your dog is good at the basic nose touch, and you’re gone on to a little more advanced targeting, you’re ready for the big leagues. You’re ready to “real life” this behavior. I say real life because that’s how I refer to behaviors that are actually helpful in real life, not just in a training session.

When you real life a behavior, you take it out of the training room and you put it to use in a helpful way in your real life.

Here’s how you’re going to real life nose targeting.

After teaching your dog how lucrative it is to touch your hand with his nose, and after transferring the touch to another target, you’re ready for the real life targeting. Here’s how:

Put a large target on a slightly open cabinet door. Targets can be clean margarine lids or even a couple pieces of painter’s tape.
Click and treat your dog when he touches the target with his nose, whether the cabinet door closes or not.
If you think the noise of the cabinet door closing will startle your dog, you can catch the door before it closes (be quick!), or put a towel between the cabinet and the door to help soften the noise.
After the dog is reliably touching the target on the open door, refine your criterion so that you’re clicking only when the door actually moves. Always click and reinforce, of course.
Continue to systematically raise your criterion so that the dog eventually earns the click for actually shutting the cabinet door.
When the behavior is solid, meaning when you’re ready to be $100 that the dog will do the behavior, go ahead and put that behavior on cue.
Invite your friends over and show off your dog’s brilliance!

Talk back! Tell me (or show me with a video!) how you’ve real life-d targeting with your dog!

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?

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!

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