Leave it

Elsa doing a very nice "leave it" for demonstration purposes.

The "leave it" exercise is one of the most useful things that you can teach your dog.  The "leave it" behavior is typically taught for leaving food items; but once your dog is accomplished at it, you can use it for anything.  Personally I have used it for gross items found on the ground during a walk, babies, bees, retrieving items, toys that do not belong to my dogs and so much more.  

Imagine if you could tell your dog not to touch an item and they didn't.  No pulling, no yanking, no yelling?  Wouldn't that be the greatest thing ever?  Well, it is up there with some of the greatest things ever, for sure.

Showing off their "leave it" skills.  

The "leave it," behavior, like most other behaviors is a progression of steps to get to a solid and reliable response.   Once your dog has it down and if you have used it extensively; it is often not needed in certain situations.  Dropping food off of the counter, table or hand can become a non issue once they understand that you control the items.  

The big secret to teaching a solid "leave it" is to reward it.  The exercise begins with a low level food item like toasted o cereal (cheerio type).   The food that is used to reward the dog should be of equal value.  So don't tell them to leave a piece of steak and then give them a cheerio for not touching the steak.  They are very smart and will soon be going for the steak faster and sneakier.  Makes sense right?  

• Put Cheerio in your open hand and cover with your thumb.
• They will NEVER be receiving the food in the hand that you have the cheerio.  You do not want them to think that at some point they will get the food in your hand.
• Tell your dog to "leave it" and put your hand out.  They will typically try to get the food for a while but do not let them pry it out from under your thumb.  
• As soon as they pull away from your hand for a split second, mark the behavior and reward with a cheerio from your other hand.  At the same time pull the lure hand back beside you.  
• Do this as many times as it takes for them to "get" that moving away from your hand is what gets them the reward.  
• This requires a great deal of patience.  
• Be sure to tell them to "leave it" before you place your hand out.  Give them a heads up.
• Try doing it with your hand on the floor, then put the food on the floor with your hand hovering over it.  NEVER let them get the item that you have told them to leave.
• As they become more solid with the "leave it" you can get further and further from the item. 
• Once they are super star professionals at "leave it" you can drop food from your hand and then the counter top; always rewarding them for not touching the item.  Don't forget to tell them to "leave it" before dropping the food.

Now that they are amazing at "leaving it" you can use it for anything that you don't want them to touch.  

Remember to only make the exercise harder when they have complete success as each step.  Too much challenge can mean failure.  Best to take baby steps during the process.  

Blind yanking

Don't yank.

Yesterday's walk was once again the spur for a blog.  Many times I have to record my blog ideas when they pop into my head (my memory is horrible) but sometimes it just happens on a walk the day before.  As we wandered along the pathway of the park; a woman up ahead was yanking.  She was blind yanking her dog.  

blind - unwilling or unable to perceive or understand.

yanking - to pull or remove abruptly and vigorously.

I see this type of behavior from humans constantly.  Said human is out on their walk without putting any attention on their dog.  They are not interacting with their dog except for the constant blind yanking.  The woman was getting annoyed by her dog's pulling so she pulled back.  Think this works?  Nope.  

Have you ever yanked on your dog in attempt to stop them from pulling?  They yank, you yank...it goes round and round with no results for anyone.  Just annoying on both ends. 

The dog involved in the yanking on this day was a Shiba Inu.  He looked young and rambunctious and was diving in and out of the bushes as they walked.  The dog was lucky that he sported a harness and not a collar.  But even still he just kept getting yanked, blind yanked by his guardian.  This is a really annoying behavior that humans inflict on their dogs.

So what are you to do when your dog yanks you?  Stop walking and wait.  Wait for some slack in the leash and then walk.  DO NOT WALK when the leash it tight.  It takes some work but typically dogs catch on pretty quickly to this rule.  Pull and we stop - Give me slack and we walk.  

If you are a yanker, please stop.  Don't respond to your dog's yanking by yanking back.  Teach them, yanking doesn't work; because it doesn't work for either species.  

Leash pulling

Sitting in the coffee shop, sipping my organic home brew I enjoy the view from the outdoor patio down by the coast.  My seat allows me a great vantage point for people and dog watching; a bonus activity after a business meeting.  The sky is overcast which lends itself to more human/canine out enjoying the weather.   As I sit savoring the view; a woman walks by with a HUGE mix breed.  She is literally being dragged down the street behind her dog.  Obviously her monster of a dog is on a mission.  It is unclear if the guardian is aware of the mission or not but she is being dragged along for the ride.   

I hate seeing guardians being dragged by their dog.  Why?  Because I know that the human part of the team is not enjoying their together time with their dog.  With a little training they could both be enjoying the walk instead of just the dog. 

Even tiny dogs can be a drag to walk if they are doing the dragging.  Why do dogs drag their humans on a walk?  They drag their guardians because no one ever taught them to walk differently.  It is as simple as that.  Leash training should start as soon as possible; as soon as you add that little bundle of fluff to your family, it should begin.  If you’ve added an adult dog to your family then start with them immediately as well. 

If your dog already has an ingrained dragging behavior; it will take longer to get rid of but you can do it.  Starting today, don’t allow it.  This means when your dog pulls, you cease to move.  Very literally STOP and don’t move until they offer you some slack on their leash.  No cheating, you cannot give the slack, it must be them.  So you stand completely still and wait for them to move back, offering the slack needed to keep walking.

You can also implement the reward system for loose leash walking.  When your dog walks without pulling, reward them.  Using tiny little bits of treats, keep them coming.  I like to use the “catch” behavior as well.  It not only keeps your dogs attention on you, it is a great behavior to fall back on.

A dragging dog is no fun for anyone, no matter what size they are.  You can start working on it today.

Bicycles and dogs

I have a new bike and I'm super stoked about it.  After years of not being on a bicycle; my biking days are now back and I'm loving it.  I bought a beautiful crossover or hybrid bike.  This means that I can ride on the pavement/asphalt or dirt and grass.  So I've been out riding as much as I can trying to feel "one with my bike," after a long absence.  :) 

Having fun and being active is my main objective.  Enjoying the freedom of speed I am also very aware of safety.  I wear a helmet and am constantly scanning the environment around me.  That includes dogs.  Those who love to ride bikes must stay very aware to the dogs around them. 

I was riding down a path this weekend, where there were folks walking their dogs.  I zipped off and on the path when needed; always giving pedestrians and dogs the right of way.  Judging the distance of leash guardians had given their dogs and making sure that they knew I was coming; I took the needed amount of space between them and me. 

I am writing today because I had a few moments with dogs that I needed to address.  The first was an area that was very close quarts.  As I rode down the path, a more narrow path was ahead of me.  At the entrance of the path was a couple with their dog.  Their actions made me get off of my bike.  They had cornered their dog; the husband put his leg across the dog and the woman had a stick in ready.  Hmmmmmmm.  This looked like an accident waiting to happen.  Clearly the dog was not going to be okay with me riding by.

I got off my bike and gestured for them to go ahead.   "He loves to run with bikers," they explained as the dog dragged them my way.  "I could see that he was focused on me" I said back to them.  Before I could scoot around them the dog was sniffing my bike.  "How did you know?" they asked.  I told them I was a dog trainer and then we had an impromptu Q&A.  Being that I wanted to continue my ride I quickly answered some of their questions and started to move away.  The dog went into full CUJO mode where they continued to explain what was going on.  I already knew, smiled and continued my ride.  

The dog wanted to control my movement; he was not interested in a fun run by my side.  The dog's guardians were being ruled by their dog.  As long as I stood where he wanted me to stand, things were fine.  But when I took it upon myself to move away, he was not.  Had I just rode my bike passed them; I have no doubt that I would have had to deal with a large Lab/Border Collie lunging at me.  

The next incident was one where I also got off of my bike.  I was riding a long a path and saw a couple of women up ahead with their dogs off leash.  Off leash dogs is not something you like to see when you are on a bike.  I slowed and watched where the woman were going to take their dogs.  They FINALLY saw me coming and moved away from the path.  I got off my bike, both dogs were herding type dogs so I knew they would be more prone to my bike as a trigger. 

What happened next really shocked me.  One of the woman leashed their dog, which was good.  The other woman put her dog between her legs and held onto the collar.  As I got closer, the dog went so crazy that the woman could barely hang onto her dog.  This was direct at me just walking by, I had already got off my bike thinking about what might happen.  The other dog was on high alert, ready to pounce when given the chance.  Neither of these dogs should have been off leash EVER in public.  

So, I love my new bike.  I will enjoy it whenever I can.  Dogs are often triggered by bikes, it is a common occurrence.   It is much the same as walking vs. running trigger chase.  Many dogs have very strong chase drive; so this is something that a rider must be aware of.  Always be prepared to react to a lunge.  Always be ready and give yourself more space when riding by dogs.  

If your dog is not accustom to bicycles or has the drive to chase them; you must take extra precaution.  One lunge, even if the dog does not connect; can send a bike rider off of their bike resulting in a serious injury.  Keep your dog by your side and hire a positive trainer to help you to desensitize them with bicycles if needed.  

By desensitizing and counter conditioning, bicycles can be a problem in the past, very quickly.