Manners Minder Remote Reward Training System: FAQ These answers comes from Dr. Sophia Yin . . . My dog’s not food motivated. How will this product work for him? While some owners claim their dogs don’t like food, all dogs are motivated to eat because they have to eat in order to survive. Some dogs have just learned that foods available whenever they want it so there’s no rush to get it, or they learn that if they hold out long enough they can make you give them something tastier to eat. In this program we show you how to turn your picky eater into a good eater and we also show you how to use other motivators such as toys, praise, petting to your advantage too. My dog’s really bad. Will it work for him? We used the worst dogs we could find for the clinical trial and by the end, all of the clinical trial dogs consistently ran to and stayed on their rug when guests came to the door. As long as you follow the instructions your dog will do well. Additionally, between the instructional DVD and the clinical trial, we use a huge variety of dogs ranging from little yappy dogs such as a Papillion mix, to feisty terrier breeds such as Jack Russell Terrier, to large guarding breeds such as Great Dane, Rottweiler, Pit Bull. With the 30+ dogs we used in the DVD, your sure to find a dog with a personality similar to your dog’s. My dog barks a lot. Will this help him? Many of the dogs in the clinical trial barked incessantly at the start of the program but their barking was hugely reduced by the end. Those dogs that had fear issues and those dogs whose owners inadvertently trained them to bark more had some residual barking, but others did not bark at all once they had run to and were lying down on their rug. This program specifically addresses barking in the “distractions” section as well as the “tone & treat” section at the beginning of the program so that users can ensure that they reward quiet behavior and avoid reinforcing the bark behavior. My dog’s not very smart. Can he really learn? A well-known trainer (Karen Pryor) once said, “There are smart dolphins and dumb dolphins. The ones that learn the fastest are those that like to eat.” The same goes for dogs. As long as your dog likes to eat and you follow the instructions, your dog will sail through the program. My dog’s old, can he still learn? Imagine if a wild animal stopped learning at 3 or 4 or 5 years of age. He probably wouldn’t survive much longer in the wild. Dogs start learning as soon as they are born and continue to learn well into old age. One of the clinical trial dogs was 10 years of age and he completed the program in 2 weeks. How soon can I start at puppy? Since this program relies on positive reinforcement, you can start puppies as soon as they can eat dry kibble and are weaned from their mothers. I have two dogs and one of them keeps the other dog away from the food bowl. Can I still use this program? Who should I start first? The Manners Minder system works well even with multiple dogs in the household. In the clinical trial, many of the owners had multiple dogs in their household and in several cases, the dogs they were training lived with other dogs that were possessive over food. In this training system, if you have multiple dogs, start one at a time. The one who learn to use the Manners Minder learns that he can get food if he performs the correct behavior. The other dogs learn to ignore the Manners Minder because they can’t get anything out of it. My dog will paw the machine. Won’t that be a problem? In this program you will specifically reward your dog when he’s standing with all four feet on the floor and avoid rewarding him for pawing the machine. As a result, all dogs being formally trained with the Manners Minder, learn to get treats without pawing the machine. Dogs that are not trained to the Manners Minder, however, may try to paw the machine. Since doing so never earns rewards though, this behavior extinguishes or disappears). The Manners Minder is fairly rugged and can withstand moderate amounts of pawing and nudging. My dog’s aggressive and I’m worried he will bite. Will this product work for him? If your dog is aggressive, you can still work through the program but you should do so under the supervision of an animal behavior specialist (www.animalbehaviour.org). Dogs that have a history of aggression should be handled as if they will bite. That is, precautions, such as a baby gate, should always be taken. Consult an animal behavior specialist for specifics regarding your dog. Do you always have to use the machine? The bonus section, Fading Out the Manners Minder, shows how train dogs to run to their rug and stay without a Manners Minder present in front of the rug. How else can I use this training program? The training program involves training dogs through five basic games— 1) tone means a treat is coming 2) touch a target with the nose, 3) lie down and stay, 4) run to a rug and lie down on cue, 5) lie down and stay for one minute with common door distractions. Each game can be used for additional purposes. For instance you can use the tone/treat game to train your dog to perform other behaviors that you like just by toning and treating behaviors that you like. By doing so you’re telling the dog exactly which behavior you like so that he can repeat it again. The targeting game can be used to exercise your dog (This training system comes with a stationary target which you can stand anywhere on the ground) and as the foundation for all kinds of tricks such as somersault, spin, heel, and roll-over. The place and down-stay with distractions can be used for all kinds of dogs sports that require this exercise such as the “go-out” in obedience, or the drop on recall, the “place” or for “contacts” in agility and even just as a game during walks at the park. The Manners Minder machine can also be used to practice recalls (training dogs to come when called). In fact the more you use it, the more uses you’ll find for it. Additionally, the instructional DVD and manual includes other important training exercises such as “say please by sitting,” “come when called,” and “lie down.” These exercises, especially the “say please by sitting” are important for completion of the Manners Minders program.