Dogs Taking Over the House?

If you’ve ever had more than one dog in your home, you know life can sometimes feel like a circus, or even a jungle! Lions and tigers and bears might be easier to handle than a house full of dogs.

This gorgeous quartet can be fun or frenzy!

Life with “your pack” can be tons of fun. But, those of us who do it know that two dogs are more than twice the work of one, and three or four can feel like twelve. Several dogs can bring fun and energy to your home, as long as they’re managed well and they’re well-suited to your lifestyle and each other. In order to maximize the fun and tone down the chaos, there are a few simple tricks that can be extremely valuable to the multi-dog owner.

1. Teach One Name that Calls Them All

You can choose anything from “dogs,” to “monsters,” but it’s a whole lot more efficient than calling, “Sparky, Princess, Spike, Lily, Cisco…” for sure! To do this, you just say the name in an attention-getting voice, and reward any dog who looks. It won’t take too many tries for everyone to be willing participants in this game and catch on! Once they’ve mastered their group moniker, you’re well on your way to keeping them under control and looking like a lion-tamer.

2. Treat Each Dog as an Individual

Many people get bogged down with the idea of treating every dog in the house exactly the same, all the time. For example, if you take one dog to the vet, you may feel like by leaving the others behind, they’ll feel bad, so you take the others out for a little trip later to make up for it. One dog got a cookie for sitting politely at the door, but the rest need one too, so that you can sleep soundly at night knowing that you’re a good dog mom. When dogs don’t learn how to tolerate frustration, it can lead to huge problems for them, and especially for you. So, don’t get hung up on making sure that you treat every single dog exactly the same every minute of every day. They are individuals, and treating them as such will help them, and you, and relieve a lot of stress for all involved.

3. Teach the Same Manners to Everyone

Teaching these guys to stay was as easy as 1-2-3!

It really helps to teach your group of dogs to perform behaviors as a group – specifically key manners behaviors like “Get Back” or “Stay”. This is more difficult than doing something with a single dog, but not as challenging as you might think. You can break the process down into a few simple steps. First, teach each dog a behavior like “Stay,” on their own.  Practice it with each individual separately until they are reliable on their own. (Side note: Yes, you should keep the other dog(s) in another room or behind a gate while you teach your pupil. Remember, they can handle it and it’s good for them to learn a little patience! Use a stuffed Kong as a distraction if needed.) Once you’ve taught each dog separately, begin to practice with two at the same time, until they’re reliable together. If you have more than two, keep adding one dog at a time. Once they’ve got the basics as a group, you can add little distractions, one at a time, and at a slow pace. If you are adding distractions to the entire group, and one dog isn’t getting it, work with that individual separately to bring him up to speed. Training the “entire team” takes a little extra time, but when your dogs are well-mannered as a group, you’ll be impressed and pleased, and so will your friends!

Inspired by dogs? Check out this video of our students and mentors training theirs!

What does my Dog Choice Mean for my Life?

Why do we choose the dogs we do? Whether you’re a dog owner, a trainer, or a rescue worker, it’s valuable to understand this. There IS one moment when you choose the dog you will spend years with. What made YOU pick out the dog that you have now? Was it the black splotch over his eye? Was it the fact that she looked just like the last dog you had? How about that it had to be a boy, and this was the last boy in the litter? Or was it that you’ve always had Golden Retrievers and wanted another, and it had to be cream colored, too?

It’s no secret that most of us pick our dogs based on looks.

As humans, we are highly visual, and we base a lot of decisions on the way things look. Sometimes it works out for us, and sometimes it doesn’t. Just because a dog is gorgeous doesn’t mean he will be well behaved. Just ask show dog owners. Their confident, energetic dogs are notorious for naughtiness.

What about breed bias?

Most of us have a breed preference, or at least a size preference. Maybe we only want “real” dogs and that means they have to be over 50, or 60, or 100 pounds! Or maybe your version of a “real” dog is one you can pick up, snuggle into your cheek, and share your pillow with.

There are practical limitations. Many of us are limited by the rules of our landlord or community. Perhaps your choices are restricted by your allergies (hypoallergenic doodle, anyone?).

Looks and limitations aside, we have to be careful to judge every dog as an individual.

Choosing a dog based on her personality (behavioral tendencies) is a rare thing, even among knowledgeable, educated dog professionals. Putting personality over looks takes a certain wisdom (usually acquired after owning a dog or two) and those who do it reap the rewards. If you want to find a personality that will compliment your life (instead of complicate it), be honest about your lifestyle and the kind of dog that fits into it. If you’re an athlete who likes to spend lots of time exercising with your dog, or you want to teach her tons of tricks, a sporting or herding breed will probably be great for you. But, will she still be a great choice in a few years, if you get married, have children, or get promoted at work? Only if you still carve out the time for her.

You can always find a few sporting or herding dog individuals that have minimal exercise needs.

But, that doesn’t fit with the average for these breeds. A rare, calm example of an active breed can still be great for you if you get married, have a few children, and get promoted. But, it’s unlikely that you’ll find her if you choose based on looks alone!

Whether you are getting a puppy from a breeder or adopting an adult from a shelter, no one ignores looks completely. After all, we live with dogs to enjoy having a beautiful animal brighten up our living rooms, bedrooms, and yards every day. Our advice is to keep looks near the top of your list, but make sure you prioritize behavioral tendencies, and the dog’s likelihood to fit into your lifestyle. Your long-term relationship will succeed when you choose the dog whose behavior suits you most.  Besides, after a while, no matter which dog you have, you’ll think she’s the cutest thing on four legs!

For more on How to Choose a Great Dog for You, read the article by the same name found here.

Don’t Dog it – Get Involved in Your Community!

We are proud that so many of our students are helping dogs and dog owners in their community every day. The funny thing is, as a dog lover, we know you wouldn’t have it any other way. You might say the time you spend with dogs is actually selfish because you love it and it’s good for you. So be it – a classic win-win!

Even if you’re not a student yet, here are some great ways you can satisfy your craving to spend time with dogs, learn more about them, and help them at the same time. We’ve categorized these by your skill level.  Whether you are inexperienced or a pro, there’s plenty of ways you can make a difference and immerse yourself in the joys of dog companionship.

Category 1 – Just a Dog Lovin’ Fool (Little to No Behavior Knowledge)

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  Take a rescue for a walk!

  Volunteer to help out at the local shelter – cleaning, walking, prepping food toys, spending time with dogs that need companionship

• Foster a dog from a local rescue
• Train your dog to be a therapy dog and take her to meet people who could use a furry friend
• Offer to exercise your neighbor’s dog (you know, the one that sits home all day with nothing to do)

Category 2 – Student of Training & Behavior or Dog Lover with Ownership/Training Experience

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  Training manners is always a win-win.

  Volunteer to help out at the local shelter – walking, training, assisting in behavior evaluations

• Foster a more challenging dog from the local shelter
• Volunteer to answer the phone for a local rescue group’s behavior hotline, helping new adopters and foster parents to resolve training and behavior challenges
• Offer to train your neighbor’s dog (you know, the one who is clearly smarter than he lets on (the dog, not the neighbor))
• Become an assistant in a professional trainer’s classes

Happy training! Let us know how it goes for you and get in touch if you’re serious about learning more.

Alpha-Shmalpha?

No topic gets more muddled by myths than dominance. I recently had two different students ask me how to deal with a dominant dog because an established person in the field gave them questionable advice. One was advised by her vet that, “she better be alpha” and yell at her dog more to get training results. Another student was advised by a trainer that, “you must train commands without food in order to get the dog’s respect.” Are these accurate statements? Should you use different training techniques with a dominant dog?

Defining dominance

“I’m a proud, dominant dog, but also a good girl!”

For this discussion we will define a dominant dog as a confident personality type that prefers to be in control of situations and resources. This does not mean the dog is aggressive, it just means she prefers to control resources and make her own decisions rather than give up control and take direction from others. The opposite of this is a submissive-type dog that is happy to let others be in control and take resources from him at any time. The submissive-type dog readily responds to direction from others.

How does a dog get to be dominant?

A dominant dog may be that way by genetics (natural personality) and may also learn dominant behaviors based on what she was able to do with the other dogs or humans she grew up with. As you learn in our course, you cannot separate the nature (genetics) from the nurture (learned behaviors). Dominance would not come from poor socialization, but could come from a certain type of social environment (where the dog learns to be the boss and control resources).

Can I use reward-based training with a dominant dog?

Of course! I would train a dominant dog using reward-based techniques (including food), but I would never neglect good leadership and good handling. Good leadership means being consistent in your communication and rules. It means you don’t spoil the dog by giving everything away for free, but that you control rewards and give them out for great behavior. You set up situations so that the dog learns to see that “the best things in life happen to me when I am paying attention, exhibiting self-control, and showing good manners.” The dog must also learn that “no fun ever comes as a result of me being pushy or out-of-control.” When you are consistent with these rules, and sound in your handling techniques, even a dominant dog will respect you.

Good handling is using your body and/or leash to keep your dog under control and manage the physical space she occupies. In dog training speak, how well you “handle” dogs is a direct reflection of whether or not you are in control of the dog. Good handlers are well appreciated all over the dog world: in training, shelters, day care, vet offices, grooming, and public. Poor handlers have dogs “walk all over them” – literally and figuratively.

The relationship factor

The first key to training any personality is to find out their biggest motivators and use them as rewards. But, if you’re talking about training a dog to be a well-behaved family member (as opposed to just perform a set of obedience commands) then the RELATIONSHIP becomes a big factor. With a dominant dog, you have to be strict in the everyday interactions that form your relationship because if you give an inch she may take a mile. This simply means you stick to the leadership rules I described above. In other words, there are some “easy” submissive-type dogs that will be well-behaved even if you spoil them and let them walk all over you. But, with a dominant personality, more than other types, you may pay the price for poor leadership. Leadership, of course, should never be harmful, but it may have to be strict and should always be consistent.

Teach me more!

Take the “Bribe” Out of the Equation

As we reviewed in our last post, getting behaviors without showing food first is called fading a lure and it is something you must learn!

Fading a lure can be achieved in 5 steps. Skilled trainers adapt these steps to match the individual dog’s training progress, but once you get these basics down, you’ll get the most out of food – nature’s most powerful motivator since sex!  

Read on for the last 2 steps plus an overall summary. (For steps 1 – 3 in our last post, click here.)

4. Use life rewards, delayed rewards  and hidden rewards

Once a behavior is well-trained, you can reward in so many ways. Got stick? If so, tug is a reward!

Once your dog performs a behavior consistently (in training we call it being fluent in a behavior), there are ways you can reward a dog without showing him the food first. Rewards keep behaviors strong, but you don’t have to bribe the dog by showing him what’s in the offing before he performs. Let’s look at each reward type listed above:

Life rewards are activities your dog loves, such as door-opening privileges, getting a ball thrown, access to play with other dogs, etc.

Delayed rewards are rewards that come several seconds or more after the behavior is performed. A common example is when your dog responds to a recall by running back into the house. You might then run to the kitchen together where you open the fridge and reward him with a piece of cheese. Use praise to bridge the time gap.

Hidden rewards are those that your dog didn’t realize were there – a surprise (which is powerfully rewarding in itself). Before a training or proofing session, you can pre-hide rewards anywhere:  a drawer, a tree branch, an inside pocket – just make sure your dog doesn’t see or smell them before you reward him.

5. Practice in new areas

To put the finishing touches on a behavior you have to generalize it, which means teaching the dog to perform it in many different situations.  Practice in a few different places (various rooms of your house, the yard, the street, the park, etc.). Make it easy for the dog by going back to step 1 of luring whenever you add a level of distraction (new situation or environment). Doing a recall or a stay at home is nothing like getting it done at the dog park! You have to be willing to be more generous with rewards in distracting situations. In other words, take a couple of steps back to get the behavior fluent in the new place, then you can start fading the lure out again relatively quickly.

The Wrap

Once you have these 5 steps going, gradually switch from rewarding all instances of a behavior, to most, to a random few. If you don’t do this gradually, the dog will lose interest. Picture yourself in a casino playing a slot machine, where you win every time you play. If all of a sudden you completely stop winning, you’ll get up and leave that machine for sure. This is what happens to our dogs when all of a sudden, we stop rewarding completely. Instead, shift to random rewards gradually. When you turn yourself into an unpredictable slot machine that sometimes pays big, your dog will become addicted to the game.

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