Positive, Fun and Motivational Dog Training

Watch Dr. Yin with her dad's new puppy, Lucy, at 7.5 weeks of age. It's her first day at Dr. Yin's house. Lucy's already learned to sit for kibble. Now she is training her to sit to be petted (getting attention), and Dr. Yin is removing rewards for jumping. Then, she does the same thing with her own dog Jonesy around. Lucy correctly reads Jonesy's signals and backs down when Jonesy makes it clear he doesn't want her in his face.

Confusion with the term "Alpha Dog" and where it originates
Below, Dr. L. David Mech talks about the terms "alpha" and "beta" wolves and why they are no longer scientifically accurate. Be sure to read and download his article, Whatever Happened to the Term Alpha Woof? Dr. Yin refers to Dr. Mech and this article in her discussion of the dominance controversy.

We love Clicker Training, a motivational method that works on positively reinforcing your dog for doing something right. In turn, when your dog does it wrong, s/he merely misses the opportunity to get the goodies, whether that be in the form of food, interactive play, or praise. It is the ability of a clicker to instantly mark a behavior—your clicking at the instant your dog is evidencing a desired behavior—that makes it such a powerful tool. Check out a mom who clicker-trained a service dog for her son, and see videos of a clicker-trained pig and a car-driving dog!

Be sure to visit clicker training expert, Karen Pryor, taking special note of her huge library and dog training sections.

Come order Peggy's book by clicking here!

Clicking With Your Dog: Step-By-Step in Pictures, a book at Karen's site, is a great one for getting started. It actually will show you how to teach a dog while you're heeding nature's call. As Debi Davis says, "It's an ideal en

vironment: small, quiet, you're the most interesting thing in the room, and of course, it comes with a built in seat."

Here is Karen Pryor's way (from "Don't Shoot the Dog!") to get your Goldens to reliably come to you when called. And, that means even if they are really enjoying themselves doing whatever it is that they are doing (probably smelling something yucky, etc.). It is a wonderful way to deal with the dog who loves to get something nasty in his mouth and then play keep-away so you can't get it from him.

Aunt Mary’s old Cairn terrier, Rowdy, got out the door, and now he won’t come in. Everyone’s trying to catch him before he gets out on the street. "Here, Rowdy, here boy…" Rowdy comes close, wagging his tail, but when the boys lunge for his collar, he zips out of reach again. Rowdy thinks this is a GREAT game. Here’s how to fix that problem with the clicker—even with a dog that’s not clicker trained at all.

Get some small, solid food you can toss, such as little cubes of cheese. Sit on the ground. Call Rowdy. When he turns his head, click and throw a piece of cheese all the way to him. Don’t try to lure or bait him with the food. Throw it; make it easy. When he’s eaten that piece of cheese, call him again, just once. If he looks or steps your way, click and throw him another bite. A greedy dog will usually approach you now. let him come two steps toward you. Click, and toss cheese. Next time, wait for four steps and click.

When Rowdy is nearly within reach be careful not to grab at him or make any sudden moves. Now when you click, toss the cheese closer to you, so he has to come in a bit to get it. As he does so, click and hold cheese out in your hand. Let him take it. Don’t GRAB! Now lure him to your lap; click and give him the cheese in your far hand. If he dives away, let him. Shape him back to your lap again. Put your hand lightly on his back. When you click, take the hand away and give him cheese from the other hand.

Now, ruffle his fur, click, lift your hand away, give him cheese. NOW, gently take his collar, click, give him cheese, and haul him indoors where he belongs. Jackpot him there. Repeat as needed. I predict that "catch time" will shorten to zero in three more episodes.

We have a huge collection of training web resources and articles here that cover a multitude of learning skills, as well as behavioral problem areas. And, be sure to take the first step toward incorporating your newly learned skills by learning how to obtain a Canine Good Citizen (CGC) title for your dog. Also, brush up on your clicker-training skills with the following video clips and check out Dr. Yin's fabulous materials. A veterinarian, professor, and behavioral consultant, she has been doing incredible research and work through her Manners Minder Remote Reward Training System, a must-have product for any dog lover. (Golden Alfie adores his, by the way!)