Another Baker's Dozen

Here is a second Baker’s Dozen of suggestions:

1). Use a head collar. Outfitting your dog with a head collar can be a smart choice for addressing a multitude of problems. Pulling on leash, reactivity and physical limitations come to mind. Similar to the hackamore, a bridle without a bit, used on horses; a head collar levels the playing field for many owners. Where the head goes, so goes the rest of the dog. A small girl can lead a 1,500 pound horse about when it is accustomed to the hackamore. Head collars are a hard sell for most dogs and many owners. But don’t just take my ballyhooing the praises of head collars. Guide Dogs For The Blind in Marin, CA and The Guide Dog Foundation in New York both have their puppies in training wearing head collars. The Guide Dog Foundation has good tips in its Puppy Raising Manual, which is available online (1). Jean Donaldson has a good YouTube video on how to get a dog used to a head collar (2). One should acclimate one’s dog for a few days or more- until the dog accepts the new addition to his/her ensemble. See previous blog entry, “Equipped For The Real Contest.”

2). Make a training schedule. Fashion a simple daily or weekly training schedule. List days of the week, total time spent training and each behavior worked on. Design spaces to report time spent training, individual behaviors, locations worked and the # of repetitions of behaviors. Make sure to include Name Recognition, Leave It and Take It, Sit , Down, Come and Polite Walking as basics. Kudos for adding a slot each for grooming, handling and vet checks. Points for adding in a couple tricks, the useful Touch behavior and perhaps a roll over which can be very helpful for handling. Devise a code to measure the level of improvement; for example, if the behavior is newly introduced (I), a work in progress (P), fluent in certain locations (F) or solid in all environments (S). Affix this schedule to the refrigerator, your computer screen, the bathroom mirror or someplace it cannot be overlooked. Congratulations and kudos if the spaces for the number of locations, behaviors, time spent, repetitions and progress all have high marks. Good intentions without effort add up to naught but an empty slate and an untrained dog.

3). Devise a report card for your dog. Training the dog is a home schooling project for most owners. Using the training schedule above to provide part of a lesson plan, grade your dog on his or her educational progress. Level. Is your dog at a preschool level, grade school or higher? Attendance. Does your dog have a good attendance record? Comportment. Is your dog respectful of others- canine and human? Does he or she enjoy learning? PE- grade your dog on how much physical exercise he engages in. Foreign Language Study. How extensive is your dog’s English or sign language vocabulary? Social Studies. Does he know his vocabulary in public? Where and how often has he been on field trips? Does he or she play well with others? Extracurricular activities. Does your dog engage in doggie activities such as agility, nosework, parkour, therapy work, day care, play dates, training classes, private tutor, etc? Hmmm, it seems the results of a dog’s education are quite dependent on the input of his or her owner. Perhaps it would be helpful if we devise a report card for the owner.

4). Report card for home schooled dogs’ owners. Many dog care professionals provide report cards for the guardians of pets in their care. These dossiers provide dog owners valuable information on the behavioral, emotional and physical state of their pets. Dogs may be assessed with an A- F, pass/fail, never- sometimes- always, a scale of 1- 10, 0- 5 stars, yea/nay or some other appraisal. Most dogs are home schooled. They arrive at our doorstep equipped with hard wired doggie genetics. It is our responsibility to guide their education and socialization into polite human society. If our dogs could write a report card scrutinizing our efforts and skills as educators, what marks would we receive? (See previous blog- Report Card For Owner Of Home Schooled Dog).

5). Capture Behaviors. Teaching a Sit to most dogs is usually a simple task. A treat raised from the mouth up and back between the ears usually does the trick. The dog focuses on the treat and folds back into a Sit. You have Lured the dog. Three points for a field goal! But not all dogs are food motivated and some are not physically comfortable in a position others not the least interested in the transcendent glories of obedience training. What to do? First off, you needn’t worry about it and make a Stand (or occasionally a Down) your de facto, rock solid, control position. It does not have to be a Sit. Some breeds such as terriers, Greyhounds and Great Danes, seem to prefer a Stand. Working with the dog’s comfort or preference is perfectly fine. Another option is to forcefully mold your dog into a Sit, but really, let’s not go there, as this is not at all fine or necessary. Yet another method is gentle molding where minimal pressure is applied to physically guide the dog into a desired position. By itself, molding may not be effective and results in resistance in some dogs. In combination with a lure, gently molding the dog into a Sit can be effective. Capturing the behavior is another possibility. Working on the premise that a behavior that is rewarded is more likely to be repeated, simply reward your dog if it offers an untrained behavior without being prompted. This is called capturing a behavior. Reward if you catch him/her offering a Sit, Down, Eye Contact, a Speak, a cute head tilt or looking away from another dog without reacting- anything you would like to put on cue. We may miss many offered behaviors when not in training mode. Be on call for a “training moment” 24/7. Keep treats handy at all times. You never know when you may need one. You can be judicious in their use. Recently, an unsocialized Amish puppy mill Doodle, who had no training or social experience attended her first individual training session. She was very wary of new people and had to be taught that even taking a treat was an OK thing. She was extremely timid but stood pinned to her new owner’s side. She did not know her name and was absolutely clueless concerning obedience training. Luring her was ineffective as she did not understand the concept of taking food from her, owner’s hand, much less as a reward for a behavior. She did learn to take and appreciate a few tidbits as we continued to speak. Then, while we were talking, out of the blue, she happened to Sit and the owner immediately praised and treated her. As we resumed talking, she offered another Sit, later another. She shortly turned into a veritable Sitting machine, repeatedly interrupting our conversation with another Sit. Her confidence rose mightily and she even dared approach me and briefly give my shoes a sniff. It did not take long for this pup’s Sit to go from Captured to Cued. A second example was a male Great Dane who did not wish to Sit at all. His owner is fine with him using a Stand as his control position and he is a very imperturbable fellow in a Stand, thank you very much. But his owner would like to at least train him to Sit. This guy offers a Sit at home but irregularly. At the end of class, for two weeks in a row, he has inexplicably offered a Sit. This guy is on his own schedule. A schedule very different from than the Doodle, And that’s’ OK. A second Great Dane was recently taught to Sit with a combination of Capturing, Luring and gentle Molding. After a number of successful behavior Captures of a Sit, a mother and daughter double teamed their female puppy. The mother used a lure over the lengthy dog’s head while the daughter worked the back end simultaneously by lightly tucking the back legs in. She soon caught on to hand signal and a vocal cue. Be aware of what behaviors your dog offers. It may mean that in the long run you don’t always have to be telling him what to do

6). Condiment Or Deterrent? One thing everybody can agree on is puppies have very sharp teeth. How to deal with puppy biting is not always straightforward. It will take time for that cute, furry velociraptor to learn the rules of polite society. We don’t greet guests by launching at them, flashing our pointy dentition first. Constantly redirecting the pup to a bloodless object to shred will require time and perhaps a magnum of human claret. Teaching a dog to redirect its focus to an appropriate object to chew is fine but in the meanwhile it is good to introduce some desired impulse control behaviors such as a Leave It, a Sit which includes a Stay and a Sit before eating or greeting people, among other basics. Exercise and structured socialization are also critical. Management should be a huge priority. Set up situations and your environment to prevent problems- think baby gates, crates, tie downs. ex pens, dog on leash when visitors arrive, etc., Raising a new puppy can be frustrating and many owners of new pets suddenly flashback to the not really cute antics of previous puppies. One possible quick fix to puppy biting is the use of Bitter Apple. Bitter Apple does not work for every dog! Some canine connoisseurs actually like the nasty stuff, think it’s a tasty sauce, and go “Please, Sir, I want some more.” In most cases, dogs do not like the taste and immediately learn to avoid it. Often it is helpful to liberally spray an object, like a shoe, that is too big to be swallowed and simply leave it out for the miscreant to discover. It may take several “stings” of this nature but the perpetrator usually gets the point instantly and starts to leave things be. Yeah, this is an aversive and yes, a dog does have to have an unpleasant experience for it to work. One can spray socks, shoe strings, furniture, dangling robe belts and the back of your hand. Present the sprayed hand to your dog before it starts nipping, not after the biting has occurred. You do not want the puppy “rehearsing” less than exemplary behavior. Do avoid getting the stuff in your eyes and mouth. Trust me, it is very disagreeable. This deterrent, like a spray bottle, could be considered mild compared to many corrective techniques. Some people find a spray bottle effective for jumping and biting. Bottom line is whether it works. We had a terrier cross who was scared witless at the sight of a spray bottle. We never used it. It was too much. Our Lab would lap at a fire hose thinking, “how swell is this?” A spray bottle was not at all aversive to her and was actually a fun thing. If Bitter Apple works you will know right away. If not, it may take longer to stop the carnage. Bottom line, if using an aversive use minimum correction possible but it has to be enough for a dog to say, “No way am I gonna so that again!”

7). Don’t Shoot The Dog. Edward Thorndike came up with the Law 0f Effect by observing cats pushing levers to escape “puzzle boxes.” This Law states “that behaviors with satisfying outcomes are more likely to happen again, while those with unsatisfying outcomes are less likely to reoccur (3). BF Skinner studied rats and pigeons. He riffed on Thorndikes’s Law and came up with “operant conditioning” and the “Skinner Box,” or “operant conditioning chamber” (4). “Operant conditioning thus demonstrates that organisms may be guided by consequences, whether positive or negative, in the behaviours they produce (5). Karen Pryor had an early career that included training and studying marine mammals. She wrote a book entitled Don’t Shoot The Dog. This book is not at all about specifically training dogs. It is about operant conditioning and how to apply it in the real world, not using a puzzle box with cats or rats in a Skinner box. Besides, the puzzle box and operant conditioning chamber are not available with one click of a lever (a keystroke on your computer) at Amazon. But you can download a free copy of Don”t Shoot The Dog (6). To help strengthen your understanding of all this, let’s say that you easily downloaded Karen Pryor’s book. Do you find reading older books that are in the public domain rewarding? If so, check out Project Gutenberg (7). You can download free ebooks with a few clicks of your “lever.” You will feel amply rewarded and it is more likely you will want to repeat this experience. If you are not into older books, then you will most likely not bother to look up Project Gutenberg. It does not reinforce you, so the outcome is not at all satisfying for you, not worth the effort

(8). Magic Marker. Karen Pryor was the Grande Dame of clicker clicker training. To many people clicker training may seem exotic, even outre. And to be sure, what can be accomplished with this operant conditioning tool is nothing short of magic (8) (9). The concept of a marker actually is basically straight forward. You pair up a sound- a click, a word, a whistle, that has no inherent meaning to your dog with something very rewarding (usually food, which is a primary reinforcer- something needed for survival). Soon, the indifferent sound magically morphs into the mojo of a conditioned reinforcer (10). This sound now augurs treat. “What sorcery is this?” says your dog. “Working for a living is very cool!” Desired behaviors are “marked” and reinforced the exact instant they occur. Precise timing is essential. Behaviors are then repeated, re- marked, rewarded and strengthened. Dogs work hard to earn their clicks. Simply put, a marker (conditioned reinforcer) communicates to a dog that at this exact moment you are doing precisely the correct behavior and your reward is on the way. Spot on hoodoo!

(9). Balancing Act. In the beginning of clicker training, Karen Pryor, whose background was working with marine mammals, teamed up with Gary Wilkes, a respected dog trainer, who had worked with over 1000 dogs, to present seminars. Both were well versed in operant conditioning, and polished presenters. The goal was to proselytize the wonders of clicker training to the dog and animal training world. And for a while it worked but a serious rift became apparent. Karen was not at all into aversives and Gary felt that all tools should be used, positive and not so R+. He firmly believed in a “balanced” approach to training and introduced the aversive side of training in their workshops (11). It seemed like a good cop, bad cop routine. They parted ways and Karen went on to become the famous godmother of positive reinforcement and founded The Karen Pryor Academy. Gary Wilkes proceeded on his own path. He still promoted clicker training, has a sizable following but he literally went “bonkers.” He uses a trademark rolled up towel to whop dogs on the head, accompanied by a loud “no.” (Think conditioned punisher) (12). The dog learns to repent a transgression the moment before or at the exact start of his impropriety. Today, Karen Pryor (recently deceased) is practically a goddess to many and a “fairy godmother” with a wand (target stick) showering treats upon everything in sight to detractors. Gary Wilkes has introduced positive clicker training to many fans but is considered truly abusive by denigrators. To this day we find “positive” trainers vs “balanced” trainers still bickering about the true path to a dog’s enlightenment (13) (14). The truth is that there is no totally “positive” training. If you verbally reprimand a dog, withhold a treat, give him a time out- these are all by definition, punishments (15). So can a suggestion emerge from all this? Use common sense. Treats do not have to be used every time. Get on a variable reinforcement schedule once a behavior is learned. Become adept at managing situations to prevent problems. Use real life rewards- sitting before eating, greeting, going through doors, etc. Sniffing can be used to reward proper walking. Don’t quick draw an aversive tool before properly teaching a dog what you want. Keep that bonker holstered, partner. You may never need to use it! If you use aversives. be judicious. If you use a trainer, know what tools they employ, the order of tools they reach for and how quickly they reach for an aversive.

(10). What Is My Dog Learning? This is another take on Plays Well With Others from the original Baker’s Dozen blog. I am not a fan of dog parks. I used to frequent and personally did not have any seriously negative experiences. In fact, there were no unpleasant incidents. But there have been too many situations that have gone bloody wrong. Not all owners have a handle on their dogs. In addition to physical injury, dogs can learn not to come when called, how to be afraid of other dogs, how to bully others. The players are at some distance from their owners, making their own choices and almost universally have no recall with such a heightened level of distraction. Not a good blueprint for good behavior. This is not to say that it is always bad. Of course not. And sometimes, the same people and dogs meet at the same time and are quite good at monitoring the doggie doings. The desired result can be a worn out dog with genteel social skills. Many pet guardians who are not sure of dog parks will find the ever rising cost of structured play in a daycare facility financially onerous. An alternative is to structure a play session with another pet owner. There is a formula (I cannot recall from whom I first heard this as I would like to give credit) of one third play, one third training and one third down time. More specifically, the dogs are released to play when calm and allowed to play as long as the play is reciprocal and both owners are comfortable. When the pups are played out, they are put on leash and given a lesson in obedience training in the presence of the other dog. After this, the owners relax with a glass of wine or cup of tea and the dogs learn to chill, even if their good buddy is nearby. It gets better. These two are now at ease and can be taken on a walk together, practice a calm sit while the owners converse, practice passing by each other and even fine tuning meeting and greeting politely on cue. We need to take the responsibility for our dogs to learn and practice appropriate behavior in every situation we put them in. Being worn out is a very important goal but it should not be at the expense of a dog being hurt or learning or passing on undesirable behaviors. If you go to dog parks, make sure your dog is hanging with the right crowd.

(11). Woah Uponeth All Who Pulleth. There are innumerable training videos that purport to teach an owner how to walk a dog with a loose leash. There are a number of accessories that trainers may recommend such as prong collars, choke chains or electronic collars. I am partial to head collars and front connecting harnesses (16). We trainers are verily an opinionated lot. To repeat the very old joke-“the only thing two trainers can agree on is what the third trainer is doing wrong.” Here is a method involving four main parts that can be practiced separately. The first is the Back Away as introduced by Brenda Aloff (17). There are no words. You just just put it in reverse and step back far enough to bring the dog into a Sit directly in front of you for a reward. One step for a Chihuahua, several steps for a Great Dane (any dog is OK in a Stand, if calm). Nothing at all fancy but very effective. In the beginning, guide with the leash or lure but, again, there are no words. The goal is for the dog to follow your body language and focus on you. “Whatever you are looking at is none of your business.” We go backwards before going forward. Practice until your dog reverses automatically to your leg moving back, without prompts. This exercise is wonderful, just by itself! The second piece of the puzzle is to teach the pup to stop each time you stop, her paws lined up nicely with your feet. Using a reference point, such as lines in a sidewalk, take a step forward as you say “Let’s Go,” “Heel” or whatever your walking cue is. Your dog can be on either side of you. Stop your dog with gentle guidance with a short leash as you halt. Both your two paws and the dog’s front paws should be toeing the line. Often it can help to lure the dog into the “Sit” or simply stop in a “Stand,” as you use the leash as a gentle aversion. Sit is not necessary at this point and can be introduced later, if you wish. If the dog is on the left, I prefer to hold the leash in my left hand, lure and reward with my right hand. Vicey versey if your doggie is on the right. Now you are walking and chewing gum at the same time! What you are looking for is that you and your dog are in alignment each stop you make. Practice at one step, then two, three and variably more and fewer until you have a pattern of an automatic halt and proper position at your side (not in front as in the Back Away) and you do not have to use leash or treats every time! In the beginning many dogs will automatically try to move in front of you, they have learned that position has been valuable in the past when you work on Sit, Come And now the Back Away. Keep them in alignment, in position at your side. This exercise is not a Back Away. We want the dog to think the position at your side is also quite rewardable. Third part, cue your dog to move forward a step or so then turn 180 degrees away from your dog. Turn about to the right, if dog is on your left side. Take a step after the turn and then halt in alignment. You can lure the dog and encourage it as you turn. Ideally, your dog is looking up at you as she makes this turn. Mark the moment and/or praise and treat this splendid choreography. Repeat, when successful, going forward a variable number of more steps, turning about and always ending in alignment. On the beginning, always turn 180 degrees away from the dog before it gets ahead. If you are not in her peripheral vision, she is probably not paying attention. Part the fourth, turn into the dog 180 degrees. This will help keep the dog from getting ahead. If pupster is on the left, lure or pull gently back on the leash (gently up if using a head collar), as you pivot briskly about with your left foot in front of the dog and head back from whence direction you came. Again start with short distances and add more with more success.

(12). Eyes Up Here, Mr Puppy. If your dog is looking at you and giving you his undivided attention, he is less likely to be plotting a mischief. Having your dog recognize his name and immediately look you in the eye is one of the first things to teach a dog. The dog does not have to be in a Sit or any set position Here are three variations on the theme. Variation Number One. Work in sets of five to ten repetitions. With treat in hand, simply say your dog’s name. When he looks up at you, immediately pop him the treat. If he hesitates a bit, still reward him if he looks up at you. Eventually, you will shape the behavior and reward only the swiftest of responses. Ideally, your pup should respond at whiplash speed. Make sure he is making eye contact, which is the target behavior or goal. If he focuses on your hand with the treat, keep the treat hand behind your back. Eyes Up Here, Mr Puppy! If he does not respond, put the treat in front of his nose and bring it up to your nose and then reward as he looks up. If he offers eye contact without you saying anything, Capture the behavior as explained above. You can prolong the eye gazing with soft praise and variable treats. Variation Number Two. With your dog held on a very shortened tether, at either side, facing the same direction, take a short step and place a treat on the ground a couple feet away from your dog. Now say the dog’s name and if he looks away from temptation and up to you, reward him. Same exercise, as above, only now the treat is in full view and apparently available. Mr pup has to learn to look away from the treat in order to earn another from you as reward. Use the leash gently to keep him from scarfing up the treat. Vary the distance of the dog from the treat on the ground. How does more or less distance from the distraction correlates to the distraction level? The treat on the ground should remain on the ground and be picked up and pocketed at the end of the exercise Variation Number Three. Set a treat on the ground as in Variation Two. Say your dog’s name as before but now as the dog looks at you, back up and tell him to ”Come.” You are now simply doing the “Back Away” behavior but you have used a verbal cue instead of silently using body language, your leg movement backwards. Have him Sit or Stand, smartly straight, right in front of you and reward him. Basically, you are calling your dog away from a distraction, Use different food on the ground, call him away from balls, toys, people other dogs. Back up and call him to you periodically when you are walking him. Each recall counts as one rep of your Daily Minimum Recall Requirement (DMRR) (18).

(13). One Behavior Per Cue Here’s the deal. In general, you should have only one behavior per cue. Behavior chains like Roll or Go To Bed are exceptions that combine more than one known, well defined behavior with one cue. The definition of each link in a behavior chain is singular. This is very different from one word, Down, for example, having two or three simultaneous meanings. It can be confusing for a dog to be expected to know Down universally means to get off the couch, don’t jump and additionally to lay calmly on the ground. Down can very well be used as a cue to get off the couch, if so you choose. But it may be useful to expand your pup’s vocabulary. If Down now solely means to get off the couch, the use of a Sit can lead to something other than a jump. Lay, Lie, Park It or Platz can provide an alternative cue for reposing on the ground. The words themselves do not matter Another common example of a dueling definition is the use of “Come” to mean both to walk along at your side and to briskly perform a recall. Makes sense to the human (just walk along next to me). If the dog is then later told to Come, the owner expects a completely different behavior. What is a dog supposed to do? It is just fine however to have more than one cue or signal per behavior. That is legal. What words you choose doesn’t matter. Just have one behavior per definition. Dogs must wonder what is it with these humans as they repeat the same word and expect a different result?

(1). PuppyRaiserManual

(2). you tube gentle leader jean donaldson - Google Search

(3). The Law of Effect in Psychology

(4). Thorndike’s law of effect | Definition & Examples | Britannica

(5). Ibid

(6).DON'T SHOOT THE DOG - Karen Pryor - Don't shoot the dog.pdf

(7). Free eBooks | Project Gutenberg

(8). (165) Baboons Benefit From Operant Conditioning - YouTube

(9). (175) Elephant Training Demonstration - Toronto Zoo Sept. 19/10 - YouTube ‘’

(10). Secondary Reinforcer: Definition, Examples, and Uses

(11). Wilkes - My former associate, Karen Pryor, was... | Facebook

(12). Why the Bonker Works | Gary Wilkes' Real Clicker Training