The Basics!

I just got off the phone with a new puppy owner.  She hasn't had a puppy in years and was feeling overwhelmed, even by the basics like teaching her pup to sit, lie down, come when called, and stay.  She's been doing lots of reading, but like most of the dog owners I meet, she's finding contradicting information at every turn.  Some folks recommend lure training, while others eschew it.  Some say use treats, while others say don't use treats, just use praise. While I know I've talked about some of this before, I thought it might be nice to just put all of my thoughts on these basics into one blog post, for easy reference. 

First, a little learning theory refresher.  The easiest way to teach a new behavior is to use shaping.  That is, a process by which you reward an animal for successive approximations to the desired goal. Once they reach that goal, you mark the behavior (best to use something fast and easy like "Yes!"), and reward.  While there are some folks who like to just capture behaviors when they occur naturally and reward then, I have always found this to be tedious and time consuming.  Dogs offer behaviors all the time, so waiting to capture when they do something you want, means constant vigilance and rewards at the ready. I'd rather be proactive, shaping behaviors I want to see happen again, and rewarding them accordingly.  Now, some examples.

Getting a puppy to come to you is critical and probably the most important behavior they will ever learn as it keeps them safe.  This is why you never call your dog to you for something they'd hate; they'll learn to ignore you and quit coming reliably because you are the fun police.  For puppies, it's often easy to get them to come to you, at least initially.  Capitalize on that and reward it profusely so instead of being the fun police, you are party central.  Bend down, wiggle your fingers, and make kissy sounds.  When your puppy looks your way, wiggle those fingers some more (that's a lure!), say their name happily, and call them now.  Most puppies are already scampering your way with the kissy sounds, but adding in the happy voice and wiggly fingers just seals the deal.  When they get to you, say "Yes!" and give them a treat, before sending them back off to play.  This is important:  You send them back off to play, even just for a few moments, before you pick them up or move them on to the next thing.  That way, coming to you is associated with amazing things like more play.

If you are having trouble getting your puppy to sit, or stay sitting, you are not alone.  A lot of puppies will sit for a few seconds and them pop right up as soon as you say anything or reach toward them with a treat.  If you blow it and give them a treat when their little bottom pops up, then that's what they will think a sit is; a jack-in-the-box maneuver, rather than a calm, sit in place.  Whether you are having trouble just getting a sit, or you're having trouble with your puppy holding the sit position, here is an exercise to try that should help.  Position your puppy in a corner so that their little bottom is pointed toward the corner.  Hold a treat in front of their nose and slowly move that treat in your hand up and over their head.  They will try to back up to reach for the treat, and their bottom will hit the wall.  When this happens, they may wiggle sideways, but if your hand is still just above and behind their head, that head will tip back, and that bottom will hit the ground. The second it does, say "Yes!" and give them the treat.  While they are still sitting, quickly give them another.  Each time you do this, you can move further and further out and away from that corner until your puppy can sit without the support of the wall behind them. 

A lot of puppies have trouble with lying down, especially those small breed puppies who are literally thinking," Hey!  I'm already low to the ground! How much lower can I go?!" This doesn't mean, however, that you shouldn't teach your puppy, regardless of breed, to lie down when requested. Head for that corner again, and this time, bring a bed, mat, rug, or towel.  That way, you can kill two birds with one stone, teaching your dog the meaning of place (on their bed, rug, etc.) and getting a solid down on request.  First, get them to sit with their bottom in that corner.  Now, slowly (and I mean SLOWLY) move that treat down from their nose, under their chin, and then down their chest to the ground. They'll start by just trying to stretch their necks to reach the treat, but persevere! If that bottom pops up, you moved the treat too quickly. As you move that treat toward the ground, move your hand and the treat even closer to their body, between those front legs.  You'll leave them with no choice but to fold up, origami puppy-style, into the sloppiest down you've ever seen, and that's okay!  Each time you do this, your puppy's down will look less like a puppy puddle and more like a down.  Now, you can start moving that bed/mat/rug away from the wall and begin sending your puppy to their place to lie down.

As you can see from my examples, I'm all in favor of using treats to lure your dogs into doing what you'd like them to do.  I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  Everyone, your dogs included, likes to get paid for a job well done.  Whether you are using their kibble, dog treats, cheerios, or string cheese, it doesn't matter.  What matters is what is your dog willing to work for?  Some dogs are pickier that others, some crave novelty, and others will eat anything you offer them.  Try different lures and figure out what works best for your pup.  And, yes, you can use a toy for a lure as well, just remember that if you are using a toy, then they get to play with it following completion of the behavior, which may derail training sessions for some dogs. I myself prefer a pocketful of small, yummy treats so I can lure, reward, and repeat a couple of times before moving on to a play session as the penultimate reward. It's like getting paid for your job and then receiving a bonus!

Once you've taught a puppy to come, sit, and lie down on request, you've got the foundation you need to teach every other behavior you might want them to be able to do on request.  Whether it's teaching them to stay, walk across the dog walk in agility, or retrieve an object, having these foundational behaviors means your puppy knows how to listen, focus, and perform an action on request. I like to test my dogs' on their skills by changing it up, not always giving verbal requests, but just using hand signals, for example. For people with puppies, however, I always suggest using both the verbal cue and the hand signal until you are sure they understand what both cues mean AND what it is that they are doing that means the same thing as your cues.  You'll really know they've got this when you simply glance their way and before you can ask, they approach you and offer a sit as if to say, "What are we doing next, favorite human?"

I hope this helps.  Whether you are working with a new puppy or an adult dog you've just acquired, this outline should give you a good idea of how I would approach teaching them the basics. Just don't move too quickly through them and remember to repeat the exercises only enough to ensure that they understand, but not so much that you bore them into misbehavior.  Keep your training sessions short, 3-5 minutes works great for puppies and adolescent dogs; you hold their attention and release them before they've gotten tired or bored or both!

As always, if you have questions about your pet's behavior, you know where to find me.

Here's puppy Ozzie, adding his own spin to a down/stay

 by crossing his paws.  It's a collie thing.