SIT & STAY

For Hide and Seek, your dog needs to be able to sit, stay with you out of her sight, and come to a command, whistle or her name.

SIT

If your dog cannot sit, it's really easy to teach. Weeks old puppies sit on command. Luna and Foster know hand commands so I don't have to use a verbal command. Dogs usually get it really quickly. To teach Sit, treats are helpful.

1. Show your dog the treat.
2. Say "Sit" and bring the treat above his eyes - not too high so he has to jump up to get it, but maybe two inches or so above his eyes and head.
3. When he sits, give him the treat and lots of praise.
4. Practice it several times each day.

Some trainers will recommend you push your dog's butt down if he doesn't sit upon command. I think dogs can figure this out without your pushing them down (Dogs trained as show dogs can have more challenges learning this "trick" as they've been taught to stand more than sit, but they figure it out too.). What I caution is repeating the command over and over if your dog doesn't sit at first. What your dog tends to learn is that he doesn't have to sit until the fourth time you say "Sit."

Recap: Hold the treat above your dog's head. Say "Sit" (or whatever you want for the action) once. Maybe twice. Your dog should figure it out. And give him that treat when he sits! You may find he sits without you even saying anything!


STAY

Attach a leash to your dog's collar. You can have her sit first or not. Sitting first can be helpful, but it's not essential. Stand next to her and say "Stay," or whatever you want to use for the action. The hand signal like "Stop" is basically a universal Stay command. Use this at the same time as you say "Stay." When she stays in place for a few seconds, praise her with words and/or a treat. If she doesn't stay in place, you can say something like "No" or "Hey" or "Ahh" and use the leash to put her back into the exact same place.

Practice and increase the distance and time you step away. Step to the side of your dog. Step in front. Use increasing lengths of leash or rope. When she stays, return to her with praise and/or a treat. If she "breaks the Stay," use the leash to put her back in the exact same spot and start again. Patience and praise lead to success!


BIG IMPORTANT TIP

End your training session on a success. If it's not going well, don't say, "Oh forget it!" Breathe, relax, try one more time, and end when you and your dog have a success!

Hide and Seek

The dogs and I recently took a road trip to Jupiter, Florida. Even in February, Southern Florida is hot, or was when we were there at least. Labrador Retrievers are prone to heat stroke, and Black Lab Luna was panting 30 minutes into our 9am walk. To accommodate her temperature regulation needs, Luna, Foster and I stayed in the air conditioned condo, or in the shade of the patio, from 11am to 5pm. We were on vacation, so there wasn't a schedule to follow. I planned to do a lot of nothing, but still, the dogs seemed bored to me. I decided to play one of Luna's favorite games in the world: Hide and Seek.

Luna LOVES Hide and Seek. I love Hide and Seek! I've played Hide and Seek with all of my dogs over the years to meet their various needs. It's great for teaching and reinforcing the basic skills of sit, stay, come, and name recognition for new dogs and new names. It's a great physical and mental activity for when it's too cold or too hot to walk or spend much time outside. Hide and Seek requires dogs to use their ears, nose and eyes. It's fun!

This week, I'll cover teaching the basic skills needed for Hide and Seek, and share some of our Hide and Seek adventures. We played Hide and Seek every day in Florida. My dogs never seem to tire of it, but maybe that's because I never tire of it and like to play it with them so much...

Question #1

I've been thinking about the differences and similarities among all the dogs I've had in my life, and the differences in which Jason and I have raised and interacted with the ones we have shared. I'm wondering if you think male dogs prefer male owners and if female dogs prefer female owners.

Since I was 9, I've had 6 dogs who were my personal companions, my responsibility. I've shared 4 of them with Jason. All together: four boy dogs, two girl dogs.

Spunky, my very first dog, a boy, was adopted through a rescue organization on his very last possible day of existence. He was scheduled for euthanization that afternoon. My mom let me take him home. He was an English Setter, maybe one year old. He loved me. He loved running away 1st, me 2nd and eating green beans off the vine 3rd. I didn't know a lot about dog training then and he was hit by a car. I was devastated and remember crying over him as he took his last breath.

Woof, my second dog and second boy, adored me to the ends of the Earth and back. He was a mix of a few dogs, maybe Labrador Retriever and a Shepherd of some kind. Since losing Spunky, I had read a lot about dog behavior and dog training, and we created an extremely strong and unique relationship. Woof and I spent so much time together, I didn't even need to speak to have him do what I needed; he just knew. I loved him so deeply, I've still not fully recovered from his death when he was 14 years old. Such a long life, but it's never long enough when it's your dog.

Satchel, my third boy, was the first dog I shared with Jason. Satchel loved me, but he ADORED Jason. Jason was his Sun. I fed him, walked him, love love loved him, and cared for him in every way, but it was Jason around whom he orbited. When Satchel became ill, he gravitated toward, and then clung to, me, I think because he knew I knew what he needed, but during most of his nearly 13 years with us, Satchel sought out Jason for true happiness.

Luna, my first girl dog, started out liking me and Jason equally. Somewhere along the way, she found me. She somehow discovered that I am her Sun. She likes Jason, and finds him very fun, but it is me with whom she constantly wants to be. We are uniquely linked and I can't think of myself without her.

Koko, my second girl, came to us at 12 years old. I had known her since she was about a year old and loved her. I spent nearly every day with her for about 10 years and then every second possible for the last 2 years of her life. Koko was special and my love for her hasn't waned in the 2.5 years since her death. She loved me just as deeply. Our bond was airtight. She liked Jason, but Koko knew she didn't have to choose between us. She knew she belonged to me, and I to her.

Foster is my fourth boy. He was unsure about Jason when they first met, but in the year since he came to us, Foster has shown he really loves Jason. Foster gets very excited when I come home, and he follows me around all day, but you can tell when it's time for sleep that he's ready to hunker down with his Jason. Foster loves me and wants to please me and wants to be with me a lot, but to him, there's something just a little more great about Jason. I can understand that.

Jason and I are different with our dogs. His energy is harder. He's more commanding. My energy is softer. I tend to be more demanding of consistent behavior, but I encourage behaviors by "catching them" doing things well. Even when Jason tells them they are good dogs, his "Good Dog!" sounds harsher than mine. We're just different.

I am completely against the idea and practice of "your dog" and "my dog" in a home. We are not separate packs. We are a family, and I feel adoration and responsibility to each member. How I show my adoration and and shoulder my responsibilities is different from Jason. It would never occur to me to go outside and get the mail or something out of the car without them. Jason rarely takes the dogs with him. Yes, it's 2 feet to the car and a short walk to the mailbox, but I always offer the dogs the opportunity to go with me. Sometimes they will wait at the open door for me because they don't feel the need to go with me, but I always feel the need to offer.

Jason doesn't budget outside time into his appointment schedule and he doesn't think about the dogs' possibly needing anything through the day. For sure, he knows I have probably taken care of everything, but when I have to be gone for several hours, he often doesn't think the dogs need to go out, while I like to go out with them every couple of hours. Jason's different approach isn't at all because he doesn't care. He loves our family. He and I are just different in the ways we care for our family. I'm wondering how the differences in our personalities play out in the differences in our relationships with our dogs.

I hear from other families that the boy dogs always love the boy humans and the girl dogs always love the girl humans. I don't want to believe that this is a given. Do you think male dogs more often gravitate to the male humans in their families and that female dogs more often gravitate to the female humans?

REFRESHING - Treat Receipt

Our dogs are sweet and fun and highly food motivated, Luna in particular. Labrador Retrievers are known for not having a "full" signal. There are reports of Labs who have eaten to excess and harm. I've never seen Luna "full," and it seems that if I fed her dinner 10 times in a row, she would be just as excited about the 10th bowl as the 1st. Something that we work on frequently is her acceptance of treats.

Foster is the most gentle food taker we've known. Well, I'll say he's on the same level as Koko. There is a softness in Foster's technique of taking food from my hand that feels like kindness and appreciation. It's really wonderful. Luna is so excited about anything we prepare to give her, that the drool begins immediately and she is supremely focused.

Luna came to us with an eye injury, and for years, I thought her depth perception was a bit off and that was why she wasn't the most gentle food taker. Luna is an Expert at taking food from a fork, but from your fingers, she's not so great. When Luna & I visit schools, I encourage kids to give her treats from their open hands. While they will have a drooly hand using this technique, there isn't a chance of teeth-scratched little fingers.

To help Luna relax, and not overshoot her treat taking, we work on the command "Gentle." This command seems to slow her down to accept a treat without her teeth touching my hand. Some dog owners like to throw treats so their dogs can catch them. Luna is remarkably good at this "trick." Remarkably. I don't love this trick, because for a zealous treat eater like Luna, catching treats reinforces a quick mouth grab. Jason calls her a shark.


She's fast, man.
Did you hear that mouth?

I prefer telling Luna to accept the treat from my hand. This works especially well with children who may pull back a treat when a dog's mouth is near. Some people may call a child's pull-back "teasing" a dog, but I see it as a potential Dog-Mouth-On-Child-Therefore-Your-Dog-Bit-My-Child Drama as the dog follows the treat. Offering a treat from the palm of your hand is safer, more polite, but does have the potential for leaving more slobber. There's always the option of leaving the treat on the floor and telling the dog when she can have it, but I find people say that is less rewarding to them...good grief. So to please everyone and keep everyone safe, try practicing the giving and receiving of treats, and maybe consider the option of an open hand a good one.


Luna waits patiently for permission to take the treat.
Look at her sweet face...she is so great!

REFRESHING - Leashes and Yards

We are nearing Foster's 1 Year Anniversary. He has been bringing us smiles and sweetness and new knowledge for almost one year! When I realized this, I felt some confusion. How has it been one year? Hasn't he always been in my family? Why haven't I taught him more things?!

In this almost one year, Foster has taught us several things and he has learned several things. One of the best things he's learned is how to walk on a leash. Walking on a leash is also one of the skills we continually need to refresh. And sometimes I have to use a leash to keep him in the yard.

I don't like my dogs to pull on the leash and I don't like them to walk in front of me or trip me up. Sometimes Foster is still a little over-excited and he needs to be reminded that we're walking together instead of him leading me on a walkabout. The leash, or "Hey, Fosse, you're with me," refreshes our loose leash walking.


This wrap around leash technique helps remind Fosse to walk closely and not pull. Though we rarely have to use it after almost one year, it's still in our walking repertoire.

Foster loves deer so much that he doesn't care what I say or how I feel as I yell, "Foster!" when he runs after them at dusk. Even though Foster has returned home following each unsupervised field trip, it's not safe or polite for him to run through the backyards and wetlands of our neighborhood. Therefore, Foster and I stay connected by leash during our jaunts in the yard. It refreshes his awareness of the boundary, and sometimes, I give him a chance to show his understanding of the limit, and he shines.


Foster Dog at the end of the driveway. Not in the road. Not running away. Waiting at the edge. Staying in his yard.

REFRESHING - Door Manners

Something I am always working on with my dogs is our manners at the door. We have several people come in and out of our home every day, which is very exciting for our dogs, and a continual supply of opportunities to practice our manners. How I envision their behavior isn't always what occurs, but what does occur is a chance to reinforce the rules, boundaries and limitations of our life. I expect my dogs to behave a particular way and I create the opportunity for them to succeed.

When someone comes to the door, my dogs have learned that I want them to give our guest the space to enter, hug our hellos, and then take off his or her coat before the dogs approach. And they are not to approach our guest until given permission. This is truly a challenge for my dogs who are extremely social and interested in all humans. I see this challenge as wonderful and feel little stress about whether we will succeed or not. Honestly, I do feel some concern when a new person is coming over and I tell my dogs, "Now I know it's hard to accept, but not everyone we meet thinks you are as fabulous as I do. We have to feel this person out before you can say hello."

Our guest-welcoming routine is:
1. We see the person's car arrive and I tell the dogs to sit and stay in their designated spot.

Their eyes are focused on the front door!

2. I open the door and welcome our guest. The dogs are often reminded to stay.

An open door does not mean I've invited my dogs to the door or to walk outside.
Some behaviorists or trainers encourage dogs to follow their owners to the door and then give space to the visitor.
When I am expecting someone on a personal visit, my dogs come much closer.
This is our most conservative greeting style for those visitors who are new to us or uncomfortable with dogs.
My dogs can get a lot of scent information from this distance until we assess the comfort of our guest.

3. Our guest and I hug and say hello and I take his or her coat.

4. I ask our guest if he or she would like to say hello to the dogs. If the answer is Yes, the dogs are allowed to approach.

Foster & Luna have been given permission to greet.

5. Following the hellos, the dogs are told to give our guest space again and we enter further into the house. The dogs can still smell our guest from a distance and get whatever information is useful to them while giving the socially acceptable and comfortable space most people need.

We practice this every day. Some days there is more excitement than others and some guests bring treats adding steps to the welcoming process. Some days the dogs seem to remember their manners better than others, but I like them to have the chance to practice every time. Some people dread anyone coming to the door, or ringing the doorbell in particular, and I'm happy to say, we always enjoy the experience of honing our door manners. Every guest is a chance for my dogs to see I always want the same thing at the door, and for them to shine their wonderfulness on people!

REFRESHING

I went to see Cesar Millan in Akron, Ohio, February 3rd, one of few stops he made on The Pack Leader Tour in the United States. My love for Cesar Millan is deep. I appreciate him and his philosophy and his story and his kind communication style. I left the lecture loving him and my dogs all the more. I also left with less weight on my shoulders and a more forgiving heart toward myself.

Whenever my dogs make a mistake or don't listen to me, I look to myself and what I am doing wrong. I think about what I am lacking in our relationship that causes them not to trust or respect me. I watch Cesar's show, The Dog Whisperer. I have all of his DVDs and have watched them. I have all of his books and have read them. I subscribe to his newsletter and watch the short educational videos he posts. I have heard his message that it isn't the dog or the breed, it is the human behind the dog. I have loved his dogs and mourned the loss of Daddy, Cesar's perfect dog who changed the world. I've seen virtually everything he has shared and tried to teach me. What I missed was the continual process. I only saw Cesar's "product," the wonderful way he interacts with dogs, how he encourages and creates transformation in minutes, and how he communicates to humans that they can make it all happen too. I missed the process that he continually goes through with his own pack - there is continual reminding and enforcing of the rules, boundaries and limitations.


Cesar and Junior at the Akron Civic Theatre in Akron, Ohio February 3, 2012

As Cesar demonstrated his feeding ritual with Junior on stage, I smiled. I had just coincidentally covered feeding on I'm a D.O.G., and everything the audience was ooohing and aaahhhing over was something I could have done with Luna and Foster right then. Nothing Cesar was demonstrating with Junior was unusual in our everyday life. I felt such happiness for my dogs and our relationship. I felt so lucky to have the same kind of respect in our relationship that Cesar and Junior shared. Then Junior started to sort of crab walk to the bowl of food without Cesar's permission. Cesar corrected Junior with his "tsst" sound, and Junior stopped, and all was well, and my heart started to pound. My heart pounded quickly again when Cesar had to say "tsst" to Junior a few minutes later during a toy demonstration. Junior needed correction. Junior needed to be reminded of the rule, boundary and limitation set by Cesar. Junior respected Cesar, but still needed a little bit of correction. It hit me hard that the process is continual and I am not lacking. My relationship with my dogs is not lacking. We rock.

This week, I am inspired to cover some of the things I continually work on with my dogs. I'll try to show what we do, why we do it, and how we remind each other we need to revisit the rules, boundaries and limitations that keep our pack strong. We are filled with trust and respect. Our Pack Rocks.

FEEDING RITUAL - Two More Things

Just two more things about feeding my dogs.

1. I like to feed them twice per day. I split up their caloric needs into two meals. I think it gives more structure to the day and gives them something to look forward to in a sense. Not that dogs are thinking and planning their days, but I don't believe anyone who says dogs can't tell time. My dogs may react to their breakfasts out of knowledge of the routine, but when it's 4:30pm, they start looking to me as if I've forgotten something. I tell them, "It's not time yet. We eat at 5pm."

2. Everyone's dog has its own body routine, but approximately 90 minutes to 2 hours after eating, my dogs need to go outside. Puppies tend to need to go out within 20 minutes of eating, or even playing, and some adult dogs may have this need as well. My dogs' digestion tells them they need to go out by around 7pm. This kind of information is important. Any variation from this would let me know there's something potentially amiss in my dogs' internal health.

Such great information can come from a feeding ritual. Who knew?


Luna knows everything!

FEEDING RITUAL - Eating

Some people experience what is called "food aggression" or "resource guarding" with their dogs. These are displayed by a dog's growling, snapping, barking, etc. toward a person or other animal that approaches it while it is eating or chewing on a high value item such as a rawhide, bone, or favored toy. This is dangerous behavior and it is unacceptable in our pack.

There is not one command or "thing" we do that discourages resource guarding. I believe it is the one hundred little things we do every day that inform our dogs we provide for them, everything belongs to us, they do not need to defend themselves, and we will not accept possessive or aggressive behavior. Our feeding ritual provides examples of a few of these.

As already highlighted, our dogs work for their food and wait calmly. They also have to receive permission to approach their feeding stations.


Fosse's bowl is filled with dry dog food, frozen green beans, pureed sweet potatoes and hot water. He looks to me for direction of when he can eat. He's such a good puppy!

Once my dogs are eating, I should be able to have my hand in their bowls or move them away from their stations or touch them without any irritation or aggressive behavior. I am guaranteed this due to the trust and respect in our relationship. It creates a secure environment for everyone. My dogs trust that they never have to defend food, and I trust that my dogs are safe around anyone any time.


Luna licks my hand assuming something good is coming from it.
Not everyone has this kind of relationship with her dog, but I wish it for everyone.


Foster moves slightly from my hand as it approaches his food, giving me space and preparing to stop eating if I demand it.
He was unsure during feeding time when he first came to us, but now he's healthy, respectful, appreciative, and happy to eat.

FEEDING RITUAL - Waiting

Feeding time can be an exciting and active time in some households. I am told of food spilling, people tripping, dogs jumping and general chaos leading to people just leaving food out for their dogs to eat at will. For a few reasons, free-feeding is not something I provide, but what I do create in my home is a structured and relaxed energy surrounding our feeding ritual.

After we've walked - accomplishing a task before being rewarded with food - my dogs have a particular location in which to sit while I prepare their meal. This location gives them the opportunity to see what I'm doing while ensuring everyone's safety and composure. It doesn't take long to prepare their meals, but there are a few steps, and having my dogs sit until I call them to their bowls gives them another task to perform, and it provides them with the predictability that food comes when everyone is calm. There is a serene feeling and reverence for the gift of food in our house.

This isn't all to assert my power over them, though it does create an understanding that all good things come from me, but it gives everyone a job, a place, a security that we each have a role in this ritual and it's always a gift, happily provided and received.


Luna watching carefully and patiently. Fosse interested in both the meal prep and the squirrel he sees out the window.