Basic Manners Class

A few quick pics from Basic Manners class this week.

Training and socialization

Some cute pics from training and socialization this week.

This is the only brindle Chihuahua I've ever met.

Nalu (Min Pin/ Chihuahua mix).

Basic Manners Class graduation.

Bullseye working in Basic Manners class.

Devo & Maile.

Double rainbow and Dogs

Double Rainbow at Napili Bay.

Caravaggio at a dog event.

Basic Manners dog training class.

Athena hiking with Hazel, Lucky, Nekita, Caravaggio, and Devo near Lipoa Point.

Basic Banners graduation.

BML2 Class Hike

Basic Manners Level Two Class Hike at the Village Trails in Kapalua.

Lucy found many burrs to travel with her on our hike.

Chihuahua / Pug mix puppy.

Basic Manners Level Two Graduation.

Heel Training

Some vides from our Basic Manners Level Two class learning Heel.

Heel:

The Heel position is about the dog staying close to the handler and paying close attention.  We will start with the Basic Heel position, the Stationary Heel.

To do this, we will food lure the dog into the Heel position at our left side.  Use your left hand to food lure the dog into the position.  If you need, take a step back with your left leg to encourage the dog to move.  Once the dog is in the Heel position, practice a Sit and Look. 

Basic Heel position with Moana.

Basic Heel position with Lucy.

Moving Heel:  
Food lure the dog several times while backing up.
Food lure the dog, now turn your body so the dog is now on the left side in Heel position (use the treat in your left hand).

—Always begin and end every Heel exercise with a Sit in the Heel position.

—When you stop moving forward, move your baited hand UP slightly to initiate the Sit position.

—As you are moving forward, the treat should be held up slightly from the dog so she is looking for it.  Gradually progress to moving your hand all the way up to the Look position.  

See our full video on how to train your dog to Heel on SDGs YouTube.

Moving Heel.

Moving Heel with Moana.

Fetch

Fetch with Moana.

Fetch:

Fetch is very helpful game that every owner should teach their dog.  It is an excellent  way to exercise your dog without wearing yourself out. 

Rules of Fetch:

Dog must Sit.

Dog must Look.

Fetch.

Dog returns toy.

Dog drops toy.

Repeat.

Take your time getting to the final game of fetch (as listed above).  

To start, we must have a toy that the dog likes.  Get the dog interested in the toy, then throw it a 2-4 feet away.  Say “Fetch” as you throw the toy in a very energetic, excited voice.  When the dog reaches the toy, praise if he touches it with his mouth.  Encourage the dog to pick up the toy.  When he does, say your “Good!”  Use Come when Called to encourage the dog to return to you with the toy.  If the dog drops the toy along the way, give your “Uh-oh,” return to the toy and encourage the dog to pick it up again.  When the dog returns with the toy, DO NOT REACH OUT TO GRAB IT.  The dog must learn to bring it to you.  Once the dog is within one foot of you, grab the toy and encourage the dog to drop using your “Drop It” command.  When he does, give your “Good!”  Have the dog Sit.  Good!  Wait a few second; use the toy to practice “Look.”  Once the dog looks in your eyes, throw the toy and say “Fetch.”  Always use lots of energy and excitement to keep your dog interested in the game.

Fetch with Noni.

Dog Training Class

Pictures from some dog fun and this week's Basic Manners dog training class.

Hazel and Lucky.

Min Pin party.

Basic Manners class graduation.

Stay with Distance

Basic Manners Level Two Class:  practicing Stay with Distractions.

Stay:

Means to your dog, stay in this position until I come back to release you.  This is not the same thing as Wait.  For this exercise, the dog should either be in the Sit or Down position.  Some owners prefer to have a specific Sit-Stay and Down-Stay as separate commands.  If you would like to do this, please let your trainer know.

There are 3 parts to the Stay Cue:  1) Duration (Time), 2) Distance, 3) Distractions

Adding Distance to Stay:

We will start by slowly adding distance to the Stay command.  Start with one step backwards, then quickly return forwards to the dog and reward.  Then add two steps, pause, return and reward.  Slowly begin to add distance.  If your dog gets up, take the training back a step and make it easier (don’t add as much distance).

Adding Distractions to Stay:

To add a new part of the Stay cue, we must take the other parts of the cue back down to zero.  That means, since we are now adding distractions, the distance and duration of the Stay should be near zero.  You will start by dropping or tossing mild distractions while asking the dog to Stay.  We will slowly begin adding more difficult distractions.

Check out SGDs YouTube to get the full videos on how to teach your dog the beginning steps of Stay.

Stay:  Step 1, Duration (or time).

Stay:  Step 2, adding Distance.

BML1--Class #6

Dogs from L to R:  Hope, Koa, Boone, Maybe, Devo, & Ogi.

Basic Manners Level One:

Positive Reinforcement Training

Energy Balance

Marker Word

No Reward Marker

Food Lure

Look/ Watch Me, Basic & the T position

Come when Called, 3 Steps & 3 Rules

Loose Leash Walking

Sit & Auto-Sit

Down

Up/ Stand

(Hand Signals)

Stay with Release Cue

Impulse Control

Leave It

Drop It

Class #6 of Basic Manners Level One is a review of all things learned.  We go over each cue and play different games to improve on each command.  At the end of class #6, each participant is given a certificate of completion.  Below are some pictures of the dogs working on "Stay."

Maybe.

Devo.

Boone.

Ogi.

REMEMBER to Keep Training Going:

Proper Exercise:  Every dog should be walked every day!

Good Relationship with the owner:  When you get frustrated, remember why you got your dog, he’s your buddy, he’s your pal.  Don’t take set-back’s personal.

Socialization:  It is very important to have a dog that is comfortable in as many different situations as possible.  Take your dog everywhere you can, but proceed at your dog’s pace.

Consistency:  Everyone in the household should have all the same rules, all the same cue words and commands, ALL THE TIME!

Generalizing:  Dogs do not generalize well.  It is important to practice everything you learn, everywhere you go.

Training Sessions:  Keep them short and sweet.  3-5 minutes a few times a day.

BML1--Class #5

Basic Manners -- Level One, Class #5

Such Good Dogs Basic Manners Class #5

Review of what is Rewarding to Dogs:

1.  Voice

2.  Eye Contact

3.  Touch

REVIEW:

Loose Leash Walking

Look/ Watch Me, Basic and the T position

Come when Called, 3 Steps & 3 Rules

Sit & Auto-Sit, Down, and Up

Leave-It

Stay with Release Cue, working on duration (building up time)

Drop It:

When teaching this cue, it is important to be aware of any possible Resource Guarding.  Dogs sometimes think they have a prize, or something they really like, and they want to keep it.  Low level resource guarding are things like lowering the head over an object or putting a paw over it.  High level resource guarding includes growling, air snapping, and biting.

Some dogs learn to guard because humans snatch things.  Never try and steal something from your dog.  Instead we must teach our dogs that all good things are provided by us.  We can trade whatever object they have for something of equal or higher value.

To teach the Drop It Cue:  First give the dog something he likes, such as a toy.  To begin, the dog must have an item in his mouth.  Once the dog is interested in the toy and has it in his mouth, present an item of higher value (treat) directly in front of the dog’s nose.  The dog will drop the toy to get the higher value item or treat.  As the dog drops the toy, say “Drop.”  As you are feeding the dog his reward, remove the toy with your foot at the same time.  Do not allow your dog to snatch the treat then snatch the toy back up.

REMEMBER to Keep Training Going:

Proper Exercise:  Every dog should be walked every day!

Good Relationship with the owner:  When you get frustrated, remember why you got your dog, he’s your buddy, he’s your pal.  Don’t take set-back’s personal.

Socialization:  It is very important to have a dog that is comfortable in as many different situations as possible.  Take your dog everywhere you can, but proceed at your dog’s pace.

Consistency:  Everyone in the household should have all the same rules, all the same cue words and commands, ALL THE TIME!

Generalizing:  Dogs do not generalize well.  It is important to practice everything you learn, everywhere you go.

Training Sessions:  Keep them short and sweet.  3-5 minutes a few times a day.

BML1--Class #4

Basic Manners -- Level One, Class #4

Such Good Dogs Basic Manners Class #4

Basic Toxins for Dogs:

Grapes, raisins, onions, garlic, chocolate, over the counter drugs.

Leave-It:

This means to your dog, you can’t have that and/or don’t pay any attention to that.  Teaching your dog this cue will help develop your dog’s self-control and keep him safe.

When teaching this cue, we first want to get the behavior before adding the cue word.  Get the dog to do the action 2-3 times, then add the word.  Teaching this command requires using both hands.  In one hand you will have something tasty the dog will be asked to leave alone.  Your dog should NOT get this item at this time.  In the other hand you will have your rewards.  Never teach Leave-It/ Take-It.  Doing this teaches your dog to leave something alone for a second, then they get to take it anyway.  When teaching Leave-It, NEVER give your dog the thing you are asking them to leave alone.

Start with both hands behind your back.  Present your hand with the forbidden item.  (Make sure that once you place your hand out, you do not move your hand).  As the dog moves towards the item/hand, say “Leave It.”  As soon as your dog pulls his nose away, give your “Good,” switch hands, and reward with a treat from your reward hand.  As with any training, as your dog gets better, you make the exercise more difficult.  Progression of Difficulty for Leave It:  item to leave alone in your closed hand, item in partially open hand, item in open hand, item in open hand on the ground, item on the ground.

Look / Watch Me:

After practicing the Basic Look: going from the dog’s nose directly to your eye, we will begin to make the exercise more difficult.

The T Position:  Start the exercise the same way.  Put the treat directly in front of the dog’s nose, say “Look” as you are bringing the treat up next to your eye.  But now, when you reach your eye, extend both arms out into a T position.  When the dog looks back at your face, give your “Good” and treat.  When making an exercise more difficult, first start with the easier version (the one the dog has already performed well), then move directly to the harder version.

Stay:

Means to a dog:  Stay in this place until I come BACK TO YOU to release you.

Wait:

Means to a dog:  Stay in this place until I ask you to do something else.  

ANOTHER CUE will follow the wait command.

First you must start by teaching a proper Stay command.  Do not move onto teaching the Wait command until you have trained the Stay command in all 3 parts.

3 Parts to the Stay Cue:

1.  Duration (time)

2.  Distance

3.  Distraction

Release Cue:

This means to a dog, you are now free to do what you want.  Common Release Cues include:  Break, Free, & Go.  I highly discourage owners from using “Okay” as a release cue.  This is a very commonly used phrase, and your dog may be randomly released by a passing stranger.  Use commands that are not common in every day speech.

To teach the Stay cue, put the dog into a Sit position next to you.  Teaching the Stay is another command you will need 2 hands for.  One hand will be giving your stop sign hand signal while the other hand delivers treats.  Put the leash under your foot to work without the distraction.  For this, you will also need a Release Cue.  Basically, you will rapidly feed your dog treats to remain in the Stay position.  We are teaching the dog that remaining in a Stay is highly rewarding.  As your dog is chewing the last treat, give your “Good,” then quickly give your Release Cue while turning on your heels and walking away.  Do not worry if your dog does not immediately follow.  After a few practice sessions, they will easily pick up the Release Cue.

To improve the cue, gradually make the dog wait longer between treats.  At first there may only be 1-3 seconds between treats.  As your dog improves, start making it harder and harder by making the dog wait a little longer between rewards.  Do not go too fast.  If you feel the dog is going to break the Stay, either treat them before they move, or release the dog before they release themselves.
It is VERY IMPORTANT to build up time before adding distance or distractions.  Building up a reliable Stay with time will make it easy to transition into training distance and distractions.  You should be able to get your dog to Stay for at least one minute before moving to adding distance.  Work on improving only one part of the stay cue at a time.  First duration, then distance, then distractions.

PRACTICE!

Loose Leash Walking

Look/ Watch me, both Basic and the T position

Sit & Auto-Sit, Down, and Up

Come when Called, all 3 steps

Leave It

Stay & Release Cue

Maybe (left) helping nervous Hope come out of her shell.

Looks like Hope made a new friend!

BML1--Class #3

Basic Manners -- Level One, Class #3

Maybe & Lillinoe playing before class.

Such Good Dogs Basic Manners Class #3

Review of what is Rewarding to Dogs:

1.  Voice

2.  Eye Contact

3.  Touch

Anti-Jumping/ Auto-Sit:

We want a dog to learn that anytime someone comes over, the dog should put their butt on the ground.  To practice, you basically walk up to your dog like an excited, random stranger, if the dog remains with All 4 Paws on the Floor, give your “Good” and reward.  If the dog jumps up, say nothing and walk away.

4 on the Floor:  When a dog can be greeted and keep all 4 paws on the floor and/or sit, reward the dog with a “Good” and soft, calm pet.  This is a good exercise to practice giving “Real Life Rewards.”  Always make your dog EARN what they get.

Practice Look / Watch Me:

We want a dog who looks to us for direction and permission.  Having a dog that is well focused on the owner will give you control over many situations.  This is the exercise you will practice when your dog becomes distracted during training.  This is meant to help focus (or re-focus) the dog back to the owner.

To do this, we place the treat directly in the dog’s nose then raise it straight up next to our eye, while standing back up.  As you raise your hand give your command word, “Look.”  Eventually we want the dog to look directly in our eyes, but to begin with, it they look anywhere in the general area of your head, say your “Good” and give the treat.

If your dog remains in position but is not looking at you, do NOT repeat your arm movements or verbal command.  Instead, hold the treat in position next to your eye while looking at the dog and WAIT.  You will wait 30 seconds to a minute.  If the dog still has not looked, give your No Reward Marker or “Uh-oh,” move positions, take a breath, and then try again.

Sit, Down, & Up:

We use the Food Lure technique to first teach these commands.  Some of these things may have already been learned, that’s great.  You can use the dog’s current knowledge of each cue and progress further to adding hand signals.  Each command should have its own word and hand signal.  (Demonstrated in training.)

Come when Called:

We now add all 3 Steps to Come when Called.

1.  Say the dog’s name, and Come.  ONE TIME ONLY.

2.  Have a party.

3.  Lure the dog back to you.

The reason we have 3 steps is, we start with step one, if that doesn’t work, we try step 2, if that doesn’t work, we go to step 3.  Properly practicing the steps and following the rules to Come when Called will help you build a reliable recall.  This is one of the most important things you can teach your dog.  As your dog improves, you must practice by slowly increasing distance, then adding distractions.  

(Command & Hand Signal demonstrated in training).

Impulse Control:

Teaching a dog how to control his natural impulses can be very helpful in our everyday lives.  Controlling your dog’s impulses can help keep him safe.  For example, you do not want your dog to run out into the road after a rabbit or squirrel and get hit by a car.  This is pre-training for teaching the Leave-It command.

In this exercise, we ultimately want the dog to look back to us for guidance when he is unable to get to the treat.  We are looking for the dog to control his impulse to snatch something off the ground.

To begin, hold the dog’s leash short and toss a treat just out of the dog’s reach.  Make sure the dog sees you do this.  The dog will tug and pull and possible claw trying to get to the treat.  When the dog looks away from the treat, reward the dog with a different treat (from your hand).  Pick up the treat you tossed, and start again.  The goal is first to get the dog to look away from the treat, and then to look back at you.  When the dog does this, give your “Good” and reward with a different treat.  Once the dog actually turns away from the thrown treat and LOOKS at you, give a very happy “Good!” with extra treats and praise.
Also check out our Impulse Control Training Video.

Koa practicing Impulse Control.

Devo & Ogi practicing Loose Leash Walking.

Loose Leash Walking.

PRACTICE!

Loose Leash Walking

Look

Sit & Auto-sit, Down, and Up

Come when Called, with all 3 steps

Impulse Control

Ogi waiting for her reward for doing well.

BML1--Class #2

Basic Manners -- Level One, Class #2

Such Good Dogs Basic Manners Class #2

Commands & Cues:

All commands or cue words like Sit and Come should be said ONE TIME and ONE TIME ONLY.  Never repeat your command word.  Instead give your No Reward Marker, move positions, and then try again.

Marker Word:

Use your chosen marker word:  “Good” or “Yes” (or the Clicker).

This is the word (or sound) that says to a dog, “Yes! That is exactly what I wanted you to do!” and is then followed with a reward.

No Reward Marker:

This is what we do when the dog does not do what we are looking for.  Try using an “Uh-oh” or “Eh-eh.”  This will let the dog know that the behavior just performed is not what we wanted, while still encouraging the dog to continue to try.  After using the NRM, physically move places (both you and the dog should move) to help “re-set” the training, then try again.  Never repeat a command more than once.

Food Lure:

This is something we use to teach many new behaviors and commands.  A food lure involves getting the dog to follow your baited hand into a desired position.

Look / Watch Me:

We want a dog who looks to us for direction and permission.  Having a dog that is well focused on the owner will give you control over many situations.  This is the exercise you will practice when your dog becomes distracted during training.  This is meant to help focus (or re-focus) the dog back to the owner.

To do this, we place the treat directly in the dog’s nose then raise it straight up next to our eye, while standing back up.  As you raise your hand give your command word, “Look.”  Eventually we want the dog to look directly in our eyes, but to begin with, it they look anywhere in the general area of your head, say your “Good” and give the treat.

If your dog remains in position but is not looking at you, do NOT repeat your arm movements or verbal command.  Instead, hold the treat in position next to your eye while looking at the dog and WAIT.  You will wait 30 seconds to a minute.  If the dog still has not looked, give your No Reward Marker or “Uh-oh,” move positions, take a breath, and then try again.

Watch a VIDEO teaching the "Look/ Watch Me" Cue in Basic Manners dog training class.

Come when Called:

The Rules:

1.  Always have a leash (or fenced-in area).

2.  When you say come, you have to see it happen.

3.  NEVER punish a dog for coming to you.

The Steps:

1. Say the dog’s name, and Come.  ONE TIME ONLY.
2. Have a party.
3. Lure the dog back to you.

When first teaching a dog Come when called, we start with step 1 & 3.  Standing directly in front of the dog (No distance), put the treat in the dog’s nose, say the dog’s name and Come (one time), then quickly back up a few steps.  When the dog follows, stop, say “Good!” and give the treat.  (Explained & Demonstrated in training.)

Loose Leash Walking:

Loose leash walking (LLW) means that a dog walks nicely, not pulling on the leash, and not completely all over the place.  LLW is not the same thing as Heel.  To teach a proper Heel, you must first teach LLW.

Consistency is very important when teaching LLW.  Doing this technique is actually very easy, but does require a LOT of patience.  Remember to stay calm.  If you are calm and consistent, your dog will be walking nicely on a leash in about a week.

To begin, go out for a walk with your regular 4-6 foot leash and buckle collar properly fitted to your dog’s neck (so they can’t slip out).  As soon as there is tension on the leash, you have two options:

When the dog pulls:  1)  Stop and wait for the DOG to move in a way that releases the tension.  When s/he does, continue walking.

2)  Say “Let’s Go!” and walk off in the opposite direction.

It is best to try and do option #1 as much as possible.  Be sure that when you stop and wait, you do not move in a way that is releasing the tension on the leash…the dog must do it.

REMEMBER:  Patience!  Patience!  Patience!

Meeting new friends.

Boone, Koa, & Maybe...these three are excited to play!