When Your Dog is Smarter Than You.

I think it is important that I personally have confidence and knowledge of the products that I sell in Dogism's store.  I test most things on my own dogs or my friend's dogs. Since I am on a kick to teach my boys new tricks, I decided it was time to train Luey on the Treat House that I sell.  The idea of the Treat House is that the dog drops a ball into the top of the house, triggering a lever that kicks out a treat.  Luey is already trained to "take it" so he can pick up the ball, no problem.  He knows "drop it," so basically all I have to do is teach the location of where to drop the ball.  That should not be too hard.  What I failed to consider was the mind of Luey.  The king of treat toys like Kong, he is always up for the challenge of new treat filled toys.  So when I put this treat filled house in front of him, it didn't take him long to figure out that if he just flipped it over with his nose or paw, it would drop treats with about the same reinforcement ratio of the treat toys. 

I have somewhat successfully walked him through the proper use of the toy, but usually when I offer him the tennis ball, he just looks at me like "stupid human, why would I go through all that?" and promptly tips over the house with his nose. 

See the Treat House here.

A Final Truth About Dog Training

Okay, so I have shared with you some of the ugly reality about dog training.  It is not going to be easy and it is not always fun.  But it really is worth all the time and energy you put in.  It is a great feeling when you are out in public with your dogs and they receive compliments on their behavior.  It is also empowering to know that you have (some) control over your dog if you find yourself in an uncontrolled environment such as a loose dog while walking or getting your dog away from "that dog" at the dog park.  Some of my favorite times with my dogs are my training times, especially when teaching tricks.  Sure, many are goofy.  But then again, so am I and so are my dogs. 

All good behavior requires a foundation of the basics.  Take your time to learn them now and I promise, it will get easier and easier to train your dog to do anything.  Eventually, you will be able to enjoy your training times and reap the rewards and compliments of your beautifully behaved dog.  Best of all, the bond you create with your dog is not teachable or found in any book.  You alone create that and what could be more rewarding?

Some Truths About Dog Training Part 2

One of the first things I tell my students and repeat again and again is that training has to be fun.  I channel my inner cheerleader and show just how exciting training your dog can be.  In reality, training is not always fun.  It can be time consuming and frustrating.  Training every day is ideal, but even a few minutes can be hard to find some days, or when the weather is bad.  Dogs often pick up some behaviors very quickly and others take much longer.  If your dog just does not seem to be getting it, sometimes you feel like giving up.  You may blame yourself or your dog.  Forget blame and don't feel bad if you are not always having fun.  It is important that your dog always think it is fun however.  Why would a dog want to learn something or behave in a way that is not fun or at least worth the effort in the end?  For example, "stay" is not necessarily fun for the dog, but there is a reward at the end for doing so.  If you never offered the reward, you are not likely to get a reliable stay. 

So if you have had a bad day, it might be better to just skip the training and have some nice play time.  If you are frustrated but want to keep going, here is my favorite tip: in your best happy, overly enthusiastic voice, tell your dog how you feel.  In my "good dog" voice, I have often told both my dogs that they being bad or bratty and that they are driving me crazy.  Because it is in the same tone that often accompanies treats, they wiggle and stay motivated and I feel better having let out a little frustration.